Useless tools

[daddylonglegs]

In the mid 1970's I bought a BullBag, one of those exhaust inflateable jacks, but there was hardly any position on a 4x4 of that period that you could place them without puncturing.

[RUFF]

The best tool I ever bought was a pivoting sidchrome ratchet (pivots directly over the drive).
Great for spark plug removal.

Commonly known as a Champion plug Ratchet. It was originaly designed by Champion spark plugs to make removing plugs easier.

This would also be my favourite ratchet. But mine is an SK brand.

I dont know that i have ever bought a tool that was useless. Sometimes they dont work for their intended perposes but they are usually usefull for something.

Cheap spanners are good you can heat them, bend them, cut them and weld them and know they cost you stuff all.

[Ralf the RR]

Not a big fan of shifters.
I colloquially call them nut f#@&ers.

The jaws expand and then slip, but you guys already know that.
Some items on the Rangie are neither imperial or metric. I guess they're Whitworth. That's when the shifter comes in handy.

I only use them as a last resort, and when they don't work, out come the vice grips. Now that is butchery territory!

[dumbdunce]

Not a big fan of shifters.
I colloquially call them nut f#@&ers.

The jaws expand and then slip, but you guys already know that.
Some items on the Rangie are neither imperial or metric. I guess they're Whitworth. That's when the shifter comes in handy.

I only use them as a last resort, and when they don't work, out come the vice grips. Now that is butchery territory!

shifters used correctly are usually better than the right-sized open end spanner. they only slip if you don't tighten them onto the nut/bolt, and load them the wrong way, that is with the load at the top of the movable jaw. (or if you buy cheap ones).

as for spanners, I love my old school Australian made Sidchromes that I got for my 21st birthday, they have seen more use than a mechanic's tools and are still mostly good except some of the sockets are worn out. I have some newer (made in taiwan?) Sidchrome and it's still good, but not as good. I *heart* my snap on ratchet ring spanners, they're the ducks nuts. what ruff says about cheap spanners is absolutely true, I always keep a set of the cheapest supercheaps or parklea markets spanners for when I need to modify one for a special application.

Snap on stuff also isn't as good as it used to be, I think they have a lot of their stuff made in SE asia now and the quality has suffered.

[spazbot]

ive got craftsman sockets, they are very good but expensive

[chimpboy]

i personly never turf a tool because it can always come in handy even if its just for the steel its made out of

Yer, every broken small drill bit is just waiting to be turned into a scriber, every cheap screwdriver is a future pry or hook...

Even crappy pliers can be ground down to get at that one thing you eventually come across that you can't access any other way.

So I hardly ever throw tools out, the only exception is stuff like a jack I broke which I figured would be dangerous to leave lying around, or cheap electrical junk after I've cut off the power cable (I have a habit of keeping the cable... even though it's not worth it these days.)

Jason

[Daisy]

Snap on stuff also isn't as good as it used to be, I think they have a lot of their stuff made in SE asia now and the quality has suffered.

Agree with u there..

Noticed some tool qualities are startin to turn to shit once mass produced on a huge scale.

TOM

[Wooders]

Got some of those crappy Metrinch ....waste of good blood.....
Most of the ¼" sockets drives are a waste of time.....
I must admit I started mostly with the SUpatools, then as I broke them I replaced with Sydcrhome/othergood brand......theory being If I broke it then obviosuly i use it

Best tool in my garage? The air compressor to power the air tools - jezz now they have saved some leather.....

[Rainbow Warrior]

Anyone tryied those universal size sparkplug like sockets, that use spring loaded hex needles inside to fit any size bolt from 10mm to 20mm.

I could spend all day reading the Blackwood catalog

Pity those planetary geared ratchets are $1000 bucks each, idea of a ratchet needing only 1/6th as much effort for the same length would be great.

[paul1a]

Probably the best set of sockets I've got are some I bought for next to nothing from Supa Cheap about 10 years ago. They seem to have been made when the USSR was still going. They were all covered in that orange brown gooey stuff that the army uses. They are the hardest steel I've ever come across but not a smooth finish like Sidchromes etc, the ratchet is odd, to reverse it the drive pin is pushed to the other side rather than having a two way type ratchet. I doubt if they'll ever wear out. I've also got some very old Britool ring spanners that will go on forever.

[DamTriton]

Snap-On are the ducks guts. I have a couple of their sockets (common metric sizes).

They are used by the military (my old man is ex RAAF quality assurance engineer). The only failure they had up until a few years ago was of a 12" AF socket connected to a 2" drive and 20' bar that they used to tighten the "Bejesus" nut on Chinnook helicopters (the nut that attatches the rotor control hubs to the driveshaft). The nut was seized and had 7 guys heaving on the end of the 20' bar while standing on the chopper. (7X200lbx20' = 28000f/lb of torque estimated, usually a 3-4 person job)
Long way to the floor........

Replaced, no questions asked. Only one that the AUS military had ever had to return.

[Troll]

Never throw out nuthin. Even busted sockets . Mig it onto that stuck, rounded off bolt head and Bobs your aunty Mable.