Tool, what's to like about it, and why do you like it so damn much?

[look 171]

Crowbob's post had me laughing my ass off from the HF tool thread. I realized many of us here like tools. Why is it so dear to you? Lots of guys I talk to get excited over a cordless drill. Hell, I did too when I started out now, but its just a tool to get the job donw. I still appreciate a fine hand tool as well as power tool, but ...?

A friend had this house for about 8-9 years and its a constant remodeling project. Wife's on his ass about buying stuff. He buys a new tool for the house but tells wife or me if I am around, all about it. She rolls her eyes and get him to tell me instead. I am thinking, oh crap, here it goes.

[legion]

I love Tool!

[RWebb]

Hazet sockets have the knurled turning riing exactly where it should be.

Good luck hand spinning a greasy, shiny Snap-Off socket... OTOH, they are easier to clean up.


Don't get me started aout Tek scopes, and hp test gear...

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by legion

I love Tool!

Lol Thats what I thought he was talking about!

One of my faves!


.

[Seahawk]

A couple of battery powered tools have really helped.

Grease gun:



I go through a couple of sleeves of grease a week in the summer. With an easy attach nipple, changed my timeline greatly.

Lot of fueling as well. Five gallon cans of diesel with the goofy “green” nozzles. Took a chance on this battery powered thing and three years later, three hundred plus gallons, works like a champ filling the equipment. I beefed up some things but no real issues.

Complete game changer in terms of spills, ease of use, etc. Terapump.

[Bob Kontak]

Just bought these used for $100.

They work as you think they ought to.





And this for the Porch CIS at $150 used.



All came from a diesel mechanics stash who passed recently. If I had received eight stimulus checks I would be in high cotton.

This one was outside my budget at $7,500.

[look 171]

I understand why you buy them but why buy more and going in there is like a kid in a candy store.

[Por_sha911]

I love having my Dremel tool. Variable speed and has a flex shaft extension. Bought it on a whim and then wondered if I would ever use it.
I found that about 360 days a year it sits in a cabinet but the other 3-5 it is a life saver.
Today it was a life saver when I had saw off the bolts holding down a toilet I was replacing.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

This one was outside my budget at $7,500.

Am I the only one here who had the word "alter" come to mind when seeing that magnificent bastard?

[Crowbob]

BFH. Hands down. Almost never worked on anything that didn't require some kind of persuasion.

[JackDidley]

I have 2 of these I got from HF about 15 years ago. $8 each I think. I seem to be cutting metal a lot. Favorite tool in the box, I think.

[herr_oberst]

The sidecutter is made in Japan, and cuts clean and flush. It has one job - to cut the rattails off zip ties, and it works to perfection. No more bloody wounds from that little barb that ʎʇʇᴉɥs sidecutters leave. I make sure I never use it for anything else.

The screwdriver bit is a good one, it really reduces cam-out when I'm using a drill driver.
I bought ten of these and threw away all the cheap ones I had.

The torx bit represents more modern wood screws that have a 25 torx instead of a phillips. Faster and better. Why did it take so long for those to become ubiquitous?

[rusnak]

Favorite tool of any type:



Favorite hand tool would be a tough one.

Maybe the Facom 3/8" flex head, or the Gedore 1/2" ratcheting breaker bar.

Favorite power tool would be tough too. Maybe Bosch 1/2" impact driver.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

A couple of battery powered tools have really helped.

Grease gun:



I go through a couple of sleeves of grease a week in the summer. With an easy attach nipple, changed my timeline greatly.

Lot of fueling as well. Five gallon cans of diesel with the goofy “green” nozzles. Took a chance on this battery powered thing and three years later, three hundred plus gallons, works like a champ filling the equipment. I beefed up some things but no real issues.

Complete game changer in terms of spills, ease of use, etc. Terapump.

Those look fantastic. I may have to have one of those grease guns, it’s just too cool. How long to empty the fuel can? Do you need a separate pump for gas and diesel?

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by Baz

Am I the only one here who had the word "alter" come to mind when seeing that magnificent bastard?

I would like one of those.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Those look fantastic. I may have to have one of those grease guns, it’s just too cool. How long to empty the fuel can? Do you need a separate pump for gas and diesel?

If you get the gun, also get this:



I can hit all the grease points on my front end loader and tractor chassis in no time. The battery is good for a month before I replace and recharge.

Concerning the Terra Pump, I need to warn you it looks cheap when it arrives. I thought I had made a mistake. I beefed up the hose ends with some worm drive hose clamps and gave it a whirl.

Five gallons in 2 minutes, legit, with auto shut off. I learned to bring a bucket for what little dribbles out when you are done fueling.

Same for transferring between gas tanks. On my second set of batteries in three years.

I only use it for diesel. My gas cans are old school and I only fuel my gen and Ranger.

[GH85Carrera]

My tools are a lifetime long collection of tools. The tools that are my favorites and I would not sell are from my dad or grandfathers. My mom's father had few tools but I have his bench vise on my workbench. I can't help but think of him every time I use it.

I have a tool box that I got from my grandfather. It is a wooden box, with sheet metal nailed to the surface. The nails are all handmade nails and I suspect it was my great grandfather's tool box. It only has the large items in it like huge pipe wrenches, and my circular saw. It is no beauty, but it has a long family history.

May of the tools I use regularly were gifts from my dad as Christmas presents or birthday presents. I have several hand tools from my father-in-law that his son and grand-kids did not want. He was a true mechanic and would fix anything in the house or any car.

One thing I use every time I fire up lawn equipment is my gas can. I remember as a kid using it to fill up grandpa mower. It is an old 5 gallon oil can with a screw on caps. Almost every time I go fill it up someone offers to buy it. Dad got it from grandpa and both of them used it regularly.

[greglepore]

Wera allen wrenches. Better grip than anything I've used before due to a slight "tooth" to the shape.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by look 171

Crowbob's post had me laughing my ass off from the HF tool thread. I realized many of us here like tools. Why is it so dear to you? Lots of guys I talk to get excited over a cordless drill. Hell, I did too when I started out now, but its just a tool to get the job donw. I still appreciate a fine hand tool as well as power tool, but ...?

A friend had this house for about 8-9 years and its a constant remodeling project. Wife's on his ass about buying stuff. He buys a new tool for the house but tells wife or me if I am around, all about it. She rolls her eyes and get him to tell me instead. I am thinking, oh crap, here it goes.

Everyone's first tools are trash, we learn to struggle with inadequate tools that make the job harder than it should be.

Great tools are a pleasure to use once you've been exposed to Chinese or "home use" labeled garbage. Case in point, using Cman sockets vs Snap-on. Cman feels loose on the fastener, sloppy, bulky and have that annoying release in the middle of the head that is guaranteed to cause you to drop the socket, not to mention the wrenches are somewhat short.

It's a miserable task doing dirty heavy cramped mechanical work with Cman raised panel socket wrenches. I don't even own any of those socket wrenches, they suck so bad I think they're useless.

Snap-Ons don't fall off the wrench, and are tight enough that they won't slip on the fastener if you aren't perfectly aligned in a cramp spot.- cman will slip.

When I was at Boeing there was one fastener on the Apache that was literally right next to a major support, you normally couldn't fit a socket on it because there was no clearance. We took that damn Snap on socket with a 12" extension, BEAT IT with a hammer to wedge it on there, then took the fastener out- for years.

Buy good tools, save your knuckles and sanity.

rjp

[vash]

i think a tool is a symbol almost. a symbol something is getting fixed!! or a problem solved.

i have a ridiculous Swiss Army knife i have been carrying around trying to ID the model. very MacGyver. while doing research, have used it a bunch. mostly the scissors for cutting the suckers from our office tomato plants. getting it done!!