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  • Useful tools

    I was looking through harbor Freight a minute ago for something specific, but it made me think to list a few very useful items they sell cheap.

    Hooks and picks are useful for popping fuses from clips, popping ICs from sockets, fishing TO3s from sockets, tightening tube socket pins, pulling cotters, etc. The small end hooks are good for spring pulling, like fishing the end of a reverb corner spring back into the hole. There are more than these two, and certainly other places sell them, hardware stores, auto parts stores, etc.

    4 Piece Pick and Hook Set
    2 Piece O-Ring Hook Scribe Set

    Outlet tester, everyone should have one, especially on the road

    Electric Receptacle Tester

    Caliper, though I tend to call it a micrometer, a little plastic measuring thingie. I use it all the time. is that a 24mm or 16mm pot? Whhat size is that tactile switch? What is the travel length of that slider? What is the length and height of that can cap? And so on. Hey, for $3, you can't lose.

    6" Utility Caliper

    A couple good mallets. I like to use my fist to whack the top of an amp, but that hurts if I try to whack say the end of a Fender chassis, so a good rubber mallet and a soft face mallet are great. Soft face is plastic. I use the larger rubber one - unless the other one is closer - for banging on cabs to find loosenesses, or to pop PV Velcro grilles back on firmly. I am more likely to use the plastic one on chassis ends and such. They come in several shapes and sizes.

    1-1/2 lb. Soft Face Mallet
    1-1/2 lb. Rubber Mallet

    A hand rivet tool. I use it more than you might think. here is the entry level one

    Hand Riveter Set

    Tweezers. Oh geez, good for fishing a nut out from under something, and sometimes holding a nut in a small space to get a screw started in it. I bought one of those self closing ones, the fourth one over in the link, over 50 years ago, and it stil serves me. Hold a wire in place to solder, or hold a component steady.

    6 Pc Fine Point Tweezer Set

    Xacto knife. Endless uses. Slicing heat shrink off something, slicing silicone away, opening plastic wrapped packages, splitting box tape, trimming loose tolex ends

    13 Piece Precision Knife Set

    Pin punches. I use them more for alignments than actual pin punching. They are made for driving roll pins out of their holes. That is why they come in sizes. Sometimes you have to push the pin out the other side, and the punch needs to reach all the way through the hole. But I get more use aligning holes. Drop a heavy 15" speaker into the baffle opening, then the punch through the mount hole allows you to move the thing around some more easily than by hand. Or getting a chassis holes to line up with the cab top holes, poke a pin punch down through the cab top and into the chassis hole and you can keep the thing in place while starting the other screws.

    5 Piece Long Drive Pin Punch Set

    If you don't know what a roll pin is:

    120 Piece Roll Pin Storehouse


    That's enough stuff for now. Obviously you also need a good selection of screwdrivers,wrenches, pliers, and what not.
    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

  • #2
    That's a good list, Enzo, and as someone who has been tinkering with stuff for decades, I have most all of those handy items.

    I do, however, advise anyone to avoid Harbor Freight junk. Between myself an my friends, I have seen enough 'handy items' turn into useless garbage from that place.

    The tweezers are cheap, and bend. I would not trust the X-Acto stuff. Friend had one, they won't keep blade tight..dangerous.

    I bought a deep socket set, and one split on first use.

    Bought some picks. Was digging a piece of plastic out of a tight hole, and the end came off.

    Pin punch? I doubt I'd trust that cheap Chinese "steel" to not break or shatter.

    Had a friend with an air compressor that blew off the fitting after a couple months. "FFzzzzfzfzffssshhPOP!!!...ziiingggggg" Lucky nobody was in its path.

    There's a very good reason all their stuff is so cheap. It's because it's "cheap"...and much of it dangerous.

    I avoid that place like the plague. A little extra money for much better quality and a higher safety factor is well worth it.

    Otherwise...good advice on tools list.

    Brad1

    Comment


    • #3
      Watch for their coupons. 20% off and a free something with every purchase. I get my work gloves there. $3.50 a dozen. Throw them away when they get dirty. I have a free tape measure for each room at home, and a bunch of free flash lights and screw drivers. I've bought a few other tools there too. Never had a problem with reliability. I even have one of their $3.00 DMM's (these are free with a coupon) I was a little suspicious of it's performance, so I got a Fluke and every time I've compared them I get the same readings. If you are relying on your tools to earn a living, you'll want better tools, but for home use I think they are just fine.
      Vote like your future depends on it.

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      • #4
        I don't buy my good tools there, but it is one place I can find all those things in one stop to talk about here. Ther is nothing they sell that you cannot also find at most hardware stores or auto parts stores. When I am using the pin punches for alignment, they are not at all likely to shatter. And the cheap plastic caliper isn't going to get any stress, it is just a ruler.

        My tweezer set was bought under the GC brand 50 some years ago. GC was a cheap line of tools, probably every TV guy in AMerica had a set of their plastic IF can twiddlers. But they last. I don't put any particular stress on them. My knife set is Xacto brand, but the Sears house brand is fine. It is more a matter of being aware of the sorts of tools out there. Anyone who has struggled to keep a chassis lined up with the mounting holes while supporting its weight in one hand and starting screws with the other might appreciate the pin punch idea.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

        Comment


        • #5
          I sometimes look at my tools and laugh. I still have most of the tools I bought for tech school decades ago. Of course some were broken or lost, but I'm bettin' I still have near 90% of them.
          "I took a photo of my ohm meter... It didn't help." Enzo 8/20/22

          Comment


          • #6
            Interesting thread, most everything I still use is from back in the Johnson administration but I have upgraded things over the years in places. I was doing some inventory the other day and I found I had 5 nibblers. I must have been nibbler crazy at one time, probably when I was fabricating a lot of chassis's where I could not afford Greenlee punches. Probably one of my most used tools is a set of dental picks. I find them invaluable, they have so many uses. I have finally moved into the 21st century and retired my good old Weller 35 watt pencil and replaced it with a Hakko digital adjustable temperature iron, I still use 60/40 solder exclusively but if I encounter some lead free crap, I got the iron to cope with it now, at least I don't have to worry about tin whiskers.
            ... That's $1.00 for the chalk mark and $49,999.00 for knowing where to put it!

            Comment


            • #7
              I haven't bought that much stuff from Harbor Freight, but my boss has. Like the set of T-handle hex keys that lasted maybe a month until they rounded enough not to grab a hex screw anymore. You can only shorten them so many times until they become too difficult to use.

              I only will consider buying tools that I need to use once or twice, as they don't seem to last long enough to make long term heavy shop use practical.

              Comment


              • #8
                Yeah, I don't trust wrenches, and yes, I'd expect Allens to round off. I am sure I can bend over a small screwdriver prying something, but then that isn't what the tools is made for.

                I did talk my dentist out of some dental picks, they are fine too. The pick I use is an old Owatona o-ring seal pick for doing brakes. I have been using the same one for 40 years, it is sturdy and surprisingly resistance to bending. The one in the link has a metal handle, while mine has the metal core end to end with a plastic handle formed around the center. I like that because it insulates me if I want to pick at something live. The semi-curve end has a tiny notch near the end for catching a spring to push over something. And it is the end I use to get under fuses in clips.

                Super price on OTC Tools 7312 at ToolTopia.com

                I have always had good life from Craftsman hand tools, and Xcelite as well. I am sure there are other good brands. I have many of my fathers tools, and some from my grandfather. I have a small pair of Utica dikes that are older than I am, and they still cut and the joint is not rocking around.

                My plain old Weller 100/140 gun has worked for 50 plus years. I admit to having replaced the plastic outer housing, you can only drop them on cement so many times.

                Another great tool is a small inspection mirror. You might talk your dentist out of one, but here:

                Telescoping Mirror

                But a "locker mirror" is also handy, you can find them at school supply or office supply stores. The link one is glass, I prefer the plastic ones so I can drop them. The magnet on the rear can be stuck to some support, or just flip the thing on its face and store screws on the magnet. great for reaching around behind a chassis to see which jack is which or which control does what.

                http://www.amazon.com/Inch-Magnetic-...VBB02JSQ3ZMDZ6

                My grandfather was a paint salesman, so he visited hardware and paint stores, so he had a few other things. I have a box of brass nested screwdrivers that are probably 75 years old. Over the years they have evaporated into tool heaven, so there are only a few left, but they are darn useful, the tiny inner one is great for eyeglass screws.

                Brass "Nesting" Screwdrivers | Collectors Weekly

                Don't overlook cheap useful tools like these just because I used harbor freight for photos, you can get them other places.

                And smart guys have a wall mirror on the rear wall of the bench. I can lean around and see lit tube heaters or sparks or where the hell my roll of solder went.
                Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'll often buy a cheap tool to get me through a few of a particular job, which can bag me enough $ to be able to get me the quality one. You can do a lot more work with that $30 wrench set than you can with the $300 wrench set that you couldn't afford in the first place... a cheap tool can get me enough work to afford a good one, better than turning away work necause I can.t afford quality tools. Obviously doesn't apply to EVERY tool, but many do.

                  Justin
                  "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
                  "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
                  "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Brass nesting screwdrivers! I had a set of those back when I was a kid. Really nice German made, great for almost anything, until the world switched over to Philips heads. I was always fascinated with how they worked.

                    Sadly they disappeared a long time ago.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Enzo View Post
                      And smart guys have a wall mirror on the rear wall of the bench. I can lean around and see lit tube heaters or sparks or where the hell my roll of solder went.
                      Simple and effective. I started using a big mirror behind the bench when I did a lot of monitor work back in the arcade video game era and soon discovered the great utility of this for everything. When I recently relocated I took great care in making sure my big mirror made it to my new shop unbroken. I don't know what I would do without it.
                      ... That's $1.00 for the chalk mark and $49,999.00 for knowing where to put it!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        My contribution in commented photos.
                        Cheers,
                        Tom
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                        Last edited by Tom Phillips; 09-05-2015, 10:42 PM.

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                        • #13
                          In Tom Phillips' photo #3, all hail the mighty Beau-Tech! I got mine from a retired super smart MechE who designed parts of the Lunar Rover.

                          Made my own solder aids from a broken radio shaft kit, heck they always break. Filed the scrapers & point to a fine edge, stuck the other ends into wine corks or built up handles from heatshrink scraps. Mini brushes made by soldering cut up 9 or 10 gauge guitar strings into pieces of brass tube from hobby shop, way better than any store-bought plus I re use the handles when the brush finally wears out.

                          Canvas stretcher, must get one of those. I do OK on grilles but that thing would come in mighty handy. Thanks for showing us!
                          This isn't the future I signed up for.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Yeah Tom, I still have a soldering aid I think I got from Heathkit half a century ago. And back then, most of my parts came from old TV chassis and their point to point wiring. Unwinding component leads was a major part of it.

                            I used to use one of those hand crank drills as a kid, building stuff. and the related tool, the Yankee Driver:

                            Yankee Screwdrivers: Yankee Screwdriver, Push Screwdriver, Pump Action Scre


                            I never used a canvas stretcher, but I have covered MANY pool table slates with new felt, and you have to stretch that taut with no wrinkles. I use that skill doing grille cloth.

                            Sowhat, I have to admit I got into the habit of mirror on the back wall doing arcade monitors myself. These days I go to Home Depot or similar and buy a few 12" square mirror tiles and mount them.

                            You can still get nesting screwdrivers, though I usually see them as part of a hammer:

                            The Cutest Tool I Own | Manhattan Nest
                            http://www.amazon.com/Silk-Flower-Ha.../dp/B000FX4VFC
                            Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Enzo View Post
                              ...the Yankee Driver...
                              Yeah man! The Yankee driver! The one you linked shows that they updated it to use modern hex shaft bits. Makes sense. That Chicago Supreme driver attachment I posted uses the same type of bits that the original Yankee screwdriver used. The ones with a flat machined into the base of the round shaft. I could snap off the shafts of #12 wood screws with that thing if I tried to tighten them too much in hardwood. (I often got myself into trouble with the mindset of "tighter is better."
                              Tom

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