Triumphrat

englane

Hey all,
I know that this could be considered workshop talk, but I thought it had less to do with maintenance and more to do with personal habits, so I've decided to post it in here.

I was at work today and spent a decent amount of time going through all the toolboxes cleaning tools and doing an inventory to make sure they were all there. This got me to thinking a bit. You see, the way I treat tools at work is very different than how I treat them at home. At work everything is in a toolbox, and each tool has a foam cutout into which it sits quite nicely. Every tool is calibrated, lubed, and cleaned often. At home, I'm ashamed to say, my workshop is usually in shambles. I take the canned tool approach. The wrenches are tossed into an ammo can, the sockets go into a coffee can, etc. I don't have many tools that require calibration, so I don't worry about that, but cleaning and lubing tools is a dirty joke at my place. (pun only very slightly intended)

Basically, I was wondering how everyone here takes care of their tools at home and work. Are you the nice, neat type, or the "I know that 12mm is around here somewhere... ah there it is!" type? Pointless as this thread is, it's something that caught my interest... Maybe when I get home tomorrow I'll clean my workshop... then again...

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HiDesert

My wrenches are in the holder they came in; the sockets are all on socket rails, piled lovingly in the bottom of the tool box that I use for sockets and wrenches. I generally try to keep the tools categorized (this box for electrical, this box for plumbing, etc.), but I'm a far cry from the foam cutout stage of organization. My garage is a bit of a mess, actually. The tools are all clean, though.

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Skye

We treat our tools like they put money on the table. Oh wait, they do. My husband still uses tools his dad used. His Dad worked for GM for 28 years....retired a long time ago, it's not his fault that the cars are crap now.

geolpilot

The oldest tool that I still have, I got when 6 years old, 60 years ago. The second oldest is a soldering gun that I got at 14. I take care of my tools and I have thousands of dollars in tools. You don't get to borrow my tools unless you own tools. As far as how do I treat them? Well, I bring them a pizza every couple of months.

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MassiveAttack

Unlike my love life, my tools are not a disaster. I take pride in my toolbox. Now, I'm an apartment guy, so I don't have a lot of power tools and what not. But I do have a basic set of "spanners", lubes, allen/hex, air pumps, soldering stuff, etc. All of it meticulously organized and in stark contrast to how I approach the rest of my stupid life.

My computers are the same way. OCD, almost. And yet the rest of my life is by the seat of my pants. Not sure why that is.

cgrossarth

Top of box, stuff you grab a lot, as pliers, channel locks,
vice grips, rags etc. First drawer is SAE open and box
wrenches. Second drawer is metric open and box wrenches
and metric allens. Third drawer is sockets of both sizes.
After this things get a little hazy with the rest of the
drawers containing (but not limited to) hack saws, files,
drifts, pipe wrenches, cable ties, chisels, battery straps,
and socket for water heater element, and that's just
from memory. Some of the Craftsman sockets date to
1955. Screw drivers are on back on back of bench,
and witworth wrenches are on the bench top. Don't ask
me why. All are clean and suitable for use or they
would't be there.
cg

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Lee

Just a tad bit type A...if a tool is moved 1cm from where I put it I will know. I use oil and wd40 on some of them and keep them clean as well. I have some tools handed down to me from 4 generations back. I also have some block planes that I can date to 1825 so I do cherish my tools that will some day be passed to my sons.

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Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear

propforward

Tools should be treated with care, and the right tool used for the job it was designed for. This way they give you many many years of good use. If you have a place for everything, and everything in its place, this minimizes the time and frustration it takes to find a tool. Simple concepts that are used to great effect in efficient manufacturing, and they work around the home too.


Pick up at the end of a work session, put everything away where it should go. Wipe off all the tools, sweep up and wipe down the bench.



When stranded in the middle of nowhere, the use of a tool for something other than it was designed for is perfectly acceptable. When talking survival, the rules change.

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Breezer

I keep mine fairly organized and do clean and WD-40 them every so often. I sometimes also talk to them.

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Lee

Very well said....have you been looking at my shop?

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Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear