I'm New Here!

[ConnerSmith]

Hello everyone! I'm Conner Smith! I'm new here so I did not know if this was the place to post or not, but here goes! I am 15 years old and I work part time at a helicopter repair shop. I do not have too many tools, but enough to get around (as I am 15). I do not buy the big brands. The biggest brand I have bought is probably craftsman! My philosophy is that I would rather have a lot of usable tools instead of a few really really good tools. I do occasionally buy the bigger brands for the more precise tools, but I can usually get around with harbor freight stuff. I have a harbor freight tool cart: http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/tool-cabinets-and-carts/five-drawer-service-cart-95272.html I got it on sale with a coupon for 160. It's filled with mostly HF tools, but I have some nice husky screwdrivers. Work is a mixed bag of stuff when you are 15 and work at a repair shop. From cleaning to body work to fabrication. Anyway, I wanted to say this is a real nice site to share the experience of work, tools, and garages with people that do the same as me! Thanks!

-Conner Smith

 

[930dreamer]

Conner, welcome to the GJ. Tell us about the helicopter repair shop.

 

[ConnerSmith]

Conner, welcome to the GJ. Tell us about the helicopter repair shop.

It's called flight trails. They mostly repair MD helicopters: http://www.mdhelicopters.com/v2/index.php but it isn't uncommon for them to fix up other ships. Right now were working on one that will go to Africa to fight off poachers of rhinos and other animals. It's a pretty fun place to work!

 

[marcusicp]

Welcome! How about some pics of your cart?

 

[91bronc300]

That is so cool! Keep your enthusiasm up Connor and show your employer how much you want to learn. That is far from a dead end job.

P.S. Stay safe. I'm 31 and been around shops and tools a long time, yet I still put a drill bit into the palm of my hand last week by not thinking straight! Just a friendly reminder........

 

[ConnerSmith]

Welcome! How about some pics of your cart?

It's at work right now but I will take some tomorrow and post them. I will also take some of my drawers so you guys can see my tools.

 

[bczygan]

Conner,
You going for your A&P?

 

[nine4gmc]

yeah, post pics of your drawers

it's not all about brand, buy a tool that will make you money. If harbor freight tools work for the level of work you do, that's great! I have lots of harbor freight tools as well, some you will find out are not as good as others but the return policy outweighs any confusion of whether to try them out or not. Buy it, try it, don't like it, return it. I have a HF cart too, the black 4 drawer, it was a floor model I got for $90 poorly assembled with some dust and scuffs. good cart, I must have 100 lbs in the bottom drawer alone and it feels solid opening/closing. I would certainly buy another one, wonder how the red one is

p.s. Stay away from the GJ Vise thread, Garage Sale Finds, and Hot Deals threads until you are 18+, I do not want a "contributing to the delenquicy of a minor" charge...

 

[ConnerSmith]

yeah, post pics of your drawers

it's not all about brand, buy a tool that will make you money. If harbor freight tools work for the level of work you do, that's great! I have lots of harbor freight tools as well, some you will find out are not as good as others but the return policy outweighs any confusion of whether to try them out or not. Buy it, try it, don't like it, return it. I have a HF cart too, the black 4 drawer, it was a floor model I got for $90 poorly assembled with some dust and scuffs. good cart, I must have 100 lbs in the bottom drawer alone and it feels solid opening/closing. I would certainly buy another one, wonder how the red one is

p.s. Stay away from the GJ Vise thread, Garage Sale Finds, and Hot Deals threads until you are 18+, I do not want a "contributing to the delenquicy of a minor" charge...

lol thanks for the warning! The red one is one of those "surprisingly good for harbor freight" deals. It is modeled off a snap on rolling cart I believe. Obviously not as good of quality as a snap on but still a great cart. I love it. I also have a craftsman tool chest but I only put the tools I don't use much in there.

 

[davesnothere]

I will also take some of my drawers so you guys can see my tools.

That sounds like ****** harassment to me.

 

[ConnerSmith]

That sounds like ****** harassment to me.

 

[bluechevy94]

Welcome to GJ.There's nothing wrong with having harbor freight tools.There are some good buys at HF just got to watch what you get.I stay away from the power tools there.Never had any luck with them.I have the black 4 drawer cart and it is an excellent buy.To be honest most of my hand tools are HF and kobalt from Lowes.My moto is I'd it does the job then it was worth buying.I will admit though there are some things that I need to get that will only be snap on due to quality reasons and past experiences with other brands for the.given tool.

 

[ConnerSmith]

Welcome to GJ.There's nothing wrong with having harbor freight tools.There are some good buys at HF just got to watch what you get.I stay away from the power tools there.Never had any luck with them.I have the black 4 drawer cart and it is an excellent buy.To be honest most of my hand tools are HF and kobalt from Lowes.My moto is I'd it does the job then it was worth buying.I will admit though there are some things that I need to get that will only be snap on due to quality reasons and past experiences with other brands for the.given tool.

I definitely agree. Thanks for the welcome!

 

[sumner52000]

Welcome. Don't worry about what brand your tools are. You have lots of time to upgrade. Get what will work now, and over time as you find deals begin to upgrade.

Make sure you are careful with those flying things. I would hate to be responsible for a crash that hurt someone. I messed up on an old firetruck and both right rear tires and axle came out while they were going down the road. Nearly flipped the truck. My boss did flip when he found out what happened.

 

[Trucky]

Welcome. A word of caution: Some folks here are VERY picky about where their tools are made and what brand they are. Just ignore them.

Other than that, it's all fun here. Post some pictures!

 

[Rico.]

It's splendid to see such a young man learning skills and putting his
(I'm assuming you are a his) money into such useful things as tools.
I have no doubt that with the attitude you seem to have you will
make a fine man not to far from now. I bet your Dad is very proud.

Keep it up, I would love to see your cart and tools, and the copter shop.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Hello Connor, Welcome to the GJ. Lot of good guys and ideas here, hope you enjoy it.
Like a few others have said on here, don't sweat it about the HF tools. Gotta start somewhere. That's where I started. I just upgraded as I went along.

Sounds like alot of opportunity there at the chopper shop. I wouldn't count it out as a career completely.

Good luck if you do try for the Marine Corps. Not alot of people can hack it. Start running now! And don't stop! Try to get in the best shape you can before you hit the Island/or San Diego.

The Corps has quite a few MOS's towards the Aircraft Maintenance field. You might want to look into working on the MV-22 Osprey. Those airframes had some problems initially but they are truly awesome in their capabilities. Feel free to ask any questions as you get closer to Enlistment.

 

[ConnerSmith]

Hello Connor, Welcome to the GJ. Lot of good guys and ideas here, hope you enjoy it.
Like a few others have said on here, don't sweat it about the HF tools. Gotta start somewhere. That's where I started. I just upgraded as I went along.

Sounds like alot of opportunity there at the chopper shop. I wouldn't count it out as a career completely.

Good luck if you do try for the Marine Corps. Not alot of people can hack it. Start running now! And don't stop! Try to get in the best shape you can before you hit the Island/or San Diego.

The Corps has quite a few MOS's towards the Aircraft Maintenance field. You might want to look into working on the MV-22 Osprey. Those airframes had some problems initially but they are truly awesome in their capabilities. Feel free to ask any questions as you get closer to Enlistment.

Thanks for the encouragement! I look forward to enlisting!

 

[ConnerSmith]

It's splendid to see such a young man learning skills and putting his
(I'm assuming you are a his) money into such useful things as tools.
I have no doubt that with the attitude you seem to have you will
make a fine man not to far from now. I bet your Dad is very proud.

Keep it up, I would love to see your cart and tools, and the copter shop.

Thank you. I will definitely post some pictures of my equipment. I believe that there are depleting amounts of skilled-craftsman in this country at this time. I cannot imagine doing anything but manual labor as a job. As for tools and machines at the shop, we have an old WWII era mill, a pretty decent sized lathe (probably about 3 foot), we have a large sheet metal brake and a medium sized sheet metal brake, as well as a large shear (to size down fresh sheets of aluminum and steel) and a small shear for smaller precision cuts. We as well have a big floor drill press and a medium sized (but not small) drill press. For smaller tools we have a bench grinder, cut off saw, 15" bandsaw, and forgot to mention our brand new (used) lincoln tig welder. That's all I remember for now but I think for the most part that covers most of the stuff we have. My favorite part is probably the huge scrap aluminum pile that I can freely pick through to make little on-the-side projects!

Thanks for the welcome! -Conner

 

[ConnerSmith]

Welcome. A word of caution: Some folks here are VERY picky about where their tools are made and what brand they are. Just ignore them.

Other than that, it's all fun here. Post some pictures!

Thanks! Thanks for the welcome and the heads up!

 

[ConnerSmith]

That is so cool! Keep your enthusiasm up Connor and show your employer how much you want to learn. That is far from a dead end job.

P.S. Stay safe. I'm 31 and been around shops and tools a long time, yet I still put a drill bit into the palm of my hand last week by not thinking straight! Just a friendly reminder........

Thanks! I'll be safe (but not overly safe )

 

[Big-Foot]

Welcome to GJ Conner!

I find it very nice that you are here and not glued to some video game like most young folks your age..

About your tools.. Try to buy the best quality you can. If HF is it, well, then look them over carefully when selecting them. A pal of mine recently bought a set of SAE combination wrenches. It had two 1/2" wrenches and no 9/16". Seems that the Chinese have as much trouble reading English as we would have reading Chinese! LOL...

Nothing wrong with getting your A&P - especially if you can get Uncle Sam to pay for it. If nothing else, you would have a good solid profession to fall back on should hard times ever hit..

Best of luck to you man.. Thanks in advance for your service to our great country!

 

[bigcaddy]

Welcome to the board, Conner. Like the other members have mentioned, some people are quite particular about what tools they use and will tell you what brands you need to buy. Unfortunately opinions are like a**holes, everybody seems to have one but don't take their advise to heart.

You have many years ahead of you to amass your tools. I've been doing if for over 15 years now and don't plan on stopping until they roll my dead body into a grave.

If you are looking to save money on buying tools, hit the yard sales/estate sales in your area. You can usually find great quality, American made tools for a very good price. Its the best way to build a complete set of tools on a budget which i would imagine most 15 year olds are.

So, once again, welcome to the discussion board. Btw, what kind of bench vise do you have?

 

[ConnerSmith]

Welcome to GJ Conner!

I find it very nice that you are here and not glued to some video game like most young folks your age..

About your tools.. Try to buy the best quality you can. If HF is it, well, then look them over carefully when selecting them. A pal of mine recently bought a set of SAE combination wrenches. It had two 1/2" wrenches and no 9/16". Seems that the Chinese have as much trouble reading English as we would have reading Chinese! LOL...

Nothing wrong with getting your A&P - especially if you can get Uncle Sam to pay for it. If nothing else, you would have a good solid profession to fall back on should hard times ever hit..

Best of luck to you man.. Thanks in advance for your service to our great country!

Welcome to the board, Conner. Like the other members have mentioned, some people are quite particular about what tools they use and will tell you what brands you need to buy. Unfortunately opinions are like a**holes, everybody seems to have one but don't take their advise to heart.

You have many years ahead of you to amass your tools. I've been doing if for over 15 years now and don't plan on stopping until they roll my dead body into a grave.

If you are looking to save money on buying tools, hit the yard sales/estate sales in your area. You can usually find great quality, American made tools for a very good price. Its the best way to build a complete set of tools on a budget which i would imagine most 15 year olds are.

So, once again, welcome to the discussion board. Btw, what kind of bench vise do you have?

Thanks for the welcome! I have two bench vises. I don't know the brands however. I also have a drillpress vise. This is the only one I have at home right now:

 

[theoldwizard1]

My philosophy is that I would rather have a lot of usable tools instead of a few really really good tools.

Good philosophy !

One way to get good tools, especially power tools, is to buy manufacturer refurbished. I have saved over 50% on some.

Also be careful of some of the HF stuff. It really is junk. Like their bar clamps. I'm glad I only paid $1 each for the ones I bought, because they all wound up in the trash !

 

[theoldwizard1]

I forgot to mention, my first set of tools was a Craftsman 1/4" and 3/8" drive socket set that I got for Christmas when I was about 14. Over 45 years later, I still have them and still use them. A LOT !

 

[jeffmoss26]

welcome, enjoy, and don't buy every tool you see for sale

 

[ConnerSmith]

Good philosophy !

One way to get good tools, especially power tools, is to buy manufacturer refurbished. I have saved over 50% on some.

Also be careful of some of the HF stuff. It really is junk. Like their bar clamps. I'm glad I only paid $1 each for the ones I bought, because they all wound up in the trash !

I am aware of the HF junk. I ALWAYS inspect the merchandise before my purchase. I pretty much have a mental list of the kind of products that are junk. Thanks for the welcome!

 

[ConnerSmith]

welcome, enjoy, and don't buy every tool you see for sale

I don't, can't afford to!

 

[ConnerSmith]

I forgot to mention, my first set of tools was a Craftsman 1/4" and 3/8" drive socket set that I got for Christmas when I was about 14. Over 45 years later, I still have them and still use them. A LOT !

My first set of tools my parents had bought me when I was 4 or 5. It was a real set of tools (not the plastic toys) I was so proud of them. Unfortunately, they have gotten lost over the years. The only tools from that set I still own are an adjustable wrench, a 1/4" drive socket wrench, and a hammer. I will see If I can remember to take some pictures of them.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I got these from my dad's mechanic when I was four. I still use them all the time, and I turned 25 today!

 

[ConnerSmith]

Nice! My dad has a nice pair of Channellock adjustable pliers. I need to get a pair too!

 

[franzdom]

Welcome Conner!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

 

[plumber84]

Welcome aboard, buy joining this forum you can expect your tool collection and tool addiction to grow considerably.

 

[plumber84]

I got these from my dad's mechanic when I was four. I still use them all the time, and I turned 25 today!

Hey jeff, how do you get your pictures to turn up so large?

 

[jeffmoss26]

I just pasted the link from my Photobucket. I guess that's the size it uploaded originally from my iPhone.
BTW there is no such thing as 'one' pair of Channellocks! I have like 10