Managing your personal toolcrib

When I asked my old teacher Doug what tools I should bring to work, he said, “Bring everything and you can take the stuff you’re not using home.” Doug worked out of a small sheet metal toolbox. His tools were a collection of new and old.

Doug generously allowed me to borrow any tool as long as I continued to purchase tools myself. This is a great way to foster tool appreciation. You can judge a person’s commitment to his trade by the investment he makes in his tools.

All images courtesy of T. Lipton

Calibrate your tape measure with a high-quality ruler.

If you know a ruler’s thickness, you can use it as a feeler gage.

If you borrow a tool, be sure to return it promptly. It is a major shop infraction and disrespectful to be late in returning borrowed tools. Also, don’t make a mistake and create an enemy by not returning a tool enthusiastically. Apparently, this is not the case in all professions. I have found engineers and scientists tend to view hand tools as objects instead of treasured personal possessions.

I advocate buying the highest-quality tools you can afford. If you’re planning to make a living with them, the initial painful cost is amortized over a lifetime. Besides, you are directly supporting somebody else who thinks enough of fine tools to actually make them.

Part of the fun of metalworking is using the tools. It’s not much fun, however, if you pick up a commonly used tool and regret buying it. There is a deep satisfaction attached to working with your hands. Fine tools go along with that feeling. Some people argue that less expensive tools provide identical performance, but if that was true, high-quality toolmakers would be out of business. When a metalworking professional’s skill level rises, the differences in tools become more evident. Some of the differences are subtle, but the higher cost of top-quality tools is justified in most cases.