Carpenter Richard Peers' VW van was stolen early on Saturday and discovered dumped in Longridge - less than a mile from his Beech Drive home.
But his work tools - worth more than £2,000 - were missing.
"They actually left my everyday tools so I have been able to carry on working," he said.
"But I have no power tools and my specialist tools in a separate box have gone."
Mr Peers, 49, believes the thieves will have dismissed the antique tools as worthless and dumped them.
"I used them in my job because I do traditional work," he said. "I'm going to miss them."
Some of them were given to him by old work pals when they retired and had sentimental value.
But others - including a rare matching pair of American planes - had been painstakingly collected and were worth £1,400.
"All my everyday tools have my name stamp on," he said. "But when you collect antique stuff you don't put your name stamp because you devalue it."
His power tools - including cordless drills and a portable circular saw - were worth more than £1,000.
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