Confessions of a tool junkie

[pcolbeck]

Everyone needs a prodder. You know a nice bug screwdriver for prodding stuff you really don't want to touch yourself as its either very dirty or too close to dangerous whirly bits.

Can I add a few thousand volts worth of insulation to that specification?  (DAHIKT)

Believe it or not that is actually the 40s/50s version of a VDE screwdriver. The yellow washer is supposed to insulate the handle from the shaft. Don't think I would trust it though.

[spesh]

Everyone needs a prodder. You know a nice bug screwdriver for prodding stuff you really don't want to touch yourself as its either very dirty or too close to dangerous whirly bits.

Can I add a few thousand volts worth of insulation to that specification?  (DAHIKT)

A sparky's screwdriver sparks joy because it ensures you don't spark?

[Kim]

Believe it or not that is actually the 40s/50s version of a VDE screwdriver. The yellow washer is supposed to insulate the handle from the shaft. Don't think I would trust it though.

Got to love stuff that pre-dates safety 

[Gattopardo]

We want pics !

My police officer niece has advised me that if I did this I'd most definitely run the risk of being arrested.
Going equipped.
To mow lawns.

ETA - Am I alone in thinking that it is a bit bizarre that it is possible to pick up a Bosch electric lawn mower, for 2/3s of the cost of  a scythe?

Get the strimer the scythe will cause you much physical pain after about 5-10 minutes that lasts for a few days.... Don't ask how I know but you can guess.

[Cudzoziemiec]

JBB otp is the person to ask about scything.

[Mrs Pingu]

Pcolbeck, how did you reprofile the end? We've got a screwdriver a bit like that but the end is more like a hill shape now...

[pcolbeck]

Pcolbeck, how did you reprofile the end? We've got a screwdriver a bit like that but the end is more like a hill shape now...

I stuck it in a vice and used a metal file on it. Then smoothed it out a bit with some 240 and 800 grit wet and dry paper. The 800 grit was overkill but there was a bit of it lying around on the bench. The file was a second cut but you could just as well us a bastard file, would just take a bit more work with the wet and dry to clean it up after.

[Jurek]

What's keeping the spirit level on the wall ? - I thought maybe magnets, but spirit levels are usually ally bodied.

Also, could you please tidy up the screwdrivers a bit. So that their specifications are all facing the same way.
Thank you.

[pcolbeck]

What's keeping the spirit level on the wall ? - I thought maybe magnets, but spirit levels are usually ally bodied.

Its a Stanley FatMax - it has magnets in the base.

Also, could you please tidy up the screwdrivers a bit. So that their specifications are all facing the same way.
Thank you.

They spin round of their own accord when the bench grinder/polisher is running. I really need to balance the wire wheel, everything on the bench vibrates and I have to clamp the grinder down or it walks all over bench.

[robgul]

On the subject of old tools I have a collection of screwdrivers, awls, hammers, spanners and more that either I have acquired over the past 50 years or my late father-in law (he was a woodwork teacher) acquired over about the past 75 years.

They're surplus to requirements and I'm looking to sell them (as a job lot) - if anyone's interested drop me a PM and I'll tip them out on the floor and take some pictures - they're all in an ex-military 1950s ammo box at the moment - that's possibly due to go too.

Rob

[andytheflyer]

Pcolbeck, how did you reprofile the end? We've got a screwdriver a bit like that but the end is more like a hill shape now...

Flat blade screwdrivers need regular re-profiling if they get a lot of use.  Otherwise they cam out of the screw slot and mangle the screw head.  Then the problems start........

I don't go quite as far as pcolbeck and use wet and dry, but then I only have one claw hammer....

(I'll see your claw hammers, and raise you several sets of Whitworth spanners and sockets though....  And a well-used framing square that was my dad's and could have been his dad's too......)

[pcolbeck]

For German tool fans these were just delivered this morning:

Knipex Cobra pipe wrench:



The only slip joint type type spanner that doesn't make you scream. Loads of adjustment and it stays adjusted plus you can turn it with one hand and the more pressure you put on it with one hand the harder it grips. After installing some new taps which ended up with redoing quite a bit of the plumbing under the sink last week I chucked all my slip joint pipe wrenches except one ancient pair of Cobras out of sheer frustration about how useless they were.

Knipex Pliers Wrench:

Same principle as the Cobra's but with smooth jaws that stay parallel so you can work on nuts without rounding or damaging them. The harder you squeeze the harder they grip due to the cam action.



And look these are the "mini" versions, tiny and cute!



Perfect for a mobile toolkit or small spaces and will still cope with things up to about 35mm for the Cobras and 25mm for the Pliers Wrench. and you get a pouch.

[Kim]

Knipex pliers: The best quality wrong tool for the job.   

[pcolbeck]

Spent yesterday at my late Fathers house sorting through the garage. It was quite emotional sorting out all the tools on the workbench I remember from being a kid and that I dismantled and repaired my first motorbike engine on (the Paramo vice is coming home with me next time I go). A lifetime of little draws full of bits and bobs and screws that might come in useful.  Brought home the good stuff, 70s Britool spanners and a nice Draper Japan  1/4 socket set (he gave me his lovely Britool socket socket sets when he decided he was never going to do his own car repairs again several years ago). A lovely Eclipse drift set still in its 60s plastic pouch was a bit of a star find. Chucking stuff in the "for the tip" box was hard. The carpenters tool box that he bought on HP full of basic tools when he and my mum first got married in 1965 came back with me and will get a makeover.
I also found some stuff that I have no recollection of that I think he inherited from my great uncle. Some nice German stuff and then I found the full set of Gedore metric spanners in a bag. Then hang on I though these look a bit rough, closer inspection very very rough. Pulled one fully out of the bag and under the light, oh "Gedore India". They really were nasty. In the tip box they went. I wonder why a company with such a great reputation for high quality tools lent its brand name to an Indian subsidiary banging out cheap rubbish?

[hatler]

Spent yesterday at my late Fathers house sorting through the garage. It was quite emotional sorting out all the tools on the workbench I remember from being a kid and that I dismantled and repaired my first motorbike engine on (the Paramo vice is coming home with me next time I go). A lifetime of little draws full of bits and bobs and screws that might come in useful.  Brought home the good stuff, 70s Britool spanners and a nice Draper Japan  1/4 socket set (he gave me his lovely Britool socket socket sets when he decided he was never going to do his own car repairs again several years ago). A lovely Eclipse drift set still in its 60s plastic pouch was a bit of a star find. Chucking stuff in the "for the tip" box was hard. The carpenters tool box that he bought on HP fll of basic tools when he and my mum first got married in 1965 came back with me and will get a makeover.
I also found some stuff that I have no recollection of that I think he inherited from my great uncle. Some nice German stuff and then I found the full set of Gedore metric spanners in a bag. Then hang on I though these look a bit rough, closer inspection very very rough. Pulled one fully out of the bag and under the light, oh "Gedore India". They really were nasty. In the tip box they went. I wonder why a company with such a great reputation for high quality tools lent its brand name to an Indian subsidiary banging out cheap rubbish?

When my father passed away my brother and I had a couple of weekends clearing the house and garage. Much of the garage contents went to the tip, but I retrieved a garage full (mine) of his stuff. It sat there untouched for about four years until I was laid off. "Aha", I thought, "I'll sort that stuff out."  Four months later ...

And yes, there were a lot of tools.

Then my father-in-law passed away, his father and grandfather both ran engineering companies (and both used to have an exhibit in the marine engineering section of the Science Museum). Sorting out those tools was a gargantuan task.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Spent yesterday at my late Fathers house sorting through the garage. It was quite emotional sorting out all the tools on the workbench I remember from being a kid and that I dismantled and repaired my first motorbike engine on (the Paramo vice is coming home with me next time I go). A lifetime of little draws full of bits and bobs and screws that might come in useful.  Brought home the good stuff, 70s Britool spanners and a nice Draper Japan  1/4 socket set (he gave me his lovely Britool socket socket sets when he decided he was never going to do his own car repairs again several years ago). A lovely Eclipse drift set still in its 60s plastic pouch was a bit of a star find. Chucking stuff in the "for the tip" box was hard. The carpenters tool box that he bought on HP fll of basic tools when he and my mum first got married in 1965 came back with me and will get a makeover.
I also found some stuff that I have no recollection of that I think he inherited from my great uncle. Some nice German stuff and then I found the full set of Gedore metric spanners in a bag. Then hang on I though these look a bit rough, closer inspection very very rough. Pulled one fully out of the bag and under the light, oh "Gedore India". They really were nasty. In the tip box they went. I wonder why a company with such a great reputation for high quality tools lent its brand name to an Indian subsidiary banging out cheap rubbish?

When my father passed away my brother and I had a couple of weekends clearing the house and garage. Much of the garage contents went to the tip, but I retrieved a garage full (mine) of his stuff. It sat there untouched for about four years until I was laid off. "Aha", I thought, "I'll sort that stuff out."  Four months later ...

And yes, there were a lot of tools.

Then my father-in-law passed away, his father and grandfather both ran engineering companies (and both used to have an exhibit in the marine engineering section of the Science Museum). Sorting out those tools was a gargantuan task.

Still have stuff I cleared out of my dad's place. 

It amazes me how little value there is what I thought were good tools.  Seems criminal just dumping it but when even the charity shops don't want it.. 

[Tim Hall]

Spent yesterday at my late Fathers house sorting through the garage. It was quite emotional sorting out all the tools on the workbench I remember from being a kid and that I dismantled and repaired my first motorbike engine on (the Paramo vice is coming home with me next time I go). A lifetime of little draws full of bits and bobs and screws that might come in useful.  Brought home the good stuff, 70s Britool spanners and a nice Draper Japan  1/4 socket set (he gave me his lovely Britool socket socket sets when he decided he was never going to do his own car repairs again several years ago). A lovely Eclipse drift set still in its 60s plastic pouch was a bit of a star find. Chucking stuff in the "for the tip" box was hard. The carpenters tool box that he bought on HP fll of basic tools when he and my mum first got married in 1965 came back with me and will get a makeover.
I also found some stuff that I have no recollection of that I think he inherited from my great uncle. Some nice German stuff and then I found the full set of Gedore metric spanners in a bag. Then hang on I though these look a bit rough, closer inspection very very rough. Pulled one fully out of the bag and under the light, oh "Gedore India". They really were nasty. In the tip box they went. I wonder why a company with such a great reputation for high quality tools lent its brand name to an Indian subsidiary banging out cheap rubbish?

When my father passed away my brother and I had a couple of weekends clearing the house and garage. Much of the garage contents went to the tip, but I retrieved a garage full (mine) of his stuff. It sat there untouched for about four years until I was laid off. "Aha", I thought, "I'll sort that stuff out."  Four months later ...

And yes, there were a lot of tools.

Then my father-in-law passed away, his father and grandfather both ran engineering companies (and both used to have an exhibit in the marine engineering section of the Science Museum). Sorting out those tools was a gargantuan task.

Still have stuff I cleared out of my dad's place. 

It amazes me how little value there is what I thought were good tools.  Seems criminal just dumping it but when even the charity shops don't want it..

There are various charities working in the developing world that will take them.

[Ham]

Tools With A Mission https://www.twam.uk/ seem to be well organised, I've used them

[T42]

... and then I found the full set of Gedore metric spanners in a bag. Then hang on I though these look a bit rough, closer inspection very very rough. Pulled one fully out of the bag and under the light, oh "Gedore India". They really were nasty. In the tip box they went. I wonder why a company with such a great reputation for high quality tools lent its brand name to an Indian subsidiary banging out cheap rubbish?

Because most people would rather buy cheap foreign than pricier home quality. Eventually the brand gets bought up by the very people who undermined it, then devalued as they use it on junk.  Either than or the high-quality home brand shifts its manufacturing overseas or buys stuff to sell OEM under its own name.

BTW, woodworking stuff with pre-war blades stamped "warranted cast steel" is definitely worth keeping.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Tools With A Mission https://www.twam.uk/ seem to be well organised, I've used them

Tools for Self-Reliance is another. https://www.tfsr.org

[ScumOfTheRoad]

A holder for spanners and for tap and die set - advice please.
I bought a set of six(?) combination ratchet and open ended spanners in Lidl. Nice tools.
They came in a hard plastic package - but are loose when you remove them.
I do not have a tool board so store everything in a carry around nylon toolbag. Ideas please on how to clip them together.

Similarly I bought a tap and die set from Lidl - again in a wasteful sealed hard plastick pack. these currently live in a ziploc bag.
Ideas on how to give them a neat home please.

[Little Jim]

I eventually gave up on small tool boxes and bags when it all got too much and bought a set of metal drawers.  And then another set...  You eventually end up with a full-size cabinet on wheels and realise that you should have just bought one of those to start with.  Have a look on ebay for a second-hand one as they are really expensive new even if you don't buy Snap On.  The drawers that I've got are some unknown brand called American-something-or-other and seem very nearly as good as the Snap On ones that I've seen but they were a LOT less money.

[T42]

T'other week in Aldi they had a double wall-board with a set of lidless hook-on boxes & a rack for small tools, all for 19.99€. OK, gimme.  Trouble is that I haven't anywhere handy to put it, and the boxes will fill up with sawdust, so now it's hiding under a bench. Maybe MrsT can use it for planting seeds or summat.

[robgul]

I eventually gave up on small tool boxes and bags when it all got too much and bought a set of metal drawers.  And then another set...  You eventually end up with a full-size cabinet on wheels and realise that you should have just bought one of those to start with.  Have a look on ebay for a second-hand one as they are really expensive new even if you don't buy Snap On.  The drawers that I've got are some unknown brand called American-something-or-other and seem very nearly as good as the Snap On ones that I've seen but they were a LOT less money.

MachineMart has/had some offers on tool drawer storage stuff.

Rob

[Jurek]

A holder for spanners and for tap and die set - advice please.
I bought a set of six(?) combination ratchet and open ended spanners in Lidl. Nice tools.
They came in a hard plastic package - but are loose when you remove them.
I do not have a tool board so store everything in a carry around nylon toolbag. Ideas please on how to clip them together.

Similarly I bought a tap and die set from Lidl - again in a wasteful sealed hard plastick pack. these currently live in a ziploc bag.
Ideas on how to give them a neat home please.

You should keep the taps separate from one another.
They'll damage if they knock together.
Easiest way is a lump of soft wood into which you've drilled some blind holes - one hole for each tap.