So what do you do with your tools?

[wythors]

Everybody seems to have a lot of opinions about what tools are good and what tools are bad. There are lots of posts showing off our latest purchases and questions about what to get, but what do you do with them?

Around the house, my wife is the painter and paperer and the electrician. I'm the sink fixer, hinge repairer, gate latch installer, tile layer and the plumber by default. In the garage, I'd classify myself as an "intermediate hobbyist mechanic". In the last few weeks I've installed a set of valve covers in the Cobra (a huge PITA), swapped out an alternator and installed an exhaust system. I did a water pump in my wife's Bronco last weekend. Both of my Mustangs are extensively modified with a lot of bolt-on stuff and I did all of it myself except the gear installs. I handle all of my own basic maintenance except on the Crown Vic, which is still under warranty. I'm currently collecting parts to swap out the AOD in my 5.0 for a 5-speed next winter. My garage may be "pretty", but I like to use it.

So what do you guys do? Who's a pro? Who uses their tools to fabricate? Who swaps motors? Who fixes tractors? Who's a woodworker? Post it up!

 

[Rickster]

I have two old Mustangs I'm working on in my garage as a hobby. I have a rusted out V8 auto that I'm using as a donor car for my not rusted out project car, a former 6 cylinder. I've started at the rear and have reconditioned the trunk area and underside. I have the 6 bangers axle out right now waiting to pull the V8's 5 lug axle and recondition it prior to install with new springs. Here's a couple of pics.

 

[eschoendorff]

Wythors.... sounds like my house. My wife is the painter and does the decorating. But when it gets to installations or repairs, she points and says "fix that."

Other than that, I do as much work as I can on our cars. I am a school teacher and I found out real quick that if i cannot do my own work, I can not afford to keep half my stuff! It just so happens that I enjoy working on stuff. So it's also a hobby, as much as it is a necessity. And thanks to the internet, I can find instructions on how to do just about anything.

 

[snorvet]

At my house, my wife watches tv while I paint, do electrical, plumbing,etc. Most of my tools are for house building from when I built my house and garage. Now I use my tools for all kinds of misc stuff - working on my yard equipment, pontoon boat, sprinkler system, atv. All do on my cars is change the oil. I have replaced power door actuator motors in my Jeep GC and I'm thinking of attempting an exhaust change in my Corvette.

 

[Wolverine]

- Basic carpentry
- Pumbing
- Installing
- Modifying my Bullitt
- Basic maintenance of the over 2 vehicles as well.


I like to work on stuff. However, working on my mustang is most satisfying..... I wonder why?

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

I build and maintain race karts, as well as my dirt jumping bikes and the occasional motocross bike.

 

[sberry]

I had seen wythors pics somewhere, probably here, very nice. You can see how I treat my tools. I have seen so many businesses so undertooled in basic hand tools, probably 90% of them. Small trucking companies, farms, all the way to huge manufacturers, its pityful at times. One of my buds was in a shop and the owner was impressing him with a couple new 100K machines, auto brake and shear and says, what do you think. Andy replies, yup all that is good but where are the clamps, hammers, wrenches? 6 men, one hammer. You got to wonder how the hell this guy ever made any money limping along, well ya just would have thought a Lexus driving golfin azz would have figured that a couple hundred at the flea market even would pay back in a hurry. I was in a Delco subsidary, they had inspections about the lines on the floors, filthy product assembly though and the tooling was pathetic not to mention other major problems, sorry, sorry, sorry. That TV show the apprentice says it all,,, all they doing is figure out how to cover their own *** and who to blame it on, if that is an MBA I can do without them.

 

[dink]

I do absolutely nothing with my tools.....they sit there same spot...over and over again never moving....except I use them to post here to iritate people and to make them use there ignore button

 

[sberry]

Wow, just found a tape measure on my desk, my place goes from 0-60 in about 5 minutes and I had 6 tapes on my bench the other morning. I dont have one set of tools, some I keep a minimum of, when everything is put away and each has its own there is sposed to be a can with 6 razor knives in it, 6 or 8 tape measures, a rack with 10 of each basic wrench sizes, 6 or 8 pipe wrenches and a dozen crecents abong with half a dozen vise grips and a couple dozen pairs of pliers, a couple dozen screwdrivers. You can get on a project and all of a sudden we need 4 3/4 wrenches or in the morning there were 6 9/16 there, where did they all go? I will take a tractor apart, I might leave 2 wrenches on it for a week and if you got 4 more you can do it.

 

[sberry]

Here is what I do with some of them, I keep stuff stocked on this cart, I can act like batman and rush off to the scene.

 

[Canadian Charlie]

What do I do with mine? I do the regualr maintance on all 4 of my cars, watch my tools multiply and just dream of getting more

 

[Katbird]

I do a little woodwork in my basement and build some nice furniture. here are a few pics of some of my little helpers.
http://imageshack.us

 

[Katbird]

and a couple more.

 

[KeukaDan]

Here is what I do with some of them, I keep stuff stocked on this cart, I can act like batman and rush off to the scene.

Nice Club Car, there are always tools shoved in my club car since that is what I grab when we have a fence break, a tractor die, or we are simply working in the vineyard.

As to what I do with my tools I am an engineer by day and a grape grower / Horse farm owner by night and weekend. I am always having things break from tractors to fences, along with everything associated around the house, farm, and equipment. Most of my work comes from refurbishing farm equipment and just keeping everything running on our farm.

 

[l_bilyk]

In the shop I work on the team FSAE car
At home I maintain my vette and a fleet of beaters.. but they have all been fairly good to me so far so my mechanics tools are lightly used
Otherwise i have worked as a tile layer apprentice and an electrician's apprentice so i know the value of a good set of knee pads or a #2 screwdriver

 

[iiibdsiil]

I used to use em for my job, which was working on cars. Now, after realization that life ***** for most as a mechanic, I decided to go to college. But, still wrench on all my own stuff, and my buddies.

Looking to get into some fabrication, when money and time allow. My warehouse is 200 miles away from Tampa, so it's not exactly easy to just tinker. Ain't worth a 3 hour drive to me. Trying to get something in Tampa but I need about 1000 sq just to get my 2 extra cars in plus all my tools and stuff. Rent plus electricity is not gonna make my wallet very happy. As soon as I get this credit card paid off (Yay tax return), I'm gonna consider taking the $375 a month I was putting towards the credit card and trying to find some place up here.

I almost want to move home though. 12,000 sq foot warehouse that I currently use about 3000 sq, completely rent free. Plenty of room for me to expand and do whatever I want.

 

[GearHead_1]

I do a little woodwork in my basement and build some nice furniture. here are a few pics of some of my little helpers.


Wow! Drum sanding an air hose, I'll have to give that one a try.

 

[GearHead_1]

I do a little woodwork in my basement and build some nice furniture. here are a few pics of some of my little helpers.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6027/tablesaw7gr.jpg[/IMGhttp://imageshack.us

Wow! Drum sanding an air hose, I'll have to give that one a try.

 

[GearHead_1]

Wow! Drum sanding an air hose, I'll have to give that one a try.

I do a little woodwork in my basement and build some nice furniture. here are a few pics of some of my little helpers.
[/IMG][/IMG] http://imageshack.us

http://imageshack.us

 

[GearHead_1]

Wow! Drum sanding an air hose, I'll have to give that one a try.

http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us

http://imageshack.us

 

[Katbird]

Hey! you should have seen it before I ran it through my planer.....

 

[GearHead_1]

Hey! you should have seen it before I ran it through my planer.....

I thought it was a different twist on a POWER winder.

 

[maa139]

I maintain my vehicles, plus I work part time as a mechanic at the local goodyear.

 

[D-Cal]

I have an 80s turbo Dodge that I like to modify and tinker with, I also do normal fleet maintenance on our 4 cars (3 Dodge, 1 Subaru).

Once in a while I do some light woodworking, although I'd like to do more. Learn some cabinet making skills, make some stuff for around the house.

Just bought a MIG welder and am learning about that.

Drink beer.

Teach the dog to burp on command.

 

[wythors]

Drink beer.

Teach the dog to burp on command.

Only from a Canadian!!

 

[rockwithjason]

I earn a living with my tools. I am an electrician by trade. I also am an advanced level hobby mechanic, a novice welder and fabricator, and a good general handydude. I also know my way around a wood shop.

 

[mikeatrpi]

Fix up my old rustbucket z.

 

[moparfreak]

Sadly, most of the time, I'm away from my "shop" and projects. Most of my stuff is in Milwaukee and right now I'm living in Madison...

I work in a machine shop though, so basically, as I use different tools and grow to appreciate them, I simply purchase duplicates to add to my personal collection. So despite the fact that I'm 90 miles away, my shop does grow...

When I do get home, I'm usually working on my '73 Dodge Charger SE restoration. It's one of those ten year restoration plans...I'm in no hurry. Just about done w/ auto trans rebuild.

Adam

 

[optikal]

I'm a bodyman and a painter. For my day job I'm a painter for a pretty big body shop, and I have my own shop about 5 minutes from work where I do custom body and paintwork in the evening time and on weekends.

 

[Jared]

I fix my motorcycle my go carts, cars and i am doinng an aprentiship as a heavy duty meachanic

 

[Remi]

Katbird: Can you please post some pics of the furniture you have made?

What I do with my tools:

- work on cars: mostly maintenance (from oil to clutch changes) and some offroad mods on my yota

- Reno: The garage is the homebase for all the never ending work on the house (doing flooring right now)

What I would like to do with it is to get back into making furniture. But the house takes most of my time right now.

 

[evildky]

well, I use dto be into woodworkking and electronics, I am a fulltime landlord so I have a lot of various tools for rehabing houses as well as a LOT of tools for my passion which is cars, and I'm another Z guy

look close and you'll see the 71 240ZT in the corner in front of the 91 30ZXTT

 

[milly]

I use my tools for working on my 3 cars. I used to be a tech at the dealer I work for, now I'm a Service Advisor. Once I brought my work tools home, I've got about 2 of everything, and that is never a bad thing.

 

[sprackydoo]

I'm into car audio so I do a bit of fiberglass fab work like this.

I also do things like this (my buddies wanted to go to the bar hence the people in the background)

which does things like this

 

[mdsmith11]

I've got a 40" Craftsman roller cabinet at work that's pretty stuffed and I use the contents for repairing/maintaining our airplanes. In case anyone cares, it's the Canadair Regional Jet 200. (see my avatar) My work actually takes place at the airport on the "line" and I keep my most used tools in a tool bag of which I will be getting a new one within the next day or so.

At at home, I've got even more tools, that for the most part are idle at the moment. To be truthful, I would like to have an older truck of somesort to tinker with as both my wife's and my car require zero maintainance other than oil changes.

 

[stimpy]

I was a auto mechanic while in college and then as a maintaince man at a school then went to work at a barge line in the chicago area as a yard mechanic ( take care of the car and light and heavy truck fleet and all the heavy equipment )then wound up working on the tugs and barge pumping equipment , left that and bought a semi ( did all my own work ) then sold the truck and kept all the tools, I use them now for fixing my own stuff , wrenching on my buddies race car , fixing my freinds toys , building my own cars , and doing fabricaion at the bodyshop part time

 

[Thumper]

Now that I'm retired, just work on our projects around here......mostly older Chevies.

 

[oldmxracer]

I use My tools on bikes (motocross) and an occasional atv.

 

[sberry]

At at home, I've got even more tools, that for the most part are idle at the moment. To be truthful, I would like to have an older truck of somesort to tinker with as both my wife's and my car require zero maintainance other than oil changes.

I hope you move in next door!!!!!!!!!!!!