This thread is making me twitch. In the last 24 hours I've bought a 10mm socket and a Swiss Army knife. And yes, I lose the 13mm as well, and Sharpies and ballpoints should both just be in bulk dispensers in half the rooms in my house and every five feet in the garage.
EDIT: And I can't find the most commonly used size Phillips screwdriver from the Williams set I finally bought last year. Argh.
Alfaromeoguy said:Phillips screwdriver
You should see my collection of Straight Slot Screw Drivers.. you know, the ones I have almost no use for...
Don't get me started on pocket knives. I used to have a massive collection of them (close to 200) and I don't even bother trying to carry one anymore.
I lose box cutters all the time too. I'm now where I pretty much have one in every room of the house, all my cars etc. Still can't find one when I need it.
yep tape measures, you set them down after measuring twice, and then go to cut, and now the tape measure has been lost.
I just bought a purple one a couple days ago, to help spot it. The orange and yellow are now too common to stand out, never buy a black or chrome one.
I think if someone sold one that had a flashing located light or ring tone, they could make millions. :)
We have a camoflage welding helmet at the shop (don't judge, it was the least-worst one compared to skulls or an eagle)
Oddly enough, camo blends in really well with a dirty, scrap covered fab table.
Flashlights when working on cars. I am also starting to saturate every work place with lights. I can't imagine the number of harbor freight lights I have, in addition to the different rechargeable lights all over.
On construction projects I am one of the few who wear a tool belt. I have some friends who are real carpenters and engineers. I was shocked that none of them wore a tool belt. I loved razzing them when they couldn't find a hammer, tape measure or whatever they just had.
Seriously, tool belt was one of the best things I ever bought.
I always lose the tool that was last in my hand. Then take 10 minutes looking for it, give up and grab another then halfway through find the first one, set down the second and lose it as well. I bet I could cut down my working time in half if I just had a tool master that handled all tools when they weren't in my hands.
Crackers said:I lose box cutters all the time too. I'm now where I pretty much have one in every room of the house, all my cars etc. Still can't find one when I need it.
I have bought dozens of basic retractable Stanley knives over the years. They fit my hand well, I buy blades by the 100, great tool. Of those dozens I have 2 and I couldn't find one of them yesterday so I had to get the other one.
I lose hammers too, but those always seem to come back.
Oooo does patience count as a tool?
I picked up my blob eye WRX wagom from the body shop about three weeks ago after getting the rust on the rear quarters repaired. This past weekend I was cleaning out the back hatch area of the car so I could take my dog to the vet and found a Snap-On cordless ratchet hiding under a blanket.
So I've kept other shop tools I've inherited such as screwdrivers, but not this thing. I drove back to the body shop and returned it. The mechanic was very appreciative. Those things are like $300, plus it would have been a paper weight in a couple more weeks since they did not also leave me the charger. ;)
Tape measures and box cutters.
I have at least 6 of each....
In the garage I have a new approach, I set up two tables one for pieces that go back on the project and one for tools. I don't see as well anymore, so losing tools is a real problem when you can't spot them from across the shop. Tool searching is down to a minimum now.
At work however, don't get me started on 6" rules, there have to be hundreds of them somewhere. Everyone in the shop has bought at least 10 on them.
Bits for my bit driver.
I seem to drop them into the engine bay about half the time I try to use one. Sometimes they bounce out onto the ground.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
Oh yeah, I lose those a lot too. In fact, I lost an entire index a few months ago and I refuse to replace it knowing it will show up the second I buy a new one.
The only tools i ever misplace are the ones that don't go back in the box. I use my calipers so often they never make it back into the toolbox. If I set them someplace other than my apron pocket chances are I will lose them. 4 digital calipers and 3 dial calipers and I can usually find at least one.
End of week cleanup usually rounds them all up, most will be misplaced again by thursday.
You'll need to log in to post.
