Take care of your Tools and they'll take care of you.

[Brice Burrell]

Okay, I was on the receiving end of some fun ribbing about my tools being Armor All'ed.  The comments are all in good fun but it got me thinking, who cleans their tools and Systainers.  I don't clean my tools per say (well, I usually don't), I do almost always vacuum clean my tools before putting them away and from time to time I'll hit them lightly with the compressed air. 

I've also noticed some guys Systainers look like they been dragged behind a bus for miles.  Take a look at Franks stack and you'll know what I mean.  I'm not sure what you guys are doing to your Systainers.  Mine tend to stay fairly neat looking.  I'll admit I don't use my Systainers like other people since I'm not the biggest fan of them.  I can't stand that fact that the tools I need will always be in the middle of the stack and unclipping is a drag.  When I get to the job my tools come out of the Systainer for the duration of the job most of the time.  The Systainers are then neatly stacked in the corner and aren't touched again until I need a wrench or accessory.

It would be fair to say I take care of my tools a little more than the average contractor.  I happen to believe that if you take good care of your tools it'll pay off in the long run.  Of course there is a point where you can cross the line between taking reasonable care of and being obsessive about your tools.  I may have crossed that line when I got into Festool. [big grin]  So, where do you stand: careful, obsessive or indifferent?       

 

[Sparktrician]

I'll have to admit that I'm somewhere between careful and obsessive.  I ALWAYS clean my tools before putting them away; I don't care how late it is.  I want to know that when I open a toolbox or Systainer, everything will be there in perfect order, ready to go.  I guess it's my military background and a strong desire to know that my other "tools" are ready to use in an instant.  Now on the other hand, I don't Armor-All my tools...  [poke] 

[big grin]

 

[Craftsman]

Obsessive.... and Mothers ,"Back to Black" is better than Armor All     [big grin]

 

[Alan m]

i not very hard on my tools and look after them . my systainers a in good condition exept one that i spilt blue and yellow stain on while trying to open the bottles. i also clean my tools before putting them away.

 

[jmbfestool]

I only clean my tools maybe once every 8 months with vacuum and compressed air thats it I never done it any more than that.  My systainers never get a clean they only get more dirty cus I use silicon just to stick the stickers back as they really annoy me peeling away. I will give them a clean though as I do like everythin to look clean just at the end of the day im kinda tired so I gotta motivate my self to put everything in my van where it should go as I tend to just want throw it all in and sort it out later but it slows me down on the next job so no way will I be able to motivate my self to also clean the tools after every use!

JMB

 

[Guy Ashley]

Seems to be a trend here, whether use for your trade or as a hobby, I guess Festool owners (except Paslode monkey's like JMB!  [tongue]),generally tend to clean them and look after them.

Thats why I hate and will always try to avoid working near other trades, especially spreads, they sling stuff round like 5 year olds at a mud fight!

Ripped out an old kitchen a while ago and the cooker hood had never been cleaned since it was put in. The C12 and I were covered in 10 years worth of chip fat!

That took a lot of cleaning!

 

[Pdevore]

I guess you could put me on the obsesive side. I always use the compressor to blow off all of my tools. This goes from the miter saw all the way down to block planes. I like my tools being clean, I look at it as a way of keeping the dust from building up and getting into the motors even more than they do.

Pete

 

[PaulMarcel]

So as the "ribber", I should chime in

I clean mine before putting them away.  In the WCR-1000 video, I hung a microfiber cloth on one of the hooks.  I always have one nearby for tools and stock.  If a tool got really dirty, I leave it out so it gets hit with the leaf-blower before getting put away.  Otherwise, a quick swipe with the cloth before going back into the Systainer.  My Systainers looks pretty much new as I don't go on site much (most of my 'sites' are neighbors' houses).  They stay in my SysPort-bench.  Only ratty part about them is the peeling sticker.  Unlike JMB, I leave them like that because I find it funny that these tools are ridiculously well engineered, but the stickers fall off

I actually like the idea of hitting them with Armor All quickly one day; it's so dry out here that sometimes you can't get dust and chips off tools because of static cling.  The Armor All and wiping down with a dryer sheet will help with that.

 

[Theshipstore]

I suppose I to am a clean nut, I clean my tools after each use before putting them away for the day.
To me working clean with my tools and at the job is an important thing.
It seems to me the right thing to do in every aspect of my woodworking.

 

[jmbfestool]

Seems to be a trend here, whether use for your trade or as a hobby, I guess Festool owners (except Paslode monkey's like JMB!  [tongue]),generally tend to clean them and look after them.

Thats why I hate and will always try to avoid working near other trades, especially spreads, they sling stuff round like 5 year olds at a mud fight!

Ripped out an old kitchen a while ago and the cooker hood had never been cleaned since it was put in. The C12 and I were covered in 10 years worth of chip fat!

That took a lot of cleaning!

Ha! lol Hope you get more grease! lol Then you will be Grease monkey!

I think its different for people who often work in a work shop to people always onsite!   I know if I was in working in a workshop all the time I would definitely clean my tools more often because my compressor would be near me and ready to go and so would my Vacuum.  As on the job I would need to get my vacuum out especially cus I dont always need my vacuum and I never carry a compressor with me in my van.    I nearly always pack my tools up every day even though I could be on the job for a week or more!  As I would hate to come back and my tools to be gone!  

Spreader Im assuming plasters! Yes they are annoying!  I hate it when I dont realise one has started workin in a room and I have left my tools in der!  I then have to rush and get my tools out with plaster splatter on it! I then often get a few little stones or get some foam and put little pits in the plaster to get back at them as they often just laugh when you say cheers for coating my tools which then annoys me.

JMB

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I figure I spend this much on the tools, I want them to look as good as possible for as long as possible...now, granted, they are tools and normal marks from use are OK...but I try to use them carefully and clean them often.  My shop on the other hand is a different story .

Scot

 

[Corwin]

...
I actually like the idea of hitting them with Armor All quickly one day; it's so dry out here that sometimes you can't get dust and chips off tools because of static cling.  The Armor All and wiping down with a dryer sheet will help with that.

I sure hope that Armor All has changed their formula since the '60s.  If not, its use may not provide any protection, and may actually cause some damage.  I was in a Mustang club some 25 years ago, and the members there were very upset with Armor All.  Seems that many had routinely sprayed the product on their dashboards for years and years only to learn later that it dried out the material more than had they used nothing at all.  Lots of cracked dashboards due specifically to Armor All.  [crying]

 

[TJ Cornish]

Every time I sell something on Craigslist I get funny looks because my tools look new.  No one has asked me yet if they were stolen (it's my honest looking face I suppose), but I get asked a lot why I'm selling such a tool.  That is answered pretty well when I point to the white and green boxes on the other shelf, hence the need for Craigslist in the first place.

P.S. Anyone want to buy the Bosch power handsaw?

 

[jonny round boy]

P.S. Anyone want to buy the Bosch power handsaw?

Is it stolen?  [poke]

[tongue]

 

[Wonderwino]

I clean mine everytime I put them away and I use Lemon Pledge to shine them up.  I spray the rag, not the tool(!) and wipe them down.  I use a dry bush to loosen dust in difficult locations.  I'll blow them out if my compressor is handy.

 

[Jerry Sitton]

Corwin I learned the hard way about Armorall as well, cracked vinyl. Not sure if they changed it, haven't used it in quite awhile.
I'm on the obsessive side. I did find that using a tack cloth works very well for wiping down my tools at the end of day after vacuum or compressed air.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Good, I'm not lone in my need for clean tools [thumbs up].  Darcy will come alone any minute now and tell us we're crazy. [big grin]

 

[Guy Ashley]

Be honest Brice that was the whole point of this thread, just to get a bite out of Darcy, hook, line, sinker & trawler! [laughing] [laughing]

 

[Sparktrician]

The Armor All and wiping down with a dryer sheet will help with that.

 

EEWWWW!!!  Dryer sheets smell worse than a dead goat!!! 

  [tongue] [poke] [tongue]

 

[Sparktrician]

...
I actually like the idea of hitting them with Armor All quickly one day; it's so dry out here that sometimes you can't get dust and chips off tools because of static cling.  The Armor All and wiping down with a dryer sheet will help with that.

I sure hope that Armor All has changed their formula since the '60s.  If not, its use may not provide any protection, and may actually cause some damage.  I was in a Mustang club some 25 years ago, and the members there were very upset with Armor All.  Seems that many had routinely sprayed the product on their dashboards for years and years only to learn later that it dried out the material more than had they used nothing at all.  Lots of cracked dashboards due specifically to Armor All.  [crying]

 

Same assessment of Armor All here.  There's another preservative called "303" that we use here, especially on things left in the sun, like dashboards.  Doesn't cause one's toys to rot like Armor All and doesn't stink like a dead goat. 

[smile]