wrong tool used / fess up

[Soundguy]

Ok.. honesty time.. How many of you guys use the wrong tool to do the job.. find out it works fine, and is faster / easier?

I'll go first.

I was in my garage last night and decided to change out the fouled spark plugs on my Allis G.

1, I didn't really feel like pulling the hood off.. and the spark plug socket and ratchet were 'way' out in the barn anyway.. not to mention there was not enough clearance under the hood to get the ratchet and socket on the plugs on that massive 10 hp engine under that itty-bitty hood.

I sat there for a few seconds and saw my 8" crescent wrench setting under the tractor that I had just used to R&R the tranny oil check plug... Hmm... Sure enough.. the wrench fit fine.. R&R the 4 plugs in under 5 minutes.

I guess it helps to have a flathead engine...

Soundguy

 

[Richard]

When we first moved in our house, we needed to do the trim work that we were going to do ourselves.

I was using a framing hammer (waffle patterns) and there are NUMEROUS places where the paint didn't hide my bad hits as I waffled the trim in more places as I aimed with futility, for the nail.

I then bought a compressor, finish nailer, got a LOT of flack from the wife for buying "such an expensive tool".

Now, if you tried to take her finish nailer away from her, she'd likely tie you into a knot!



On the successful side, I was once at a restaurant that my dad built. My sisters were operating it down on Hilton Head. There was a milkshake maker that had come loose. You know the type, you put the stainless glass under the mixer contraption that has the mixer wand hanging down?

Well, the problem was a simple loose screw HOWEVER, it just happened that to tighten the screw, you had to disassemble half the machine. The screw was BETWEEN the motor and the face of machine. There was only like 1 perhaps 2 inches of gap to put ones fingers.

What to do? After all, it WAS summertime and place was busy, selling a lot of milkshakes...

I found the "butterfly" part of a drywall anchor. You know the kind, the spring loaded part, you insert into a hole in drywall so it springs open on the back side and is used to anchor the screw.

Ok, well I found one of those and because it was very small, able to bend at 90 degrees, I was able to use IT as a screwdriver and fixed the machine in about 5 minutes.

Seems they'd been fretting about it for a week or so as the mixer part vibrated all over the place and silly me, just waltzed in and viola... used the wrong tool, to fix it

 

[schmism]

with no filter wrench or strap wrench.... i looped a rachet strap around it 3 times and had my wife pull on the strap while i turned by hand.... it worked...

ive been known to have the 1/2" wrachet in my hand and found myself beating on something with it... (h3ll it almost weights as much as my ball-peen anyway)

ive been known to go looking for the phillips screw driver for like 10 min to get fed up, grab up the cheepy flat head and walk over to the bench grinder and make it into a single sided phillips....

Ive broken the small screwdiver prying on something (knowing, er hopping it wouldnt break, so i wouldt have to extract my self from under the car to get the real prybar)


on the flip side ive gone looking for my 1/2 open end for a project passing over the 8" cressent many times while looking for ONE wrench.... (meanwhile i takes me 10 min to find the wrench when i COULD have just taken the nut off with the cressent wrench in about 30 sec)

 

[Thomas]

Evening Soundguy.
Instead of taking the time getting impact driver and deep 1 1/2" socket,I grap pipe wrench w/pipe...3' cheater bar...and those nuts came of w/easy...yup,right tool for the right job.

Worse tool ever purchase,remember the mircale wrench....yeah that was the right name for them,for it was mircale one didn't bust there knuckles.

 

[eanjay]

Last night, I used the pallet-forks in the front on the tractor to open the Garage type door in the workshop - just because I could

EanJay

PS. I don't have the door-handle attached yet!

 

[BTDT]

Wrong tool? If it worked, I don't know that it was the wrong tool. Most versatile, flat head screwdriver (screwdriver, chisel, prybar, wood chisel, can opener, starter {shorting across starter and solenoid}, pencil/scribe, pin{for holding end of 100' tape}, hammer, punch, etc.)

 

[AchingBack]

OK, I broke my fingernail when tightening a screw.

 

[Dusty]

There are only two things that you need for any tool box to be complete. Duct tape and WD40. If it moves, and it isn't supposed to, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move, and it is supposed to, use the WD40. Never force anything. Always get a bigger hammer.

 

[ozzie tractor]

There are only two things that you need for any tool box to be complete. Duct tape and WD40. If it moves, and it isn't supposed to, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move, and it is supposed to, use the WD40. Never force anything. Always get a bigger hammer.

if all else fails get a bigger hammer, if that doesnt work find a gas torch

THE most useful item ever invented is the cable tie (zip tie) they have been used for all sorts of rough as heck repairs and worked well for most of them, or is that just me ??

 

[mikim]

according to my wife a case (butter) knife is the proper tool ....... for just about everything .....