? For the tool collectors.

[Swingpress]

For those who, like myself, are constantly hitting auctions, estate sales, Craigslist, etc. buying single tools, full sets, trying to finish partial sets, how do you organize them so that you know what you have vs. what you need? I'm starting to drown under all the incomplete sets I have and need to find a better way to have them easily accessible but organized by brand, year, series, or whatever.

How do you manage it all? Pics are always beneficial!

 

[Richard Cranium]

keep a spread sheet on your smart phone.

 

[1badbird]

I just bagged them by size and shallow and deep well, then when I find partial sets I dig through and hope I have the missing piece. If not I write it down on a list and keep it in my wallet. Not the best way I'm sure, but it works ok for me.

 

[fordnut85]

I use an app called Google keep that syncs between my phone, tablet, laptop etc. Every time I'm at the getting spot or an auction I always know what I need to complete a set or replace broken or keep an eye out for a good deal

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[jakemac]

I don't have a smartphone, so my back pocket always has a copy of a few spreadsheets with notes scribbled on. It doesn't really help when the mad scramble for the tools begins.

 

[jgromada]

I use an app called Google keep that syncs between my phone, tablet, laptop etc. k

Absolutely love the Keep app, works great

 

[firworks]

I take it you don't want to just go with, buy everything cool and then come home and try to figure out what to do with your 9th set of SAE deepwells? That's what I've been going with so far. Only downside is you have to also start buying buckets or old tool boxes for all the overflow. You never miss out on anything though!

 

[M_George]

I use an app called Google keep that syncs between my phone, tablet, laptop etc. Every time I'm at the getting spot or an auction I always know what I need to complete a set or replace broken or keep an eye out for a good deal

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip, I use a printed spreadsheet now but the Google Keep app sounds great.

 

[Gmonkee]

I weeded out all the easy stuff and put the difficult sets to build in a display case. Now I just buy all of them I find and display the best while using the rest. Lots of dupe stuff like that but the occasional new arrival isn't lost at least.

 

[gungatim]

I take it you don't want to just go with, buy everything cool and then come home and try to figure out what to do with your 9th set of SAE deepwells? That's what I've been going with so far. Only downside is you have to also start buying buckets or old tool boxes for all the overflow. You never miss out on anything though!

that;s what I do, just buy everything that is cheap enough. I used to keep a spreadsheet list in my wallet but what's the point? I'm not going to pass up snap-on sockets for a quarter just because I already have a dozen 11/16" sockets...(why is that always the most popular size to find in the wild???)

 

[markhm]

I use a spreadsheet. One of the fields in it is Quantity. If I am missing a tool in a set or there is a tool I am looking for, I put it in the spreadsheet and set the quantity to zero.

I use conditional formatting to highlight rows in the spreadsheet where the quantity is zero. I set that row to yellow highlighting with red text. Makes it easy to see what I am looking for.

I also have a pivot table in the sheet for all items with quantity = zero. That gives me a nice formatted report with formatting more relevant to buying than the general spreadsheet and I can take that printed table when I go shopping.

I keep the spreadsheet in Google Drive. That way it is accessible with my phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Because it is very large and complex, it is quite slow compared to being stored on a computer but it is worth the slowness by having one copy accessible on all my devices. Another advantage to Drive is that it keeps copies of every modification you have done to the sheet. So if next week you see you screwed something up, you could go back to last weeks version in seconds.

 

[twertsy]

87 tool boxes and memory.............Yeah right. I need a list.

 

[egnorant]

My tools are to work with and I don't NEED any so that part is easy. But I will still check for quality tools or screaming deals at sales but I just use my GJ tool snob judgement. I am still discovering tools that I already possess and get a bit OCD about putting tools back in like sets. I know that I can get some understanding here when I tell of buying my 5th small ball peen hammer at an estate sale. I already have a Vlchek, Billings, Proto and and unmarked at home but this one was 50 cents and a Maydole! Or the 10 piece deep impact socket set I bought knowing I had 2 sets at home...$15 for Snap-On!! I'm sure you understand.

What do you do when you find an SK set of metric sockets with case for a buck but it is missing 13mm? I dig through my stash only to discover I have a full set but no holder. Do I complete the set in the case and look for another 13mm AND a case?

You pose a difficult question and I wish I had an acceptable answer. I choose not to obsess for more than 10 minutes at a time over why I only have 4 Williams 1/4" 8 point sockets.

Bruce