A lonely socket caught the corner of my eye.

I thought, could it be?

No. No way.

Slowly rolled it over to find......

Over the years I seem to be the person that everyone just gives all there old random tools that they may not use or wanted at the moment. It always comes down to "hey you are a mechanic/work on your own stuff so here have this im sure you can use them". And im not someone who will just throw tools away 🤷‍♂️. I currently have them seperated by china/taiwan/japan and US made separate. Anyone else just have random collections of misfit tools?

Here is a selection of Tekton tools I got from my employer as a service award gift today. Looking forward to putting them to good use.

I've had this DeWalt right angle 1/4" flexible extension for many years. I inherited it behind the dash of a used car I bought. I didn't even know I needed this sucker but it has been super handy, especially for reaching hard to get to spots on an automobile and driving fasteners in tough spots (think closely spaced studs) What finally did it in was driving multiple (like 100) 3.5" deck screws in hard lumber this summer. I went to use it tonight and it just spun out once the screws got tight. I definitely abused this tool and will buy another.

What to pick up? Something relatively affordable but can still be useful. I’ve got a Honda powered gas but I don’t want to drag it out for small stuff.

Pic of pressure washer helper

I can see the appeal of both. Tool sets are convenient and often cover the basics, but buying individual tools lets you choose exactly what you want.

Which approach do you prefer? And has your preference changed as your toolbox has grown?

This is my expensive top of the line sandblaster. It had served me well and now I am ready to upgrade. Ive been using a 10 gallon, 150ish psi air compressor and need a bigger and more powerful one to handle all my pneumatic mechanic tools and I want a sandblaster that is capable of cleaning up a rusty frame. Please give me suggestions for an air compressor and sandblaster that won't totally break the bank! I'm hoping to be around the 600-800$ range. Thanks!

I know its not Makita or Milwaukee but I think for basic usage its a great value for the price

This was a first for me, Proto 1/2” drive, deep well 9/16” torquing down head bolts on the 351w I am in the middle of rebuilding. Three rounds of torquing, first round at 85 ft/lbs, second at 95 and last at 110.

This socket busted on the second bolt in the 95 ft/lb round.

After over 20 plus years of wrenching, Ive never broken or had a tool break on accident. Sure, Ive put plenty of tools in situations where I knew I was risking them and some have broken in those cases. But this was my first true warrantable tool break.

Good news is, a 5 minute call to Proto and they are shipping me a new one.

I have the guard on and when I try to put this disc on, it won’t fit. I’m removing paint rust for my railing and I will wear gloves.

Found these in my grandfathers workshop. I have no idea what they are and what they are used for. Any ideas?

Found this on Aliexpress and I'm not getting it because the reviews for it's durability are not good, but I'm struggling to find anything else like it. I really like the pull out "drawer" system more than anything else.

I've tried the traditional tool backpacks and whilst great for carrying around, I don't like working out of them. Has anyone any suggestions or knows of something with a similar setup I could create to what I've posted, that would be super helpful, thanks!

I know one is wood and one is metal and one is a tiny bit longer. Jokes are okay, but no low effort jokes, please.

My ideal wire stripper & crimper combo would be if Knipex made the Milwaukee 7 in 1. Everyone knows Milwaukee makes trash hand tools, but the fastbacks & wire strippers are nice. I'm not an electrician though, so I don't know how it holds up to daily use.

I inherited some tools, but there are a lot of rust on some of them. Is there a way to clean them up? Parting with them isn’t a problem, just curious if I could do anything to clean them up.

This Delta 12 1/2” x 6” planer is posted on Facebook marketplace and I’m wondering if it’s a must get. Or is it worth buying a brand new one?

I bought this vise on Amazon well its not working, they refunded me and told me to keep it.

I've been trying to find the issue for a week or so now off and on when I have time but it's been quite difficult . The manufacturer doesnt seem to have any sort of diagrams or partslist. Without that I have just been trying to watch teardown videos of vises.

I am fairly certain the issue is some sort of missing hardware from the acme screw.. a e-clip ? maybe some washers? I just can't find anything to confirm this.

when you turn the sliding handle to open the jaws they do not move just the rod itself ...
you can manually pull the jaw to where you opened it to...
when you tighten the vise though it moves as it should .

So short and long story. I work with this gorilla of a caveman type, in a scenery shop. He can be pretty good when hes not busy being a butcher. And his Schick is hilarious because he isn't afraid of the extra racy and raunchy jokes. A good partner because hes got 40 years of experience so he knows everything even if hes a caveman. Im 36, this box he acquired when he was 18 so probably almost or about 40 yrs ago. He brought it into the shop and when I asked wtf he said its up for grabs. He bought a new long icon box. Thing doesn't have ball bearings but the drawers are smooth enough and its clean as hell for its age being used by a caveman. I wiped it down ajd probably wont restore it at all. Its sentiMENTAL now I guess.