In favorites I can think of where you have the same job to do many times (like with a recall) and you so you know exactly what tools you need to do the job fast. We had a big fan campaign with BMW and I tallied up the cost of the tools used to do the job the fastest (involved multiple air tools and special lenght magnetic sockets and an electric impact)It came too about 1500.00 to get this hour or so paying job done in 15 min. Management could only see you were getting paid 4 times what it took you, not that this is possible because you bought exactly what worked and even used multiple air lines so you saved time not unhooking air tools.
Secondary, I really like all the real high quality (and lowered cost) racheting wrenches that are on the market. These tools have been around 20+ years but suffered from low quality or high cost.
I bought a 200.00 crowfoot set (about 8 pieces) from Matco, used one once and then never again, I guess this was a mistake.
Love my Fluke 87 DMM but a 20.00 DMM would have been just as good. The fuses in this thing are 10.00 each.
Mine came from Fingerhut. I think they are still in business. Original box got very beat up so I degreased it, dried it out and painted it mustard yellow because I had a can of paint handy. I abused my Husky set as well, extentions as drifts, ratchet as a hammer, piece of gas pipe over the handle as leverage (that’s how I snapped the 3/4" socket)… oh the memories. Husky and I have worked on a LOT of clunkers, beaters and good cars over the many years since that package arrived.
“…I think they’re made by the same people that make Craftsman.”
Husky is made by Stanley Black and Decker now. Stanley Works made Craftsman tools until the 1980s. It appears that Craftsman hand tools are made by Western Forge and Danaher now.
I use my single-LED Mini-Maglite umpteen times a day. Friends and co-workers bum it from me and I have to go track it down. For some tasks I strap on a headlamp. don’t know how anybody gets through a day dealing with equipment indoors without some kind of personal lamp.
Oldschool, This Reminds Me Of The Mechanics At A Dealer Where I Worked.
One guy had two tool box cabinets (just the bottom, no top chest) with flat working surfaces on top of each one. He had the drawers neatly arranged with thousands (tens of thousands ? ) dollars worth of tools. Neat as a pin. The guy usually didn’t even get dirty.
He brought in a car and quickly positioned one box a little to each side. He new exactly where to find every tool. He had tools that would allow him short-cuts that weren’t available to others that didn’t invest heavily in tools. He got the job done quickly and precisely. It was more like watching a surgeon.
Another mechanic working at this VW dealer could be heard to sometimes yell, “Hey Suds, Can I borrow a 10 mm metric wrench ? I’m in kind of a tight spot !”
Imagine working on cars with what you’d find in a kitchen “junk drawer”.
I must agree; the two mentioned and in the above order are my favorite. These alone however, have not yet carried me through half a day, but I’m hopeful to experience that day soon!
My favorites in no particular order; my air tools and 650 psi impact gun, blowtorch and Dremel. Everyone says why do you need it, you will never use it, etc. I use it constantly. I sharpen my Stihl chainsaw(another favorite), knives & axes, it’s great for cleaning and removing rust from all sorts of stuff.
I love that little impact wrench too but my real favorite is a 5/16 open end wrench that I can use on little RF waveguides. Can never find one and always need one!
Speaking of lights; when ever I have to work outside at night in the summer, I wear my LL Bean baseball cap with LED lights embedded in the visor. Looks a little Geeky but great for hands free work.
csa, It gets to be something like an atheletic performance, seeing if you can get the job done without even one false move or hunting for a tool for even a second.In my example, using 1500.00 of tools and the job did not even pay 25.00, but like I said if you had everything in order and made no errors you could do them in 15 min, they add up.
On the atheletic part, some of the highest earning mechanics I ever knew were in a sense athelets, to keep going on job after job with the same enthusiasim was something to see, myself there had to be major money motivation but if there was I was game.So in a sense your atheletic ability was a kind of tool.
At the GM Dealer here in town our number 1 driveability tech always borrowed my impact, he could afford his own, never figured that one out.
I always try to (and nearly always) get the full service manual for any vehicle I operate.
Without it, the vehicle is a “chinese” (3-d) puzzle that takes more time and risk
to disassemble, and reassemble than its problems are worth.
With it, even if I lack necessary skills or can’t afford other necessary tools,
I can usually diagnose problems, frequently avoid incompetent/dishonest mechanics,
and increase profit margin for honest mechanics.
I Too Order The Factory Manual(s) For Each Car Purchased. Those Little Rascals Are Now Up To 150 Bucks, But As Parts And Labor Have Also Increased In Cost, Can Still Pay For Themselves In One Repair !
Knowledge is power !
I even go so far as to order a second copy of the Owner’s Manual at the same time to keep right with the Service Manual for each of our cars. There are things in OMs that aren’t in SMs.
I don’t like going all the way out to the car if a question arises. Besides that, I don’t like that OM leaving the car. I could come in handy for somebody out on the road. I keep a maintenance / repair logbook in each of our cars, too.
My Favorite Tool Is Often Whatever The Brand New One Is That Sears Hands Me When I Give Them A Broken Tool. I’ve always loved This Warranty From Major Tool Sellers.
Hey guys, if you use hoses and rakes around the house and don’t buy Craftsman, check them out.
I spend a little extra (although there are good sales) and spring for Craftsman black rubber hoses and their fiberglass handled rakes (necessary with iron pumping teenagers).
The hoses don’t break if they freeze and if you abuse these tools or wear them out, just exchange them for new ones.