I've taken to having three 3/8 drives with 10mm sockets and extensions on hand at all times: one for under the hood, one for inside and one for under the car.
Things that go missing:
pick set (since they are really handy for lots of things)
medium sized prybar
drill bits (usually in the house instead of the garage)
small, flexible tape measure that I went to the fabric store to get (no idea where that went)
tuna55
Dork
3/28/11 12:39 p.m.
I'll 15th the 10mm sockets, I either break them or loose them. over and over.
wow glad I am not th eonly one with issues with a 10mm socket..
pstrbrc
New Reader
3/28/11 9:52 p.m.
Actually, mine is in the category of "sets". I have a very crowded garage, and to keep things slightly less complicated, I keep my metrics and my sae's as separated as possible. However, the metric and sae projects are always being worked on somewhat concurrently, depending upon what broke last and what has to be fixed first. For instance, my most urgent garage project was my wife's '98 Contour (metric), until my chinese air compressor failed and I had to rebuild my old Champion compressor (SAE). Except that I need to put a new engine on it, so I picked up a used Honda horizontal shaft to mount on it (metric), so I am right now so buried in the wrong tools every time I put my hand down to grab a wrench...
Now, I'm comfortable with both standards, but the brain is getting confused, switching back and forth.
lol it was just yesterday that I sorted though my tools... I have a few socket sets (the cheapie but made in USA set my dad gave me when I was a 12 or so) and a few Chinese made sets that where given to me for Christmas over the years... I never touch the cheapo sets (well i do have the 3/8" ratchet from my dads set in my main socket set... never know when you'll need a 2nd ratchet on hand)
anyway i finally found a use for those POS china craps... I scavenged though and tossed the proper sized sockets into my missing spots in the craftsman set... yay for a complete set again :)
and yes 10mm, and 12mm where in that missing set.
mndsm
SuperDork
3/28/11 10:19 p.m.
Appleseed wrote:
I gotta ask- how do you lose a whole Sawzall? Wait, don't answer that, i'm not entirely sure where mine is either. I was looking for it the other night when my can opener broke.
I have one really good 6" Craftsman #2 Phillips, and one longer one. The 6" is by far my favorite Phillips, so of course it goes on vacation. I finally broke down and bought a second one last week, because the other one has been gone for months.
Of course, I 'found' it today, hiding out in my Makita angle grinder case. So I guess I actually have TWO really good 6" Craftsman #2 Phillips....
mndsm wrote:
Every 10mm socket i've EVER owned.
x2
Regardless of whether it fits the 3/4in torque wrench I need to tighten the cam (valve) cover, the 1/2in ratchet I need to take the thing off a rusted car, or the 1/4in drive to take out old stereo speakers with a nut driver. I've lost more 10mm sockets than I've lost half a pair of socks while doing the laundry.
two beamer 7 series halfshafts are hiding from me--my 14v dewalt screwgun went through 4 batteries, 2 originals[best] and 2 yellow replacements[crap] and I would just rather plug in my 29.00 skil drill than spend 120.00 for 2 more batteries.
staples-t50's. diagonal cutters for my mig- 7mm alan wrench--most L sets dont have one. I walk away with a tool in hand and set it down during a distraction or cleverly perch it somewhere so I can find it easier and its lost.
T.J.
SuperDork
3/29/11 11:36 a.m.
T.J. wrote:
My current garage albatross is a fuel pump block-off plate that I purchased about a year ago and now need. I cannot find it. I even made a most wanted poster for it and posted it on the door from the garage into the house. It's been driving me crazy for a week now. I think I need to do a major garage cleanout to find this stupid part. Just on principle I am not going to buy another one. I will find the one I've lost even if I have to empty out the entire garage.
Found the little bugger last night and then promptly installed it on my cylinder head before it wandered off again. I found it in an envelope full of stickers. Makes perfect sense because the place I bought it from sent some stickers along with the stuff I ordered. I used all the other parts last year when I converted to MegaJolt. I guess I dropped the stickers in my sticker envelope and just put the block off plate in there as well.
I always seem to find things in the last place I look for them.
Autolex
HalfDork
3/29/11 11:48 a.m.
mndsm wrote:
Appleseed wrote:
I gotta ask- how do you lose a whole Sawzall? Wait, don't answer that, i'm not entirely sure where mine is either. I was looking for it the other night when my can opener broke.
I believe he's referring to the sawzalls uncanny ability to PRODUCE "Jesus! where did that go!?" parts!
T.J. wrote:
T.J. wrote:
My current garage albatross is a fuel pump block-off plate that I purchased about a year ago and now need. I cannot find it. I even made a most wanted poster for it and posted it on the door from the garage into the house. It's been driving me crazy for a week now. I think I need to do a major garage cleanout to find this stupid part. Just on principle I am not going to buy another one. I will find the one I've lost even if I have to empty out the entire garage.
Found the little bugger last night and then promptly installed it on my cylinder head before it wandered off again. I found it in an envelope full of stickers. Makes perfect sense because the place I bought it from sent some stickers along with the stuff I ordered. I used all the other parts last year when I converted to MegaJolt. I guess I dropped the stickers in my sticker envelope and just put the block off plate in there as well.
I always seem to find things in the last place I look for them.
Not me. I keep looking after i find the things.
BigD
New Reader
3/29/11 1:54 p.m.
Autolex wrote:
I believe he's referring to the sawzalls uncanny ability to PRODUCE "Jesus! where did that go!?" parts!
For me it's "Jesus, what have I done?!" I'm not allowed to own bolt cutters and a plasma cutter for this reason. I need a special supervised pass to use side cutters.
JoeyM wrote:
I constantly have small tools disappear. Any time Gertrude is feeling neglected, she'll grab the nearest tool and run away to try and get you to play with her.
She seems to have a special fondness, though, for gnawing on LED headlamps. I've lost two of them that way.....must remember to keep all tools off the ground when not in use.
We recently adopted SWMBO's sister's beagle. Great dog. Large breed's mind in a small breed's body. Haven't let her into the garage yet, though..still doing some "remedial" training. Living with us is the first time she's ever been inside a house.
Screwdrivers. Whenever I need a particular-sized screwdriver, it's the one I can never find. I'll have one that is one size too small and strips the screw, or one size too big and doesn't fit, but never the exact size I need at the moment. More than once I've ended up having to rummage for new screws because I resorted to using the wrong-sized screwdriver or a Vise-Grip.
Is Harbor Freight a tool?
JoeyM
SuperDork
3/30/11 6:14 a.m.
friedgreencorrado wrote:
We recently adopted SWMBO's sister's beagle. Great dog. Large breed's mind in a small breed's body. Haven't let her into the garage yet, though..still doing some "remedial" training. Living with us is the first time she's ever been inside a house.
Adorable. Beware of missing screw drivers.
mndsm
SuperDork
3/30/11 7:38 a.m.
MitchellC wrote:
Is Harbor Freight a tool?
I suppose HF could be considered that. I'm never entirely sure what I need it to do, only that I need it, and thus all my random trips that end up with me buying (and subsequently modifying for the sake of danger) bug zapper tennis racquets.
BigD
New Reader
3/30/11 11:16 a.m.
mndsm wrote:
MitchellC wrote:
Is Harbor Freight a tool?
I suppose HF could be considered that. I'm never entirely sure what I need it to do, only that I need it, and thus all my random trips that end up with me buying (and subsequently modifying for the sake of danger) bug zapper tennis racquets.
I think I'm psychologically incapable of getting everything I want in one trip to HF. I make a plan of attack but then once I enter the store, I look around and my mind goes "I want ALL of this crap!" Sometimes I walk out with 10 things and 2 out of the 5 that I actually wanted to get, only realizing it when I'm home.