If I needed anything I might take you up on that offer!
I only have two tools on my work bench which I use to repair anything. One tool is s sledge hammer and the other a propane torch. I either beat the object to pieces or I burn it up.
Actually, my tools consist of a Husky socket wrench set that I bought years ago with S&H green trading stamps, an assortment of regular and Phillips head screwdrivers, a couple of hammers and a rubber mallet, some combination box end and open end wrenches and a 1/2" Black and Decker hammer drill with some masonry bits along with assorted wood and steel bits.
If I can’t do the repairs with these tools, I pay someone to do the repairs.
Exactly. Having quality tools makes everything so much easier. I recall once seeing a coworker struggle with a brake line. His Pittsburgh flare but wrench had slipped enough that he was ready to try some vise grips. I went over with a Snap On open end flank drive wrench and loosened it like nothing.
Not car related, but I once had a man in my employ who needed to sit down every hour or so because his feet hurt so bad. I asked him where he bought his shoes. He said they were $29 from Payless Shoes. Tools, shoes, same principle.
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Speaking of Pittsburgh tools, or Harbor Fake, or whatever they’re called nowadays . . .
I knew a guy that was quite frugal, so to speak
he bought a brand new tweety bird yellow Snap On box for a good price. It was apparently so ugly, that the tool guy had a hard time selling it. After being unable to sell it for a very long time, my colleague was able to pick it up on the cheap
He had a few Snap on ratchets in there
All the sockets, universals and extensions were Pittsburgh
All the wrenches and screwdrivers were also Pittsburgh
As a matter of fact, the Pittsburgh wrenches were blatant copies of the snap on wrenches, but not as shiny. It looked like they were reverse engineered. I say this, because I held up my snap on wrenches next to his Pittsburgh wrenches one day, and the dimensions, shape and everything were identical. The Pittsburgh wrenches didn’t have the flank drive plus teeth on the open end, though
I’m not sure if his harbor fake tools actually got the job done, though, as it wasn’t my job to baby sit him
As far as shoes go . . . I learned a long time ago if you buy cheap, there will be consequences one way or the other
Either they won’t fit right and/or hurt your feet
or they won’t last very long
I’ve been wearing Red Wings the past few years . . . made in USA, not their cheaper offerings . . . and they last a lot longer than some other brands. Sure they cost more upfront, but they seem to be higher quality and last longer, so in the end, they didn’t really cost that much more.
Oh, I just remembered something else . . . some of the cheapo shoes are NOT “non-marking”
One guy’s shoes left so many marks, he was about to get fired, before he promised to buy a decent set of shoes that same evening. The next day he was forced to prove that he had bought better shoes, and had to prove that they were indeed "non-marking
This guy’s shoes had left so many marks in customer’s vehicles, and the service manager was tired of having customers complain and/or having to waste the detailers’ time cleaning up after this guy
So they actually had good reason to give this guy a hard time
Just in case you care, one old timer I worked with swore by using trans fluid to treat his Red Wing boots! He was not a mechanic and worked in the field. Stuck on Timberland Chocura boots myself. I tried a couple of other Timberland models, but the soles on these do not slip on wet tile etc.
Ah yes, Red Wing boots. Used to be made in Red Wing, Minnesota right near the Red Wing Pottery plant. Maybe they still are I don’t know but seems to me they were forced to off shore some of them. My dad always bought Red Wing.
Never heard of that one yet . . . maybe the atf is supposed to keep the leather supple, to prevent cracking?
For awhile, I was buying Timberland Pro. They were comfortable from day one, met all the requirements . . . steel toe, non-slip, oil-resistant, non-marking and so forth . . . but the soles only lasted about one year, before you had to throw the boots out. You’d see the soles slowly develop cracks long before the year mark, but you knew it was time for new boots when you stepped in a puddle and your socks were wet . . . 
The Timberland Pro boots cost about 1/2 what made in USA Redwings cost, but then again, they only lasted a year, so in the end they weren’t less expensive, after all
That’s what I noticed in the Red Wing boot store. The ones I bought are over $300 when I option them out the way I want, but they do have others which are significantly less expensive . . . but not made in the USA
As a matter of fact, I recently had one of my pairs of Redwing boots resoled. It’s only been a few weeks, but so far, so good. If I’m still satisfied in a few more weeks, I’ll probably have the other pair also resoled. It’s a little over $100, but that’s still far less than the cost of a new pair of good boots
Every time I visited the store, there was always some blue-collar dropping off their boots to be re-soled, re-stitched, so that seemed to speak volumes about the product. As far as I know, you don’t do that with $50 boots . . .
It has always bugged me how mechanics are treated by employers. I’ve had many friends in the trade.
In the line of work I’m in, when a new guy starts, (s)he gets a set of tools. If someone left, you may inherit their stuff and only buy what else you need. If no excess, you buy the whole setup. Now you can’t go insane but you’re expected to buy decent tools, box etc. I have a few elite machinists that have been there quite a while and have extensive collections in multiple huge box sets. They need these tools to do their jobs.
Electrical guys buy their scopes and meters. They work out around the same expense, all things considered. Even they get a small tool box.
Everyone has a cube or office in addition to lab space. They buy a chair of their choosing under $500.
You brought up shoes. Everyone in the place gets a new pair of shoes every 6 months. The shoe truck shows up, you try on some and pick a pair if you need them. Prescription safety glasses are free.
Doing this is just good business. Happy, well equipped workers will bust their tail for the company. The company gets it back many times over. Yet this doesn’t seem to occur to the vast majority of shops employing mechanics.
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Yes I hear you on the water resistance, but 1.5 years or so out of a pair of boots that I knew and trusted was fine by me. I never noticed the soles cracking, retired now but have an older pair, pretty well worn I use when painting or mowing the grass etc. Wow we should make a shoe thread. Glad the resole went good! Walk on!
We get an annual boot allowance . . . but it’s not nearly enough to buy Redwings
As far as tools go, we also get an annual tool allowance, but with the price of professional level tools, it doesn’t go very far.
It’s been years since I’ve been away from that dealership I sometimes mention . . . but I believe we neither got a boot allowance, nor a tool allowance
But I did “bust my tail for the company” 
I don’t yet have a scope, but I have a Fluke 88 and a very good assortment of leads and adapters. I even have that decade resistance box which I’ve mentioned over the years. It’s not a cheapo one off of amazon or ebay, either. I think it cost around $400 . . . would that be 4 bills or 4 c notes or 4 benjamins . . . you get what you pay for.
I’ll say one thing about the Fluke meter. That company stands behind their product. Once or twice over the years, I had to send it in to get recalibrated. It didn’t cost me a dime. Some other guys had problems with their meters . . . can’t recall what brand, but they weren’t that cheap . . . and those other companies told the guys to pound sand or buy a new meter
Where I worked all the equipment I needed I ordered. When was planning on retiring I offered to train people how to do fiber optics, as I was the only one with the training and knowledge, Boss said no we will hire it out. It kills me that there is probably $5,000 worth of stuff sitting that no one is ever going to use. I keep thinking of asking for it and doing fiber runs and repairs on the side.
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I have at least 4 fluke DVMs at home. Fluke is the most popular hand held at work.
Typical scope at work runs around $30k before add ons. Most have two or more. One geared for analog, the other mixed signal or digital analyzer.
One of the guys I worked for early in my career knew John Fluke. Had some funny and enlightening stories about the man and the way he ran his company. They still make good products and are customer focused.
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I wear Red Wings for a few years now. You’re not gonna believe this, but for over 20 years I wore the same brand: Sears. They made a garage shoe called Die Hard and they were great. Comfortable, steel toe, fit well, good non-slip sole, and working 6 days a week a pair lasted easily a year. Not bad for a $75 pair. Then 5 or so years ago they discontinued them. Just like everything else good from Sears.
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That is very good skill set to have. You should ask. If it’s not being used they may just give you the stuff and scrap it on their side. Win-win if it’s just collecting dust.
We do some fiber work but very limited due to precision and attention to detail needed to do it right. Mainly coated analytical fiber optics with lenses or splitters adhered to the ends…
The biggest issue would probably the bean counter, at the end of every year we have to inventory assets and list the reason why it does not show up.
I tried some steel toed shoes, they made my toes sweat, hot and I did not like it. Not required for the work I did, but thought better safe than sorry. If you need them fine, anyone else find steel toed uncomfortable, or you just put up with it because you have to?
I think I have a pair of those! I’ve had them for like 20+ years. I’ll have to check when/if I go back north. I use them for doing yard work because they’re so tough.
I believe those had a Vibram looking sole and I could’ve mistaken them for hiking boots, but don’t I remember them being very heavy? I believe they have a yellow “Die Hard” logo on the soles. I also remember walking tall in those shoes.
Anyhow, they were heavy, quite comfortable, and I always thought they really protected my feet, working with mowers and trimmers. I think I bought mine on “clearance,” not fully realizing the great bargain I got.
CSA
Huge hodge podge set of tools acquired as needed or at yard sales over the years. Primarily Craftsman, but between my father-in-law and I we probably have something from most brands outside of professional grade
I lost the handle for an outside spigot. I use a 7 mm wrench (1/4 too small, 9/32 too large).
One of the nuts on my battery’s cables is 11 mm (the other 10!), also a bicycle brake.
I think most places sell or donate unused equipment. Talk to your old supervisor and see if the equipment is still there. Maybe you could buy it. Most places I’m familiar with have auctions. Maybe your former employer does, too.
I had to buy safety shoes for a project in 2013. I got Red Wing shoes, and they are quite comfortable for steel toe and steel shank shoes. When I worked in the steel mill, we all had metatarsal shoes from Lehigh. They were comfortable too.