# Tool wish you kept



## Smithdoor (Dec 12, 2014)

This thread is for tool ever wish they kept
I have more than one tools I sold and I replace
Starting with a 9A sound bend lathe not once and twice ever the third time. even got a 10K New and lost it too

I am on my fourth 9A  

Dave


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## 12bolts (Dec 12, 2014)

Havent sold anything I really wanted to keep yet. A couple of times I moved house and gave away some things that just wouldnt fit the moving container. Ended up buying or making replacements. No more plans to move again so I should be right I hope.

cheers Phil


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## xalky (Dec 12, 2014)

I've never sold anything I wanted to keep. I've never regretted selling anything either. Usually when I sell something, it's because it's outlived its usefulness to me, or I already have a plan to replace it with something better. I very rarely sell my tools unless I have to many spares or one of the above conditions applies.


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## Micke S (Dec 13, 2014)

I'm not selling or throwing tools, just buying more as I suspect most people here do )


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## george wilson (Dec 13, 2014)

I wish I had kept my belt drive 10 x 24" Jet bench lathe. I sold it to help pay for my 16 x 40 gear head. But,the Jet offered many more threads than either the 16" or my Hardinge HLVH. And,its belt drive makes smoother surfaces than the gear head. It is not made  any more.

Everyone seems gear head happy these days. They are easier to change speeds on,but,only very high quality gear head lathes do not leave gear echoes in the metal being turned. Those high quality lathes are not made any more. I refer to Dean,Smith and Grace,for one example. They leave dead smooth surfaces. But,even their 13" model is tremendously heavy for its swing. I tried one out last Summer. Its bed was too worn out for me,but still cut very smooth. The guy wanted way too much,too.

The Hardinge is a belt drive,making very smooth surfaces,but it has a limited thread range unless you buy super expensive outboard gear sets.


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## Tool-in-the-Box (Dec 13, 2014)

One that always seems to haunt me is a Goodell Pratt 125 Toolsmith lathe that was loaded. These come up for sale all the time but this one had the uber rare turret tailstock attachment. This was 10 years ago and I still havnt seen one :talktogod:


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## Mark in Indiana (Dec 13, 2014)

My mind...lost it years ago. :nuts:


But in all seriousness, there are a few vises that I restored to flip that I regret selling because they were unique. So the lesson learned is to be very careful of what gets sold.
Here are some pictures:


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## rmack898 (Dec 13, 2014)

I had a beautiful 2" tool makers vise that was made by my father-in-law. I've never seen a small vise quite like it. When my ex-wife moved out, she took the vise with her.

I plan to make my own this winter but I have to work from memory. I really miss that vise.


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## rafe (Dec 13, 2014)

12bolts said:


> Havent sold anything I really wanted to keep yet. A couple of times I moved house and gave away some things that just wouldnt fit the moving container. Ended up buying or making replacements. No more plans to move again so I should be right I hope.
> 
> cheers Phil


same here.....now cars and guitars ,amps and women. that's another story


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## core-oil (Dec 13, 2014)

Always feel sorry, that I gave away my big Barnes camel back, (due to space restrictions,) + & a nice geared head Milnes toolroom lathe, At the same time,  Istill have a Holbrook, does everything I want in bigger turning, jobs, But I still miss the Milnes.
 When the shop I served my apprenticeship in, went belly up, 45 years ago, During the disposal I was at the clearing out of one item  of the plant, for some other folk, In the shop was a nice old Belgian Soag toolroom lathe, Speaking to the then director,  He said he wanted a fair lot of money for it, Ended up after I was away from the scene it subsequently went for a pittance, Was I sick as a parrot!


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## chuckorlando (Dec 13, 2014)

I was unaware there was even a subtraction equation for tool reduction. Sneaky little math guys


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## Downwindtracker2 (Dec 13, 2014)

Now that you mention it, it does bring back bad memories, I do remember selling a 3/4 drive Gray socket set that I swapped the ratchet for a Williams ratchet.


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## hermetic (Dec 13, 2014)

Wish I had kept my first lathe, an old Dean,Smith and Grace 13Z, it was a bit of a dog, the old girl had been dropped on her front or bomb damaged or something. The screwcutting gearbox casting had been smashed and welded back together, as had the handwheel. but it was absoutely rigid and would turn just about anything you could get in the chuck. After I had cleaned it up and adjusted everything, I got a local engineering shop to make me a new crosslide nut out of a blank I filed up, adjusted all the gybes, and she was great. I have a Colchester and a Covmac now, but she was my first love! This is me and her in the 1970's.
Phil


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## Doubleeboy (Dec 13, 2014)

In 1985 I bought the lathe from a one man shop that was closing.  Beautiful 5 hp Clausing lathe with VS to 3500 rpm, short bed, a rare machine , only ever seen one other.  Royal closer, Aloris, chucks galore.  3  years later we move across country and I sold it to avoid moving it.  Dumbest thing I ever did.   I had literally 20 calls on lathe first morning it was in paper.  A guy came ready to buy , truck , trailor, lift, pinch bars and a huge friend and a pocket full of hundreds.  Oh well, I learned dont sell great stuff unless you are broke.  I made money on owning it,but that doesn't make me feel any smarter.

michael


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## ronboley (Dec 13, 2014)

Wish I had my 1955 Chevy 2 door Bel Aire.  Sold it for $650 back in 1970....have the same girl friend though...wife now for 42 years...


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## kd4gij (Dec 13, 2014)

Sell!!! Tools???? never gave that a thought. :lmao:


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## Mark in Indiana (Dec 13, 2014)

ronboley said:


> Wish I had my 1955 Chevy 2 door Bel Aire.  Sold it for $650 back in 1970....have the same girl friend though...wife now for 42 years...




Well, I didn't want to mention this because it was tool related but I had a 1957 Jeep CJ5 while I was restoring my 1945 Jeep CJ2A (which I have after 21 years). I wish I kept that '57.


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## chips&more (Dec 13, 2014)

Through the years, I never did sell anything, I just built bigger garages for all my tool acquisitions. Now what do I do?


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## John Hasler (Dec 13, 2014)

chips&more said:


> Through the years, I never did sell anything, I just built bigger garages for all my tool acquisitions. Now what do I do?



40x60 pole barns aren't really all that expensive.  Put up two: one for a shop and one for storage.  Make sure you have open land for expansion.

Or buy a farm with a dozen ramshackle sheds, barns, and chicken coops.


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## chuckorlando (Dec 13, 2014)

Chicken poop might hold the rust down ahaha


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## Eddyde (Dec 13, 2014)

I had a WWII vintage, hydraulic arbor press that came from the defunct Castro Convertible sofa-bed factory. It was a real beast that could easily exceed its rated capacity of 30 tons. Alas, I was on hard times and the folks at my former shop, where I had it stored wanted it out of there... so I let it go, way too cheap. Depressing indeed.


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## Uglydog (Dec 13, 2014)

My Grandfathers bench mount belt sander.
He didn't have much for tools at home. To preoccupied with feeding 8 kids.
The belt sander was tired.
At the time I had no way of turning the new rollers, and pressing the bearings that she badly needed.
My brother sent her to scrap.
My Grandfather was a WWII Navy Machinist, then worked at FMC in Mpls.
I miss him.

Daryl
MN


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 13, 2014)

2 of them

Index Vertical Mill, moved and the new garage didn't have the headspace to set it up.:angry:
she went for a song

A former employer offered me a BP mill( that i used at work) for free with tooling if i would just take it out of the building.
needless to say at the time i had nowhere to keep it until about 6 months after the company shut down when i got a house with a suitable garage.
I had to give it up and decline:angry:

i have been chasing machinery ever since i got a garage, why are garages never big enough?


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## COMachinist (Dec 14, 2014)

Hi All
Happy Holidays to everyone. Merry Christmas to those that still believe, and A Happy New Year.
This is an easy one, I sold my Burking 2"x72" belt grinder and got a smaller import. I get up every morning and use my auto butt kicker. I am designing a new DIY replacement right now. This one will have a 2hp 3ph/ VFD to make it more usable. I had made a lot of tooling for the Burking and I loved that machine. Yep all the tooling went with it. I retired and did not need a large powerful grinder, I thought Big mistake. Did I mention I kick myself every day.
:nono:
CH


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## rferrara (Dec 14, 2014)

Hi do they have a TV show for tool hoarders, i would be a good episode, the thing that bothers me is not having so many tools but what happens to them after the dirt nap. I have 50 years of woodworking and metal working machines plus 2 auto-body toolboxes. I was thinking of selling some stuff that I don't use but again its hard to pry from my hands. I  hope to see some of you at the next tool hoarders anonymous meeting.


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## Reeltor (Dec 14, 2014)

Do yard tools count?  Right now the tool I miss most is my log splitter.  I can't believe the cost of a new one. anic:


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## Mark in Indiana (Dec 14, 2014)

rferrara said:


> Hi do they have a TV show for tool hoarders, i would be a good episode, the thing that bothers me is not having so many tools but what happens to them after the dirt nap. I have 50 years of woodworking and metal working machines plus 2 auto-body toolboxes. I was thinking of selling some stuff that I don't use but again its hard to pry from my hands. I  hope to see some of you at the next tool hoarders anonymous meeting.




I think most of the members here are tool hoarders.


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 14, 2014)

rferrara said:


> Hi do they have a TV show for tool hoarders, i would be a good episode, the thing that bothers me is not having so many tools but what happens to them after the dirt nap. I have 50 years of woodworking and metal working machines plus 2 auto-body toolboxes. I was thinking of selling some stuff that I don't use but again its hard to pry from my hands. I  hope to see some of you at the next tool hoarders anonymous meeting.




Hi,
My name is Mike, I AM A TOOL HOARDER.
i too would make a good case study in machine depravity.
my affliction started when i was a small boy. My grandfather let me hang out in his shop.
He's been gone 37 years now, i still remember the smell and the feeling of just being there.
it's the closest thing to magic that i could ever describe.
He was a man of simple means, his shop is not what i would call extensive by any stretch.
What he did have was a knack for fixing just about anything with the most seemingly modest of machinery and tooling.
i learned at an early age that your mind is the first toolbox you go to.
IMHO, you can have the most extensive toolbox and all the fanciest and newest things technology can offer.
they will never be any use if you don't have the power of thought or an idea of Why the thing you are working on works. 
Other things i learned from him is that many things can be repaired with simple means, and not to let a small bump in the road stop the project.

I horde tools for the eventuality that there will be a problem down the road, i wanna be prepared for anything!!!!
i'm pretty dang close)


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## hman (Dec 15, 2014)

It ain't junk!

It's useful stuff!

I just don't yet know what the use is.


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## herbet999 (Dec 15, 2014)

Mark in Indiana said:


> I think most of the members here are tool hoarders.



My wife has proclaimed me one. I can't argue with her. 

I can't think of a tool that I've sold and then bought another one of. Vehicles.. now that's a different story.


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## jjr2001 (Dec 15, 2014)

Craftsman drill press vise from the 70's. This one would tilt and had a rotating base.
It's jaws were about 2 inches wide. In looking back the $20.00 I got for it at a garage sale
was not so good.

In looking at the Palmgren vises now that go for over $100.00 looks like the exact vise.
The Craftsman looked just like it!


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 16, 2014)

can l change the concept a bit, to tools l wish l had brought? 
when l brought my craftsman 103.xxxxxx 150 drill press for $45.00, 
he had a power hack saw, probably a craftsman too, for $25.00.
Didn't think I had the room, (I didn't, but that never stopped me before) didn't think I'd use it much. 
Wish I had brought it. 
I had my hands on it does that count?


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 16, 2014)

rafe said:


> same here.....now cars and guitars ,amps and women. that's another story



yep, a few woman I messed up by breaking up with. I would take back today if I could. 
but of course, a few, it was  pretty much the best thing for both of us, and for me for sure...............LOL
Guitars, No, sold a few, but don't care, don't touch it much lately, but I'll never sell my circa late 80's APX 6 acoustic.Electric. It's a pretty white one.

Dummy me, left behind a nice tube amp when I moved one time.


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 16, 2014)

chips&more said:


> Through the years, I never did sell anything, I just built bigger garages for all my tool acquisitions. Now what do I do?


Keep e'm.......lol
We can't all do that though (Build bigger buildings)
Good for you though. :thumbzup3:


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 16, 2014)

Uglydog said:


> My Grandfathers bench mount belt sander.
> He didn't have much for tools at home. To preoccupied with feeding 8 kids.
> The belt sander was tired.
> At the time I had no way of turning the new rollers, and pressing the bearings that she badly needed.
> ...



miss mine too, too bad I was a dumb a$$ young kid that didn't care about nothing. 
He was an electrician, and could fix darn near anything, l could have learned a lot more. 
did cement work too,


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 16, 2014)

rferrara said:


> Hi do they have a TV show for tool hoarders, i would be a good episode, the thing that bothers me is not having so many tools but what happens to them after the dirt nap. I have 50 years of woodworking and metal working machines plus 2 auto-body toolboxes. I was thinking of selling some stuff that I don't use but again its hard to pry from my hands. I  hope to see some of you at the next tool hoarders anonymous meeting.



your like me, l hate to throw anything out. 
Get rid of the stuff when we die............LOL........:reddevil: (Not hoping I go with him)


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## george wilson (Dec 21, 2014)

You mean DURING the dirt nap,of course!!!


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## mrbreezeet1 (Dec 21, 2014)

george wilson said:


> You mean DURING the dirt nap,of course!!!



yes sir, l do.


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## uncle harry (Dec 23, 2014)

John Hasler said:


> 40x60 pole barns aren't really all that expensive.  Put up two: one for a shop and one for storage.  Make sure you have open land for expansion.
> 
> Or buy a farm with a dozen ramshackle sheds, barns, and chicken coops.



I bought the farm twice & lived ! Seriously, I bought the improvements of an original 1888 settlement farm with 'bout 4 acres & many out buildings.  My little  shop was a hen house It's 13' X 30 ' long. My other shop is part of a 26'  X 80' pole shed.  It's 16' X 26' & obviously expandable.  Both shops are full of machines & tooling.  I rarely sell tooling or machines but I'm considering thinning the herd of late. Even so, I recently ordered a D1-4 5C collet chuck for my Harrison M300 lathe to use the 24 piece collet set I got on ebay.


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## road (Dec 23, 2014)

Back in 1990 I was heavily into scale plastic models. Had a hobby room that was 8' x 12, a great spray booth, many air brushes maybe 200 + models on the shelf.  I won a few awards for my projects around my area. 
My wife's friend had just lost her husband , (A nice guy but not a hobbiest. )  He was a horder of sorts.  

She called us to ask for help clean out the garage after a few months. We went over and worked for 4 days clearing & diffusing  her life as friends often do. 
She asked us to take some heavy boxes and crates from the basement for her. She said "please keep what ever you want , But this I want you to have " 

4 moldy water stained cardboard boxes and 2 small crates in the corner, little did I know what a completely NEW (dismantled ) Atlas lathe was worth or the model # it was or the value of itself or the gift.  I knew it was a lathe , but I had no use for it then. 

I sat in my garage for  3 years until my wife had a garage sale while I was at work.  I did get to keep the $50 though. 


ondering: Actually I miss Ken and Helen more than the lathe.


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## george wilson (Dec 23, 2014)

jjr 2001: your Sears vise WAS made by Palmgren back them. Sears rebadged several Palmgren products. Vises,rotary tables,for example.


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## Bill Gruby (Dec 23, 2014)

I miss my Left-Handed Smoke Shifter the most. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 "Billy G"


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## Round in circles (Dec 25, 2014)

After becoming crippled for the second time in my life just over 20 years ago I had to sell up our small farming set up & move into a big city nearer the shops , doctors & hospitals etc. . 

The down sizing saw us move from a 2 double bed dwelling built in 1864 along with the new railway line , now an ex railway gate keepers crossing house , moving into a 10 yr old modern 6 mtr x 7 mtr one bed bungalow as there were no steps and the locality fairly all flat.

Amongst the thousands of £ pounds worth of tools I had to sell off a was a rock solid  beech framed butchers block stand that had had the chopping block planed smooth and was covered in a 1/4 inch steel plate  it stood 40 inches tall & was brill for taking heavy engines /gearboxes etc.apart on  , as well as for use as a welding bench , mounted at one end was a fantastic quality 6 inch RECORD parma steel vice ( it took two beefy guys to move it )  . Another thing I also let go was a water cooled hand held spot welding machine & an underpowered 1920's small metal lathe ( not screw cutting )  of unknown origin  ... more of a conversation piece than a useful lathe

     I'd love the vice and spot welder again as I now have a made from 2.5 " x 1/4 thick  square aluminium tubed ex butchers chopping block stand .. it would only be a few pounds to buy scaffold planks to in fill where the block was and then plate it in a1/4 ms plate with a reinforced inset angle iron edge that is level /flush with the plate so it can take " a bit of wellie " 

The spot welder is obvious it's one of those things that you never miss if you have never had one,  but once you've had one for a dozen or so years and used it a lot there is a big  hole in the new  rationalised tool kit .


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## extropic (Dec 25, 2014)

rmack898 said:


> I had a beautiful 2" tool makers vise that was made by my father-in-law. I've never seen a small vise quite like it. When my ex-wife moved out, she took the vise with her.
> 
> I plan to make my own this winter but I have to work from memory. I really miss that vise.



Was your ex-wife a machinist too?  :lmao::lmao::lmao:


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## Fabrickator (Dec 25, 2014)

I recently sold my old 25 YO Campbell Hausfield air compressor that I bought it from JCPennys!   Anyome old enough to remember when they sold tools like Sears?

It was really tired and needed rebuilding and it was cheaper to buy a new Taiwan one from HF.  The main reason I opted to change was it was horizontal tank and I really needed a vertical due to limited space.


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## Mark in Indiana (Dec 26, 2014)

mrbreezeet1 said:


> can l change the concept a bit, to tools l wish l had brought?
> when l brought my craftsman 103.xxxxxx 150 drill press for $45.00,
> he had a power hack saw, probably a craftsman too, for $25.00.
> Didn't think I had the room, (I didn't, but that never stopped me before) didn't think I'd use it much.
> ...




I wish I had bought dozens of '60s muscle cars in the late 70s, during the gas crisis. Many good GTO, Camaro, Firebird, etc. could be had for less than 1000$. I would have long been retired.

But back on tools that I wish I bought: It doesn't bother me too much because I'm very conservative about tools that I buy. Mainly because I don't want to take a beating if I had to sell out and I would go broke real fast if I bought all the tools that I wanted.


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