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Tool addict confessions

barbee6043 said:
How BIG is your shop!?
Click to expand...

I have 2 shops, both are 40x60. One shop is the "work" shop where I have 99% of my tools and equipment. The other shop is the storage shop where I keep my cars but I do have my tire machines in there along with some overflow hand tools. I like to be self sufficient and have pretty much everything I need to do just about anything I want to do. I would like to have a paint booth but no where to put one presently.

I have been very fortunate in that I have acquired a lot of tools and equipment along the way. Yard sales have been great for hand tools and some lesser powered tools. My wife loves to go to them and I gave her a list of things I am interested. Also I have a neighbor that has a production machine shop (unlike an engine machine shop) and is a bit of a hoarder, he has given me a lot of stiff not the least of which was my mill and lathe.
 
Much of my addiction is due to my love of fabrication; I like to make stuff and when it comes to cars I like to make them "better" or fix things that usually get tossed and replaced. I have a lot of sheet metal tools to include 2 brakes, a bead roller, band saw, etc. and I use them a lot.

Some tools I have because as a kid working on cars I always wanted them like my brake lathe. I don't use it very often but it has come in exceptionally handy a few times. Same deal with my tire machines, I do not use them often but when I need them they are invaluable.

The one tool/machine that has eluded me thus far is a surface grinder, I want one and I think I know what I would do with it but they are too expensive new to justify. If I ever come across one that is affordable I will have it.
 
For me it's hand tools. Why one guy has no less than 25 or more Ratchets is beyond me.
NO WAIT I AM THAT GUY
 
Have some of the same tools you do but not using them much anymore except for doing work for others. A couple of the machines I miss the most at work are the shot blaster along with the bead blaster, my 20" variable speed Lodge & Shipley lathe and sometimes the surface grinder. That thing came in handy especially when needing to make a precision spacer but the lathe works ok for that too but it wasn't good for something that was already 1/8" thick and needed to take off .010
 
A friend of mine planted the seed on the surface grinder and I have an application that it would be very handy in (firearms side), but I am not real convinced of how I would use it on the automotive side. I thought about the spacer aspect and I agree that would be good but I use my lathe and at time my mill or even on of my belt sanders for that. Point is, I am not sure that the cost is worth the effort, but if I found a deal on one I would be on it I am sure.

I have a large blast cabinet which I like and do use a fair bit. I bought a cheap tumbler (HF) that I have put bolts and stuff in and it works pretty well.
 
The next tool I will buy is a G3 hemi valve spring tool, need one to put the cam in my 5.7 going into my 71 Charger.
 
toolmanmike said:
I had the addiction for 28 years. I'm surprised I don't miss it.

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70chall440 said:
Also I have a neighbor that has a production machine shop (unlike an engine machine shop) and is a bit of a hoarder, he has given me a lot of stiff not the least of which was my mill and lathe.
Click to expand...
TMI! :lol:

I have the rudimentary tool collection (insisting on American made stuff over the decades, but NEVER
whored myself out for the SnapOn or Mac truck) for vehicles.
A few specialty tools with no other purpose in life come with that territory, of course (the latest is
that ^$^%$ oil pressure sensor tool for the 5.7).
Then there's a small collection of specialty tools needed for "agri" stuff (tractor mainly)...
and the heap of specialty stuff for my trade (fire sprinkler, including some 50 year old oddball things
nobody cares about but me)...
and the heap of stuff for my amateur attempts at gunsmithing...
Rounding out the mess is a bunch of tool crap for home and deck construction.

I can't say I've ever bought a tool that I didn't have immediate need for, however....
but I sure as hell could see doing so if I had that sort of expendable income! :thumbsup:
 
BeepBeepRR said:
Being an electrician and going up into ceilings usually behind other electricians. I find lots of tools laying on or near light fixtures. I still get tickled when I find tools my coworker gets mad when I find them. The last tools I found were a pair of brand new 440 Channel locks and a brand new set of glow in the dark wire strippers. But have found testers, screw drivers, pipe cutters, hammers etc etc. I had to tell him how to find these tools. When you open a ceiling tile scan around you for as far as the flashlight will allow you to see. My neighbors think I have lots of tools but I have seen some of your shop setups. Mine pale in comparison but I still buy what I need. Hell, I bought a timing tool set for a ford 4.0 v6 only used it once and now its just 100.00 wasted sitting on a shelf. But I have it if I need it again.
Click to expand...
I get that sometimes also....it's usually a poor quality tool that I find in a ceiling. :rolleyes:
I hate going into a ceiling and finding an old dead alarm panel complete with a sulphated battery laying on the insulation....the last guy was too lazy to remove it and dispose of it correctly.

I too am a Tool Addict. My buddy and I are always competing to buy the latest or best tool specific to our trade as Electricians. I got a bit sideways a while back doing home renovations, so I have more building oriented gadgets....and Makita is my tool of choice in the 18 Volt range. Auto-feed screw gun, auto silicon cartridge gun (don't laugh), pop rivet gun, circular saws, sabre saws, torque wrench guns for 1/4" bits and an impact wrench for 1/2" drive etc.
My buddy is a Milwaukee freak....I laugh because his drill has an AEG trigger switch, and they are renowned for problems. His drill has a lag start....crazy, and the Rep won't fix it until he drops it off for god knows how long without a loaner. So we just keep slagging the brand.

I nearly bought the 2 x 18Volt cooler/warmer box for keeping my drinks and lunch cool in summer ...but at $900, I might wait a bit longer. :D
 
Like many I have gone through a number of cordless brands. Currently I use Makita drivers and drills primarily although I do have a Milwaukee drill I got for free (found it on a dirt road, needs a new battery). To that end, there are several cordless tools I "need" such as a reciprocating saw but just haven't bought (yet).
 
I cannot say that I haven't ever bought a tool that I didn't need right away, nor can I say that I don't have any tools that I haven't used (a relay tester comes to mind), however overall I have or do use most of my tools. I recently bought a gauge tester which I used on the 69 ply wagon I am working on. Now I probably won't use it all that much and it was not inexpensive but it does serve a specific purpose which is useful.
 
70chall440 said:
Like many I have gone through a number of cordless brands. Currently I use Makita drivers and drills primarily although I do have a Milwaukee drill I got for free (found it on a dirt road, needs a new battery). To that end, there are several cordless tools I "need" such as a reciprocating saw but just haven't bought (yet).
Click to expand...
Concur!
There currently are (2) DeWalt cordless drills, a slew of Ridgid cordless things, a big-arse Milwaukee hammer
drill and my assortment of Makita, the latest added to the collection.

Both the DeWalts lie dormant, one practically new, the other brand new. Reason? **** batteries (18V XRP).
Hell, I'll give 'em to anyone who has a couple good 18V Makita batteries....but I refuse to do the DeWalt
battery dance anymore.

The Milwaukee drill is a beast for an 18V, love the thing. Drove a bunch of lag bolts with it when building the
front porch, then put it away damn near new.

The Ridgid crap I inherited from a previous employer. I still have one good 18V battery for what's left of
the collection - a working 1/4 drive impact driver and a regular hammer type drill.
The cordless saw was handy as long as it lasted. So was the reciprocating saw....as long as it lasted.

The Makita stuff I LOVE. Best cordless stuff I've ever owned. Still is....
Unfortunately, one of its' batteries has bit the dust and the other is marginally ok still.

Such a friggin conglomeration of cordless crap, all on one corner of the workbench.
 
I wish I could say I picked Makita because of extensive research, reviews, etc. but the truth is that HD was having a sale on a kit and I needed the circular saw, the driver and the drill. The first one I got was the green because someone told me that the white ones were less robust but eventually I bought a white drill and driver set on sale and have to say the white drill is better than the green one (white one has a meat chuck whereas the green one is plastic).

One thing I am not impressed with when it comes to the Makita stuff is the battery price; like $50/ea. My daughter worked at HD and I think she told me that Rigid has "lifetime" batteries... wish Makita did.. I have a Rigid miter saw which is a beast along with a Rigid table saw which works well.
 
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