Living WITHOUT Tools!

[bczygan]

I know, blasphemy right?

But I know plenty of people who live without many, and sometimes any tools.

And not just the rich, some of who can and do have everything done by others, but middle class and poor as well.

I've been in many a suburban garage that had nothing more than a lawnmower and a leaf rake.

And down here in the hood, I have neighbors who don't even have that. They have a "cousin" who sometimes comes by with a mower in the trunk. Forget edging or even trimming a hedge or pruning a tree or shrub. Many don't even have a broom to sweep the walks.

And I admit, that most of my life, I had no tools at all, beyond a hammer and a pair of pliers and a screwdriver.

How do these people live?

How do they maintain their portion of the world?

Tell me what you've encountered.

Bill

 

[goro]

 

[gdpolk]

I know several too. I work as an occupational therapist and have had several other therapists ask if I owned various basic tools and if so if I minded them borrowing one sometime. I have always declined but have offered for them to bring their problems to my garage and we could work on it together. Most of the time they just asked someone else. It was even more prevalent in college. I didn't understand it much. I certainly don't have a large collection by any means but I am set up to do the most basic of home/vehicle/tool/small engine maintenance and fix leaky faucets and what not.

 

[Know Wosad]

Those people are related to those who have no books either. Basically people who are stealing valuable oxygen from the rest of us.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I can't fathom such a thing, it's mind blowing.

 

[sberry]

This is good Bill and while we want every kid to have a puter we should have a basic hand tool class for a few things. But if I lived in the burbs would probably not have a bunch of stuff, only reason I got it now is I need it.

 

[wornoutoldman]

Lately I find myself looking at my lifetimes worth of tools and asking myself if it might be better to sell each and every one of them. Also all the project cars and bikes and just buy one nice car, one nice bike and spend my time enjoying them instead of continually fixing/fiddling and seeking out more projects to keep myself busy. I have plenty of friends/family without tools. They don't seem to complain about it.


Just got done reading what I wrote a little overwhelmed at the moment it will pass...

 

[WhiffySpark]

They pay people to do the work for them

 

[James-W]

What would a person who lives in an apartment complex in a large city do with a bunch of tools? If they have a problem with something in the apartment, they call building maintenance. They don't have a garage of their own to work in, many apartment complexes just have underground parking. Quite a few people in large cities don't even own a car, public transportation is quicker and cheaper. Plus, I have heard it can be difficult, if not impossible, to find a parking place in large cities?

 

[countryroad82]

I know people like that. Notice I say know. No they're not my friends, no they're not my buddy's, I just know them. I also avoid them as much as possible because most of the time they're wanting me to look at this or see if I can fix that for free. You know since I run a bodyshop that's what I do is do $hit for free for people who do jack schitt for me and only come around when they want something........ Yeah this thread hit a nerve, just had an sob I barely know come by yesterday wanting me, no more or less demanding I drop everything I'm doing on a PAYING job and fix the miss in his car. Needless to say I went completely redneck when he thought he could just show up and I would kiss his a$$ due to his presence.

 

[Reese]

I am a landlord with places in the hood. None of my tenants have more than a random screwdriver and pliers. Few have mowers, but everyone has a shovel that they leave at move out. I have been amazed at the repairs they accomplish with the screwdriver and pliers.

During turnovers I normally get offers from local "contractors" who are well versed in all phases of repair. They normally roll up on a 10 speed and don't have any tools.

I work with engineers and finance types now and few of them have any tools. They hire repairs without a second thought.

I am starting to think owning and using tools for personal use is going the way of the rotary phone and 33 1/3 records.

 

[Daves69]

How do these people live?

How do they maintain their portion of the world?



Bill

There is an APP for that.

They are too attached to phones to do anything.

 

[larry_g]

Sometimes it's a dream of mine to reach a point in life where I don't need tools. The joy of working on some old broken piece is long gone.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Default_Man]

What would a person who lives in an apartment complex in a large city do with a bunch of tools? If they have a problem with something in the apartment, they call building maintenance. They don't have a garage of their own to work in, many apartment complexes just have underground parking. Quite a few people in large cities don't even own a car, public transportation is quicker and cheaper. Plus, I have heard it can be difficult, if not impossible, to find a parking place in large cities?

This^

To make it even worse for car owners, they don't even let anyone tinker with their vehicles in their own parking lot, even though we have to pay for it every month. Sometimes I'd just come by the parking lot at midnight to do some repairs so no one will complain about it.

 

[Gmonkee]

I have and use less than half the tools I had five years ago

I got out of heavy equipment repair. When I get out of car repair and stay with just home and bike repairs a cut to half of what I have now wouldn't hurt.

When I was doing daddy duty full time for a year all I used was a folding pliers and scissors regularly with an occasional plumbing repair.
For those about four tools were ever used.


It all depends on what anyone does really.

 

[Empty Pockets]

After my dad passed, all of his tools went to me. Soon after, mom moved into a smaller place.

I started being called to do minor repairs. Over time, dad's tools returned to mom's house so that I didn't have to tote them back and forth. I couldn't function without tools

 

[ganymede]

I'm car-less and rent an apartment in the city.
If I didn't collect tools I'd still have a small hand carry box with basic maintenance oriented stuff.
I've done small plumbing, maintenance and repairs rather than call the landlord.

 

[Sloper0204]

My employer has a "tool set" for general use at the shop. One phillips screw driver, one slotted screw driver and a pair of adjustable pliers.

Yet they want us to maintain our job trailer, it blows my mind. I asked my Division Manager what he was going to do when I stopped using my personal tools, he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

 

[Wanna Ride]

What would a person who lives in an apartment complex in a large city do with a bunch of tools? If they have a problem with something in the apartment, they call building maintenance. They don't have a garage of their own to work in, many apartment complexes just have underground parking. Quite a few people in large cities don't even own a car, public transportation is quicker and cheaper. Plus, I have heard it can be difficult, if not impossible, to find a parking place in large cities?

They spend all their spare time doing things like.... Pokemon Go. Or whatever the hell it's called.

 

[FigureItOut]

They end up in our threads like "WTF", "Cars customers bring...", "When people try to talk automotive.." etc.

And gentleman, they're the normal ones.

 

[engineer2]

I have lots of neighbors who only own a mower and a rake. The condition of their yard shows it. Many have no concept of string trimming, pulling weeds or applying weed killer, and this is an upper middle class neighborhood. I'm about the only person on my block that will lift the hood on a car. They will call a handyman for the simplest of jobs like changing a door knob.

 

[CJM8515]

Its easy-they either dont fix it and throw it out or pay someone else to do it. Many have no idea how to do anything, never were taught and have no interest.

 

[pendragon1998]

I am starting to think owning and using tools for personal use is going the way of the rotary phone and 33 1/3 records.

Tool owners and users are shifting from the mainstream towards being another niche subculture, like hipsters, historical reenactors, and gun collectors.

 

[moron88]

i've always had tools in some capacity, ever since i was 4 and my great-grandfather gave me a small box full of screwdrivers for Christmas. sure, i lost many thousands of dollars of old american made wrenches, sockets, hammers and screwdrivers as a preteen and teen (which i kind of inherited when he died). many older than my mother. some undoubtedly older than my grandfather. still have his 2 hand drills though. i'm slowly building up my own collection as a tool is needed for a job. i couldnt enjoy life if i was unable to spin a driver or put my weight into a wrench.

 

[James-W]

This will sound a bit funny, but I am dead serious when I say it. There are a lot of people that I would not trust with a sharp hand tool, much less a power tool. In some respects I think it should be illegal for some people to own a tool. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.

One of the guys on the bowling league is retired now, but he was an account. He had gone on to school and became a CPA and worked for a rather large company. A real nice guy who no doubt did a superb job at what he did. But when it came to tools, he was all thumbs. He couldn't use a screwdriver without stripping the head of the screw or jabbing himself. Give that man a tool and he will invariably hurt himself. I suspect the world is populated with a large number of similar people who are not very handy with tools. It doesn't make them bad people, or dumb people, it just makes them not handy with tools.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I can't imagine how a home-owning adult can get through life without any tools at all. Unless nothing ever breaks or needs maintenance, in which case, I want to know what they're doing right that I'm doing wrong!

In an apartment it's understandable since there's not really a need for tools. If something breaks, maintenance fixes it, that's what you pay for in renting the place.

 

[Superbec]

... Needless to say I went completely redneck when he thought he could just show up and I would kiss his a$$ due to his presence.

we need more info about that



The only guy I know that has only a few tools is an purchase engineer , he also should stay away from tools cause of 2 left hands .

The old man I bought my house from had some tools ,he left me some rusty pos also ...well this guy couldn't fix anything ,the things I found around the house are just incredible , they lived for years with doors that needed just a bit of adjustment, some oiling, stuff like that... oh and the electrics, really crazy stuff.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Living without tools would do my head in.

The right tool for the right job..

My two cents worth

 

[alfazer]

Guy I know has got a whole range of fancy car polish, some of it costs about the same as a day's pay. He owns a jack so he can polish under the car or take the wheels off to polish behind them.
But his tool collection consists of three worn out screwdrivers, a claw hammer and pair of pliers.

 

[95riosnake]

I think a correlation can be drawn between the lack of tools and willingness to fix things and the rampant overwhelming debt most people seem to have. When you have to pay someone to do everything for you, never repair anything and rather just throw it out and buy new... something has to give. Usually they just swipe the credit card without a second thought.

I couldn't imagine going through life without having tools and the knowledge of how to use them. Of course we can't totally fault these people because many of them grew up with no influence in their lives that would lead to such interests and skills as adults. When I was growing up, I was ALWAYS right alongside my dad while he worked on or built everything under the sun. From fabrication to woodworking, house remodeling, auto repair, paint, etc. he did it all and still does. I've always had a deeply rooted inability to pay someone else to do something I can do myself and I owe that 100% to my dad.

 

[theoldwizard1]

When I was about 14-15, my Dad bought a vacation home about 3 hour drive away. Son all most every weekend he and Mom were "at the lake" working on the house, while my older sister and I stayed home.

About his second or third trip, I needed a screwdriver and pliers to fix something (loose drawer knob, IIRC). Not one in the house ! I expressed my displeasure when he got home.

I got my first 1/4 & 3/8 socket set (which I still have) for Christmas that year.

Now a days, my WIFE has her own tools (screwdrivers, pliers, hammer in the laundry room and a small socket set plus pliers and screwdrivers in her car) and I have a "travel" set in a separate hand box.

 

[bwringer]

...And gentleman, they're the normal ones.

Important to remember. There are far more of them than us.

On the positive side, basic tools and tool kits make excellent and thoughtful gifts for the muggles.

For example, this kit from HF is fairly serviceable and usually available for about $30:
http://www.harborfreight.com/130-pc-tool-set-with-case-68998.html

I've also scattered inexpensive multimeters and tire gauges far and wide.

Even if they have no idea what to do with tools, someone often comes along who does. And sometimes that's you.

I'm sure most of us can't really visit anyone without them asking you to "look at" something. I've found myself using a tools I bought for someone many times.

 

[countryroad82]

we need more info about that

.

Basically I was working on a pretty bad dent trying to make a tailgate look like something after it had gotten attacked by a trailer and this dude pulled up at the shop. I don't get very many 'visitors' often due to my shop being as far out as it is and I like it that way. Every so often a friend will drop by or I have someone wanting an estimate that is already in the area or something of that nature but this guy I barely know. He's a friend of a friend whom I met and someone mentioned that I'm a jack of all trades kind of guy. He's one of those types that thinks he can push people into doing what he wants, very aggressive attitude.

Anyway I'm working on this tailgate and he pulls up. I noticed who it was and greeted him but I went back to work while talking to him and then it started..... He told me his truck had a miss to it and would I look at it, so being cordial I looked real quick, listened to it and told him what I thought it could be. Then he said he was going to drop the truck off that weekend and have me fix it, which I replied I don't do mechanic work only paint and body plus if I were to do it I would charge my regular hourly rate. He was like 'I thought you would just fix it for me because you and ______ are friends' which I replied I can count on 1 hand who I do things for free.

Then he started getting pushy with me saying that I'm a ***** for wanting to charge those rates, blah, blah, blah. I told him once again I don't do mechanic work and I definitely don't do work for free for anyone plus I have such a backlog he would be at least a month before I could get to it. 'A MONTH!!!????' Once again I'm trying to keep my cool and repeated I have a backlog of PAYING customers why would I bump them? Still not getting my point he got closer to me and pretty much demanded that I should work on his junk, which in turn I pulled my long pick hammer out of my pocket (I put it in my pocket at the beginning of this whole ordeal, had it in my hand when I walked out of my shop forgot I had it) and shook it and told him to get his $hit off my property before I put that hammer through every panel on his truck. Words were said, I began flying off the handle, I came close to running the hammer through his skull. I have anger issues......... this is the abridged version but I'm sure you get the point.

 

[bry@n]

I was lucky to have family that owned businesses. I was always taught to have tools.

Mindset was having tools and knowing how to use them will afford you to never go hungry.

 

[oldecarnut]

A family friend of my folks allways got chrismas gifts for each others kids. When I was 7 I ask for a socket set. My dads friend said He did not even own a sockets set. So he and I each got one. I hope he get as much use out of his as I did mine.

 

[LXCam]

Lately I find myself looking at my lifetimes worth of tools and asking myself if it might be better to sell each and every one of them. Also all the project cars and bikes and just buy one nice car, one nice bike and spend my time enjoying them instead of continually fixing/fiddling and seeking out more projects to keep myself busy. I have plenty of friends/family without tools. They don't seem to complain about it.


Just got done reading what I wrote a little overwhelmed at the moment it will pass...

I often dream of this. So you ain't alone brother.

They pay people to do the work for them

I get guys here all the time. "Man I wish I knew how to do this stuff". My response has become a broken record. No you don't, the smart guys pay some poor sap like me to do it.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The mentality is that tradeswork is below "college work" so working with tools is a waste of time and even worse DIY mechanical and home improvement work is dangerous and should be left to professionals. Why learn the basics of "wrenching" when you need to go get your finance degree and pay someone to fix everything for the rest of your life.

I have family members with this mentality.

 

[bcradio]

The mentality is that tradeswork is below "college work" so working with tools is a waste of time and even worse DIY mechanical and home improvement work is dangerous and should be left to professionals. Why learn the basics of "wrenching" when you need to go get your finance degree and pay someone to fix everything for the rest of your life.

I have family members with this mentality.

And there's nothing wrong with it... it's just a different way of thinking.

 

[creativecars]

Basically I was working on a pretty bad dent trying to make a tailgate look like something after it had gotten attacked by a trailer and this dude pulled up at the shop. I don't get very many 'visitors' often due to my shop being as far out as it is and I like it that way. Every so often a friend will drop by or I have someone wanting an estimate that is already in the area or something of that nature but this guy I barely know. He's a friend of a friend whom I met and someone mentioned that I'm a jack of all trades kind of guy. He's one of those types that thinks he can push people into doing what he wants, very aggressive attitude.

Anyway I'm working on this tailgate and he pulls up. I noticed who it was and greeted him but I went back to work while talking to him and then it started..... He told me his truck had a miss to it and would I look at it, so being cordial I looked real quick, listened to it and told him what I thought it could be. Then he said he was going to drop the truck off that weekend and have me fix it, which I replied I don't do mechanic work only paint and body plus if I were to do it I would charge my regular hourly rate. He was like 'I thought you would just fix it for me because you and ______ are friends' which I replied I can count on 1 hand who I do things for free.

Then he started getting pushy with me saying that I'm a ***** for wanting to charge those rates, blah, blah, blah. I told him once again I don't do mechanic work and I definitely don't do work for free for anyone plus I have such a backlog he would be at least a month before I could get to it. 'A MONTH!!!????' Once again I'm trying to keep my cool and repeated I have a backlog of PAYING customers why would I bump them? Still not getting my point he got closer to me and pretty much demanded that I should work on his junk, which in turn I pulled my long pick hammer out of my pocket (I put it in my pocket at the beginning of this whole ordeal, had it in my hand when I walked out of my shop forgot I had it) and shook it and told him to get his $hit off my property before I put that hammer through every panel on his truck. Words were said, I began flying off the handle, I came close to running the hammer through his skull. I have anger issues......... this is the abridged version but I'm sure you get the point.

Thank you! Wish I had the video

 

[BDT/NWMN]

There are a few reasons to not own tools.

Some people are wise enough to not fart around with things they know nothing about..

They have no desire to contribute to the poor workmanship and shoddy repairs performed all too often..
They value their two eyes and ears, and ten fingers and toes..

The whole world is not pissed off at them for goofing it up.