[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Sorry, cant show a single piece of my N gauge trains

No pictures too?

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It was one of those things that doesn't make sense moving around the world with.

True.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I used to be a big model train fanatic.

I still am, though not pursuing it for various reasons. My first train set was a basic Hornby. The next was a Lima and later I was gifted a highly detailed engine by Marklin with a single track. I don't know the engine specifics but it does look identical to the one in the second link you sent except that it did not have a coal carrier at the back. Had a small integrated one right behind the cab. I could not use the Marlkin with the other two sets as it had a centre pick up. Both my train sets are freight. I have just one Australian silver line sleeper car. I still have all of them though not in use and probably dead by now. The biggest problem I had was space as we (my folks and I) lived in a compact apartment. Next was the high moisture content and humidity (In Kerala). It was so bad that after scrubbing the tracks with some rubber accessory by Lima (Track cleaner), the very next morning, the trains would not move smooth. They would keep stopping in between. It was very annoying. This was some 20 years ago so my guess is things may have improved today. I know Hornby and Marklin all still around. Lima is dead. They did not make anything for the serious hobby lover anyway.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

They ripped out old analogue control system and put in PLC based controllers.

Wow. This was serious stuff to be doing with model trains in the 70's.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I cant remember exactly, but I think I had about 15 engines and some 100 -150 carriages. My track had some 75 points and a real turn table.

Now that is one huge setup. I would love to see this setup in action again. When I visited Perth in 1991, my folks took me to a model railway exhibit. I could not get enough of it. I was so floored by the first setup itself, my folks had to tell me to keep moving else we would still be there by the end of the evening. I have clear memories of the N scale setup. It sure beat the HO scale one's which is also what I have.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

In essence you had to built your own block system

The Hornby catalogue I have shows some kind of block system controller. This was from the early 90s.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

But, im still interested in real and model trains.

Same here.

[embee]

Dear Mr. Jeroen,

I must say that your collection of tools is quite unique and probably the most sought-after tool collection i have ever come across or even heard of.... Really appreciate....!!!

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Also shown, don’t know the English name for it, but it is a tool that allows you to suck up excess solder. to be frank, I don’t even know the Dutch name for it! Still, works well!

Jeroen

Amazing as always ! Your incredible collection of tools would put a professional garage to shame. It is always a pleasure to read your messages - a treasure trove of knowledge.

The tool you mentioned to suck up the excess molten solder is called as desoldering pump. There is a desoldering wick as well to mop up excess solder.

[Jeroen]

Thanks everybody for the positive comments and feedback. I am currently on our house in the UK where I have a few more tools stashed away! Also, the have Machinemart here, https://www.machinemart.co.uk, the sort of British equivalent to the American Harbor freight!

Couldn't resist, bought a few things of course. Walking through that shop And looking at all these tools I realized I must have some interesting tools back in the Netherlands. I saw quite a few things I know I have but I did not come across it last week as I took the pictures. I will be back in the Netherlands in about a week and a half. I will have another good look if I can find some more. Watch this space.

Jeroen

[ashwin_m0]

Mr. Jeroen,
At the cost of repetition, I thank you for taking me back into my childhood days and its memories where I was most comfortable playing with tools rather than toys dismantling almost every mechanical gadget brought into the house.
May your tool kit grow from strength to strength and every tool you buy bring you joy when you use them.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I have several Vice Grip pliers, from very tiny to medium size. And a few different beaks as well. Short and long. The third but last photograph shows one on the very right. At least that's what I call a vice grip plier. Maybe you mean something different.

No, that's a vicegrip. Missed it.
Incidentally, your desoldering pump picture also has one.

Cylinder leakage tester and compression gauge are two different things. I don't have the first, but I do have a compression gauge.

Yes they are different. One is a professionals tool, the other is not! (I made my own. Well, more of a comparator than a direct reading one.)

Tach/Dwell can be measured with the Timing Light.

Not all timing lights have that function.
Delay also built in in your one?

I have several calipers. You can actually see one in the very first picture.

Very well camouflaged!

I don't have a plug cleaning sandblaster of anything like that at the moment. Back in the USA I had one of those, but I sold it before moving back.

Wire type plug gapping tool: I have two different ones. One is essentially the old school "feelers" and a pair of pliers. The other one isn't much more sophisticated, but does the job as well. I'll see if i can post of picture. It looks like a coin, but the edge is calibrated along an increasing thickness. Just slot it in and twist until you have the correct gap.

For plugs, I prefer the wire type to blade feelers.

Notably two wave generators and a scope. Very useful for trouble shooting ECUs and the various busses.

Would like to know more.

Regards
Sutripta

[Viraat13]

Hi Jeroen,

I too have a number of tools in my collection, which is maybe 20+ years old. Not as many specific tools as you though. I have screwdrivers, syringes (with needles), clamps, multi-meters, soldering tools (have the same one from Radioshack, among others), socket sets, spanners, mallets and the wonderful leatherman. The telescopic mirror and magnet are wonderful ideas. I'll definitely try to get them from somewhere, or try and get them made. Vice grips have always fascinated me, but I have had no reason to get them yet.

I am surprised you haven't used your spark plug testing tool. It is a wonderful little toy.

Unfortunately, my cars (the ones I want to test) do not have the standardised OBD ports. So the generic machines are absolutely useless for me. Torque wrenches are wonderful things, but not used by mechanics here in India, because everything is done by feel. There is little point in me getting one now, because all the threads must be overtightened by now.

The vacuum tool deserves a paragraph of its own. It is unbelievably useful to owners of older Mercedes Benz cars. I had a bunch of problems with the vacuum system of my W124 300E, not with the central locking or other electrics, but with the engine (related to idling, etc). Being able to test the system like that was a lot of time saved.

I also spotted a guide for the Bosch L-Jetronic. I have the same for the K-Jetronic of the 300E, a couple of Mercedes Benz manuals, a workshop manual or two, and one utterly useless workshop manual by Bentley Publishers for the W124. It angers me every time I see it – not once has it been of any help.

I too have a tool kit in every car. It is pretty important to keep one in a W124, but more so because I am a bit of a DIY enthusiast.

Waiting to see more pictures of your collection!

[ZeRo©]

Hi Jeroen,

There are tool collectors and then there is Jeroen. A wonderful collection and a superb thread on a less discussed topic. Members like you are instrumental in keeping Team-bhp such a interesting place to be.

I learnt more about various tools in this one page than 33 years of my life, and then with our fellow bhpians chipping in with their comments, makes this thread much more enjoyable.

Thanks for sharing and thanks team-bhp for this wonderful site.

Do I seem over the top, you bet, this was long due.

[Jeroen]

After all these very positive and encouraging comments I felt I should rummage around my various tool boxes once more and see what comes up.

I started this sequel whilst my wife and I were in our home in Suffolk. We had driven over here, from my home country the Netherlands, in our Alfa Romeo Spider. As this is after all, a car forum, so I think this thread should have at least one picture of a car as well. Here is my Spider, near Levington marina in Suffolk. Very pretty, the scenery and the car.



The Alfa Spider has what is widely recognized as the best rag top hood design ever. It is just about the only soft top you can open and close with one hand in under five seconds! No rag tops on any car, past or present, can make that claim to fame! The hood is attached to the front window frame with two very simple latches. All metal, but with leather straps so you can pull them off easily when closed. These leather straps are fitted to the latches with rivets. One of the leather straps tore off the rivet/latch. Now, I could have just left it like that. I would be back in the Netherlands in 10 days and I have a rivet gun there. But that's not how I deal with my cars. Everything needs to fixed immediately, like NOW!. The holiday can not continue until this was fixed. So I stopped at our local Machine Mart and bought a simple rivet gun. Very simple and it comes with various size rivets too.



Here you can see the left side of the hood, with the leather strap still attached to the latch.



And here's what the right side of the hood looked like.



Here you can see me putting the rivet onto the leather strap and latch. If you watch closely, you can also see I've added an 0-ring.



This is how the end results looks like. Better then the original. The o-rings give it extra strength, so it won't be pulled of the rivet so easily anymore. Over the years I have found that 3 out of 4 jobs I do on my cars tend to be something like this. Relatively small repairs. Car will run fine without it, but I won't! So it needs fixing.



Here's another close up of the rivet gun. You can see the gun carries three different nozzles screwed into the base leg. The nozzles accommodate different sizes of rivets.



Of course, the box came with 10 different kind of size rivets, but not the one I needed. So off I went to B&Q and bought some more rivets and some of the O-rings as well.



Here the stem of the rivet is inserted into the rivet gun. What you see protruding is the actual rivet. This is how you start putting a rivet in. By working the levers on the rivet gun, the stem gets pulled into the rivet.



On the previous picture you could see the end of the stem protruding from the bottom of the rivet. By pulling it inward it will extrude the rivet. You can see on the below picture that the bulb of the stem has been completely withdrawn into the rivet, which is now considerable thicker. Image the rivet was inserted into a tight hole, you will appreciate how the rivet sets itself.



Back in our home in Suffolk I dug up my UK toolbox/bag. It's not so specifically for car repairs, its more to do odd jobs in and around the house. So here goes, here is the bag:



And the following stuff is in this particular tool bag:

These two keys are for de-airing central heating radiators. My wife and I have owned 7 houses around the world and especially when we were young I used to do all the work on the house myself. Especially when I was working in the merchant navy / offshore I used to be away from home for months, but I was also on leave for months as well. So plenty of time to do some major DIY undertakings.

Our first home was in Brighton. Lovely little house, but the kitchen was a mess. It was an extended kitchen, meaning a built on, or better bolt on, part to the house. The extension had a flat roof. The day we took possession of the house, at night somebody tried to burgle our new home. He/she climbed on the kitchen roof, only to fall right through, it was that rotten! So the next morning a bit of an unpleasant surprise. In fact just about everything was rotten in that kitchen. So I ended up pulling out everything, the remaining part of the roof, the kitchen cabinet, cooker, all electrics and I also took out all the radiators. Re-did all the central heating pipes, and all the electrics, installed a new kitchen and a new roof.

That was in 1983, that's when I bought these two keys and used them extensively. Even today they still fit on modern radiators. Occasionally a central heating system needs refilling and that usually means you need to let air out as well.



These twist gimlets are a bit special. When I came across them, I remembered that these belonged to my dad, which means they are well over 45 years old! Still, useful to drill into soft wood, in places where your drill might not reach.



Just another set of Allen keys, you can never have enough Allen keys!



I realized I should have put something next to these to give a better sense of scale. these are very small pliers. About 3-4 inches overall length.



These are more your regular garden size variety type of pliers.



Another set of (very) small screw drivers. Straight and Philips version. Note the two Allen keys on the left, they have rounded ends at the bottom. That allows you to turn them under an angle! So they don't need to be exactly perpundicular to the surface. Very useful.



A set of all sorts of different screw drivers and picks. Some sort of new, some sort of old. No idea where I pick up all these screw drivers.



Lastly, some different tools remaining in this tool bag. Another multimeter, obviously. By now you will have understood that I keep a multimeter within easy reach wherever I go! Three different grip vices, some other bits, two hammers, one of which is a non-steel. One side is rubber and the other side is some sort of plastic/fiber glass. I would use this hammer on for instance our window frames which are a combination of aluminum and plastic. Our home here in the UK is quite small. Our sofa would not fit through the door/hall. So I had to take out the double glazing out of the frame, push the sofa through it into the living room and put the double glazing back in the frame. That's where these sort of hammers come in very handy. Takes quite a bit of beating getting the frame back in place. It's designed to come apart, but still it takes a real beating to get it back in place.



Moving on beyond the UK tool bag, here is the latest tool acquisition I made whilst on holiday in the UK. You will notice a very similar clamp as I had shown earlier, though this one appears to be made of regular steel and not stainless steel. Still works fine. I bought it at the Beccles Antique Fair, Suffolk, for 50 pence. My wife and I enjoy looking at antiques and I often pick up tools at such places.



Also, bought in Beccles, but in a regular shop, this small, but very smart electrical wire strip plier. It can be easily set to five different size wires. I tried it out and works really well.



Bought at my local Machine Mart, another set of these picks. Come in handy for all sorts of odd jobs, and they are great for loosening up robber hoses.



Now, you might have spotted this little socket/screw driver set in the earlier post. It is part of my "Jaguar Tool Box". Thought I would do a close up, because it is really a very neat little tool set. Several small sockets. A very small ratites, about there inches long and then there are several screw drivers insets as well. Straight, Philips and Allen key.



Also, to be used with the above set, or with other socket sets I own is this extension. Makes for easy use, turning and twisting!



Not sure about the English name for this tool. If I would translate from Dutch it would be 'cross-wrench'. Used primarily on wheel nuts. Four different sizes on each ends. Works really well. You can use two hands on it and easily spin it around once the bolt/nut breaks loose.

I carry one of these in each of my cars.



Just a close up of one of my boxes with all sorts of bits and pieces. From hose clamps to electrical clamps and from fuses to tie wraps. If you have an old classic car, you must carry at least 4 of these boxes crammed with bits and pieces like this. It's absolutely essential to keep an old car going.



Two very simple tools, but very effective. The one on the left is measure the gap on a spark plug gap. You insert it into the gap and twist it until stuck and then it will tell you the gap distance. By twisting it a bit you can also easily increase the gap. The tool on the left is to measure tyre depth. You insert the pointy bit into the thread and push it down and it will give you the reading in millimeters. You need to take measurement around the total circumference of the tyre as well on the out-, inside and middle.



Again, from my tool box that normally lives in my Jaguar, but is now with me in the boot of my Spider. All sort of keys, all sizes, all types.



A set of very simple, very rugged, pliers. One of my favorite programs on TV is "How it's made". They have an episode where they show you how tools are made. It is these exact tools that are being made in that very TV show!



Last picture of one of my UK tools, an electric drill. It is a Black and Decker, must be about 12-14 years old. Comes with two rechargeable batteries. The batteries, over the years have come a bit run down, but once I give them a full charge they will still do fine. I use this drill, obviously, to drill, But more often I used it as an electric screw driver. All the various screw driver bits I have also fit into this drill.

If you want your drill to be used as a screwdriver make sure that its speed is variable and controlled and it can turn both clock as well as anti-clock wise.

I own at least four electric drills. The others are in the Netherlands. When we had just moved into our apartment in Delhi I wanted to hang some of our pictures. So I needed an electric drill. But I could not figure out where to buy one. So I asked some colleagues who were horrified! It was made very clear to me, I should not be drilling my own holes, let alone own my electric drill! Since, I have somebody that drills my holes, when needed and called upon.

It's funny, because in the Netherlands, most people wouldn't consider you a real man, if you did not own your own drill and a bunch of tools and could do your own DIY around the house. Irrespective of what you do professionally, DIY is something many Dutch people enjoy doing as a hobby and they are proud of their workmanship. And like me, they will own a lot of tools.



My dad would have been very happy in Delhi because he was the worst DIY-person in the world. He reminds me of a brilliant dialogue in one of my favorite books of all time, Three men in a boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Coincidentally, Jerome is French for Jeroen.

That’s Harris all over—so ready to take the burden of everything himself, and put it on the backs of other people.

He always reminds me of my poor Uncle Podger. You never saw such a commotion up and down a house, in all your life, as when my Uncle Podger undertook to do a job. A picture would have come home from the frame-maker’s, and be standing in the dining-room, waiting to be put up; and Aunt Podger would ask what was to be done with it, and Uncle Podger would say:

“Oh, you leave that to me. Don’t you, any of you, worry yourselves about that. I’ll do all that.”

And then he would take off his coat, and begin. He would send the girl out for sixpen’orth of nails, and then one of the boys after her to tell her what size to get; and, from that, he would gradually work down, and start the whole house.

Candle“Now you go and get me my hammer, Will,” he would shout; “and you bring me the rule, Tom; and I shall want the step-ladder, and I had better have a kitchen-chair, too; and, Jim! you run round to Mr. Goggles, and tell him, ‘Pa’s kind regards, and hopes his leg’s better; and will he lend him his spirit-level?’ And don’t you go, Maria, because I shall want somebody to hold me the light; and when the girl comes back, she must go out again for a bit of picture-cord; and Tom!—where’s Tom?—Tom, you come here; I shall want you to hand me up the picture.”

And then he would lift up the picture, and drop it, and it would come out of the frame, and he would try to save the glass, and cut himself; and then he would spring round the room, looking for his handkerchief. He could not find his handkerchief, because it was in the pocket of the coat he had taken off, and he did not know where he had put the coat, and all the house had to leave off looking for his tools, and start looking for his coat; while he would dance round and hinder them.

“Doesn’t anybody in the whole house know where my coat is? I never came across such a set in all my life—upon my word I didn’t. Six of you!—and you can’t find a coat that I put down not five minutes ago! Well, of all the—”

Then he’d get up, and find that he had been sitting on it, and would call out:

“Oh, you can give it up! I’ve found it myself now. Might just as well ask the cat to find anything as expect you people to find it.”

And, when half an hour had been spent in tying up his finger, and a new glass had been got, and the tools, and the ladder, and the chair, and the candle had been brought, he would have another go, the whole family, including the girl and the charwoman, standing round in a semi-circle, ready to help. Two people would have to hold the chair, and a third would help him up on it, and hold him there, and a fourth would hand him a nail, and a fifth would pass him up the hammer, and he would take hold of the nail, and drop it.

“There!” he would say, in an injured tone, “now the nail’s gone.”

And we would all have to go down on our knees and grovel for it, while he would stand on the chair, and grunt, and want to know if he was to be kept there all the evening.

The nail would be found at last, but by that time he would have lost the hammer.

“Where’s the hammer? What did I do with the hammer? Great heavens! Seven of you, gaping round there, and you don’t know what I did with the hammer!”

We would find the hammer for him, and then he would have lost sight of the mark he had made on the wall, where the nail was to go in, and each of us had to get up on the chair, beside him, and see if we could find it; and we would each discover it in a different place, and he would call us all fools, one after another, and tell us to get down. And he would take the rule, and re-measure, and find that he wanted half thirty-one and three-eighths inches from the corner, and would try to do it in his head, and go mad.

And we would all try to do it in our heads, and all arrive at different results, and sneer at one another. And in the general row, the original number would be forgotten, and Uncle Podger would have to measure it again.

He would use a bit of string this time, and at the critical moment, when the old fool was leaning over the chair at an angle of forty-five, and trying to reach a point three inches beyond what was possible for him to reach, the string would slip, and down he would slide on to the piano, a really fine musical effect being produced by the suddenness with which his head and body struck all the notes at the same time.

And Aunt Maria would say that she would not allow the children to stand round and hear such language.

At last, Uncle Podger would get the spot fixed again, and put the point of the nail on it with his left hand, and take the hammer in his right hand. And, with the first blow, he would smash his thumb, and drop the hammer, with a yell, on somebody’s toes.

Aunt Maria would mildly observe that, next time Uncle Podger was going to hammer a nail into the wall, she hoped he’d let her know in time, so that she could make arrangements to go and spend a week with her mother while it was being done.

“Oh! you women, you make such a fuss over everything,” Uncle Podger would reply, picking himself up. “Why, I like doing a little job of this sort.”

Once, I'm back in the Netherlands in about ten days, I will have another look in my garage. I know there are some more tools that you might find interesting.

Enjoy!

Jeroen

[GTO]

*Update* : The tool collection's sequel has been added to the opening page. You'll see two new posts by Jeroen.

Thanks for sharing!

[Wanderers]

Hi Jeroen,

Wow !

When can we have your service center opening for public ?

With all the tools in the world, you only need a roof and Bank account or a big Cash drawer.

On serious or still not so serious, what about opening a tool gallery (Mini Museum) on Tools & its evolution.

We would love to visit it.

[allauddin]

Hi Jeroen,

Fabulous collection, myself very fond of all the tools. My Dad had a passion for collecting tools, we too have trunk full of tools .

From my young age I use to assist my DAD in various repair works and myself got addicted to DIY.

Your collection is absolutely mind-blowing.

So informative for all the DIY guys out there, they can use your pics as a reference guide for procuring tools. Nowadays it has become very difficult to get good quality tools in India.

I also believe that, to get the job done properly you need the right kind of tools.

[Jeroen]

I just spend a few days in the Netherlands and managed to visit one of my favourite toolshops, in Gouda. See http://hermanbuitelaar.nl All in Dutch, but you can look at the pictures!

Anyway, picked up a few things. First this little loupe/magnifier. Nothing that special other then it has some clever built in LED. All sorts of tools get upgraded by fitting them with LEDs.

The other thing I found is a miniature car jack. I have one just like this, but this one is minute. I took the picture with my phone, whilst it sat on my desk and I have put a ball point in front of it to get some sense of scale.

It is fully working as a proper Jack. you can raise it by pumping the arm and when you twist the arm it lowers again. Hydraulics and everything. It can lift an amazing 100 kilograms. I don't think this one will disappear in my garage and or tool boxes. It sits on my desk, together with a few car models I've picked up over the years

Jeroen

[VCheng]

Interesting collection of basic, essential and eclectic tools.

No compressed air or power tools?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by VCheng

Interesting collection of basic, essential and eclectic tools.

No compressed air or power tools?

I used to have a very nice compressor back in the US. Came with the usual accessories, such as torque wrenches etc. It was actually a very nice one. If you ever consider getting a compressor you really need to think through what you are going to use it for. As soon as you start using heavy duty tools, such as torgue wrenches you need a fairly high capacity set up, or it will run out of puff very quickly. So mine was BIG, but being American also 110VAC, not much use in the rest of the world, I sold it when we moved to Delhi/Europe.

When we go back to Europe on a more permanent basis and I get to work more regularly on my cars a compressor is high on the list of tools to get. Even higher on the list is proper car lift. Need a garage for that too though.

Jeroen