Confessions of a tool junkie

[Jurek]

As we are a cycling forum no thread about tools should be without a mention of Abbey Tools www.abbeybiketools.com

I particularly like their Crombie Tool and when I win the lottery I'll buy one of their dishing gauges...

They're ideal for doing little bits on your bike when you have one of your yachts moored in Monaco.

[Little Jim]

  and the Ti versions will not go rusty with the salt in the air while on your yacht.  But in all seriousness I am very impressed with how well the Crombie tool works, it's a really good fit in the lockring and is easier to use than the Park Tools socket with a ratchet handle as there is no play whatsoever when you are holding it as well as being lighter.

[rogerzilla]

The fork die I bought recently (used once by its original owner) has paid for itself by

1. Cleaning the skanky threads on the Merckx fork
2. Enabling me to sell an otherwise useless 26tpi fork (with long steerer) by cutting off the 26tpi bit and threading it for 24tpi.  It makes beautiful threads and my fussiest alloy headset race goes on smoothly.  It was quite a fun job, and requires a fair bit of welly even with lashings of cutting oil.

Bike-specific dies cost a bomb but this appears to have the correct thread profile and came from a general tools factor.

[robgul]

I lashed out £10 on a Gumtree purchase of a scroll-saw (a.k.a. electric fretwork machine if you did school woodwork in the same era as me) - pretty much in as new condition with retail at about £160 - I have had to buy some blades though.

[Valiant]

I have a thing for Elu routers. I have 6 of them. Of the same model (MOF96). There's just something about them.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

This fits SOO well with YACF memes   https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/1294555754586931204

[T42]

This fits SOO well with YACF memes   https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/1294555754586931204

The super glue is missing.

[Mr Larrington]

This fits SOO well with YACF memes   https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/1294555754586931204

The super glue is missing.

And the cable ties.

[hatler]

And the hammer.

[Chris N]

NOW it's a yacf meme.  A bunch of know-it-alls pointing out what's wrong with a joke. 

[canny colin]

My Vessel 220w-3 Screwdriver set has just arrived from Yokohama . 3 interchangeable double ended bits . 6mm slotted/ no 2 Jis   , no 1 Jis / No 3 Jis , No 2 pozy / No 3 pozy  . I tell you it's dead lush. I am so smitten I have ordered another one. For £ 12.00 off Ebay you canny fall off .

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

My Vessel 220w-3 Screwdriver set has just arrived from Yokohama . 3 interchangeable double ended bits . 6mm slotted/ no 2 Jis   , no 1 Jis / No 3 Jis , No 2 pozy / No 3 pozy  . I tell you it's dead lush. I am so smitten I have ordered another one. For £ 12.00 off Ebay you canny fall off .

Thanks for the tip(!)
Ordered one.  It's worth it just for the bits

Henry Phillips invented and patented the Phillips® design in 1936. The Phillips® design was a great solution for the automobile production lines since it was designed to “cam-out” after a certain torque was reached to prevent over-tightening of the screw. Another advantage over the use of flat head screws was that the Phillips® self-centering design allowed operators to engage the tip of the driver into the screw head very quickly and easily.
Japanese engineers developed their own cross-point design similar to that of the Phillips®. The Japanese cross-point drivers also have the self-centering and quick tool and screw engagement, however the “JIS” (Japanese Industrial Standard) design allowed torque and over-tightening to be controlled by the operator and not at the head of the screw. This key difference is why Phillips screwdrivers cannot properly engage "JIS” (Japanese Industrial Standard) screws.

[T42]

NOW it's a yacf meme.  A bunch of know-it-alls pointing out what's wrong with a joke. 

And a cludge.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

And the hammer.

Isn't WD40 a chemical hammer?

[jsabine]

NOW it's a yacf meme.  A bunch of know-it-alls pointing out what's wrong with a joke. 

And a cludge.

Better than a cludgie.

[Gattopardo]

I have a thing for Elu routers. I have 6 of them. Of the same model (MOF96). There's just something about them.

Do we need to have an intervention?

[Gattopardo]

My Vessel 220w-3 Screwdriver set has just arrived from Yokohama . 3 interchangeable double ended bits . 6mm slotted/ no 2 Jis   , no 1 Jis / No 3 Jis , No 2 pozy / No 3 pozy  . I tell you it's dead lush. I am so smitten I have ordered another one. For £ 12.00 off Ebay you canny fall off .

Just for the JIS and vessel that is good.

My machine mart JIS screwdrivers weren't much less, but they don't sell them any more.

[robgul]

Got a bit of a deal on a spindle/bobbin sander for the woodwork section of my workshop . . . it's either handheld or clamps to the bench.

AND being a bit old skool with some of my tool using habits I discovered that you can get a converter for a Yankee (a.k.a. spiral ratchet or pump) screwdriver to take modern screwdriver bits - https://www.axminstertools.com/hex-bit-adaptor-for-yankee-srewdrivers-7mm-9-32-504596?qty=1  - and only 6 quid.  It's in my basket ready for when I place my next order with Axminster Tools.  [I have 3 Yankee screwdrivers  ]

[pcolbeck]

I have one of those adaptors for a Yankee screwdriver. Got it along with a Yankee for £2 at a car boots sale
I was helping with a datacentre move last weekend and one of the guys brought a big Yankee with an adaptor. It was brilliant for screwing kit into racks where the rails are mounted well back and its awkward to get in with a normal screwdriver.

[robgul]

I have one of those adaptors for a Yankee screwdriver. Got it along with a Yankee for £2 at a car boots sale
I was helping with a datacentre move last weekend and one of the guys brought a big Yankee with an adaptor. It was brilliant for screwing kit into racks where the rails are mounted well back and its awkward to get in with a normal screwdriver.

Exactly - the long version is just the job for that situation - that's the one I'm getting the adapter for . . . the other two are the "regular" version which I really just keep for reasons of nostalgia with one I bought in 1969 and the other that came from my late father-in-law which is probably late 1950s/early 1960s.

I also picked up a couple of squares last week - one is a Record, the other a wooden/brass Footprint - oh, and a long Stanley Surform rasp.  I was out on the bike and a chap was having a yard sale - tricky riding home with them in my jersey back pocket!

[ScumOfTheRoad]

I need some tool advice. This may not be the correct thread.
I need to cut a what looks like a stainless steel pipe to length. (This is a support bar in a shower)
I bought a rotary pipe cutter from Screwfix which worked fine - up to the poitn I discovered the stainless pipe is too thick.
A junior hacksaw is doing nothing to it. Next step is a cutting disc I assume,
I have a big bosch  mains powered drill and a smaller Silverline battery powered drill.
Looking for advice on using a cutting disk with either of these. Waht do I buy and what do I mount the disc on?

[Ham]

having grooved it with the pipe cutter, your best bet is to finish the job with a hacksaw, or lay your hands on a better pipe cutter.

( I assume you didn't buy this one https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-record-handicutter-15-45mm-manual-multi-material-pipe-cutter/84140)

[Valiant]

I need some tool advice. This may not be the correct thread.
I need to cut a what looks like a stainless steel pipe to length. (This is a support bar in a shower)
I bought a rotary pipe cutter from Screwfix which worked fine - up to the poitn I discovered the stainless pipe is too thick.
A junior hacksaw is doing nothing to it. Next step is a cutting disc I assume,
I have a big bosch  mains powered drill and a smaller Silverline battery powered drill.
Looking for advice on using a cutting disk with either of these. Waht do I buy and what do I mount the disc on?

Happy to put it through my mitre saw if you can get to E14?

[ScumOfTheRoad]

( I assume you didn't buy this one https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-record-handicutter-15-45mm-manual-multi-material-pipe-cutter/84140)

I bought this pipe cutter. It worked perfectly.
To the point I discovered the cutting wheel is too small and will not cut into a thick walled pipe.

[robgul]

I need some tool advice. This may not be the correct thread.
I need to cut a what looks like a stainless steel pipe to length. (This is a support bar in a shower)
I bought a rotary pipe cutter from Screwfix which worked fine - up to the poitn I discovered the stainless pipe is too thick.
A junior hacksaw is doing nothing to it. Next step is a cutting disc I assume,
I have a big bosch  mains powered drill and a smaller Silverline battery powered drill.
Looking for advice on using a cutting disk with either of these. Waht do I buy and what do I mount the disc on?

I wouldn't attempt to use a cutting disc on a drill - a) you'll probably bugger up the cut, b) it's dangerous - the disc fits to an arbor which is like a drill bit and goes in the chuck - but don't do it!!         A cutting disc in an angle grinder would do the job safely.

Best option is a full-size hacksaw, with the tube held in a vice.    If you have a friendly LBS they will have a special clamp for tubes that has an aligment slot for the hacksaw blade to slide in - for cutting fork steerers square to length - a polite word and they might cut your tube for you.   

If you're anywhere near me I have the clamp and saw.