How tool inept are you?

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

In other words what kind of handy person? I failed shop in school and have little talent of skill. Would probably win The World's Worst Handyman.....of course this is a talent, so I don't feel that bad.

[Fazor]

I'd say I'm average. Not much experience with stuff, but don't feel totally lost when approaching something.

[BigDon]

I'm a fair hand with tools.

[HenrikOlsen]

Average, but with the attitude that if I don't get it right I'll do it again.
There are many cases where mulish stubbornness can substitute for talent and training.
I also have a habit of naming all tools that have drawn blood. Most of my tools have names.

[Swift]

I'd say I'm average. Not much experience with stuff, but don't feel totally lost when approaching something.
I say that describes me too. I'm better with some things (woodwork, painting), than I am with others (electrical, plumbing), though I suspect that is to an extent related to experience and training, and not a natural ability or lack there of. I will say that some power tools to scare me a little (like chainsaws), but a health respect is a good thing.

[geonuc]

One of my few talents. I am good with tools of all kinds.

[BigDon]

One of my many hats I wore in my Navy days was official shop "stripped fastener extractor". Newbs just getting hand tool use down would often strip out ALL the hi-torque screws on a belly panel, most often from NOT applying enough downward pressure.

(Belly panels are over your head, but you know what I mean.)

[Moose]

While I have a general idea of how to perform most jobs, I'm dangerously inexperienced and my hands are slow, the polar opposite of nimble, and pretty arthritic. I've never been able to sit still long enough to perform a meticulous physical job. It's a bad idea to hand me tools, as I'm very liable to fumble them randomly.

Oddly, I'm much more comfortable working with larger tools (band saws, belt sanders, drill presses, and the like), and I'm good enough to climb inside a computer case as needed without dropping the screws too many times.

[Roving Philosopher]

I'm pretty handy with tools. My biggest problem is trying to get by with the wrong tool, rather than going out and getting the right tool (that, and never being able to find the particular tool I need, until I no longer need it)

[iniaes]

My problem is not having enough hands, thank god for handy clamps and croc clips, a lot of the stuff I do in the RN is electronic angineering, but occasionally I get to dust off my tool work and machine tool skills. Most of the time my boss will go to brief the powers that be on what has gone wrong, only to come back ad se me hanging out of a piece of kit or already have it either working, or know exactly what needs doing. And now here I am on my promotional course :)

[Swift]

I'm pretty handy with tools. My biggest problem is trying to get by with the wrong tool, rather than going out and getting the right tool (that, and never being able to find the particular tool I need, until I no longer need it)
I'm not accussing you of this Roving Philosopher, but I've worked with a couple of people who had the acute version of that disease. They'd be trying to hammer a nail with the handle of a screwdriver, I would literally hand them a hammer, and they would still continue to use the wrong tool. :doh:

[chrissy]

I think I am pretty handy with quite a few power tools and DIY, I have knocked a few walls out and rebuilt them, but gas stuff I wont touch for fear I may blow the entire street up.

I just love doing things, and admiring the results afterwards.

[Trebuchet]

I'm actually much better with tools than I used to be, mostly on account of starting to build catapults about 10 years ago. Now if I could just stop buying still more tools I don't really need....

[BigDon]

I'm not accussing you of this Roving Philosopher, but I've worked with a couple of people who had the acute version of that disease. They'd be trying to hammer a nail with the handle of a screwdriver, I would literally hand them a hammer, and they would still continue to use the wrong tool. :doh:

Oh Swift, you should be more like my friend Don the Swede. (One of those huge Swedes who make the rest of humanity look small. Looks like Kelfazin but a little leaner in the face) A meaner SOB on a construction site you never want to work for. Apprentices and new hires he saw using tools incorrectly would be told once.

A major pet peeve of his was people choking up on the handles of hammers, particularly when there was no good reason too. If he came back by after he warned you and caught you doing it again he would ask to borrow your hammer, then cut the handle off about halfway with a skil-saw, (portible circular saw) and give the hammer back to you and say, "Here, you weren't using that part anyway!" Then of course at quiting time he would tell the offender he better have a full tool kit come tomorrow if he still wanted to work there.

Oh that reminds me! I can put some of his edited sayings in the sayings thread. The man's language was so colorful on one job the ajoining longshoreman bar complained about the lanquage! And I only WISH I was kidding about that. Beings as I was the only other person on that job.

[PetersCreek]

I like to think I'm quite adept with my tools. During my USAF career, I was trained in the use of specialized and general purpose tools related to electronics and aircraft maintenance, including micro-modular soldering/repair stations. On the hobbyist side, I'm an experienced flytyer, leather worker, ammunition handloader, and I'm skilled with my kitchen tools. Home DIY is the big ticket nowadays. Since buying our house a little over 4 years ago, I've amassed quite a collection: the usual range of general purpose handtools, a selection of air- and electrically-powered hand tools, and a host of special purpose tools for drywall, masonry, tiling, electrical, plumbing and other tasks. Of course, I also have the customary outdoor maintenance tools such as a lawn mower, leaf blower, and string trimmer, as well as a chainsaw and pressure washer.

ETA: BigDon...you mention of hi-torque fasterners sent me into a fit of nostalgia. I remember those fasterners well...that the didn't live up to their name at all. An impact driver was part of our standard kit and still, we often had to call for a sheetmetal assist. I had many a sore shoulder from leaning into the speedhandle on those cursed things.

[danscope]

Hi, I have been a tool person all of my days and I am 60 now. I never saw a tool I didn't like, with exception to the toy category junk designed to take your money without doing the job, like a very cheap tubing cutter or a bad hand saw.
I should do a video on how to use common tools. I could show you alot in two hours. There is a lot of parallel thinking, cautions , and observation that forms what we call horse sense with tools. If you have a problem, ask me. Perhaps I can describe a solution or procedure that you will find helpfull. I am at your service.
Best regards, Dan

[Roving Philosopher]

I'm not accussing you of this Roving Philosopher, but I've worked with a couple of people who had the acute version of that disease. They'd be trying to hammer a nail with the handle of a screwdriver, I would literally hand them a hammer, and they would still continue to use the wrong tool. :doh:Never been quite that bad. Usually the tools are at least somewhat interchangeable. It's more along the lines of trying to use pliers when I can't find the adjustable wrench after half an hour of searching, only the pliers are a little too small for the job (can't find the larger pliers either). About a week later, I'll come across the wrench and the larger pliers.

Been having some plumbing issues lately, so that example is fairly recent...

[blueshift]

It was my experience with tools that sent me to books and taught me to read and write where school had failed.

I have a shed with an investment in power tools and saws and took one of these:

http://www.angelfire.com/sc/BOBBYNVENUSTRIKEPAGE/history.html

which was the stock version and modified it by welding the back end of a VW Beetle from the torsion bar back to a marriage plate between the two systems. Here is a sample of such results that someone else did:

http://zagaraxe.tripod.com/ The fellow that did that one made his frame and interior a lot cooler than mine but I dolled up the engine more, with duel Weber carbs and a paint job on the engine that was outta sight. The vehicle road like a boat the way it was suspended. One could take corners better than a car with the trailing link suspension in the front. The stock version had a Kohler snowmobile engine and centrifugal clutch. It was very unreliable so many owners did VW conversions like this fellow and myself did.

Tinkering with tools always gave me the greatest satisfaction in life, whether it was working on TVs, VCRs, porches, remodeling the home or some other project.

[NickW]

I would say I am pretty decent. Not really specialized in anything, but working as a maintenance tech at an apartment complex means I don't have to be.

I also do most of my own work on my vehicles, which always tends to save money :)

[ravens_cry]

I can swing a hammer, turn a screw, use a wrench, and crank a socket wrench, push a saw. I can use an electric drill, though changing the bit requires some extra use of my thinky bits. I have some small experience with axes and wedges. I have no skill with either a chisel or a carving knife.

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

banquo's_bumble_puppy ala the opening scene in "2001"....


"whoops....do over"......

[jokergirl]

I had the typical female syndrome of not using powertools. "Why use an electric screwdriver, I can do that just as well with an old-fashioned analogue one..."
It's some kind of chivalry amongst women, I think. We need to prove that we can do stuff on our own!

Luckily my boyfriend lectured me on my stupidity on not using tools to make my life easier and now I love the electric screwdriver. Whirrrrr!

;)

[jlhredshift]

I am an master appliance technician and trainer. I built, fabricated, and drove drag racing cars for thirty years. Now I own a farm, which took an investment in a whole different set of tools. For some reason a 3/4 drive breaker bar doesn't drive a wire fence staple into seasoned maple fence post very well.

[DyerWolf]

... For some reason a 3/4 drive breaker bar doesn't drive a wire fence staple into seasoned maple fence post very well.

I LOL'd!:lol: -- I've also been known to use whatever is handy to try to do the job at hand... Learned its better to just get the right tool.

I'm also one of those handy types (one reason I hated my day job behind a comp is that I like to be physical). I've been a DIY guy since - well, my Dad made me help him with everything from maintaining the car, to paving, to landscaping, to electrical wiring & DIY construction while growing up.

A major pet peeve of his was people choking up on the handles of hammers, particularly when there was no good reason too. If he came back by after he warned you and caught you doing it again he would ask to borrow your hammer, then cut the handle off about halfway with a skil-saw, (portible circular saw) and give the hammer back to you and say, "Here, you weren't using that part anyway!" = another chuckle. :) I had a similar experience with my Grandmother when I was 10. I stayed on her farm for the summer & I tried to fix a missing plank on an old outdoor playhouse (wooden shed) that my Mom & her sibs had used when they were kids. My tappy-tappy-tap hammering (while choked up on the hammer) annoyed the heck out of Granny - so she made me build her a pump house (aka a new wooden shed) which pretty much taught me to use the whole hammer.

Now I've quit my job and am trying to get a home remodeling business off the ground & having a blast. (learning tiling - which requires new tools & some new skills!

[eric_marsh]

Well, here's some pics of my shop and some of my tools.

http://web.mac.com/janetch/Tiki_Acres_Ranch/%5BSharks_Den%5D.html

[danscope]

I had the typical female syndrome of not using powertools. "Why use an electric screwdriver, I can do that just as well with an old-fashioned analogue one..."
It's some kind of chivalry amongst women, I think. We need to prove that we can do stuff on our own!

Luckily my boyfriend lectured me on my stupidity on not using tools to make my life easier and now I love the electric screwdriver. Whirrrrr!

;)

Hi, Here's useful tip #1: an old fashioned carpenter's bit brace, the hand crank thing that holds an auger to bore holes in wood...can hold a magnetic tip as well. Especially handy with a #2 philips tip for driving sheet rock screws. The world is held together with rock screws. This system costs little,
forward and reversing, variable speed, high torque, cordless, lifetime charge!
It is the tool of choice for large slotted screws. Gives good pressure against the head, less cam-out, and is quite easy to enjoy.
Best regards, Dan

[blueshift]

Well, here's some pics of my shop and some of my tools.

http://web.mac.com/janetch/Tiki_Acres_Ranch/%5BSharks_Den%5D.html

Nice set up. You gotta pipe bender in your collection that I didn't see in the photos?

[mugaliens]

I also have a habit of naming all tools that have drawn blood. Most of my tools have names.

I hope those names don't include Sawsy, Jack, and Augey...

For some reason a 3/4 drive breaker bar doesn't drive a wire fence staple into seasoned maple fence post very well.

I'll bet it works better than an '84 Ford...

[eric_marsh]

Nice set up. You gotta pipe bender in your collection that I didn't see in the photos?

No, I might get one someday though. Actually one of the ultimate tools I've been thinking about for quite a while is a dyno. Of course now that I've decided to build the dragster I'd need one for engine development on it and a motorcycle chassis dyno for tuning the race bike.

[cosmocrazy]

Well, here's some pics of my shop and some of my tools.

http://web.mac.com/janetch/Tiki_Acres_Ranch/%5BSharks_Den%5D.html


I'd be in heaven in that shop Eric! what make and models are the bikes? i couldn't quite make them out..:doh:


I have done and qualified for pretty much every job going in the engineering, electrical and construction industries.
I'm multi-skilled, ranging from driving ground work machinery, fabrication and welding, engineering, plumbing, building, through to complex electrical systems. I own loads of tools and am pretty handy with most. Still can't make my mind up what career i would like to end up doing though..:doh: and still can't make any decent money! my dad was right should have used my head rather than my hands for a living...:doh::lol:

[eric_marsh]

I'd be in heaven in that shop Eric! what make and models are the bikes? i couldn't quite make them out..:doh:


The black one is a stock Kaw ZX-14 for the street, the red one is a 1398cc Suzuki Hayabusa with a turbocharger on it and a bunch of other junk. It's kind of an on again off again project of mine that I work on when I have the money and time. Mostly these days I've been focusing on trying to pay the bills though.

I've got a bike blog at http://ericmarsh.info/DragBikeSite

I know what you mean about making money with your hands vs. your head. I'm on my third career. My first was an automotive machinist and engine builder, my second as a software developer, my third as a polyurea coatings guy and co-owner of my wife's pond building business. Now I'm back to doing software but have some ideas about inventing some high tech race equipment.

One of the nice things about living in the country is that there's actually room for a decent sized shop.

[cosmocrazy]

I thought the red one was an Hayabusa, but didn't want to look foolish making a guess at it! Turbo charged to, heck it must be pretty awesome now then!

I'll check out the bike blog eric thanks. I'm mainly into off road stuff - Moto x, Trials and Extreme enduro. I have competed in all of these most of my life, i do enjoy my biking!

[eric_marsh]

Well, it's funny. When I was a kid I would have thought that a 300+ hp bike is almost incomprehensible. Now that I've got one it's not that much of a big deal - just kind of fun to ride. But then again there are street bikes that make more horsepower than my old eighties Pro-Stocker.

I guess I'm just an old horsepower junkie.

[cosmocrazy]

300+ hp, wow!! eric it must be mental to ride!! how do you manage to get the power down?

[eric_marsh]

300+ hp, wow!! eric it must be mental to ride!! how do you manage to get the power down?

Well, for the most part that kind of power isn't too useful on the street. Normally when the boost comes on at about 80 mph it just lights the tire. The first time I took it to the dragstrip I had a junk tire on it. The bike spun to about half track then hooked and started to pull like a freight train. Went a paltry 9.70 but cleared the lights at a bit over 158 miles an hour. I finally just converted it to a race bike only and got the geriatric friendly ZX-14 for the street. I'm still trying to get the Busa to run to it's potential. Currently I'm working on a PLC based launch system.

Regarding big power on a bike, I know one very good turbo tuner who when asked what he thought was the upper limit for power on the street. He said that 450hp is about it. Any more and they could start to be dangerous. I think he mumbled something about a bike trying to flip and spit him off from a 180 or 190 mph wheelie. ;)