E-Mail 'My Toolbox, by Richard T.' To A Friend

16 Comments

1. A lot of wisdom here.

   1. Tools, are wages waiting to be earned. Each tool represents the owner’s respect and care for them, And his or her livelihood depends on how well they are maintained, and cared for. Good tools do and can wear out, with years and years of use. I work in electronics, and do some metal work. I only buy the best tools for my trade. Screw drivers or other drivers are only Xlite, pliers, etc, are only Klein. Expensive yes, well used yes. and when one wears out it is replace with a new one. I never keep old worn out tools around, they can cause injury if you slip, or damage a valuable product, so I throw the old ones away.
      If I have a youngster working with me, I always teach them the value of their work is expressed in how much they value and take care of their tools.
      Blessings

2. The most expensive tool you will ever buy is the one you don’t have when you need it most.

3. Well said. I don’t loan tools out anymore because people don’t respect them or don’t return them undamaged. I too found I was not returning tools to their spot, thus I found myself buying the same tool several times. One HUGE thing I have done, and my elderly neighbor has started doing it too, is a to put a 3 inch wide orange tape wrapped around the tool. Such as a hammer or wrench. When working in the grass these orange objects stand out and I don’t lose them. Currently, I have several tool kits, one in the truck bed (covered). I have so much stuff in there I can’t get to the toolbox!! Today I will correct that. I need to change out some pistol of sights and need the tools in the box to do so.

   Remember Orange High Vis Tape to your tools lol.

4. On lending tools.

   I would say that 75% of the time I have lent tools out over the years they have come back broken, modified, excessively worn or not at all. This is from people I care about and respect. My son is a little better than most about this, as he has heard me grouse about it.

   And in all honesty, I have come across a few tools in my boxes that I borrowed from people now long dead when I was younger. Not very many but enough to humble me a bit. So I have been no better than others at times, although I try.

   A friend of mine who is a woodworker has a great lending policy. He has specific tools he will not lend and those he will lend. Those he will lend he views as disposable. When he lends them to you he writes them off as gone forever, although he does not tell you this. If he gets the tool back, he considers it a bonus. Like the gentleman who wrote this article said, it saves good tools and good friendships.

   When I loan to my son however, I expect those back. I usually get them some months later. In a cardboard box that he has in his garage and throws whatever tools he borrows from me into. He tries to do the right thing. And sometimes fails. Just like me.

5. My dad taught me when I was a boy growing up on the farm: If you put it back when you’re done, you’ll know where it is the next time you need it. 60 years later, a rule I live by even today. Thank you, Richard T., for a well-written article.

6. That reminds me my sons borrowed a chainsaw without permission and I still don’t have that one back. And one of my sons kept all of my expensive valuable tools for me when my wife and I (temporarily) moved to Texas (for 13 years) and in the meantime he got a divorce and they all mysteriously disappeared that my ex daughter-in-outlaw promised to locate for me but I never happened. Bless her church going heart. Don’t let your tools out of your sight. Tools get legs as fast as your money does with a money manager.

7. I have only lost a two tools over the years from people borrowing them. This is mainly due to a two rules I have.
   Rule 1: Bring it back when you are done with it, because if I have to come get it, you don’t get to borrow tools from me ever again.
   Rule 2: If you have to borrow a tool more than once. You might as well go buy it. (I can’t take credit for this rule. I was told this by some older guys I worked with when I was in my early twenties and it has born itself out many times.)

   This other rule that encompasses more than just tools was taught to me by my parents.

   When you return something borrowed make sure it is in the same or better condition than when you borrowed it.

   I do not know how many times I have returned something to its owner cleaned, oiled, sharpened, polished, repaired or just flat out replaced with the broken original and a sincere apology.

8. The condition a loaned tool is returned to you is one of the best yardsticks of that individuals integrity.

9. Regards Enola Gay: Years ago I got the chance to meet Dutch Van Kirk, the navigator on the Enola Gay. He was at the big Tulsa Gun Show and was autographing pictures of him and his crew standing along side of the plane. He was a happy type of fellow with a friendly personality. I wondered at the time if being instrumental in killing thousands of people had any affect on him but if it did he didn’t show it. He seemed just like an average Joe.Then I remembered asking my Dad when I was a kid if he ever killed anybody during WWII (he was a crew member on a B-24 that dropped many bombs on the people below) and he replied “Yes I killed a whole lot of people but it was war and that’s what we did.” Men from those times were just tough old dogs. I consider my Dad and Dutch Van Kirk true American heroes who performed a needed job during a tough time in history and then came home and raised their families and never complained about their war service. If you would have asked one of them if they needed a service dog or if they would like to join a support group they would have looked at you like you were crazy. Sadly their service dog or support group came in the form of a bottle.

10. My grandpa who was a mechanic all his life and could fix almost anything always said your greatest toolbox is the one under your hat.

11. I have a tool lending policy that works well, I will lend you any hand tool & even any electric tool …but nothing that has an internal combustion motor…no trucks, no mowers or tractor,no chain saw …saves alot of trouble.

12. I was born in the early 50s, a time when a good tool was made made in America and people knew buying a cheep foreign made piece of trash that would have to be replaced many times was a false economy. So you paid good money for a good tool! I still have grandads CRAFTMAN hand tools and power tools. People kept tract and took care of their tools because of the investment. Now days you can get fair quality hand tools for an almost throw away price. This is why most young people don’t respect their tools.

13. As a former helicopter mechanic, return and inventory your tools after a job. If they’re not there, THEY’RE IN THE AIRCRAFT!!! Had one job where I lost a washer, while working in a critical area. We tore that aircraft apart looking for it, before we gave up. That night, I found it in my boot, and the next day the TI was real happy I could positively account for it.

14. Thanks to all who read and commented, and to the SurvivalBlog for cleaning it up and publishing it. Although a lot of comments are about lending out tools and keeping track of tools, I hope that another thought that was in the article wasn’t missed; the inspiration and confidence that stewardship of a capable toolbox will impart passed down from father to child, from generation to generation.

15. Some years back I borrowed a hammer drill from a friend. In the process of using it I dropped it on is handle and broke it. Rather than glue it back together, I bought him a new one to replace it. Yeah it hurt, but the ability to look ones self in the mirror and to borrow again without a thought was worth it. My friend said, ” Oh, you didn’t have to do that”. Yes , I did for my own self worth. Repairing the broken tool was fairly easy and I still use it.

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