The power of the right tool

I have a recently divorced female friend (total MILF, but I'm done dating women with kids) who is cobbling together one mower out of two. After many of her other friends (including her boyfriend the supposed diesel mechanic-clearly a loser) couldn't get the blade off the good engine she called me. I fired up the compressor and grabbed a trade-in Craftsman impact from the used bin. NOPE! went back to the tool truck and grabbed my loaner CAT4150 and it came right off. She was amazed. To me it was routine.

The point I'm trying to make is whether you buy my product or something similar make sure it is up to the job at hand. Plenty on here have said they don't want to pay for an expensive proper tool because they won't use it much. My answer is if you buy the right tool, you'll FIND uses for it and use it more than you thought. Therefore making the purchase more worthwhile.

I've had a few revelations like this. The first time I used an impact driver instead of a drill to drive screws comes to mind.

There are few things more frustrating than a tool that won't do the job it was sold to do. Its why I always tell people they can own as many flat wrenches as they want, as long as there is one set of Snap Ons in the pile somewhere.

I have a lot of tools but knowing what I need and when has saved me a lot of money on things that sit around waiting for a damsel in distress.

The right tool for that job went unattended to after you got her nut off. Right? You could have had no tools and a beer and been just as successful.

Now, pics of the milf or ban.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I have a lot of tools but knowing what I need and when has saved me a lot of money on things that sit around waiting for a damsel in distress. The right tool for that job went unattended to after you got her nut off. Right? You could have had no tools and a beer and been just as successful. Now, pics of the milf or ban.

Quoted for that last part lol. And something about the right tool

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I have a lot of tools but knowing what I need and when has saved me a lot of money on things that sit around

WRONG! You can never have too many tools.If a tool will make my job easier/better/faster NOW I'll buy it and have it ready for the next time. That time could be five years from now, but I like knowing it's in my box ready to go.

How ofter do I weld? Once or twice a year, maybe, for about a week tops. Do I have a welder? Damn skippy I do. It has paid for itself ten times over just by not having to travel and pay people for a five minute job. Lots of guys here would buy a welder for the same reason, but not exhaust hanger pliers , which I use much more and saves much cursing and throwing of prybars and regular pliers not suited to the job at hand.

I just don't get it.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: My answer is if you buy the right tool, you'll FIND uses for it and use it more than you thought. Therefore making the purchase more worthwhile.

Agreed, though my Snap-On guy seems frustrated that I break the screwdriver tips off of my perfectly good prybars...

Sounds like the way I waste money on car parts. Eventually I'll have a use for them. Not today... but maybe in a few years. Until then, I'm totally ready.

Just realize it's a mental problem and not normal behavior to own a meat saw in case one-day you want cold cuts.

What kind of gorilla put that blade on, that you needed 1200 ft-lbs to remove it?

He left out the part where he realised it was left-hand-thread after hammering it with the impact for a couple minutes.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Sounds like the way I waste money on car parts. Eventually I'll have a use for them. Not today... but maybe in a few years. Until then, I'm totally ready. Just realize it's a mental problem and not normal behavior to own a meat saw in case one-day you want cold cuts.

How else are you supposed to feed a cat?

Trans_Maro wrote: He left out the part where he realised it was left-hand-thread after hammering it with the impact for a couple minutes.

Nope. Same gun broke one of those clean off for a neighbor that neglected to mention that fact. Opps. At least it was a free edger he was trying to fix.

all this above is true, including the pics or ban request. however, top of the line isnt ALWAYS the right tool for the job. those sonic multitool things, the ones labeled under almost every power tool brand out there, for anywhere from $60 -$130? yeah, the $44 harbor freight one actually works BETTER. i had a dremel version, it went back. chuck came off. i had a porter cable. it went back. lock screw stripped after three blade changes. i now have a HF. ive used every blade 4 times, they are all worn out, i need new blades, actually, and the tool is great. best scraper you will ever use, btw. no real force, just turn on, and push gently. i love that stupid thing. all for 1/3rd the big brand money.

i do not own a single snap on wrench, by the way, the handles are too skinny. i have to wrap them with a rag to turn them. screw that.

-J0N

I learned the value of having the proper tool when I borrowed my neighbor's axle roll pin tool to do the starboard side of DD#1's Impreza. Port side was no problem with a center punch and needle nose. Starboard side was all up above the exhaust and there was no way anything I had was going to get it out, let alone put it back.

I have a buddy that gives me grief every time he sees me get one of my specialized tools out of my box. He calls me Tim the Tool Man Taylor and such. Then one day he was telling me how he tackled the timing belt on his car himself. A big job for a guy with no formal training and/or experience. I was impressed. He told me how a particular part kicked his butt and I said "oh, you should have called me. I'd have run this over to you, it would have helped." He looked at the tool and immediately knew it would have saved him a LOT of time and hassle. He said he'd stop teasing my about my tools.

Trans_Maro wrote: He left out the part where he realised it was left-hand-thread after hammering it with the impact for a couple minutes.

First thing I thought... LH thread and everyone else was tightening it. The special tool the 1st guy needed was his thinking cap.

Two times that the right tool has saved me:

• My air impact took the front axle nut off of our Honda Odyssey when my HF electric impact had no effect
• My impact screwdriver was a godsend for the crazy screws that Honda uses to hold on their brake rotors

dj06482 wrote: - My impact screwdriver was a godsend for the crazy screws that Honda uses to hold on their brake rotors

I bought my impact screwdriver specifically for this purpose. At least on BMWs they are allen heads.

Duke wrote:

dj06482 wrote: - My impact screwdriver was a godsend for the crazy screws that Honda uses to hold on their brake rotors

I bought my impact screwdriver *specifically for* this purpose. At least on BMWs they are allen heads.

I actually bought mine for the brake rotors, as well. Thankfully I read the DIY online before starting that project.

That brings up a good point, I usually read the DIY thread(s) before starting any project. Even something that should be simple may have some nuances that others have picked up. I also try to contribute by creating DIY threads where none exist.

So I'd have the say the other "tool" that has saved me has been internet forums (especially this one).

Yep, like Dr Boost, I have a box full of all sorts of specialized car tools. Most are rarely used, but when I need them a ton of time can be saved.

Some years ago I was at Carlisle and stumbled upon a well-used set of Snap-on 3/8dr universal deep sockets for $100 (well over $300 from the truck/website). I bought them immediately. A fellow Volvo friend marveled at spending $100 on a used set of 7 sockets, but I knew they'd save my ass (or at least some time) eventually.

Some 6 months or so later, I was removing the right side LCA bracket on the ex's Spitfire. The stud was too long so a standard socket or iniversal socket wouldn't fit. My deep sockets were too long and the wrench hit the oil pan. A standard box wrench would have taken hours... But the Snap-On deep universal was just right.

dj06482 wrote: Two times that the right tool has saved me: - My air impact took the front axle nut off of our Honda Odyssey when my HF electric impact had no effect - My impact screwdriver was a godsend for the crazy screws that Honda uses to hold on their brake rotors

-breaker bar with 10' extension … (no shop air here at home)

-and since I was replacing the rotors, and didn't have an impact screwdriver with me, I just too a BFH to to the rotor … inside and out side until the screw loosened … now I never put the screw in in the first place .. the wheels hold the rotors in place just fine

speaking about the power of the right tool........

I've now had the Motive power brake bleeder for about 6 years.... the poly hoses the system uses have begun to decay... While using it to bleed a Volvo V70's brakes, the hose began to leak. I had to trim the hose to remove cracked, and cracking bits.

and more on subject.... a long time ago I owned an Audi 4000... Long story short... axle hub nut broke 1 "cheap" 1/2 impact, 2 breaker bars - (one Snap-on). I called a mobile mechanic, $45 later and he hit it with a 1" impact and it came off like nobodies business.

Ian F wrote: Yep, like Dr Boost, I have a box full of all sorts of specialized car tools. Most are rarely used, but when I need them a ton of time can be saved. Some years ago I was at Carlisle and stumbled upon a well-used set of Snap-on 3/8dr universal deep sockets for $100 (well over $300 from the truck/website). I bought them immediately. A fellow Volvo friend marveled at spending $100 on a used set of 7 sockets, but I knew they'd save my ass (or at least some time) eventually. Some 6 months or so later, I was removing the right side LCA bracket on the ex's Spitfire. The stud was too long so a standard socket or iniversal socket wouldn't fit. My deep sockets were too long and the wrench hit the oil pan. A standard box wrench would have taken hours... But the Snap-On deep universal was just right.

Nice score! Were those the universal-joint style, or the ball-joint style? I've come to really love the ball-joint flex sockets. I've had one too many u-joint sockets fly apart and send shrapnel flying in every direction.

The mention of the JIS hardware and fasteners was a revelation to me. I have a note to pick some JIS tools up the next time we make an Amazon order.

Having the right tool is a great thing, but there is always a balance between having the tool and affording things like tires.

So I had to rip out my old tub and put in a new one. I went to the garage on various occasions and got the following:

Basin Wrench
8-Pound Sledgehammer
2-Pound Sledgehammer
Oscillating Multi Tool
Large Channel Locks
Small Channel Locks
Closet Snake
Pry Bar
Cordless Drill
Cordless Driver
Reciprocating Saw

And that was just for Demo and prep. I love having the right tool for the job, close at hand.