Disposing of tools. What do you do?

[KinzeMech]

I've been cleaning the garage lately, and I'm finding myself with what, by the time I'm done, will be a decent size pile of "junk" tools. For example, cheap, junky sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Stuff I bought cheap (31 pc SAE/Metric wrench set, $15) when I was in college and didn't have money to spend. By "junk" I mean 20 years ago level of import quality. These sizes of screwdrivers, wrenches, and sockets I already have at least 3 of in a craftsman or better level of quality (1 each for service truck, work shop, and home garage), some I even have a spare in from an old set that has lost half it's pieces. Suffice it to say, I have no reasonable expectation of ever needing these.

I have a tub I'm sorting junk steel into as I clean this garage, and I've looked at it several times for this, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to throw away unbroken tools.

I can't imagine these have any value at a pawn shop, ebay, or craiglist, and I don't care if I get anything or nothing for them, but for reasons I can't explain, the idea of throwing them out with the scrap is distasteful to me.

I'm looking for opinions. What do you do?

 

[nyrapscalion]

I have been given tools that were too far gone with rust or simple abuse to save. At work there is a recycle bin for ferrous and non ferrous metals. Into the ferrous bin they go.

 

[Deafautotech]

I keep all junk tools as use it if I need to modify to make it easy to do or keep it to be trailer tools if something happen and I has back up tools to use.

 

[hickfied]

A local chain of pawnshops give $.15-$.20 per tool in a box. I loaded up all my junk tools into two junk plastic tool boxes, and took them to the pawnshop. Walked out with $106.

 

[galute]

Sandblast and paint them and use them for decorations. Use the sockets for cabinet door pulls and the wrenches for draw pulls. Weld them together and use them for art. Get creative.

 

[niferous]

I've been cleaning the garage lately, and I'm finding myself with what, by the time I'm done, will be a decent size pile of "junk" tools. For example, cheap, junky sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Stuff I bought cheap (31 pc SAE/Metric wrench set, $15) when I was in college and didn't have money to spend. By "junk" I mean 20 years ago level of import quality. These sizes of screwdrivers, wrenches, and sockets I already have at least 3 of in a craftsman or better level of quality (1 each for service truck, work shop, and home garage), some I even have a spare in from an old set that has lost half it's pieces. Suffice it to say, I have no reasonable expectation of ever needing these.

I have a tub I'm sorting junk steel into as I clean this garage, and I've looked at it several times for this, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to throw away unbroken tools.

I can't imagine these have any value at a pawn shop, ebay, or craiglist, and I don't care if I get anything or nothing for them, but for reasons I can't explain, the idea of throwing them out with the scrap is distasteful to me.

I'm looking for opinions. What do you do?

I have assembled little tool kits. I keep one in the house so my wife doesn't have to sort through my big tool box. I keep one on my car, my truck, etc. just in case tool kits that I can use to get myself out of a bind. If I already have the tool in all of my tool kits I give it away to someone who doesn't have it.

 

[wafrederick]

Keep them around to modify..I have a box of them for this reason.You don't want to modify a good tool with a warranty.

 

[unslow1]

That's the kind of stuff I loan to neighbors. I have a small tub just for that. One of my nephews asked if he could have some. I went to Menards and bought a $5 plastic toolbox and put some stuff together for him. It included stuff from there, HF tape measure, HF testmeter and HF free screwdrivers. I also tossed in a rail of Craftsman sockets. It may get lost but I wish someone had done that for me when I was 16. Maybe someone you work with would want them. Neighborhood kid?

 

[BFBOB]

If they're not usable any more, scrap them. Steel scrap is about a dime a pound in Mid-America - varies with location - so it's not worth the gas unless you accumulate a bunch more to go with it. The scrap yards I've dealt with here don't differentiate between iron, steel and tool steel; they just weigh the whole load.

If the tools are usable, donate them to Habitat for Humanity or some similar charity that has resale stores. If you're feeling generous with your time, sort them into sets strung together on wires, toss them into a couple of cheap, old tool boxes first.

Get a receipt for tax deduction purposes, but be forewarned you usually can't take the deduction unless you itemize. IRS rules keep changing (imagine that...) but don't hang your hat on being able to recoup anything that way.

There have been so many people disappointed/angered by not being able to take deductions for charitable contributions here that at least two of the charities that advertise donating your unwanted car have added the "when you itemize your deductions" disclaimer to their radio ads.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I gave a bunch away to an elementary school art teacher who had the kids use them to make all kinds of cool sculptures with hot melt glue.

 

[Plombob]

I bought a bucket filled with rusty tools. Most of them were import, but at the bottom were a bunch of S-O. I sorted the junk tools into SAE and Metric and sold them at a garage sale for more than I paid for the bucket.

 

[RRmech]

I gave my youngest daughter, five over-the-hill pliers.
She gave them decorated tin wings, then made wind chimes out of them.

She called it.....Tool Angels.

 

[volleyball]

Maybe your location has a school shop class that could use the tools?

 

[Hephaestus29]

They might be junk to you but they might put a big smile on a youngsters face that would like to learn how to wrench on things. Then when he's old enough he can buy his own.

 

[Tellingthem]

I gave all of mine to a neighbor kid who had just gotten his first car. He didn't have any tools but was wanting to to work on it. So I bundled it all up and gave it to him. It wasn't anything special but a basic box with a bunch of hand tools. I told him this should get him by until he could afford proper tools.

 

[raddksn]

They might be junk to you but they might put a big smile on a youngsters face that would like to learn how to wrench on things. Then when he's old enough he can buy his own.

I like this one,for a kid just starting out wrenching in Minniebikes or gokarts

 

[woodstockva]

I keep all junk tools as use it if I need to modify to make it easy to do or keep it to be trailer tools if something happen and I has back up tools to use.

+1 on this!

I keep all extra tools in 5 gallon buckets (sorted by type....mechanic, screwdrivers, carpentry, etc), and then I have junk spares to modify later. Also, when friends/family need specific tools, I give them the spares & I dont loan out the ones that I actually use.

As soon as you get rid of them, you are going to need one immediately.

 

[dankicksass]

If they're full sets of unbroken tools, your local Habitat store might put them to use. I've scrapped plenty of awful Chinese tools though, a lot of those things just rub me the wrong way. And I've traded some at Home Depot for Husky, but I don't know if they still do that.

 

[KinzeMech]

Lots of neat ideas. I've got a container to sort them into as I go through, for the time being I'm going to keep them separate from the scrap iron. I will see what I have left when I am done, and look to this list of ideas.

Scrapping them just didn't feel right (except for the broken/nonrepairable ones).

 

[AV tinker er]

My wife had a Walmart socket set that went into the recycle bin here at the house. I kept her pink hammer and screw drivers so when she paints she isn't using my flat blades to open paint cans. She doesn't like swinging my larger hammers either.

 

[KinzeMech]

They might be junk to you but they might put a big smile on a youngsters face that would like to learn how to wrench on things. Then when he's old enough he can buy his own.

I like this idea, but if I knew such a youngster, that smile would be worth the price of a small set of Craftsman RP wrenches, and that smile's all the bigger for the shiny new wrenches.

 

[woody 73]

Here of late I have been putting together tool boxes with old tools and giving them away to kids that want to repair things.

PS: The smile on their face is brighter then the sun

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Junk tools I keep around for loaner tools

 

[CoopVA]

Junk tools I keep around for loaner tools

^ This...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[finn]

Habitat, Goodwill, Salvation Army, St.Vinnies.

If you donate them you can itemize them for a tax credit. There are several online tax tables that will establish value for IRS purposes.

Don't donate anything obviously unsafe. They go in the recycle bin for pickup.

 

[Deskmechanic]

A lot of the thrift stores around here won't take tools. I give them away as others have said and put the rest in a cardboard box that I leave for the scrap metal scavengers that come thorough the alley.

 

[byoungblood]

Yard sale first. Whatever is left over gets thrown in a box and I'll put it all on CL for something cheap just to get rid of it. If that doesn't work after a week or so, the relatively worthless stuff goes to the scrap yard.

 

[eborcim]

I took a good box full of used tools to a charity auction yesterday. A mix of import and US, but nothing was junk. Just stuff that would not move on CL. Will be a nice tax deduction next year.

 

[rick carpenter]

I had probably 12-15 lbs of cheap and/or old screwdrivers. Some functional and some crudded up badly. I made sure I had enough beaters to go around and that my kids' tools were complete enough. I sold a handfull for about $4 and then the rest plus a bunch of no bueno por nada advertising specialty screwdrivers in a Sears box for $7 in a garage sale. Good bye and good riddance.

 

[ctjohnson]

About once a month I usually get a $10 tool box at an auction just to get maybe 4 good wrenches/sockets/ratchets in the bottom, so I've accumulated a lot of junk tools. This thread has given me a lot of good ideas.

I already built a junk toolbox we bring along to Moab when we're riding dirtbikes, a pretty complete setup and if something gets lost oh well. I also lend those tools to neighbors or just give them to friends. But if a tool is broken it goes in the trash.

 

[gm54210]

You may want to call your local Harbor Freight store for advice. They have "Tool Disposal" fliers out from time to time.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I've been cleaning the garage lately, and I'm finding myself with what, by the time I'm done, will be a decent size pile of "junk" tools. For example, cheap, junky sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Stuff I bought cheap (31 pc SAE/Metric wrench set, $15) when I was in college and didn't have money to spend. By "junk" I mean 20 years ago level of import quality. These sizes of screwdrivers, wrenches, and sockets I already have at least 3 of in a craftsman or better level of quality (1 each for service truck, work shop, and home garage), some I even have a spare in from an old set that has lost half it's pieces. Suffice it to say, I have no reasonable expectation of ever needing these.

I have a tub I'm sorting junk steel into as I clean this garage, and I've looked at it several times for this, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to throw away unbroken tools.

I can't imagine these have any value at a pawn shop, ebay, or craiglist, and I don't care if I get anything or nothing for them, but for reasons I can't explain, the idea of throwing them out with the scrap is distasteful to me.

I'm looking for opinions. What do you do?

No such thing as "junk" tools. If it works it works. I just hammered out the aluminum handle on an old **** mallet last week that's been sitting for about 20 years. Works great now! When it breaks I'll throw it out or use the head on another handle, easy breezy.

But to answer your question to your satisfaction: give it away on craigslist or trade it for a 6 pack of beer (5-7 bucks). Most of it is going to be more than adequate for household stuff.

 

[zkling]

I keep all junk tools as use it if I need to modify to make it easy to do or keep it to be trailer tools if something happen and I has back up tools to use.

^ This, if the steel is of decent enough quality. Like say an old philips that is worn out, I'll lop the end off and hollow grind that bad boy. Otherwise misc off shore sockets, pliers and the like go into the donate box and once I have a somewhat complete set they get donated to someone just starting out. We all start somewhere. I do have a random no name socket set by the arborpress for pressing bearings and the like.

 

[arms1970]

A local chain of pawnshops give $.15-$.20 per tool in a box. I loaded up all my junk tools into two junk plastic tool boxes, and took them to the pawnshop. Walked out with $106.

That's what I do. Then its off to buy good stuff!!

 

[jeffmoss26]

Give them away, loan them out (and never get them back) or just put them in the scrap bucket.

 

[stratman977]

I put them out at the yard sale for 25 cents a piece or 5 for $1. People will sit there all day and pick through the box. You couldn't get $3 for a mix and match **** wrench set but let them pick it out themselves its sold.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

My dad taught auto repair in CT at the local high school along with owning the Arco/Sunoco station. He was serviced by all the trucks, but a long time ago his Mac guy would collect any unwanted tools from his route. Some were bad and others were good. He would donate them to the school. The metal shop would refurb them and send the back to the auto shop. Donating them to a school would be a great thing to do. My dad had a pretty good tool budget for years and when he retired 2yrs ago his tool budget was $2500. That was enough to cover the gloves, rags, soap, and a few small things. These schools could really use the help before they do away with these programs.