Loosing tools

[gnxtc2]

Don't you hate when you loose tools

Lost a Klein bag (5139) full of Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches (SAE and metric) along with some 3/8 extensions. The messed up part is that I don't remember when/where I last used them.

Billy T.
[email protected]

 

[jd_1138]

Ouch that hurts. I keep my SK and my Powr-Kraft tools in my garage. I carry Craftsman, Stanley, Harbor Freight brands in my portable box in the car, so if I leave a tool behind it ain't a big deal. Still irks me though.

 

[Ji m]

I left a full set of Klein nutdrivers in a junkyard.......

in 1989.


I just learned to bring crappier tools with me now.

I bet I lose a (free) Harbor Freight screwdriver a week now....

Just about the time it's worn out anyway

 

[peter2772000]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

 

[Muzzy]

Has anyone seen my 10 mm deep wall socket....

Seriously though, that *****. I hope they turn up.

 

[BK13]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

What is this ‘borrows’ you speak of?


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[Erampu]

When you loan tools, take a picture of the person holding the tool with your phone. That way you'll have a record of who borrowed it and when. When the tool is returned, delete the photo so the person knows you won't be asking for it.

 

[L.Cheapo]

I have only ever lost one tool--a 13mm wrench. I had two of them...and needed two of them for a particular job, but could only find one. Went to the store, bought another. Came home, found the other. Oh well, three 13mm wrenches isn't so bad.

 

[Bessy]

Spares are always good to have! I am pretty sure at last count I have probably eleven 9/16" wrenches.

 

[EOC_Jason]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

Have a sign-out sheet hanging on the wall... Insist they bring you a beer too when borrowing a tool...

 

[PJNJ]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

What is this ‘borrows’ you speak of?


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When it comes to tools, I have no friends. Got burned a few times and they were very expensive lessons (hundreds of dollars each in the '80's and 90's). Even a close family member got me. Now, the tools only leave the premises with me and they don't have sleepovers.

 

[Sine Swept]

If you ever lose a bag full of something, check closets, I have found things I thought lost forever inside duffel bags stuffed into closets. They become inconspicuous once inside.

I was putting away a bunch of tools from taking them to my inlaws for some repairs. I had everything except for a 3 inch insert bit from a Milwaukee multibit screwdriver, I looked high and low. After a week or so, I found it, rolling back and forth on the drain channel in front of my windshield wipers. I thought it was gone, but the cat came back.

 

[Snap_cap]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

My SIL's Dad had a big white board up in his garage with what was loaned, the date it was loaned, the promised/expected date of return and the borrowers signature.

AFAIK his stuff always got returned.

 

[bwringer]

I have only ever lost one tool--a 13mm wrench. I had two of them...and needed two of them for a particular job, but could only find one. Went to the store, bought another. Came home, found the other. Oh well, three 13mm wrenches isn't so bad.

It's pretty well proven that the only way to coax a lost tool out of hiding is to buy a replacement.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Don't lose many tools, just misplace them. Red Robertson was in a spare work coat pocket, 14mm wrench was the bookmark for brake work, Corolla manual. The 12 inch torpedo level, it's absence is chronic. Being magnetic, it turns up in the strangest places. Just need spares and patience, they all come home eventually.

 

[MN_Runner]

Lose is a verb that means “to fail to win, to misplace, or to free oneself from something or someone.” Loose is an adjective that means “not tight.”

Are your tools too loose or did you lose some tools?

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I found a box of plumbing tools at a stop sign near my house. Looked all over the box for any indication of who owned them. Called several folks who might have been in the area who might have had those tools and let them know to spread the word I had found it and never heard a word. If they had engraved a phone number or name they’d have gotten them back. Anything big I take away from the house has a phone number engraved or written on it. There are plenty of honest people who would call. Would help prove ownership if it was stolen too.

 

[4 Ever-Fish N]

For several years I kept my son's Craftsman tool box and tools in my garage because he did not have a safe place to store them. I used his many times over the years because I couldn't find my own tools, due to poor organization, my fault. He now has a place to store his tools and I noticed I'm short 3 sockets and 3 wrenches. So, I just ordered them off Ebay. I told him to get his organized and I would replace the missing tools. I'm going to do my best to stay organized. Most everything is hanging on pegboard hooks now.

 

[Siding Pro]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

Exactly. The only time I lose tools is when someone borrows them. I don't lend them out anymore.

 

[kctyphoon]

Eh.. I lent all my Milwaukee Fuel impacts and an M12 ratchet, 4 tools in total, to someone at work.. he brought them back over the weekend, said he didn't get a chance to use em. I made the mistake of saying just keep em a little longer so you can see if you like them.. I think it's been almost 2 months now and I know I'm not getting them back until I specifically ask.. gonna be harder now as he's trying to reopen his auto shop and I'm sure he's gonna feel it as a loss.

I lent a 4 piece pneumatic nail gun set to someone else a long time ago.. took over a year and asking 3 times to get those back..

After that time, I tried adopting the "I don't loan tools" program but I feel guilty not helping people sometimes, and once in a while it bites me.

Some things, like $1000 in pressure washing equipment - is not leaving the house anymore. Too easy for someone to burn up a pump, ruin a hose by letting it touch the muffler. Stuff like that is just not worth the risk anymore..

The WORST part - is I hate being made to feel guilty to ask for my own stuff back. People hold onto things so long it's like they get too comfortable having them, and then feel like you're "inconveniencing them" to return them. I shoulda taken my Milwaukee stuff back when I had the chance.. now they've no doubt been given a spot in a toolbox and that's never a good thing. Guaranteed, when I ask for those, I'll be met with "can you give me another week or two so I can get one myself" - knowing all too well he won't be buying anything..

Last company I worked for, cordless tools always "disappeared" (to someone's house).. not that I cared about people stealing them, but I cared when they steal things THEY KNOW they need at work and they only had one.. Then I'd be forced to always lend out the stuff I had gotten by begging, buying, or bribing to get myself, only to have to chase people down to get it back, or have it returned broken with the smug attitude of "what do u care, it's not yours it's the company's". And then I'm left being the idiot using a hacksaw instead of a sawzall, or a screwdriver instead of a cordless drill.. been gone for 6 months and I still get phone calls about how my friends are trying to fight off all the vultures to keep as much stuff intact in case I go back there.

 

[Eric29]

I lived next to an auto mechanic for many years. On the occasions when I asked to borrow something, he always broke out the harbor freight junk. That wasn't what I saw him using on his own cars.

Smart man.

 

[Nigelhirst]

My son lost my pair of Elliot Lucas 6" combination pliers in 1986...
I've just bought a replacement pair off eBay.
And I am still speaking to my son...

 

[Bob275]

Lose is a verb that means “to fail to win, to misplace, or to free oneself from something or someone.” Loose is an adjective that means “not tight.”

Are your tools too loose or did you lose some tools?

 

[bushmechanic]

I've never loosed a tool in my life.

Might have lost a few, but never found myself loosing one.

It's one thing to make a spelling error; it's a perpetual annoyance when it's in the title...

 

[thatguysb]

I honestly lost my first tool about 2 weeks ago, lost my vicegrips, it was a cheaper model but i had it for almost 6 years, Im 21. Got them when i was alot younger and never knew the importance of purchasing premium tools.

turns out a co-worker ended up with it and i got it back today.

 

[bwringer]

One tactic I've adopted for things I lose on a regular basis is to keep buying more copies.

At some point the garage gnomes will have enough for their inscrutable needs and you'll be able to find one when you need it.

Obviously, this only works for inexpensive stuff like tape measures, carpenter pencils, #2 Phillips screwdrivers, Xacto knives, magnetic retrievers, and 10mm sockets.

 

[peter2772000]

Funny, most of the posters here lose their **** when lending it out.

BTW, I had to buy (yesterday) missing/lost/permanently-borrowed wrenches and sockets from Sears down here in FL, seeing as Sears Canada took a dump a month or so ago.

Being a diehard Sears fan, this puts me in a precarious situation. Looky there, I used Diehard and Sears in the same sentence). What're the odds? LOL

 

[Earp69]

I have 2 good friends on my road that I have been friends with before I even moved here. One friend lives a mile to the east, and the other one a mile to the west. Between the 3 of us we have a good spread of tools and just about every specialty tool we would ever need. I have no problem borrowing to them as I always mooch off of them just as much.never had an issue but I don't lend to anybody other than close friends, which I have about 3 or 4. If anybody from work asks me if I have this or that I just say no I don't have one to save the hassle.

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[u3b3rg33k]

This is my favorite loosing tool:

Also my favorite fence wire pulling tool, and it's way better than vice grips (none of that pivot jaw nonsense please!)

Makes a decent pry tool or flat blade, and bigger wire cutter.

 

[LXCam]

Due non of eww guys have knotin betr to due than buss hiz balls over grandmar?





Gezzz

 

[intillzah]

This is my favorite loosing tool:

Also my favorite fence wire pulling tool, and it's way better than vice grips (none of that pivot jaw nonsense please!)

Makes a decent pry tool or flat blade, and bigger wire cutter.

Can you still get those?

 

[bushmechanic]

Due non of eww guys have knotin betr to due than buss hiz balls over grandmar?





Gezzz

It's necessary. Odds are he's plenty old enough to know better. Get it right or put away the keyboard.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I have a neighbor and good friend that borrowed tools all the time. I still don't have my vintage Stanley compass from one such event, and haven't purchased a replacement set yet. Others turned up when he moved. Lucky his kid knew they were mine. I ended our friendship when he borrowed money and didn't pay it back on time as promised.

My dad had a rule... if you borrow something, always return it earlier than promised and in better shape than when you borrowed it. Sharper, cleaner, oiled, etc. Sage advice. It took a fanny tanning to learn that lesson when I left his 1/4 Craftsman ratchet in the yard after a rain....

 

[apollo11]

What is this ‘borrows’ you speak of?


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It's what HF tools are for I think.


NOT Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anndel]

What burns my *** is when a neighbor/friend borrows **** and never brings it back. A year later you need that doohickey and can't for the life of you remember which mofo borrowed it. I'm gonna start insisting they hand me their drivers permit when the borrow tools from now on, that oughta fix that problem...

I don't loan any tools to any neighbor, only a select few I trust. I believe in the motto of a sticker I have on my old tool box: "I Make My Living with Snap On Tools, Please Don't Ask to Borrow Them."

 

[Finky198]

^^^ This is a good policy... I have a lot of money in tools, and I’d be a fool to give them to a “tool”. Their are 3 people who are allowed near my stuff and they all still ask even though I trust them and it’s unnecessary it proves they are responsible....

As for Loss in 5 years I’ve lost 2x 1/4” sockets, a wrench, a number of bits and drill bits,
A set of truck keys which were found later. all of which were lost by me and not the others
Mention before. The key is being aware and using some organization. A bin, small tool box/bag, cart etc to return things to your work station as you use them. Cleaning up after each job is a simple task that greatly prevents loss. Good tool box organization and good memory of the drawer layouts helps to quickly identify missing items.

In the past I could quickly look through my stuff and know if something is out of place. It takes time, but now every tool each drawer, rack, and shelf is memorized. I can say tool blah to someone from across the shop and they can find it 9/10 times, but I can tell if something is missing almost immediately. It’s learned behaviors it does takes time, but it soon becomes second nature and the loss of tools dwindles.

 

[7avalon7]

When it comes to tools, I have no friends. Got burned a few times and they were very expensive lessons (hundreds of dollars each in the '80's and 90's). Even a close family member got me. Now, the tools only leave the premises with me and they don't have sleepovers.

Same here. I can not afford losing expensive tools so I am very selective on who can borrow which of mine. That Craftsman RP ratchet, yeah sure... one of my knipex, I dont think so

 

[u3b3rg33k]

Can you still get those?

I scour ebay for them from time to time. Got a couple around. No, I won't part with them.

 

[kctyphoon]

Ya know I just remembered - I had a PERFECT vintage Stanley circular saw that I lent to a friend years ago.. case with original manual, blades and all. it belonged to my great uncle that had passed away.. he had contractors working in his house and one of them stole it. As much as I wanted to *****, I really couldn't since he also had $70,000 in cash stolen from his house - so I didn't think I was in a position to ***** to him over a circular saw..

 

[Corpsie]

I lose Allen wrenches all the time because they fall out of the plastic holder.