Useless tools.

[padgett]

In short since we no longer have Craftsman (now at Ace) or Penncraft tools with lifetime guarantees & periodic catalogs to drool over and many cannot afford Snap-On, HF and Amazon are pretty much what is left. And like JC Whitney (Washawski to westerners) you have to be very careful what you buy (never saw a 3/4 size replica of a tire iron before). At least with HF stores everywhere (three within 5 miles of my home) you can at least look at what you are buying.

 

As to old wrenches, if one end breaks I cut off and make a stubby out of the good end, every now and again one is handy.

[Marty Roth]

17 hours ago, AURktman said:

In all seriousness, I've never gotten a stud finder to work.  I just use my knuckles to find the stud and hope I hit the center.  

 

My wife USED to say that the STUD FINDER always pointed to ME-

Of course that way many years ago ...

[Marty Roth]

47 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

 

If the flex hose is long enough you can lie the gun on the floor, hold the hose tight to the Zerk, and press the handle down with your free hand. That is not an armchair observation.

 

Been there - done that too many times,

and between arthritis and trigger finger, it doesn't get any easier.

[TAKerry]

32 minutes ago, SC38DLS said:

I hope everyone knows to stay away from HF jack stands!!!!

Some other things are OK from their store, just be picky what you get. 

I dont like jack stands period. I think I have 8 or 10 of them. WHEN I use them always double of triple them up. No hf models.

 

I had a screw driver with a broken tip, kinda made a v shape. That has become my go to tool when removing spot welds on sheet metal. Has become a very handy tool!

[Brass is Best]

I have a full set of left handed screw drivers...

[TAKerry]

I suppose they're for putting the screws back in after the rights have taken them out?

[60FlatTop]

When they built our Harbor Freight store they put eight handicap parking spaces right across from the door. I guess they were expecting return customers.

[joe_padavano]

1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said:

 

If the flex hose is long enough you can lie the gun on the floor, hold the hose tight to the Zerk, and press the handle down with your free hand. That is not an armchair observation.

 

That's exactly how I do it, which is why I can appreciate the battery powered option. 😉

[Grimy]

1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said:

 

If the flex hose is long enough you can lie the gun on the floor, hold the hose tight to the Zerk, and press the handle down with your free hand. That is not an armchair observation.

That's 'cause you work on semi-modern stuff, Bernie.  I'd need a 2-foot flex hose on the old iron due to more ground clearance.  So the grease gun body is often braced against my chest while I hold the hose on with one hand and work the handle with the other.  Come on, guys, admit you do that too!  🙂

[ericmac]

19 hours ago, AURktman said:

In all seriousness, I've never gotten a stud finder to work.  I just use my knuckles to find the stud and hope I hit the center.  

Me either,  though the walls are pretty thick here in prison. 

[JamesR]

I've always been of the opinion that electric can openers were pretty useless. Unless you work in an institutional kitchen and open 100 or more cans of food every day. Or you're handicapped.

 

Not all manual can openers are created equal, however. We have one that's very good - it has a sharp blade that slices open the very top edge of the side of the can, not the top. It's worked perfectly without sharpening for probably 10-15 years. Takes no longer to use than an electric unit AND fits in a drawer.

 

To me, the idea of an electric can opener is akin to Steve Martin's comic line about owning a gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. 😄 And yet I think a lot of folks have electric can openers.

[zepher]

Electric can openers aren't totally useless if you have cats.

Just start the can opener and the sound will have every cat in the house right at your feet meowing like crazy in seconds.

[zipdang]

I was let down by the self-help book "Double your IQ or no money back."* But seriously, I have purchased a book or two that ended up only being good for levelling tables.

 

*Tip of the hat to Gary Larson.

[padgett]

Have some openers but cat food has pop tops.

[rocketraider]

That's the gourmet stuff. The stuff in little bitty overpriced tins.

 

Ours were always fine with whatever brand was on sale that week, dry or wet. One developed a dislike for dry Little Friskies, and another had a thing for vie-eeners (vienna sausage) but the cats ate well. Too well as they lost interest in mouse control.

 

I was trying to check out at the grocery a few weeks back and somehow managed to get behind a guy who had half a cart full of the gourmet cat food cans. They were on sale and guess he was stocking up. Asked the teenage cashier how many cans the guy bought and he said "I quit counting at 80".

 

🐈

[Billy Kingsley]

I originally read the thread title as "useless fools" and wondered what I had missed. Then I read a little closer. 

 

 

[Peter Gariepy]

I'm pushing 60 and live alone.  Useless tools come with the territory

[Bush Mechanic]

3 hours ago, JamesR said:

 

Quote

To me, the idea of an electric can opener is akin to Steve Martin's comic line about owning a gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. 😄 And yet I think a lot of folks have electric can openers.

 

Mad comic's strip about useless tools and presents. The 'Chrome plated swizzle stick' has stuck in my head for 60+ years.  It was right on the money, as usual. Right up there with 'home knitted yoghurt'.

 

The exhaust tube expander which burst on the first application could be my worst useless tool, but it has some stiff competition from the arc welder attchment suposedly used for spot welding from one side of the metal. Brilliant for burning holes in sheet metal.

Edited January 15, 2021 by Bush Mechanic
structure (see edit history)

[Mikefit]

I'm still trying to find a auto store that sells Blinker fluid ( my blinkers are you working really slow hopefully that's all that's wrong) 

[padgett]

[Morgansdad]

3 hours ago, JamesR said:

I've always been of the opinion that electric can openers were pretty useless. Unless you work in an institutional kitchen and open 100 or more cans of food every day. Or you're handicapped.

 

Not all manual can openers are created equal, however. We have one that's very good - it has a sharp blade that slices open the very top edge of the side of the can, not the top. It's worked perfectly without sharpening for probably 10-15 years. Takes no longer to use than an electric unit AND fits in a drawer.

 

To me, the idea of an electric can opener is akin to Steve Martin's comic line about owning a gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. 😄 And yet I think a lot of folks have electric can openers.

I still have my P38 can opener from my Army days. Use it all the time. (especially when I forget that I have an electric can opener)

[TAKerry]

I had a p38 my brother gave me, long lost. Had forgotten all about it until just now.

[Tom Boehm]

By far, my vote for the most useless tool are those reverse spiral screw extractors. They are supposed to remove the stub when a bolt or screw breaks in the hole. I have never had one of those work. If a bolt is stuck enough to break off, those tools do not put enough force to unstick them either. They either slip or break off also. 

[AURktman]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:49 AM, Ronnie said:

 

You can probably pickup a stud finder at your local bar that will work. Cost varies depending on the options you want. 🤣

I quit doing that at the end of my Army days (late 90’s) as most had too much “rust” and other issues.  

[46 woodie]

My friend was joking around about "metric hammers" and looked at me like I was crazy when I told him that there was such a thing. We bet $1.00 (big spenders) and I showed him a website called "Dieter Schmid Fine Tools". They sell Japanese, metric hammers, that are a work of art.

[gungeey]

[pkhammer]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:48 AM, Uncle_Buck said:

I find the 18 volt cordless hammer my go-to tool and it was 20% off with the Harbor Freight ‘cupin’ ... !!

 

  I have not laughed this hard for months! Thanks Uncle Buck!

[rocketraider]

1 hour ago, gungeey said:

So that's where my dang ratchet went!

 

I have tool-eating cars. But they're finicky. Like Padgett's pooseygatos, they only eat the good stuff, not the cheapies.

[auburnseeker]

On 1/14/2021 at 7:08 PM, dictator27 said:

Would a battery powered grease gun qualify?

You might laugh at those until you own a piece of equipment or two and use a whole tube of grease each time,  then you say,  I can't believe I never had one of these before.

[AURktman]

3 hours ago, gungeey said:

I'm impressed!  That socket must be sitting dead even on the points rotated and wedged.  That's easily 40-50k miles.  

[Larry Schramm]

8 hours ago, gungeey said:

 

Now I've seen a lot, but that is a new one.

[Restorer32]

Guy came into Dad's tire shop in 1968 or so complaining of an out of balance tire on the rear of his Caddy. After trying unsuccessfully to balance the tire I dismounted it and found a 14" crescent wrench between the tube and tire.

[JFranklin]

2 hours ago, Restorer32 said:

 After trying unsuccessfully to balance the tire I dismounted it and found a 14" crescent wrench between the tube and tire.

Back when you could buy decent tubes!