6 Tools We Hate to Reach For
Most of us treasure the time we spend working on projects. The mental flow state that comes with forcing our minds to mellow out and focus on solely the task at hand can be therapeutic—in the right situation. Every bright light casts a shadow, and every garage holds some tools we hope never to use.
These are the devices that mean our time in the garage is not going well. The steel canaries in the horsepower mine. Projects go sideways just as many times as they go flawlessly, and many of us have various gadgets that serve no purpose until all else has failed.
Here are a few tools that we love to have but hate to reach for.
Tool #1: Tap set
More often than not, forming—or re-forming—threads in a part or piece follows the destruction of those spiraling channels. You’ve probably broken a piece of hardware—or, worst of all, an easy-out. Toss in the fact that taps are very hard, and thus brittle, and you have a very volatile evening of work ahead of you.
When used properly and carefully, a tap set can be a reset button on the life of a part. Even drilling up one size and tapping so that a fastener can have appropriate holding power may be better than replacing the fastener. Sometimes it’s all about perspective.
Tool #2: Spring compressors
The sudden release of potential energy describes a lot of scenarios: The explosion of a firecracker, the expansion of an airbag, and the release of a compressed spring. Each of those can have serious long-term health effects if it happens too close to your person. There are two groups of people who work on automotive suspension: those who are uncomfortable, and those who ignore the forces at play.
Springs and suspension still need to be serviced, though. Carefully inspect and service spring compressors before using them to ensure there is no damage or problems that might pop up. Sometimes just that bit of added confidence is enough to soften the fear factor.
Tool #3: Camshaft locker
It’s not that this tool is so bad; it’s that the consequences of human error when using it are high enough to make us uneasy. Variable camshaft timing has unlocked horsepower that comes with minimal compromises in fuel economy and also drivability. Unfortunately, the technology also makes for more complicated service; replacing a timing chain or belt often requires careful alignment of multiple points while also holding tensioners and gears in proper orientation. The job can be fairly painless, but that doesn’t mean it’s fun.
Tool #4: Air hammer
Percussive force breaks the bonds of rust, and it hammers eardrums just as thoroughly. The compromise can often be easily overcome with a good set of earplugs or over-the-ear muffs, but using an air hammer still isn’t a pleasurable experience. Compared to using the torch, and the chance of lighting everything on fire, it is the lesser of two evils. We don’t love you, air hammer, but, after all these years, we haven’t let you leave the toolbox.
Tool #5: Impact driver
Stripped hardware is the bane of any DIYer’s existence. Even with the proper tools and experience to handle stripped screws and bolts, we don’t want to spend the limited time we have in the garage dealing with them. The combination of driving and turning force delivered by an impact screwdriver can take quickly solve the problem of a partially stripped screw. It can also result in hitting your wrist with a hammer, or create an even bigger problem by snapping a bolt off where you can’t grab it. Often, our opinion of an impact screwdriver is based on how well it worked the last time we used it.
Tool #6: The Big Hammer
You know the one. The handle is slightly stained, and the face features a few chips from that one time you got a little carried away on that ball joint. You probably started addressing the problem at hand with a couple of smaller hammers and, when you realized that things were not going your way, and that you were tired of talking nice, opened the drawer to grab The Big Hammer.
This list is all a matter of opinion and personal experience, so we may have missed one or two here. If you’ve got a tool you avoid reaching for but might not be able to put a finger on why, leave a comment. Consider it an unofficial survey.
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My favorite…….I had to bring a “Beater” to my local mechanic shop because I couldn’t budge a catalytic converter bolt. “No Problem” he used his “SMOKE WRENCH”………..aka……. an Acetylene Torch !!!!!
I’m too afraid to have one of those in my garage……………
I’m in my early 70’s now but when I was young I worked 37 hrs a week at a gas station while going to high school. The owner was a German gentleman and probably one of the smartest people I have ever met even to this day. He taught me so much. When things wouldn’t budge he would say get me the liquid wrench. Also know as the torch.
I keep mine in a garden shed. I never use it inside the house.
I was a bit hesitant when my son wanted to add an acetylene torch set in our shop, but it has been a great tool to have when needed, even if it is only a few times each year.
Breaker bar. When you need that much torque, assume it’s gonna be a bad day.
I was surprised that a Sawzall was not on the list.. I was also thinking of a ‘cold chisel’, however I guess the air-hammer and its bit suffice – but that’s the wimp’s way out.. LOL!
Also not mentioned is more of an informal addition to just about ANY tool, by necessity – a ‘breaker bar’, usually just a long piece pipe. Obviously nick-named that for a good reason – Use it, and you ARE going to break something..
How about “An magnet on a telescoping shaft” – because that means there’s a socket, a tiny irreplaceable screw, or a spark plug (gulp) somewhere under the motor in an inaccessible corner of the front subframe or chassis where even the greatest mind could not think of to hide the part. A prayer seems to work, though.
A magnetic pick-up tool on the end of a flex shaft. The difference between retrieving a screw from an intake manifold and an unscheduled tear down. Remember the game “Operation”?
It is usually a bad sign when I have to weld a nut onto a broken bolt
The one I dislike the most but use the most is an extendable pocket magnet. At seventy-six years old I’ve found that my steel grip must have gotten grease all over it.
👍 yup
A cold chisle is a last resort is a must have in your tool box. You hardly ever use it and will really make things worse or send you to the emergency room if you miss with the big hammer and hit your hand while your wailing on it out in the sticks.
When you need heat to get things apart, you have trouble. The propane torch or the rosebud tip is a last resort for those willing to set their car on fire.
The hand impact driver was/is a mandatory and frequently used tool for Brit bikes and their dammed Phillips head screws. The only other tool I really hate to reach for but is Sooo satisfying to use is an induction heating coil! Better than a torch!
My number one love-hate tool is the fire extinguisher. Whenever I’m about to do something stupid I look around and make sure I have a clear path towards at least two of the three.
Reminds me of starting up my grandfather’s old speed boat last summer (454 with dual quads) after it sat for 15 years. Called my neighbor for extra hands and eyes. He’s a retired fire chief and walked across the back yard with his fire chief’s hat on carrying a big fire extinguisher. We did get it running without a fire!
Those types of neighbors are gold!
When I get out my flexible magnet tool when a tiny irreplaceable part has fallen into the engine bay abyss with its hidden nooks and crannies and holes.
You left out the # 1 obvious hated tool to reach for : “E-Z outs, AKA : bolt & screw extractors. You have to have screwed up to need to use them. And they are so hard and brittle that they will break off inside the bolt that needs removal, thereby exponentially increasing your pain and suffering. e-z outs, I just hate ‘em.
Z Ray
My step-dad, a trucker since 1932 (ATHS ‘Long Haul’ Awardee) used to say “When all else fails: a bigger hammer!” Totally desperation move, but…
The old impact driver, but the only tool absolutely necessary for 1960’s Japanese motorcycles; can’t take a Honda apart without one!
Braker-bars (with pipe extensions) the worst!
Say ‘Easy Out’, then say ‘Heli-coil’, no fun!
We also called the oxy-acetylene torch ‘The Red Wrench’, and glad to have it when needed!
Now ,we haven’t talked about body-work and paint… aaugh! A different class altogether!
Wick
The tool I hate to use is the one on u-tube who in half an hour does a job you’ve been attempting to do for the last four days. He lives somewhere that never has rust and only has limited hand tools and a tiny jack, doesn’t even use penetrating fluid. He even has a beautiful cocktail waitress who brings him drinks while he works on the car in a tuxedo.