Tool "misuse"

[outdoorsman310]

It gets the job done eh? What tools do you misuse most often and how? Do you misuse more expensive tools because you trust them and have come to expect them to stand up to it or only misuse crappy tools cause they were cheap and you dont care about em?

 

[CWP1616L]

What tools do you misuse most often and how?

None, zero, zilch. I don't misuse tools and I frown on people who do.

 

[uart]

None, zero, zilch. I don't misuse tools and I frown on people who do.

Darn it I forgot my chisel. Hey CWP1616L, can I borrow one of your new screwdrivers. Haha.

 

[ken w.]

I don't really misuse my tool except maybe my breaker bars.I'm not afraid of putting a pipe on my SO bars.Sometimes you have to.If I can't get it off with a breaker bar and a pipe then I'll get the torch out.

 

[Todd.Brock]

When my brother and I had a rental shop, buddies could come use tools, lifts, etc...the rules were simple, bring beer , leave the tools where you found them, and use the correct tool. A ratchet isn't a hammer, an adjustable wrench isn't a hammer either. Walk to the drawer of BFHs and get one. And don't let me catch you taking bolts off with my torque wrench either.

My craftsman is good enough buddies thought I was just a snap on snob. ( prolly am) but I said I wouldn't use your tools like that , so don't do it to mine. It was light hearted , but they got the point.

 

[fury9]

Sometimes I use the backside of my makita lxt brushless 3 speed impact as a "hammer". Only on wood or for tapping in drywall anchors. Nothin too bad IMO

 

[uart]

Sometimes I use the backside of my makita lxt brushless 3 speed impact as a "hammer". Only on wood or for tapping in drywall anchors. Nothin too bad IMO

You use the plastic parts of a power tool as a hammer?

 

[WildwoodChuck]

1/2 drive to use 3/8 socket
3/4 drive to use 1/2 socket

I have a 42 inch 3/4 and a 22 inch 1/2 drive and those adapters suffer

 

[ol'Red]

I'll be the bad guy. Outside of torque wrenches, gauges, laptops, precision instruments, etc.. I probably misuse all my tools at some time or another. I will use a ratchet as hammer, screwdrivers as chisels and pry bars. I double up wrenches, hit them with hammers, cut, and bend them to my needs.

You can frown on me as I don't really care. You did not buy my tools. Billable labor hours and parts sales bought my tools. The faster I can get units billed out the more revenue I can generate. I usually only have 50 hrs a week to generate as many hours as possible and if I am in the yard under a unit and need to do some banging I reach for whatever I have available.

I dont wont to stir up a conversation on ethics. I have a box full of broken tools that I have never warrantied because I feel I got the good out of them. You will not find any post were I have made any negative comments about any tool. I have also never had any recordable safety incident.

 

[toolfreak]

I'll be the bad guy. Outside of torque wrenches, gauges, laptops, precision instruments, etc.. I probably misuse all my tools at some time or another. I will use a ratchet as hammer, screwdrivers as chisels and pry bars. I double up wrenches, hit them with hammers, cut, and bend them to my needs.

You can frown on me as I don't really care. You did not buy my tools. Billable labor hours and parts sales bought my tools. The faster I can get units billed out the more revenue I can generate. I usually only have 50 hrs a week to generate as many hours as possible and if I am in the yard under a unit and need to do some banging I reach for whatever I have available.

I dont wont to stir up a conversation on ethics. I have a box full of broken tools that I have never warrantied because I feel I got the good out of them. You will not find any post were I have made any negative comments about any tool. I have also never had any recordable safety incident.

I have the same view as you do, there are some tools I won't abuse or misuse but I will do whatever necessary to complete the job in a timely manner. I have craftsman tools and other cheaper tools for modifying but sometimes I have had to modify a snap on wrench.

 

[outdoorsman310]

I'll be the bad guy. Outside of torque wrenches, gauges, laptops, precision instruments, etc.. I probably misuse all my tools at some time or another. I will use a ratchet as hammer, screwdrivers as chisels and pry bars. I double up wrenches, hit them with hammers, cut, and bend them to my needs.

I do these although I have found ratchets make lousy hammers. I usually try to use the right tool but sometimes the "right tool" is not the best or most efficient choice. I will say this though I will use my tools however I want. If i need to borrow another person's tool I treat it much better than my tools. not that I treat my tools like **** but because I feel that I am obligated to treat a borrowed tool better than my own.

 

[General Geoff]

I've used a crowbar as a prybar. Does that count?

 

[3baygarage]

I have a policy against misusing tools myself, mainly because I usually have what I need.
Though I'll admit that just the other day I turned a long combo 18mm wrench into a slugging wrench as I had limited access to a caliper bracket bolt and no compressor. Let's just say the wrench brand was from a major department store that begins with an S and end with an EARS.

 

[Farmall450]

None, zero, zilch. I don't misuse tools and I frown on people who do.

Agreed

 

[devoncoolman]

Im guilty of using a ratchet to tap a bolt. I have dedicated screwdrivers i use is mini pry bars (mostly for brakes or calipers) and use as presision chisles but i bought them to abuse them. I have my nice screwdrivers too. But honestly im way better then everyone i work with they throw there tools on the gound and yada yada. I also will never abuse a borrowed tool. I dont care how beat up the tool already is i always treat somebody elses tools with respect. Always return it cleaner and in better condition then it was given to me in.

 

[bad_idea]

I'm with you ol' Red. I work in ship repair. It is 4 flights of stairs up, then two down to get to the brow, then from the brow to the gang box to get the tools I need. At least 15 minutes to go get the tool I need if I run into something unexpected. When doing emergent repair, I do not have that 15 minutes. When working a minimum of 12 hours, as much as 18 hours to get the job done, I don't have the energy or time to go get widget number 7 to do my job. I think MacGuyver could learn something from me w/ the jerry rigging I have accomplished.

Wire brush handle is great for not marring a delicate object. Place the handle against the object and beat the piss out of it w/ a hammer.

Crescent wrench as a hammer.

Ratchet as a hammer.

3' steel pipe as a handle extension.

Cut a wrench down to fit in a tight spot.

Beat the piss out of a wrench to break a bolt loose.

If I break my tools misusing them, I will buy new ones, I don't expect the tool warranty to cover my misuse. I get my job done. I do not have the luxury of having a fully loaded Snap On tool box 25 feet away. I also rarely do the same job twice.

 

[TJay]

I have used my Craftsman RP's to tap a couple bolts here and there, but outside of that I really try not to misuse my tools at all. It took me a long time to earn to tools I own now and I try not to destroy them. Even with a warranty I would never feel right swapping a tool out knowing it broke due to misuse on my part.

 

[Bill Ramsey]

Reaching for the largest slotted screwdriver in the box when a pry bar is needed. It's the gateway drug.

 

[ex-x-fire]

I was working on a heavy truck down on jack stands, I used a floor jack to push up on a wrench to break loose a stuck caliper mount bolt. Worked great.

 

[slip knot]

I'll miss-use every tool I have. My tools are to make me money not to be protected and polished. If I got to beat bang or tear up a tool to get the job done, so be it. Tools are made to be used.

I've been known to clamp a part up in a vice, hang a 48" pipe wrench on it, then get on it with the tractor to break something loose.

 

[Wrapitinbacon]

None, zero, zilch. I don't misuse tools and I frown on people who do.

I can agree with that.

 

[basspro]

Whatever it takes in the heat of the moment, which may be thousands of dollars per minute for me. I never misuse someones elses tools, if I do break theirs, I replace it or compensate them for more than its worth. I rarely use anyones stuff though. Most of the time I try to use the correct tool. I may slip a short cheater bar over a breaker now and then, that would be the most common misuse.

 

[crazytrain]

I call BS on anyone saying they never ever have mis-used a tool! Unless you only take them out of the tool box to polish them and never use them for work. Don't forget using a screwdriver to pry on anything or punch a hole in something counts too. I use my tools everyday to make a living, what ever works to get the job done. I have used and abused some of them pretty bad over the years, they still work fine.

 

[Skin]

I have flat blade screwdrivers intentionally set aside for prying and hammering. And at any given moment what ever is in my hand may suffice as a blunt instrument for striking objects. Oh and a big one, junk sockets used as bearing/bushing/shaft presses.

That's about it. I actually like to take really good care of my stuff.

 

[nicksnothereman]

It gets the job done eh? What tools do you misuse most often and how? Do you misuse more expensive tools because you trust them and have come to expect them to stand up to it or only misuse crappy tools cause they were cheap and you dont care about em?

Just hex keys according to me.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I call BS on anyone saying they never ever have mis-used a tool! Unless you only take them out of the tool box to polish them and never use them for work. Don't forget using a screwdriver to pry on anything or punch a hole in something counts too. I use my tools everyday to make a living, what ever works to get the job done. I have used and abused some of them pretty bad over the years, they still work fine.

Nah bro, some of us (err...me) have specific screwdrivers for that purpose. So it's not really abuse because it's a dedicated use tool.

 

[msgtsmithret]

Hands down - it's the lowly screwdriver/punch/pry bar/bottle opener/scraper/chisel/back scratcher. But is it really misuse if it gets the job done?

 

[devoncoolman]

Its all a technicality if u call it "misuse". Technically if it gets the job done andvthe tool still functions after and your okay with the outcome its not really misuse. Now in somebody else's eyes it maybe misuse or abusive. But honestly guys the longer your a mechanic the less you really care about proper tool usage. You just care about the out come and if the job was done properly. Most of the guys in the field like me jyst care about the outcome. Now i dont purpously destroy my tools nor do i want to replace them but in the heat of the moment on a big job that needs to get done now im not afraid the smack a wrench with a hammer or use my ratchet to hit something. If it meens crawling out from under the truck to grab a hammer and waste time. Im not gonna bother.

 

[Jim C.]

None, zero, zilch. I don't misuse tools and I frown on people who do.

That's my thinking too. I try to use the right tool for the job. If I don't have the right tool, then I have an excuse to go buy the right tool. It's a win-win situation. I'm not abusing my tools and getting the job done, or I'm buying a new tool and still getting the job done. The end result is hopefully a job well done, undamaged tools, and a lesser chance of injuries from using the wrong tool.

Jim C.

 

[Jim C.]

I call BS on anyone saying they never ever have mis-used a tool! Unless you only take them out of the tool box to polish them and never use them for work. Don't forget using a screwdriver to pry on anything or punch a hole in something counts too. I use my tools everyday to make a living, what ever works to get the job done. I have used and abused some of them pretty bad over the years, they still work fine.

I wouldn't hesitate to challenge you on "calling BS"...... But I'm not here to start a fight. I REALLY just wanted to commend you for having one the GREATEST avitars I've seen on this, or any other web site forum. Very NICE!!

Jim C.

 

[Jeepster04]

Yeah ive got a drawer of old craftsman screw drivers that i bought at a yard sale. Use them for hammering and prying. Other than that i dont mis use any other tools.

 

[k p]

I have flat blade screwdrivers intentionally set aside for prying and hammering. And at any given moment what ever is in my hand may suffice as a blunt instrument for striking objects. Oh and a big one, junk sockets used as bearing/bushing/shaft presses.

That's about it. I actually like to take really good care of my stuff.

I agree, flat blade screwdrivers are largely useless anyways, when was the last time anyone intentionally use a slotted screw for something? I hate slotted screws with a passion.

 

[the gypsy]

For all the people that abuse or misuse their tools, my question is. If you break your tool due to misuse, who pays for it?
I don't know how to handle this situation. If a client doesn't accept the time you take to get the right tool out of your box or vehicle, will he or she want to pay for the tool you abused to save them time and money.
I am not looking for a fight but I am questioning how to handle the situation described above...

 

[the gypsy]

A small example of tool misuse: My mom purchased a refridgerator for Sears and when the delivery people came to deliver they did not have any equipment, so I went to get my electrician tool belt. So I lent the delivery guy a square screwdriver to remove the screw, at which point instead of unscrewing the screw he used it to pry the top hinge off. Needless to say he bent the screwdriver, this cost Sears $150.00, which I got after the complaint to the store.

 

[devoncoolman]

I spend 10's of thousands of dollars a year with snap-on. They can warrenty my flat blade screwdriver for me its the least they can do.

 

[ndoran]

I was working on a heavy truck down on jack stands, I used a floor jack to push up on a wrench to break loose a stuck caliper mount bolt. Worked great.

I've done the same on cars when there is no air available

 

[ndoran]

Nah bro, some of us (err...me) have specific screwdrivers for that purpose. So it's not really abuse because it's a dedicated use tool.

I have an old Stanley flat bladed screwdriver I use for this very purpose - it has "Made in England" stamped in the handle. I do not think I have ever used it to undo a screw: it has been used as a pry bar, a paint stirrer, a wood chisel and more and it is still in great shape after many years of this type of use. It has outlived some prybars and screwdrivers that have only been used for their intended purpose.

 

[Packard V8]

When the money/time equation enters into it, that's a valid reason to make the decision git'er done even if the tool suffers.

When lazy/stupid enters into it, well, that's another thing entirely.

jack vines

 

[RECox286]

I'm only human, and guilty as charged.

So hang, quarter and draw me !

Uncle Bob

 

[north]

Six point sockets on e-torx bolts (leaning on a 24" breaker bar) and screwdrivers to pry loose brake drums just the other day. No animals were hurt.

I use the 'right' tool if I have it. Else I improvise the best I can. My 1/2" Gedore ratchet saw lots of extension pipes before I got a breaker bar.