College Student in Texas

[Vortaku]

My name is Ross, I am a Army Veteran. Attending Community College on my GI Bill, post 9/11 if anyone is curious. I am currently finishing up my Associates in Network Admin and Support. I am the ripe age of 28 and will be 29 the 30th of August.

I have always been mesmerized by tools and "shops". When I was little my Grandfather had a shop bigger then most peoples homes. It was amazing I would go out there and play with tools while he worked, I would "help" him by being in his way constantly. Needless to say tools are a very fond memory for me. Sadly though my grandparents divorced and we will just say things got very messy. The shop is gone, as are all of his tools. So I am starting with nothing. My dad was never really the tool type until recently so nothing to pass down.

I heard about this place via a youtube channel I am subscribed to, Ramone Automtive I believe. He has some really strong opinions about tools and "professional" quality. Rather interesting PoV he has.

So I stumbled my way over here to get some ideas on where to start with getting a good set of tools together. I want something I can pass on to my next generation, but perhaps more so something that I want to pass along. I worked at a dealership local to me and was amazed at the prices of Snap-On tools on the truck. Brian was really cool though. I was not a tech or a mechanic just did light detailing of the cars after they had been serviced. I live in a small apartment but have a closet and a balcony I can use. Worth noting it is on the second floor so no major boxes will be in the near future.
I know an apartment isn't idea for tool storage but I don't want to wait and put off getting these things I am fond of.

Thanks
Vortaku/V/Ross

ps: i have no clue what tool brand my grandfather had in his shop.

 

[kd3pc]

1st, Thank you for service

2nd welcome to one of the best forums on the net.

Glad to have you with us.

 

[rburke65]

Hello and welcome from Ohio!

 

[drivesitfar]

Vort: thanks for the detailed introduction. you are not the only member without a garage and only an apartment closet or room to put their tools and work bench in. make the best of what you have is what i say and wake up every day willing to learn something new.

anyway not sure what tools that were around years ago in Texas, but if anything like up here in Washington we had Craftsman, Proto, SK, and several others including Snap on. most any of those brands prior to 1970 were made in the US and great tools and SK still makes their tools here in the US and maybe Proto and some Craftsman tools do too.

good luck and enjoy the reading here. also ask questions if you have any and we'll help you if we can.

cheers

 

[1/2 Cup]

Hello and welcome aboard Vortaku, as always, enjoy..

 

[TJM2]

Since no one asked yet, what's your MOS?

 

[Vortaku]

Since no one asked yet, what's your MOS?

68W/91W Combat Medic.

Hello and welcome aboard Vortaku, as always, enjoy..

Thank you!

Vort: thanks for the detailed introduction. you are not the only member without a garage and only an apartment closet or room to put their tools and work bench in. make the best of what you have is what i say and wake up every day willing to learn something new.

anyway not sure what tools that were around years ago in Texas, but if anything like up here in Washington we had Craftsman, Proto, SK, and several others including Snap on. most any of those brands prior to 1970 were made in the US and great tools and SK still makes their tools here in the US and maybe Proto and some Craftsman tools do too.

good luck and enjoy the reading here. also ask questions if you have any and we'll help you if we can.

cheers

I can be a bit long winded at times! I hope it isn't frowned upon here!
I do wake up daily trying to learn atleast 1 new thing! It suprises me how few people are perfectly content with their knowledge base, especially with the internet at our fingertips!
Believe he did have some craftsman gear, infact I know his compressor was a craftsmen horizontal under one of his workbenches.
There is SO much reading here. It is insane!

Hello and welcome from Ohio!

Thank you!

1st, Thank you for service

2nd welcome to one of the best forums on the net.

Glad to have you with us.

1st, You are very welcome!
2nd, I am starting to see how it is so good. So much information!

and finally, Glad to be here!

to all!

 

[Gotcha640]

I have two 15" tool bags, two drill boxes, and a few flat tackle boxes for all my tools. With that amount of gear, I've rebuilt a jet ski engine, soldered a stereo system back together, replaced an iPhone battery, and fixed every toy my 3 year old has broken so far. There whole collection fits in a corner of the trunk of any sedan, at the back of any apartment closet, and has been to 3 states, 5 countries, and through 11 moves in the last 14 years.

I'm sure you can find people to tell you the first thing you need is an air compressor, or a CNC plasma cutter, or an alligator, or whatever. I've done full suspension replacement on a Suburban with nothing but hand tools.

As far as learning new things, I've been working on learning design programs, including solidworks, sketchup, and inkscape, to get more of my ideas out of my head and ready for prototype. It's not traditional steel hand tools, but if you ever want to lay something out that's more than just a quick sketch, it can help a lot.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Hello Ross and welcome to Thee Garage Journal...
================================================== ==============
I am a ToolAholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the ToolMan wont give me no credit

 

[Vortaku]

Hello Ross and welcome to Thee Garage Journal...
================================================== ==============
I am a ToolAholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the ToolMan wont give me no credit

I understand your pain about being a ToolAholic, I think that is a very real issue. Perhaps I will be fighting it myself soon.

I have two 15" tool bags, two drill boxes, and a few flat tackle boxes for all my tools. With that amount of gear, I've rebuilt a jet ski engine, soldered a stereo system back together, replaced an iPhone battery, and fixed every toy my 3 year old has broken so far. There whole collection fits in a corner of the trunk of any sedan, at the back of any apartment closet, and has been to 3 states, 5 countries, and through 11 moves in the last 14 years.

I'm sure you can find people to tell you the first thing you need is an air compressor, or a CNC plasma cutter, or an alligator, or whatever. I've done full suspension replacement on a Suburban with nothing but hand tools.

As far as learning new things, I've been working on learning design programs, including solidworks, sketchup, and inkscape, to get more of my ideas out of my head and ready for prototype. It's not traditional steel hand tools, but if you ever want to lay something out that's more than just a quick sketch, it can help a lot.

I am very interested in these bags you talked about, care to give me a breakdown of what style bag and the breakdown of what is in them?

 

[drivesitfar]

Vort: another option to consider is renting a 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 storage unit to start your shop at. I've rented a 10 x 20 to put some extra things in and my 4 x 8 aluminum trailer and it held a lot of stuff on racks around the trailer. up here i can rent a 10 x 20 with 14 foot tall ceilings for $180 per month with security gate so maybe a bit cheaper in your area. just a thought.

here's the bags i use to put my Ryobi 18v tools in and just a warning don't throw in metal like screwdrivers or sawsall blades because if they end up sitting on the battery terminals they can start a fire. i usually leave all my batteries plugged into a tool to avoid that. they used to sell these bags at Costco years ago for maybe $20, but pulling up this picture i see that one online company sells them now for $60. they are nice quality.

 

[Vortaku]

Vort: another option to consider is renting a 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 storage unit to start your shop at. I've rented a 10 x 20 to put some extra things in and my 4 x 8 aluminum trailer and it held a lot of stuff on racks around the trailer. up here i can rent a 10 x 20 with 14 foot tall ceilings for $180 per month with security gate so maybe a bit cheaper in your area. just a thought.

here's the bags i use to put my Ryobi 18v tools in and just a warning don't throw in metal like screwdrivers or sawsall blades because if they end up sitting on the battery terminals they can start a fire. i usually leave all my batteries plugged into a tool to avoid that. they used to sell these bags at Costco years ago for maybe $20, but pulling up this picture i see that one online company sells them now for $60. they are nice quality.

That bag looks pretty solid, but 60 is a bit steep in my opinion.
I thought about the renting a storage unit, but it seems like a waste right now. Maybe when I have more.

A friend gave me some of his extra tools, i posted over in the general tool section.

 

[Bronson]

Welcome to the Forum, and thank You for Your Service!
Canyon, Tx, here.

 

[Gotcha640]

I got Husky bags. I had the free with purchase Craftsman bags but they were not good quality.

I don't have them in front of me right now, but I know I have:

1/4 and 3/8 drive metric and sae, a few extensions for each

At least two each small medium large Phillips and standard screwdrivers

Ratcheting box wrenches, metric and sae, to 1" and 20mm

Two pairs of 10" ish channel locks, two slip joints, small and medium vise grips, needle nose and lineman pliers

Claw hammer, rubber mallet, 2lb mini sledge

Utility knife, putty knife, zip ties, speed square, metal file, combo wood rasp

Security bit set from Autozone, covers all the small torx and might even have nut drivers

I know it sounds like a lot, but it all fits and it covers most of the home/car/toy repair you're likely to run in to. I've smoothed out doors in rent houses that didn't close smoothly, patched holes on the way out, hung photos on the way in, moved fridge door hinges to the other side, replaced bathroom fittings. Anything I can't handle with the tools I have I'm usually willing to pay someone else to do.

 

[Vortaku]

Welcome to the Forum, and thank You for Your Service![emoji106]
Canyon, Tx, here.[emoji481]

[emoji481] I figure there are a ton of tx members.

I got Husky bags. I had the free with purchase Craftsman bags but they were not good quality.

I don't have them in front of me right now, but I know I have:

1/4 and 3/8 drive metric and sae, a few extensions for each

At least two each small medium large Phillips and standard screwdrivers

Ratcheting box wrenches, metric and sae, to 1" and 20mm

Two pairs of 10" ish channel locks, two slip joints, small and medium vise grips, needle nose and lineman pliers

Claw hammer, rubber mallet, 2lb mini sledge

Utility knife, putty knife, zip ties, speed square, metal file, combo wood rasp

Security bit set from Autozone, covers all the small torx and might even have nut drivers

I know it sounds like a lot, but it all fits and it covers most of the home/car/toy repair you're likely to run in to. I've smoothed out doors in rent houses that didn't close smoothly, patched holes on the way out, hung photos on the way in, moved fridge door hinges to the other side, replaced bathroom fittings. Anything I can't handle with the tools I have I'm usually willing to pay someone else to do.

This is awesome, thank you so much. I have found so much information on this forum already.

So glad I have a forum app for my tablet.

 

[TJM2]

I used to be a 91B, before it went to 91W/68W. Then went Navy and spent the next 8 years giving hello kitty bandaids to Marines