tools you thought you would never use

[young_buck]

Everyone has them, those tools that you never thought you would used but have used them for everything you can. For me it is my hook and pick set, I never realized all of the uses for them. Also my universal joints and swivel sockets .

Whats yours?

 

[davesnothere]

I used to hate universal sockets and flex-head ratchets. Now i dont know what i was thinking.

 

[ddo]

For me it was a brick hammer. Do occasional refractory demo and install work and figured it would be good for that. Ended up being the go to hammer as back side does rough scraping well and functions great as a drivable wedge.

 

[SeattleKent]

Compressor. I went back and forth on getting one. What was I thinking? Now I use it all the time.

 

[young_buck]

Compressor. I went back and forth on getting one. What was I thinking? Now I use it all the time.

on this, I was the same way

 

[03protege]

Pry bars, that $20 Craftsman set was some of the best money I have spent on tools.

 

[tjmonsen5]

Pipe wrench.

 

[Conductor562]

Impact Driver. Never saw the need for one seeing how I could do the same thing with a drill. When I got one in my M18 kit I wasn't too excited, but I quickly found out what I'd been missing. I use it more than my drill.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Just got a Cotter Pin extractor...no more backwards hammer and screwdriver or needle nose pulling like a mad man.

Also got hose clamp pliers...no more slipping off and combining curse words that don't make sense.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

got one of those multi tools. spent $15 on a cheap one and i used it several times.

 

[gsmornot]

Duckbill pliers. They came in a set long ago and just looked odd to me at the time. Who wants a fat needle nose I said to my teenage self. They are among my favorite pair now and have been for 20+ years.

 

[tsonka]

Inch Lb torque wrench

 

[rusty65]

A dedicated pair of wire strippers for small wires in electronics it turns out they come in handy more then what you would think.

 

[Thumper]

Ratcheting dogbone..........makes a kickass paperweight....

 

[stratman977]

12 Point 1/2 inch drive impact sockets. Bought the set of ebay by accident thinking they were 6 point, figured it was waste. But I find a need for them once in a while.

 

[ianguilly]

Cordless drill, damn I use it a lot.

 

[fxt]

Just got a Cotter Pin extractor...no more backwards hammer and screwdriver or needle nose pulling like a mad man.

Also got hose clamp pliers...no more slipping off and combining curse words that don't make sense.

are you talking about the cotter pin pliers

 

[gol4]

Skil 1/4 inch ratchet. Wife brought it home a few years ago. The battery lasts for ever.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Another vote for the Inch Lb torque wrench. I have 1/2" and 3/8" and thought an Inch Lb torque wrench would be a waste, but the more auto work I do the more I see that the torque calls for very low Inch Lb ratings, which I would rather not use a bigger wrench for by converting to ft lbs.

 

[shocksandstrutz]

ive got a large set (around 15 pcs) of bonney crowsfeet i bought at a "tool" yard sale for 4 bucks, thought what the hell, killer deal, gonna add them to the box......came in real handy when my BIL pulled up and needed both inner tie rods replaced. I didn't have a inner tie rod removal tool at the time and i started working on his car at about 11pm at night (no autoparts store rentals).....tada......perfect fit and worked like a charm
totally happy i have them now, wouldnt trade them for anything

 

[crewchief888]

hmmmm




i cant think of anything i've bought that i dont use.....

 

[djkeev]

This! 1/4" hex to 3/8" square adapter.

Combined with my cordless impact driver drill, I use this almost every day to quickly zip out (and in after hand starting) threaded fasteners. I rarely pull out my air ratchet unless space is an issue.

Dave

 

[Bar Ditch]

^^^^^^This, combined with my Mikita impact makes life so much easier.

 

[djkeev]

hmmmm




i cant think of anything i've bought that i dont use.....

Really?
I purchase stuff to have in case I might need it. I love tools!

My children will love me after I die and leave them well set up with tools!

Dave

 

[LennyTheLizard]

I wish I knew the proper name and had a picture.

Bought a utility bed trailer to make a custom canoe trailer. Inside were a few miscellaneous tools. One of them was a rubber half round "hoe-like" tool. I use it all the time for making "cove shapes" with mortar, caulk, etc.

 

[DoubleA]

The TLL72 9" 1/4 drive ratchet. I thought it was ridiculous and overkill for such a small ratchet. Then I kept hearing good reviews so I bought one and I love it now! I reach for it often and it has save me a lot of time on occasion being able to couple it with magnetic sockets and sneak into tight engine bays and retrieve hidden bolts.

 

[roblouvasz]

I bought one of the Craftsman 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" socket sets that comes in a plastic tote. It also came with a set of short/long standard and metric allen wrenches. I thought "I'm never going to use these wrenches", Yeah right. I use them just about every other time I'm in the shop.

 

[greasemonkey44]

bearing nut socket for the front hubs on a landcruiser
i did it the first time the farmer way, next time i saw the snap on man i bought the socket
customer came back and payed me to redo the brakes so he could have baer rotors
socket made it gravy

 

[jfcasey]

bearing nut socket for the front hubs on a landcruiser
i did it the first time the farmer way, next time i saw the snap on man i bought the socket
customer came back and payed me to redo the brakes so he could have baer rotors
socket made it gravy

Not sure if you work in a Toyota dealer or not, but the SST torque wrench they send us for torquing landcrusher hubs is impressive to say the least. I'm pretty sure you could kill an alaskan grizzly via one blow to the head.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

are you talking about the cotter pin pliers

Not exactly, just these...http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003T84G82/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[HaroRider]

My pry bar set from HF..I didnt spend much on them since I figured I wouldnt use them much being a DIY/weekender..but I have used them quite a bit seperating trans and engines, prying down control arms when seperating balljoints, many odd and end jobs as well..If I could I probably would get a USA Craftsman set or something..

Also my 1/4" air ratchet..I didnt think I would use it much but I picked it up for a good price..I use it about 80% of the time..use my 3/8" only once in awhile..

 

[HaroRider]

Ratcheting dogbone..........makes a kickass paperweight....

Got the regular non ratcheting craftsman one as a gift..I have not used in once in over 2 years..

 

[Jure]

screw extractors and a grease gun