How many batteries do you have in your shop? Go ahead, take a guess. I’ll bet you’re wrong.

Obviously, if you don’t do cordless you’re not affected, but if you’re like me you have a variety of cordless tools and their attendant batteries.

When I rerouted my dust collection ducting through a built-in cabinet last month I needed to shorten two drawers to make room for the duct in the back. One of those drawers was the one with all my chargers and batteries.

Correction. It’s the one with most of the chargers and batteries that I actually use; the true number of chargers and batteries I own is much higher.

It became painfully apparent as I tried to find spots for the displaced batteries in that now-shorter battery drawer that I had no idea how many I had, so I did an actual count. Including several cordless drill/drivers I haven’t used in years, plus a couple of oddball cordless tools I’ve used only once or twice, I was shocked to learn that I have 87 tool batteries in the shop. I’m surprised my shop doesn’t deflect compasses or something.

Some of these batteries are so old they barely hold a charge, which would be dismaying if I actually used the tools they go to anymore. Some are orphans, the tools they went with long gone. One or two are for… heck, I have no idea what they’re for.

So why do I keep all these? Well, obviously to power the tools they go to. Why do I have a bunch of cordless tools I’ll never use in a million years, especially since the batteries are pretty much worthless?

I have no idea.

A.J.