Can a man have too many tools? [NA]

Tools said:
I did that once with a table saw. A TWO THOUSAND POUND table saw…
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Where is that thing? Hmph. Oh, wait: there it is behind the lawn tractor and snowblower, and under the winter tires and two bicycles. And that missing cordless skilsaw is underneath it...
 
I just keep all my tools at the airport now. Mostly because when I'm asked to do something around the house, I can't, because they are at the airport.

Which also gives me time to go to the airport, because there's nothing to do at home.
 
This has to be the dumbest topic posted here in a long time.
 
Jim K said:
What's more maddening to me is being fairly certain I bought a tool, being unable to find it, buying another, and then finding the original one. I JUST did that this week.
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I had a pickle fork...or 3. But it looks like I'm ordering a new one tomorrow. Ugh!
 
Think of it this way:

Watch repair tools are tiny and take up very little space.

What could go wrong?

p.s. Don't even think about getting into tuning pianos...
 
IK04 said:
Think of it this way:

Watch repair tools are tiny and take up very little space.

What could go wrong?

p.s. Don't even think about getting into tuning pianos...
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We're short of piano tuners in this area. Somebody please take it up and come tune my piano.
 
Shawn said:
Anyone else guilty of buying a tool only to realize your actually already had one in your shop?...no?...uhhh never mind then...
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Absolutely! I know I own a circular saw but it alluded me enough that I now have two of them ...
 
IK04 said:
Think of it this way:

Watch repair tools are tiny and take up very little space.

What could go wrong?

p.s. Don't even think about getting into tuning pianos...
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bah, doesn't take many tools to tune a piano... just a flathead screwdriver, tuning hammer, tuning fork, and a few mutes.

now, it's a different story if you want to regulate an action, replace hammers, replace a pin block, etc etc etc.
 
We're in the process of packing up the stuff we don't want the movers to move, or they won't move, for when our new house in NH is ready and it's shocking the stuff I'm finding in the shop that I thought was a tool I just had to have an used once and never did again. The new house has a three car garage with a lift and a 22'x32' shop. I don't envy my heirs and their cleanout process.
 
Jim K said:
What's more maddening to me is being fairly certain I bought a tool, being unable to find it, buying another, and then finding the original one. I JUST did that this week.
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That’s my M.O.
 
Jim K said:
What's more maddening to me is being fairly certain I bought a tool, being unable to find it, buying another, and then finding the original one. I JUST did that this week.
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but you can't invoke that law (finding a lost object after buying a new one) to get the desired result...
 
steingar said:
Quite possibly a lot. Depends on a lot of stuff including the condition. Forward me the serial number and an idea of condition and I could probably get you a rough estimate.
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I found it. It's not anything too valuable, I think. It's an Admiral, with "Non Magnetic" in tiny print below the Admiral name. It has no serial number anywhere, unless it's inside. The crystal is a plastic, a bit flexible, and yellowed with age. I wound it and it ticks for about five seconds, then slows and stops. I suppose the lubricants have dried out and stiffened. When I got it maybe ten years ago it would tick until it was unwound.
 
Jim K said:
What's more maddening to me is being fairly certain I bought a tool, being unable to find it, buying another, and then finding the original one. I JUST did that this week.
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I know my dad did that. Among many other duplicates, we found no less than 9 25' measuring tapes in his workshop.

I think the most egregious case I had was having loaned my circular saw to one of my sons, forgotten that I had, then, when I couldn't find mine, buying a new one. I now have two. But I tend to use them for different things so that doesn't count as duplicate, right?
 
jsstevens said:
we found no less than 9 25' measuring tapes in his workshop.
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Well, there's not being able to find it, and then there's buying a bunch because you know you'll leave them laying around and can't be bothered to go find one when you need it. Tape measures and multi-tip screwdrivers are my bulk purchases. I probably have a dozen of each, which means I always have two or three close at hand.
 
Jim K said:
Well, there's not being able to find it, and then there's buying a bunch because you know you'll leave them laying around and can't be bothered to go find one when you need it. Tape measures and multi-tip screwdrivers are my bulk purchases. I probably have a dozen of each, which means I always have two or three close at hand.
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Or you know that the cheap $5 tape measures will quit retracting after a year or two, so you buy extras lol.
 
Dan Thomas said:
I have a railroad watch that isn't broken. What's it worth?
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This is my great-grandfather's old Majestic railroad watch. He used it when he worked for the Seaboard Air Line railroad ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaboard_Air_Line_Railroad ), which later became the Seaboard Coastline RR. I'm not sure of the exact age, but something over 100 years. It still runs, but I don't dare put a full wind on it.


upload_2023-2-7_14-49-45.png


EDITED TO ADD:
The old Seaboard Air Line was the RR that ran the Orange Blossom Special, made famous in bluegrass music and by Johnny Cash.

upload_2023-2-7_15-8-33.png
 
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Dan Thomas said:
I found it. It's not anything too valuable, I think. It's an Admiral, with "Non Magnetic" in tiny print below the Admiral name. It has no serial number anywhere, unless it's inside. The crystal is a plastic, a bit flexible, and yellowed with age. I wound it and it ticks for about five seconds, then slows and stops. I suppose the lubricants have dried out and stiffened. When I got it maybe ten years ago it would tick until it was unwound.
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It has a Hamilton movement, the serial number will be inside the back cover which you have to remove to see. A new crystal isn't that much money. Probably needs the services of a watchmaker for a cleaning, though they're pretty scarce on the ground.
 
jsstevens said:
I think the most egregious case I had was having loaned my circular saw to one of my sons, forgotten that I had, then, when I couldn't find mine, buying a new one. I now have two. But I tend to use them for different things so that doesn't count as duplicate, right?
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“That one’s got a dull blade. I’ll save time and use this one.”:D
 
Skyrys62 said:
I just keep all my tools at the airport now. Mostly because when I'm asked to do something around the house, I can't, because they are at the airport.

Which also gives me time to go to the airport, because there's nothing to do at home.
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Unfortunately, I have multiple sets.

The main set is in the detached garage/shop. Years ago, there used to be Sears Surplus stores. They sold of returned/repaired things, and also that last of some stock number where the the new package was slightly different.

One day, I was at the local one wandering around and behind the counter was a stack of boxes with a fuzzy copy of a picture of tools taped to one. So I asked the guy which tool set and how much. He said $900. Oh, well. Then he said, it is THE BIG ONE. The centerfold tool set of the Craftsman tool catalog. The one of just about everything set. At the time, around $5000. So I bought it. DUH.

So I have my old tools in the house. The big set in the garage/ship and getting together a small tool set of the hangar and carried in the airplane.
 
steingar said:
It has a Hamilton movement, the serial number will be inside the back cover which you have to remove to see. A new crystal isn't that much money. Probably needs the services of a watchmaker for a cleaning, though they're pretty scarce on the ground.
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Does the back cover pry off or screw off? I tried to rotate it but it's tight. I don't want to mess up the thing if it's threaded and I pry on it.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Does the back cover pry off or screw off? I tried to rotate it but it's tight. I don't want to mess up the thing if it's threaded and I pry on it.
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Some pocket watches pry off, some screw off. Can't really tell you which without seeing it.
 
So this happened

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Got it all apart; only one screw joined the "Swiss space program" (nevermind this is an American made movement), and I did manage to break the escape wheel pivot while I was practicing reassembling. Those parts should be available from the second complete movement I have, so no worries there.

IMG_20230209_181111677_HDR.jpg IMG_20230209_194548607.jpg

I took several pictures...hopefully I can figure out how it goes back together. I've got oil coming in the mail. Who wants to start taking bets if I can get it back together.?
 
Back together? Or back together with everything where it was?
 
Jim K said:
I have a problem.

I got fed up with my phone & smartwatch switching time zones without telling me, and then sometimes-but-sometimes-not switching back and never knowing which time zone they were displaying. The obvious answer of course was an old school mechanical watch. So I bought one, having no idea how deep this particular rabbit hole goes. Now I'm watching guys rebuild watches on YouTube and watching watch videos and trying desperately to keep from getting sucked into yet another expensive hobby I don't have time for.

So my wife and a couple of the girls went to an antique/ junk store, and my 10 year old bought a watch that doesn't work for $4 because she thought it was pretty and likes to accessorize. I assumed it would be quartz and thought maybe a battery would make it run, so I popped open the case only to have a beautiful mechanical movement fall into my hands.

Turns out to be a gold plated bulova from 1948. It's not worth much even if it was a runner, and the balance shaft appears to be broken, but it's a very simple two hand movement, and I REALLY want to fix it. Of course this will require an investment in a couple hundred dollars worth of watchmaking tools. But then I'd be set up to fix other old watches.... which sounds dangerously like another expensive hobby I don't have time for.

So I'm probably going to do it. It doesn't take much to talk me into buying tools, and the thought of giving my girl a keepsake that I know she'll treasure makes me all warm & fuzzy. Attempts to talk me out of this reckless course are both welcome and likely fruitless, although I'm sure my wife would appreciate it.

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I do think one can have too many tools, I feel I do.
But Jim I would and have done what you have done is buy the tools you need for a particle repair. Good luck with your new hobby, it looks very intimidating to my gear head!
After I got divorced I was single for 20 years and bought many tools. Always said I was spending my kids college money on tools.
I equipped 2 shops and a race car trailer. I was strictly against transferring tools from one place to another, so 3 sets of tools.
Then there are large tools I should have rented and not bought because now they just sit around taking up space.
I have started trying to sell some larger tools.
Now I have work tools, home tools and hangar tools.

Tools I love your screen name.
 
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Navy glory days. Did plenty of stupid things to lose it, but somehow it always survived…. SOMEONE would need help fixing something and would report back… no, he’s Tools.

We don’t get to make these decisions ourselves.
 
Tools said:
Navy glory days. Did plenty of stupid things to lose it, but somehow it always survived…. SOMEONE would need help fixing something and would report back… no, he’s Tools.

We don’t get to make these decisions ourselves.
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Good news is it’s plural, not singular. ;)
 
Oh, that was brought up a lot… I referred to it as a self fulfilling prophecy! Call me Tool, happy to be one! Ha!
 
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