Will i ever find my tools ?

I Wanted to rig up a box out of what i have with big enough wheels to move once in a while. I made a cart to hold some of the boxes i have . It was going to have a flat top to work off of but i needed more room so i painted a old Mac road box i have and set it on top. It will house the stuff i use the most i think like screwdrivers and pliers . Getting stuff organized will be fun. Once agin i have learned i probably never need to by another tool.

We all say that until we see that next "shiny thing" that catches the eye. I've slowed down, but haven't stopped or quit looking.

By the way, slick work on your workbench/ tool cart.

funwithfuel said: We all say that until we see that next "shiny thing" that catches the eye. I've slowed down, but haven't stopped or quit looking. Click to expand... I can understand that . If someone would have told me back when i started out that i would have a 1/4 of the tools i do now i wouldnt have believed it. I fill very lucky or blessed to have what i do and have learned how to use what i have .

I have not really felt like doing a lot of extra stuff at night in the shop but tonight i did some cleaning . Then i thought about how my tool box needed to be rearranged . I want to put the most used stuff where it's easy to get to. It's going to be a major deal but worth the time it will take. I badly need some organizers .

People talk about the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle. 3,400 sq/ft homes with nothing in them. Garages that are empty except a bicycle. Hiring people to mow, fix the leaky faucet, change the oil. No way that a mechanic can live like that. I’ve got tools that I use once a decade. But, when you need them,…. I’m sure glad I had the stuff I did, during the scamdemic. When supply chains were tight. And, I’m at the very end of the supply chain.

I had a pretty good set of tools from working as a mechanic for the first part of my life then i got married and wasnt around my stuff but went to a lot of sells ,auctions were i could get deals on stuff so i bought more. Now there are several damaged freight places around were they have deals on tools . Its hard to pass up a Snap-on ratchet for $27.00. I bought 3 hand files for less than $2.00 each yesterday to add to the full drawer I already have. I did have a note pad that i carried that i wrote down tools i didnt have or thought i needed i need to do that agin.

My 14 year old son is a chip off the ol block. He asked me a year or so ago if he could have one of my old carts. At that time it had my recovery machine on it and it was winter time. Sure I said. Then he asks to go to hobo freight for some tools. I laughed and said I have enough extra stuff to setup two or three guys starting out. Some I recall the origin of. Other stuff I couldn’t tell you how it got here. I finally had to break my stuff into categories so to speak. I have one roll cabinet that’s electrical stuff beyond a meter like my power probe, all my ECM bypass harness, relay test kit, deutsch terminal kit etc. Another roll cab is all engine tooling, seal drivers, caps and plugs, 3/4-1” sockets etc. My everyday is a 42” roll cab that the family bought me for Father’s Day. It’s packed full, needs a top box but I like the work surface. It may come home and be upgraded to the 72” so I have more room and my “office” space lol. I’m never done buying tools. They’re just more expensive. This year I added a new plasma, TIG machine, suitcase and just the other day my Lincoln 350x arrived. I have fought the urge to buy a line boring setup but I don’t know how long that will last lol.

I have tools all over the place. Bought some cabinets to organize and next year there are more tools and things are a mess again.

We had a young guy at work who was going to votec . When i heard he would need some tools i was going to give him some stuff. I started talking to him about tools and he wasnt interested he was going to buy all new snap-on.

Old Doug said: We had a young guy at work who was going to votec . When i heard he would need some tools i was going to give him some stuff. I started talking to him about tools and he wasnt interested he was going to buy all new snap-on. Click to expand... and 6 Mos into the program, when he realizes it's "not for me." You'll get a smoking deal on brand new Snap-on tools.

I have some snap on stuff but I’ve never been a hardcore tool truck guy. I have a mixture of brands. A fair amount of it came from Amazon or Harbor Freight. Years ago there was a place in tulsa called Steve’s Wholesale tools. Got a lot there over the years. You could buy Chinese junk there or name brand stuff. 25 years ago I was making $10.60 so I worked through my share of junk haha.

I still have the Harbor Fright WOODEN HANDLE screwdrivers that I bought 40 YEARS ago.!! It didn’t take but once to learn that you can’t hit the handle end with a hammer.. lol

funwithfuel said: and 6 Mos into the program, when he realizes it's "not for me." You'll get a smoking deal on brand new Snap-on tools. Click to expand... There's two local vo techs, and its not unusual to see a giant snap on box, with about 5-10 tools in each drawer, of brand new snap on stuff. All for sale on facebook marketplace. Nothing is dirty or greasy, and its just about enough tools, to change oil and a serpentine belt. They are into the tool man for $12,000 and are lucky to get $3,000 for it. The older I get, the better tools I buy. But I don't think I've spent $100 on any tool truck.

My kids didn't go, but I'm sure I paid for my dealers daughter to go to the best school for whatever liberal arts degree was available at the time.

I think i need and would help me another tool box . There is a big Mac box advertised that looks to good to be true . I hope and maybe should go as soon as i can to look at it.

A tool truck is a hangout for Ravens/Crows, then fly back to nest with shinny trinkets.

Truck Shop said: A tool truck is a hangout for Ravens/Crows, then fly back to nest with shinny trinkets. Click to expand... The first shop i worked at a Mac truck stopped every 2 weeks . I didnt work there to many years and the mac tool guy got out of the business. I got a good deal on a Road box and am glade i bought what i did from him but i probably got better deals on tools from other places than off a truck.

I bought the mac box now I need to get my tool out of a trailer I have stuff stored in sort them out put alot of them in this box and maybe sell some stuff i have several of.

I have been slowly sorting and moving my tools from a storage trailer to my new Mac box. I cant believe what i have and how many i have. If I could go back in time I would do things a little different some how . For years I worked as a mechanic and had a tool box at work a tool box at home shop and then some times a set on a truck . I had a good income was around were i could buy used tools so buying stuff was no problem . If i could give advice to young mechanics or go back in time i would get a note pad to carry with me i would write down what tools i could use and not buy so many good deals i ran across.