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Odd Tools You Use

21K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  1937Austin 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey Guys, post some of your odd tools, some you found, some you made, or was given... Things you use as a tool that they weren't really meant for ! ! !

Here's one I made a few years back

Yup someone's missing a bottle cap :D



And a few hammers I made





This one a friend made for me..



Here's a piece off a big digging bucket I use as a large dolly or anvil.



And some home brew T-handles for shaping.



So post up, I'll post more later ! !
 
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#30 ·
On the subject of old tools. I hate garage sales, as I never find anything I'm interested in at garage sales. But I was over at my daughter's house Sunday to mow her yard, and the neighbor was having a garage sale. It had been going since Friday afternoon, so didn't expect to find anything, but the guy had a couple Harleys out front, so I figured he might have some old tools.
Walked into the sale and sitting on a table is an electric industrial die grinder with 1/4" collet. So I pick up and immediately notice the shaft lock is missing to hold the shaft while changing tools. A broken tool shaft is stuck in the collet, but the condition looks like new. The neighbor has it marked $25, and immediately asks me to give $10. I ask if it runs, and he lets me plug it in, and it doesn't. So I put the old sniffer to use and it doesn't have any burnt smell from the armature. He tells me I can have it for $3, so I figure I'll roll the dice at that price, since I've wanted one, and they run $300-$400 new.
Got it home and pulled it apart to find the problem, and it looks like new inside too. But someone has been inside before, and one brush is gone. The flat shaft connecting armature to drive has been forced, so it has some burrs on it and was tough to pull apart. I went to the internet and found the model, but unfortunately all the parts are listed as "discontinued", so I took the box of parts to my local industrial tool repair center today. We located a pair of brushes for a different tool that looked perfect for size, but didn't have the notch in the side like the old brushes. $6 ea., so took another chance to go deeper into the grinder. Got them home and bent the tab on the brush holder to eliminate the tab, and allow straight brushes to go in. Trimmed the brush length with a half round file to take about 3/32" off each brush to match the old brush length. Cleaned up the square shaft with a file, so the motor and drive slid together easily, and reassembled the whole grinder.
Plugged it into the outlet and held my breath as I hit the switch, and it purred like a kitten! 30,000 rpm's of whirring die grinder that cost under $15. Put a big old smile on my face, and I went right out to the shop and gave it a test with piece of steel. I've got a huge box of various stones, rotary files, etc. that was given to me way back in the 70's and I've packed around all these years, so I finally have a really nice die grinder to use them with. The stop that holds the shaft for tool changes isn't even needed. A small punch fits into the hole and holds perfectly when loosening the collet, so it's not really needed. I'll tie an old allen wrench to the cord to use as a stop when I need it. Garage sale dice roll finally paid off!
 
#31 ·
Vall, the story and the Mr fix-it journey makes the tool all the more sweeeeet! You will enjoy that story every time you use it.

And I can totally relate to the garage sales being a bust,,,,I had a similar story finally pay off for me a few months back. In San Diego we have a real small "Pennysaver advertisement rag"" that comes out and I have watched it for years, thinking that the type of guys that advertise in this thing are the guys that do not do any internet adds, craigslist etc. I thought maybe one day I would find a deal. I was always drawn to the little adds because I remembered my dad missed out on a Cadillac when I was about ten years old, the add read almost new Cadillac 100 bucks. He delayed on making the call, it was one of those divorce-get-even sales, and the Cadillac was worth 25k and it did sell for 100 bucks.

So, in the Pennysaver, I saw an add that read "10 boxes of tools 100 bucks"... Thought it could be a typo or every box was going to cost 100 bucks... OR, if the 10 boxes of tools were all for sale for 100 bucks, they would all be junk.

Well, made the call and made the trip,, ten miles or so and sure enough great wrenches, sockets, ratchets, files, gear pullers tools,tools, tools, standard and metric, matching sets, some craftsman and other name brand all 10 boxes for 100 bucks. I could not even try to offer him less. The guy was sharp enough but still I Kinda felt like a thief,, he had even gone to the trouble of sorting, stacking and masking tapping them together, also he had checked prices on all of the main tools he was selling by pricing them through Mcmaster Carr or sears etc. Now the tools are not exactly pretty but they are not rusty either, mostly just normal use type stuff. Said they added up to 3500 dollars worth of stuff and he did not even price out about 25% of the misc stuff he included. So he knew what he had but said his son would not even make the trip over to look at them and his son was a good mechanic. Since they were not Snap-on type tools, his son he was not interested.

Hell the new-in-the-box, gear puller set, was worth 185 bucks just by it's self!

So I now have a full tool kit for every vehicle I drive with stuff left over i am now giving away, Oh, and the boxes were all metal and very serviceable!,, the fun is in the story the hunt and the deal.
 
#32 ·
Tom, I'm a sucker for tools! even if I already have a similar tool, I'll still buy another if it's one of those too good to be true deals! Was at a local fair/car show last weekend, and some people had small swap meet or garage sale tables. I saw a box marked $1 ea., so dug through it, and came out with a circle cutter. Looked like brand new, with an adjustable round tip center pin so you can cut round circles without penetrating the material with a center hole. Wont use it much, but the few times I do will be worth a buck!
I sometimes buy old tools cheap at garage sales, and give them to one of my daughter's friend's son. She's a single mother, and the son is about 19-20 yrs. old, and lives at home to help his mom out. He's interested in learning about home repairs, and also is a fair automotive mechanic. If I see an old tool I think he could use, or I can teach him to use, I buy it for his tool box. Last weekend they lost half their main electrical panel, so I walked him through changing the main circuit breaker that feeds the lower half of their split bus panel. He did a great job, and asked good questions.
 
#33 ·
Vall, Yep I have found that giving away tools like that creates a special kind of a bond to a fellow tool guy, especially cuz you were thinking of them, then took the time to lend a hand with helping them understand and use them...Its now a new thing I will do more regular ... keep hunting, its a fun little hobby to do on the spur of the moment.
 
#34 ·
Tools, tools, tools.............

Ah yes; tools, tools, tools. I'm 65 now and purchased my first set (Craftsman) when I was 18. I've been adding to it ever since. The two best scores I have made were: the 1998 Hot Rod Reunion. I was at the site early Friday morning checking out the swap meet. One seller had a 3/4" drive set. 17 sockets from 7/8" up to 2 3/16", ratchet, breaker bar and 5" & 8"extensions. 90% of the tools still had the price tags (Craftsman) on them and they were in a like new Craftsman tote box; all for $175. I had never in my life needed a 3/4" drive socket but there was no way I was going to pass this deal up. What's interesting is that over the years since I have used it a couple times and also loaned it out to friends. All the sockets that had price tags on them still do. One thing I remember is carrying that tool box from the swap meet area out to the parking area; I don't know how many times I switched that heavy ass tool box from my right to left hand.
The second big score came shortly after the Long Beach, CA. I believe it was McDonald Douglass plant closed up. I was at the Long Beach high performance swap meet and there's always guys selling tons of used tools. It was one of those deals where I'm just strolling up and down the lanes when something caught the corner of my eye in mid stride. I stopped, took a step back and I was looking a brand spanking new Rockwell industrial grade angle drill. I asked the dude how much he wanted and he said $75. I asked him about the number that had been engraved on the tool and he said not to worry, after all, the plant was closed right. Did I need it, no. Did I buy it, hell yes. I've used it once and about broke my wrist while drilling some holes in my chassis while lying on a creeper under my car. This thing is a torque monster.
My grandfather was a master sheet metal worker and my dad apprenticed under him until he became a journeyman. I've still got some of their old tools and scales some of which are quite unique. Yeah men, tools, a dudes best friend.
On a different note when I went to the "Tribute to Gassers" event here in L.A. month before last I mentioned in a post that I had gotten one of the few posters that had been printed up and would post a photo of it after I framed and hung it. For anybody reading this that wants to check it out I think it's just a case of looking at my other posts history. What I think is really interesting about the poster is that the car on it isn't a tri-5 Chevy that most people think of as the quintessential gasser.
 

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#36 ·
On our recent trip to Reno, we stopped in a Southern Oregon 2nd hand store, and found it full of old tools! I should have bought everything they had, and sold what I didn't want, as the prices were great! I picked up this old Rajah spark plug wire crimping tool from the 1930's for $3.60!


And although this isn't an automotive tool, it was too cool to pass up. I believe it's a 90 degree hand drill, but the square jaws will hold most taps from around 5/16" or larger. It will come in handy tapping threads, as it ratchets either direction, and locks solid for changing taps or drills. Another bargain at under $10.
 
#37 ·
I was fortunate, several years ago, to be able to buy a heavy duty vise at an auction for an affordable amount. I made up this bending jig for it a few years ago. The brackets I'm making will guide my plug wires under the headers like the factory did with the rams horn manifolds. The material is 1/8"X 3/4". I know I could have just bent these with a hammer but this doesn't leave hammer and vise marks.
 

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#38 ·
Nice setup Gary! I have some odd shaped bending jigs I welded up, and use with my 12 ton HF hydraulic press. I never thought I'd use the press much, other than pressing on axle bearings. I only bought it because I was irritated when the local machine shop wouldn't change a bearing on my Toyota 4x4 axle, because they "only had 390 minutes left until closing." Kinda chaffed me, so I went and bought the press, and did my own. After that I began finding all sorts of things to use it for, and wondered why I waited so long, when it was only $100 new with the coupon?
 
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