I Might Have A Tool Problem
/by Jonathan King
Honest question: For those of you who wrench on your cars at home, how many tools do you own that you’ve never used? You’re probably thinking that there are a few. Maybe you bought a set of sockets to use 3 of them? Or a set of flex head ratcheting wrenches because they were on sale? …Go look, and count. I bet it’s more than 25.
My number is… well, a gentleman never tells, but it was higher than I was expecting. However, I’m not depressed by this. I see this as an opportunity for more projects to start, and hopefully finish, to use these virgin tools. My wife says I should buy toys, clothes, and books for our kids instead. The youngest is 10 weeks old, so he just needs diapers, and the eldest just rearranges everything, so we’re good. There is a ball in the corner if needed.
Back in December I opted to upgrade my toolbox. I had a three-piece, stacked Craftsman box, and it was packed to the gills with tools, spare parts, and various “things.” I’ve been renting living space for the past 15ish years since college until a few months ago, and my life (read: my tools) lived in this box. And I told myself for the last few years: “You buy a house, you buy a new toolbox. Reward yourself with a new metal box to hold stuff. A box of which you already have and is perfectly functional. It’s how to tell yourself that you’ve made it in life.”
So after my wife and I bought a house in September, I went to the place that we all know and love for all of our tooling needs. That’s right, my local Snap-On dealer! Where else can you find toolboxes in a variety of colors, with color-matched tools, and color-matched tool holders, and color-matched lines of credit…. Just kidding, I went to Harbor Freight, coupon in hand. The ink on the mortgage paperwork is still wet, so my budget is all the money that fell out of the furniture while I moved. I couldn’t even afford to have the toolbox delivered either. I seriously considered putting the box on its back and sliding it into my wagon. Really, I did.
When I received the call that my new metal bundle of joy had arrived at the store, I did what everyone else reading this would do: I called my friend who had a pickup truck. For the low low fee of buying him whatever he wanted at Harbor Freight, he helped transport the 700 pound box down I-15 while I kept looking over my shoulder freaking out because I didn’t think the Harbor Freight tie-downs would work at speed.
The new Harbor Freight box, versus the decade old Craftsman
It’s sooooo green. Lime green. Kawasaki Green. Electric Green. I love it. 70” x 22” x 44” of “Honey, I'll be in the garage” awesomeness. The drawers are smooth, the latches work, it has that new box smell. Even more exciting, now I get to go through all my tools and reorganize everything as I box swap. Yes, I'm purposely spending time away from my family to literally pick up every tool I own, and move it to its new home. Happiest I've been in a long time. Many beers were consumed on these days. I rediscovered tools I forgot I owned! It was like Christmas.
Duplicate sets of wenches
The organizing and moving part started out easy. There is the socket drawer, the wrench drawer, the screwdriver/plier drawer, etc. Then I get to tool types where there are not enough to fill a complete drawer. Hammers, wood chisels, license plates, spare parts, etc. Hell, I can’t even fill half the drawers! So I’m going back to my initial question. Why did I buy these tools that I never use? A 16 piece SAE (measuring inches versus millimeters) ratcheting flex head wrench set? I legitimately bought it five years ago when it was on sale along with the matching Metric set, and literally used ONE of the SAE wrenches a month ago for the first time! It was still wrapped in plastic 32 days ago! What else is in here… Oh here is a socket set with six-inch long allen key sockets, with 3/8” extensions and universal joints. I also bought this set a few years ago and I used one of these sockets for the first time putting the handle on my new tool box! Totally worth it!
I wouldn’t say I’m crying on the inside, because that’s absurd, but I have realized a few things. I’ve bought a lot of crap over the years that I thought I needed, or excessive kits for a single piece. Now there have been times where a friend comes over and I have exactly what they need, or I can lend out a few tools to friends so they can work on projects at their place. So I'm glad I can support my own wrenching needs along with my friends. But is it worth it? I hope I'm getting closer to not needing to buy anything else. (LOL, just kidding, that'll never happen!) But this new toolbox is far from full, and since my kid can't play with two toys at once, I'm now looking at the world of socket and wrench organizers. It really is a rabbit hole.
