What Ideal Tools and Toolbox Would be Yours?

I have been pulling wrenches professionally for almost 35 years (among other things). About 15 years ago my tool boxes were stolen. I felt like my hands had been cut off. Thankfully, the insurance company was there to replace my tools.

I had a rather extensive collection of DuroChrome tools, a company which had by that time gone to be with Pharaoh. The insurance adjuster informed me that they had an agreement with Snap-On Tools, and would those be an acceptable replacement? "YEAH!"

So now I have nearly ten thousand dollars worth of Snap-Ons and Craftsmans, which I (mostly) keep in three smaller toolboxes for the sake of portability. I also have a lot of other stuff, multi-meters, soldering gear, measuring tools, etc, that I would be quite bereft without. I've been known to wheel about a cart with a couple of toolboxes on top and found this to be quite efficient without sacrificing portability.

It seems to me that tool kits seem to grow over a course of years. My most recent addition was a Fluke meter that I bought at a pawn shop. So I would have to say that the perfect tool kit will absolutely depend on the man or woman who belongs to it.

Damm how did I miss this one?

Internet connection computer & CR4

I tend to end up with different sets in different places:

On my person a padded belt w/a small pouch.

tools for the pouch:

an all in one screw driver, it's important that the ends are different so they can be used as 1/4" & 5/16" nut drivers, must have a solid handle, my fav these days comes from home depot, has a square florecesent orange handle

a Klien flathead screwdriver/prybar/pointer/stethyscope

a 6" cresent wrench [needs to fit a 15/16" bolt]

needlenose pliers w/cutters [ok for most electrical work]

8" cresent brand channel locks, I like this brand, good value, riveted, makes a 1/2 assed hammer or wrench.

elkind metal handled fold up hex wrench.

with the above tools I may not be able to fix it, but I can make a good initial assesment.

The pouch is one of my own design. a cordura 2 pocket nail pouch w/4" nylon webbing sewed into the back of the top pocket to hold the tools, an extra spot for dealers choice. The bottom pocket usually has a couple of wirenut some blacktape & what ever nuts & bolts I need.

The belt is a nice wide padded one w/a plastic snap together buckle from when every company made us wear back braces...

my favorite pouch is a nicholson that slips over the belt, I usually slide it over the buckle for maximum comfort

I generally wear it on the left, but switch depending on the work.

The total weight is less than 3 pounds, much more than that & I take it off at every opportunity...

I'm watching this topic and trying to think how to respond. I'm a tool junkie and have way more than I will ever need. Gotta think about what are my favorite tools. Like if I had to get rid of everything except what would fit in one small toolbox I could carry which ones would be there.......Maybe I'll make a list and reasons.......Ed Weldon

I use a Filson "game bag" vest.

One pocket: 6" Crescent, 6" Vise-Grips, a clone of Garthh's screwdriver, 8" pipe wrench, refrigeration valve stem wrench, one each inch and metric folding hex key sets.

Other pocket: Sperry clamp-on multimeter, 16' tape measure, company radio, ad hoc items as needed.

Backup: a Knaack gang box full of stuff (piping, electrical, welding, sockets, cheapo battery tool set, good AC saw, drill, etc. The Milwaukee and Ridgid things are 30+ years old and still going strong.)

My 1st post was for the minimum response time

This is just some random observations about tools I like

I like to have a good set of combo wrenches, except 7/16", 1/2" & 9/16" should be mis-matched & unique so I can pick em out quickly

I divide up the drawers on my tool boxes with 3/4" wood [usually oak pallet slats] & screw em in over some nice thick white drawer liner [none of that foam crap]. A set of deep impact 1/2" drive line up nice on one edge, easy to keep track of whats missing. I like to have the stuff I use a lot easy to put my hands on.

A set of cheap combo's is good so you can cut, bend or weld em into special tools.

Concerning toolboxes; my choice for nearly 30 years has been the 7-drawer Kennedy roll-around tool box for my hand tools. I purchased the small Kennedy Machinist's chest when I was early in my apprenticeship (it was more than a week's pay then) and later purchased a nice Gerstner wooden toolmaker's chest and lower drawer section for all of my measuring tools when I was in my fourth year of apprenticeship. My weekly paycheques were much larger by that time!

My hand tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.) trend to be Craftsman. I purchased most when I was an apprentice boy, and they were good quality tools that were made in the U.S.A. with a lifetime guarantee. Also, they were sold in sets that made them much cheaper per tool. Of course some of the tools included in these sets were a bit useless, and I still have those darned crow's foot wrenches for that I never found a purpose! Over the years a Snap-On or two has wiggled in, as have the occassional other brand. I still refuse to purchase hand tools manufactured in the Orient.

The collection of measuring tools began with those made by Brown & Sharpe and Starrett - expensive but the best in class for so many years. Then, there was a strike and the delivery and quality plummented. At that point I reluctantly purchased some instruments manufactured by Mitutoyo, and found them to be not only of excellent quality, but also a bit less in cost. I never purchased another tool made by Brown & Sharpe, although I occassionally purchase a tool made by Starrett as they still make tools that no one else does.

Thanks for the trip through nostalgia!

Best Regards,

Ing. Robert Forbus

Favourite tools are:

- large, flat, tapered-jawed, open-ended spanner with serrations to one side - will open any nut

- large "pied-de-biche" nail remover which you hammer till the head of the damn nail starts to come up and then pry out - works on any nail even hundreds of years old and handmade

- jack plane

- formwork hammer (large head, good claw, good balance)

- yankee screwdriver with all the available heads imaginable

I am on location at the moment otherwise I would put in a couple of photos.

You can't buy them in shops these days - or at least not easily.

That Yankee screwdriver might make a good "what the hell is this?" photo, except for us old-timers. Throw in a breast drill for good measure! (No, it is not a biopsy device.)

been using a Brace & bit to make a log fence pinned together with rebar

At work I keep a couple of small tool boxes with an assortment of sockets, spanners, screwdrivers etc. At home the shed holds a roll-cab & top-box plus various clamps, vices, grinder, drills etc. with several 'minor' toolboxes around the house. The car has a crate in the back with small socket set, spanners, mallet, etc. If I'm fireworking I just need an assortment of hammers, a wood-saw & a good knife. I recently bought a small hand sized rechargeable screwdriver which has been a gem & my latest buy was a USB digital microscope which I am still playing with.

If I need something to carry around and get me out of most binds I like the Super Deluxe mini-ratchet set made by W.F.M.C. in Rockfall, CT 06481. Not sure if you can buy them directly from them, I get them from MSC. A little box that has metric and standard hex bits, multiple screwdriver tips, ratcheting and screwdriver handle.

That's a handy looking set, available on Amazon.

I often have to go out to repair various machines. I use one of the vinyl cases in the style of a suitcase and pack it with about 40 lbs of all that stuff you all have been mentioning. My most useful tool, though is a 16 oz hammer. In addition to the usual uses for the hammer, it allows you to turn other tools into impact tools. It is cheaper to abuse a tool and replace it later if it gets the job done, than spend an hour running to a hardware store to buy a larger screwdriver, wrench, chisel, or....

Yes, I abuse my tools occasionally, but in these cases time is money and if I carried every tool I could ever need, my poor little truck would be dragging its tail.

I also buy the best tools that China has to offer as I occasionally loose one and Snap-on tools are more painful to replace.

My best to all of you. Keep on wrenching.

tommm

I like a 3# ball peen with an oversized handle,

on the go trusty channel lock & Klien flathead, will take far more abuse than any vintage Craftsman screwdriver

There is no better side cutter than Klien blue handled [angled nose], I used to splice Stainless steel flatflex belting [10 gauge], never got dull, not very good for the ol carpal tunnel though.

For working on interlox plastic belting I gruond the jaws flat on a red set so I could cut the 1/4" pins off flush...

What few Klein Tools I've had, I liked, though I had more need of their specialized wire rope clamp pulling tool, than of normal things like side cutters. Was a rigging project.

Many things by Cooper Tools are of interest to me.

Milo may have some insight into which tools are now made with the best metals.

My favourites are a set of imperial chisels given to me by my first set of in-laws 40 years ago, (got married very early) and a Stanley plane purchased about the same time.

Favourite electrical tool is my oscilloscope, a fluke 123 scope-meter.

As for tool boxes, I now use a rucksack tool bag with all the tools I need on a daily basis. My back won't take walking any distance with 15kg of tools on one side. A trolley would sort of work but how do you get that up a gang plank?

A sad day about 10 yrs ago when some little sH1_T broke into my tool shed and stole a few basic tools and a pair of box joint needle nose electronics pliers given to me second hand by my dad. I hardly ever used them but they were the only bit of him I had left.

Chas

I've been carrying around a military canvas tool bag for over 30 years. It was originally my helicopter traveling tool bag and holds all the tools sufficient to deal with about 90% of the problems likely to be encountered while away from home base. I should also mention that it weighs over 20 lbs and it's usually packed beyond closing the zipper.

Wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, 3/8" deepwell socket set, 1/4" boxed socket set, 8" pipe wrench, vice grips, channel locks. What else could you possibly need? Oh, yeah, also a cold chisel.

Hooker

Nigh -- Your canvas bag stitching suggests mention of the Stewart speedy stitcher.

http://www.speedystitcher.com/

I've seen some import knockoffs of these tools; but given that you can break the needles in some kinds of heavy work I'd only trust the real thing. I've used a cordless drill and a small bit around 3/32 dia to make holes in material I couldn't easily or safely push the needle through.

Ed Weldon

The best tool is my 4" crescent wrench that has been my pocket for 30+ years. It will go to 9/16 and does more then the 2 full sets of tool boxes I have.

I had one of those crescent wrenches myself for years.

Don't ever lend it to anyone.

When I worked as a stage hand or film technician I'd carry that wrench, a good utility knife, and short nose wire snips for cutting trickline more quickly than you might with a knife.

I never did really settle on a great flashlight, but have a led headband sort now. Tried little Maglights, but the bulbs fell out of mine often.

Tying in and balancing for stage concerts was not as hard as for film.

Most any lousy meter would do.

I preferred my old analog Amprobe and a set of T handle Hex wrenches.

For Carpentry I ended up just using a plastic sheetrock bucket to carry hand tools and the belt and pouches. Advantage of the Bucket is that when you throw the pouches in they tend to capture stray nails which otherwise may end up in your tires.

I had a friend [died a couple of months ago] who used bucket buddy [bucket pouches].

He mounted some skateboard wheels on a chunk of diamond plate aluminum, with a folding handle.

He was an electrician & mostly worked doing termination in industrial control panels, so he even carried a padded lid for those extended stints on manlifts or in panels.

I tried a bucket pouch thingy, but it didn't work out for me.

One time I did make a triangular three wheeled sandbag cart that I could pull around on a rope.

It had steering superiority over a rectangular furniture dolly sort of thing.

That's why the skate board wheels, when you tilted it with the handle it would turn. with The fold up handle it would roll under conveyors

he always carried way more tools than he needed, liking his toys & couldn't live out of a smaller device

They are not toys!

I swear I need every single thing here! -and more I tell you, more and better!

10 tons of stuff and I still never had all I needed, or anybody wanted sometimes.

P.S. I did often keep a couple of toys in my kit. Mostly rocket kits, and a bb gun. But that was only when I had the big truck.

What's funny is having all the cool tools & finding yourself bashing a big screwdriver with a rock, cause you can't find 1 of the 37 hammers you own

My wife bought me a Metwrench set years back. I carried it around in my car and found it a very handy tool set. Add a good pair of Channel-Lock 9 1/2 in pliers, 7in diaginol cutters, and my Gerber Gator-Mate knife, and I'm ready to Mac Giver (spelling?) about anything.

As I think on it, there are a couple of tools I use more than any others.

One is a Snap-On 10" adjustable wrench, which is a thing of beauty. Precisely machined and capable of delivering more torque than most any other wrench I've ever seen. That is the wrench I keep in my pocket.

Then I have a Crescent brand 7 in 1 screwdriver that I found a couple of years ago in a bush, and gets more use than any other screwdriver I have.

And, I have a Buck 110 folding knife that was a gift from my wife ten years ago, that I use more than any other single tool.