modern tools - Dose anybody else think it's not quite to use a gear wrench when working on a vintage vehicle?

[Buick35]

Dose anybody else think it's not quite to use a gear wrench when working on a vintage vehicle? Lord forbid a metric socket.

[1937hd45]

TIG welds bother you?

[Frank DuVal]

Well, if it has metric hardware it is OK.

[Bhigdog]

All my tools are period correct for whatever car i,m working on as is my dress. Can,t be too correct in a restoration you know.

As an aside: i,ve been trying to get gear wrench to replace a defective box wrench for the better part of a year now. Nothing but excuses, covid, supply chain, blah blah blah. Buy some other brand..... bob

[Shootey]

What’s a gear wrench, a Crescent wrench?

[rocketraider]

Best of both worlds! Metric GearWrench!😃I have a couple sets of these things but I'd much rather grab one of my old Wizard, S-K or other pre-1980 tools. 

[Rusty_OToole]

Like a Scotch golfer I will use whatever club gets me out of the rough but it will be an old one because that is the only kind I have.

[TAKerry]

I am an avid woodworker, and build period furniture reproductions. There is a certain segment in that group of people that insist on using hand tools only. I will admit that for some purposes a hand tool is much easier, quieter, relaxing, lets you feel the work, etc. But I would bet a dollar that if an electric tablesaw was available to the Townsends they would have used it!

 

This thread has similarities. 

[Guest]

 If you don't have a 1/2' wrench to work on your model T, use a 13mm, the car won't know the difference.

😈

[Barney Eaton]

I use whatever will do the job (but avoid crescent and pipe wrenches) 

Still have a few of my dad's tools (born in 1903)  and my Craftsman tools purchased in 1959. 

Don't knock modern tools that save your knuckles and speed up the job. 

Most recent purchase... battery powered impact wrench. 

[NailheadBob]

I use my battery powered impact wrench's and ratchet's more than the air powered ones now, my latest is a battery powered impact 1/4" drive.

 

Bob

[Bhigdog]

2 hours ago, TAKerry said:

I am an avid woodworker, and build period furniture reproductions. There is a certain segment in that group of people that insist on using hand tools only. I will admit that for some purposes a hand tool is much easier, quieter, relaxing, lets you feel the work, etc. But I would bet a dollar that if an electric tablesaw was available to the Townsends they would have used it!

Roger that.

Here's a few pix of a Gerstner type tool box I recently made to hold my more precision auto and machine shop tools. Made from a curly cherry wind fall I had sawed up 20 years ago. Secondary woods are maple and poplar. Also old wind falls.

The only hand powered tools that touched it were a screw driver and a sanding block.

Tradition be damned..............Bob

[46 woodie]

So if I'm restoring an 1800's house, I should not use power tools? Use whatever tool will get you the best finished product.

[RansomEli]

Although some of my tools are 90+ years old, I rely on my Milwaukee battery-powered tools.

 

I couldn't live without my Milwaukee electric grease gun.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NailheadBob said:

I use my battery powered impact wrench's and ratchet's more than the air powered ones now, my latest is a battery powered impact 1/4" drive.

 

Bob

 The only air tool that I use now is my high speed die grinder and my DA

[Dandy Dave]

I'm old and mostly crabby. My tools are also old. A lot of them are well used, and some even abused at some point in the past. Most I aquired used so they fit the old stuff I work on perfectly. If you had to work with them, you would be crabby too. When I feel well enough, I will venture out into the world and fix the seemingly impossible to repair to most of the civilized world at times. Most that see my shop and know my tallent think I have a shop to die for. That is as good as it gets around here. Dandy Dave. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[Skvitt]

Why limit yourselves to mechanical tools only? Use abacus for calculations if you work on early 1900s cars, and Commodore 64 for 80s cars 😁 

[avgwarhawk]

I use Gearwrench.  They are ok.  Broke one.  It was replaced.   I do have all of my Snap-on wrenches I purchased 40 years ago.  I just finished paying them off.  Great tools honestly.  Never a problem with Snap-on wrenches. 

[30DodgePanel]

2 hours ago, Roger Walling said:

 If you don't have a 1/2' wrench to work on your model T, use a 13mm, the car won't know the difference.

😈

 

God forbid we're headed to snowflake disclaimers next:

"Restored with vintage and antique tools made in America, some imported Chinese hand tools, , some from Germany, some from our friendly hosers in the great white north, some from south of the border, but none from the middle east due to low production and availability. Some parts were treated nice, some were abused, but overall, we have no partiality to any said parts or tools that were ever used throughout this project"

[DonMicheletti]

You'd be cheating to use a torque wrench on head bolts - 9" wrench only (from many manuals)

[31 LaSalle]

2 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

Roger that.

Here's a few pix of a Gerstner type tool box I recently made to hold my more precision auto and machine shop tools. Made from a curly cherry wind fall I had sawed up 20 years ago. Secondary woods are maple and poplar. Also old wind falls.

The only hand powered tools that touched it were a screw driver and a sanding block.

Tradition be damned..............Bob

lovely craftsmanship and wood

looks to nice to put tools in

[JACK M]

7 minutes ago, 31 LaSalle said:

looks to nice to put tools in

Thats what I was thinking.

[Bhigdog]

1 hour ago, 31 LaSalle said:

lovely craftsmanship and wood

looks to nice to put tools in

Calipers, micrometers, indicators, jewelers screwdrivers, jewelers pliers/cutters, set of ignition wrenches, eye loupes, scribes, pin punches, tweezer sets, etc etc etc. Nothing heavy or greasy. All the delicate stuff you hate to throw in with the pipe wrenches and hammers. I've made a number of them from different woods. Most ended up as jewelry boxes. One of my sons holds his fly tieing  and gun smith stuff....bob

[8E45E]

15 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

All my tools are period correct for whatever car i,m working on as is my dress. Can,t be too correct in a restoration you know.

As an aside: i,ve been trying to get gear wrench to replace a defective box wrench for the better part of a year now. Nothing but excuses, covid, supply chain, blah blah blah. Buy some other brand..... bob

I hope you used a fountain pen to write up the work order!!

 

Craig

[Bhigdog]

On 8/11/2022 at 2:42 PM, 8E45E said:

I hope you used a fountain pen to write up the work order!!

 

Craig

1937 Parker Vacuumatic fountain pen. This one produced the first quarter of 1937. I use it to make notes when I'm working on my 39 JC pick up....😉...........Bob

Edited August 19, 2022 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[30DodgePanel]

1 hour ago, Bhigdog said:

Calipers, micrometers, indicators, jewelers screwdrivers, jewelers pliers/cutters, set of ignition wrenches, eye loupes, scribes, pin punches, tweezer sets, etc etc etc. Nothing heavy or greasy. All the delicate stuff you hate to throw in with the pipe wrenches and hammers. I've made a number of them from different woods. Most ended up as jewelry boxes. One of my sons holds his fly tieing  and gun smith stuff....bob

Are you taking orders? 

I'd like one in dark cherry for the color  

I agree with the others... beautiful work and love the wood selection. 

 

BTW @ Mods... it's Does not Dose  

Edited August 11, 2022 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

15 minutes ago, 30DodgePanel said:

I'd like one in dark cherry for the color  

Viola............As you wish..........

I don't sell them I usually just give them away........................Bob

[Mark Gregush]

14 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Like a Scotch golfer I will use whatever club gets me out of the rough but it will be an old one because that is the only kind I have.

You should see my clubs! LOL They are in the back of the 20 Dodge bound with packing tape Now where did the golf ball roll to?

Oh as to the question; the only time I worry about era tools is if they were made for a particular job, otherwise, whatever is handy. 

[Barney Eaton]

Mr Beck that is a beautiful masterpiece.   The quality of the construction and on top of that you used out of the ordinary woods. 

If I had something like that it would be out of place on my workbench.    Stunning!

[rocketraider]

I wish I had the talent to make a chest like that. 

 

Me Grandpa Buckner was known as one of the finest finish carpenters in this county. The grandson didn't inherit that gift, nor the tools.

 

But, to grandson's credit, the grandfather had no mechanical talent!

[Bhigdog]

52 minutes ago, Barney Eaton said:

Mr Beck that is a beautiful masterpiece.   The quality of the construction and on top of that you used out of the ordinary woods. 

If I had something like that it would be out of place on my workbench.    Stunning!

Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Eaton.

I'm hoping this thread won't be deemed OT but it does deal with our tools, and exacting wood work is very much a part of old cars.

Much like a restoration I spend much of my time selecting and fitting for the best overall presentation.

The boards for the curly cherry box were laying in my wood pile, rough cut and covered with dust, for over 20 years. Like a barn find I had pretty much forgotten about them. One day I was re-arranging one of the piles and ran one of the cherry boards through the planer just to see what it looked like. In the rough cut state wood grain is pretty much hidden. I was floored when I saw the grain.

I wasn't planning to make another tool box but the wood was so out standing I had to make sure it didn't end up as fire wood.

There were only about 8 boards of varying lengths and widths, nothing over 7" wide. There was very little to spare. I spent a whole day trying to figure out the grain pattern, marking with chalk and working around knots and defects so that it could all be brought together so that the grain pattern and sizes available was workable. So many times a knot or crack would be in exactly the wrong place forcing a re -shuffle of the boards and pattern.

The case, or carcass, is the easiest part. As long as every thing is spot on square every thing else will fit. I don't cut all the parts to size first and then assemble. I do the case first and then every thing else is cut and hand fit to the case as I go along. That way I can make good any minor errors.

The drawers are the next to be made and fit. The drawer sides are made so they are near the correct sliding fit but the face is made a tight fit in it's opening. Each drawer is then sanded to the correct fit and  with even margins both to the case and each other. It's easier than it sounds. But just as in a car, the panel margins and spacing is everything. If even one is off it will stick out. Each drawer is numbered to fit in it's correct opening.

The top is next and is made slightly larger than the case to allow for any slight out of squareness. The top and case are then clamped together and the sides of the top are sanded flush to the case for a perfect fit.

The front panel is the last piece to be made and is a fussy fit to the case. The margins must be perfect and it has to slide smoothly into the case and under the bottom drawer.

I also make the knobs and all the bits and pieces of hardware that make it all work but are not readily visible.

If this post is deemed to be OT, uninteresting, or out of order just vaporize it. Cheers.............Bob

 

 

 

[rocketraider]

The post discusses tools. It discusses relationship between skilled woodworking and framing old cars' wooden body structure using tools. The wood craftsman's tools can also make dashboards and window frames for high end American and European luxury cars. I don't see anything OT or uninteresting.

 

Old is old, eh?

[Frank DuVal]

13mm and 1/2" are off by .0118". Not a good fit. Sure it works in a pinch, but can round easy.

8mm and 5/16" are only off by .0025, the wrenches can be swapped and you never know the difference. 

11mm and 7/16" are only off by .0044, again wrenches can be swapped with no issue, typically.

7mm and 9/32" are only off by .0057", I use a 9/32 socket all the time for working on modern GM cars with those 7mm head screws under the dash or on door trim.

 

10mm, no way no how nothing swaps with that one!😡

 

Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches do have fine teeth, so they come in handy for tight spaces. Way better than the old clunky versions* or the earlier Craftsman** style with about 12 teeth.

 

I am tried of buying new battery operated tools when the batteries go extinct on the old battery operated tools. Sure, I keep my Makita 12 volt tools working by putting new cells into the old pods, but that's it. I have some Snap-On battery operated tools that are now junk. Same with earlier Milwaukee tools. So much for buying the best is a great idea! Pneumatic tool still working fine after 40 years. Even some of the Harbor Freight ones....

 

 

[Bloo]

2 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

11mm and 7/16" are only off by .0044, again wrenches can be swapped with no issue, typically.

Hardly ever, in my experience, but 13mm and 1/2" swap just fine. I can't explain that, but there it is.

[prewarnut]

10 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Eaton.

I'm hoping this thread won't be deemed OT but it does deal with our tools, and exacting wood work is very much a part of old cars.

Much like a restoration I spend much of my time selecting and fitting for the best overall presentation.

The boards for the curly cherry box were laying in my wood pile, rough cut and covered with dust, for over 20 years.

 

 

 

  I scored an original from an online auction which is filled with thousands of dollars of micrometers, calipers, run-out gauges, measuring blocks, etc from a retired Douglas aircraft inspector. It is so heavy the top's leather handle won't take the weight. Needless to say I was happy and do use the tools for different projects from time to time. I think one more key to your success is the use of old wood. If one goes down to the lumber yard and tries to construct this it will freeze up in one season. As it is my front somehow sticks and the finger hole doesn't give me enough power to open it usually so if I close it shut I need a razor blade to pry it back open (I try not to do that too much).

   (To stay on topic I exclusively use my grandfather's socket wrench from the '50s when working on cars. I don't know the brand but you know it is quality when you drop it.) I think with tools the tool is adopted to the "hand" not the item being worked on.

   Anyhow well done!!!!

[hook]

On 8/10/2022 at 10:42 PM, Frank DuVal said:

Well, if it has metric hardware it is OK.

Unless the car has pipe thread spark plugs, all cars have metric threads. SPARK PLUGS haha

[SC38dls]

16 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

Viola............As you wish..........

I don't sell them I usually just give them away........................Bob

Can I get on your Christmas list? 
dave s 

[stretch cab]

I love my Craftsman tools and they are my go to items but when I grab whatever out of their assigned drawer, I also grab my grandfather's ballpeen hammer with the cracked handle.  I know it is weird but Grandpa is always helping me even if he has been gone for way to long.  Wear my dad's hat when doing yard work.  Yeah, I'm sentimental to the extreme!

 

 

[rocketraider]

8 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches do have fine teeth, so they come in handy for tight spaces. Way better than the old clunky versions* or the earlier Craftsman** style with about 12 teeth.

 

I am tried of buying new battery operated tools when the batteries go extinct on the old battery operated tools. Sure, I keep my Makita 12 volt tools working by putting new cells into the old pods, but that's it. I have some Snap-On battery operated tools that are now junk. Same with earlier Milwaukee tools. So much for buying the best is a great idea! Pneumatic tool still working fine after 40 years. Even some of the Harbor Freight ones....

 

 

At least those old clunky originals like that Klein can be reversed. I think newer production GearWrench can be reversed; original ones you have to take the wrench off the nut/bolt and flip it over. That's an aggravation when trying to get the clumsy enlarged ratchet heads into tight spots. But these do have their place.

 

Battery tools. IDK if it's planned obsolescence or battery technology is moving ever faster, but I too get frustrated with replacement battery support. Or I should say lack of it. 

[rocketraider]

22 hours ago, RansomEli said:

Although some of my tools are 90+ years old, I rely on my Milwaukee battery-powered tools.

 

I couldn't live without my Milwaukee electric grease gun.

We had both Milwaukee and Lincolns at the powerplant. We also had a young mechanic who loved when he got assigned the lube PM route because he got to play with the battery grease guns. He'd grease anything in sight or that would hold still long enough.

 

Kid was also a little quick with a hammer working on stuff, to point he picked up the nickname "Bamm-Bamm".

 

He liked old tractors and heavy duty trucks.