Have you ever bought a tool you forgot you already had?

[nn4jw]

I was enjoying the thread on tool room lathes and collet chucks. That led me to looking at collet chucks for wood lathes and to this Woodriver set:

I almost bought it when something in the back of my mind said that it looked familiar. This afternoon I went down to the shop, looked around my turning stuff and sure enough, I already have this set. Obviously, I don't use it very often or I would have immediately remembered that I had it.

This time I managed to avoid duplicating something I already own, but I have to admit that I do own a few duplicated tools. I really have to watch out for those impulse buys when I see something that looks interesting.

How about you?

 

[SteveHall]

I almost did this the first time a few weeks ago. While I was in a big box, I decided to browse corded drills for buffing out auto headlights. My daily drivers are a couple of 18V cordless, but it's a bit much to ask of the batteries. So I found some cheap corded drills for $30, but decided not to buy until I was actually going to do the work. Then in the shop the next day, I saw a corded drill that I've had for years before I bought the cordless!

After half a life time+, I now recall older memories more vividly than newer ones. I used my grandfather's ancient chromed B&D drill for decades, since college, before it finally died. And my father's drill while I was a child before that. I guess the newer corded B&D was just a waypoint between those and my nice cordless ones, basically a fourth tier memory.

 

[ehpoole]

In my family this happens mostly with books. I have a library with thousands of books, my parents have an even larger library, and my sister a bit smaller than I. We usually just donate our duplicates to our local library to use or sell as they see fit. Growing up books were my family's one absolute vice and my parents could not turn down a request to visit a bookstore while at the mall nor could they say "no" to a couple of new books -- we probably would not come home with a new toy unless it were a birthday or our own money, but a new book was almost guaranteed and we all grew up loving books. Both sides of my grandparents were similarly into books so we got this bug from both sides of the family. Ebooks just are not the same and much harder to enjoy, though I have a few of such.

Ocassionally I will do the same and duplicate Blu-Ray/DVD (and some older VHS) movies as well since I have a few hundred from the past several decades (I love movies, but can't enjoy them in a movie theatre due to pain) and those duplicates I simply pass on to my sister and her family to enjoy or pass on.

So far I have managed to avoid much unintended duplication among my tools, woodworking, electronics, computers and radios alike. My memory can be a funny thing, some things I remember perfectly with few exceptions and others it's like a sieve where I forget almost as quickly as I try to commit something to memory.

 

[nn4jw]

I keep spreadsheet lists of my books and dvds on my phone in an attempt to avoid duplicates. Still doesn't always work, but has cut back dramatically on those duplicates.

 

[zapdafish]

Happens to me with spices, I'll look up a recipe at work and print it out so I can buy the ingredients on the way home. Now I have like 3 things of cumin.

 

[MDWine]

Yep, several times over in fact!
I just "found" a set of Cole Jaws that I completely forgot I had!!
(Glad I didn't buy another set!)

 

[jrfuda]

If you're logged in on Amazon, it tells you if you've already bought the item you're looking at. This has saved me a few times, though it still took me a while to actually find the tool once I went looking for it.

 

[Pop Golden]

Not so much on tools, but you can bet I've doubled-up on books & DVDs.

Pop :rotflm:

 

[junquecol]

Cook books with different covers, but the same on the inside. Southern Living is the worst! My 12th PC 690, but I already knew I had several. Worst thing is to buy something that isn't returnable, and just after you open it, you find the one you already had. So now you have two opened ones, neither of which is returnable.

 

[jlimey]

OK, I will confess to have an extra Lie-Nielsen #4!

I bought one after having put the original one in storage for a few years. Still in unopened blue plastic bag- and back in another moving box waiting to be sold or fitted with a 55 degree frog.

 

[CrealBilly]

All the time... The space between my ears gets more vast the older I get. My kids tell me I have Old Timers. But who cares - ain't nothing I can do about it... time stops for no one. Another day - is one day closer to death. At which time, I'll finally be home - at last

Getting old ain't so bad... The end game is the best part! Who knows, I might go this afternoon. You'll read about ole Crealbilly and the last thing he seen was the Budweiser frog tongue just before he was ran over by a beer truck -:lol

Truth of the matter is - No body knows when their time will come - so make the most out of the time given you! If that involves duplicate tools then so be it... You can't take them with you. So it just means more to pass along to your kids and grandkids kids is all.

 

[LB75]

I'm not sure, I'll have to consult with one of the 17 tape measures in my shop... :rotflm:

 

[CatoriSwann]

For me it is when I am eyeballs deep in a project and can't find a tool I need. So I run to Harbor Freight to get one and return it as soon as I can clean my shop enough to find the old one. At least one tool per project. Like clockwork.