I know discussions have been made about best and handiest , etc. But I would like to know about what you think might be a weird tool to others to be carring in the truck toolbox every day, and why you carry the tool. Maybe we will learn something here. I will list mine, and why.
I carry two angle grinders [4@4 1/2] I have a toolbox full of grinding wheels and sanding pads for the big one. I use the small makita for cutting. The most useful thing I do with the big one is fit the back of counter tops . I use it as a contour plane. Both are used as shapeners. The little one cuts nails , bolts , removing old plumbing ,[never touch a wrench on an old cut off since its only got a half inch of pipe] Seems like the uses are overwhelming to me. Uses have also grown carring them . I will think; the grinder will do that !!!! Added on this list is a die grinder, and an air chisel. They are both really cool to have on board. They have a very long list also.
Ok , lets hear it !!!!
Tim Mooney
Replies
Hey that's my truck!
Profit is like oxygen,
food, water, and blood for the body; they are
not the point of life, but without
them there is no life. Jim Collins
& Jerry PorasBuilt to Last
Tim,
I always find I have a nit-picker in my truck.
Roger
Ive got things I dont have a name for , and forget where they go, and where they came from. Cant throw something away like that !!!!!!!
Tim Mooney
It's not all that unusual, but I keep my water level in my truck, and haven't rented a builder's level in 15 years, or more. I guess there are tasks where you'd need a builder's level, but I can't remember running into one yet. Very good investment for $15.00.
Brinkman for president in '04
I'll second Jim's water level. And add a few other odd things. An explosimeter (tells how close explosive vapors are to going BOOM!), and a depth-to-water meter (electronic water sensor on a 100' tape).
In the realm of the more normal: A propane torch, even if I'm not planning on plumbing (heat seal asphalt shingles, free a stubborn part, burn things, etc.).
David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
You could probably thaw out fingers or smoke a fish in a pinch too.
joe d
"smoke a fish" - now we're talkin'.Brinkmann for president in '04
here's a couple three that aren't on the truck all the time, but are great for what the're good for - the grip hoist is like a super come-a-long, no clicks, smooth action, smooth reverse - pulled the mill together with it recently - the 'lancelot' on the angle grinder looks scary, but is well behaved - I hope everyone knows what a 'big slick' is for -
Speak softly and carry a 'big slick'.I guess that make Exxon after the Valdize down right presidential.
I didn't think, I would see anyone else with boat slick. Yours is much nicer than mine.
I had just started a new job, with a big Company . We were working on an 8 million dollar house. The floor plan was shaped like a U. The inside of the U was lined with Glass. 5' x 8' double insulated custom mahoganny framed, Fixed windows. They were installed in a tube steel frame. Casing on the outside and flush conditions on the inside.
Any way the welders screwed up the frame and the end of the frame was out of plumb. creating a situation where the point where the for corners of the four individual window could not meet.
The only solution was to plane down the window frame about 5/16" we used the power planner. But that left a 1/4 " lib next to the casing . so i suggested i go out to get my slick. came back and learne why it was callled slick . Thats the day I STarted pissin people off..
The nice thing is you can put some power behind it with that handle , If it is sharp. and that wide blade helps keep it on the same plane as what your cutting. It is like a Plane on a stick.
You want to try somthing fun some time . Try to hang 4 4' x 8' one over and side by side . There were 32 windows all together. 2 rows of 16. A lesson in plumb and level and square for sure. It wouldn't have been so important, but there was no casing on the inside to cover the gaps. Just a 2" wide filler strip.
Edited 7/21/2002 12:23:16 AM ET by Edgar76b
why were you pissin' people off?
Because i was the new guy and i was showin off!
LOL
I know how that works!
Where do you get the grip hoist? Is that a late 60s Corvair in the background? My honeymoon car!!
griphoist
392 university avenue- box 707 - Westwood, MA 02090 617.329.5650
331 Littlefield Avenue - San Francisco, CA 94080 415.583.4008
that is a 1967 Bolero Red 500 coupe - indeed a Corvair - this one is so plain the light doesn't come on when you open the door - but it is complete, clean, and 32K miles - it's nominally our 17 year olds', but I've been driving it whenever I can figure out an excuse - I've put about 500K miles on Corvairs over the last 29 years - wife and I traveled cross country in one in 1981 - always got me home - where did you go on your honeymoon? -
Not far, I was in school at CSU and it was spring break. We went to my home town of Grand Junction, CO. On our wedding night we stayed in Denver and drove to Glenwood the next morning. We had one of those soggy March snow storms and I-70 was torn up in Clear Creek Canyon. Snow got so packed in the front wheels I couldn't turn to cross the highway and had to goose it around. A little hairy. Corvair was great in those conditions. Mine was a Canary yellow 66 supercharged convertible. Wish I had kept it!! Would be worth a fortune,
Edited 7/24/2002 6:24:33 PM ET by JANATION
I live in Delta.
I grew up in the North Fork Valley. My Great Grand Dad was Samuel Wade, founder of Paonia. Wish I could move back over there. Lots of cousins around there.
Has any one mentioned lipstick? for slidebolts and deadbolts...besides, I like to look good on the job site...
hahaha, yes I have some . I saved all I found from my rentals to do just that. Ive got some wild colors too!!!! LOL
Tim Mooney
I keep this laser guided drill in my truck for drilling baluster holes.
Now that is a great idea, I'm going to try that for drilling holes for a room divider my wife wants.
How 'bout Post Its? Great for marks on finished walls, pictures, bath hardware, wall rails...
Cool!!!!! I learned something . Thank you!! I watched a stair builder put holes in and it scared me to death. I said then ; no more . There has to be a better way .
Tim Mooney
In addition to the lipstick, also hang on to fingernail polish. Back in my roadie days we always used it on the strain relief screws of XLR connectors. It holds them against vibration and general knocking around, but not to where you can't bust them loose with a screwdriver. Use it on anything that comes loose from vibration.
-- J.S.
Cool! I am doing a job in Paonia next week.
Most unusual? I'm not sure about that but, the things I learn here at breaktime, in books and in Fine Homebuilding are the powerfull mental tools and tips I've been able to utilize in growing my business. Mostly by the increased quality of our craftsmanship but also easier methods and better product sources.
My books, one of which is always in the truck and car, are great when I have to wait for a client or an employee. Fifteen minutes waiting is heck for me. I love to read. Sometimes I'll read the same book tens of times. The Taunton book on concrete is one. Several others come to mind. Looking to get the concrete countertop book next. That book may take a hundred reads.
In most cases, the confidence that comes from studying my craft, is the most valuable tool I now carry. Fine Homebuilding, which I discovered five years ago, are also always in the truck/car, were probably the start point of my quest. Those are looking pretty shabby. Well loved.
But a big hyper start for me has been Breaktime's regulars that really know what they are discussing. Thanks to all of you!!Old hack, no more
Yep dad- I carry those books around too. Thing is, they've changed me so much over the years I look at my old renovation cottage by the lake that I cut my teeth on and wish I had a chance to do it over knowing what I know now.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Not in a truck but in my tool box. I have a pair of vice grips that I've replaced the adjustment knob with a threaded rod. Put a connecting pin from a 747 engine pylon (about 6" long 4"wide and solid chromed steel) as a dead weight.
Got a bolt or nail in a bad place you can't get the claw of a hammer on? clamp this sucker to it and slap away.
Nice place to work. If it's for a Wade, Conkle or Cline (or Nation) say hello cousin for me.
That angle grinder get used alot more than most think....makes for great work on cedar posts out on the deck to get them down....and finishing an exposed post top before beam placement. (Rather than skil saw it, sawsall, then sander...just cut it close to the line with the skil, and take it to the line with the grinder. Add a little concave to the center of the post, set the beam, and ta-da!!! Tight connection like a frogs as#%#@$! /sphincter)
How bout a bottle jack?
how about a bottle opener?
TDo not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
What do you use it on ?
Tim Mooney
That bottle, Jack. Brinkman for president in '04
Bottle opener..Thats the lighter I have....Oh that goes into another ongoing discussion...
Hello Prospero.
ROTFLMAOExcellence is its own reward!
Yeah...sorry bout that..(if offfended)...but ROTHFLMAO...hmmmm
No offense - it just caught me off gaurd and that is half of good comedy.Excellence is its own reward!
2- Old pairs of panty hose.Good strong ties or stretchy clamps that are unlikely to scar delicate work. Under jeans they are excellent insulation and prevent wet jeans chafe. Toes cut out and calf section used as arm guards they help greatly with fiberglass, or the dreaded mineral wool, itch.
1- Tube of lipstick.Marking breakers. Transferring box or striker locations to sheet goods. Marking the 4by4 to make sure the helper isn't just toting the same short piece around the site all day. Bold messages for directing concrete trucks etc.
6- CondomsBlown up to plug dripping pipes so they can be easily glued up. After glue sets use a stiff wire to pop the balloon. It will also keep concrete out of a pipe or seal conduits for water checks. Safe sex on those long jobs or trips. (Approve this use with the AHJ, wife or girlfriend, before using. Your mileage and general health may vary after asking. It pays to build better dog houses.)
1- Moon saucer snow sledGreat for toting tools under houses and sometimes in attics. In a pinch I have used it as an emergency shock mat when working a panel live on wet ground. It also works great for keeping tools clean, dry and close by when working in the mud.
2- Pr. old but clean tube socksMitts for soaping cable pulls. Sweat bands. One inside the other tied to string makes a nice rat. Wrapped around a drill it keeps the sand out of the vent holes. Add a dozen bolts to one,two with one inside the other to limit wear on the helper, and you have a weight for a throwing line. Ball one up inside the other for temporary plug when installing conduit underground a section at atime. Use to keep the helper from bleeding all over the truck.
3- Med. trash bagsClean up. Keep water out of bucket boss, manhole, panel, etc. Field expedient raincoat and boots. With a little string and some truck exhaust you have a hot air balloon to fill time waiting for the HO.
6- Ziploc baggies 2-gal , 4-qt.Dry place to keep a spare clothes 2-pr.Socks, 1-pr.underwear, 2- tees, 1-pr. light cotton gloves. (Clean dry clothes can make a world of difference and the gloves help keep hand prints off those all white kitchens.) Cover to keep sweat out of walkie talkie. Cover for optical level for use in rain. Dry place for plans, notes, etc.
There are probably a few more oddities in my tool boxes but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.I once had a cupie doll save a job. Won at a fair and thrown in the truck I gave it to a little girl after she ran blindly into a remodeling job an hit her head on a ladder. The mother had been leery about having the work done with the child around and was about to shut us down. After I gave the girl the doll she stopped crying and went to her mother, bragged about the nice men giving her a doll and promised to stay out of the construction area. Her mother assented to us finishing the job.
More on the panty hose ;
Ive got a bad knee, sometimes swelling . I cut the thigh part out pull it over my knee. Pull brace on over it , and fold the bottom part up over the brace , and the top down. No chaffing. I use football knee pads used as knee pads worn with shorts . If you use a black, or blue pair,....... it looks a little better !!!!!! lol. After these are put on the knee pads they stay , just pull the whole deal off.
Tim Mooney
a set of burglar tools specifically to pick locks when i lose the key/keys and surprisingly expensive and very rarely used. bear
Was that the nose of a Corvair I saw back there?
All this talk about cross dressing is kinda surprising.
Brinkmann for president in '04
Im gonna have to get some lipstick in the truck . I wouldnt want my wife to find rubbers however . She helps me occasionly clean my truck lol. I cam home from coon hunting one night and had some avon oil for bugs . She didnt believe that one .
Tim Mooney
interesting....
The safe sex one made me laugh as I am currently having an affair with my apprentice. I hired a lady. Not only does she do a good job of plumbing, (learns quickly) it is lots of fun to work late and then go "work" in the crawl space. Throw down some cardboard and...
Oh, did I mention she is also my wife?
A makeup or cosmetic mirror, about 3" square, with a folding cover. Folds to about 1/4" thk. Great for checking behind things, or under hung doors to see if the bottom has been painted.
Playboy magazine, you never know how long you have to wait for the cement truck; might as well catch up on some reading.
I've got a wizard crowbar. That's a double clawed, crookshanked thing that makes demo work lots easier.
Everone always wants to know where I got it and has never seen one before so I guess it's unique.
I've also got a chisle made myself from an old file and a little patience. It's 15/16" wide. Lot of Schrade knob sets fit that size mortise for the bolt and I couldn't find anything but 3/4" or 1" at the time.
Excellence is its own reward!
So how about a pic of this "wizard crowbar." ???
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
left-handed monkey wrench, left-handed smoke shifter, and 50 foot of shoreline and need all three to go snipe hunting.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
..cut off box-end wrench.. something small to reach up into those hand-rail fittings.
1 1/4 " square aluminum tube 36" long with a nut welded on top, for use with cordless drill to spin in stair spindles, saves wear and tear on forearms, doesn't work with all spindles though.
wood shear thing, has a small mitre gauge on it, looks like something that snips roses or something, only good for like a small scotia mold or something.
surgical gloves.. for the abatron stuff
6" drywall knife ground down to a 35* shape, tapes the joint way up in the basement stairwell cieling..
no turn left unstoned
oh yeah, almost forgot, meat-tray knee pads. cut off "feet" off worn out socks, tape those inside styrofoam meat tray, pull the other part off the sock over your knee, slip in "meat tray".
by the time you wear those out, you'll have worn out another pair of socks to start over with.no turn left unstoned
got a few clothespins for like, tiny clampsno turn left unstoned
oh yeah, just remembered this one ,
toilet bolt, snip "teeth" on small round piece of aluminum soda can, drill hole in center, slip on bolt, capture with nut, then chuck in drill.....
.. becomes budget "inside pipe cutter"no turn left unstoned
Have you tried a rubber flex float for that angle. I used to have knifes cut like yours , and went to this rubber float.
Tim Mooney
that makes a "round" joint, right?no turn left unstoned
Well it's not an unusal tool to have but maybe the quantity makes it strange because a project manager on a project I stopped by today in talking about me to another guy with us said "how may guys do you know that have four dremel tools?"
I had five with me.
"Architecture is the
handwriting of Man." - Bernard
Maybeck.
Along with the boat slick I mentioned. I have a vice mounted on a peice of 2 inch square stock. I can insert it into my hitch reciever. It works Great! Nice to have it as an option you would be suprised. Along with my slotted angle cutter. It gets used.
edgar- THAT is a good idea.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Hmmm. Good idea that. I know where I can get a length of thick walled 2 by 2 tube steel. A bit of work welding on a 1/4" plate and drilling holes to match a vice I have and I should be all set up. Thanks for the idea Edgar76b.
Thanks ! Ideas we could learn from was my point to the post . That idea is awsome. I will do it.
Tim mooney
Yeah It works great. I saw it a few years ago, on a friends truck . I have always been suprised That I haven't seen it more often . I have also seen it bolted to a diamond plate bumper. The guy who welded mine together. figured out a way to keep that swivwel feature. That is valuable to. I can spin it and lay a piece of 8' stock out in my van . it works like a work bench. The jaws of the vice are at just the right place. to keep it flat.
I don't keep it mounted. I store inside, I have never seen a need to pin it in place while I am using it, Either. It stays tight in the hitch. A little play but it doesn't effect it working for me.
I wouldnt want it bolted. The beauty of the idea is , its portable . And a fine idea it is !!!! I would take it off when I wasnt using it. But I want my buddies to see it . Ill be cool then !! hahaha
Tim Mooney
That you will be. lol
Thanks! That's a great idea. We were just bending some flat stock the other day, trying to get a sharp bend. Stuck it in the receiver, but it wasn't gripping it like we needed.
the door latch (post side)on my toyota truck opens bottles.
Cool. You bought a bottle opener and they threw in a truck for free.
Those Toyotas aren't free, they're made from bottle caps and beer cans. We use twist tops. heheBob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
The most unusual tool in my truck is only in there when i am making a trip somewhere.Quittin' Time
A tool that I carry and seems quite foreign to many trades I've worked with, is a push broom and dustpan.
extra rolls of toilet paper. Jeff She's exotic ,but not foreign, like an old Cadillac......she's a knockout!
A piece of 3/8 inch pipe abpt 8 inches long with a 9 inch stove bolt that will fit inside it. I use this to satar and drive nails in those tight places that you can't get a good hammer swing. Also great for placing a nail in the back of gutter. Take the bolt out of the pipe and you have an extra long punch.
Speaking of pipe, I've got several lenghths of 2" pipe and 1-1/4" dowel for rollers. Makes it easy to move heavy beams etc. alone.
Boss, You can buy the wizard from Leman's Hardware Catalouge - that's the Amish supplier one. My digital is misbehaving so no pictures for awhile.
Excellence is its own reward!
Edited 7/20/2002 9:48:44 AM ET by piffin
A guy told me something the other day reminded me of your beam rollers. He has one of those Back yard sheds. He bought some 10' lengths of 4 inch PVC, moved his shed, and returned the PVC in the afternoon.
"I was born in the country, razed in the city, I'm a natural born shaker from my hips to the ground"
Edited 8/5/2002 7:11:46 PM ET by Edgar76b
I have a crimping tool for when I cut and crimp downspouts that comes in pretty handy when I have to move same for the deck ledger. Doesn't get used much but it sure is fun to pull out of the toolbox when the job needs done. Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Dave --
I made something similar, three pieces of #4 rebar, 6", 12", and 18" long, with the ends squared off, and a 3/8" end mill cut 1/8" deep in one end. Handy for working in the crawl space, and overhead the long ones let you get into a more comfortable position on the ladder.
-- J.S.
You are right Scott!
I got me some of those too!
On my broom it says...
"This is Richard Miller's broom but YOU CAN use it too!"