Is anyone else out there suffering from "Tool Aquasition Syndrome" ?
Egon
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Is anyone else out there suffering from "Tool Aquasition Syndrome" ?
Egon
All my life, Egon, all my life. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Yep. My wife is beginning to get concerned. For valentines day, she bought me a Ryobi 1.25HP fixed base router ($55). This wasn't exactly the one I wanted and she gave me an "out" by saying I could return it for a different model.
I went to the the place where she bought it and traded up for a Bosch fixed/plunge combo ($200).
Later in the day, I was at Lowes getting some bulbs and there in the close-out section (with a beam of light shining down from the heavens illuminating it) was a 3.25 hp Freud plunge router with very nice microadjust table marked down to $260. Regular price was over $400, how can I be expected to pass up that deal?
Now I can build some raised face cabinets for the bathroom remodel.
No way, but I did sing a little song to the wife the other day, "You don't buy me tools anymore" (Appologies to Neil Diamond and Barbara Striesand). She had the gall to say I already have all the tools I need. The woman is deluded and has no idea that tools need to be "upgraded". I very wrongly pointed out that she more than one pair of shoes and that Emelda Marcos would approve of her collection! [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Good thing the shop has heat. Can you cook meat with a propane torch? [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
I wonder if there's a 12 step program for this affliction, like tools anonymous [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Here's what I just picked up on Saturday.
That anvil looks pretty handy. I can think of a few uses for that. Oh, No... here I go again with the "I-wants".
I have a brother in law with a sever case of it. He sheetrocked his bedroom so he bought a Dewalt cordless screwgun. That was fine but then he wanted to do the garage ceiling so he researched for 2 months and bought a Hilti corded one. He wanted to make a lure light box(?), figured a biscuit joiner was in order to make this little box. He has a bunch of stuff from pneumatic nailers to saws. All in cases and all about as new as the day he bought them. Some are 10 to 15 years old but brand new. He loves having them and would probably sleep with them if he could. Me, I get a drill, use the living crap out of it, destroy it and get another. Some tools were given to me, most I purchased. The least used is my biscuit joiner or hand power planer, the most used is my worm drive saw or my sawzall. Actually, my Makita cordless drill probably gets the most time but for short spurts. The sawzall is easily the most abused but one of the most handy.
That looks a little heavy to just pick up Hank! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I got a nice block of wood for it to sit on!
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Nice anvil! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] How much does it weigh? Now you have to dress the horn and it's recommended that you peen the top and dress the edges. A nice radius on the edges help keep it from chipping. Then you need to go out and buy a couple of other tools to complement it. A forge is nice.
And a good post vice. Machinist vices don't live too long when you get to beating the pee out of them.
Here's my anvil...it's a 224# Hay- Budden, circa 1899.
Long time since I've seen a coal forge. Remember cranking on the blower handle as a kid.
Dad's forge used an old Binder drive wheel filled with concrete and set on a metal base.
Egon
There are only a few types of guys. Those who admit tool collection addiction and those who are in denial are the two main types. There are those who have led a sheltered life and have for one reason or another not exhibited symptoms yet but thte latency is genetic and attached to the male chromosome. The specific gene will express it self in most cases.
It isn't "MY FAULT" that a hardware store went out of business and had 60-70% off on a Milwaukee miter saw shortly before I found out I NEEDED a 12 inch compound slide miter saw.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
<font color="purple"> Here's my anvil...it's a 224# Hay- Budden, circa 1899 </font color>
Very nice....probably forged steel. Mine is a new TFS (Texas Farriers Supply) cast steel, 150#. Got a forge (propane), and one hammer and tongs....just getting started. You're right about the post vise....I'm keeping my eye out for one at our local auctions.
I was lucky there's a blacksmiths' supply store right here in AZ, in Camp Verde. That saved me a considerable amount on the shipping for the heavy items.
This is a whole new area of tool acquisition for me, and it certainly opens up lots of possible specialty acquisition areas [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] lots of different shaped tongs, the post vise, hardy tools, and even a power hammer and/or fly press. And of course a metal shed for the Kubota, so I can dedicate the third garage bay for the workshop/smithy.
Hy my name is Tevi and I too suffer from TAA syndrome.My tool bill last year was 15k
Those old Hay- Buddens were wrought iron with a tool steel top. The anvil is actually three piece, you can see the parting line in the waist and the seam between the top and the lower part. I lucked into this one, got it for $75. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Now I need to luck into a 100 pounder to take to demos. And a 130# industrial swage block. And a 50# Little Giant sitting out back of a machine shop that they'll take scrap value for just to get it out of there. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I hit estate sales and flea markets on a regular basis and get a lot of smithing tools that way. I do a lot of walking and looking and end up spending $10 to $15 a week most of the time. I have lots of $2 and $5 hammers, 50 cent files and chisels, $5 and $10 tongs and tons of odd stuff. I have more fun finding tools than I do using them, I think. If I could find a $5 Hofi hammer... yeah, right! [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img] Is that TFS cast at the foundry in Conroe, TX.?
I am going to build a forge with a fire pot and keep the rivet forge for demonstrating. I know where to get a large stand mounted crank blower, I'll probably get that and have it blow through an electric blower. I've seen that set up and it works rather well, you can have the best of both worlds. If you are just working one piece of metal the hand crank is actually kind of relaxing. If you try to work multiple pieces it can get kind of hectic without a helper. My Rottweiler liked it, she could sit under it and get her head petted once every revolution. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
15 grand, eh? What did you get? Let's see some pictures!
<font color="purple"> Is that TFS cast at the foundry in Conroe, TX.? </font color>
I didn't know they were in Conroe, but yes, it is cast in Texas.
Wife calls me a "tool collector". [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
I don't know why............ [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Golly ... I wish it was just tools .... in my case it's a STUFF addiction. Tools, trailers, more tools, books, music, movies, more tools, more books, books about tools, tools for fixing books ..... and then there's all the STUFF for the motorcycle ...
sigh
but, hey, SOMEONE has to keep the economy moving forward!!!! [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
pete
The wife knows me now. When ever I say "Sure I can do that project for YOU" her reply is "WHAT TOOLS DO WE HAVE TO BUY"
I resemble that. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Then comes fishing, rods, reels and tackle could be it's own addiction but in my case it's just a chapter in my STUFF addiction problem.
I told her I don't have any bad addictions like drinking, drugs, gambling but I think she thinking those might be better then STUFF addiction....
Life if good, with lots of STUFF that is.......
Reading these posts, I'm startin to sweat and twitch and itch. Oh, hi honey, how long have you been standing there?
Dick
Eat your hearts out guys... My wife was reviewing stuff at the Starvation Army and found a Shopmate for $200 on half price day. She insisted I look at it. I did, negotiated, and took it home for $50 with a good carbide blade and a strong running motor.
She also bought me a Kenedy rollaround tool chest at a garage sale. She found me a band saw that I got for $50. and on and on and on...
The trick is in the conditioning. You want to capatilize on her gatherer instincts but substitute gratificatiion at finding stuff for you in place of junk for herself. Once in a whle throw her a bone and let her buy some object' d junk for herself.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Hope you realize Pat that your expected to use those tools for projects you haven't even heard about yet! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon
Pat,
I sure hope she never reads your last post [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] ... and we thought hurricanes were tough... [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Leo
Leo, We have been together for over 40 years and there isn't much that I do or say that has surprised her in recent decades. She knew I wanted a nice tool box so several years ago she wrote me an IOU for a toolbox with instructions to buy what I wanted when I wanted it and gave it to me in a card for my birthday. Years later I finally get around to it and selected one of the LARGE Harbor Freight roll around chests with an accessory chest that hangs on the end (no wheels of its own. This thing is huge and has massive casters and is rated for thousands of pounds (evenly distributed) of tools. She wanted me to buy several but I talked her into my getting just three sets.
Now HF has the companion box to go on top and she thinks I should get those. I think they are too expensive for what you get and I'm not sure I want to lose that much available horizontal real estate. I don't have a work bench, shelves, racks, overhead or wall storage in the new shop yet so maybe that is whay I covet the space available on the tops of those roll around chests. Maybe the companion chests that sit on top won't look so overpriced when I have some nice workbench space,
She enjoys taking me to HF and being my gopher. I tear out the picture with the item number of the things I am looking for and she goes out on a scavenger hunt to feret out the goodies. She is always finding things to ask me about and ask why I don't get one of THESE THINGS if I want it.
She is a retired budget analyst with decades of experience and can understant the utility of supplying me with the "implements of destruction" for wood butchering when the products of my efforts are significant portions of our house and its decorations and furnishings. I only hope that she is patient enough to give me the required time to do as good of a job as I'd like. I am not an experienced woodwoorker/cabinet maker/furniture maker but I am getting pretty decent results on some of my eforts so far but with literally years more work left to do.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
roll around chests with an accessory chest that hangs on the end
[/ QUOTE ]
Pat, I'm sure you know they make end chests, lockers, boxes, cabinets, etc. to go on either end of those big roll around tool boxes. I once went with my brother on Saturday to help him assemble and set up a new rig for one of his customers. He had the big main roll around, then we put a clothes locker on one end and a cabinet (for his books and manuals) on the other end, and a top cabinet with a little shelf and peg board type back. I don't remember just how big that main box was, but my brother made pictures of that mechanic laying on in, inside the top cabinet. $16,000 not including the contents. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] The guy was the #1 technician at a Lincoln/Mercury dealership, and apparently was well paid. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
Bird, I can promise you that I only paid for all three sets of roll around tool chests about what a comparable single "base" cabinet costs from a major American maker. If there is any objection to this HF equipment it isn't strength. The stuff has to be strong to hold up its own weight as it is darned heavy. Luckily they have pretty good big heavy duty castors under them. The full extension drawer slides are pretty smooth but will develop your muscles if they don't loosen up with use. They take considerable force to open and close.
I assembled the end cabs onto the main unit by myself for each of the three cabs...what a struggle... those suckers are HEAVY. I did have to trim some of the ruber coating back to get the handles to assemble correctly but other than that and the weight everything went OK. A small side bonus... the shipping crates/pallets are made of cedar. I removed the fasteners and planed a few boards. Good looking stuff.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat
Pat ... I like her! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Leo
EM14, If only it was contagious then for a small fee I could have her infect the person of your choice.
It goes way beyond tools into other boy toys and activities. She has flown with me in light planes all over the country, got her open ocean SCUBA qual to dive with me, back packed all over the western US and Baja California with me, gone dunebuggying, camping, late night astrophoto sessions in remote locals, took training to qualify as a navigator, communicator, and crewman towmaster so she could go out with me on coastal search and rescue missions (USCG Aux for 10 years), and even lived with me on a sailboat for 9 years.
She even agreed to move to ground zero of tornado alley if I would make our bedroom be our safe room (mission accomplished)...
You don't find 'em like this everyday!
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
EM14
Pat is still unaware of the concept of leading by following. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon
Maybe he's learned it and just doesn't care? If you're going in the right direction, does it matter who's leading? [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Gentlemen, My motto is "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!" I once received this statement emblazoned on a plaque as a gift from some Naval folk for whom I was designing a courseware authoring system. They told me that whether I knew it or not, this was the guiding principle I seemed to have adopted. I like it. It pretty well sums up my attitude.
Consider that any movement in the correct direction, however small, is progress. So whether you are acquiring a large tool or a small one, it is a good thing.
I am proud to announce that there is no 12 step program for tool acquirers and that is because none is needed since man is a tool making and using animal whose manifest destiny is to acquire and use tools.
Some miscreant has put out this blatantly stupid comment:
The only 2 tools you will ever need are WD-40 and Duct Tape.
If it moves and it shouldnt, use the duct tape. If it doesnt move and it should, use the WD-40.
We must find this ignorant misguided fool and re-educate him (or get him a shot of testosterone.)
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Here I figured there was only one tool required and it was pretty light to carry but took a lot effort to obtain! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I'm a follower - seems like someone is always way ahead of me.
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
<font color="blue"> </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Is anyone else out there suffering from "Tool Aquasition Syndrome" ?
Egon
[/ QUOTE ] </font color>
SWMBO calls me a "tool collector".
Hey! [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img]
I resemble that remark! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
SUFFERING? No! My bank account might be suffering, but I'm in hog heaven.
Got a real simple system to feed my addiction.Wife is addicted to shoes.Two closets that I built shelves in that hold nothing else shows that.Anytime she wants another pair,sure no problem go ahead,oh by the way there is this tool I really need.It's all give and take as they say. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]