What's that tool you can't ever find when you need it?

[turnthewrench 2.0]

Tape measures for me. I must have 5 or 6 in the garage, but they must be hiding good, or grew legs and left the house.
Hate going to HF to get another one to measure some windows, but it is what it is.

Next toolbox will have a dedicated TM drawer.

 

[whateg01]

The tool that was in my hand 2 minutes ago and I haven't left the area.

Oh, and I keep several NIB tape measures in a drawer for when I can't find one of the 50 I've bought before. Usually, eventually the others turn up all in one spot then they get put in that drawer. If the drawer runs low, I buy 3 or 4 more.

 

[dchawk81]

Tape measures for me. I must have 5 or 6 in the garage, but they must be hiding good, or grew legs and left the house.
Hate going to HF to get another one to measure some windows, but it is what it is.

Next toolbox will have a dedicate TM drawer.

10mm anything. Also Argyle socks. Although they aren't tools.

 

[dchawk81]

I actually lost a utility knife a while ago even though I had a specific place for it and owned it for like 10 years. Only explanation I can come up with is accidentally pushing it off the counter into the trash can.

 

[JbTech]

It seems that most of the tools that I can't find recently...
Are at my sons house 1 mile down the road.

He's fixing an old house he bought at 22. Might as well contribute to the effort.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I have these all around my shop.

 

[Wamsutta]

Tape measures, picks, and telescoping magnets.

 

[gtae07]

The tool that was in my hand 2 minutes ago and I haven't left the area.

This! Particularly when I have duplicates...

 

[seber]

Whatever tool I just set down.

 

[Southernbuild]

Tape measures 1000% I've probably got 40ish 25' Stanley tape measures in rotation, and still struggle finding one sometimes.

It looks like they are no longer made in the USA, but I've been buying them for a while to stockpile in anticipation of this.

 

[FigN⋅m]

"where THE FU**$^#*(% did th- oh, there it is."

 

[RMERR]

I'm happy to report that I can find any tool I have. I couldn't always say that, but getting into my current shop space with lots of planning for organization finally made it possible.

I addressed the tape measure thing years ago. I bought 20 HF measures and spread them all over the shop. I've got some quality ones too, but HF's accurate enough for most stuff I do. Of course, they're **** that will fail and I doubt that any of those original 20 are still there. I snag another 4-5 if I sense the "census" dropping below 20.

Finding shop/bench brushes used to be an issue as well, got the same solution as tape measures. At a whole $2 at HF why wouldn't I have massive quantities. One near every saw and on every work surface.

My stategy is I never have to find tape measures or bench brushes, I want so many that they find me.

 

[sparky 1971]

My reading glasses. Some may not consider glasses a tool, but I can no longer read a wrench or socket size or a tape measure without them.

 

[Jakemedic]

Tape measure and pencils!

 

[The Cobbler]

I'll go simple here. Where did I put my pencil ?

 

[engineer2]

Caulk guns. I own 3, but can never find more than 1 at any given time.
The power adapter/charger for my Yokogawa H10 refrigerant leak detector. I've bought 2 so far.
Pencils when I'm working on projects. Now I just grab a handful and scatter them around the job site.
Tape measures, but I solved that by getting my wife her own.

 

[Shiftless]

I used to lose pencils as well.
My solution is an old coffee mug up on a shelf with 10-15 of them. And a couple of black markers. And a couple of lumber marking crayons.

I guess I still “lose” them from time to time but there are so many in the mug, who cares?

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

C-Clamps because I’m bad about sitting them down and walking away lol. Don’t know why it only happens with C-Clamps lol.

 

[tarmy]

Brain…sometimes.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

C-Clamps because I’m bad about sitting them down and walking away lol. Don’t know why it only happens with C-Clamps lol.

You just reminded me I dont own any C-Clamps, I always thought they were wood working tools, and on a video I watched last night, a mechanic used C-Clamps to re-compress whatever the car brake thing is called that pushes against the brake pads. I guess that thing pushes out, when you remove the caliper from the brake pads and you need to re-compress it before putting the caliper back on?

So now I need woodworker tools all of the sudden?

 

[SBAG]

You just reminded me I dont own any C-Clamps, I always thought they were wood working tools, and on a video I watched last night, a mechanic used C-Clamps to re-compress whatever the car brake thing is called that pushes against the brake pads. I guess that thing pushes out, when you remove the caliper from the brake pads and you need to re-compress it before putting the caliper back on?

So now I need woodworker tools all of the sudden?

I’d say they are more applicable to welding. I would have zero use case for a C-Clamp in woodworking. At least none that a different type of clamp couldn’t handle much better.

 

[Nutria]

Paint can ladder hanger.

 

[danielbuck]

definitely tape measures.

 

[Gogo300]

Stacks of cash. I can never find those when I need it.

 

[toolenthusiast]

I can agree on tape measures, bench brushes, and caulk guns. The one that really irked me for a long time was spark plug gap tools. Nowadays my garage is sufficiently organized that I can tell you where all those things are.

I don’t think I’ve ever lost a 10mm, though.

 

[mike93lx]

Ha! I've never lost a tool.

Yeah, never

 

[mike93lx]

I have these all around my shop.

This. If it has a home that's easy to access, it's more likely get back there. I have similar holders in multiple places.

 

[GaryM909]

I know where everything is in the garage but the few tools I have in the kitchen is another story. My wife will use a screwdriver. (not for intended purposes) and then put it somewhere else. She will use a flashlight and then put it where she thinks it should go instead of where it was.

 

[nadogail]

I’d say they are more applicable to welding. I would have zero use case for a C-Clamp in woodworking. At least none that a different type of clamp couldn’t handle much better.

It is, IMHO, impossible to own too many clamps. I just bought four more Monday.

 

[Debcrow]

I'm happy to report that I can find any tool I have.

Me too.....
three days after I need it.

 

[Shoreline_]

Usually my heat gun.

 

[wyb2]

Another vote for tape measures. I got tired of having to go to the garage to get a 25 footer when I wanted to measure some random thing in the kitchen, or my desk, or the basement. So I bought a 3 pack of cheap 6’ ones on Amazon. These things:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RVZ1BF2?tag=atomicindus08-20

That was about 2 years ago. I haven’t seen any of them in about a year and a half.