Lost tools?

[gm280]

It isn't like any of the lost tools can't be easily replaced. It is just that I honestly can't remember what I did with them that bothers me. And believe me, I usually clean and replace every tool to the exact area it is supposed to go. I have a peg board in my shop and I can tell you where every tools goes and what is missing easily. And now I have empty spaces for the lost tools. :facepalm:

 

[dingbat]

I have a peg board in my shop and I can tell you where every tools goes and what is missing easily. And now I have empty spaces for the lost tools. :facepalm:

How do you put 38 screws drivers and 200 some odd sockets on the wall?...lol

 

[gm280]

How do you put 38 screws drivers and 200 some odd sockets on the wall?...lol

Very carefully.

I have a huge tool box as well and even in the drawers for sockets, I have plates that tell you what each socket is, i.e. six point 3/8 drive 1/2" and so on. So all the sockets are in specific drawers. And Metric and SAE are separated as well and even Deep Wells. But my peg board wall does have lots of daily use tools like screw drivers and nut drivers, standard wrenches, crescent wrenches channel locks, reg pliers wire cutters and a lot of tools one uses the most. The peg board is white and 4' X 8' in size.

Those two yellow ovals are two of the empty spots of the tools I lost.

And to the left of the peg board is the Craftsman Tool box. As you can see the clutter is everywhere because I have a really bad habit of doing more then one project at a time (can't help it some times, life interferes) and things get set everywhere until I get tired of the clutter and clean everything up. Looks like that time is near as well. JMHO

 

[Volphin]

I usually find them when I clean up the shop. There are always a few stragglers though.

 

[bruceb58]

If I had to use a peg board to hold all the tools in my toolbox, it would take up an entire wall of my garage.

 

[garbageguy]

I ... Just wondering if others have such problems with wayward tools? :noidea:

Sure do. Besides my own misplacing and forgetting, my son is a great worker but not really a finisher (including not putting things back. Fortunately my youngest daughter has an amazing ability to find things. Just last week she found my favorite pliers behind the toilet!

 

[Gyrene]

I think it is just part of getting old......:noidea:

 

[poconojoe]

I'm waitin for bruceb58 to come back on and ask if anybodys seen his whiteboard,lol

Ha! Very funny!

I "lose" tools all the time. They usually do turn up at a later date, but it's very frustrating when you can't find a specific tool you need while in the middle of a job.
I do it to myself. I'll do a project either for myself or someone else. I'll put tools in one of my tool bags or maybe a bucket. Then when I'm done, if it's late or I'm tired, I'll just stick the bag or bucket in the garage or basement thinking that I'll put the stuff away tomorrow and I never do. DUH!

 

[poconojoe]

My dad tells me that when I was little he found his tools with the lawn mower because I always left them in the yard.

Ouch! That makes me cringe! I can imagine the sound of the lawnmower blade meeting a pair of 440 channelocks!

 

[boatman37]

lost more than i have left. but used a crescent wrench the other day to disconnect my batteries and now can't find it. geeezzzzz. just used it a few days ago on the boat. its not a yacht. wouldn't think it would be that hard to find:noidea:

 

[gm280]

The sad part about loosing tools is I am a stickler about putting tools away the instant I am finished with them, even if the job isn't complete for the day, I have a OCD habit of putting tools away before closing up shop. But these five tools I used to replace damaged sprinkler heads and I know I grabbed all of them together, but I can't remember where I put them. I got the gut feeling there were accidental throw in the trash. :facepalm:

 

[Patfromny]

I think you would hear the sound of tools hitting the can. Check where you keep your spare sprinkler parts. Or somewhere in between the job and a sink. I'm sure you washed your hands after the sprinkler repair. As I said in your rebuild post, I take all my spare tools and use them in job specific tool bags or boxes. One for electric, one for plumbing, etc. That way, I just bring the plumbing bag out to the job and the tools go right back into the bag. I learned this by watching my father throw all my tools into shopping bags or a bin to go work on a job at home or at a brothers house. They never made it back to my tool box. One of these days I'm going to find 10 bags full of my tools in the basement. I have rebuilt or reorganized every other section of my house (bought parents house) and they are nowhere to be found. Maybe I should start looking in my brothers garages. Lol. I have bought the master craftsman tool set about 4 times over the course of my life due to tool lose. Between my dad and brothers they really knew how to empty a tool box. Since everyone is out of the house and my father has unfortunately past, my tools have mysteriously stayed put. I haven't lost hope that one day I will find that cash of tools in shopping bags. I will probably find 5 or 6 9/16 wrenches and 10 or more 5/16 sockets. Oh, and all of my old pliers and vise grips. They were my dad's weapon of choice. Lol

 

[mjf55]

..., but I can't remember where I put them...

Memory is the second thing to go.....

I know for me, in the middle of a job, when I cannot find the tool I just used ( screwdrive, wrench) , I usually spend 20 minutes looking, finally getting another from the tool bag. Later I will discover the tool in my back pocket. Talk about a facepalm...

 

[gm280]

Memory is the second thing to go.....

I know for me, in the middle of a job, when I cannot find the tool I just used ( screwdrive, wrench) , I usually spend 20 minutes looking, finally getting another from the tool bag. Later I will discover the tool in my back pocket. Talk about a facepalm...

It would be kind of okay if the memory was the only thing to go, but some how something else has gone too. But I can't remember what that is right now. :noidea:

Well I when and done it now. I buy new tools for replacements. Only cost me about $45 dollars.
So one of three things will happen now;

First, I will find my old tools. :smile:
2. I will enact the crime scene again and loose these news tools too.
C. I can't remember the third thing now. :facepalm:

 

[StarTed]

Sometimes my tools end up with the left over parts from the job, at least for a while until I find them.

I have a nice set of Plomb pebble wrenches that I bought from a mechanic in 1963. The 1/2 and 9/16 are missing and have been for years. The Proto replacements don't seem to be as good. I'm afraid they may have been left under the hood of a car and disappeared somewhere on the road.

Here are some things I use to check when losing something.

1. My other hand.
2. Where I was just previously working if I can recall.
3. My wife, but I'm careful to not say someone stole them. They're missing.

Hope you don't misplace or lose the new ones.

 

[avenger79]

I usually lose tools while working on something, than find them like most here after buying another or stopping the project to devote 1 hour to looking for the socket I just put down.

The worst one for me is apparently Chevy is in on the lost tool joke. When I bought my HD it has an extra adapter in order to put a drawbar in the hitch. yeah, so far I have only had to buy one more of those. now it sits on the passenger floor with the pin so I can hear it jingle.
yesterday the wife moved it behind the seat. I suddenly realized no jingle as I was going to work, thought for sure I lost it again. LOL
it is back on the floor now.

 

[Patfromny]

For me it is the opposite. I'm not saying I don't misplace tools often, I definitely do. For me it is the spare parts thing. I will save a part I didn't use for years. It is a bit of a hoarding thing I guess. It seems that as soon as I throw something out that has been sitting around for ever I will need it and have to go buy it. It never fails. I have tried picking the part up and placing it back down but that doesn't work. I think you actually have to throw it out before it is needed.

 

[drrnjnr]

I'm ok once I find my glasses, then I can find my tools again, I was walking round for 10 minutes this morning half blind.........:wacko:

 

[gm280]

For me it is the opposite. I'm not saying I don't misplace tools often, I definitely do. For me it is the spare parts thing. I will save a part I didn't use for years. It is a bit of a hoarding thing I guess. It seems that as soon as I throw something out that has been sitting around for ever I will need it and have to go buy it. It never fails. I have tried picking the part up and placing it back down but that doesn't work. I think you actually have to throw it out before it is needed.

I do the same thing. But even keeping parts from other projects, it seems whenever I need a part, I can only find two of the four parts I need, or make a decision to buy the part new because I don't want to repair the item again with an old part. I seem to think everything can be used for something down the road. And that is why I have to clean out so many things all the time. I can't keep everything. But I also hate to throw away things I know are good and the items I think are good are not things others want. JMHO

 

[Limited-Time]

Just recently I was replacing the brake pads on the wife's Silverado pickup. Each wheel has one "keyed" lug nut which requires a special adapter to remove or install. I had completed the brake job reinstalled the wheels and snugged all lug nuts, including the keyed one on each wheel. So I go and get my 1/2 inch torque wrench to finishing tightening the lug nuts. Do you think I can find the lug nut key for the special lug nuts that I just used a min ago......................nope, its gone.................gone ,gone............... The Wife cant even find it. And to make matters worse, the job was started and finished without the truck or myself leaving the garage................go figure. I told the wife I think one of our retarded dogs picked it up and carried it off...................well that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.:facepalm::facepalm: