Today, March 11, is National Worship of Tools Day. This oddly named day is meant to be spent taking care of the instruments that make our lives possible and convenient. Maybe take some time to organize your toolbox, cleaning grease off your implements or, as they did in the old days, putting linseed oil on wooden handles. There is absolutely no substitute for using the right tool for the job. Often when that’s not available people take shortcuts that turn out to be long cuts. For example, you can try to wrestle snap rings using other methods, but there’s nothing like a set of snap ring pliers to get it right the first and every time. And the rings don’t go flying off into no man’s land.
What tool has saved you the most agony?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you tell a ‘car enthusiast’ from a car enthusiast?“.
All of the answers to last week’s question ring true to some degree. The most common theme was that real enthusiasts would at least show some interest in working on their own cars if circumstances allow. Styles described their garages as filled with parts and parts cars, and Fashion Victim said that they become familiar with their own car through working on it.
Further differentiation was found at car events. Long Beach Mike pointed out that a real enthusiast would ask questions rather than pontificate. Ian G. had a pleasant experience where a real enthusiast let him sit in their Zanardi Edition NSX. On the opposite end of the spectrum speedie encountered a couple of Porschephiles debating whether to preserve the Cosmoline on their engines for concours points.
Mattt fired shots with the declaration that a true enthusiast would have 195 aspect ratio tires and rear drum brakes. Meanwhile, Tofu Delivery made the point that no one involved in a sideshow or takeover can rightfully call themselves a car enthusiast and we would agree. Franxou laid out a more unifying philosophy that brings us all closer together.
The winner this week was Alan. There are a few adjustments we would make, such as accounting for people’s living situations that don’t allow them to wrench, but we think his heart is in the right place and we couldn’t resist how he laid out the differences commandment-style:
The qualities that qualify a real car enthusiast are pretty much the same that identify a true aficionado of any hobby; in a nutshell, they dig deeper.
A real enthusiast is generally more captivated by historical machines than the New Hotness ™.
A real enthusiast researches, learns, and applies practical and more esoteric knowledge.
A real enthusiast can drive a manual transmission (if not physically prevented from doing so).
A real enthusiast works on their own vehicles, at least partly (not just oil changes and brakes).
A real enthusiast values quality driving time more than preservation. There’s a balance here, and special machines deserve special treatment, but static cars cease to be cars by a variety of criteria.
A real enthusiast works on their own vehicles, at least partly (not just oil changes and brakes).
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
The telephone and internet are the two tools I rely on most. What good are the various wrenches etc. IF, you are not sure as to how to accomplish a task you are not sure of doing well. Once you have the proper guidance even the concept of WHAT tool to use (even duct tape!) makes it easier to ascertain whether or not said job is OK for my level or, given to experts … hopefully, with at least the proper info for THEM to do their job on the problem at hand and, perhaps then having the knowledge to either do it yourself next time or know when it needs to be done at a later date.
i build and race a few different types of engines – traditional (SBC/BBC) Chevy V8’s have a press fit harmonic balancer, i really messed up a lot of balancers and 1 crank before i got a removal and installer kit – its been a godsend, and like any good tool, is fun to use.
The best tool to have is a good friend with you!
So cheesy, but even if both do not know how to accomplish something, having a friend nearby build confidence in what is being done.
My best shop tool for waking from nightmares is not a press or a puller or any specialized instrument. It’s my Lincoln stick welder. I live in Nova Scotia, the land of salt. Salt air, salt water, salted roads. The amount of broken bolts that machine has exctracted over the years on A-tin, J-tin, outboards, (American and Japanese as well) small gas etc. Is mind blowing. Its also handy for rebuilding rotten truck frames and all the other fun stuff that comes with salty old rotten vehicles!
My best shop tool for waking from nightmares is not a press or a puller or any specialized instrument. It’s my Lincoln stick welder. I live in Nova Scotia, the land of salt. Salt air, salt water, salted roads. The amount of broken bolts that machine has exctracted over the years on A-tin, J-tin, outboards, (American and Japanese as well) small gas etc. Is mind blowing. Its also handy for rebuilding rotten truck frames and all the other fun stuff that comes with salty old rotten vehicles!
C’mon! My youngest JNC is 56 years old. Penetrating oil.
Breaker bars and ATF mixed with acetone.
Thanks for the win guys.
A good ol’ basic pair of vice grips. I live in rust country and it seems like about 1 in 4 bolts or screws will strip after not being touched for 40 years and every tool slips right off. Every tool except the vice grips.
Dremel tool, hands down.
It’s not so much a tool that saved me, but a tool I love is my hand-held belt sander. For someone who does quite a bit of sheet metal work and body modifications, this tool really helps me dial in cuts made with a cut-off wheel or air saw. To me, there is nothing better than a nice round, symmetrical cut/edge, that will most likely be hidden by an over-fender.
I suppose its one of those things that makes my heart happy.
Duct tape. I have used it to: patch hose leaks, seal vacuum leaks, hold a car door shut, hold a hatch shut, repair a hole in a vinyl seat, make an exhaust hanger, patch an exhaust (took lots of tape and smelled really bad but it worked for a few days), seal a missing rear door window, make a new shift knob (my friend stole mine as a joke but I got the better laugh as I kept the taped one on after he gave mine back), keep a sagging headliner up, keep a broken antennae together so I could get reception, repair broken wires, and make wedges to slide between dash and interior body panels to stop squeaking. I know I have missed a number of things, but it is indeed the tool to have if you own old cars that break a lot like I did when in college.
This is the cheater answer, but the right one. I can’t fathom all the time I’ve wasted in the past trying to make do with the wrong tool for the job.
My non-cheater answer is an impact screwdriver. Those things are magic.
A mechanic.
As a mechanic i can testify we sure can be tools at times!
Tools or fools?
The above comments are all so relevant, but for me it’s been the felxible general extractor / retrieving tool. As an owner to a Nissan Z32 300ZX, there’s a numerous jokes about how sockets and small tools / pieces are forever lost once dropped into the engine bay. I dropped a 10mm socket once, and retrieving it would have involved removing the intake manifold, easily 3 hours. I used the retrieving tool and its flexible capabilities (not to mention its four claws) to pull the socket out. Another time I was adjusting the hood latch release mechanism, and a bolt dropped between the radiator and A/C condenser. The retrieving tool once again saved me. It’s almost like playing the Milton Bradley “Operation” game.