How did you acquire your tools

[Revere Cycles]

That campagnolo kit looks cool, is it all for servicing bicycle gears??

There are several bicycle frame tools in the box, which is what I purchased it for initially; taps, dies, reamers, and facers. The rest are bicycle specific wrenches and spanners, as well as frame alignment tools. They sold a separate box for building and servicing your own freewheels. (this was before the advent of the cassette hub) I don't have one of those because they are even more rare than the "big" box that I have.

Today, most people would not have use for the full Campagnolo kit unless they were a bike mechanic or frame builder.

 

[bwane]

For many years, most of my acquisitions were wrenches found in the road. Wrenches have a distinctive ring when they hit concrete. One day a flatbed truck went by and I heard that ring. Went out to the road and got a nice 12" adjustable. I ran over a wrench that I did not see but I heard it. Lots of sockets end up on the side of the road and parking lots.
Lots of wrenches are left in the U Pull It

Then I discovered estate sales! 75 wrenches for $15, same day 234 sockets for $15 all Made in USA

 

[FlatBlackBlaze]

I stole 90% of 'em.. the rest I borrowed and will never return.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I got my first tools as a 5 year old. My dad gave me some pliers, phillips and flat head screwdrivers, and a hammer, and mini carpenters side pouch. Still have the screw drivers and pliers I have been given other tools as time has gone on as gifts or for graduation gifts. I have really started building the collection from pawn shops, used building supply places and garage sales, and ebay. Started to fill in my missing pieces with good vintage items.

 

[crewchief888]

bought my machinist tools and boxes in '76 when i was in HS, along with a few hand tools, mostly CM and some SK.
ater my dad passed away in '78, i had his old carpenters tools, CM electric drills, an his set of SK sockets and wrenches to 1 1/4".

bought a couple more kennedy toolboxes while i worke in the machine shop bewteen '78 and '83 when i moved to florida, and started pulling wrenches at a const eq dealer.

over the next 30 years, i bought a LOT of brand new tools and boxes off tool trucks, along with a few used boxes.

air compressor was new in '89

i've replaced a few corded electric power tools, and added quite a few more corded and cordless tools in the past 15 years, all purchased new.

i scan flea mkts and pawn shops for used truck branded hand tools, clamps, some machinst/layout tools to add onto the garage set.

some say i have too many tools..




current wife has bought me a couple larger items, pressure washer, shop vacs, table saw.

 

[sberry]

I had a few things but in 80 or so bought the biggest set Sears had at the time, the master deal. I bought a couple other sets when demand spiked and a bunch of HF impacts for my service truck,

 

[Thephranc]

I bought the vast majority over the last 25 years. My first large purchase was a C-man set and cantilever box for about $400. A large chunck of money in the early 90s. After that while I was in Lincoln tech my mother met a man in dialysis and he sold me his entire collection from when he was an auto tech. Then it was buying single sockets and what not as I needed them. My last big score was given to me by my partner when he retired from our sign making business. There are tools from when he was in the Marines dated back to the Viet Nam era.

 

[aoleg]

I'm still in the process of building my tool collection. My strategy is buying unused stuff auctioned on German eBay. I mostly bid on the lots containing multiple items (=cheaper per item). I never participate in bidding wars, setting reasonable bids in a scheduled bidding program and forgetting it until the end of an auction. I win about every third auction I bid on. Those that I do win bring me tools at the price that is about 30% lower than Amazon (which I use to estimate values). No warranty on about 50% of these wins, but with hand tools I didn't experience the need to have one (and either way, the savings more than paid for the missing warranties).

 

[histeel1]

Mine probably started when I was 9 or 10 years old. I asked my dad for a c-man 200 piece set and asked my mom for a c-man top box. I still have the box and most the set. Dad also handed some down. When I got into industrial field service in the mid 90's I started buying more. If I got to a job and needed a tool I went and bought it rather than borrowing. I still keep the mindset if I run into a job where I need a specific tool I just go get it so I have it.