How did your tool addiction begin?

[Jweebothee]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but the search function on tapatalk *****, and I didn't see anything. What began your love or addiction for tools? Mine as I'm sure most began with my father, he didn't have much, but what he did have was good quality, and he taught me that a well taken care of tool was a good tool. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

[Danglerb]

Tempted to say right here, Garage Journal, but I worked for awhile on my Porsche in a friends shop and that huge toolbox woke up a desire for my own good tools.

Top of my day was having something on my HF cart one of the pro's would borrow.

 

[jd_1138]

In 1999, I applied for a Sears card to get a stereo and some tires for my Toyota pickup, and I decided to buy a 75 piece Made in the USA set of Craftsman tools. Then a week later, I bought another set and a set of screw drivers, then a tool box, etc..

I had always borrowed my dad's tools back when I still lived at home until 1996 or so.

 

[BajaBound]

The need and desire to work on my truck and to not pay others to do things that I could learn to do or wanted to do. Mine also started with a Craftsman tool set. GJ has provided so much info and provided residual low funds lol.

 

[Toymeister]

It started here. It was a perfect storm for me. I was deployed then (as now), bored most of the time. I used my spare time to plan my garage in my mind. Once it was done I started to plan out which tools to add and which ones to upgrade that I already had.

Once I was done with that I started to buy and have it shipped it home. My wife was cooperative at first but was less so after months of this. When I arrived home I finished the garage as I had planned and organized the tools.

I fell out of the GJ scene after a while until I deployed again and here I am again. The difference of GJ in a few years is subtle but noticable. More opinionated people to the point of being rude. My ignore list has grown to over 30. With that filter GJ is a wee bit more civilized, again.

 

[jmontoya]

Here!

 

[theoldwizard1]

I blame my parents !

They bought me my first socket set when I was a teenager (which I still have and use today). Not long after, I realized that mt Dad's tool box was pretty spartan and he had absolutely no metric anything (yeah, hard to believe toady).

It really got going when I got a job at Sears. I bought a tool at least once a month (that was all I could afford). Of corse birthdays and Christmas helped !

 

[top drive]

was a bike mech for years - all tools supplied.

got used to having good tools

left bike shop - had no tools

my dad bought me a sealey 9 drawer box for graduation and a halfords pro 200 piece kit for my birthday - i picked up bike specific tools as i needed.

THEN

i bought my land rover and it really kicked off.

it had holes in - so i bought a welder and picked up welding

then i found i didnt have certain tools and that flank drive was less likely to round off old rusty bolts - then found i needed imperials , a set of spanners -metrci and imperial , an impact driver , pry bars , pullers etc etc and so it went on - till i could strip the whole thing.

Currently working on learning the art of soldering - im getting close to having to rewire the wagon

 

[Tronyadorable]

My uncle had a full service garage and large collection of hotrods.
Another had a 20 or so car man cave and a bunch of rods.That one didn't spin wrenches. He was an exec at Madre Timbre in Ohio.

 

[Sirnick]

It started in High school when My parents gave me a Craftsman screwdriver set and a stack-on portable toolbox for Christmas one year. Then it grew when I never had the money to pay someone else to fix my junk. Now, ever since I found Garage Journal, my addiction is "out of control". So, thank you Garage Journal for feeding my addiction and helping me get great deals on tools that I never knew I needed.
Now if I could only get a garage larger than my 14ft x 24ft single, I would be able to buy so much more.

 

[classicJackets]

I started buying tools when I started trying to fix my own car early in high school. I could afford enough Husky to get through most jobs. Parents bought me a Craftsman box last year and so I've had a place to store everything else that I've gotten. Added to my collection as needed and as I've been able to afford it. Will continue to do the same.
Garage Journal, of course, made me feel like I can do anything and tempted me to get 2 grinders in as many weeks and some welding stuff, too

 

[wagzilla]

It all started with racing BMX bikes I had to buy tools because I didn't have tools my dad wouldn't let me use any of his. He has really cheap tools so the first set of tools I got was an SK socket set mine I was 14 I had no idea how much money and time would be spent!

James

 

[toomanytoyzz]

I'd say messing with skateboards back in my day was my first introduction into the wonderful world of tools. My dad would let me see some of the little tricks to get things removed faster/easier. He owned (and still does) a bodyshop so tools were part of my growing up. They were everywhere. Then some years later I bought a 1978 Toyota Landcruiser when I turned 18..........it's been a helluva ride since then.

I have a three year old who I'm trying to instill the need to take care of things(especially tools) and how to use them properly. He is coming along good, but still has his moments. I guess it's all part of growing up. Can't say I was any different.

 

[scw1991]

The tool addiction began when I was three years old and wanted to work on my tricycle.....so I chained it up to my father's 1/2 ton overhead hoist in the garage.

 

[Askme42]

Having a neighbor/good friend who had just quit as a mechanic at about the same time I started to do lots of my own stuff. He brought over all of his truck brand stuff. That was bad enough. Then he told me about this site.

 

[VictorBravo]

Started early for me. I had my own hammer and screwdriver when I was 3, an Easco socket set when I was 6. I bought it and a microscope out of chore money.

Later, in high school, we had shop classes and vocational agriculture classes. Shop classes taught us things like wood working, metal working, lathes, milling machines, etc. Vo Ag classes taught us how to weld and rebuild engines, fix hydraulics, etc. Looking back, we had great tools: mostly Proto and Thorsen.

One day the instructor, Mr. V., handed out a mimeographed sheet on advice for outfitting your shop. He listed the various tool companies and their relative benefits and costs. I recall Craftsman being in the "acceptable" category. S-K was in the "good value" category. Proto and Thorsen a bit higher, and Snap On in the "if price is no object" category.

Not much has changed, I suppose. I bought as much of the "good value" as I could in those days, and my Dad kept borrowing them. When I got old enough to own my own truck (age 16), I also started getting into locking tool boxes.

Things stabilized for a while, but now that 40 years have gone by since Mr. V's list, I stumbled on this site and the whole tool acquisition thing has reignited.

 

[johndeereman]

I got a craftsman 3 drawer project center when i was about 11 or 12 from my grandfather filled with harbor freight. To work on things like bikes and the like as a kid but now it's a diffrent story and GJ is mostly at fault. I still have the 3 drawer craftsman box although most if not all the hf tool's are gone. I have upgraded signifacantly a mix of craftsman,hf,gearwrench,klein,channalock,irwin. and a little bit of wright,matco,sk,proto.

 

[Mpower5266]

My grandfather had a huge detached shop that I played in growing up, my uncle built drag cars, and my dad restores cars and airplanes, so I was kinda born into it. I raced dirtbikes as a kid and moved up to SCCA racing when I got a little older so I needed more and more tools to fix my cars. Recently I started buying more tools because I purchased and renovated my house.

 

[Moose97]

Working in the garage with my grandmother when I was a kid. Her father had been a carpenter and taught her quite a bit. My grandfather built airplanes so he had a great toolbox I thought (looking back it was mostly Montgomery Ward and Western Auto stuff). When I started driving I used his old tools. During high school I was really into Vo-Ag and learned woodworking, welding and the like. After high school I bought my 1st set of wrenches and sockets at Sams club. Got married and my father-in-law was a big do-it-yourselfer and we would do projects together and he would always bring his own tools. We still do projects together but now he knows I have more and better tools than he has. Garage Journal really kicked me in gear as far as tool storage and shop design come into play. Also having more specialty type tools to do the job right.

 

[90zcar]

What tool addiction!???


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[jgreen-fsi]

Legos

 

[oldjamesy]

I was born .

 

[-Brent-]

I had good taste but not a budget to match, so tools allowed me to make it happen. I worked with junk tools, mostly, and then something happens. You use a quality tool here and there and when I had to buy whatever I needed next, I realized there were other options out there.

It helps, too, that I grew up in a great time. The Internet was really growing about the time I was improving my tool collection. Back in the day, I'd hit up the Local Napa or the Sears in the next town over but as I started researching and learning, I used the Internet (eBay, when it was great) or actual tool stores. As well, I had a better idea of what to look for at industrial sales or yard sales and such.

 

[Herod]

Herod started collecting tools when he read on the garage journal forums that Habor Freight and Craftsman tools were as good.......... or BETTER........... than Snap on.

 

[jlenander]

What addiction? I can quit anytime I want........

 

[jeffmoss26]

Got my first real tools at the age of four, and the rest is history!

 

[bcradio]

I got my own tools when I started realizing how crappy my dad's tools were and that the projects weren't really as hard as they were with the crappy tools when you actually had good tools and a good selection of tools.

and i like run-on sentences too.

 

[johndeereman]

I second lego's as well.

 

[Cosmicowboy]

When I changed the brake rotors on my car with Harbor Freight tools. The 3/8 ratchet, screwdrivers, and hammer had all broken by the time I was finished. So I hunted down USA Craftsman, Estwing, Channellock, etc.

 

[stovebolt6]

For me it was the veritable frustration of trying to work on vehicles without enough tools, the wrong tools for the job, and crappy tools that would not last. I love working on stuff, but when I was younger and I got into doing more serious repairs, I realized that there is no way I could carry out without good tools. They are a necessity for this hobby.

Once I began stocking up, I realized how much easier everything is with the right stuff at my disposal.

 

[arms1970]

Nineteen, having my first vehicle that I paid for. Eager to learn, welding and all shop classes in jr and high school. Knew what I wanted to do. Dad kept all his tools under lock and key. Was always fascinated with them and trying to fix stuff at a young age. Plus playing drums, always needed stuff to fix them, etc. Still buying stuff to this day at 44.

 

[kbradley4333]

my family never had alot of money but my grandfather had a big craftsman tool box with well taken care of craftsman tools, i bought my first truck and it needed alot of work, but i couldnt do everything at his house so i bought my own craftsman tools and worked on cars with my friends, in highschool their was always something to work on. then i started talking to a friend whos dad owned a transmission shop and he worked there, he let me work on my truck with his snap on tools and ive been drinking the cool aid since

 

[sberry]

Been doing this all my life, a matter of survival and cman was so cheap, cheaper to buy than to pay men to walk around and look for hand tools.

 

[zmotorsports]

Birth was when it was formed from what I am told.

My dad always had tools on the farm but they were scattered everywhere and it drove me absolutely mad. My grandfather on my mom's side was a mechanic and weldor for the coal mines in WY and when would go visit my grandparents I would love to go out in my grandfather's workshop and watch him tinker.

Having a fully equipped organized workshop has been my dream from a very, very young age.

Mike.

 

[Laugarshabz]

My love started when I did work experience at a garage when I was 15.
Started work as a tech. Since then became a regular on the snap on van. ��

 

[gearhead1]

Ditto....birth. I got a red wagon for Christmas at 3. Went down to the basement and grabbed Dad's wrench roll (which I could barely carry) to start taking it apart. From then on, I'd ask for real tools for birthday/Christmas. The rest is history.

By 12 or so I only wanted USA made tools. I'd scour flea markets and built socket sets by the piece. Now 30 years later, Everyone's jaw drops when they see my collection. I do all my own repairs, build my own engines, etc. I wait patiently to get stuff cheap. I bought a used milling machine, lathe, tire machine and a brake lathe. I can't tell you who went to the Super Bowl if you had a gun to my head. I'd just as soon go fix something, build something, or fix something for someone else in the shop than sit for hours behind a TV.

 

[TauntDevil]

Wish I could relate a bit as far as parents starting the addiction and what not but my father who was a mechanic (and that whole side of the family which is mainly mechanics) didnt want me to become one for a living so would always... errr.. push me away, I guess you can say, from the automotive world. He would let me be at the shop and mess around but would not teach me anything about the cars and wouldnt let me work on them.
Of course, living that way, I have always been into cars and my tool collection started after my first car, when I wanted to work on it and needed certain tools, etc. Bought a small tool kit from Checkers (now oreillys) and it kind of started there. At that time, I only had what I needed which was a flat head, phillips, and a few sockets... As a few car were bought and sold, and I started working on more cars, some of my tools got haggard and broke, which I then went to buy some more and ended up buying longer one because that was all that was available. They made light a bit easier and at that time... is when it really started for me. Buying tools that made life a lot easier when working on my cars. Of course, now my father helps me with tools he can share and all since it is too late. He also taught me the same about taking care of a tool, itll take care of yours. I always clean them before putting them away each day. Still not a mechanic, but I do work on a lot of cars.

 

[Filson]

I got my own tools when I started realizing how crappy my dad's tools were and that the projects weren't really as hard as they were with the crappy tools when you actually had good tools and a good selection of tools.

For me it was the veritable frustration of trying to work on vehicles without enough tools, the wrong tools for the job, and crappy tools that would not last.

Once I began stocking up, I realized how much easier everything is with the right stuff at my disposal.

This, exactly.

My dad always knew how to half-assed fix stuff. Very backyard style of getting things "working again" but sometimes not for long. His tools were no different. No mm stuff in his tool box, just an adjustable wrench "for the odd ****". Everything was no-name old junk tools that didn't work well, broke easy, were hard to use, etc.

He did however, instill an enjoyment of working on things in me, sense I was young. As I got older, I started to see how he would have to fix the same thing over and over again, as it was never properly fixed the first time and that idea really irritated me. I found that I always got frustrated working on stuff because it was always difficult, and sometimes painful, and it started to kill my enjoyment in working on things. All due, to having **** tools, or even the incorrect tools for the job.

I got hired on as a shop hand/parts room guy, at a place where we built custom off-road fire apparatus' and I was handed a list of tools I needed when I got hired. 90% of the list, I didn't own, and I had to make a trip to HF and stock up on a bunch of stuff. The simple fact of *having* the proper tools to work on stuff (though the quality wasn't there) made a big difference in my mind, and made working on stuff enjoyable.

After finding my way to GJ through seeking some input on restoring an old vise I picked up at a yard sale, I started learning about all kinds of amazing tools that were out there. Quality stuff. Antique stuff. Simply badass stuff. And the collection started growing (and still is).

Looking back, I would say it was a combination of discovering how helpful it is to have the right tool for the job, and discovering the value of quality tools that sparked my tool addiction.

Today, I find that when I'm working on a project out in the shop, I get even more enjoyment from using the new tools I've collected, than doing the actual project itself. For me, it's no longer about being able to do XYZ project in the shop, but about being able to use XYZ tool, while doing whatever in the shop, if that makes sense lol.

 

[Bill Ramsey]

Paying someone else to work on our DD's was a foreign concept to me, growing up. Dad and Grandpa worked on their own cars, so that was normal to me. And a man needed tools to do that. Bought my first set of Cman sockets and wrenches when I was 16. But then when I was 17 I spent time with an uncle who was a professional diesel mechanic and race car mechanic. Stepping up to his boxes full of truck brand stuff was a life-changing experience. Not that I've followed that path, but it showed me early on that there's some really nice stuff to be had out there. And I wanted it.

 

[sac02]

I can't tell you who went to the Super Bowl if you had a gun to my head.

Sounds like you need a TV in the garage, sir!


As others have said, I was mechanically inclined from birth, though neither of my parents were. Buckets upon buckets full of Legos, Construx, and erector sets. Cars came naturally and I was racing them and taking apart/putting together cars before I had my drivers license.

I guess I have a similar innate appreciation for quality tools, my very first tool purchase (outside of the odd screwdriver here or there) was the GIANT 1200 piece Craftsman set from Sears when I was 16. How does a 16 year old afford a $2k tool set, you ask? I was working at sears part time and let's say I got a VERY friendly deal (no, I didn't steal them, I just got every discount available, so I got that set at or below cost).

That set has served me well for 20 years strong. In the last 5-10 years I finished my engineering Masters and left the restaurant management behind for automotive engineering/QC, and with the nice salary bump I have expanded that original set with other quality "non-primary" tools (ratcheting wrenches, etc).