Aviation Mechanics..Let's See Your Toolboxes!
- Thread starter Guam_Guy
- Start date
I'm not an aviation mechanic but I work at what had been the TWA overhaul base in K.C. A new company is ramping up and there's a LOT of toolboxes lined up in the hangars. There's no way I can get drawer pics and I'm not sure it would be right if I took pics of the boxes. If the other A & P mechanics think its OK, I'll take some but just from the outside they look like the normal stuff posted here.
50% of them are Crapsman. There's a lot of U.S. General and a handful of Snap On and Matco.
The most unique is a Kennedy that's about 29" wide with 2 side boxes hanging off one side and another side box on the other side. It would look pretty cool if the owner made a frame for all of them to sit in and make it look like an integrated 4 bay unit. Side boxes just look gaudy without a set of castors under them.
50% of them are Crapsman. There's a lot of U.S. General and a handful of Snap On and Matco.
The most unique is a Kennedy that's about 29" wide with 2 side boxes hanging off one side and another side box on the other side. It would look pretty cool if the owner made a frame for all of them to sit in and make it look like an integrated 4 bay unit. Side boxes just look gaudy without a set of castors under them.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Its just a sea of old red tool boxes at work, with the occasional black or blue or brown one. Most have hand made side or back boxes and virtually all look rather junky, certainly nothing to write home about. Most aircraft mechanics have few tools compared to an auto mechanic, all SAE and mostly 1/4 drive. I have everything up thru 3/4 drive, but I work landing gears and other big stuff too. Structures and sheet metal guys have heavy boxes filled with bucking bars, bins of drill bits, drill stops, countersinks, rivet guns, all kinds of drills, etc, but again, its just well worn stuff.
finding your tool box at work is kinda like a momma penguin finding her baby amongst a whole bunch of baby penguins, somehow she knows its hers.
We are not neat, clean, white shirt, perfect tool box, tool polishing types. They don't last long when they discover they have to work for a living.
Charles
finding your tool box at work is kinda like a momma penguin finding her baby amongst a whole bunch of baby penguins, somehow she knows its hers.
We are not neat, clean, white shirt, perfect tool box, tool polishing types. They don't last long when they discover they have to work for a living.
Charles
ZRX61
Well-known member
richfinn
Well-known member
Do Boeing use SAE fasteners and Airbus use Metric?
probably a bad example I know as they sell aircraft worldwide but inquiring minds want to know
probably a bad example I know as they sell aircraft worldwide but inquiring minds want to know
ZRX61
Well-known member
No idea, never worked on a Toulouse Death Tube
richfinn
Well-known member
Do USA planes use SAE though?
I have a passing interest in planes as my Grandad worked as an Airframe fitter during WW2
and I live about 1 mile away from a small regional airport.
This is who he worked for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Aircraft
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ZRX61
Well-known member
The ones I work on do... but the stuff I work on is 70 years old...
richfinn
Well-known member
ZRX61
Well-known member
One of my cousins married some bloke called Blackburn that was something to do with that company/family.
I will try to get some at work, though they frown at people taking pictures.
The only aircraft I have ever seen that does NOT use ALL SAE are hawkers, which have majority SAE, some british standard, and some metric. They also use coin slot fasteners, which are a nightmare. I work at a gulfstream service center, we also have falcons, challengers, and hawkers. We have a strict tool control policy, we have to have EVERYTHING shadowed, but I haven't had an audit in a while, my box is pretty messy. A lot of 1/4" drive, a decent amount of 3/8" and a 1/2" ratchet and breaker bar. Special tools we generally have in the tool room.
The only aircraft I have ever seen that does NOT use ALL SAE are hawkers, which have majority SAE, some british standard, and some metric. They also use coin slot fasteners, which are a nightmare. I work at a gulfstream service center, we also have falcons, challengers, and hawkers. We have a strict tool control policy, we have to have EVERYTHING shadowed, but I haven't had an audit in a while, my box is pretty messy. A lot of 1/4" drive, a decent amount of 3/8" and a 1/2" ratchet and breaker bar. Special tools we generally have in the tool room.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
For the most part, all aircraft (large and small, Boeing, Airbus, Cessna, Piper, etc) are fractional hardware. Foreign aircraft tend to have components that have metric inside them or on them, something the component shop might have to deal with, but the normal day to day repair of Boeing, Airbus, Falcon jet, etc is with fractional/SAE/imperial hardware.
I used to work on Aerospatiale Helicopters, now Eurocopters with the merger of Aerospatiale and MBB, and they had all metric hardware. That was my first exposure to metric tools, in the mid '80's. Apparently there is a standard for metric aircraft hardware similar to the AN/MS/NAS standards.
Charles
I used to work on Aerospatiale Helicopters, now Eurocopters with the merger of Aerospatiale and MBB, and they had all metric hardware. That was my first exposure to metric tools, in the mid '80's. Apparently there is a standard for metric aircraft hardware similar to the AN/MS/NAS standards.
Charles
Reminds me of my first toolbox in the Army...but without the socket holder. Toolbox inventories were a nightmare!
ZRX61
Well-known member
That's my "throw it in the back of the truck & go fix whatever the hell the damn pilot fucked up this time" box... There are at least another 10 toolboxes, including 6 or 7 rollaways..
I will snap some of our tool room tonight and post the up. Nothing special just a bunch of Proto, Mac and SO. We have a bunch of acft specific tools that take up most of the space. Some Robin-Air carts, Nitrogen Packs and Wash carts.
Was able to snap some pretty crappy pics very quickly today. Missing a bunch of wrenches, they were in a bag on the aircraft. Missing a few drawers also because they're filled with stuff like tape and sealants and safety glasses etc.
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earlthegoat2
Well-known member
Where are the Snappy Tacos?
Were they no marketed toward the aviation techs?
Were they no marketed toward the aviation techs?
Where are the Snappy Tacos?
Were they no marketed toward the aviation techs?
You would be surprised how many tools we don't need.
Gotta be the coolest aviation box I've seen around here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466&page=37
Post #724
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466&page=37
Post #724
I also make custom toolbox lids for the guys at work. These are all for their own boxes.
I like those... Might have to get you to make me something like that. Very nice work!
Trbobuick
Well-known member
Right now i am operating out of this :
As you can see, im completely out of room so this :
And this:
Will both be here this week.
As you can see, im completely out of room so this :
And this:
Will both be here this week.
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Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
You will discover how dirty you can get when you change a carbon brake on an airliner some day. Real nasty job. The dirty jobs show (I think it was) came to our facility and filmed the host changing a 777 brake and towing an airplane. He got real dirty before they were done.
Generally its fairly clean, but you can get real nasty changing wheels and brakes, repacking struts, and playing in Skydrol (rather caustic).
Charles
Truth! We don't need anywhere near the tools that an auto tech does.
While there are many, many specialty tools, the employer keeps all of those on hand. No way a working stiff could ever buy some of that stuff.
Provincial
Well-known member
A large part of my career was flying/working on DC-3 aircraft in Alaska. We had to be moble, so my tools were distributed among several Craftsman tool boxes (not roll-aways) that had to be light enough for one man to handle. All my end wrenches were kept in a tool roll that a friend custom built to match the inventory, 2-3 wrenches per pouch. I sorted them by tool type, sockets in one (3-drawer) box, pliers/screwdrivers/punches/chisels/hammers in another 3-drawer box. Special tools in a plain deep box with pull-out tray and test gear in another deep box.
Sockets were 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive, with 1/4 used most because the fastener size most often encountered was 1/4", with #10 (3/16") the second most common. It was rare to encounter a fastener larger than 1/2". For things like the landing gear bolts we used a "Ford Wrench" adjustable with a cheater pipe.
We had to innovate sometimes. One time I did a gear retract test on a DC-3 with only one jack, and it would not pump up. Hint: we did have a big nitrogen bottle and the hoses/regulator/adapters to use it.
Sockets were 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive, with 1/4 used most because the fastener size most often encountered was 1/4", with #10 (3/16") the second most common. It was rare to encounter a fastener larger than 1/2". For things like the landing gear bolts we used a "Ford Wrench" adjustable with a cheater pipe.
We had to innovate sometimes. One time I did a gear retract test on a DC-3 with only one jack, and it would not pump up. Hint: we did have a big nitrogen bottle and the hoses/regulator/adapters to use it.
Trbobuick
Well-known member
WAYYYY cleaner then when i used to work on cars .
jetmech09 - I like the visual management/5S in your box. We were always doing that at Toyota
I like the provisions for what appears to be Calvin & Hobbs comic strip cutouts
I like the provisions for what appears to be Calvin & Hobbs comic strip cutouts
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jetmech09 - I like the visual management/5S in your box. We were always doing that at Toyota
I like the provisions for what appears to be Calvin & Hobbs comic strip cutouts
My company actually calls it 6s now. I forget what the sixth s was though. Required to have it like that for work. I actually saved a little bit of space.
We do have MANY MANY MANY specialty tools, but no single person could ever afford them. For example, the 1339 box for trimming the fuel control on a rolls royce tay 611-8 engine (accel and decel times, flight and ground idle, full reverse) costs about 750,000 new.
ZRX61
Well-known member
............work on radials...
DT62
New member
donnykooy
Well-known member
where did u get that foam?
Daves69
Well-known member
Do Boeing use SAE fasteners and Airbus use Metric?
probably a bad example I know as they sell aircraft worldwide but inquiring minds want to know
All aircraft hardware is SAE due to being certified to AN and MS Standards.
Where are the Snappy Tacos?
Were they no marketed toward the aviation techs?
The Taco was a good aviation box but became antiquated when the roller slide drawers came out, plus very hard to find. I like all the different storage options.
I finally ended up with a KRL761 as a home base and a home made tote tray that I would load with the days tools.
Heavy aircraft are very dirty wheel wells and flap wells especially. The dirt seems to settle in these areas, add a hydraulic leak and it is a dirt magnet.
Skydrol will turn your Channellock pliers green, and don't get that stuff in your eyes.
The passenger compartment is disgusting you would not believe all the cherios and gummies under the seat track covers. One of the worst smells is removing the galley floor mat.
Do Boeing use SAE fasteners and Airbus use Metric?
probably a bad example I know as they sell aircraft worldwide but inquiring minds want to know
Boeing is all SAE... Airbus structural stuff is SAE also, as that is the international standard, but some components have metric fasteners. Airbus wiring is also metric gauge, requiring metric tooling.
M
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ianguilly
Well-known member
I don't work in aviation, but my dad does and my current box was a former avation mechanics box. I've been through a few hangers with him, and the boxes were all over as far as brands. Us general was a big seller, along with snappy and craftsman. No topboxes, but a few side cabinets. They don't build up, they just build wider.