What kind of tools do you have at home?

Only the best WD 40 and if you realey want the best trade the duct tape for gorilla tape,

When I wanted to clean out the garage a couple years ago, I wanted to donate s large amount of auto shop equipment. I called the local community college and the local school district. The college told me they closed their auto shop program due to lack of interest, and the school district told me they had never offered a vocational program. I wound up donating the equipment to the local chapter of the W.P.C club.

Yes it is a shame that the school’s are dropping or not ofering any kind of shop class’s any more.

I mean why would anyone ever want to work, using their…their… gasp… Hands !? Or learn a trade?! Or be useful within the physical world in which we inhabit ?! Why bother…right ?

Very sad… very sad…

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Something tells me I won’t be seeing too many Harbor Fake toolboxes among our fleet’s mechanics

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I worked with a mechanical tech a few years back. He complained about his low hourly rate. I asked why he didn’t quit and get a job as an auto tech. He said that while the hourly rate was a lot higher, he made more as a mechanical technician. The car work was spotty, and he was often sent home or not called in at all.

Shooting it? Now I never thought of that. Cutting a 60’ tree down today and the thing got caught in a branch of the adjacent tree. Up about 10 feet. Finally got it with my cheap battery operated pole saw that I bought last year. My plan D was to hook a rope on it and try to pull it down but a well placed shotgun blast might have done the job. I’ve got a good Stihl and Echo chain saw but the cheapo pole saw has come in very handy. I’m going to celebrate with the season’s first Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I earned it. So sometimes cheap is OK if it provides capabilities.

The SnapOn guy that called at the large shop in the trucking company I worked for lost a lot of business because he was so miserable to his customers. I saw him refuse to replace a large screwdriver because he told the mechanic that he must have used it doe a pry bar. Upon hearing the mechanics talk about it, Freddy the tool guy gave the mechanic a large Cornwall screwdriver and got a customer for life.

I have looked at those Harbor Freight tool boxes, they are amazing quality for the price. If I were a young man I would have bought one for myself.

I could never justify the expense of a good toolbox and used to use old kitchen cabinets. One day a widow across the street was throwing out a Craftsnan top and bottom cabinet that was rusty and filled with tools. It was filled with pliers (16) screwdrivers , and hammers. all cheap quality. I knew the husband, he never fixed anything, and the toolbox was kept in the basement with a drainpipe dripping on it.

I used a rotary wire brush and primed and painted it and It holds my car tools while a cabinet next to it holds the battery chargers, a buffer, dwell tach, vacuum gauge, ac gauges code readers and temp reader, timing light and lights.

The only thing I don’t use in that cabinet is the buffer :grinning:

I’ve encountered a few tool vendors that refused to warranty tools which they should have

I say this with some satisfaction . . . many of those guys didn’t last :smiley:

Warranty the guys’ tools

Don’t ask questions

Don’t make stupid comments

pretty simple, huh

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The only cabinet I have is a small Craftsman that my wife bought me for Christmas over 30 years ago. Otherwise I just have drawers and cabinets I’ve made. I use the Craftsman every day but it is so loaded down I really need to clean it out. The slides are either gummed up or way over-loaded, but outside of paint splashed on it, still fine.

I always think, lifetime warranty, it breaks, store or shop is out of business, or just say, sorry lifetime is over,

Yeah I needed/wanted a 1/2 ratchet in 1966. I couldn’t decide Wards or Sears. Both were lifetime. I picked Wards because of the rubber grip. When I broke it, Wards was out of business but Sears wasn’t. Can’t remember what I bought to replace it but I’ve never been concerned with a lifetime warranty since.

Speaking of miserable tool truck guys and warranty on tools… A friend of a guy who looked just like me told him that he was at his storage locker place and he said a Snap On Truck just backed up to the dumpster within the confines of the storage unit business and the dumpster was making a lot of clanging and banging noises. He then said…perhaps its a good time to swing by the storage unit.

The guy who looked just like me and his friend eventually Unbanged and clanged that dumpster because as he says “dumpsters are just misunderstood”. The other fellow agreed.

The number and amount of Snap On tools that came out of that dumpster were too many to count… 1/2 impact guns… a 3/4 gun…screwdrivers, ratchets, open end wrenches…sockets, extensions, computer diag equipment…the list was long and heavy.

Many tools weren’t really damaged at all…just dirty or bent or some small complaint got it turned in or exchanged etc…and wouldn’t you know it…the warranty in many instances was still valid. All one had to do was find an amenable tool truck driver of the same brand…and Voila…the bent or damaged item sprang forth rejuvenated like brand new.

Why Mr Snap On man did this may never be known, but it never happened again and those dumpster tools are still reliably spinning fasteners out there…somewhere…that looks a lot like here.

True story.

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Maybe SnapOn corporate told the driver to lose the tools, although the guy that rented the dumpster might have been unhappy that the tools were dumped there. After all, he paid for removal.

In reality, you did your civic duty and righted the wrong that tool truck driver perpetrated. The nerve of that guy. Yeah, that’s it…

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@jtsanders I’d have to agree with you. I mean the guy who looked like me did anyway. Whats a boy with a penchant for machines, a love of tools and the skills to repair them, to do I say? I firmly believe, that what to do…got done, period.

I present this: What would any of you do when faced with the moral conundrum of a dumpster nearly up to halfway with questionable quality, known warrantied, professional grade hardware? When the intent was clearly to send it all to a landfill?! Or even worse ! Be presented to some other guys who like tools…down along the line of the garbage removal process? The indignity of it all !

Civic duty…absolutely its all about Civic Duty…I like that…I mean I could imagine that the guy who looked like me…would like that…yes, I’m sure of it.

I know what I would have done…if it were me…or even someone who looked like me. hehe

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The Snap-On guy would have been better off selling it for scrap metal. Although the guy that looked exactly like you :grinning: wouldn’t have made out well.

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I recall this scenario being discussed previously. I was one of the “hold my legs, I’m going in” guys. I would have kept them for personal use or distributed them to my friends in the event of duplicates. If they were damaged, I would have fixed it myself or just used it as is.

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Anything in a dumpster is fair game, I can’t see where anyone would have had a ligit complaint.

[quote=“MikeInNH, post:116, topic:163042”]
The Snap-On guy would have been better off selling it for scrap metal.

Blackbird did not say what year that was but now the scrap metal buisness has a lot of restiiction’s on buying scrap metal. I had a friend (may he RIP) in Flordia who had a napa store he told me that once a year some of the big wig’s from napa would rent a truck and go around to all the napa store’s and pick up the returned tool’s and invite the store’s owner’s out for a deep sea fishing trip then go many mile’s off shore and dump the damaged tool’s over board.

There is a little known law here and probably other place’s also two people own the content’s in the dumpster the compayt that placed it and the company that use’s it The content’s belong to the one who use’s untill it is picked up then it belong’s one who placed it if you get caught taking something out of it you could be prosicuted for theft I never heard of it being enforced and like you I can’t see where anyone would have a complaint after all it was throwed out because they no longer wanted it.