Tools you bought but don’t use?

[equitiesguy]

My SAE Tools.

 

[Super Mech]

My dad's motto is "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it." He's got a few of just about everything

I live by this motto myself. I'd much rather have something when I need it which usually winds up being late in the day or night, holiday, weekend, etc.

 

[speed bump]

Over the years I have bought up almost every cheap decent quality big (over 1/2") or speciality drill bit or tap and die I ran across. I have only used a few of them but they are typically expensive and rarely in stock in town when I need it right now.

 

[CR888]

I bought two Caralous ratcheting adjustable wrenches. Near totally useless, never found a situation that they would work well in.

 

[dr_clyde]

I generally don't buy tools unless I have a specific need for them, but I have a few that I use very seldom.

I rarely use my power brake bleeder kit. Once in a blue moon.

I bought a set of brake caliper piston twisters, my buddy has used them on occasion but never myself.

My plasma cutter can go months without use.

I have some odd sockets that I got for specific jobs that aren't likely to be used for a good long time.

A huge Kearney and Trecker rotary table, needs a little TLC. But I have yet to need it.

I have a few power tools that can go for a few years between uses. My big router, some air nailers, and I have a dremel I don't think I've ever used.

 

[HenryAZ]

MasterCool hydraulic flaring tool, with all the dies. Used it extensively rerunning all new brake lines on an FJ-40, while the drive train was removed. Have not touched it since (going on 5 years now)

 

[_Riddle]

SAE sockets. I don't think I've used any of the ones that came in the set's I've bought.

 

[barev]

SAE sockets. I don't think I've used any of the ones that came in the set's I've bought.

The only logical thing to do now is to buy a classic American car. Otherwise you're throwing money down the drain by not using those sockets.

 

[unslow1]

I live by this motto myself. I'd much rather have something when I need it which usually winds up being late in the day or night, holiday, weekend, etc.

Having those misc tools, odd buckets of brackets, nuts and bolts has gotten me out of a lot of jams. Probably relatives and friends as much as myself.

 

[vavet]

I bought a low-speed, high-torque drill to mix thinset when I was tiling my bathroom about 11 years ago. I used it for that job, but never again. I burned up my corded DeWalt 3/8 drill (literally had flames coming out of it) trying to do the same job. I spent the money on the bigger drill. I just haven't done any more tiling.

I wanted a router for many years. I imagined all sorts of uses for it. I finally bought one. I haven't used it in at least 3 years.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Not necessarily the same thing, but the more I was thinking about this topic recently, the more I came to the conclusion that the answer for me is knives.

I have a handful of utility knives and I rarely use them except for maybe once a year. A regular pocket knife does just about the same tasks.

 

[mmb617]

I bought a low-speed, high-torque drill to mix thinset when I was tiling my bathroom about 11 years ago. I used it for that job, but never again.

That reminds me of a tool I'd forgotten about. Probably 30+ years ago I bought a 1/2", gear reduction corded drill. I don't even remember what job I bought it for. That thing will not stall, to the point that it's dangerous. If you are using a bit that's big enough to not break and it gets stuck, the torque will spin the entire drill in your hands. I think it could easily break your wrist.

It resides on a shelf in the garage and I haven't picked it up in years.

 

[Bessy]

First thing that comes to mind is extra long extensions. I have a set of three, that I think are 12, 18 and 24" long and other than once on my mother's VW to remove the battery strap I have never needed them. I'm pretty sure they were about $20 when I picked them up and they hang on the side of my box so they really aren't in the way. Open end ratchet wrenches are definitely useless particularly since I have a plier-wrench (which I still maintain is the cats-a$$). They have made life marginally easier on a select few tasks, but by no means enough to warrant their purchase.

I know if I go look in my box I can likely find a couple of other items that seemed like a good idea at the time...

 

[Flybye]

A nice router bit set I picked up at Home Depot one Black Friday. Was hoping to redo my kitchen cabinets, but then the wifey decided to change her mind on what she wants to do with the kitchen.

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

Nope. Can't think of any. BCD.

 

[thehoarder]

I bought a plunge housing for a new Porter Cable 609 about 25 years ago, but I got the table for it at the same time. I have never used the plunge housing - never even put the router into it. Come to think of it, I didn't use the table either until a couple of months ago. I have used my laminate trimmer though.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

The box end wrench squar drive adapters for sockets. Knee pads. Work gloves. Safety glasses. (I know, I'm bad). My ingersoll 3/8 drive 20v ratchet (very very rarely, since I got the 1/4 12v I haven't touched it). Bojo plastic scrapers. That's pretty much it out of both my tool boxes.

 

[PugetDude]

I have an 8-year old Thermal Dynamics Plasma cutter that has never been plugged in...moved right after getting it and haven't had the power available to run it and the compressor at the same time...
Also have a Rockler Dovetail jig that is stlll in the original unopened box (complete with 2 nylon bands) after almost ten years and three moves...

 

[MushCreek]

I have a number of tools I bought for building our house, and now they sit. I should cut loose of some of them, as at age 65, I don't plan on installing another wood floor. I bought a new corded Milwaukee circular saw that just sits because my cordless one is so much handier. I thought I needed a corded saw for building, but it just sat in the case. I can't remember the last time I used my corded SawZall, either. Ditto my air impact since I bought a cordless. I'll keep most of the tools since I still have a basement and a barn to finish.

My metric hand tools sat unused for many years until I bought a Miata, so they were worth having. Since I mostly wrench on old American iron, the SAE tools are always busy.

I bought a lathe and a milling machine that sit idle now, but when I retire from my job as a toolmaker, they'll be busy as well.

 

[BreeStephany]

I can't say I have any tools I don't use... but definitely have a lot that were purchased for one project or have since been outdated by a better or equally powerful cordless version of and I rarely use.

A prime example would be my corded hole hawg, which has rarely been used since purchasing my super hole hawg, which I have rarely used since I started using my company's cordless super hole hawg and 9.0Ah batteries.

Another great example would be my Magnum drill, which I bought when I didn't have a 3" or 4" hydraulic punch and had to punch those holes with a hole saw, which would burn up most cordless drills. The company I work for now has a dinosaur of a Greenlee hydro-punch kit and a Milwaukee cordless hydro-punch kit, both which make hole saws a thing of the past when it comes to sheetmetal.

I do have a vintage Rockwell 653 Versa-Plane that I don't think I have ever used outside of testing, mostly because my Skil 100 has just as much power and easily replaceable blades, whereas sourcing the cutterhead for the 653 would be extremely difficult and likely very expensive.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

I don’t use those often, but there are a few spots where they are awesome and I’m happy to have them. My snowblower has a couple of bolts with no clearance, not much room to swing the wrench. These have to come out to change the belts, which naturally only burn up at the worst possible time.



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I'm actually going to buy a single one of these wrenches specifically to remove the carburetor on a 3-1/2 HP Tecumseh snowblower engine. I have 3 such engines and the $10 or so would be worth it for the 10 minutes saved using 2 open end wrenches.

Jim

 

[matthew]

I have pieced together a very complete set of combination wrenches. There's sizes I probably don't need (23mm, for example), but I don't really know which ones, and like the completeness...

I have a couple of Whitworth wrenches and a 25/32" wrench that I bought because they were cool, but will likely never use. Have thought about releasing them to eBay, but haven't yet.

There's a few specialty tools I thought I would use that I haven't. Plug wire pliers might see some use at some point. Flarenut wrenches probably good to own, just haven't had to do lines recently. Brake caliper tool was inexpensive, but found a different style of that one works much better.

 

[amason3]

I've got two or three electricians screwdrivers I don't remember ever using, even when doing electrical work. If I'd have remembered to go get them they certainly might have come in handy for doing wall plates at least (since most everything else electrical nowadays is phillips or square head). I never recall using a 15/16 socket, though i have them in 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 drive. I don't know if this counts as a "tool", but nozzle dip for the mig. I have two cans of it and only used one probably about 3 times. For some reason I hold on to them though.

 

[MBfreak]

HAZET 14 and 17 mm crowfoot spanners ( 1/2" drive) Bought to set valve clearances on MB engines from 50/60`s.
Ussed once in 30 years, it is much easier to just lift off the rocker and use a socket. Once you know how much you need to adjust that is easy to convert to a turning angle. After a while you get it spot on at first try.
But they crowfoots are exceedingly well mad and look cool on the pegboard!
Ola

 

[Robinson1]

I've got a small fortune ******* in carbide forstner bits. Rarely use anything bigger than 2 1/8" and the set goes to 3 1/2" in 1/16" increments!

Same for router bits. I've got bits to duplicate several types of antique casing that were only used once.

I've got a 1x30 belt sander that's just in the way. Never use it now that I have a spindle sander.

Haven't touched my jamb saw in 10 years. Just use a multitool now

Haven't used my 3/4 drive sockets in at least 10 years.

Same goes for any wrench bigger than 1 1/4"

Harbor Freight 24" adjustable wrench. It looks cool hanging on the wall though!

 

[64merc]

Heavy duty right angle Dewalt drill (clearance at Lowes)
3/4" drive sockets
router and router bit set
Milwaukee corded portable band saw...did use my M12 version though
crow-foot wrenches
framing nailer, pin nailer

 

[theoldwizard1]

When I first started hanging out here I decided I needed 1/2" drive sockets that go up to 1-1/2" at least by 1/8" increments. Craftsman stops at 1" (?) so I bought Armstrong. I can not remember the last time I ever used anything larger than 13/16" !

I really should put all of my 1/2" drive sockets, ratchets and extensions in a separate drawer of "infrequently used tools". I used the break bar once to loosen some lug nuts so I could use my M12 3/8" impact to get them off the rest of the way.

 

[PelicanPines]

Gearwrench Flare Nut wrenches... SAE and Metric... Tried to use them a few times... they don't fit... the head is too thick... so basically I have an UNUSED set(s)… sitting in my drawers... taking up space...

I BLAME YOU PEOPLE.

 

[Fialaja]

Router- clearance at Sears bought because I didn’t have one haven’t used it. Timing light- given to me by my brother - I don’t work on older vehicles. Crow feet and flex sockets- havent needed them yet but I figured it would be better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them

 

[Super Sport]

If I have tools that I honestly don't feel I would ever use again, they go up on Ebay. If they may come in handy at some point, I hang onto them. Almost all of my tools are USA brands but I got them at a hell of a deal so not that much $$ is ******* in them.

I have a full SAE & Metric 3/4" drive set that I've only used 1-2 sockets. I have body hammers and dollies that I may never use. I have nearly every type of bolt & screw extractors available which have saved me once or twice. I have a small set of SK E-torx wrenches "just in case". I recently bought a Ridgid 48" AL pipe wrench specifically as wall art with the understanding I will likely never use it.

I guess this is why I have a 72"x30" triple bank overflowing...

 

[cheechi]

Dremel Treo. Waste of $10, so ashamed. I actually have a project I might use this although my trim router would do it.

I got a spare set of metric wrenches that were cheap and well liked in a thread here, havent used one; nearly every bolt I've encountered in the shop has been sae since I got them. Odd I know.

Right angle tin snips. They are probably super useful for some folks but I never had a situation they were needed.

XL gearwrench set, wind up being too long for every place Ive tried to use them.

Spline wrench set.

I do use my HF pass through set & pliers wrench pretty often. Interesting some folks have difficulty finding a use for these.

 

[Loren871]

I never recall using a 15/16 socket, though i have them in 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 drive.

Lol wow...you’ve never worked on anything John Deere then. One of my most used sockets on the farm.

 

[atikovi]

MasterCool hydraulic flaring tool, with all the dies. Used it extensively rerunning all new brake lines on an FJ-40, while the drive train was removed. Have not touched it since (going on 5 years now)

Same here and I raise you a Temco hydraulic crimper for making battery cables I've only used once.

 

[Bobcat753]

I have a Miller Trailblazer 325 EFI with the Miller trailer sitting around now. I bought it brand new in 2015 with all the hopes in the world to go out on my own but now I have a really good job. The only use it has been is for 220V power but I don't need that now that my garage has 220v service. So it sits with only 45 Hours on it. I just put it up for sale in hopes to get most of my money back.

 

[seber]

When I was first starting out as a carpenter in 61 I bought a Yankee spiral screwdriver. It served me well for a few years and then vs drill came along and it hasn't been used since. On the other side I've had a drawknife in my box almost as long and the very first time I used it was a month ago to shape a new axe handle.

 

[unknownroad]

Zero offset (flip to reverse) ratcheting wrenches.

Use the **** out of my reversible and my flex (locking and non-locking and stubby) ratcheting wrenches, every day they get used, but have had metric and SAE sets of zero offset ratcheting wrenches for nearly ten years now and most of them have never been used even once. The lack of an offset makes them just too limited in where they can be used. Reversible and flex wrenches can do everything they can and a LOT that they can't.

Yeah, I bought a set of S-K X-frame wrenches and discovered the same thing- they've got a much nicer action than my Craftsman flex-head ratcheting wrenches, and they're kinda beautiful, but the long rigid wrench body is so limiting that they're never the right tool for a job.

 

[gatlibs]

If I have a small set of SK E-torx wrenches "just in case".

I wanted a set for just in case, but since it isn't made any more all that I could find was a partial at Harry Epstein's. If you know of any made in U.S.A. ones, then please let me know.

 

[kaffine]

I have a few tools that I haven't used yet. Some were bought for specific projects that got delayed or canceled others I got a great deal on them and couldn't pass it up.

I bought a nice drywall sander thinking I was going to be doing a lot of drywall work soon but that has been delayed for a year or more. I also got a drywall lift but have been finding other uses for it.

 

[M6erfan]

For those that replied Knipex Pliers Wrench, please PM me. I'll gladly take them off your hands and pay shipping. I hate to think they wont get used.

 

[crasher98]

My most frequently unused tools are the 'unusual' sizes of sockets, wrenches, bits etc. in a set. So I'll wear the chrome off of a 19 mm while the 16 mm looks like it did the day I bought it. But I still would buy a complete set even if I knew what size(s) I actually need based on the certainty that I'll need the oddball/skipped size someday at 3:00 am on a Sunday night. Sears helped me learn this by selling many sets with skipped sizes - "Well, I guess I'll never need a 14 mm flex socket" - WRONG! I have one now tho...