Tool snobery

fourteener · Post by **fourteener** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:30 pm

This morning I had to remove the 'C' post trim from either side of my boot to squeeze in a piece of furniture that was 30mm wider than the sellers measurements.
I needed a torx bit (prob T25) to loosen 2 screws, so the seller returns with a black allen wrench from a set costing no more than £2.99 from a market "will this work"

Anyway, it was fit made to work so job done -but how do people live with the shame of owning cheap + nasty tools?

Gary71 · Post by **Gary71** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:35 pm

Torx? Nothing a cheese allen key and a hammer can't fit

Personally some of those tool kits you get in Christmas crackers are just great!

fourteener · Post by **fourteener** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:38 pm

Now you of all people should have a very handsome tool kit...I imagine there's plenty of tools lying about at Bentley that one can acquire

Gary71 · Post by **Gary71** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:44 pm

fourteener wrote:Now you of all people should have a very handsome tool kit...I imagine there's plenty of tools lying about at Bentley that one can acquire

...but the technicians that own them would kill me

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:22 pm

the only screw driver I've snapped was a 'snap-on'

My best screwdriver I bought from Darlington Market 15 years ago

Nearly all my other tools come from my local agricultural merchant

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:46 pm

ya, but what screw driver would you recommend for prizing the lid off a paint tin

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:57 pm

I wouldn't use a screwdriver for that Helen, a good quality wood chisel is much better

.

Must go, I've got to open a tin of beans with the 9in grinder ....

mycar · Post by **mycar** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:01 pm

Barry wrote: a good quality wood chisel is much better.

Spanner monkey sacrilege.

Although I should say, don`t use you car key to open a can of paint, especially if it`s one of those that needs programing and costs a fortune to replace.

Mike.

MartinP · Post by **MartinP** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:51 pm

My tool chest contains everything from top of the range snap-on stuff to a £2.99 set of screwdrivers that I bought 14 years ago when we bought our first house. Guess which ones get used the most? Funnily enough though, the best socket set I have (indispensable when working on the BSA and AC), is a 50 year old set that my Granddad handed down to me: designed for working on Massey tractors!

Nige · Post by **Nige** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:13 am

Having the best doesn't mean you are the best.

Probably wouldn't skimp on a few items such as torque wrenches or trolley jacks, etc.

All mine is a mixed bag of stuff - Geordie, Felco, Laser, Halfords, Hazet, Norbar, Stanley.

fourteener · Post by **fourteener** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:25 am

...what screw driver would you recommend for prizing the lid off a paint tin...

All the cheap screwdrivers that have broken are perfect for this job unless you want one of these... is it a bit PCGB?

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:18 pm

In the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, they have sticks specifically for stirring paint. I have seen it.

Gary71 · Post by **Gary71** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:21 pm

jamie wrote:In the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, they have sticks specifically for stirring paint. I have seen it.

How do you know when you have turned into your Dad?

One day you put a stick to one side and say 'that will be useful for stirring paint'

It's happened to all of us I'm sure.

fourteener · Post by **fourteener** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:59 pm

Gary71 wrote:... you put a stick to one side and say 'that will be useful for stirring paint'...

Still that's how we won the war because the British engineers would lash the tanks together in the field with a shoelace and a lollypop stick, whereas the German's would send to the factory for a whole new assembly -or so my Granddad claimed

kevdodd · Post by **kevdodd** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:09 pm

hahaha. I have several paint stirring sticks!!

And I keep lolly pop sticks sometimes - good for applying glue.

And... I keep ferrero boxes cos they come in handy - even though I now have several empty ones laying about unused!!