Why are American's tool boxes so big?

[MaintenanceGuy]

Could be because in America we have a lot more choice's in Auto brands, machine brands, Metric/Standard/Whitmore. Most other places have a single system(metric), and also few brands of everything.

So the easy way to put it, is more tools for more stuff.

Why are our tool boxes so big?

It's like the average American mechanic can't get by without a 54 in or bigger box. Foreigners seem to do just fine with little 26" boxes. Do American shops require its mechanics to have more tools? Are foreign shops providing more tools to its mechanics? Could it be we have a greater variety of cars, so our mechanics need more tools? What gives?

 

[vandezand]

Americans want the biggest and the best. The more room you have the more tools you can buy

 

[Ruger_556]

I did act like a complete ******* didn't I?

Yes, also see below the quote below. Calling everyone that isn't a manufacturer specialist an idiot is maybe not the best way to get your point across. I would pay dearly to see you tell that to a tech's face. I'm actually a Thermo King specialist but I work on everything that comes through the door because I enjoy it. Not because I don't realize there are other ways to make money.

Did you ever think the problem is NOT Americans but one American... YOU?

 

[redwrench60]

I did act like a complete ******* didn't I?

Well, in all your carrying on you got one thing right.

 

[bart1]

You're right, I've been voicing a pretty narrow opinion of things. Self presentation really does have a huge effect on how one is perceived by others. I try hard to be nice when visiting abroad, but I guess I can see where I can fault as well.

Yeah specialty Euro make, I'm glad someone understands. I'm dreading my timing belt replacement man. I don't have the facilities at home to accomplish this particular task by myself. Dropping the engine and trans, my wife just won't let it happen.

There you go brother, much better view on things.

I do most of my own maintenance, but I know when I need to call in an expert for practicality. Mine is a classic air cooled 911, so some people are scared to mess with it.

 

[jfull]

What everyone has said, plus sometimes I need one thing, and it's just a little more to buy an entire set. Set purchased and stored. Sometimes when I've done this i rarely use the other items in the set.

 

[jb3]

I am generally well received in other countries becuase i still tip 20% just like im at home.

Unless im in Quebec. Ive been generally despised there, but i did eat well

 

[metalhead212121]

Let's focus on why really you have a big toolbox? If you have a reason...state it.

Because I work on everything. Am I a master tech? No. Do I WANT to be a master tech? That's an even bigger NO. Do I want to be a master plumber, carpenter, or welder? HELL NO! I'd rather be a jack of all trades. Yes I've worked on all different kinds of cars. American, Japanese, German, Swedish I've worked on all of them. Again I am not a master tech. I've also worked on motorcycles and boats. When you live in a older house (or any house really) you're gonna end up doing plumbing and electrical work just to name a few things.. If you like paying guys to do SIMPLE work for you knock yourself out. I haven't taken on MAJOR electrical/plumbing... yet. I hope that if and when I do I have someone more knowledgeable working next to me. I have plumbing/electrical tools in my box because if I have someone help me work on my house I want them to NOT have to lug their tools over and then lug them back home. How many times have YOU GUYS had a friend come over to help you work on something only to have them say halfway through the job "I left a tool I need back at home." Now they have to drive back home.. drive back to your house and then drive home AGAIN when the job is over. That sux for EVERYONE. If at all possible I'd like to prevent that from happening. Couple years ago I had a friend of mine install a kitchen sink, counter top, and redo some of the plumbing. Long story short.. we had to make 3 trips to Home Depot for tools either I didn't have or he forgot.

So I don't ***** pics of my toolbox in every thread here at GJ theres a pic of it here.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4145207#post4145207
post #16

Yeah specialty Euro make, I'm glad someone understands. I'm dreading my timing belt replacement man. I don't have the facilities at home to accomplish this particular task by myself. Dropping the engine and trans, my wife just won't let it happen.

In post 232 you said you always work on your own car. I haven't worked on every Audi known to man but I'm pretty confident that to doing a timing belt/waterpump you need to pull the front bumper cover off, pull the radiator, evacuate the A/C system and pull the condenser. As far as I know the motor and trans stay in the car. I'm sure an Audi tech will chime in.

 

[purplezr2]

Because I work on everything. Am I a master tech? No. Do I WANT to be a master tech? That's an even bigger NO. Do I want to be a master plumber, carpenter, or welder? HELL NO! I'd rather be a jack of all trades. Yes I've worked on all different kinds of cars. American, Japanese, German, Swedish I've worked on all of them. Again I am not a master tech. I've also worked on motorcycles and boats. When you live in a older house (or any house really) you're gonna end up doing plumbing and electrical work just to name a few things.. If you like paying guys to do SIMPLE work for you knock yourself out. I haven't taken on MAJOR electrical/plumbing... yet. I hope that if and when I do I have someone more knowledgeable working next to me. I have plumbing/electrical tools in my box because if I have someone help me work on my house I want them to NOT have to lug their tools over and then lug them back home. How many times have YOU GUYS had a friend come over to help you work on something only to have them say halfway through the job "I left a tool I need back at home." Now they have to drive back home.. drive back to your house and then drive home AGAIN when the job is over. That sux for EVERYONE. If at all possible I'd like to prevent that from happening. Couple years ago I had a friend of mine install a kitchen sink, counter top, and redo some of the plumbing. Long story short.. we had to make 3 trips to Home Depot for tools either I didn't have or he forgot.

So I don't ***** pics of my toolbox in every thread here at GJ theres a pic of it here.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4145207#post4145207
post #16



In post 232 you said you always work on your own car. I haven't worked on every Audi known to man but I'm pretty confident that to doing a timing belt/waterpump you need to pull the front bumper cover off, pull the radiator, evacuate the A/C system and pull the condenser. As far as I know the motor and trans stay in the car. I'm sure an Audi tech will chime in.

Never evacuated the a/c. Just slide the front forward. Maybe he meant timing chains they require the engine to be pulled and some makes are known for failing.

 

[metalhead212121]

Never evacuated the a/c. Just slide the front forward. Maybe he meant timing chains they require the engine to be pulled and some makes are known for failing.

been too long since I've seen one apart. thanks for the correction. In my head I can see the condenser moved forward. How come you have to pull the engine for timing chains?

 

[spoon671]

In post 232 you said you always work on your own car. I haven't worked on every Audi known to man but I'm pretty confident that to doing a timing belt/waterpump you need to pull the front bumper cover off, pull the radiator, evacuate the A/C system and pull the condenser. As far as I know the motor and trans stay in the car. I'm sure an Audi tech will chime in.

I re-read my post..sorry I meant timing chain. The timing chain is at the rear of the motor, which is why the motor and trans need dropped. *****... :/

 

[metalhead212121]

I re-read my post..sorry I meant timing chain. The timing chain is at the rear of the motor, which is why the motor and trans need dropped. *****... :/

THAT BLOWS! At what mileage are you supposed to change them?

 

[spoon671]

THAT BLOWS! At what mileage are you supposed to change them?

Every 80k or 85k something like that.

 

[franzdom]

85k Chain? Ugh.

 

[crewchief888]

myself,
as well as working on my own vehicles...
in the past 30+ years i've worked at 5 different dealers, 4 different manufacturers, and was a machinist/tool & die maker before that
all construction eq , compact to big stuff,
small to large tools
as well as some OEM specific special tools and a few "shop type" tools.

buy tools to make a (sometimes) difficult job easier, faster or to make the "royal PITA" factor go away.

i dont sell off my "working" tools or my "home" tools, when i dont have the vehicle anymore, or change dealerships.

right now, if i HAD to put all my tools together, and have them organized, i dont think i have enough available drawer space.

my work "toolbox" weighs in at approx 12,000 lbs
couple weeks ago i rearranged my garage to make a little room.

 

[William Payne]

Where did the view that other countries only have to use metric come from? I know for a fact that that's not true.

 

[Notorious BRT]

Where did the view that other countries only have to use metric come from? I know for a fact that that's not true.

Honestly, if I didn't work on tractors all the time my need for SAE would be almost non existent. I know you run into the occasional one on vehicles, but it's getting more and more rare.

 

[William Payne]

Honestly, if I didn't work on tractors all the time my need for SAE would be almost non existent. I know you run into the occasional one on vehicles, but it's getting more and more rare.

I mostly use metric as well but if an old or American machine needs working on I have to be able work on it. There's a machine where I work that has whitworth bolts. Gets tricky to find tools to fit those haha.

I'm interested in old v8's and hotrods as well so need to have sae for those too.

 

[jrobb316]

I have a triple bay snapon, if that's considered big. It's probably the size as a smaller top and bottom, but I like the work surface of the roll cab. My tool box is full. I work on 2 car lines and have special stuff for that which takes up room. Some guys have pride in their work and a nice tool box is one way to show it. Some guys make a lot of money so they buy a large box. A large box lets your organize better and be more efficient. The better question would be for the guys with drawers of shiny chrome that obviously has never seen a bolt. Sure I could get by with smaller, but I'd be digging through drawers looking for what I need, slowing me down.

 

[gasman23]

I haven`t seen a lot of reactions from European mechanics...It has been a couple of years ago but i worked as a mechanic in both independent multi-brand shops and dealer workshops

The shop where I work provides me with the following:

20 Ton Press
Coolant/oil/atf
General nuts and bolts
Torch/welder
All-data
Air
Racks

EVERYTHING else is on me.

Solus Ultra (among others), compression/leakdown testers, fuel pressure testers, dial indicators and micrometers, flaring tools, bleeding tools, bearing packers, sawz-all, drills and bits (both right and left handed), air hammer and bits, taps and dies, extractor bits, epoxies/silicone, ball joint press and adapters, multimeter and leads, power-probe, soldering iron(s), timing gun...............................

That doesn't even begin to touch actual hand tools. For instance, in 3/8 drive metric I have deep, semi-deep, and shallow, in both chrome and impact, plus super-shallow in chrome. That's one type of drive, only in metric, probably 75 sockets.

Basically every thing that 2ndGearRubber writes down as stuff that he has to provide for as a mechanic, is for general use in a European shop.
Now i think the major difference between US (canadian also ?) and European mechanics is that in the US the mechanics owns his own tools.
In Europe the garage owns the tools, if you quit or get fired, the only thing you take home in the evening is your lunchbox.

So the mechanics in the shops i worked, have a 7 or 8 drawer toolbox with "basic" tools, all the power, air and special/test/diagnostic tools are for general use.
For example: if you work in a shop which also services light trucks and vans, and every now and then you need a 3/4" drive ratchet, there is no real economic reason to provide every mechanic with a 3/4"drive socket set.

Oh, and deep sockets are actually quite rare in Europe, you hardly ever see that.

Note all of the shop-provided tools hanging on walls instead of being locked away like the self-purchased tools of techs in the US.

Exactly what i mean, that is much more economical for tools that aren`t used that often.
In Europe we don`t like to sponsor the toolcompany if it is not necessary

Those photos are deceiving. First of all those mechanics get their tools delivered to them by an apprentice, on a tool cart, from a very large tool room.

That is not the case in all European country`s, at least not in the Netherlands where i come from.
In Germany for instance they still have a traditional apprenticeship program from student/apprentice>craftsman>master.
In this case the student/apprentice/intern gets to do all the ****** jobs.
In some cases that could be getting tools, but i am sure thats all part of the learning process: identifing which tools you need for a job.

 

[Tronyadorable]

Honestly, if I didn't work on tractors all the time my need for SAE would be almost non existent. I know you run into the occasional one on vehicles, but it's getting more and more rare.

Gettin that way. I recommend all young mechanics put their hands on complete SAE. 20 years down the road the hotrods and antiques will still be alive but the tools(variety of) might not be available new. Dunno but I wouldn't chance it. When I was a pup I never owned anything metric.Then came the Hondas and Kawasakis.....all downhill from there.Then Hondoos, Z cars,Toy Corollas. Double everything.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Deere, Cat,Ford and others started sourcing hardware overseas and wind up metric too.At least chassis wise. The engines would be more difficult, I suppose.
I don't(can't ) work on late models. Are they a mix now or are the big 3 all sae ?

 

[purplezr2]

Gettin that way. I recommend all young mechanics put their hands on complete SAE. 20 years down the road the hotrods and antiques will still be alive but the tools(variety of) might not be available new. Dunno but I wouldn't chance it. When I was a pup I never owned anything metric.Then came the Hondas and Kawasakis.....all downhill from there.Then Hondoos, Z cars,Toy Corollas. Double everything.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Deere, Cat,Ford and others started sourcing hardware overseas and wind up metric too.At least chassis wise. The engines would be more difficult, I suppose.
I don't(can't ) work on late models. Are they a mix now or are the big 3 all sae ?

Umm, most new equipment is metric. I know Agco and Case are, all the smaller deere stuff I have worked on is too. Bobcat loaders are SAE but Mini-X are metric. Most powersports are metric also.

 

[RedneckWelder]

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Deere, Cat,Ford and others started sourcing hardware overseas and wind up metric too.At least chassis wise. The engines would be more difficult, I suppose.
I don't(can't ) work on late models. Are they a mix now or are the big 3 all sae ?

Cat is already very metric. 13, 16, 18, and 30mm are my most used sizes when working on newer Cat equipment.

 

[purplezr2]

Every 80k or 85k something like that.

Not true, They never need to be changed unless there is an issue. They are know for failing around 120k in some cases. Usually has to do with poor maintenance but not always.

 

[Tronyadorable]

I guess my brothers great grandkids will have some neat stuff to show their buddies.
" Hey man. Wanna see some crazy **** ? FRACTIONS, how f'upped is that ! "

 

[geojag]

There was a Northern Tool promotional poster that said "How many wrenches does one man need? Don't ask stupid questions." Same response here. We have a need for a variety of tools, access to them, means to obtain them, and room to store them. That is why our toolboxes are so big.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

There was a Northern Tool promotional poster that said "How many wrenches does one man need? Don't ask stupid questions." Same response here. We have a need for a variety of tools, access to them, means to obtain them, and room to store them. That is why our toolboxes are so big.

Big drawer to hide the Mistress,, another to hold the bribes and blackmails...these questions get rather personal...

 

[Cope]

It wasn't always this way, but much more so in the last 20 years. It seems that new tools can not touch another tool. A metric wrench can't be in the same drawer as a SAE wrench and it is a major **** if you don't have a special drawer for your wallet, sunglasses and phone.

And catalogs, nuts & bolts, etc.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Do American shops require its mechanics to have more tools?

Strictly a DIYer, but the top of my upper chest would be a lot emptier if I did not have both SAE and metric, 3/8 and 1/2 drive, deep and shallow sockets. I store my impact sockets with my impact gun in the bottom chest.

Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, GJ has convinced me that I need more specialty "pliers". Long needle nose, long bent needle nose, hose grip, sheet metal snips (still have not used the left or right snips), etc. Now I have 2 drawer for those and my 2 SAE and 1 metric combination wrench sets are in one drawer.

Hoping Santa will bring me a middle box and a platform to stand on, so I can see into the top of my upper box (5'9").

 

[FreeTenthsDiag]

You are the guy I would not take my car to.

You couldn't afford a top notch tech like him anyway.

 

[titsmcgee]

how many trucks do Europeans work on? almost none, they don't have them, we work on most of what they do plus full size trucks, and many techs in shops have worked at a place where we had to maintain a tow truck or a plow truck, all this adds up after awhile, and well like any other man, I like shiny things

 

[Mike.ASC]

You're right, I've been voicing a pretty narrow opinion of things. Self presentation really does have a huge effect on how one is perceived by others. I try hard to be nice when visiting abroad, but I guess I can see where I can fault as well.

Yeah specialty Euro make, I'm glad someone understands. I'm dreading my timing belt replacement man. I don't have the facilities at home to accomplish this particular task by myself. Dropping the engine and trans, my wife just won't let it happen.

Oh I think I see what's going on here , "your wife won't let it happen" ... so your frustrated ........

 

[flyingtpot]

You couldn't afford a top notch tech like him anyway.

 

[flyingtpot]

Not true, They never need to be changed unless there is an issue. They are know for failing around 120k in some cases. Usually has to do with poor maintenance but not always.

 

[Hantke]

I'm gonna say variety, we like to have a large variety of tools and work on a bunch of different things, I don't know many foreigners that have a complete set of regular and deep well SAE and Metric sockets, SAE and metric wrenches, etc. plus we carry A lot of specialty tools that we use. Once I put all my stuff that I use regularly together it fits inside a 26" cantilever toolbox and I have a seperate case for electric impacts and a drill. On the other hand, I have a tool cart brimming with tools that make my life easier and I love. I would like a full sized roller tool box because the top would become my work area for carbs and various other small projects. But that's just me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NC-Shaun]

It amazes me that I see guys that have $10-20k tool boxes and they use them to store garbage in them, like aerosols, nuts, and bolts, spare bits and pieces.....Tool Boxes are for tools........... Organizing a tool box goes a long way in additional efficiency.

Aerosols, cleaners, etc is for cabinets, and nuts and bolts are for bolt bins.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I've never had anything more than a 26' top/bottom box, even when I wasa full time auto tech. I have nothing against bigger boxes, they're really nice. I just don't get the giant box with only 20 wrenches spaced 2" apart in each drawer...

Tommy

 

[spoon671]

Not true, They never need to be changed unless there is an issue. They are know for failing around 120k in some cases. Usually has to do with poor maintenance but not always.

Yes, to put it more accurately, it is the chain guides and tensioner that wear/fail. If you don't drop the motor at 85k and maintenance the guides and tensioners, you run the risk of catastrophic failure.

You couldn't afford a top notch tech like him anyway.

Yeah. Busting knuckles on sloppy *** F350's all day. That just screams "top notch" to me.

Too bad they don't have a "nutswing" emoticon, you'd fit in using that one too.

--


ON TOPIC: Someone touched on it last page. Slave driver auto shop owners here in the USA are making poor guys buy all these expensive tools just so they can perform work.

They don't do that in Europe it appears. That's why such big boxes are needed here.

I love buying tools and tool boxes because I love working on my own car/truck, working on my friends cars/trucks. It's a hobby and I love spending my spare change on the stuff. But damned if I have to spend all that coin just to work and make a living.

 

[FreeTenthsDiag]

Yeah. Busting knuckles on sloppy *** F350's all day. That just screams "top notch" to me.

I'd be surprised if you could even figure out how to get the hood open on an F350.

GTA Matt happens to be one of the best diagnostic technicians out there. By the time you figured out where to find the sockets in your tool box he has already scoped out an intermittent secondary ignition failure, replaced the coil, shipped the car and dropped a deuce.

 

[flyingtpot]

I'd be surprised if you could even figure out how to get the hood open on an F350.

GTA Matt happens to be one of the best diagnostic technicians out there. By the time you figured out where to find the sockets in your tool box he has already scoped out an intermittent secondary ignition failure, replaced the coil, shipped the car and dropped a deuce.