What to do with cheap tools (and kids learning)?

[cadfaeltex]

I've posted a few threads on here over the last year or so trying to improve my tools because some of the ones I got when I left home are garbage - good example the stanley screwdrivers I got at the home improvement store. Then three's the craftsmen I bought recently that just don't work worth a darn (see chinese made universal ratchet set).

Now I need to decide what to do with them. My oldest son has started helping me working on the cars some and has already said he wants it when he turns 16 (he turns 9 next month so a lot of time to change his mind). I thought about giving them to him. But am I starting him down the same path of frustration? Do I slowly built him up with the better tools? Not sure he's responsible enough for that quite yet.

So what would you do with them...
1) Give them to him
2) Give them to him and give him better ones when older
3) Give him better ones now (what would you start with?)
4) Give him nada now and just donate the darn tools

TIA,
Tony

 

[cadfaeltex]

Oh, or should I keep the tools in case I need 'extra'?

Not liking that one because they still would be as frustrating for me to use as they are now!

 

[NEOhio_Bob]

Originally Posted By: cadfaeltex
Oh, or should I keep the tools in case I need 'extra'?


This gets my vote...the day will come when you break or can't find one of the "good" tools and the old "junk" spares that you stashed in the back of the cabinet will save you. Or, give them to your son...that way they are still around if the situation arises.

 

[hemitruck]

my father always had the best tools he could afford, as my brother and i began using them he would get very "exited" when they were misplaced and some were never found. that should help you decide. he passed away a few years ago and i took his craftman socket wrenches and sockets, close to sixty years old, still work and look like new. sorry they cheaped out on new tools.

 

[cadfaeltex]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
sorry they cheaped out on new tools.


Me too. My step-dads brother got all his tools when I died or I'd be set for my lifetime with good craftsman from the 60's to the 80's.

 

[JC1]

Give your son the cheap tools. It makes the perfect excuse for you to get some better and new replacements.

When he's older and can understand what quality is and you get what you pay for, then that's the lesson he'll appreciate.

Regards, JC

 

[HerrStig]

Cheap tools can break and really hurt the user. They can also frustrate users by not gripping nuts and bolts or rounding out screw heads. That being said, I have a set of Phillips screw drivers made somewhere in Asia I bought from an outfit called "Imparts" which fit electronic gear made in the far east better than any of my Craftsman stuff.

 

[eljefino]

I would declare them "garage tools" and anyone working in the garage is welcome to use them.

You'd be pretty mad if he took ownership then traded them all for a nintendo game.

You could then expect him to take decent care.

My dad kept his best tools locked in the trunk of his antique car. I was too chicken to ask to borrow them, because they always came with a Hank Hill style moral lesson I didn't want or need. So I bummed his second rate tools and did stuff like put a vise grips on a nut driver handle for leverage. If I just had access to even an indecent set I'd have kept my pedal bike on the road even better. (And not hacking as much like fixing everything with a crescent wrench or vise grips.)

 

[stephen9666]

I've built a pretty comprehensive tool kit for the trunk of my car with some duplicate tools. I've never used it, but it gives me a reason I "need" the extras so I can convince myself to keep them.

All the other extra tools I donate to Goodwill or a similar non-profit. Get a receipt, so you can use it as a tax write off.

 

[Trav]

I hate cheap tools, i wont even give them away. They are frustrating and dangerous in some case, its hard enough for the youngster to learn how to do the work right without having to deal with cheap stuff doing it.

Next time i find something lurking around Chinese (tool i mean not my neighbour) i will post a pic of my disposal method.
Hint. It includes a smoke wrench.

 

[cb_13]

Keep them. If you have a torch or grinder and one day need a stubby wrench you can just cut an old cheapy down to the size you need.

 

[punisher]

Originally Posted By: cb_13
Keep them. If you have a torch or grinder and one day need a stubby wrench you can just cut an old cheapy down to the size you need.


When I moved to Ford I had to make a tool to get at the top nut on front engine mounts on 3.8s (involved welding/cutting/bending a prybar and box end wrench). I walked on the Matco truck and bought an 18mm combo wrench. The dealer tried to sell me a whole set. I said,"That's OK, I just didn't want to cut up one of my good Snap-ons to make a special tool." He got a little POed that day, but we ended up best buds later on.

 

[ajchien]

I keep cheap tools around for lots of reasons.

In the car.
To hand to my wife for alternative uses (screwdrivers as mini pry bars).
To be modified or cut when I don't have time to buy the right tool.
To lend to neighbors when there is an uncertain return time frame.
To use in not so great conditions, such as working on swimming pool equipment - where acids and other pool chemicals are likely to get over them.
Etc...

 

[wally6934]

Declare them the family tools and let your son have fun with them. Either get a cheap plastic tool box to hold them or show your son how to find a scrap piece of 2x4 and drill holes in it for the screwdrivers and use magic marker to show - or + for the blade type. Or make a board with some screws in it to hang wrenches on with a magic marker outline, maybe wrench size written on it. Maybe some kind of socket holder, let him noodle it out, he will learn a lot, let him have fun and do what he wants. Tell him with this system he can keep track of the tools and know if they get lost. He will learn to clean up after every job and to keep track of the tools. Over the years he will probably redo this system many times as he learns about what he wants and how he uses the tools. It is a great learning opportunity. And with several small kids using the tools they will get lost fairly fast anyway. Do not make a scene about it, just say well son i know it is hard to keep track of all the tools with everyone using them, just do the best you can. Then have fun taking him to someplace like harbor freight and let him wonder around and learn about all the different tools and then pick out a few together that he thinks he can use.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: wally6934
Declare them the family tools and let your son have fun with them... let him noodle it out, he will learn a lot, let him have fun and do what he wants... Do not make a scene about it.


This. If you're GIVING them away, you're GIVING them. Cease control but answer questions. Kids can see right through grown-ups trying to control them.

 

[Stewart Fan]

My 11 year old would probably kick me in the nuts if he found out I was going to try and pass some junk tools off to him.

 

[Kestas]

It may be wise to let him cut his teeth on cheap tools. Once he gets the feel of tools, the metal, and their limitations, and learns how to properly seat sockets and allen wrenches, only then should he have access to the good stuff.

I've seen too many people ruin screwdrivers and drifts when they should have been using chisels and pry bars.

 

[Rick in PA]

My brother (15 years older than me) gave me many tools for birthdays & Christmas back when I was about your sons age, or a bit younger. They were always good quality tools. I still have many of them, and I am grateful for his gifts, even after 40 years...

 

[morris]

throw them at dogs.

 

[zeezee]

Find good second-hand tools at flea markets or garage sales for your son. Don't buy him junk. He will have the tools for the rest if his life. Teach him to care for quality while he is young.

My dad picked up all sorts of good used tools for me when I was around 5 years old and I still use them to work on my cars to this very day. Over the years, my tool set grew. Virtually my entire tool set is US made. When I need something on rare occasions I have an excuse to go buy it since I am using it to maintain my car or house.