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How clean are your tools?

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I've always been anal about the cleanliness of my hand tools although I have to admit some of the tools kept outside of the toolbox aren't kept as nice as they should be. In my younger days I would rebuild ratchets, etc every week. Now, not so much! Still I polish every hand tool before it touches the toolbox drawer. It really bugs me if a tool comes out of a toolbox dirtier than when it went in. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Interesting question!

Voted for a bit of leftover grease...

While I prefer picking up clean tools from the box, it doesn't bother me if a touch of grease gets left in a socket or on a pair of pliers...

Plus I've got two sons and a wife who use the same tools...

Tim
 
I found myself today cleaning the inside of a socket while I was still under the car. And the job wasn't even done yet! Sad, but true. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I square them up once in a while, but generally they're disorganized and horrid-looking.....however I can find any tool at a moments notice!
 
A little left over grease is OK....aslong as it is Good British Grease. Preferably made from the leftover dregs of many many Guiness. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

My tools are not spotless. But they get the job done.

mark
 
I fall someplace in between. While not anal about it... (while still working I kind of pile them up on the bench) when done they get a good wiping and maybe even a run through the parts washer. Then they are put back exactly where they came from. (Hmmmmm..... maybe I am anal after all) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mike
 
Many of mine have rust, but that is to be expected. I live in Florida and the weather causes this when they are out of the tool box, outside, in the yard, over the summer. Acutally, this patina of rust makes them difficult to find unless you use the lawnmower just right.
 
Absolutely............the lawnmower is a most effective metal detector, especially right after you install new blades!! I like to keep my tools in the correct places, but having two boys around, they occasionally go "walkies" and take some tracking down. You been in a teenage boy's room lately?

That reminds me, I have to continue taking the 'B' apert this weekend........
 
All of my tools get wiped down after use unless I'm on the side of the road or in a rush. My tool box the most clean and well organized thing I own. I found that when I started buying high end craftsman and a small amount of Snap-on and mac I started to take better care of my tools.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I found that when I started buying high end craftsman and a small amount of Snap-on and mac I started to take better care of my tools.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen to that........better-quality tools are a delight to use, and there is then a natural tendency to take better care of them.
 
I usually go through a clean and purge every month or two, and then spend the next couple months messing them all up. I am by nature a disorganized person, so it takes a concerted effort on my part to keep things in order. However, any tool that needs maintenance gets it immediately.
You can't fix what's broken if your fixit thingys are broken too....
 
My tools get wiped before they go back in the box. I try to put them back in the box right away if I think I'm not going to immediately use them again. I try to use this technique so I don't have to do the tool search when I need it again.
 
I just got a nice mechanic's toolbox set from Sears after many, many years of working out of a hodgepodge of plastic tool boxes and cardboard boxes - it makes life so much easier. I'm actually starting to put my tools away rather than just chucking them in the box when done.
 
My tools are not clean, but I have worked with guys who keep them a lot messier. I wipe my wrenches and ratchets down after each use. A little leftover grease prevents rusting. I guess they are well loved.

I have three toolboxes in my garage. Two stacked on top of each other, which is leftover from when I worked on cars, and a small three drawer right in front of the Triumph. The closest toolbox houses all the tools I regularly use on the TR: SAE wrenches, 3/8 drive ratchets with the 1/2 in sockets always nearby. Anything I pull out stays out on a pile on my bench, or somewhere under the hood. When I am done for the day everything goes back in its correct drawer so I know where to find it for next time. Trouble is, when I leave stuff on the bench, I can't always find it while working on the car when I need it. I was just using that 1/2 inch wrench a minute ago.....where'd it go.....oh yeah fell under the radiator. Anytime a tools falls, it lands in the least accessible spot possible....
 
I wipe and put my tools up generally. But just now I am trying to decide what to do with my newest toolbox.

My Grandma was a Rosie the Riveter at Continental in Dallas during the war. I recently inherited her tool box from then. I don't know if I should restore it or keep its character, but either way its kinda neat.
 
I wipe my tools down, generally, and have an assortment of .30, .50 and 20mm ammo cans for tool boxes. You might laugh, but those suckers are water tight and damned near indestructable.
 
Yep, those cans will survive nearly anything. Over the years I've given almost all of mine away. But the 20mm cans have ridden in the back of my truck for years without showing any problems.
 
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