lost and found tools

[Migmac]

Lost one of the knives Kent made. Re walked the route several times but never found it, then one day I took a slightly different route and there it was lying on a wee sandbank. Must of got washed down the burn, lucky ! It had been missing for 8 months. Edge was gone and a few rusty spots were on the blade but other than that it was fine

 

[Onoff]

My Gerber torch that came with my Gerber Suspension multi tool; rolled under a bit of flooring in the loft and I was too scared to put my hand in fearing rats / squirrels.

My massive roll of Torx screwdrivers. Still got the odd one or two kicking around. Where the roll / rest of them are

The late FiL's 3' wooden rule. Fallen into a cavity here around 1987. I'd like to find it just for nostalgic reasons.

Right now, my Fakita 18V multi tool and recip saw would be handy to find! I have a feeling they're hidden in plain sight.

 

[SierraV6]

Not a great thread for aircraft mechanics!

 

[Melvyn Best]

Not a great thread for aircraft mechanics!

Or surgeons!

 

[winchman]

Torches and tape measures for me

 

[northwest]

Not a great thread for aircraft mechanics!

Talking of which. I have a set of SnapOn "aircraft spanners" you know the type, straight spanners with a flat, parallel ring on the end. Well, for the life of me I couldn't find the 13/14 mm one, drove me crazy. So I bought a replacement, didn't fit the set and stood out like a sore thumb, years and I mean years later my youngest was looking through for a tool of some type and spotted the oddity "Hey dad, I think I have the one that should be in the set", he had found it in the engine bay of his car one time. Happy days, I now have a proper set again.

 

[rtcosic]

I helped a mate lay laminate flooring throughout the entire ground floor of his house a few years ago. On day 1 of the 3 day endeavour we (he) lost the pencil we were using to mark up the boards.

2 days later as we were wrapping up his Mrs says "Why is there a lump in the middle of the lounge floor and the coffee table won't sit flat!

That'll be another day's work while we lifted most of the floor again to retrieve the missing pencil from the middle of the lounge floor.

 

[redlig]

Not lost but found. On holiday in the IOM I found 3 dog leads in one day at 3 different locations in the country . Decent ones leather/chains etc but no collars.
When tools go walkabout my 2 methods to find them is to give up as soon as you realise they are missing and carry on with the job knowing the item will be the first thing I will lay my hand on. Second method is to admit to SWMBO that it's lost knowing she wont give up until she finds it. Lost at moment is a shoe box full of family photo's . If anyone finds it give me a shout.

 

[Bornfree]

I rebuilt a gearbox this week and managed to bolt the bell housing on with the torch still inside. Didn't realise until after the camper had gone on its first test drive.

Torch still works too after removing engine and gearbox to retrieve it.

A tyre fitter at work did a puncture in a tractor rear tyre, the next morning it was flat so he came out took the tyre off to find a torch inside.
He said he left it in there to see any future punctures.

 

[chunkolini]

A few years ago a mate lost his posh sunglasses while we were paragliding, dropped them on launch.
Four years later we were flying the same site and he found them in one of our regular 'nests'. 'Hey these look just like the ones I lost years ago.' he said.
the hills of wales are paved with sunglasses, altimeters and hand held radios

 

[chunkolini]

I lost a dewalt cordless drill years ago at work,. Bought a new one and found the lost one a couple years later. In the coiner where it used to live; but in the wrong box
So now I have one at work and two at home great when it's a job involving lots of holes and screws

 

[Melvyn Best]

Not a tool but lost and found . Way back in the early 70s when I was surfing on the East coast a mate wiped out and lost his dentures to the amusement of everyone else, we took a walk along the beach at low tide , he looked at the cliffs and said it was about here that he lost them before reaching down and picking them up . I had similar myself when I dropped a ripcord in the middle of a sugarbeet field, didn’t realise until I had packed the parachute ready to install the ripcord so walked back out to approximately where I had landed and picked it up

 

[jenki]

I'm still looking for the tow ball cover I put safe a few weeks ago. The other I will never see again a pair of pincers that slipped down between the slates and felt when I reslated my old cottage best part of 30 years ago.

 

[redlig]

A few years ago a mate lost his posh sunglasses while we were paragliding, dropped them on launch.
Four years later we were flying the same site and he found them in one of our regular 'nests'. 'Hey these look just like the ones I lost years ago.' he said.
the hills of wales are paved with sunglasses, altimeters and hand held radios

And a yellow and green knitted bobble(less) hat at Long Mynd .
Blew off when the dodgy canopy on the club K6 opened on approach.

 

[plewlandsbob]

Once did a Pre delivery inspection , on a brand new telehandler, that came direct from Belgium. Found a nice Stahlwille flexible magnet, stuck on, up inside the chassis. Still using it 16 years later.

Was sent out to repair a combine harvester, that was up from England, on hire. Found a 17mm Facom combination spanner, sitting inside part of the frame.
Unfortunately I left my Snap On scraper , on same job.

We had a 16 year old lad, on a six month training scheme. was a really nice lad.Have lost more tools in that 6 months , than previous 5 years. Other 2 guys in workshop , have said exactly the same. Every job, we told him to lay tools on a rag or put back into van, so we could keep track of them. But no everything left at his a#se, every time. You had to give him very clear, precise instructions, for everything. Had a good 12 inch Beta adjustable, for 25 years. Am sure it is under panels of a telehandler, about 40 miles from workshop. I tried to go around and check for tools not picked up on every job, but missed that one.

Working out of a van, on farms, in fields , building sites etc, things will get lost.
But it is still annoying.

 

[Onoff]

I buy black Thinsulate hats five at a time as I lose them so often.

 

[minimutly]

Well after numerous attempts of searching my workshops I still haven't found my propane torch - it has 15m of thick orange hose, regulator and the 700mm long torch at the other end - impossible to miss, but I can't find it..

 

[redlig]

Once did a Pre delivery inspection , on a brand new telehandler, that came direct from Belgium. Found a nice Stahlwille flexible magnet, stuck on, up inside the chassis. Still using it 16 years later.

Was sent out to repair a combine harvester, that was up from England, on hire. Found a 17mm Facom combination spanner, sitting inside part of the frame.
Unfortunately I left my Snap On scraper , on same job.

We had a 16 year old lad, on a six month training scheme. was a really nice lad.Have lost more tools in that 6 months , than previous 5 years. Other 2 guys in workshop , have said exactly the same. Every job, we told him to lay tools on a rag or put back into van, so we could keep track of them. But no everything left at his a#se, every time. You had to give him very clear, precise instructions, for everything. Had a good 12 inch Beta adjustable, for 25 years. Am sure it is under panels of a telehandler, about 40 miles from workshop. I tried to go around and check for tools not picked up on every job, but missed that one.

Working out of a van, on farms, in fields , building sites etc, things will get lost.
But it is still annoying.

Charge him for the lost tools . He will soon understand the value .

 

[DanZac]

Well after numerous attempts of searching my workshops I still haven't found my propane torch - it has 15m of thick orange hose, regulator and the 700mm long torch at the other end - impossible to miss, but I can't find it..

It's probably with the 4ft stilsons, which I can't find.

 

[Onoff]

I only found a lost claw hammer when I dislodged it from where I'd left it hooked over a roof truss in the garage. More the bridge of my nose found it. This after walking underneath it for months until I carried something tall in.