Tools

The previous HD PanAmerica thread seem to have gotten derailed by a discussion of tools so I thought I'd start another devoted to the tools we use. If you have recommendations, suggestions or stories please share. The photo below of a homemade combo (courtesy of Henzilla, thank you) reminds me of my father-in-law, a farmer who had his own homemade combo tool he carried everywhere, except to church. He was working in the farrowing section of his barn one time when a sow made threatening moves toward him, he threw his combo tool at her in an effort to get her to back off and hit her square between the eyes, killed her instantly. We never tired of retelling that story.

My experience over the years has been that money spent on good tools has been worth it. I recently bought some JIS bits made by Vessel, quality stuff that will belong to my son some day. So, hand tools, power tools, cordless tools, multi-tools, are all topics of interest. Gotta be more fun than discussing the price of gas.

That slot in the middle could be shaped into a bottle opener...

Screwdrivers with proper bits, which haven't been used to open paint cans or as pry bars, drifts or shock spring preload adjusters, are a joy to use. I'll never forget the first time I used a Snap On screwdriver on a Phillips screw. Same goes for oil filter removal tools - especially those specialty ones you turn to when one gets oneself into, uh, difficulty. Of course, that's never happened to me....

But nothing trumps a good selection of hammers.

Good quality tools are. joy to use, poor quality not so much. This is one of favourites that I never get to use. It's a Surly bicycle wheel wrench sized to fit their line of fixies etc.

solid steel, built in bottle opener


short wrench but large ergonomic handle for maximum pushing power. Tapered nut face to keep your hands out of trouble.


Someone put a lot of thought into this tool and did a great job of executing it.

In my experience as a mechanic back in the days of cars dissolving in rust piles due to the area road salt, I found I had far less problems turning fasteners with Snap On or Mac tools then I did with other brands. I had a supply of Craftsman tools purchased near the end of their "good" period. They have been replaced by Snap On over the years now.

Snap On may cost a packet but for me, the cost has been well worth it. As posted, it was a joy to remove a stubborn Philips head screw with a Snap On driver.

Sad thing is, how many tool companies have turned to crap over the years. My dad was a master mechanic for cranes and heavy equipment and had a truck load of Craftsman, Bonny, Dresser, and other tools from the 40's and 50's. Craftsman at that time was nearly as good as Snap On and more reasonable priced. No cheap junk in his tool boxes. Sadly, the truck and all his tools was stolen out of his driveway one night and the tools were never recovered. His insurance paid for replacement tools and at the time all he could afford to get a complete working set of tools was to buy Craftsman. Turns out the new Craftsman tools were crap compared to the old Craftsman tools and he retired shortly after because he got fed up with using junk tools and was getting older.

He gave me his tool sets and I in turned passed them to my brother in law, they are fine for one time or low use but not for my needs. I shudder to think what would happen if my tools were stolen, I would be in the same boat as he was.

The joke made the other day was Craftsman now makes wonder tools rather than good tools. St.

Grew up using dads tools on bicycles and first Honda’s and rarely putting them back as reminded every time he opened tool box. I have most of his 60’s Craftsman collection still. He gave me my own set of metric when I was 16... still smile thinking of that.
The quality def changed through time.
I have SnapOn as well, but never went all in like my older brother who made payments weekly forever it seems. His health is fading and his daughter asked if I wanted his three chests... I passed and told her to sell them after researching average prices and they could use the cash... she thanked me recently as it was a lot of $$
The city purchase dept had Craftsman tools bid out and supplied to us and as a supervisor, I would make regular runs to Sears to exchange 1/2” drive ratchets that stripped the cogs.They had a large tub with failed units. I probably had a dozen fail personally while still a lineman. They went to Proto and occasionally SnapOn after we griped enough.

Any tool better than none, Channelock pliers have their place... not an alternative to a proper wrench!

A few of my favorites-

Dayton 2x-913..... If you can find one. Excellent thread chaser-



Blue Point ammeter-starter gauge set...... If you can find one-



Lisle impact driver- still available-



OM

I always find it so sad when a decent brand gets bought out etc and the product goes down the tubes. Happens all the time and not only tools. I'm lucky most of my main stuff is half decent but a lot of it came to me second hand.

I have a wide variety of tools and brands; everything from Craftsman, Snap-on, Herbrand, Proto, Mac, and so many more. My first set of tools was a full Craftsman set my Mom and Dad bought me when I started my auto mechanic apprenticeship in my Dad's small shop under his guidance. That was right out of high school and the tool set was bought from the small college fund they had saved. I went on to finish my certification and worked in that trade for over eight years before moving on to firefighting for a better career path. I kept at the mechanical work though for several more years as a side job and still end up helping out friends, family and neighbors occasionally. I also use the tools and skills to do pretty much all of my own work on motorcycles and vehicles. In fact I've added significantly to my tools over the years as new challenges and repairs were faced. Many tools have also been made for a specific job or task. There are quite a few tools still in my collection however that have not seen use in decades as their purpose has become obsolete except for perhaps a rare vintage auto.

Air ratchets. My main tool set I bought from a career auto mechanic when he retired. I have no need of the air ratchets I have as I only work on bikes per se. And that just gave me the idea to put them up on eBay.

I have every brand imaginable including some from my dad purchased I am sure in the 1930s. I still have and use a Husky brand 1/2 inch drive socket set and a Thorsen brand ratchet I bought at the hardware store in 1958. Since these are fractional-inch sockets it does not have a 10mm socket to lose.

But just the other day I found a Craftsman brand 3/8" drive 1/2" socket on the floor of my shop. Great! Except I don't have a 3/8" drive Craftsman set that I know of. I need to look in a couple of tool bags I keep in vehicles to see if there are Craftsman sockets in any of them.

mcmxcivrs said:

There are quite a few tools still in my collection however that have not seen use in decades as their purpose has become obsolete except for perhaps a rare vintage auto.

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Starter crank refurbishing tool? Rumble seat emergency opening lever?

Why I am missing my 7mm socket from my 1/4" drive set I have no idea. I have a few Ultra Pro from NAPA with lifetime warranty socket sets and they have worked very well for me for many years. I think I bought my first one in '93.

It is sad

It is sad for many of us who grew up using Craftsman tools either as I did with my father or in my early mechanics career to see the depths to which they have fallen. St.

STEVENRANKIN said:

It is sad for many of us who grew up using Craftsman tools either as I did with my father or in my early mechanics career to see the depths to which they have fallen. St.

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Look at the “abuse” the lifetime guarantee cost them.
OM

I have a collection of many tools Craftsman and Kobolt, WG Grants, a couple of Snap-On, a set of S-K 1/2 inch sockets and, heaven help me, Harbor Freight. I can recall two times that a hand tool has failed; Craftsman socket and a Kobalt 1/4 inch ratchet. I've never felt that the quality of my tools was limiting me in any way. There are plenty of other limitations, but not the tools.

BC1100S said:

Starter crank refurbishing tool? Rumble seat emergency opening lever?

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Not quite that far back, but if you need to adjust the bands in an early 60s Chrysler transmission, I've got the tool for that. Or perhaps you need to set the ignition points with a dwell meter; got that and the wrenches for most domestic brands of distributor clamp bolts to set the timing afterwards. Or maybe the clutch head screwdriver for a Holley carburetor.

Dodge 318 distributor clamp nut wrench.....yup- got one
OM

I have that gadget for balancing airhead carbs, nope I haven't tried using it yet.

Brake tools

Anybody need a collection of drum brake adjust tools? Or how about a set of brake line flaring tools? To be honest, just about every standard inch tool I have is almost useless to me, as just about everything I work on now is Metric.

Any tool that does the job without further damage is the right tool for the job.

Some people as I was told in another post take pride they can have their bikes worked on. I take pride I can work on my bikes, and like the sign on my tool box says, "I own the best, don't ask to borrow".

I learned from working experience cheap tools cost more. I am jaded because at the time, I wasn't working on one or two cars a year or even a month but a whole lot more.

Perhaps now I might not need the Snap On tools, I don't know, I know I have them and they have never let me down. When it comes time to get rid of them, I will be lucky like a lot of guys I know to get a fraction of what they cost new.

I know the buggers who stole my dad's tools did, The collection and quality of the tools he had from many of the name brands back then were head and shoulders above the replacements he got from the same companies after trying to buy replacements. Caught between the money paid out by insurance as well as the decline in quality of some of the brand names and the high cost of similar quality tools to what he lost, he ended up with nothing much to keep working.

What each person has in their tool box is their business, I am NOT going to throw rocks at someone because they have Snap ON, or Harbor Freight. St.