Cleaning tools - do you do it?

[phatboy]

Just spent an hour cleaning a few tools - battery drills, multitool, spirit levels.

Do other people take pride in keeping their tools clean, or is it considered a waste of time if its still usable?

Now and again, or after a messy job I tend to hoover or brush them down, and then wipe over on most tools. Also cleaning out the tools cases.

Maybe I just have too much time on my hands?!

 

[ladylola]

I keep things like the soles of planes clean but frankly don't get obsessive about cleaning. If , for example , I've been cutting felt then I may need to wipe tools over with white spirit and rag , power saws a quick shake to remove excess dust and as long as vents are clear I'm happy.
Reminds me of an incident years ago. Working with an old boy who was a very good joiner and turned out excellent work and a few others. One of the other lads newly arrived stood over a bag of tools and asked who had left "this pile of crap" here? 'Course the bag belonged to the old boy and his scruffy looking tools were the tools he used to produce quality work.

 

[foxhole]

No point having tools unless they are looked after.
My son in law does not bother with his tools and spend lots of time trying to find the right tool in a bag of rust or down the shops replacing the power tool he left out in the rain or borrowing mine.

 

[footprints]

I was going to post, but I am a bit busy right now ironing my dust sheets and polishing the rawlplugs

 

[Dave54]

There's a happy medium somewhere between leaving them out in the rain, and polishing each one daily. Reasonably clean tools in a decent box, or hung on pegs etc in the workshop, are easier to find and nicer to use.

 

[mattylad]

I don't polish them daily but I do clean my tools after use.

I have tools that are older than me, I have them in a workable condition because I look after them.

In the 80's my mum did some homebrew in one of those tall buckets, I still have it and use it for mixing plaster in - I still have it because I clean it afterwards. I have some wire cutters that I used +/-39 years ago to get me & my mates into somewhere we shouldnt have been to bounce on an inflatable building.

Take care of your tools and they will take care of you by lasting long enough to enable you to do those jobs you need them to do, when you need them to.

Although I must admit - I am now at the throw away paint rollers stage - I cant be bothered washing the disposable ones any more

 

[gregers]

when i was on site i used to keep my estwing nice a shiny,now as far as that goes its just the head.
chisels i like to keep rust free etc.planes are as clean as i can keep them,but like most of my tools they are used everyday.
as for my power tools they are cleaned/brushed out after every use.probably why im still using a bosch sds jigsaw ,hitachi saw and a feestool router all about 20 years old,elu chopsaw is now in retirement in the garage,everything else i use are slightly younger but still look in very good condition.

 

[ladylola]

Of course a healthy layer of grime and rust does make a tool just that little bit less attractive to the light fingered mob

 

[joe-90]

I keep my chisels sharp enough to shave the missus.

 

[ladylola]

Shave the missus or stave off the missus?

 

[Deluks]

I keep my chisels sharp enough to shave the missus.

Facial?

 

[Ouch77]

I try to keep my tools moderately clean, as one day I'll be changing brake discs, the next putting a picture on the wall, often using the same tools.

I make a point of thoroughly cleaning any tools I've borrowed, as I feel it's only polite and more likely to earn goodwill when next borrowing something. A friend of mine is actively trying to lend me stuff in the thinking he'll get his entire toolbox cleaned in time.

 

[Deluks]

as one day I'll be changing brake discs, the next putting a picture on the wall, often using the same tools.

I don't recommend using your torque wrench for banging nails in!

 

[EddieM]

yes, always. Try to keep things that go together... together, drills, drill bits, screwdrivers, screws etc you get the idea. I hate havimg a 10 min job turned into an hour 'cos you cant find x or y. I also never reuse screws or any fixings, always binned. (not screw jar for me!)

 

[gregers]

the ammount of times i used to have the phiss taken out of me on site when i used to carefully pack my tools away and wind my cables up at the end of the day.and then watch the muppets the next day pull out a lead and see there whole van appear on the floor.silly beggars.