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5 Tools That Often Get Misused
Tools are the items and objects we use to complete the tasks we desire to do. At one point in human history we likely only had three tools: a pointy rock, a sharp-edged rock, and a blunt heavy rock. With those three things an industry was born, and it’s one that is today closely linked to the automotive world. We need a lot more tools than those primitive three to get any project done these days, but sometimes we might have the right tool and still decide to use the wrong one. Here are five examples.
If Not Pry Bar, Why Pry Bar Shaped?
Screwdrivers can be precision instruments. They can also be the closest thing to your hand when you need to lever two pieces apart, and oh boy, is it tempting to take that flat-blade screwdriver and shove it in there, maybe even tapping the end of the handle with a hammer to help things along.
Sometimes that works fine, but why take the risk with your tools? Screwdrivers were designed for turning forces and thus it is surprisingly easy to bend the shank or fracture the tip once you start using them in a freestyle manner. If you’re unable to find a pry bar or lever of the appropriate size for your projects, designating one tool for that task is the next best option, though still only half a step short of tool abuse. I have an old damaged flat blade screwdriver that is only used wrong these days. But most screwdrivers do not have shanks that extend completely through the handle, so be advised that any attempts to use a screwdriver like a chisel are likely to break the handle.
Designed to Twirl, Forced to Fight
Sockets are great at removing hardware, but the location of said hardware often means putting those sockets on some type of extension. These simple straight bars have both male and female ends for attaching a ratchet or breaker bar on one end and the socket on the other. That shape also makes them a perfect general-use punch. The broad tip doesn’t focus force much and makes an extension just too perfectly suited for driving out large bolts like those found on suspension hardware. It’s a tool that was designed and born to spin like a ballerina, but often has to pull duty on the offensive line as well.
“The Claw”
At some point a hammer is a hammer, but using a claw hammer under the hood just feels so wrong. Ball-peen hammers are much better for working in the tighter confines of an engine compartment, compared to claw hammers that were designed for framing houses. Ball-peen and dead-blow hammers are likely the most popular for automotive use and come in a range of sizes that help persuade stuck parts and hardware, but that doesn’t stop many people from grabbing what is handy, and I guess we can’t blame them.
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OBD Scan Tools
How could you use an OBD scan tool wrong? Well, I use mine to clear the check engine light and not much more, which quite honestly is massive underutilization of the surprisingly powerful diagnostics abilities that come with a $12 scan tool. I simply don’t want to see the check engine light, because I know the “clogged catalyst” that trips the light isn’t actually being clogged. The problem is that I don’t drive long-enough trips in the winter, and the ECU is putting in additional fuel to try to help the engine warm up and run smoothly, thus the O2 sensors are seeing readings the computer doesn’t like. So I use my scan tool to remove the code and nothing else.
It’s a Lever off the Jack, Too!
Hydraulic floor jacks make lifting our project cars easier than ever. Once the car is up in the air, there is usually (always? without fail?) some large bolt or nut that needs removed, and of course it’s somehow stuck far tighter than the torque spec would suggest. So it’s time to get archaic. Even my two-foot breaker bar is not enough at times, and that’s when the jack donates its handle to create the lever long enough to move most anything. If you’re tempted to use this trick, be careful, the force can be enough to easily strip the teeth inside a ratchet, so it’s best to stick to using a breaker bar. And even then, be sure to have solid socket engagement and a clear path for the long lever to swing in without hitting something else.
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For the younger commenters, Google “Primitive Pete”
Interesting that Kyle has so many damaged tools to show…..
Fifty years ago we had a phrase we used just before we abused any tool; Never pound on the wooden handle of a screwdriver, but when you do.
Yup we are all the same… adjusting our resources to get the job done.
My tool box has The 24 inch hollow piece of pipe (mine is a preimum pipe as the exterior is “chrome”) is a curse & work saver for looseing bolts/nuts.
It is still ok to borrow the wife’s turkey grease baster to suck up oil for my car projects?? I do clean it real good before returing it to the kitchen drawer.
The most misunderstood tool in the toolbox…..the Crescent wrench……it can get you into trouble……and the thing is, you have to know how to correctly turn it, there is a correct way, and a wrong way, on top of all the other misguided ways of using it!
I was once told you don’t need no torque wrench, just tighten the first one down till it breaks off then don’ t tighten the rest of them that tight. I think were all moving toward the tree rock’s
torque it until it breaks then back it off 1 quarter turn
I looked through this thread, and no one has mentioned the problem of cheap 12-point sockets. Yup, I ruined a lot of sockets and bolts that way before I figured out that only 6-point sockets could handle high torque.
Cannot believe you left off the most abused tool to ever have the misfortune to land in my work bucket. The big ass Crescent wrench. That curved head is a perfect peen hammer stand in. The flat side will work to drive/bend nails as well. If a nail is sticking up a bit you can close the jaws around it an use is as a claw. The hole on the other side will stand in as a cheater bar if whatever you are cheating can fit in there. Also will stir paint. An amazing tool to use and abuse. Apparently it will turn various sized nuts as well.
Leave the OBD scanner behind and use the BlueDriver plug-in and app. A great deal of data on the fly AND all the other functions of the typical reader.
So do I. Carry it in my most used vehicle and always have my phone handy to use with it👍👍
How about setting your torque ratchet wrench and forgetting to turn it back to zero when you’re done?
I’ve been a gear head all my life and a Snap On dealer for 30 years , retired now and still playing in the garage. All that time I harped on my customers to not use a screwdriver for a prybar, yet the first thing I grab to pry with is a screwdriver. As far as swearing goes my wife has heard me make up new ones !!!
Is that why Craftsman no longer has a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty?
Last I heard, Lowes still replace them ???
I once had a craftsman flat bladed screwdriver crumble the tip when actually driving a screw into wood. the guy at sears looked at me like he was sure I was lying when I brought it back. I went to sears once with a friend to return a broken breaker bar. As we were leaving, he said, “I failed to mention that when it broke there were three guys pulling on a 10 foot bar taking a bolt off a bulldozer”. “Anything with mass within reach when under a car qualifies as a hammer” is a phrase I’ve heard and followed too often.
I think channel locks cause more damage than the vise grips.
Well, this sure solicited a lot of comments. As some suggest, these are not all crimes. The bottom line is — don’t use a tool for a purpose that it is not strong enough for. If it is strong enough, and does the job without causing damage, then the designer just didn’t understand all the possible uses!