Old habits
Ditch-Runner
Member Posts: 25,221 ✭✭✭✭
I have promised my self no more tools i have a crazy amount from 50 domr years of buying them
But so many new variations have come out or old stlye good ones ben dusted off and put back on the market I get sucked onto buying a lot more that just make a job easier
Example I just (with the help of my oldest son my back is not what it use to be we went to work on my wife's honda element
We changed the lower control arns and strut assemblys and ball joints .basic all the front suspension is now all hew
But to help I had bought a set of pickle forks for the air hamet easier than hammer on the old ones and also a new set of extra thin wrenches to hold the ball joint and sway bar links while tightening them up and a few more odd and ends to e as y to just check of boxes when buying tools
I think I have a life time curse about buying tools to me one is great to have but many more of the same one in case one or three breaks are better
I have Been up all day and night i just laid down after seveal pain pills and a few hours of having a heating pad on to relax my poor excuse for a back
I Always enjoyed working on cars but it its getting the best of me anymore its frustrating
I
Comments
Sorry to hear that you are suffering with back troubles D\R. Been there since I was in my late 20's and have had 3 major surgeries over the years. I swear, if I could go back in time, I'd avoid the knife.
I once owned a Honda Element. It was a 2003 model with all of the accessories like running boards, roof rack, window shades, low profile tires with special fancy wheels. I liked the car a lot until I had to take it cross country from Michigan to Colorado once. Started the trip out in my Chevy van but had a breakdown just after leaving the house. Loaded up the Element and off we went.
It was a car meant for around the town but the long trip convinced me to trade it in upon our return home.
Anyway, I just spent a grand to have front end work done on my KIA Sportage. I envy you doing the work yourself! Please take your time taking it easy and hope your back feels better REAL soon!
I know what you mean. After the 11/2/22 fire I've been trying to rebuild my decades old set of tools. As you said, many times over 50 years I 'needed' a tool for a specific job and now all those are GONE. Rebuilding the tool chest is both expensive and confusing. I look at tools every time I go to town but usually don't buy. Then a week later I find a need for the exact tool I left on the peg at the store.
It's worse now than 40 years ago due to the metric option. GEEZ, now a complete set of those is required for nearly any repair job and there's all sorts of socket head fasteners that require their own type/size of bit.
Those 'air hammers' are a big plus especially for things like ball joints and such. We've found several instances where an air hammer made a big difference in separating parts w/o the danger of smashing hands/fingers or damaging parts due to miss strikes with a hammer.
Yep, I'm in the same boat as you fellas. I just bought a Milwaukee 3/8 impact wrench, and needed a bunch of metric impact sockets. At my age of 62 I didn't see the sense in going to town and spending 7-8 hundred bucks on Proto sockets. So I did what I preach against and went to Harbor Freight. I did not buy their Chi-Com stuff though. The have a line called Icon, which is made in Taiwan (free China). These tools cost about 3x what the commie stuff costs. I bought 3/8 shallow, deep, swivel, and a four piece extension set for about 300 bucks. Still in all I have $600.00 +/- tied up in the wrench and sockets.
I have been accumulating tools for 50+ years and trying to take care of them.What I did not have was a torque screw driver to torque action screws on rifles. I got the torque screw driver delivered yesterday.
I am also a lifelong tool hoarder.Arthritis limits how much repair work I can take own now. But I still look at new tools on almost every shopping trip.
As for the torque screwdriver i got that itch some years ago also
Several + years ago I got bit by the AR" Lego " adult toy kits, in the winter months when it was to cold to do much out side lol
I built about 8 or 9 and have parts to do a couple more builds if I feel the need
i would seek out sales and parts on auction sites and of course dang PSA and there weekly specials .I had to just stop cold turkey i was getting addicted lol
But some I have very little invested in but I did versions in 5.56 308 300 blackout, both rifle and pistol varations i stoped before going into more calibers
Any way I have a craftsman 3or 4 drawer tool box I filled it up with all the tools i need to build them a lot of specialty tools some I had but bought separate just to keep separate and in ones box easy and no searching or trips to the garage searching
it has to weigh 40 pounds at least I got a bit carried away on the tools for building them
But also set up several tool boxes, examples one for small engines one for plumbing one for electrical one for brake work with any special tools needed for that job and so on bit helps just grab b ING the box marked and know what I need is in it
As a kid I had a couple tools I had to make due with a Sr y ugly bit mabaged but over the years at least 50 or so I just kept on the lok out
So msny now I could only have dreamed of having as a kid working on my cars back in the early days
Sad part now my body just can't keep up with what I want to do
i think all of us who diy have this problem
have done so many different jobs from growing up in the garage and farm where you have to make do, concrete work, roofing, framing, during one of the city inspections my wife heard one of the guys comment that he had never seen so many tools
and that doesnt count 2 large craftsman roll boxes that are in storage
then there is the roughly 8 drawer "mid boxes" that are just files, checkering cutters and carving chisels, some of which were my g-fathers...
Keith "oldmagics"
I am right there with you I think I have tools for just about every trade. when I would do a project I would buy what ever tools I needed . I always justified it by , I could buy the tools keep them forever and still come out ahead over paying some one to do the work for me even if a one or two time use
except "computer repair "which I am totally lost on any way
TekTon tools used to be the best buy in my area. Over the past couple years, their prices have increased until they're no longer in many users' budget. Harbor Frt's ICON line is sort of where TekTon was 2 years ago. Costs a bit more than el-cheapo but is worth the difference. Last week, I bought a set of PITTSBURGH mid-grade metric combination wrenches @ Harbor Frt. Nicely finished and openings are properly sized.
There's u-toobers posting stress and quality tests of numerous tool brands. Some have quite good information about wrench capabilities or lack of. Box end or sockets that split and open end that spread are a big problem since the part that's ruined may cost $$$ more than the tool that caused the damage. A damaged bolt that requires several days' labor to work around costs a gazillion dollars more than the wrench that was the culprit.