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Soo is Maynard actually writing stuff for a Tool album, or just making more wine and pasta? Wait, that's not the tool I wanted to start a thread about.
Some of the other boards I frequent have a tool thread of some sort, and while we've had the odd derail of other threads on the subject we've never had a dedicated thread.
Many of us are tradesmen here and our tools are a direct source of our livelihood, but even those of us who aren't still use them. Working on your own car is a pretty common aspect of Festiva ownership. And we all have a favorite. We've all bought something that looked cool but ended up being useless or breaking unexpectedly. So let's talk about them!
I'll get the ball rolling with a couple of reviews:
Knipex Plier Wrench
Like a cross between channel locks and an adjustable wrench. The force multiplication you get out of these things with that cam/tongue mechanism is ridiculous (I've used them to convert regular nuts to stovers), and the smooth jaws and the general design of the tool usually stops you from wrecking the fastener if you try to push it past it's limits. Also the jaws always stay parallel. Very handy for tube and pipe fittings. Mac sells a rebadged version of the same tool, and I've seen them badged as Blue Point (but I don't see them in my Snappy catalog anymore so they must have stopped). Get the biggest size your dealer can get (300mm is uncommon but available, 250 is still useful and all over the place), and a smaller one (150 or 200) is also useful.
CP 7733 1/2" Impact
Cheap and tough as nails. This was my go-to 1/2" impact when I was running a service truck, and the one I had lasted 3 years running on an extremely wet air supply in every environment you can think of (and go ahead and think of some really dusty, gritty environments). It got tossed around, fell on the ground more times than I'd like to admit, even ran over it with a gravel truck. The only oil it ever saw was whatever blew past the seals of my failing underhood compressor, and in the winter I regularly dosed my whole air system with straight methyl. Of all the air tools I carried on that truck this was usually the last one to freeze. And that impact, after three grueling years of me beating and abusing the everloving snot out of it is still in service (albeit inside the shop now).
They don't put out mega torque like the prettier guns you see around-you can expect about 150-200 ft.lbs out of it if you hammer until the socket stops moving- but the output doesn't decay much as the gun wears and it will put that 200lbs out in any weather, any situation you can think of.
Also rebuild kits are readily available and they're pretty simple inside. Anybody could rebuild one, and doing so is a very good introduction to how vane motors and impact mechanisms work.
Dale Adams ROUGH RIDER creeper
I bought one because of the huge casters (bigger than the ones on my toolbox- and almost as big as stock Festiva tires), since the concrete floor in my shop is in terrible shape and to make matters worse the boss only buys that really coarse crappy floor-dry (and spills under a vehicle are common in a HD transmission shop), and there's nothing worse than a stuck creeper caster.
It kinda sucks. I'm 6'4", 250lbs and I find myself constantly being charlie-horsed by the big lumps at the corners. The "cushion" feels like a pile of screwdrivers on my neck and puts my head in an awkward position (too far back). And I always end up lying in an awkward diagonal position on it. It would probably be more comfortable for a smaller dude but it's not working for me. Buuut it was way too expensive to ditch it and get another one so I'll stick to it and see if I get used to it. :-/
Some of the other boards I frequent have a tool thread of some sort, and while we've had the odd derail of other threads on the subject we've never had a dedicated thread.
Many of us are tradesmen here and our tools are a direct source of our livelihood, but even those of us who aren't still use them. Working on your own car is a pretty common aspect of Festiva ownership. And we all have a favorite. We've all bought something that looked cool but ended up being useless or breaking unexpectedly. So let's talk about them!
I'll get the ball rolling with a couple of reviews:
Knipex Plier Wrench
Like a cross between channel locks and an adjustable wrench. The force multiplication you get out of these things with that cam/tongue mechanism is ridiculous (I've used them to convert regular nuts to stovers), and the smooth jaws and the general design of the tool usually stops you from wrecking the fastener if you try to push it past it's limits. Also the jaws always stay parallel. Very handy for tube and pipe fittings. Mac sells a rebadged version of the same tool, and I've seen them badged as Blue Point (but I don't see them in my Snappy catalog anymore so they must have stopped). Get the biggest size your dealer can get (300mm is uncommon but available, 250 is still useful and all over the place), and a smaller one (150 or 200) is also useful.
CP 7733 1/2" Impact
Cheap and tough as nails. This was my go-to 1/2" impact when I was running a service truck, and the one I had lasted 3 years running on an extremely wet air supply in every environment you can think of (and go ahead and think of some really dusty, gritty environments). It got tossed around, fell on the ground more times than I'd like to admit, even ran over it with a gravel truck. The only oil it ever saw was whatever blew past the seals of my failing underhood compressor, and in the winter I regularly dosed my whole air system with straight methyl. Of all the air tools I carried on that truck this was usually the last one to freeze. And that impact, after three grueling years of me beating and abusing the everloving snot out of it is still in service (albeit inside the shop now).
They don't put out mega torque like the prettier guns you see around-you can expect about 150-200 ft.lbs out of it if you hammer until the socket stops moving- but the output doesn't decay much as the gun wears and it will put that 200lbs out in any weather, any situation you can think of.
Also rebuild kits are readily available and they're pretty simple inside. Anybody could rebuild one, and doing so is a very good introduction to how vane motors and impact mechanisms work.
Dale Adams ROUGH RIDER creeper
I bought one because of the huge casters (bigger than the ones on my toolbox- and almost as big as stock Festiva tires), since the concrete floor in my shop is in terrible shape and to make matters worse the boss only buys that really coarse crappy floor-dry (and spills under a vehicle are common in a HD transmission shop), and there's nothing worse than a stuck creeper caster.
It kinda sucks. I'm 6'4", 250lbs and I find myself constantly being charlie-horsed by the big lumps at the corners. The "cushion" feels like a pile of screwdrivers on my neck and puts my head in an awkward position (too far back). And I always end up lying in an awkward diagonal position on it. It would probably be more comfortable for a smaller dude but it's not working for me. Buuut it was way too expensive to ditch it and get another one so I'll stick to it and see if I get used to it. :-/
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