The WRONG Tool For The Job

[damon18]

How often do you find yourself (despite having plenty of tools), using the wrong tool because it is at hand?

What's the worst tool you've used for a particular job?

Thought of this just now when I noticed a screw was loose on a vent cover. Round head slotted screw, I have a million screwdrivers, but had a pair of needle nose pliers close by. Needle nose pliers don't turn screws very well, even trying to grip around the round screw head. (they do however leave deep scratches on the painted vent cover)

Off to get a screwdriver.

 

[dr_clyde]

Very rarely do I use the wrong tool.

In fact, I go out of my way to get the correct tool most of the time.

The closest I can think of is using the side of my wrench or pliers to tap on something like a hammer. Not beat on it or really wail on it, just a few sharp raps to loosen a fitting or something like that. If I had a hammer handy, I would have just used that.

 

[1982fxr]

I stopped out to the shed once to use the Allis Chalmers WD45 gas one day. Choke rod (?) Was gone so I tore a small branch off a tree and used that to get it started.

Does that count?

 

[Rickster]

I dont know how many garage sales I've been to where there are hammer marks all over a 1/2dr Ratchet or an adjustable wrench that won't open because the guy hammered with it and mangled the thread opening.......

 

[1982fxr]

I had to chop a tree branch off with a sharpened shovel once. Plenty of times I've had to use a rock for a hammer.

 

[redmondjp]

I stopped out to the shed once to use the Allis Chalmers WD45 gas one day. Choke rod (?) Was gone so I tore a small branch off a tree and used that to get it started.

Does that count?

That's the very same tractor that my grandfather bought new - still had the original battery terminals (with the orange paint still on them) when we sold it at auction in 2003. I learned how to drive on that thing and know of that choke rod well - about 5 feet of an arrow-straight steel rod with a finger loop on the operator end.

As for wrong tool, I now use most of my other tools as a hammer if I need to for a small tap - I used to really baby my tools, but as I've gotten older, I have learned that they are just there to help get the job done, and my kids probably won't want any of them anyways when I'm gone anyways so it really doesn't matter what condition they are in once I'm gone.

 

[1982fxr]

That's the very same tractor that my grandfather bought new - still had the original battery terminals (with the orange paint still on them) when we sold it at auction in 2003. I learned how to drive on that thing and know of that choke rod well - about 5 feet of an arrow-straight steel rod with a finger loop on the operator end.

As for wrong tool, I now use most of my other tools as a hammer if I need to for a small tap - I used to really baby my tools, but as I've gotten older, I have learned that they are just there to help get the job done, and my kids probably won't want any of them anyways when I'm gone anyways so it really doesn't matter what condition they are in once I'm gone.

I loved that tractor. It was cold in Wisconsin and I needed wood, I wasn't gonna be denied.

My dad comes back , sees me driving it, asks how I got it started. He just shakes his head when I tell him lol. He was proud.

 

[zmotorsports]

I think I'm borderline **** about using the correct tool for each job, but then again I think I'm borderline **** about my tools in general.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

There's a difference between the completely wrong tool, and using a tool outside its original intended design to complete your task. I do the latter quite frequently.

 

[DFB]

Ya not worth being in a hurry something will bung up if not the workpiece then possibly the tool.

One time many years ago I used a milled face hammer to hit on the steel endcaps of a couple of my Craftsman wood chisels cuz that was the tool I was holding...To this day and I don't even know how long ago that was now, but everytime I pick up those same chisels to use again I'm reminded.

 

[yrly]

I had a riding mower I bought from Craigslist with a bent axle, it worked but had a really long turning radius, it was mainly so my son could cut the neighbor’s yard which was just a really wide open field so the turn radius didn’t matter) and earn a few bucks but I didn’t want him using the good mower. The solenoid was shot but it wasn’t going to invest anything in a $50 tractor so to start it we’d jumper it with a screwdriver which we referred to as “the starting stick”. We referred to the tractor as “the beater”. Also used it to shred leaves in the fall.

Probably put 300hrs on that thing before selling it for a marginal profit.

So two violations here. Using a screwdriver to start a tractor and using a half broken tractor to mow and shred leaves because I was too cheap to invest money in it.

 

[CHuDWah]

I guess this qualifies...

I had to remove some angle brackets the previous owner had secured to my garage floor with masonry screws. I couldn't budge them with a screwdriver, so I chucked a grinding wheel in my drill and had at it. I ground one bracket thin enough to break it from around the screws, then locked my vise grips onto the screws and backed them out. That's when it dawned on me to just chuck a Philips bit in the drill - that was enough torque to break the screws loose and a lot less work.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

There are the best tool and the handy tool, they are not always the same.

 

[f121]

I'm going to patent a lithium battery pack with a striking edge, for those times you need a power tool and a hammer

 

[Lassen Forge]

How about using a broken file as a cutting bit for an on-motorcycle brake lathe without the rest of the brake lathe, using the shock as a brace? It would have worked except the end I was using as a scraper slid off the disc and into the spokes...

It really didn't hurt until I pulled the tang out of the palm of my left hand...

 

[damon18]

How about using a broken file as a cutting bit for an on-motorcycle brake lathe without the rest of the brake lathe, using the shock as a brace?

Ha! Depends on how you broke the file.

 

[jdunn01]

String or loose lumber for a tape measure. LOL more than i would like to admit

 

[Lucid Moments]

I have a friend that will do that in my shop and it drives me nuts. To him whatever tool he has in his hand is the "right" tool for whatever job. Never mind that the real "right" tool is in my toolbox about 10 feet away.

However his ability to make stuff work comes in really handy when I really don't have the right tool. So I don't bug him about it. Much.

 

[redmondjp]

I loved that tractor. It was cold in Wisconsin and I needed wood, I wasn't gonna be denied.

My dad comes back , sees me driving it, asks how I got it started. He just shakes his head when I tell him lol. He was proud.

That's awesome! Did you remember to shut off the fuel at the glass bowl underneath the fuel tank when you parked it? My grandfather was very **** about that (probably because the carb needle and seat may have leaked and he didn't want to mess with it).

 

[tanukiboy]

Using a Phillips screwdriver on a JIS screw.

 

[RTM]

Fighting the temptation is a constant battle. I always take whatever cutter or bit out of a power tool when I'm done with it, so I'm not tempted to use whatever wrong bit for the next job.

ie sawzall with a tree trimming bit on nail filled wood
dremel cutoff wheel for grinding.
kitchen knife for a screwdriver...

But tapping with a crescent hammer doesn't bother me at all, unless its highly polished machine parts.

 

[harley jim]

My bil used a pipe wrench to tighten the brass nut on his propane bottle yesterday. It really bothers me to see that

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[damon18]

Using a Phillips screwdriver on a JIS screw.

The Horror!

 

[woody 73]

When I was a teenager I watched Bobby the mechanic work on my Fathers car and sitting in that shop was every tool you could ever want or need; yet Bobby only used one tool or at least any tool he did use he turned it into a hammer.

Bam, Bam, Bam, he went to town hitting the lead on the battery terminal, Bam, Bam, Bam he hit the water pump to line up with the holes, Bam, Bam, Bam he went full throttle and hit the master cylinder till parts started to break. You get the idea no matter what tool he had in hands in the end they all became hammers.

Worst mechanic ever but someone must have pointed it out to Bobby; because later I learned he found a new job working in a hospital , I hope no patient ever needed any help from Bobby...

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

My riding buddy and I once used a maple tree, two pieces of firewood and a '73 GMC pickup to straighten a bent motorcycle frame. Pretty sure that's not really what they use in a shop.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I turned down a Craftsman socket then welded a shop made crank handle to the socket. To keep the socket/crank on the drillpress lift drive, I epoxied a Neodymium magnet to the inside of the socket. It works.

 

[Yarpo]

A T40 Torx bit for a T45 torx bolt

It worked...on 4 out of the 5. The 5th I stripped and got out with my knipex alligators. Grabbed the head and twisted and got it on the second "bite" - very low torque application, only reason I was using the T40 and Alligators instead of tracking down another tech with a T45 hex bit.

 

[Nick Danger]

When I'm on the roof with a few tools, it's amazing how many uses those tools have.

 

[JAYoung]

Using my teeth to strip wire insulation -- did it all of my childhood and most of my adult life and still have to catch myself to this day.

 

[81turbota]

I can’t recall how many times I’ve-
Used a hammer when I should have used a puller
Used a screwdriver as a pry bar
Used the side of a ratchet as a hammer
Used a 1/2 extension as a pin for my engine crane
Teeth as mentioned above
Incorrect cutters for application. Chewed up a few “fur plastik” knipex on solid copper
“Close enough” metric when I didn’t have the correct SAE
Seemingly endless random end mills of the improper flute count/speed/feed. I trashed a part because I didn’t pay attention to a 10 degree tapered 5/32 end mill I got from a lot sale. Oops.

My favorite is not the “wrong” tools but funny none the less. My KMZ motorcycle required the carburetors to be balanced by strapping the front wheel against a tree, propping the rear wheel, accelerating the free rear wheel to 40MPH and pulling a spark plug lead to measure the speed drop. Exactly as specified in the “service” manual. I didn’t use a tree but rested it against my Bridgeport. Bike runs great.

And many more. Most of us are guilty of it and gotten away with it most times. These were in my younger days when I didn’t really appreciate tools.

 

[Olafur]

Flat screwdrivers are prybars. I have rebuilt 350 chevy and other SAE engines with metric tools only. I still remember having to use 1/4" drive socket to tighten the 12 point con rod nuts to 50lb.ft if memory serves.

Chrome sockets on impact guns all day long with chrome swivels and wobble extensions. Welding with car batteries and sunglasses.

Screwdrivers, needle nose pliers or at best way too small circlip pliers for big snap rings in bigger transmissions and farm equipment. Hammering on bearings with chisels. Pipe wrenches on big nuts.. Everything to get the job done was the order of the day, buying tools was NOT.


Thankfully tools have become relatively cheap, even over here, and I currently have very good set of tools and these days are in the past. I haven't damaged a tool in years. My past experience helps, I know their limits.

 

[jkesselr]

In my 7th grade shop class, the teacher used to say that you can use any tool for any job, as long as it doesn’t hurt what you are working on or the tool you’re using. It makes a lot of sense, but let’s be honest. We’re all on this site because we’re a bunch of OCD tool sluts. So, to answer your question, I almost always use the right tool for the job.

 

[davethorik]

I won't say that I never use the wrong tool. I try to use the right one, but sometimes that certain situation/repair pops up and you have to do what you can with what you have.

I use a large 1/2 drive drag link socket on a ratchet to retract the rear caliper pistons on my Honda. I'm not sure what the proper tool is for that, but I already had the drag link socket and it works.

 

[Antoin]

Used a pry bar to separate the windscreen wipers from their spindle. Thought id lever it off using the windscreen as the fulcrum. What an idiot I am. Broken windscreen. EDIT; One of those complete brain fart moments.

Should have took the time and went and bought the £5 separator.

 

[PelicanPines]

Potato to unscrew a lightbulb... it's been a few years but it didn't work great. Now I have a broken bulb tool.

 

[MushCreek]

We've (almost) all done these things, but it drives me nuts to see a 'professional' do it. I guess lineman's pliers are OK to use as a hammer, but it still drives me nuts to see electricians on home improvement shows use one to hammer NM staples. There's an ad for a local plumbing company, and the serviceman in the ad uses a pliers on a fitting that clearly has wrench flats. No, I'm not going to hire you to work on my house.

In the shop, just about everyone gets in a hurry and smacks the drawbar with the wrench used to loosen it. That's why almost every drawbar I've ever seen is all beat up on the end. Worse, though- I saw a guy trying to use an end mill- in a drill chuck!

 

[seber]

In the shop, just about everyone gets in a hurry and smacks the drawbar with the wrench used to loosen it. That's why almost every drawbar I've ever seen is all beat up on the end. Worse, though- I saw a guy trying to use an end mill- in a drill chuck!

On my tractor I kept a big *** hammer on the back just for that purpose.

 

[CoogarXR]

I was taking apart a small turbine sprayer just yesterday and my philips screwdriver kept camming out like crazy. I looked closer and realized they were robertson screws. Oops! I need to get my eyes checked. I don't know how I missed that.

That was not intentional, obviously. But one time that WAS intentional was when we moved about 15 years ago, I had to put together some bookcases. Those cheap particle board ones that have the cardboard back nailed on. I nailed it on using a 3-D maglite. It was an empty house, and it was the only tool I had on me.

 

[lardy1]

Using a pin punch milled from hex stock and an end wrench to remove hex drive lug bolts from the old style Harley hubs that bolted to the brake drum. I remembered it and used the same method on electrical breaker lugs.

 

[orangeblood]

.....and my kids probably won't want any of them anyways when I'm gone ....

you too?....misery loves company