Inexpensive, Yet Indispensable Tools Survey

[Guest John Chapman]

Before I get started, I suggest reading Matt's latest <span style="font-style: italic">Spinning My Tires </span> at http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/index.html

At a loss as to what to tell folks when asked what you need for a holiday or special occasion gift? How about a little survey:

Most useful tool you have that cost under US$5

Most useful tool you have that cost under US$10

Let's eliminate 'common' tools like screwdrivers, pliers and such, unless they are a unique design that is of particular merit.

My picks:

Under US$5:

-steel picks and hooks from NAPA discount table. Useful for removing tight fitting parts, reaching stuck washers, etc

-carpet knife or linolium knife: Useful for cutting tough material and cardboard and safer than a utiltiy knife

-magnet on telescoping handle.

-inspection mirror

-foxtail brush

-whisk broom and dust pan

-disposable nylon bristle paint brushes

-acid brushes

-small brass wire brush

-aluminum ice trays (you can toss the cube maker...) great for small part cleaning

-zip lock freezer bags

Under US$10:

-Lineman's pliers

-magnetic parts dish

-bundles of shop rags (don't let these into the laundry unless you like everything a shade of pink... I speak from expernince.... )

-utiltiy saw handle... will hold hacksaw, riciprocating saw and utiltiy saw blades... great for tight spots

-battery powered circut tester

-mechanics gloves

-100 ct box of disposable latex gloves (non-latex is available (the purple ones) if you're latex sensitive. Keeps us office poges presentable without scrubbing to the bone....

OK... who's got more?

JMC

[rocketraider]

Under 10 bux?

1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" drive wobble extensions. Often found only on cheap tool counters, but Sears has Companion brand for $9.99.

Also crowsfoot line wrenches. Northern Tools usually has 'em SAE and metric for about $9.99 for a set of 10.

Under 5 bux? A bulb socket cleaning brush, and a distributor cap terminal cleaning brush. I get these from a tool vendor who sets up next to the big tree near the grandstand at Spring Carlisle. K-D, Lisle, good name brand specialty tools, cheap.

The stuff may not be Snap-On, or even Craftsman, but I can promise they are indispensable tools and will do what you bought them for.

Which reminds me- the Homier Tools truck is in town this weekend! Time for another $20 bench grinder to replace the one I bought from them 15 years ago!

The most useless tool I own at any price has to be a spark plug wire boot puller. I've never gotten one to do what it was claimed to do.

[Bill Stoneberg]

For under 10 bucks you can buy a good impact wrench. I am talking about the ones you hit with a hammer to loosen screws, not air tools.

I also have fallen in love with a Craftsman tool that will unscrew stripped screws. About 20 bucks for a set of 4 but comes in handy when taking apart 50 year old wood screws.

You can never go wrong with a flourecent trouble light either.

Purple gloves, do they taste like grapes ? My dentist uses those too.

[Guest Albert]

Under $5 Safety glasses, work gloves

Under $10 Hammer, bigger hammer ,sledge hammer ,pry bars, propane torch and JB weld (when it breaks, oops!)

[Guest John Chapman]

Bill.... if your dentist uses them, one would figure that you know what they taste like.... eh?

[rtabish]

i am a very cheap bastard, the tools i like the best are the ones i make myself or get for next to nothing. coat hangers, old leather belts, plummers tape, any yard-sale suprise, old speaker magnets, cast-off kitchen utensils and pots or pans can all be made into great tools, especially when you are on an old back road in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. but if you arn't the type to fab your own stuff in a pinch, i would say, in no particular order, a BFH, a roofers pry bar, duct tape [thanks, red green!], a leatherman type tool, a GOOD cordless drill, a P-38, a cresent wrench,vice grips, C-clamps of various sizes,red or green handle cutters, bungie cords....probably my very favorite all-time "tool" is an old pocket knife i found under the back seat of an old car i bought back a long time ago. the cork screw proved very handy on many occasions! can you top that?

[Dave@Moon]

Tools that were essentially free:

A aluminum fork with one tang bent into a 1/4" hook, the rest bent over into a handle of sorts. Better than any tool I know for removing door handle clips and other recessed "C" clips.

Baby nasal aspirator. This thing's kind of like a turkey baster bulb with a very narrow point, great for brake fluid reservior draining prior to bleeding brakes.

Dental picks. Dentists only use their picks for so long, and them send them out to be reground. They'll often part with old ones for nothing, as it costs them about as much as the toothbrush you get at the cleaning anyway. These things can retrieve and clean anything!

Old speaker with large magnet. Ever try to find a lost nut in a gravel driveway?

Cheap tools:

Spring loaded clinch wrench. Sears sells a set of these for about $10, but 10 or 20 years ago I bought a couple for $1 at a swap meet. These things will break a nut that is perfectly round.

Tie rod end seperator. I bought this took from J.C.Whitney for $8 about 10 years ago. It's a fork shaped clamp-like thing that screws tight to the tie rod. You can go nuts torqueing it down until the tie rod is seperated, or just tighten it down and hit the tool lightly with a hammer. Either way the tie rod is seperated with damage to the rubber boot.

Spark plug wire/boot pullers. You can't have to many different kinds; every plug seems to need it's own.

The magnet on a bendable stalk. What, you've never dropped anything?

Mechanic's stethescope. About $10, you'd be amazed how much they can hear in different places down there.

[Guest]

spent shell casings for gasket punches. They work GREAT! cost: free. .357 (or .38 or .380), 9mm, for a tight 3/8 hole. 12gauge for about a 3/4 hole. .22 for 1/4 and so-forth. Those of u that engage in a little target practice once in a while will usually find these laying around all over the yard, or around the house, office or shop. Don't throw them away. The brass casings seem to work the best.

[Guest]

Rubbers are great too for heater hoses that are temporarily disconnected, or any other kind of pipe or tubing u want to cap off from dirt or other contameneats. Usually find them laying around just about anywhere. They sure NOT good for anything else. on smaller applications u can still use a big one by tying a rubber band around it to close it up some for u light weights.

[Matt Harwood]

First, thanks for the kudos, John. Glad to see you're reading my stuff and enjoying it.

I love tools. One that I bought recently that has proven to be quite useful is a strap wrench. I picked it up at Home Depot or something for about $10, and basically it's a heavy-duty rubber strap with a handle and a locking mechanism. Wrap the strap around the part, tighten, and it's got a death-grip on the thing so you can unscrew, twist, or pull on it. Great for removing oil filters installed by the monkeys down at Jiffy-Lube, pulling exhaust pipes out from under the car, and I even used it as a handle for yanking off the wheels on my wife's car when the hubs had frozen to the rotors. I like.

Wire wheels are usually about $5 or so. I like the brass ones which don't hurt the metal.

Metal files. Get an assortment--they're pretty cheap, too.

Cut-off wheels for your Dremel/drill/angle grinder/die grinder.

Toothbrushes--great for cleaning little nooks and crannies!

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope this helps--this is a good idea for a thread!

[Dave@Moon]

Here's something that a member of our local British car club wrote for this month's newsletter:

[color:\\"brown\\"] Tool Identification Guide

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing tonneaus, soft tops, and leather upholstery kits.

HAND ELECTRIC DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes in fenders just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

PLIERS: An adjustable tool used to round off bolt heads.

CRESCENT WRENCH: See PLIERS

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to rapidly transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETELENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE BRUSH WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar string callouses in about the time it takes you to say, "Ouch...."

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: A device used for raising a vehicle off of the ground. When RAISING - The first stopping point will ALWAYS be 1/2 inch below the top of the Jack Stand. When LOWERING - The stopping point of the Jack will ALWAYS be 1/2 inch above the height needed to remove the Jack.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used as a long lever with crushable ends.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters caused by the above.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise or peanut butter. Used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

PUTTY KNIFE: A shorter and wider version of a GASKET SCRAPER(above). Who the heck uses putty anymore anyway ?

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known center punch or drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating the grease that has built up on a harmonic balancer.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and fuel lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used as a non-drifting drift to ALMOST align motor-mount holes. Can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Accurately called a "drop" light. It is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under automobiles at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 60-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading. Makes a tinkling sound and a whisp of smoke when splashed with radiator coolant.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 50 years ago by someone in Michigan or England and twists them off.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

TUBING CUTTER: A very accurate tool used to cut brake and fuel lines exactly 1/2 inch too short.

6-FOOT STEEL TAPE: A long slender steel ribbon with inch marks. Steel tapes ALWAYS break-away and bend downwards just before you reach the point to which you are measuring.

BEAM-TYPE TORQUE WRENCH: A long tool used for precisely tightening nuts and bolts. Chief characteristic of using = The handle will ALWAYS contact firewall or fender-well just BEFORE the required torque value is reached.

CLICK-TYPE TORQUE WRENCH: A long tool used for precisely tightening nuts and bolts. May also be used as a very accurate and expensive BREAKER BAR

BREAKER BAR: A long tool for loosening and tightning nuts and bolts. May substitute for TORQUE WRENCH. When used to tighten nuts and bolts, the rule of thumb is "Thighten Until It Strips - Then Back It Off 1/4 Turn".

FLASHLIGHT: A GREAT holder for dead batteries.

[Guest]

I love that tool definition list!

Great tools I've found:

A very small ball peen hammer--six inch handle and head only a few ounces. Great for when you're fingers aren't strong enough to get the job done, but something bigger will wreck the part. Make sure it has a solid handle, not the hollow tubes sold at the check-out register at Ace Hardware.

Tweezers with an attached magnifying glass, from Radio Shack. Pulled more metal slivers from my hands than I can count.

Cheap pack of assorted brushes: They look like tooth brushes; usually contain one nylon, one brass and one stainless, and are usually on the 99 cent table.

An engine oil pump primer made from a dead distributor--gut all the junk from the top (weights, etc.), and grind the teeth off the cam gear. Put in engine and spin with electric drill.

Compact hacksaw handle--holds half the blade in the handle, the business end of the blade hangs out in space--great for tight areas.

Mechanix fingers--like the magnet on the wand, only three fingers at the end to grab the part.

A real gem is inkjet printer refill tubes from Staples or Office Max. These look like little round accordians with a long needle tip. Great for precision oiling, like when you're drilling. Also perfect for adding oil to the generator and distributor.

Box of 100 razor blades.

Soldiering fingers: a heavy metal base with two poseable alligator clips to hold wires while soldiering ends to them. Radio Shack.

One of the absolute best, most-used tools I have are screwdriver-handled gasket scrapers. One's from MAC, the other Snap-On, but they're not expensive. I rounded the corners of the blade on one, so it won't dig into whatever I'm scraping. Mine have a one-inch wide blade on them. Think of all the times you've ever used a screwdriver to scrape something--these are for that, and are perfect for the job. You'll wonder how you lived without them.

On the same note, I've got a little 1.99 Craftsman 6-inch pry bar. It looks like a shrunken nail puller bar. Think of every time you've used a screwdriver to pry something: This is better, because the ends are wider than a screwdriver blade, and thinner.

A set of drifts. I have a huge assortment of them, mainly from swap meets, but Craftsman sells a good one for about $10 (which I used to start my set). Can't get a bolt hole lined up? These are for that. Again, you can't live without them.

Restaraunt sheet pans. $3 used from any restaraunt supply house. They're about 16x28, with a 1/2-inch raised, rolled lip, and are made of aluminum. Great for a million things, including drip pans.

Heavy duty rubber gloves for parts washing.

Heavy duty toilet bowl brush for parts washing. I've got one with stiff bristles, a twisted wire body and wooden handle from a restaraunt supply store. Didn't know they made those things in industrial grade!

Cheap white plastic cutting board. Great for backing up cutting tools, without dulling them.

Innexpensive gasket puch set, in it's own carry pouch. Not as cheap as the ammo shells, but usually around $10, and you'll never have to replace them. Use them on the above-mentioned cutting board.

Transfer punch set. Harbor Freight, Enco, any number of places carry them. used for drilling holes: Lay the part with the hole on the thing you want to bolt it to, select the correct sized punch, slide it into the part with the hole, whack it, and it puts a center punch divot in the part you have to drill, correctly located.

Rubber-Maid 10-gallon garbage can with lid, filled with a $5 bag of Absorb All. Never deal with torn bags spilling the stuff again.

Craftsman Handi-Cut Wire Cutter: This will effortlessly go through all the things that take chunks out of your regular side dykes/wire cutters.

Craftsman Handi-Cutter: the one with the bladed jaws. You'll never use anything else to cut rubber tubing. Don't know what else they're good for, but they're worth the price for a lifetime of perfectly square rubber hose cuts.

A little more than the $10 limit, but not by too much, is a machinists dial caliper I found with decimal and fractional increments on the dial. Usually dual read dials are in metric and decimal, or fraction and metric. Found it through Highland Hardware--a woodworker supply store (800-241-6748). Another great tool to have. Unless you've memorized your decimal/fractional equivelants.

Only ten days left!

-Brad

[rocketraider]

Dave@moon- how do you get the dagnab things to work? I have 3 or 4 different ones and all they ever seem to do is tear up the spark plug boots. One, shaped like pliers, has also been known to tear up my fingers when it slipped and pinched them in the handle.

Or has anyone else seen the Porky Pig outtake where he whacks his thumb with a hammer? Sonofabi-di-bit, sonofabi-di-bit, sonofabi-di-bit, gun! Then he sez "bet you thought I was gonna say SOB didn't ya?!" Killing me... Mel Blanc was truly a genius.

Now what did that have to do with tools?

[Robberbach]

If I don't have the tool for the job, I go next door to my brother in laws. He has a 28x32 garage that has stuff in it that would make a junk collector giggle. He usually just doesn't have one of them, but three or four, and he's willing to trade for anything. His name is Ed, and we call the place Ednards. Hopefullyone of these days he will get the inventory on line, same day that some place warm freezes over. A couple of years ago I helped him push a 30 Ford street rod project in there, I think its still there. My favorite tools are the necessity is the mother of invention tools. Hoping Santa brings you a new tool for Christmas.

[Guest]

Hey Robberbach,

Howdy! I grew up just down the road, in Niles, back when the holy stop for tools was your nearest Sears and Sawbuck store. My beloved grandpa had just about every tool Sears ever offered, either from the store or the catalog.

The catalog usually didn't quite last until the new one arrived every year 'cause it was always in the outhouse behind the chicken coop. Grandpa was rather cheap and didn't fancy to buying TP, so the catalog went fast!

But WOW! did Grandpa ever have the tools!! The one I really enjoyed using was the fence stretcher gizmo. Much more fun than the post hole digger. Had I put a notch on the handle for every hole I dug it would have greatly improved the grip! My other favorite was his big sledge hammer. Using that 10 pounder to drive steel stakes made me feel like a real he-man, ready to take on Charles Atlas.

Grandpa would never let me get near his 'lectric stuff, but one day when he wasn't around I cheated and hooked up the big charger to his '50 Studebaker to see if I could get it started. My reward for that gig was one fantastic tanning as a result of crossing the positive and negative wires, which resulted in exploding the battery. Since it was still IN the car, the whole motor was a mess, just like my fanny by the time he was finished.

To this day I can visualize that garage full of neat tools. Sure wish I had some of them.

Happy holidays,

Bob Leets

[Gene Brink]

Thank you, Dave Moon. As usual entertaining when you so intend. Lots of things already mentioned that I agree with but none of these (unless I missed something): Battery terminal cleaning and removing tools, small funnels, wooden clothes pins (numbered so you can attach to spark plug wires, etc. for identification), various plastic containers (personal favorites are film splicing tape boxes, Tucks jars and moistened wipes) that can be used to hold various small items (nuts, bolts, washers, etc) that one needs to carry in a tool box (as opposed to the multi-drawer chest like things for the workshop), various sized ACCO clips (you've probably seen them in offices - pretty stout things that do come in handy as mini-vises),old business cards (free, the company buys 'em for me and I never give all of them away - they are great for writing on and putting into the plastic bags one should have in their toolkit with small parts), a Sharpie (or other permanent marker), a muffin tin (great to keep small parts together) and a turkey baster.

[rmartens]

I've gotten quite fond of the webbing-type tie downs used for motorcycles or other light cargo. I prefer the cam type, not the racheting ones. Used one just the other day--upper bolt on my Dynaflow bellhousing. I could get a box end wrench on it, but had no room for my hand to torque the bolt loose. Put the hook end of the strap into the other end of the wrench, lined it up, and pulled steady. Worked great!

I've also used it on tight bolts that needed some hammer assistance. Used the strap to put tension on the wrench and hold it in position, then a light tap of the hammer popped it loose. Also used for holding one wrench when turning another. My third hand!

Not recommended, but have tied myself into trees for high level trimming with a pair of straps.

I notice many of us use toothbrushes for cleaning. Has anyone tried the $4 electric ones? I'm tempted...

[rtabish]

sorry guys, my girlfriend made me do this. butterknife!

[Guest John Chapman]

Bump....

Three more days... make sure Santa has some ideas...

Any more cheap goodies?

JMC

[Guest Reatta1]

Not exactly in the tool category but, empty instant coffee jars, sans label, with the lids attached to the underside of a shelf will hold anything and everything you desire, screws, nuts, bolts, washers, o-rings, keepers etc. ad-infinitum. Can see at a glance what's in em too. Several sizes available. Serve the coffee to your favorite in-law or out-law?