What is an "Average" Amount of Tools?

[Rich Riddle]

There are literally thousands of tools in the shop, both hand tools and power tools....four band saws, four table saws, etc. My neighbor claims the "average" man has a screwdriver, wrench, and socket set. What do you think?

[Mark Blatter]

Tough to say, but I know a number of people that just don't do much at all with tools, of any kind. My neighbor, a good friend, has some, but he never uses them. All that they have are his wife's tools and she uses them a fair bit. I have a brother that is almost forbidden by his wife to use tools, yet even he has more than what you list.

I suppose if you take into account the 'urban dwellers' it might be right. A friend told me a few years ago that the average family in the US owns 9 firearms. My first thought was, I am less than average so I better buy some more. Then I thought about my friends and their arsenals, and I realized there must be many people with no firearms at all in order to get that number. I know people with more firearms than there are states. (Can we discuss firearms, or is that a subject like religion or politics?)

In the end, if you take the number of places that just don't make it easy to own tools, like small apartments with no storage, etc. it might be true.

[John K Jordan]

There are literally thousands of tools in the shop, both hand tools and power tools....four band saws, four table saws, etc. My neighbor claims the "average" man has a screwdriver, wrench, and socket set. What do you think?


Ha! You could apply for a government grant to do a study on that. And probably get it.

I have a friend who builds houses. When he came to my place he looked around and said, Wow, you have a LOT of tools! Then thinking a bit he added, But a lot of people have a lot of tools. The difference is, it looks like you USE all of yours!

He got that right. I would hate to have to even inventory my tools, many thousands when I count inside the shop: woodturning, flatwood, construction, welding, metal fabrication, jewelry, mills, metal lathes, electronics repair, hydraulics, plumbing, beekeeping, drawing/painting, microscopes, and vehicle repair, and outside the shop: farm land related, crops and gardening, farm animal related (i.e. llama care/shearing), varmint control, sawing/logging related, computer work, photography... I don't use every tool every day, of course, but I like to keep on hand what it takes to make or fix almost anything.

BTW, speaking of inventorying tools, don't forget to periodically take a series of photos of every thing in your shop including a picture of what is in every drawer and cabinet. Store these pictures in a safe place away from the property.


So maybe the metric should concern "How many tools does the "average" person have and use in some time period?" (maybe a year?) It would certainly be interesting. I do know people who basically have and might use a screwdriver and hammer and no socket set but I know other people (always guys, for some reason!) who probably have 100 screwdrivers, 35 hammers and five drawers full of sockets.

Your study should probably include age (mean time to collect critical mass of tools?), health, physical ability, mental ability, gender, geographic region, income (current and past), education level and type, housing type (rental, own home), average length of time in one residence, property size (farm tools?), parental influence, peer pressure, creativity index, spousal disposition, level of experience/expertise in various categories, and probably sanity. Oh, and whether their public education included shop class. This could get complicated!

JKJ

[Rick Potter]

Anybody with more than me is above average.

[Mike Cutler]

My neighbor claims the "average" man has a screwdriver, wrench, and socket set. What do you think?

I would say then that the "average man" isn't doing too much.

I'm not a tool collector personally. I do have a lot of tools, but they all have uses, and get used. If I had to "guesstimate" the number of tools I have, I'd say that they would exceed 1000, counted individually.

[Rod Sheridan]

Ah, good question Rich.

As I expected from you, you have used "average" rather than "normal".

The Normal individual has a screwdriver of the wrong type, an open end wrench, and a socket set missing all the common sizes.

The average person has 1.2 screwdrivers, 3.3 wrenches and 2.4 socket sets, 0.3 table saws and apparently 300 routers.

The average Sawmill Creek member has as many of everything as will fit in a shop 1.46 times as large as their present shop.

Glad to be able to clear that up for you...............Rod.

P.S. No normal or average person has 4 band saws, seek professional help;).......Rod

[Brian Tymchak]

There are literally thousands of tools in the shop, both hand tools and power tools....four band saws, four table saws, etc. My neighbor claims the "average" man has a screwdriver, wrench, and socket set. What do you think?

Geesh Rich, just how big is your shop?? (Green with envy...)

[John K Jordan]

P.S. No normal or average person has 4 band saws, seek professional help;).......Rod

I'm glad you didn't say that about lathes. Everyone knows you need five lathes, right? Right? Ri....

Please recommend a good therapist. I keep five bandsaws, two metal-cutting, two for wood in the shop, and one for logs behind the box. Maybe I need a 12-step program. Or a less tolerant wife...

JKJ

[Joe Bradshaw]

In my main shop, I have almost all the tools that Norm A had in his shop. I have 6 lathes which I use a lot. However, 2 of my lathes are set up in my girlfriends garage. She has 2 lathes. I am working on getting a complete set of tools for each lathe. I like to have 4 chucks for each lathe plus all the necessary gouges and scrappers and so forth. I am drooling over the new Robust Scout. It would fit in nicely.
Joe

[Prashun Patel]

Average = 30
Above average = 10

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

Two comments:

1. Who cares about average? I always tried to be "above average"

2. It doesn't matter how many tools I have, I never seem to have the right one when I need---which means I need to buy another tool

[Robert Engel]

Why are you asking this question?

Do you think you have the "disease"?

[Jim Becker]

What is "average"? That's like asking what is "normal"... :)

That said, I suspect the majority of households only have a small set of basic tools lying about...usually in the "junk drawer" somewhere in the kitchen or hidden in the garage, maybe in a plastic toolbox or scattered in a drawer.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Typical average Creeker = at any given point in time, always one less than they feel they need.

Typical average Joe Sixpack = at any given point in time, will always have one cell phone with which they can call average Creeker to come over and give them a hand with something.

[Matt Day]

I'm in my mid-30's and live in the suburbs. I have by far more tools than anyone I know, especially in my generation. I think the average amount of tools for the burbs in my generation is a cheap little tool kit (to hang pictures mainly) with a screwdriver and hammer, and maybe a cordless drill.

[Myk Rian]

I suspect if you asked a Millennial that question, the answer would be "Whatever it takes to fix my bicycle".

[Rod Sheridan]

I suspect if you asked a Millennial that question, the answer would be "Whatever it takes to fix my bicycle".

That would turn out to be a cell phone to text my youngest daughter so she could fix the bicycle of her male friend............Rod.

[Matt Day]

I suspect if you asked a Millennial that question, the answer would be "Whatever it takes to fix my bicycle".

And that's awesome! The more people on bikes the better. I used to be a bike mechanic and have amassed a pretty good amount of tools for that hobby over the years.

[Tom Stenzel]

It's all in the definitions. I only have a few tools.

Of course one tool I have is a socket set. A 1/4" ratchet, two 3/8" ratchets, 1/2" ratchet and breaker bar, a bunch of extensions and knuckles. Plus the sockets in both imperial and metric.

It might take up an entire tool box drawer plus a chunk of real estate on the pegboard but it's still ONE TOOL!

Then there's the screwdriver set (taking up space in the garage, basement, closet). If I gathered them all up it probably wouldn't fit in two milk crates but it's still a set and therefore ONE TOOL.

See? It's all in the definitions. With a little imagination you can get an entire garage of stuff (as I push on the door to get it to close) down to a half dozen items.

PS. My garage = One Tool Kit.

-Tom

[Tom Stenzel]

That would turn out to be a cell phone to text my youngest daughter so she could fix the bicycle of her male friend............Rod.


My daughters know of only one tool: Dad.

Yes, I feel like a tool most days... Although my older daughter can start the mower when my wife can't.

-Tom

[William Adams]

When we first met, my wife had a pink "Ladies Tool Kit" which her Father had bought for her:

- adjustable crescent wrench
- needle-nosed pliers
- slip-joint pliers
- hammer
- #1 Phillips Screwdriver
- flat-bladed screwdriver
- assortment of smaller screwdrivers
- tape measure
- snap-blade utility knife

Rather silly that it doesn't have a level, since hanging pictures, as Matt Day noted is the most typical homeowner task, but I'd be inclined to agree that:

- pliers
- screwdrivers
- hammer
- razor knife of some sort

are pretty typical, and would be surprised if there isn't at least one Ikea-sized hex key floating around. Set my daughter up w/ all the above and a bit more when she moved into her apartment at college (seems she was the only one of her roommates who wound up w/ tools)

My wife's Uncle, a long-time NYC apartment dweller had:

- hammer (not sure who got it)
- pliers
- level
- various screwdrivers (didn't get any of these)
- carpet knife
- a few other minor things I'm forgetting

I was actually considering hauling out _all_ my tools, laying them out on the back deck, and re-sorting them into appropriate tool boxes (got a cool new one, a coffin-shaped one which I need to figure out what it should hold) but then I got worried my wife would get home before I was finished, and I still need to buy a fret saw, some spokeshaves and a few other things for round work...

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

I have a workshop full of tools and a toolbox full of hand tools for the house, but whenever my wife needs to remove a screw, she still uses a butter knife

[Rich Riddle]

I would think that a Neander's garage would prove much less crowded than the power tool types.......I realized long ago I had the disease. The table saws include a Hammer K3, Powermatic 66, new Bosch job site saw and an Inca model. The band saws are a 24" Agazzani, 16" Walker Turner wood/metal, a 14" Powermatic 143 wood/metal, and a Jet horizontal metal band saw....then there are other things like router tables and shapers, jointers, planers, etc. BUT, I split all those tools between the farm and the house. I think if four of bandsaws makes one need help that Dave needs a lot of help. He has about 50.

[Prashun Patel]

On the contrary rich, the relatively low money and space cost of neander tools means ones tool chest is in constant danger of overpopulation.

[mike holden]

"Average amount of tools" - one less than you need. (grin)

[Rich Riddle]

On the contrary rich, the relatively low money and space cost of neander tools means ones tool chest is in constant danger of overpopulation.Surely you jest, Lie Nielsen, Veritas are just two names and those aren't even the expensive tools.