Stupidest ways you temporarily misplaced a tool while working on something?

[bczygan]

I have a bad habit of leaving tools near where I just used them. Or sometimes just anywhere handy. Actually, I have no system.

This is a double whammy.

First, a lost tool could be anywhere...anywhere at all!

So, whenever I go looking for a tool, I tend to look everywhere and anywhere.

Sometimes, just to thwart myself, I put it where it should go.

Which is, of course, the LAST place I will look!

Bill

 

[CJM8515]

Reminds me. Bow saw my dad has had for close to 30 years went missing, we couldnt figure out where it went. Went out to the cabin to build tree stands for deer season. As Im walking along I notice an orange/metallic thing there. Go and move some leaves. 2 years later there is where i found the bow saw (we hadnt gone the year before)

 

[Brownsfan]

I have put tools back into my toolbox and forgot. Then proceed to look for it in the car I am working for 15 minutes.

 

[Agentwho]

A couple of weeks ago I pulled my re-thread (thread chaser) kit out and a whole line of dies were missing. I had used the kit the day before and knew it was complete then. Asked the guys in the shop if they had grabbed them = nope. Figured one of the road techs snatched em and would bring them back. Kept an eye out for a couple of days but no go....

Few days later I'm working on something and take my Lisle magnetic socket rail with me. Put it down on the bench but it doesn't sit flat.... Look underneath to find my row of missing dies stuck to the magnet bahaha. I must have set the rack down on the open case and not caught the sticky handed stinker.

When things go missing I try not to stress out about it to much. In the end most everything turns back up. My one buddy is 100% the opposite, Soon as something is not in his hand its "someone took my 10mm wrench WTF" I've seen him kirk out for an entire day when it was in his pocket the whole time. Not worth the stress in my book, would much rather laugh at myself for being a knucklehead.

 

[jdlong]

I sometimes shove sockets and small wrenches in my pocket and forget I did that as I look for them.

 

[Melodiv]

Left a magnetic stick light on a control arm of a box truck once...I had borrowed it from a co-worker. I decided I would buy him a new one from the tool truck even tho it cost around $150 because I am a good guy. A week later he broke my dial indicator and said it wasn't his fault because "I shouldn't have left it attached to the car". I was measuring brake rotor run out lol


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[6PTsocket]

I feel much better to see I am not the only one losing it. I put stuff down and forget where it is, all the time. As for the Milwaukee story, I feel your pain. That HURTS. I was using my drop light under the car and stuck it to the car bottom with the detachable clip. I know i left the clip under there but never found it. I know it fell off. Fortunately, it was only a few bucks to replace. I had a nice 24" stainless rule that went to an alternate universe. Never did find it. How many have looked for glasses that were on top of their heads? We could do another thread on dropped sockets and car parts that find places to hide that drive you nuts.

 

[juiced10]

Made my daughter a new bed. Took old one out to the shed and then decided it would be better all broken down. Used my cordless drill to break down. For months couldn't find that damn drill. Got tired to using my work one out of my service van, so I ran out and bought another drill. Then while replacing the roof on house I dropped new drill and smashed it to pieces. Out to buy another! Then a year later stumbled in shed to find original drill sitting right where I left it. Good news had lots of spare batteries!


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[Jacobson]

Ok, who's left a bungee cord on the coil springs after using it to hang a brake caliper?

 

[Jacobson]

I typically pat myself down if something is lost.
Pockets are the first place I look.


While working, I try to keep all my tools in a large bowl.
Try not to just put stuff on the engine or fenders, etc.

 

[Redboy]

I spend a whole lot more time looking for tools than using them... :-/

 

[K-Dog]

I don't even have to read this thread. I KNOW I am not the only one to have looked for something that was in your hand.

 

[chipper]

Helping my buddy change his jeep rotors...when we had to run to the parts store he thinks he loses his keys we spend about an hour searching my car and the store...we give up and finally find them on his fender in the driveway

 

[Boilerhouse]

I once placed 12 and 14 mm wrenches as bookmarkers in a shop manual during a repair. When the repair was done, the manual was put away with the wrenches buried within. Found them a couple months later when the manual was pulled out again.

 

[FigureItOut]

Funny thing about this thread, it made me think of the 10mm SK X-Frame I've been missing, and I found it today under my car seat. Last I remember using it was at our city's street department shop, I was sure it was there somewhere

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[Olafur]

Take the car to the grocery store down the street and then just walk home like usually. Next morning car is missing, probably stolen.

Took me half an hour to figure that one out last week.

 

[davethorik]

My first car, an 89 Lesabre, had the drivers side window regulator go out. At that point the car had 3 wheels in the grave, so I wasnt going to spend money on it. Just slapped a pair of needle nose vise grips on the window channel to hold it up, called it good.

Fast forward 2 yrs, the Lesabre was long gone. Went to local junk yard to get parts for my 96 F150, saw the Lesabre sitting there in the yard. Went and ripped the door panel off, voila there were my vise grips.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I lose tape measures every time I'm in the garage. I pick up the free ones at Harbor Freight with the coupons, and it never seems like I gain any more.

I once forgot a nice ratcheting screwdriver set on my rear bumper when I left to go to the store. It must've fallen off right past the end of my driveway. When I got home I was working in the driveway and heard something get run over in the road. I ran out to find a bunch of screwdriver bits and extensions and thought I'd found what someone dropped off their truck, until I realized I couldn't find my set.

When I was working with an electrical contractor, I occasionally left tools above the drop ceilings in the schools we worked at. I also lost a few tools in the crawlspace under the one elementary school. One wing of the school only had a 2-3ft crawlspace under it, and I didn't feel like crawling 200+ feet through sand (again) to find the tools I lost, haha. Luckily, I didn't bring my best tools to work there.

 

[Dean64]

Found a 9/16 wrench that i had lost 2 years prior under the hood of a vehicle that i had done service to.

 

[wmm2]

Ok, who's left a bungee cord on the coil springs after using it to hang a brake caliper?

Guilty as charged. I thought I was the only one.

 

[engineer2]

Leaving a hammer on top of an 8 ft step ladder, and then later moving the ladder

Tip: Always empty that pocket full of drywall screws before throwing your pants in the washing machine.

 

[Roberts210]

When I lived in L.A., I used to be "friends" with a gorgeous ballerina... she actually worked as a principal dancer in several high-profile East Coast dance companies... so when she asked me to see if I could get her old BMW running I jumped at the chance. Well my 12mm S-K wrench is still somewhere down between the engine and the firewall. I never could even see it let alone rescue it. My attentiveness eventually did pay off with the ballerina tho! All I can say is, YUM!

 

[4 FN 27]

Back in the day I left the starting line at Brainerd International Raceway. Good clean pass but while I was getting towed back on the return road the "Starter" (the guy who runs the lights) was standing in the middle of the return road. He handed me a 9/16 wrench saying it came out from underneath the car when I left the line. My guess is my engine guy left it lay on the Intake somewhere.

 

[TS3g]

While not actually a tool, it's still a good story. My entire family races dirt oval cars, and one time unfortunately , my Dad got into a terrible wreck and ended up barrel rolling twice, before slamming down hard on all fours again. He was mainly unhurt, except he was saying his azz hurt real bad. Well, it wasn't until we got back to the shop and tore the remains of the car apart that we found that someone had left the shop's cordless phone in the empty seat and someone else had put the seat cushion in on top of it. To this day, we still joke about him getting a phone enema, lol.

 

[doorfx]

Back in the day I left the starting line at Brainerd International Raceway. Good clean pass but while I was getting towed back on the return road the "Starter" (the guy who runs the lights) was standing in the middle of the return road. He handed me a 9/16 wrench saying it came out from underneath the car when I left the line. My guess is my engine guy left it lay on the Intake somewhere.

Did you get DQ ?

 

[OCD]

Did a sound system install at a golf course clubhouse... Had to run a cable in the hot attic from beyond the end of this pic,

Along this cramped space, slithering on my back across the trusses,

and past that little crawl hole,

When I got back to my starting point I realized my dewalt 20v flashlight was still at the opposite end where I was working...

It's still there, turned on, with a dead battery now...

 

[4 FN 27]

Did you get DQ ?

No we were just testing.

Go to any starting line at any strip and you will find a bucket of parts, tools and fasteners the line guys pick up. I use to stop in and grab the good items and stocked them in the trailer. At almost every home event we were at somebody needed something and we usually had it.

 

[FigureItOut]

When I got back to my starting point I realized my dewalt 20v flashlight was still at the opposite end where I was working...

It's still there, turned on, with a dead battery now...

I can relate. The glow rod I mentioned earlier in the thread, I knew where it was while I was still on the jobsite. Moving through some attics is miserable. Last one I worked in was well lit, with a full floor and a high ceiling, I didn't want to leave, ha ha.


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[FullRaceMerc]

Did a sound system install at a golf course clubhouse... When I got back to my starting point I realized my dewalt 20v flashlight was still at the opposite end where I was working...

It's still there, turned on, with a dead battery now...

I lost a chirpy out of my pocket in a similar location. I was lowering the temp on the thermostat for an attic fan per the client's request. Definitely not worth the trip back. 6 months later the homeowner decided he wanted the fan set at a higher temp so I got my chirpy back on his dime.

My first car, an 89 Lesabre, had the drivers side window regulator go out. At that point the car had 3 wheels in the grave, so I wasnt going to spend money on it. Just slapped a pair of needle nose vise grips on the window channel to hold it up, called it good.

Fast forward 2 yrs, the Lesabre was long gone. Went to local junk yard to get parts for my 96 F150, saw the Lesabre sitting there in the yard. Went and ripped the door panel off, voila there were my vise grips.

 

[Derek420]

I went to the junk yard to look for some van parts for my wife's freebee mini van and I took my favorite screwdriver I went through a bunch and got a couple things. Well we we're on our way home and I was looking for my tools and noticed the screwdriver was gone and said hell with it. Well a week later went back again for more parts and remember the screwdriver so I went van to van and bingo there it was not touched. I was surprised because it was a super busy junk yard. I always loose a tool, bolt, screw, nut every single time I work on something or strip something often or not also.

 

[DanielC99]

When I did body work many times I couldn't find the sanding block I was just using. Spent a lot of time looking for the darn things before I finally learned to look on top of the tires first.

 

[Gizmosity]

Years ago working after working on a Prelude I slammed the hood and then couldn't find my glasses. I found them about an hour later on the air cleaner, right where I put them......broken in half.

I have a real bad habit of leaving tools on top of my ladder. I find missing tools from time to time when I move the ladder, by having them fall and smack me in the head.

 

[OCD]

I lost a chirpy out of my pocket in a similar location. I was lowering the temp on the thermostat for an attic fan per the client's request. Definitely not worth the trip back. 6 months later the homeowner decided he wanted the fan set at a higher temp so I got my chirpy back on his dime.

That's awesome!!

 

[CoogarXR]

This one is about somebody else losing tools:

I might have mentioned it before, but back in 1994 I bought a 1984 Cougar and found a Popular Mechanics philips-head screwdriver down behind the battery. About 15 years later, I bought a 1983 Cougar and found the matching Popular Mechanics slotted screwdriver under the seat. Talk about crazy coincidences!

 

[steveo1o9]

After working on my car a few years ago I couldn't find my cell phone, and figured I misplaced it in the house somewhere. After a full day of looking I walked out and popped my hood and there it was sitting on top of the radiator. Luckily it was wedged in there and didn't fall out on my 50 mile round trip commute to work...

Putting a new chain on my motorcycle I couldn't find the new master link anywhere to finish the job, and I knew I had just seen it before I started. Had to cancel a planned ride with friends and tore apart the trash, and the shed I was working in to no avail. Had to order a new link online for some absurd amount of money and a week wait delivery time. A year or two later I pulled out the dremel for a job and was scratching my head as to what these little metal plates and pins were for...until I remembered the missing master link... I used the dremel to cut the old chain and then put it away as soon as I was done with it. Wished I never found that darn thing so at least I wouldn't have felt so dumb.

 

[EdT]

I work in heaps. Just a tragic character flaw. I was working on something and I put the tool I was using down someplace and couldn't find it. After a lot of searching, I figured that the goal was to finish the job, not find that particular tool. So, I rummaged around in my garage and my other shop and finally found what I needed (allen wrench I think) and came back to where I had been working and, searching for a place to put the allen wrench down, I finally found a place(yes, it's gets that bad). I put the newly found wrench down right on top of the one I had been searching for originally. All I could do was laugh.

 

[Project_shadow]

At work we have a bay that outgoing or incoming trucks pull in to fix small things, usually air leaks or electrical problems, I just bought a new 100$ rechargeable light with a magnetic base that was being used for the first time, finished up and truck left, about an hour later I looked up the destination of the trailer....Nashville TN....I work in Indianapolis IN....I've lost 3 since I first started last November


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[kcaz507]

I lost an impact socket I was using for lug nuts for several months. I found it at a car club meet up in the cowl area when I had the hood open.

 

[reader2580]

My previous house used floor trusses instead of joists. I couldn't find my hammer or my side cutters so I bought new ones. A year or two later I was doing something in the basement and found the hammer and side cutters laying on one of the floor trusses. I had two hammers for a time, but one went missing again.

 

[OCD]

Leaving a hammer on top of an 8 ft step ladder, and then later moving the ladder

So I am not the only one!!

This is what happened a couple weeks ago when my 22oz estwing hit the glass cooktop... Was a 6 foot ladder though... #DUFUS...