Tools you waited too long to acquire

[MrWhoopee]

Surface grinder. I wasn't sure I would use it that much, but at $400, no larger than my radial-arm saw and less than 50 miles from home, I couldn't pass it up. I slap something on it almost daily, even if it's not needed.

Insulated coveralls. No way to justify heated floor, these things are the bomb!

 

[Susquatch]

worked in my shop for almost 10 yrs before finally getting my infloor heat on, had I known how sweet that was going to be, laying on the floor working on vehicles, and the floor being warm??

I view heated floors the same way I view Florida. Too far away to care what the temperature is way down there. If I have to get down on the floor to work on something, there is a very good chance it won't ever get done.

Every 3 or 4 years, I forget to raise my planter when backing up. That totally plugs up the disk openers and seed drop tubes. No choice but to get down on your back on the dirt and pick away all the dirt and rocks. It's a 4 hour punishment for a one second lapse of attention. I really should install an alarm of some kind. A few hours of picking dirt and rocks that way and you don't mind harvesting rocks the usual way!

Heated floor? Never gunna happen in my lifetime.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

The joy of heated floors isn't just for laying on. Standing and working on it is immediately noticeable in your feet, your legs, knees etc. SOooo much more enjoyable to work on over a cold concrete slab over the course of a day. The radiating heat also keeps machines and tools at a more stable temp than the wild swings from forced air burners, or overhead radiant. For the relatively low cost of tubing and insulation it would be worth anybody to consider adding to a slab during new construction. At least you'd have the option during build out, vs wishing you had it later on down the line.

 

[Chicken lights]

Nut drivers. Not the 1/4" drive you stick a socket on. Real nut drivers

8 point sockets. You can beat them on with a hammer and use an impact (yes they're chrome )

Pneumatic coolant filler

Extra long rad hose pick

Snap on 1/4" drive bit ratchet (way better than blue point)

Tap follower

 

[djberta]

Hydraulic crimper for aviation cable. Works slick.

 

[slow-poke]

Nut drivers. Not the 1/4" drive you stick a socket on. Real nut drivers

For my birthday when I was about 15, I asked for nut drivers and was rewarded with the color coded Xcelite set. I have been using them ever since, great set.

More recently I picked up a Wera metric set.

No tool junkie should be without

 

[Chicken lights]

For my birthday when I was about 15, I asked for nut drivers and was rewarded with the color coded Xcelite set. I have been using them ever since, great set.

More recently I picked up a Wera metric set.

No tool junkie should be without

I was helping a friend change a mill in a Monte, was so mad using a flat head screwdriver on hose clamps. But then I got to use a regular wrench on header bolts after that.

It's like the old saying you need to slam your fingers in a door long enough to be angry enough to do the job ahead

 

[Susquatch]

was so mad using a flat head screwdriver on hose clamps

I used a flat screwdriver for too many years too. Once in a while I also used a socket and ratchet wrench. Then I bought a cheap set of nut drivers. One day I noticed that I'd been leaving the 1/4 inch and 5/16 nut drivers in the same drawer as my hose clamps. So I bought a few more individual nut drivers to put in with the clamps and put the other two back with the rest of their set.

Today, when I have to wrestle with hose clamps, I get the right nut driver before I even start the job.

So ya, nut drivers are on my list of tools I waited to long to acquire too.

 

[Chicken lights]

I used a flat screwdriver for too many years too. Once in a while I also used a socket and ratchet wrench. Then I bought a cheap set of nut drivers. One day I noticed that I'd been leaving the 1/4 inch and 5/16 nut drivers in the same drawer as my hose clamps. So I bought a few more individual nut drivers to put in with the clamps and put the other two back with the rest of their set.

Today, when I have to wrestle with hose clamps, I get the right nut driver before I even start the job.

So ya, nut drivers are on my list of tools I waited to long to acquire too.

I did the radiator in the big truck last year, for forum friendly language, somebody who was closely related to their partner to procreate with resulting in more close relative connections, used 11 different kinds of hose clamps for every single hose. 7 different wrench or socket combinations needed to pull it apart. At $15 a hose clamp it hurt a bit replacing most of them but it is what it was

 

[6.5 Fan]

I have a nice 5/16 nut driver with a flex shaft, awesome tool for those hose clamps that some jackass put in a bad spot.

 

[grease monkey]

need an excuse to buy the milwaukee quick change weed trimmer? I bought one last year, with the trimmer head and the chain saw pole extension, wifey wasnt too pleased about that, till this year she wanted a small garden weasel to work the soil in her flower beds, so I bought the mini tiller attachment for my weed eater power head.... she was rather pleased about that!! any excuse to buy tools AND please the missus is a win win for me!

 

[Dan Dubeau]

That reminds me, I need to buy another intermediate splined shaft to make an adapter for my Makita battery trimmer to use my Stihl Square shank heads.......I'm not rebuying everything, but I LOVE the battery power vs my old Fs110. Each have their place, but the battery is my go-to for most stuff.

I guess I could cut the spline, but last I checked the shaft was only $35. They just didn't have any in stock last fall.

 

[ChazzC]

I used a flat screwdriver for too many years too. Once in a while I also used a socket and ratchet wrench. Then I bought a cheap set of nut drivers. One day I noticed that I'd been leaving the 1/4 inch and 5/16 nut drivers in the same drawer as my hose clamps. So I bought a few more individual nut drivers to put in with the clamps and put the other two back with the rest of their set.

Today, when I have to wrestle with hose clamps, I get the right nut driver before I even start the job.

So ya, nut drivers are on my list of tools I waited to long to acquire too.

Craftsman: regular in the top drawer, stubby in the second drawer (30+ years old, so vintage?).

 

[Gippeto]

I think by far the most useful tool I've added is a 3d printer. Patterns for the foundry, holding fixtures for the mill, rubber (TPU) parts that are fuel resistant (carb bowl gaskets/seals) and so much more. Used to think a cnc was a "Let's make that!" machine, and it is....the 3d printer is just "more so".

 

[BMW Rider]

View attachment 64741
Craftsman: regular in the top drawer, stubby in the second drawer (30+ years old, so vintage?).

Practically new. I have the same ones, now over 40 years old. They don't look quite a clean as yours, they've seen a lot of use.

 

[slow-poke]

View attachment 64741
Craftsman: regular in the top drawer, stubby in the second drawer (30+ years old, so vintage?).

Looking good. I like the color coding.

Do the craftsman have the deep hollow shafts?

Both the Xcelite and Wera do.

I have seen some brands with either short hollows, or magnetic ends that prevent running the nut down what is often a long screw. Deep hollow is a must for my type of use.

 

[ChazzC]

Practically new. I have the same ones, now over 40 years old. They don't look quite a clean as yours, they've seen a lot of use.

Most of my usage has been on electronics gear (plus, well, they’re mine )

Looking good. I like the color coding.

Do the craftsman have the deep hollow shafts?

Both the Xcelite and Wera do.

I have seen some brands with either short hollows, or magnetic ends that prevent running the nut down what is often a long screw. Deep hollow is a must for my type of use.

Yes, deep and reasonably large ID; I picked up a cheap set at HF a couple of years ago that had hollow shafts, but the ID’s weren’t big enough for the threaded shafts that “matched” the normal nuts so back they went.

 

[BMW Rider]

My set is used mostly in auto and motorcycle repair, hence their far less pristine appearance. They were part of the full set of Craftsman tools I got when I first started my apprenticeship as a mechanic right out of high school.