How the times have changed

[buildyourown]

I have an old school neighbor that tells me to never buy a cordless tool. He loves Milwaukee magnums and says when you buy a good corded tool you buy it for life. He has a point but times are changing!

There is some truth to this. Batteries have a very finite life. Use a tool every day, on a lift or a ladder, and the cordless pays for itself. Use a tool once a month and it's a waste.
A cordless tool used once a month will last a lifetime. I'm 35 and I've got 20 yo Milwaukee Magnums.

 

[CNGsaves]

Flat tires were nearly a daily routine (mom & dad had vehicle plus several vehicles depending on age of 7 kids). Old vehicles with cheap bald tires meant lots of nails picked up. Was biyatch tearing down tires by hand with 3 tools . . . BFH (big fawking hammer), tire spoon, and bead bar. Generally also had couple big screwdrivers as well to help the bead along. Got pretty good at it, and patching tubes was a breeze after finding leak in water bath and grease pencil.

Didn't help that house was couple miles from county landfill so lots of nails and debris on the road. Dirt road didn't get paved until sandpit down the road worked deal with county so trucks would be driving on asphalt. Flats much less frequent once road was paved.

Most dangerous tire repair was old Ford F250 pickup 8 lug rims that had ring. Only had to help a few times with those as dad better at those, and rigged up makeshift cage before airing them up. Never had a compressor bigger than 20 gallon 120v but somehow fixed all the flats.

 

[Nessal]

Born in 1983 and remember growing up without internet or cellphones for the majority of my youth. I had to memorize my friends phone numbers. Now you just save it all onto your cell. I also remember using those rotary dial type of phones. My parents always had a bunch of stuff from the 60's to 70's around. I really miss those days and would give anything to go back.

 

[redmondjp]

A telephoneused to have a cord attatched to the receiver to dial a number you ha to put your finger in the correct hole and turn the dial.

We had a small black and white tv with rabbit ear antennas that picked up 3 channels.

Our telephone was hard-wired to the phone jack on the baseboard - no plug even. I can still remember our first phone number: 947-2074. We had a rotary-dial phone up until the early 1980s and my grandmother out in farm country still had a 2-party line in the 1980s as well (she had literally the same telephone for over 40 years). I used to call in for the radio contests all the time as a kid (caller #10, 100, whatever the DJ wanted), and I even won more than once! You got really good at holding your finger over the next number while waiting for the dial to return.

The worst thing about today - everywhere you go, it's like living in a real-life zombie movie - take a look around, and 90% of the people now are not in conversation with other people, are completely unaware of their surroundings, and are glued to whatever happens to be on the tiny little screen in their hand. Seriously, this is not good for society in the long run. Sometimes I want to go over to people, throw their phone on the ground, stomp on it, and say, "what are you going to do now, how about you call a friend - oh wait, you don't even know their number, do you?" People are so dependent upon their phone that they quite literally can't function without it.

/rant off

 

[ddawg16]

If your phone number was something like "Butler 212"....then your old.

 

[Seppala]

If your phone number was something like "Butler 212"....then your old.

CHapel 9-2953, I do feel old, but younger than FArmingdale 1

 

[Kurt4440]

I was born in 1977 in a small town in Michigan. Grew up on a dirt road that shared a telephone line with the neighbors. Had a record player and an antenna which got three tv channels on a good night.

Now I can go back to that exact same house and watch a video on Youtube of some guy in Australia showing how to fix my car. While buying said parts on ebay to be shipped from Germany, listening to a live concert in LA, and getting sent naked pictures of a girlfriend. On a single device that fits in my pocket. That can also make phone calls and play Super Mario Brothers.. That alone blows my mind!

On this forum we have the right to seek proof of claims made. Born in 1977 and a girlfriend is sending you pictures on your phone. I have my doubts, you should probably post some pictures.

 

[Tellingthem]

On this forum we have the right to seek proof of claims made. Born in 1977 and a girlfriend is sending you pictures on your phone. I have my doubts, you should probably post some pictures.

Sure. Here you go.

 

[t4runner]

Anyone remember what a party line was ( pertaining to a telephone )? Not a political affiliation. Or am I going to far back for some.

 

[boomer12831]

When I was an apprentice lineman in the late 70's we had to drill all of the holes in poles with a brace and bit. Then came the Robo drills which were a battery pack and a corded drill. After several broken wrists from the drill catching a knot hole, most of the companies got rid of them and then we went to gas powered drills. They can be just as dangerous as I know first hand, got the scars to prove it. Now I am getting toward the end of my career and if you handed a younger guy a brace and bit they would not use it and wait for a 18 volt battery drill or someone else to do it for them. Yes tools have sure changed and has made our job a lot safer and easier.

 

[CJM8515]

I was born in 85 and the majority of my youth we didnt have computers at all, infact dad refused to buy one thinking they would be outdated the moment we left the store. We didnt get our first till 1997, I freaking typed reports on a type writer from the 70's! The teachers took pity on me.

As a kid I recall not having to use an area code for phone numbers in state, my mom had an 85 buick wagon with a carb that was garbage and didnt even make 100k (always broke down). We had a nintendo however, but there was also the local arcade as well as video store (video store they dont exist anymore!). I remember going with my dad to the mechanic to have moms carb adjusted and plugs changed every 10k.

I also remember no cell phones and payphones everywhere. Every diner, parking lot, store basically had a phone. The only place I see payphones now is the airport! I didnt evenget my first cell phone till I turned 17 and that was b/c I was driving. Cell phones then didnt do anything but make calls and if you were lucky had a camera.

 

[supersteve]

The thread slowed down, I think a Golden Girls rerun must be on the TV.

I'm old enough to remember when The Simpsons was good.

I remember cheating out on a tune up, I told the counterman, " no plugs, I'll just blast the ones I got, just give me points and a condenser."

Last year we just lost (retired) our oldest driveability guy. Up until a few years ago he still had a plug cleaner bolted to his bench, said he used it a lot back in the day when lot jockeys at the dealership were flooding the old carburetted cars because they constantly started them and just moved them a short distance and they never got warmed up.

 

[DonPowers]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

 

[David W]

Does a '79 Olds with a turbo 400 3 speed count?

Seriously, I would like to drive something with a 3 speed on the tree just once to see if I could do it. I seriously don't want to own one to drive everyday.

 

[wild cowboy]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

me! - except it was a 1969 Ford F-100 - 3 on the tree straight shift - and this crazy huge 300 cu in straight 6

 

[diesel_monkey]

It's the way of the future!.. Way of the future.. Way of the future

Haha but really you're right. I love my air impact but my cordless milwaukee is what I use for 90% of things. But when it can't break it loose I have to go to the ol dependable TiMax

 

[DonPowers]

me! - except it was a 1969 Ford F-100 - 3 on the tree straight shift - and this crazy huge 300 cu in straight 6

That was a photo I found on line.

Red 63 F-100 with a 289.
No Power steering
No Power Brakes
No AC
AM only radio
Gas tank behind the seat.

 

[twostall]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

I bought a used '68 Karmann Ghia convertible. First night I drove it the brights were on. I stomped all over the floor looking for the stupid dimmer switch. Got home and ripped out the floor mat trying to find it. Finally called the prior owner and he informed me the dimmer was on the turn signal stalk.

 

[2oolhound]

Here's one that has started a whole chain of events that's ruined my day. I work afternoon shifts through to Saturday and then start at 9 am on Sunday. To get me through the day I treat myself to an americano in my thermos from an expresso bar. Anyone who's worked outside in the clear cold north knows that for your java to stay hot till the end of the shift in your stainless thermos you need to preheat it with the hottest tap water you can get then dump it out and pour in the fresh hot java. I can't tell you how many truck stops and cozy cafes I've stopped in at to grab a thermos of hot coffee at where the waitresses knew you were on the way to work and needed some hot java and instinctively they dumped the hot water out and poured in the fresh goodness. Not so today, this is the 2nd time in 6 months some clueless "barista" (both blondes) has just added my americano to the hot tap water in my thermos resulting in me having luke warm coffee on my 1st break. I guess they don't teach em these things in their 2 hr barista training camp.

"The Times They Are A Changing"

 

[ArcStyles]

I remember when we had rabbit ears for the 3 network stations and 2 UHF channels.

We played with cap guns, air rifles, that we shot dirt clogs at each other with, had a chemistry set, kindergarten paste to glue our paper windmills with and built models with real huffing glue.

Glasses were repaired with scotch tape.

A penny got you 3 pieces of candy and the candy bar was only a nickel.

You filled your gas tank with regular or ethyl at 25 cents a gallon.

Pabst, Hamms, Falstaff, and a beer my dad called Oly. He would let us kids use the church key to open the cans. (before pull tabs)

My grandfather owned 78's, my dad owned 33's and 45's and we recorded ourselves on reel to reels.

My grandfather bought and owned a 1961 white Cadillac convertible (the year I was born) and never remember driving in it with the top down, while us kids drove around the backyard in pedal cars.

We grew up with Jack Lalanne, Captain Kangaroo, and Miss Mary Ann...

Later I owed a 1961 brown Ford Fairlane with 3 on the column.

 

[CNGsaves]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

Almost . . . . actually learned as kid in '64 Ford F100 pickup in grandpa's pasture on way to the fishing pond (this was 4 speed on floor with granny gear). Also loved the old '74 Ford Maverick 2 door with 200 CI inline 6 - - - this was 3 on tree and I could get scratch in 2nd gear if I was really revving it !!

Had phone number WH 627 . . . . the WH stood for White Hall which was remote office of the Southwestern Bell Telephone company. Grandpa & grandma's house in country had 4 digit phone number of 2695 until rural phone company upgraded from party lines. Green rotary phone with long cord still hanging on wall today in empty farmhouse.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

Learned ? I owned and drove a car like that for almost a year !

 

[theoldwizard1]

Anybody remember using punch cards to input data?

I still have a half of a box full !

 

[theoldwizard1]

If your phone number was something like "Butler 212"....then your old.

VErmont 6-1882

 

[Milton Shaw]

I learned on a three on the tree 56 Ford SW. eventually changed the trans to a factory overdrive trans. You shifted into high then let up and the overdrive would shift into it. Cut RPM's on highway quite a bit. Car had a 292 Tbird solid lifter engine. Dad had bought it new and gave it to me after my second year of college. Drove that for another 4 years or so.

 

[Hogtown]

Born in 1956. My family was industrial constructuion. When I was quite young (8 yrs or so) nails were delivered in wooden kegs. Men used to use nail kegs to sit on while eating lunch. Speaking of lunch...a common occurance was a man having a "broken thermos"... The thermos liner was glass and they would shatter. Carpenters would sharpen their hand saws often during lunch...clamp them to a board and start filing...they needed to as they used hand saws alot. Men still smoked pipes. Drinking and driving was perfectly legal...you couldn't be drunk, but you could drive home with a beer between your legs. The Stanley Yankee was the portable drill of the day. We used manila rope and well pulleys to lift anything under a couple hundred pounds. Water kegs were galvanized steel and had a salt tablet dispenser hung on the side. There was a wide selection of sledge hammers on the job site from 8lb to 20 lb and all were used frequently.

 

[mikegt4]

This thread reminds me how much closer I am to the end of a life span than to the beginning.
Sobering

 

[Mr.Ric]

This thread reminds me how much closer I am to the end of a life span than to the beginning.
Sobering

You and me both.

 

[Mr.Ric]

During my school years, I trotted my trot line in the morning, put my 22 bolt rifle in the closet in the back of the classroom. So did half a dozen other kids. I had a canvas bag with my morning catch, which went on a wood shelf in the ice box in the cafeteria. During the fall and again in early spring, me and some of the other boy's would have to stick around the school house till late and shoot rats, squirrels or whatever vermin was giving the principal fits. I remember once when a mean dog was outside the school, nobody recognized it, and one of the older boys had to step out and shoot it, everybody clapped, no grief.

 

[mtnwalton]

when i was about 16 one night driving home oncoming driver kept his brights on. I showed him, instead of a dimmer button on the floor i hit the windshield washer pedal. It was a 67 Cougar.

 

[t4runner]

This thread reminds me how much closer I am to the end of a life span than to the beginning.
Sobering

LOL Same here. I have more time behind me than in front.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Okay, so I'm nowhere near the oldest (most experienced?) user of these forums, but I still find it funny how much things have changed during my adulthood when it comes to tradesmen and the tools they use. For the sake of brevity, this initial post will focus on only a few of my observations.

* Twenty years ago I installed gutters. Our drills were B&D and Dewalt Univolt, mostly with 7.2v and 8.4v batteries. The hammer drill ran on 12v. I seem to recall that we had no quick chargers either, instead relying on a good supply of batteries. Now 12v is considered compact and 20v seems to be the trend. Even basic homeowner tools come with quick chargers, allowing for moderately steady usage with just two batteries.

* I started working at Great Dane shortly after turning 18, as a dropout with no experience and very few tools. Six months later a large Cadillac dealership hired me. They sent me to the GM campus in Fairfax, where I spent a few months attending classes Monday and Tuesday of each week, with $100 expense cash and a rental car. Shortly after (@1999) the campus' were shut down and GM went to a correspondence program. From what I understand now, most entry-level positions require at least some trade school, and it would be almost impossible to get a job without even a GED.

* During my time at Moore Cadillac air tools were the norm for all technicians. Cordless tools were unseen in the service shop. Perusing these forums makes it clear that many technicians forgo air lines for batteries nowadays. I know I don't miss dragging 100'+ of air line trying to work on a 53' trailer parked outside the bay.

Anyway, I could go on, but will likely only bore you all even more. Anyone else care to share some of their observations on how occupations and tool preferences have changed over the years?

I don't trust cordless tools and I ain't that old. Caveman no like smokeless fire! It's just...if it's got a plug I don't have to worry about sitting around while it recharges.

The 18v stuff is decently impressive for drivers but never could replace a corded drill in my opinion. Electric (cordless) ratchet I lol. Impact I might throw up a lung laughing. Just me. Repetitive job might make sense but can't see a cordless electric impact ever being necessary; there are good torque claims but I have trouble believing that level can be held on a single charge.

 

[Plombob]

Y'all are whippersnappers. When I was a kid we had to invent our own games. My favorites were: "Find Water" and "Don't Let The Fire Burn Out".

 

[MoparTrucks]

Now I am feeling old and backwards. We still have a black rotary dial house phone; works even when the power is out (which is a lot), we get TV (11 channels) for free via rabbit ears, no microwave, no ice maker, no dish washer (besides the wife) and up until a few months ago I had a 77 C10 with a three on the tree (not sure why anyone thinks they are hard to drive). Oh yea, no high speed internet in my area yet.

I too have a lot of corded tools but have gone almost completely cordless with either 18 or 20v and I am saving up for a cordless impact wrench. No all change is bad!

 

[fm2176]

I can remember in the 70's, anyone who got a new car HAD to get a new set of tires within 5000 miles. New car tires had the reputation of being the tire company quality rejects and getting a new set of tires sooner rather than later was an accepted fact of life. And even with a new set of good tires, they only lasted 20 or 30 thousand miles.

You could count on replacing at least 2 mufflers and most if not all of the exhaust system within 100 thousand miles, assuming the car lasted that long. Most people bought a new car every 2 years and other than taking it back to the dealer 2 or 3 times for warranty work, generally no maintenance was done.

Now my dad was a bit different. He bought new but then drove them until they dropped, or until one of my older brothers totaled it out first. Usually it was the latter. Hanging on to a car more than 2 years required a bit of maintenance so the oil got changed every 20,000 miles whether it needed to be or not. There were full service gas stations those days so the oil did get checked and a quart added every third fill up or so.

Other than adding water to the battery every now and then he practiced what is called the fix it after it breaks maintenance philosophy. Fortunately pay phone booths were everywhere in the city so we didn't have to hoof it very far to call somebody to help.

At least I didn't have to walk to school 10 miles up hill both ways like my dad's generation did!

From what I understand, the only new car my dad ever bought was a '79 Cherokee Chief. He bought used, almost exclusively from the same lot, and kept 7-8 driveable vehicles. If a battery was dead or a tire flat, he'd grab another set of keys and handle the problem later. I recall driving his '79 Chevy pickup when I was 8, and backing into a car at age 14 in his '78 Lincoln Mark V. Most vehicles I've owned at once was 4. Now I'm driving a GMC with almost 200k. Bought it with 100k and have replaced the tires and batteries once each. Besides oil changes, the truck has had routine services only once.

Born in 1983 and remember growing up without internet or cellphones for the majority of my youth. I had to memorize my friends phone numbers. Now you just save it all onto your cell. I also remember using those rotary dial type of phones. My parents always had a bunch of stuff from the 60's to 70's around. I really miss those days and would give anything to go back.

I still have a 12" b&w tv. Grew up poor and in a trailer in the Eighties, meaning that while Metallica and G&R cassettes were played by friends, I was content raiding Deep Purple 8-tracks from my dad's place. We did have cable--complete with the 40-channel corded withdrawn "remote".

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

Learned on my dad's cars; my first was a Chevette 4-speed. I used to own a '60 Willys Jeep with a 3-speed column shifter. The bushings were worn out, so it took some luck to shift quickly.

 

[t4runner]

Ok does anyone remember your Dad yelling at you because you were spinning the TV dial to fast. We had maybe 5 channels on the TV when I was a kid.

 

[Sal Bandini]

I remember using 100' of clear tubing and bucket of water to find a level...oh wait, I still use that.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I learned on a three on the tree 56 Ford SW. eventually changed the trans to a factory overdrive trans. You shifted into high then let up and the overdrive would shift into it. Cut RPM's on highway quite a bit. Car had a 292 Tbird solid lifter engine. Dad had bought it new and gave it to me after my second year of college. Drove that for another 4 years or so.

I had a '62 Galaxie just like that. Maybe a 352 (?) engine.

 

[MG11068]

Who else learned to drive a three speed on the column with a foot operated dimmer?

I learned to drive a four speed on the floor with a foot operated dimmer in a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.

 

[fm2176]

Back to the tools of the trades...

I worked out of a service body E-350 as a forklift technician. Most of the other road techs had box trucks similar to U-Hauls. They could haul a rider pallet jack if need be, and we all kept thousands of dollars worth of parts on the trucks as well as air compressors, torches, and other things that would maximize our time at the customer's location. We even had a trailer with a hydraulic press so we could replace tires at far-off locations. The same company now uses standard vans, while I notice other companies using small pickups. I wonder if multiple trips back to the shop are normal now--I'd usually see the shop once a day, if that.

I still have a few yellow Craftsman tape measures, from when they replaced all components. I got a few replacement blades under warranty before they stopped that practice with the red tape measures. A few years ago I noticed that entire section was Stanley--not a C-man tape in sight. The same is true of their larger framing hammers; had a 30-oz during the gutter days, but the largest I've seen since then is 22-oz or so.

Ratcheting wrenches are probably a time-saver, though the closest thing I had until recently was a Matco Special Forces ratchet set. I somehow made do with the basics: a couple sets of wrenches, some longer than others; a handful of ratchets; and shallow and deep well sockets in 1/2" drive and below. Wish I had some of the stuff I do now as I'm sure I wasted hours in unnecessary labor over the years.