My kids joke a lot about the tools I have. I was working on my daughter’s house a couple of years ago. She and her friends joked about how many saws I had there at any given time. They were mostly power saws and there were usually more than five.

A guy needs power tools. And I usually need to have multiple tools on a job site. It is not because I am a great craftsman, but rather that I usually misplace them. Hammers are a great example. I always try to have two or three within arm’s reach. It just makes the work go better.

I like tools. You realize how valuable they are when you do not have the right one. In this Internet era, I spend way too much time looking for tools on the Net. Between eBay, Uncle Henry’s online and Craigslist, I can usually find what I am looking for, especially if it is not in stock in a box store or lumberyard.

About a year ago, I wound up at Liberty Tool Works. Now, that’s a great place. The owner also owns Captain Tinkham’s Emporium in Searsport. I try not to go there too much since I can dispatch discretionary funds too readily. Yet another aptly named place is the Treasures and Trash Barn, also in Searsport. I try to limit my visits to these places to once a year, when I do not have much cash on me.

It is not that I go crazy buying stuff. In fact, I tend to be rather cheap. The problem is that if there is a fratistat that I might need someday when I resect the hoozitz, it might wind up in my collection.

I have a friend, Curt, who used to own hardware stores. He has the same illness. He doesn’t have stores anymore, but still has the stuff that was in the stores. I like to shop with Curt. We never exchange much money, but we get to look over the technological detritus of our age. What’s that saying about one man’s trash?

There was another stop along this road, Strong’s Electronic Sales in Ellsworth. It was a technological wonderland. Unfortunately, this business has closed. I was helpless there. Money and I parted company there regularly. Thank goodness, everything there was relatively inexpensive. They used to deal in government surplus electronics, tools, computers and any other technology that one could turn a buck on. There once was a giant pump there from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard that was used for filling and emptying dry docks. It moved 2,000 gallons a minute, and it was a helluva deal.

If you see me, I am in an old green sweat shirt. It’s getting a little tattered, but I’d rather buy fender washers for $1.50 a pound at Marden’s. You know that fender washers are great for holding foam insulation in place and they usually have some long screws for going through the thick stuff.

Questions for Tom Gocze should be sent to homefront@bangordailynews.net or mailed to The Home Page, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. A library of his practical home-improvement videos, reference material and a home-project blog are at bangordailynews.com/thehomepage.