whom here feels the same way???

im 26 years old and have been working on cars since i was a kid. i started working in an independent automotive repair shop when i was 16 years old. i started with a 280 piece mechanics tool set from craftsman. now i work for a BMW dealership and mostly have snap-on tools. one of the first Snap-on tools i bought was a 12 inch 3/8 locking extention. after 10 years of abuse i broke it today . actually the locking function is all that broke. i built my first hotrod (29ford) and my baby (1954 chevy belair) and repaired countless vehicles with that extention. i engraved my initials in that thing 10 years ago. i know it seems silly but i dont think i can trade it in for a new one. im actually attached to it now. anyone out there feel the same? or use the same tools there old man handed down to them?

 

Dude, it's a broken piece of shit. Have it replaced and move on.

 

haha i think you and the 30 guys at work are right hahah. im such a fag

 

26? You're still a kid. Plenty of time to get attached to a new one.

 

26 years old!?!?!
wait'll you've been doing it for 26 years....


i have my 1st toolbox that i won't get rid of but when the time comes, everything else is fair game....

 

Nah i'm the same. I got a snap-on 3/8 ratchet i bought with the money my dad gave me for my birthday years ago. I always said if all my tools got stolen or had to be given away and could keep only one tool, the ratchet would be it.

 

ive been turning wrenches for 35 years, silly yea, but i too have my favorite tools, ive taken them home, hah, i even have a very very old torque wrench layen on my headboard,
silly how holding something in your hand for so many years can warm your bones.

 

I have a few older -70's craftsmen tools that are way better than todays stuff..., I am always on the look out for vintage craftsman stuff at pawn shops and yard sales.
I don't have the money or time for snap on, but if I find them used I pick them up.
I have a little display above the desk for broken engine parts and tools...

 

I'm 55 and I have a no name ratchet I bought when I was 14 . A real close ratio one . I mostly use my snap on tools but when I need a real close ratio one I get my old ratchet . Frame your extention . Be someting cool to show your kids !

 

I still have most of my proto set bought in 1960. I still use them regularly even though I have about every snapon tool made. Kinda like old friends, just nice to keep in touch.

 

Yep got some tools (small, cheap, mechanics set) my dad bought me almost 20 years ago. use 'em everyday. I even keep the broken ones.

 

I'm just shy of 60 and my dad gave me a set of sockets and a 1/2" ratchet when I was 15 years old,,,still have most of the sockets ,,the chrome has some rusty spots ,,,as a teenager I worked at Sears in the shipping /recieving department and I remember there was always a box of broken tools in the corner and at that time they had a replacement kit to repair ratchets.

A couple of years ago my much used and abused ratchet gave up and quit working,,,I took it to Sears and went to the guy working there and ask for a replacement kit to repair my ratchet,,,he had never heard of one,,,nor did anybody else in that department.,,,all kids!

He said ,,just toss it in the barrel over there and get another one off the rack,,,I told him that that ratchet was a gift from my dad who passed away and as stupid as it sounds to you,,,It means something to me.

He said,,,that's all I know to do is give you a new one,,,I walked over to the rack and picked up the new freshly chromed and clean ratchet,,,grabbed a pair of snap ring pliers and took the new one apart and removed the parts I needed and tossed the new ratchet in the junk barrel,,,,I thanked him for the replacement part and I useed that same ratchet yesterday,,,,

 

Yea I work at sears as of now, and we actually rebuild the ratchets of the bigger sizes such as 3/4 and 1/2. there is a huge box in the back just piled up with rebuild kits. I have customers come in all the time and they will say like " that was a good wrench" almost as saying goodbye to it.

 

My snap on ratchet is a POS that my snappy dealer tells me to oil and it will be fine, another story. Anyway, As humans, we attach ourselves to the stupidist stuff some times. If you love it, dream it went away to Snap On Heaven and came back reborn, so the two of you can spend eternal bliss screwing in and out to your hearts content.

 

Hotrodprimer,i still have/use the "plomb" ratchet set and body tools my dad left me(i'm 53) He "acquired"them when he worked in the motor pool in the Phillipines.I remember him telling me a funny story about him and his buddies putting a ford flathead V-8 in one of the jeeps...guess the M.P.'s couldn't catch it,pissed them off,they tracked them down(was'nt too hard to locate since dad had painted it army green with some black thrown in)and confiscated it for their own use!I like to think that i'm wrenchin' with the same tools that put that flathead in!THanks!

 

I started this crazy game when I was about 10 years old. I have very few of the original tools that my mom bought for me from back then although the ones I do have are in my office on display with other antiques. Man that sounds old as hell >>>>.

 

Anybody who does not believe that innanimate objects have a sentient being infused in them by years of living with a human, whether car, motorcycle or tools, probably doesn't belong on this forum. Many will think it's not macho to have feelings toward a car in public and then talk to thier car on the way home or for a while in the garage before they go inside. Don't worry about what others think. Just the fact that you care about that 3/8 extension gives it a life of it's own. If you trade it in on a new one Snap On will destroy it while it remembers the days spent working with you. Keep it and Cherish it! Someone don't like it, hit em with it!

 

I've got an old set of Montgomery Ward ratchets & sockets. Lifetime guarantee! For awhile after Monkey Ward went belly up you could swap broken ones at Sears. For the most part none has ever broke. My 3/8th deep well is cracked but still works ..

 

I use to spend all of my vacation time with my dad at his auto repair shop when I was a kid. I have a few tools that I got after my dad died back in '91 and I can remember using them when I worked with him. I use some of the tools in my own business. I don't treat them like museum pieces, they're in my tool box just like my other tools but when I reach in and grab one I can feel something, I know it's in my mind but I can feel it. I think about what he did with them and now they're in my hands. I have some of his tools that I know I will never use but they're on the shelf in my garage and once in a while I just look at them, touch them and can bring back memories.

 

I've still got most of the craftsman stuff Dad bought me for graduation in '88. Dont use it much but I keep. Reminds of where I've been. Probably they can replace the guts of that particular rachet though.

 

I've had the same BFH for 45 years. I've had to replace the head twice, and the handle three times, but I wouldn't give up that hammer for all the money in the world.

 

My Dad gave me a Craftsman tool box and a few wrenches and screw drivers 48 years ago, I've still got 'em all. I don't care what anyone says, they are special to me.

 

you have to take some responsibility for the breaking.etching caused premature metal fatigue.you will need to get counseling to deal with the grief and guilt.

 

I have never been one to get attached to my tools .My best friend always makes fun of me for cutting up tools .If I am in in a bind I will make it work sacrifice a tool to the hot rod god.As far as your ratchet I bet you could find another on EBay to fix yours .If it was me I would buy a new one and grow attached to it.My last 2 cents

 

Don't feel bad bud, we all get attatched to our tools. Anyone that says different is lying! I have a few tools that broke on me but I coulden't bare to toss them or trade them in so I hung on to them, and dammed if I wasn't glad I did when I cut it up or modified it to make a new tool out of it. Kind of cool that I got to keep a loyal old tool around but it still earns its keep you know.

 

i don't and i'm not lying...hell i'll show you..i'll go out and burn my tool box right now.....

 

Meh, all my first tools were cheap shit. They all got stolen out of the barracks on week end while we were away. Barracks insurance paid up, I got 8g worth of new tools. Wish I still had em thats for sure!
Its only a tool dud.
Doc.

 

Only one tool I'm attached to...........

 

I have to give my $.02 here. Tools from your pop are great, I got the 1/2 inch snapon torque wrench from dad he used that thing from the mid 70's on. I don't have kids but someday if I find a worthy young gun I'll pass it on with the story. Tools are personal if you think about it, but you got to fix the broken ones, or replace em. If you don't it will bite you in the rear every time!

 

Make a shift lever or something out of it for your next ride, then you'll have it with you.