Someday I'm Gonna...
Mar 10, 2012
Every time I find myself banging through the drawers of my toolboxes looking for tools, I promise myself that someday I'm going to take a few simple steps to organize things so I can find them when I need them. My list includes:
-take a block of oak and drill a pattern of holes in it to make a rack to organize the carbide bits for my die grinder. If a carbide bit isn't currently in my die grinder, it usually takes a half hour to find it somewhere in the "air tools" drawer in my toolbox.
-drill another, larger block of oak to make a rack to hold the chisel tips, hammer tips, pointed tips, rivet-head tips and other bits I use with my air hammer. I've got a dozen or more different bits, but only know for sure where two of them are, and one of those locations is "iffy."
-outfit a "battery tools" toolbox. Just a small, single compartment, fishing-tackle type of toolbox with a 1/2-inch wrench, a battery terminal cleaner, digital battery tester, a battery-carrying handle and other assorted tools commonly used when working on batteries. I like grab-and-go toolboxes dedicated to specific chores. Several years ago I outfitted a toolbox with a multimeter, assorted test leads, wire strippers, wire cutters, and an assortment of electrical connectors, and dedicated it to electrical testing and diagnostics. Its been a real time-saver, something I can tote up in a combine or inside a tractor cab, that ensures I have 99 percent of the tools I'll need for most electrical problems.
-sharpen all the dull drill bits I've accumulated over the years. I easily set aside a dull bit and replace it with a sharp one, but can never bring myself to actually throw away the dull one. If I ever take time to Drill Doctor all those drill bits I should have three or four complete sets of drill bits...
-throw away all the broken drill bits. Why I think I'll ever be able to sharpen all those shortened, ragged-tipped bits is beyond me, but I keep saving those darned broken bits.
-clean out my toolboxes. The few times I've actually done a to-the-bottom housecleaning of one of my boxes, it's been like Christmas morning---it's surprising the tools you find that you forgot you had, or thought you'd lost. Who knows what I'll rediscover if I ever drill open the jammed drawer on my "junk" toolbox.
