The One Tool You Cannot Have Too Many Of
- Thread starter Garcky
- Start date
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I would say any hand tool you can’t have too many of. Especially screwdrivers. And tape measures I can’t ever find tape measures cause my mom steals them and claims they are hers lol 
. Then she comes back to me I need a tape measure, well mom I need the ten tape measures I had back first cause I ain’t got one lol. And you can’t have too many sockets either personally I’ve got over 2,000 mostly duplicates but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been working on something and needed more than one of the same size at the same time. I lost a 10mm yesterday RIP lol. Also can’t have too many knives either. Every time I’m at Harbor Freight I get one of those .69 cent box cutters they have by the register. I use the heck out of them too.
. Then she comes back to me I need a tape measure, well mom I need the ten tape measures I had back first cause I ain’t got one lol. And you can’t have too many sockets either personally I’ve got over 2,000 mostly duplicates but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been working on something and needed more than one of the same size at the same time. I lost a 10mm yesterday RIP lol. Also can’t have too many knives either. Every time I’m at Harbor Freight I get one of those .69 cent box cutters they have by the register. I use the heck out of them too.Me too, had 4 but after spending too much time "fixin" an old orange HF, it finally hit the trash. Rear brush housing broke off 3 times, fixed 2x...
Now only 3 grinders and not enough.
Thin cut off
Basic grind disc
Flap wheel and
knotted wire wheel
is how I keep them set up for the 4.5in ones.
I also need a few more speed squares in the woodshop, 2 isn't enough. I was able to score a pile of clearance Swanson measuring tools when Lowes blew them out. 1 & 3ft steel rulers, adjustable squares in 12 & 16in... and a few other items. Think I snagged 13 items and paid $42 total. Lots of time saved not having to look for tools. Just grab another. Restock the rack when project is done and cleaned up.
I keep a GO Bucket for general household repairs. Has a Husky branded nylon tool organizer on it. Mostly electrical oriented but it has basic plumbing, carpenter essentials too. Need duplicates of many things just to be able to save the time of gathering basic essentials every time I want to get something done.
Things like tape measures that are in the tool box in the Car shop, never leaves the car shop. Because if they do they will never be seen again.
I thought I had too many duplicates when I just had an apartment and a garage some distance away. Now I have a 5BR house, 1/2 the basement is a woodshop other half is general household kinda shop with a bench for reloading and another bench for electronics, etc. Also have a detached Automotive related shop. This requires even More duplicates because now there are too many places a single tool could end up and I do not have the time or energy to search for it. Just wish I could afford a Few more sets of M12 drills and screw guns. More Batts too. I seem to be chasing for those tools the most lately.
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Yeah, I have a bunch of ratchets, too. They're like wire coat hangers. They breed in closed toolbox drawers. On the other hand, I use maybe two of them in each drive size. The rest just sit there. Except for the few have in various areas where I work. They don't get used much, unless I'm there and forgot to bring one of my favorites with me.
WOW! I feel like I am nearly destitute with only maybe six tape measures, about the same number of vice grips, hammers and maybe four Philips screw drivers!
I have to admit a couple of the tape measures are the cheap promotional ones, one in in my desk and gets used often, the other in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I have two Stanley Fat Max tapes, one ten foot Stanley and I guess I acquired one cheapie no name from my dad's collection.
I have bee the total opposite of many here. I have the tools I need and use regularly, and no more. I had a job that require me to buy a bunch on hand tools. I quit the jab ten years ago and many of the tools I had for that job I have sold of given away.
I will admit that doing wood working I run out of bar clamps, but I don't think I have a huge amount of them, maybe thirty total of various sizes from six inches to six foot.
I have to admit a couple of the tape measures are the cheap promotional ones, one in in my desk and gets used often, the other in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I have two Stanley Fat Max tapes, one ten foot Stanley and I guess I acquired one cheapie no name from my dad's collection.
I have bee the total opposite of many here. I have the tools I need and use regularly, and no more. I had a job that require me to buy a bunch on hand tools. I quit the jab ten years ago and many of the tools I had for that job I have sold of given away.
I will admit that doing wood working I run out of bar clamps, but I don't think I have a huge amount of them, maybe thirty total of various sizes from six inches to six foot.
Dakotadadv8
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 30, 2021
- Messages
- 1,487
Drill bits, some may say brass and lead, not sure if they count as tool.
Odd-job
Well-known member
m12 and m18 batteries in particular. Every tool I use on at least a weekly basis needs a battery to live in it as well as some spares/float in the battery charging depot. I get so pissed off for no reason when I reach to grab certain tools and it has no battery in it. Almost feels like that feeling when your family member uses a car and leaves it for you with an empty gas tank and you have to be somewhere on time of course.
Odd-job
Well-known member
I'm not sure if I have the space for the 4-5 of them needed to break a single lug nut. Now if they give away free batteries for atonement then I will actually wish I bought as many as I could.
redwrench60
Well-known member
Where ever I spend more than 30 minutes at a time gets a 25’ Stanley tape stashed. The only question is whether it will be a PowerLock or a FatMax. I refuse to acknowledge anything else as a measurement device.You're not strange at all. I just looked down and there's a Stanley 25' on my computer desk. There's a tape somewhere nearby, wherever I am in the house or garage. I got tired of looking for one, so I kept adding them until there was always one where I was.
I'm building a 10,000ft² lean-to specifically for pallets of them.
^^^^^what he said!^^^^^^ I have probably 50 or more measuring tapes. Every brake, shear, ironworker, saw, forklift, welding table, steel rack etc has one on it and sometimes two or three! They are scattered everywhere so I never have to walk far to grab one.
Not me I just eyeball it and Bondo the difference.
Only if you're like me and unwilling or unable to run...
joel63
Well-known member
Sent ya a message... Hurry.From what I hear and understand that's very true.
So I'm stocking up now.
Ton ton
Well-known member
You win the internet for the day. Where can we get a truck load of them?
garfieldzzz
Well-known member
Utility knives, almost every time I order tools there’s one in the cart as my wife keeps them always somewhere…
Bits in all styles and sizes, I own well to many by now and I have always not enough folding rules.
Bits in all styles and sizes, I own well to many by now and I have always not enough folding rules.
Although I have lots of utility knives, I don't use them much. They're my wife's tools. Instead, I use the Old Timer 80T stockmans knife in my right front jeans pocket. The sheepsfoot blade is the box cutter blade on that knife. Then, I fold it and put it back in my pocket, every time. That way, I'll always know where it is. I've been carrying that style of knife for over 60 years now. I lose one every once in a while, but only briefly. When I do, I have three or four more available to replace it. It's the tool I always have with me.
BarrelRoll
Well-known member
I guess I'm the opposite and try and keep only 1-2 of something in an area trying not to buy more of something unless a need has presented it's self. I have 1 normal length #2 Phillips driver, 1 main tape measure, and a couple other tape measures in my shop. I do have a bucket of spring clamps and about 20 bar clamps though that came with building a boat and I'm to the point where I'm not buying more every time I go to the store unless I run into a situation where I need more clamps.
If I can't find my 1 go to #2 Phillips screw driver in the shop it's time to clean. Yes I might sometimes grab the stubby to avoid cleaning and probably have a spare hiding in the bucket of spare tools or can run out to my truck and steal the one out of. It's a principal thing for me that I've got a mess going and it's time to tame it or go find where the tool is hiding. Buying a duplicate because I can't find something I know I own drives me nuts
I have multiples of things though they are all in different areas to avoid packing/ unpacking and my work is 2 hours away and not accessible on my days off. I have a set of tools in my shop, my truck, my jeep, my boat, the wife's tools in the house garage, and a big collection at work so yes there's multiples though they don't usually intermingle. For example sometimes we keep our boat in the water for a month plus, the tools on the boat stay on the boat and don't come off. I have duplicates of what's in the boat's tool box in my shop so I can have that tool while the boat isn't home. I will occasionally run from the house to the shop for a tool I'll use once a year in the house on a wife project, if it's something I'm stealing all the time I'll just buy it. I have spares of some tools because they've been upgraded though they are usually in a box up on the shelf instead of eating up valuable real estate in my tool box.
If I can't find my 1 go to #2 Phillips screw driver in the shop it's time to clean. Yes I might sometimes grab the stubby to avoid cleaning and probably have a spare hiding in the bucket of spare tools or can run out to my truck and steal the one out of. It's a principal thing for me that I've got a mess going and it's time to tame it or go find where the tool is hiding. Buying a duplicate because I can't find something I know I own drives me nuts
I have multiples of things though they are all in different areas to avoid packing/ unpacking and my work is 2 hours away and not accessible on my days off. I have a set of tools in my shop, my truck, my jeep, my boat, the wife's tools in the house garage, and a big collection at work so yes there's multiples though they don't usually intermingle. For example sometimes we keep our boat in the water for a month plus, the tools on the boat stay on the boat and don't come off. I have duplicates of what's in the boat's tool box in my shop so I can have that tool while the boat isn't home. I will occasionally run from the house to the shop for a tool I'll use once a year in the house on a wife project, if it's something I'm stealing all the time I'll just buy it. I have spares of some tools because they've been upgraded though they are usually in a box up on the shelf instead of eating up valuable real estate in my tool box.
Zip ties, of various sizes. If you don't call it a tool you have never been on the road and fixed something with them. I have a fond saying. With the right quantity and size of zip ties you can fix anything. I keep 8 inch and the larger ones that are about 16 inches long on standby in every vehicle, in my travel bag, tool boxes...
Haha hey whatever works!
Tynee
Well-known member
I've told folks before, if I ever loose all my Channellock 422's, vintage with the curved jaw (NOT V-jaw), I'll hang it up and quit working on stuff. If anybody has any they need out of their way, I'm accepting donations, paying shipping, whatever you need...
jkherd
Well-known member
For me it would be visegrips. I use them for so many things especially for welding projects, I usually need them and c-clamps to support a project for welding (tacking) together.
anndel
Well-known member
Snap-on ratchets. I stopped at #30 though since my tool box is too full.
Bockscar
Well-known member
I definitely have a thing for machinist chest....around 7 at the moment....and I'll buy more giving the opportunity
Lucky Llama
Well-known member
For me it is safety glasses. While not really a tool, I find it way to easy to chance it if they are not readily available.
That's why I have about fifteen pair. Have two or three at each work area.
That's why I have about fifteen pair. Have two or three at each work area.
