How long would you search for tool

[Taylortractornut]

Im bad scatter brained, I used to leave tools laying but i got better over ther years. My problem now is that I have a ton of jobs at work. I tried to split my personal tools between my home shop, service truck, and some in the shop at work. But Ive found that with the duplicates using them on a job like having to get a 9/16ths from the truck and one from the box to adjust some thing on a dozer or scraper at work Both get put in the same place or moved. I keep Craftsman happy buying tool sets.


THe big thing with me i if the tools have a holder like my Proto sockets and craftsman sets I can immediately tell if one isnt there and i can look for it then and there and usually find it. THe bad thing about this is the flat packs that Craftsman has wont fit in my side boxes. I usually make a large wire hanger for the box ends and hold them in order like my six points. I keep them seperate so I can tell wats there. I also have a problem working on something in the shop at work is one of our helpers is a neat freak. Working on something he will walk over and put tools you are using in the box. You have to watch while hes around. Work lights or anything else. Some times he puts truck tools in the shop and shop tools in the truck. Its a pita. THen theres the tool conspiracy where I wont have the wrench I need, open the tool box and there will bee 4 or 5 9/16ths, 5/8ths, 11/16ths. THen theres this stray 19/32ths that came from nowhere lol.

[tcreeley]

I am always impatient with lost tools. I have stashes near where I last worked on something. I tend to collect mini-sets. I hate it when I start taking from one stash and losing it someplace else. I like to be able to put my hand out and touch just the tool I want. It never works though. I often go buy another. Once I found my screw jack in the grass along with some wrenches 3 years after I last used them! Grease guns- I have 4- all just where I need them- I kept getting replacements.

[NormL]

Ok, I searched for almost 2 hours for an oil filter for my JD135se mower yesterday. I knew I had bought one back in January but could not find it. I was searching for the nice little green/yellow box. So I went to Home Depot and bought another, but of course I checked out the generic Briggs and Stratton filter which was $4 cheaper than the JD filter in the nice green and yellow box. They looked like the same filter to me. And the engine in the JD is a Briggs of course. The packaging on the Briggs filter is blister pack hang card, not a box. So I came home and passed by the pegboard and there was my original filter hanging on the pegboard in plain sight. Oh well now I have one for next year.

James K0UA

"In plain sight" is where anything I'm using or am looking for 'cause I dropped it, is hiding! Sometimes I have to walk away and maybe do something else. Then, when I come back, there it is!

[Cat_Driver]

Last year I did a "tool gather" I searched high and low in every vehicle, every box, every closet, every trunk, container, cubby hole, drawer, etc. I ended up with 3-6 of a lot of tools.

I found almost 15 flash lights, dozens on screwdrivers, dozens of pliers and vice grips.

No one's fault but mine. I hardly ever put tools away where they belong. After a job I'm too tired so I just throw everything in a box and carry that box in the garage. The box gets moved around then I can't fine the tools. I buy more tools because I have no time to look forthe box, and on and on we go.

[powerpace]

Last year I did a "tool gather" I searched high and low in every vehicle, every box, every closet, every trunk, container, cubby hole, drawer, etc. I ended up with 3-6 of a lot of tools.

I found almost 15 flash lights, dozens on screwdrivers, dozens of pliers and vice grips.

No one's fault but mine. I hardly ever put tools away where they belong. After a job I'm too tired so I just throw everything in a box and carry that box in the garage. The box gets moved around then I can't fine the tools. I buy more tools because I have no time to look forthe box, and on and on we go.

I'm with you on this one. Two of most tools. 12 tape meassures. Multiples of many.

[Ford tractor]

Looking for my rivet gun a few years back and could not find it. Bought a new one and when putting it away placed it right on top of the one I had.

Whew! I thought I was the only one that did that!


When I can't find an important tool or part that I've squirreled away, I change from project mode to cleaning mode. That's a sure sign that it's been too long.

[sandman2234]

Neighbor wanted to use my TIG machine to build a Canopy for his boat. First day, couldn't find a tape measure, so he walked down to his house and got one. Left it at my house. Next day, couldn't find a tape measure, including the one he had brought down. He went to his house and got another. Next day, couldn't find a tape measure and he went to his house and got a THIRD tape measure. Fourth day we started tripping over them (and laughing about it). A couple weeks later he found a NEON GREEN tape measure and bought it for me. I actually kept that one for years without loosing it.
David from jax

[kc5dlo]

Years ago when building my house, I had several occasions where i could not find a tape measure. Figured I would be better off just taking the fifteen minutes and buying a new tape measure. Thought that the next time it would be easier to find if there were more than one. Even bought 5 for a buck each one time on sale.

I still have a problem finding a tape measure. Only remember having to throw one away because of failure. I bet I own 15 tape measures. The easiest to find was a Pink flouresent Stanley but it was the one that broke

[EddieWalker]

I'm kind of anal about putting my tools away, so it's never a problem to find them. When my dad comes to visit, he never puts anything away. He's getting better, but it's very common to lose a few tools while he's here. Sometimes I'll find them months later. Like my medium crescent wrench that he left on the step of the dump truck while he was replacing a hose on the backhoe.

Last year some surveyors where working in the area and found a pipe wrench that had gone missing a year earlier. Dad didn't know anything about it when I couldn't find it, but once they showed up with it and asked if we had lost it, he remembered using it in that area.

Once a socket disapears, I just go get another. There really is no telling where he might have put it.

His worse "loss" was after missing six times at a snake with his .357 Ruger revolver. It's stainless and pretty easy to spot, but it's gone. He put it down to get a shovel to kill the snake, then the next day realized it was missing. Instead of accepting blame, he is convinced that somebody came 800 feet down my driveway, went to their RV that is behind my house, broke in and stole his pistol. My mom is a fanatic about locking doors and there isn't any sign that the door was forced open. Kind of hard to believe that she forgot to lock it. But if she did and the thief went into their RV, then he walked right past my dad's wallet, which is always sitting on the counter between the front seats. Then took one pistol, but left the other that is still in it's hiding place.

Somewhere around my house there is a pistol. It's been out there for about three years, so it's probably worthless, but you never know.

Eddie

[robbyr]

Eddie, we may be related as ur dad sounds like me. Sometimes blame the wife when I cant find something but usually I will discover it in a location I remember using it.
My son works for a home builder who has a small cargo trailer to keep tools in. The homeowner asked to borrow a screwdriver and was told it was in the trailer at which time he said he would just go to town and buy one. One day they managed to flip the trailer over with a bobcat but determined it still looked the same on the inside.