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

[LostInTheWood]

I would say I'm careful with my tools because I want them to be in good condition, but I'm not too concerned about cleaning them all the time, I only clean them when they're really dirty. Like when my Rotex is completely white because of the plaster I've been sanding or green from the 25 meter long barn I did. Then it gets a vac treatment and wiped off, but that's it.

Only thing I detest is paint on my tools, and I do mostly paint work, so when I sometimes get some paint on one of them I do remove that immediately.

I also buy a lot of used tools and refurbish them for resale, and then I clean them thouroughly, remove every spec of dust or paint I can see, and open them up and clean the inside and replace parts if necessary. It is amazing how good you can make used Festools look again with a good makeover.

I do this too.    I like to run the tool full throttle while getting the vac nozzle on the intake and exhaust vents.  I also vac the switches and shift knobs/buttons/levers and any other mechanical penetration.    Once a year I do tool inventory and everything gets a serious check.  Assessments are made to upgrade, repair, or replace.  Tools that got heavy use get split open and I clean out the brush rings, coms, and fans.

 

[Julian Tracy]

Here's the crazy thing, what the heck is with folks cleaning their tools with WD-40?  How silly is that?  I've got two friends that do that and I cannot figure out why it's even come to your mind.  Who wants oily slimy stuff.  If I'm cleaning up some tools, I'll use a rag with some windex or some simple light degreaser.  BUt WD?

In fact, what the heck is WD even good for?  Other than it's helpful for getting construction adhesive off your hands, it's about as overrated as duct tape.

I use the Makita LXT line of 18 volt cordless tools.  Nice stuff.  One of their tools is invaluable on the jobsite and beyond.  They make a little leaf blower that rocks.  Great for when your cutting sheet goods to clear off the surface, or to blowoff your tablesaw at the end of the day or your mitersaw.

It's helpful for blowing out your tool cases or bags too, when like an idiot you leave one open underneath where you are routing or something.

It's also great for blowing sawdust off your client's driveway and I've used the heck out it when camping for air mattresses and - get this - for stoking the campfire.  Using that to blow in your campfire is like pouring gas into it.

Handy tool.

JT

 

[flair woodworks]

I don't baby my tools, but I don't abuse them either.  I don't use a compressor or leaf blower or anything like that on them.  I try to put stuff back where it belongs and that's that.  A couple months back, a can on white paint assulted most of my power tools.  I couldn't get it all off but that's fine - I look at it as a theft deterrant and a differential factor.

 

[speed]

90% of the time the vac is connected to the tool so i give it a quick vac before i put it away.

 

[rxe]

Here's the crazy thing, what the heck is with folks cleaning their tools with WD-40?  How silly is that?  I've got two friends that do that and I cannot figure out why it's even come to your mind.  Who wants oily slimy stuff.  If I'm cleaning up some tools, I'll use a rag with some windex or some simple light degreaser.  BUt WD? 

Standard procedure for me.  I will regularly wipe a tool down with WD - not the plastic on Festools, but certainly all of the metal bits.  It keeps the rust off sliders etc.    WD also cleans the plastic bits on garage tools up a treat.   

I don't worry about Systainers - it is their job to look shabby and take the knocks.

Of course it depends on how long you've been using it for.  If I use something for a few minutes, it just goes back in the box.  If I've used it for several hours, then it gets looked at.  Comes from working with chainsaws for to long - pretty much standard procedure at the end of a day to check the saw over, touch up the chain, dollop of oil on the clutch bearing etc.  Makes them last longer and cut better.

 

[Frank Pellow]

...

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.

...
       

The fact that my of my systainers look a little rough means that I do take care of my tools.  Imagine how my tools would look if they had not been in systainers.  [big grin]

 

[Brice Burrell]

The fact that my of my systainers look a little rough means that I do take care of my tools.  Imagine how my tools would look if they had not been in systainers.   [big grin]

Well, maybe you should stop dragging them behind a bus and they'd be even better cared for. [tongue]

 

[billg71]

It's been more than a few years since I toted tools for a living but when I did a quick cleanup at the end of the day was the standard routine. I cut for an exterior/interior trim crew and kept an air hose with a blower hanging on the sawbench. Come roll-up time, the skilsaw and the miter saw got a quick blowdown and went into the truck clean. The carpenters nailing blew off the nailguns, they went into the truck clean. SOP, no big deal, less than a minute and it's all done.

Next morning, a couple of minutes to wax the baseplate on the skilsaw and the table and fence on the miter saw while the crew was rolling out, a couple of drops of oil in the guns and we were good to go. Sawdust gets in the way, gums up the works, interferes between parts that need to fit together closely and attracts moisture to boot. When you consider the miniscule amount of time it takes at the end of the day for routine cleanup and compare it to the time it takes to stop a whole crew to dismember and clean/repair a gun it's a no-brainer.

Now I work in my basement shop in my spare time and seldom put as much wear on a tool in a couple of months as I used to in a day, but the habit persists. I allow 15 minutes at the end of the session for cleanup. Tools get blown off or vac'd, benches brushed off and the floor vac'd. Anything that's not set up to be used next time gets put away. Tomorrow or the next day, I come into the shop and I'm ready to work. No fighting clutter, putting tools away just to have space to move around or cleaning gummed-up tools so I can use them.

I will say I have never taken a bottle of 303(never, never ArmorAll, that stuff eats things) to a tool.....  [huh] I'll plead guilty on the Renaissance wax, though.

Bill

 

[TJ Cornish]

Certain areas, if the truck isn't good enough, one can forget the job unless its a really strong referral.

Really? They care about how good/what kind of truck you have? Or have I misunderstood this...did you mean how clean the truck is? That I get.
Tim

I don't care if someone's truck is brand new or 10 years old, but trucks that are trashed on the inside, or dented and rusting on the outside make me wonder about the quality of the job I'll get out of them.

 

[Alan m]

i would agree , a well looked after van is a real show of how a person will treat your home or site. a nice clean and well layed out van realy show you care.

 

[Texastutt]

Certain areas, if the truck isn't good enough, one can forget the job unless its a really strong referral.

Really? They care about how good/what kind of truck you have? Or have I misunderstood this...did you mean how clean the truck is? That I get.
Tim

I don't care if someone's truck is brand new or 10 years old, but trucks that are trashed on the inside, or dented and rusting on the outside make me wonder about the quality of the job I'll get out of them.

In Southern Ontario there is so much Salt on the road... and the metal's so thin on vehicles anymore... there is rust.... Mine has dents but people can't drive SUV;s or too big pick-up and they have backed into me, and drove off. So do I spend $1000 fixing a 2003 work vehicle or do I put food on the table?

 

[Tinker]

When i was very young, my father had a close friend who was a photographer and a tool maker.  He was also an alcohaulic, but had a reputation for doing high quality work at whichever trade he happened to be working at.  even tho it was during the depression, he never seemed to lack for work until he went off on a bender.  Sometimes, when he fell off the wagon, he would just pick up and move away to another area where nobody knew about his weakness.  Once he would cleanup his act, he would start looking for a job.  I don't recall how he went about looking for a job in a photo lab or outside photographer.  When he found a machine shop, or tool shop, anything to do with quality tools and accuracy workmanship, he would go to the prospective employer carrying his very best looking tools.  New and slightly used with barely any signs of serious wear.  The impression made thru spotless tools and much greater than average knowledge usually got him the new job.  Once he woud show up for work, however, he would bring his "working" tools.  That batch of tools had all of the scratches, dings and other signs of long use for his every day use.  those were what he knew he could work with the close precission needed to keep his job.  His problem was the fluid he used to clean and lubricate was used externally.  aside from his weakness and his high credibility as a top grade mechanic, I remember him as an extremely funny man who never came by without leaving us all in histerics. 
I guess as far as tool care goes, I don't do much as far as special care other than to be careful how and where I use them.  I had a Milwaukee circular saw that I used for everything, cutting stone/brick/block/concrete and lumber full of nails.  It fell off of the scaffold a couple of times and once in awhile, a helper would leave it loose on the back of a truck and drive off, only to view in the truck mirror and see it bouncing along in the road behind.  That darned saw only lasted 30 years before it burned itself up.  but I can't say I took care of it when it only held up for thirty years of day in and day out use.  [sad]
Tinker

 

[TJ Cornish]

Certain areas, if the truck isn't good enough, one can forget the job unless its a really strong referral.

Really? They care about how good/what kind of truck you have? Or have I misunderstood this...did you mean how clean the truck is? That I get.
Tim

I don't care if someone's truck is brand new or 10 years old, but trucks that are trashed on the inside, or dented and rusting on the outside make me wonder about the quality of the job I'll get out of them.

In Southern Ontario there is so much Salt on the road... and the metal's so thin on vehicles anymore... there is rust.... Mine has dents but people can't drive SUV;s or too big pick-up and they have backed into me, and drove off. So do I spend $1000 fixing a 2003 work vehicle or do I put food on the table?

My 10 year old Ford Explorer has no rust, and my 13 year old Chevy Astro Van has no visible rust, and I live well in the Salt Belt myself - this contrasts heavily with my earlier vehicles which looked far worse at 10 years.

Your vehicle is a tool - if having your tool looking a little better in the eyes of potential customers with similar views to mine gets you a few more jobs, maybe spending the $1000 would help you put more food on the table in the future.  

Like it or not, there's something about appearing successful and put together that can help make you successful.  There have been a few threads here describing how certain folks have increased their prices and have gotten more business, since people assume they are worth their new higher price.

 

[Rob-GB]

Great thread Brice  ;D
My tools get cleaned as and when required but not neccesarily every day of use. They are, however, regardless of make or whether powered or not, treated with the respect they deserve; they are my means to earn my wages. A lesson taught well to me by my father who was a bricklayer and plasterer.
The comments I get from customers when I pitch up with my systainers of tools plus the vac ranges from "That is a very clever system" to "your the tidiest carpenter we've seen"  [smile] They are happy , I get paid, Suzy gets money to pay the bills and I get to add tools to my "system". ;D ;D

On the "clean and tidy" van off-shoot: It is pretty common for firms to make sure that the firms vehicles are so presented as they form the first impression the client gets when the team arrives on site. It goes hand in hand with making sure that the firms signs (often placed outside the jobsite) are fixed level, after all if you can not fix a sign board level what hope is there for the rest of the work?

I think, just my opiniuon, clean and tidy vehicle and tools combined with a clean and tidy personal appearance, instills a sense of trust into the client and when that trust is proved well founded then recommendations will follow......something advertising can't match.

Rob.

 

[Sparktrician]

Like it or not, there's something about appearing successful and put together that can help make you successful.  There have been a few threads here describing how certain folks have increased their prices and have gotten more business, since people assume they are worth their new higher price.

It made a HUGE difference to my former shop when we required installers to come on the job site clean, neat, and with everything tucked in that should be tucked in.  Professionalism begins with the designer's first appearance to negotiate the job and ends when the job is installed, the site is cleaned to the customer's satisfaction, the tools are cleaned and properly stowed, the debris is trucked off and deposited in the appropriate dumpster, the truck is cleaned out, and the next day's job is loaded.  It was sometimes necessary to dock an installer's pay when they didn't measure up, and when they complained, they were reminded of their agreement at hiring to conform to reasonable standards of cleanliness and appropriate attire.  The owner made it clear that when they were driving his trucks and doing his work, they were representing not only the brand, but him in specific, and if they didn't represent him to his satisfaction in the manner in which he wished to be represented, they were out the door.  End of story. 

[smile]

 

[Texastutt]

My tools are in tip to shape, my Vetro bags are organized, and my Systainers (they could always be cleaner) get a great response, I'm clean neat and well groomed, but the Darn truck thanks to the pot holes in SO gets $1000 spent on front end, or broken springs or something because of pot holes or other idiots on the road, I just have a hard time with truck aesthetics when mechanical costs a fortune. And all the people hitting the truck happened 3 weeks after I put $1200 of cool stickers on the truck.

 

[PaulMarcel]

And all the people hitting the truck happened 3 weeks after I put $1200 of cool stickers on the truck.

They weren't, by chance, targets?!?  [big grin]

 

[flair woodworks]

And all the people hitting the truck happened 3 weeks after I put $1200 of cool stickers on the truck.

They weren't, by chance, targets?!?  [big grin]

That was good, Paul-Marcel.  Why didn't I think of that?

 

[Texastutt]

And all the people hitting the truck happened 3 weeks after I put $1200 of cool stickers on the truck.

They weren't, by chance, targets?!?   [big grin]

After the second hit and run I was beginning to think so....