Tools which delight and satisfy, every time you use them

[Jurek]

I've just been doing some gardening (unheard of, for me) lopping some branches from a neighbour's overhanging hedge using a Fiskars lopper which will happily nibble its way through green wood 25mm Ø and more... given sufficient welly.
Very satisfying to use.

Unless I'm mistaken, we don't have a thread to cover the above title.
So here goes...  Paging Kim of The Oscilliscopes, and Brucey, and Bobb, and Wobblyjohn et al

Mitutoyo digital verniers - it is satisfying to know you've measured it correctly.

Mitutoyo mechanical verniers - I've ground away a bit of one jaw, to make them work like odd-leg callipers. Very useful for marking out.


Any tool I've made myself.
This'll include (amongst many others) specifically profiled cutting tools to achieve a particular cut on a lathe.
Formers for scilicon moulds, when I've been casting multiples of a job.
Formers for sand casting, when I've been casting in brass or other alloys.
Tools for specific tasks - like removing / replacing the pin of the ratchet mechanism of Sidi shoe fastener.

Moore & Wright automatic centre punch Excellent for centre punching. Even better for achieving consistent punching when using lettering / numbering stamps.

Lindstrom box jointed pliers / cutters. Before I die, I'd really like someone to explain to me how these are made. Is it witchcraft?

Riffler files. Likewise.

I'll probably add to this in time. My list is probably a long one.
I'm interested to hear of any other contributions.

[Brucey]

Lindstrom box-joints in pliers are (I think) made the same way many surgical tools are made. It is almost witchcraft.   When at a temperature sufficient for hot work, the female part (which is already ground to size) is opened up sufficient to allow the male part ( which is similarly already ground to size) to be inserted.

 Once the male part is inserted, the female part is quickly squashed back to its original shape, a rivet is added, and any fettling of the joint closures is made. With box joints in non-stainless, non-surgical instruments, you can see that the hinge parts were assembled and worked whilst hot, because those faces remain with a black oxide finish. With surgical instruments all those faces have to be cleaned up too, else the surface is too good a germ trap.

I guess the tool which is most satisfying to use is a tool I have built for servicing shimano freehubs (and most other types which are laid out similarly).  It has a replaceable drive dogs (in case of damage, wear, or design variations), an additional  neat design feature that means the tool cams out if only one dog engages, and a central bolt that ensures that the tool is securely engaged when necessary.

 It also acts as a workstand for the wheel/hub when adjusting the shims, such that with most types of freehub body, you can't drop the tiny 1/8" balls into the hubshell. When not in use, the tool is used for storage of spare shims, and other special tools for removing/resetting dustcaps etc.   I've done hundreds of freehub bodies with it and the time taken to design and make the tool was certainly not wasted.

cheers

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

My 18 inch Harris 'Victory' broom



You just can't get anything that good in France.  Hardly surprising it is called the 'Victory'.

I expect it to last a lifetime.

[David Martin]

My 18 inch Harris 'Victory' broom



You just can't get anything that good in France.  Hardly surprising it is called the 'Victory'.

I expect it to last a lifetime.

It should do, just get new handles and heads as required.

[ACyclingRooster]

Hi Jurek. My late father went into engineering after he was de-mobbed having been in The RASC during WW2 in the Middle East as a Driver/Chauffeur Mechanic and was with the 170th Field Ambulance Company,he was also attached to a Water Company.
Indeed I still have his Eclipse Automatic Center Punch and a fine tool it is to this day.
My youngest brother now deceased laid claim to most if not all of his other tools,many of them he had fashioned/made or modified himself.
After he was demobbed he worked for Jack Gee at Geemanco Engineering,Speke,Liverpool and used to ride to work every day,some 8/9 miles on an old Raleigh Flat bar with 3spd Sturmey Archer gears and hub dynamo - rain,hail,snow or sun cracking the flags.

[The French Tandem]

Mitutoyo mechanical verniers - I've ground away a bit of one jaw, to make them work like odd-leg callipers. Very useful for marking out.

I used to love this kind of verniers, until my ageing eyes started preventing me from reading them correctly 

[drossall]

I guess the tool which is most satisfying to use is a tool I have built for servicing shimano freehubs (and most other types which are laid out similarly).

This thread is useless without photographs.

[Aunt Maud]

I'm a big fan of carpentry hand tools and am particularly enchanted by a set of Mathieson gothic sash moulding planes and coping templates that I bought off ebay last year. Getting a whole matching set is as rare as a rare thing and they are lovely to use for the mouldings on the windows I'm making for the crumbly pile.

I'd post a photo, but I don't have a hosting account which works.

[hubner]

Cable cutters, as they cut inner cables with no effort; I don't use them for outers.
Grease gun, a few pumps and fresh grease goes into hubs etc without having to take anything apart.

But I hardly ever change cables, so I don't use my cutters all that much.
I don't use the grease gun that much either, which reminds me I should, maybe every few months or so.

[Brucey]

I guess the tool which is most satisfying to use is a tool I have built for servicing shimano freehubs (and most other types which are laid out similarly).

This thread is useless without photographs.

the dustcap tools and the spare shim stack are not shown

cheers

[bobb]

I often sharpen the fuck out of the irons of my collection of planes, ranging from 60 year old Stanleys to 150 year old wooden coffin planes. Then just take some random piece of scrap and work it down to nothing, just for the hell of it 

[fruitcake]

Certain track pumps. The chunky ones that offer virtually no resistance, and leave you feeling you inflated your tyre using the power of magic.

[DuncanM]

This thing is my favourite tool:
https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/metal-shears-ps70-134494-p/
It's magic - you mark out the line of the sheet steel you want to cut, and then you slide the steel through it and hey presto - your shape is now cut out.

[Efrogwr]

Maybe this should be in the Pencil Fetish thread, but as i'm an artist, it' a tool... the Platinum Pressman mechanical pencil. It's intended for writing Kanji quickly, so it's also very suitable for drawing.

[Efrogwr]

I often sharpen the fuck out of the irons of my collection of planes, ranging from 60 year old Stanleys to 150 year old wooden coffin planes. Then just take some random piece of scrap and work it down to nothing, just for the hell of it 

Japanese carpenters sometimes have planing competitions...

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Not a tool which I possess. However I once visited the lovely traditional hardware shop in London's Marylebone
http://www.pentonshardware.co.uk/
On the counter they had a simple wooden handled screwdriver. Costing 45 pounds. I was told it was designed by a cabinetmaker when he could not get exactly the screwdiver he wanted. The tool was a joy to hold and I was severely tempted...
http://www.pentonshardware.co.uk/product.php?cat_id=1&id=50

Just look.. is that not a thing of beauty?

[Aunt Maud]

Oooh! a kindred spirit.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4110/screwdrivers

I confess to owning most of them having a screwdriver fetish.

[drossall]

Anything with Campagnolo on?

[zigzag]

i haven't come across a tool that is truly outstanding yet; my criteria would be ergonomically shaped, be simple to use/operate, built with high precision, shouldn't rust or need maintenance. surgical and dental tools are a pretty good example.

[Brucey]

Anything with Campagnolo on?

yes



cheers

[Polar Bear]

I love the NBT2 though I've only ever used it in the field on other people's bikes!   Simple and ingenious for Shimano equipped tourists everywhere.

[mike]

Not a tool which I possess. However I once visited the lovely traditional hardware shop in London's Marylebone
http://www.pentonshardware.co.uk/

damn, I didnt realise they have a shop.. that could get expensive.  I have the adjustable spanner they're selling and it's just perfect - there's no play in the adjustment, it has sharp edges, it doesnt slip open, good weight, great handle... There isnt anything I'd change.

[rogerzilla]

A headset cup remover.  It goes in with a satisfying click and then you get to whack it with a big mallet.  You can't really do any damage, however hard you hit it, and then the cup flies out.

[drossall]

Anything with Campagnolo on?

yes

cheers

I've got one of those

[Chris N]

Not a tool which I possess. However I once visited the lovely traditional hardware shop in London's Marylebone
http://www.pentonshardware.co.uk/

damn, I didnt realise they have a shop.. that could get expensive.  I have the adjustable spanner they're selling and it's just perfect - there's no play in the adjustment, it has sharp edges, it doesnt slip open, good weight, great handle... There isnt anything I'd change.

I have the 4, 8 and 12 inch versions.   I'd buy the 6 and 10 inch ones too (and maybe the 15 and 18 as well) but I'll probably get a Knipex Pliers Wrench instead.

My favourite tool that gets regular use is the Bahco 2058/S26 1/4" hex ratchet set:


Other stuff that doesn't get used as often: I've got a Mitutoyo digital micrometer that is just amazing, and a Noga dial indicator arm that's great fun to play with but serves no real purpose in my current tool setup.