Don’t do that!!

[semi42]

I think I speak for all of us here that use this forum that we use the right tool for the job.
In the past I have allowed non trained guys to assist me with a repair to get their machinery up and running and out of the workshop quicker.
Countless times I have stopped them just in time from
hammering in a pry bar,
using the head of a ratchet or a big wrench as a hammer
Using a scraper as a screwdriver
Using a large flat screwdriver as a chisel.

Have you caught anyone misusing your tools?

 

[bob15]

Me. I have done will and do most everything you say you've stopped people from doing.

Let me ask you this, what is wrong with:

hammering into a pry bar?
using a screwdriver as a blunt-nose chisel?
using the wrench to help drive the bolt through the hole? A smack or two, not beating on, doesn't damage the wrench......

I guess you don't use a screwdriver to open a gallon can of paint either? Because that is using a screwdriver as a pry bar which is a no-no as well.

 

[MushCreek]

I have two classes of tools- the good ones, that are always used properly, and the beaters for everything else. Sometimes you can't get an impact wrench in there, so you take an old beater wrench and whack it with a hammer. I use old screwdrivers for all sorts of non-intended uses. Now, if someone else is using my tools, no, I won't stand for abuse. That's why the beater tools are hanging on the wall in plain sight, while the good stuff is in drawers.

 

[619DioFan]

Guilty as charged. in the words of Eric O of south main auto " every tool has a hammer side "

 

[lardy1]

Anyone with an aversion to tool "abuse" should stay away from merchant ships. Often, there is no option other than getting the job done with what you have. Period. The NAPA truck and the Snap-On truck ain't coming.

In honesty, that was really hard for me to accept in the beginning. And I try not to abuse personal tools. I don't have everything and, like others, keep beater tools around for that reason.

 

[seber]

I have a box of junk wrenches and screwdrivers for the purpose and for modifications. The good tools stay nice. By the way, I never use a screwdriver to open paint cans. That is abuse of the can. There is a tool for the purpose that is usually given free at paint stores and works way better.

 

[MushCreek]

I must have a dozen of those paint can tools. Couldn't tell you where any of them are, though.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I’m not without sin either. I noticed that using chrome sockets with an air impact wasn’t mentioned.

 

[KnurledNut]

When it comes to MY tools, im allowed to abuse them.
But IF i loan them, i dont let others.

 

[bbrins]

I've got no problem coaxing a bolt or a part into place with the side of my ratchet head or the handle. If I'm elbow deep in an engine bay and something needs prying and there's a large flat blade screwdriver right there, well today it's a pry bar. Phillips screwdriver to line up bolt holes, yup. I even use those paint can opener things to pry on things other than paint can lids. I won't do those kinds of things with other people's tools though.

 

[Gunfixr]

While I try not to abuse my tools, i'm going to do what I need to to get the job done.
They are my tools, so it's on me.
Plus, I figure by not constantly abusing them, they will more likely survive the occasional abuse.
If not, there's replacement............

 

[vavet]

I have this weird looking c-clamp that measures how wide the gap is. It’s weird though because it only lets you get it so tight before it spins without tightening. It also only clamps up to an inch. It’s not a versatile clamp.

It’s like like this adjustable wrench I have that had a a big dial on the front to help you measure the nut when you’re turning it. The jaws on it aren’t wide enough though and it slips on the nuts too easily and opens up. Not sure what they were thinking.

 

[subroc]

As a general matter I try to use the right tool for the job every time.

That said, if I need to do an operation and have a tool right here that "might" get the job done and the perfect tool is somewhere else, 100% of the time I will give the might get it done tool a shot.

Over the years most of the guys I have worked along side in tiger teams, crews and co-workers have had similar sensibilities to me.

I don't let the zeal for perfect safety ruin a perfectly good days work.

 

[PelicanPines]

If I catch them... I begin discussing the reasons for Cerebral Trepanación... as I load a spade bit in the nearest drill...

 

[plinker]

IME, the best way to end up with something broken, scarfed up or damaged to some degree is to loan it. How many have loaned a chainsaw and got it back after someone used 100% gas, not mix gas?


FWIW, In a GM repair procedure for a wheel bearing replacement, you are to insert a screwdriver in the vents of the rotor so it goes up against the caliper bracket to keep it from turning while torquing the axle nut to spec. So there's that.

Screwdrivers are too useful a tool not to use as a prying tool. Not very good as a chisel though. You dont need a high end/expensive one either. I had bought a 5-6$ Do-it best brand large screwdriver specifically for abuse needs about three-ish years ago. Finally broke the tip last week doing something. It still works for the most part, but not for driving screws now. Eventually I'll buy another for the same use.

My pry bars get hammered on since they have striking caps on most of them, not really an issue there(?). I avoid chrome on impacts, but you do what you have to 2% of the time since not everything is available in impact grade. If something needs to be tapped in, there's usually a proper hammer within reach, though I will tap on stuff at times if I know it wont damage either item being tapped (ratchets & wrenches are a no go, along with chromed stuff)

Sometimes you do what you have to.

 

[Jswain]

I'm in the same boat as what seems like most others. If I use my own tools in a way they weren't designed to be used I consider it a calculated risk and as much as I try and use the right tool for the job if it's what I have available you bet I am using it.

When my friends use my tools they can use them as designed or bring their own.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Of course, if it's available I'll endeavor to use the proper tool for the job... saying that... If it's the only tool you have available, and the job's gotta get done, then you use whatever you have available to do the job you have to to keep the job going.

When you;re on a suspended scaffolding 300 feet above water using a needle gun, and the damned thing jams, and what you have is a couple screwdrivers, a couple crescent wrenches, a pair of vise-grips and a pair of channelocks, you do what you can with what you got, and spend the 15 minutes to unstick the damned tool and slap it back together...

... The alternative being shut the job down, pack everything up, take the 3 hours + to run said scaffold back to an access point, unload onto your truck, drive back to the shop where the "proper" tools are, effect the "proper" repair, get back into the truck, spend the next 2-3 hours getting back to the job site, setting everything back up, and proceeding... only to have the damned thing jam again 30 minutes later...

Yeah, I had a boss that insisted we throw away a day working to do just that. After 3 times, taking 2 days to do 45 minutes work out of what was 2 weeks,worth of work on that site, where we HAD to be done by the following Thursday after next, he finally realized we knew better. So BT, DT, and FT, too.

 

[semi42]

Me. I have done will and do most everything you say you've stopped people from doing.

Let me ask you this, what is wrong with:

hammering into a pry bar?
Another mechanic, who done this , shattered the handle

using a screwdriver as a blunt-nose chisel?

The handle was burred making it uncomfortable to use

using the wrench to help drive the bolt through the hole? A smack or two, not beating on, doesn't damage the wrench......

But chips the chrome making it peel

I guess you don't use a screwdriver to open a gallon can of paint either? Because that is using a screwdriver as a pry bar which is a no-no as well.

After talking to a guy in the spray shop, he showed me the best way to open a paint tin , a screwdriver wasn’t the best tool for the job

 

[bob15]

After talking to a guy in the spray shop, he showed me the best way to open a paint tin , a screwdriver wasn’t the best tool for the job

Maybe not the best to the guy in your spray shop, but it was worked fine for me for over 40 years.

 

[subroc]

Ahhh, it is about the "best" tool to do any given job not an effective tool.

So, Where do we go next? Anyone that doesn't use your idea of the best tool is what?

 

[driftpin]

After talking to a guy in the spray shop, he showed me the best way to open a paint tin , a screwdriver wasn’t the best tool for the job

While those triangular can-opener tools are the right tool for the job, a church key works well, I have a few, and they always do a good job. Plus, I have a brother who always opens a can of beer with a church-key, which makes me think of days of yore, when the pull-off tabs weren't invented. Cue Jimmy Buffett here: "...stepped-on a pop-top... ."

 

[CoogarXR]

I have a rule, any screwdrivers that are in the hammer drawer are allowed to be hit with the hammer. No other screwdrivers are allowed to be hit, lol.

 

[Kenstone1]

I must have a dozen of those paint can tools. Couldn't tell you where any of them are, though.

I only look for a paint can tool when I need to pull a hose off of a barbed fitting, in tight quarters.
To open a paint can not so much.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I have a rule, any screwdrivers that are in the hammer drawer are allowed to be hit with the hammer. No other screwdrivers are allowed to be hit, lol.

I'll include Multimemers and wrenches along with that.

 

[subroc]

Ok, the paint can tool may be the "best" tool to open a can. To close it, not so much. I use an 8oz ball peen for that. So, I need or use 2 different tools. If I use a screw driver, I use the tip to open it and the **** to close it. I use just 1 tool.

So, tell me again which one is best?

 

[Motorman55]

I think I speak for all of us here that use this forum that we use the right tool for the job.
In the past I have allowed non trained guys to assist me with a repair to get their machinery up and running and out of the workshop quicker.
Countless times I have stopped them just in time from
hammering in a pry bar,
using the head of a ratchet or a big wrench as a hammer
Using a scraper as a screwdriver
Using a large flat screwdriver as a chisel.

Have you caught anyone misusing your tools?

Your first mistake "..I think I speak for all of us here that use this forum.." Now you opened a can of worms and didn't even need to use one of those tools.

 

[emagee9899]

Other mechanics used to ask why I would use an impact on my wheel bearing tool, but would tell them not to if they borrowed it. I told them I paid to $700 for it, and if I break it, I have to replace it. If they break it, I know they wouldn’t be willing to replace it, so do as I say not as I do

 

[KnurledNut]

After talking to a guy in the spray shop, he showed me the best way to open a paint tin , a screwdriver wasn’t the best tool for the job

The paint can shaker at the old hardware store was pretty good at opening cans...

 

[Wrench97]

Ah prydrivers the most universal tool in the tool box, they too have a hammer side..................

 

[subroc]

The paint can shaker at the old hardware store was pretty good at opening cans...

I am sure in a most interesting way...

 

[Bert_]

I think I speak for all of us here that use this forum that we use the right tool for the job.

The right tool is the one that gets the job done. Simple as that. I don't worry myself about what the tool was designed to do vs what I can do with it.

I don't try to destroy tools but sometimes you have a casualty or two. That's what they make new ones for.

 

[Gunfixr]

Other mechanics used to ask why I would use an impact on my wheel bearing tool, but would tell them not to if they borrowed it. I told them I paid to $700 for it, and if I break it, I have to replace it. If they break it, I know they wouldn’t be willing to replace it, so do as I say not as I do [emoji16] [emoji38]_hitti

Yeah, and this right here^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Steve W.]

Like most others that have posted, I try to use the correct tool. However, ...

If anybody is visiting my shop and asks to borrow a tool, I ask one question to see if they qualify to borrow my tools:
"Which end of a screwdriver do you pound on?"
If they give the correct answer ("Neither end."), they can use my tools.

.

 

[neophyte]

I think I speak for all of us here that use this forum that we use the right tool for the job.
In the past I have allowed non trained guys to assist me with a repair to get their machinery up and running and out of the workshop quicker.
Countless times I have stopped them just in time from
hammering in a pry bar,
using the head of a ratchet or a big wrench as a hammer
Using a scraper as a screwdriver
Using a large flat screwdriver as a chisel.

Have you caught anyone misusing your tools?

I’vebprobably done all of these things, although with my own tools.

 

[Iron Beaver]

I have this weird looking c-clamp that measures how wide the gap is. It’s weird though because it only lets you get it so tight before it spins without tightening. It also only clamps up to an inch. It’s not a versatile clamp.

It’s like like this adjustable wrench I have that had a a big dial on the front to help you measure the nut when you’re turning it. The jaws on it aren’t wide enough though and it slips on the nuts too easily and opens up. Not sure what they were thinking.

Well my Wilton micrometer measures like 0-10 inches but the dial is missing and it's horribly inaccurate. My Rigid dial calipers have really rough jaws and the dial is missing too

 

[Gunfixr]

I have this weird looking c-clamp that measures how wide the gap is. It’s weird though because it only lets you get it so tight before it spins without tightening. It also only clamps up to an inch. It’s not a versatile clamp.

It’s like like this adjustable wrench I have that had a a big dial on the front to help you measure the nut when you’re turning it. The jaws on it aren’t wide enough though and it slips on the nuts too easily and opens up. Not sure what they were thinking.

They call it an "educated c-clamp"......
If you get the one with the small slip knob out on the end, you can get the regular handle much tighter...........

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Like most others that have posted, I try to use the correct tool. However, ...

If anybody is visiting my shop and asks to borrow a tool, I ask one question to see if they qualify to borrow my tools:
"Which end of a screwdriver do you pound on?"
If they give the correct answer ("Neither end."), they can use my tools.

.

If screwdrivers aren't meant to be pounded on why do they put a metal cap on the end?
(Of course I bought a set specifically designed to be pounded on).

 

[Boilerhouse]

For the most part, I just beat on them just enough so that they will still function like they should and look decent. However, you mention pry bars. I had one which made a fantastic home renovation tool, which I beat on so badly, I busted the bakelite handle. Rather than buy a new one, I welded a plate on the end to beat on, and made a new wooden handle for it. Thing works awesome now.

 

[Busted Knucles]

Just to name a few, my tools multitask.I spent 12 years in the Arabian dessert building and rebuilding production plants.
Sockets for bearing installers
Pipe for cheater bar on ratchet
putty knife and a hammer for scraping
ratchet extensions as punches
hammer and chisel to remove screws
vise grips as screw drivers
pliers as a hammer
wrenches as jumper cables

 

[M635_Guy]

I wouldn't be very happy at all if someone used my tools like that, at least without asking.

I've done the "use what you have to make it work" thing, but it's a decision I'm making with my tools. I generally have a beater set for stuff that's likely to be put in that situation (e.g. screwdrivers) too.

That said, I try not to put tools on a pedestal. On of my favorite "hard job"/misappropriation tools is a screwdriver from my grandfather. It's been beat on, used as a pry-bar, a paint-can opener, a scraper and a chisel (and probably more), but it seems more wrong not to put the thing to work. I'll miss it if it breaks, but...