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Having the right tool for the job is nice

T

TK-421

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Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
1,398
Location
Pflugerville, TX
Isn't it such a nice feeling when you need a specific tool and not only do you have it, but you know right where it is?

Not so much working inside the garage-related, but the other day I was pumping gas when I noticed two cars parked with their noses together and a cheap pair of junky jumper cables connecting the two. Apparently the car still wasn't starting even after they left the cables connected for a bit, and so the guy went back to his truck and started fishing around for tools. Apparently he wanted to take the battery out and charge it somewhere else.

So I drive over, ask if he needs help. He says he'd left his cables on there for 15 minutes or so, and nothing happened, so he figured the battery must be dead enough that he can't jump it, so he's going to take the battery out and get it charged. Well, unfortunately the disabled car was parked at a pump, and I didn't want them tying up a pump for however long it was going to take them, as that gas station is quite busy. So I told him he should try my jumper cables.

He reminded me that he'd tried his jumper cables for fifteen minutes, and I let him know that I have heavy duty pure copper jumper cables, and they'll work just fine. He didn't believe me, but he didn't have any choice, so he agreed to let me try.

You should have seen the look on the guy's face when we put the cables on and the car starts up immediately, no bothering to wait fifteen plus minutes or do any of the other monkeying around they had already tried.

Sure made me feel nice that not only could I help, but I had the right tool for the job and the knowledge that it was the right tool for the job, and that I knew how to use it.

That might seem commonplace to you more experienced guys, but I'm still a newbie and inexperienced, so it was a nice feeling that I could help.

Hopefully I also showed the guy that having the right tool for the job is a good thing, and that cheap jumper cables are cheap for a reason, and you need to buy quality if you want them to work.
 
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L.Cheapo

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Oct 23, 2014
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5,921
I had the same feeling the other day. Nicked the threads on my bearing separator, needed a wrench to spin the nut past it. Huge PITA. I pulled out my 48pc thread restorer kit, and the 5/8-18 fixed the problem in seconds. Satisfying.
 
OP
T

TK-421

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Dec 29, 2015
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Location
Pflugerville, TX
APS2000 said:
You did a good deed. What kind of jumper cables do you have?
Click to expand...

These are the ones I bought, and they're worth every penny.

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platin...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

Now that I think about it, I did the same thing at work one time. Someone's car was dead, they had cheap jumper cables that had been on there for five minutes, and their car still wouldn't start. I put mine on and the car started up immediately.

Kind of funny how people don't expect good jumper cables to work better than cheap junk. :lol:
 
S

signcrafter

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May 9, 2012
Messages
12,359
TK-421 said:
These are the ones I bought, and they're worth every penny.

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platin...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

Now that I think about it, I did the same thing at work one time. Someone's car was dead, they had cheap jumper cables that had been on there for five minutes, and their car still wouldn't start. I put mine on and the car started up immediately.

Kind of funny how people don't expect good jumper cables to work better than cheap junk. :lol:
Click to expand...

Nothing better then having the right tool and being able to help. I haven't used jumper cables in years. Have a couple jump packs and picked one of these up this year so doubt I will need jumper cables for a long time. I have a nice pair somewhere that I made from welding cable but the insulation will probably crack from sitting around not being used.

http://www.tooltopia.com/solar-jnc318.aspx
 
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MikeF2316

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Dec 29, 2012
Messages
9,605
Location
Thornhill, ON
Yep, my first pair were cheap junk. Short, made of thin aluminum wire. Stored in a rusty trunk for a couple of years before they were ever needed. So when they didn't work, I thought something more serious was wrong. But I had a good voltmeter, and it was reading a low number. So I mangled the clamp where it was connected to the wire, to expose fresh, clean metal in the connection, then they worked. I bought a much better set the next day (ironically from Sears, but that's another thread), I still have those...
 
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zktk01

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Dec 22, 2016
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809
Location
KY
We used to put the bumpers together for negative (hard to do now with all the plastic bumpers) and use a piece of 10ga ground wire on the positive if we didn't have any cables. I work for a utility company surprised me how much time they waste not having jumper cables in company vehicles. I still use my own set to his day.
 
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FigureItOut

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Sep 14, 2015
Messages
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Location
Bentonville AR
Cool man, it's a good feeling. I remember about 8-9 years ago, before I ever had a decent tool collection, I was managing a restaurant when an ice storm came through and shut the whole town down. The owner of the restaurant had me meet him there, and showed up with a truck and trailer loaded up with generators, tools etc. We powered up the whole restaurant, made some repairs from falling branches, and cleared the parking lot. We opened up and were the only restaurant open in town. Despite feeding all the first responders and utility crews for free, we smashed all previous sales records.

I was amazed that this guy just had all that stuff ready to go, and knew how to use everything. I admired, and envied, the hell out him. It helped start me on a path I'm very glad I took. The example you showed those guys may have a similar impact on them.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk
 
J

JohnDeere1

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Jun 21, 2017
Messages
710
Location
Kentucky
Years ago I had all my tools stolen well it happened twice but back then I was a tool nut so brand didn't mean anything a tool was just a way of getting the job done and I enjoyed actually doing the job the most. Now I have a very nice tool collection of all pro brands and truck brands and am very proud of it all and I have any tool I could ever use.

My step father gave me my first start in tools after loosing it all and it was in the form of a small SK tool box full of cheaper stuff like duralast and Stanley well our fuel pump went out in the winter and I remember not having the right size sockets and no way to go anywhere. Now I have more sockets than I'll ever use my back ups have back ups.

It's just a nice feeling I love using my tools especially since my dad gave me his snap on collection and I love the feeling I get using them most are dated 81-82 ,84-84,and 88 and every time I use them I get the nostalgic feeling I have alot of newer as well but it's not the same. My MIL just stole my jumper cables and it's driving me nuts they were thick heavy duty ones and I'm looking into new ones they are high for good copper ones like I had. It ***** when your kissing something like that drives me nuts.
 
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