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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#1 usually comes after some “Oh Crap” moment like the time a bolt on an exhaust manifold snapped after a minimum of force applied to it. Drill and tap baby!
The Really Long Lever of any type.
Sears ViceGrip copies. The release lever moves in the opposite direction from real Vice Grips. I don’t know anyone who has had these(myself included) that hasn’t gotten blood blisters from those things.
The one I hate the most is the easy out , because it is never out easy !
Air hammer, when you know how to use it got to be one of the best tools in the box…….
Soldering iron, heat shrink tubing, extra wire.
Means the mice have found the electrical system inside of my 1966 Puch 250sgs toolbox,
again!
I no longer fear EZ outs because I no longer use them under any circumstances. You’ll fear taps and dies less if you use genuine cutting oil on them instead of lubricating oil. Chemistry is magic to me but the difference is night and day….It’s not an automotive tool but the only one I truly hate to use is the power sewer line rooter.
I would add the slinky magnet pick-up tool to the list. When you reach for this tool it means you just dropped a nut or some other important part in an otherwise inaccessible place such as your cylinder, and you start praying this tool will find it.
Mine would be my right angle philips head screwdriver. Yeah it fits in tight spots, but I know some choice words are close behind the need for that tool, especially if that screw has been there since the Kennedy administration.
My least favorite in the multimeter! It means there is an electrical problem which may take hours or days to resolve.
Oh I have a air hammer story. I have a 2006 Toyota van that needed an axle replaced. it has a pilot bearing to support the long passenger side axle. its big bering and its slip fit into its bracket. It was original and 10 years old so it was pretty stuck. I had been looking on line for how to het it out of the bracket. no one was offering any easy methods and suddenly remembered I had an air hammer! I hit it about three Tims on the back side of the bearing and it popped out!
I’m 72. I don’t want to reach for any tool. I want to jump in my C6 Vette, fasten my seatbelt, turn the key and listen to my engine go VROOOooom through my Borlas. I wear it more than drive it. It’s my transformer.
I use a dremel cutoff wheel more than I’d like to admit. It works great for stripped screws; I just cut a slot in it and use a flat blade screwdriver. There are tense moments as you try to turn it, but it works more than I thought it would.
Part of my living is from fixing other peoples´errors. I run a tool making / precision mechanical workshop, so none of these tools worry me the least.
But I NEVER use an easy-out or pigtail / pigdi.. as we call it in Norway. They are made of way to brittle steel.
Acetylene torch is in daily use both for silver soldering and plain heating.
The oem supplied tire changing tools. Bottle jacks are ok, but scissor jacks never inspire much confidence for me. Floor jacks and jack stands reduce the pucker factor and make life much easier. A lift is supreme. The supplied wrench can be a real toss up(I’ve seen some bend and break on a particularly stubborn lug nut). A breaker bar and torque wrench are much better, but better yet is an impact.
But the real reason I hate to grab them is that it means I’m likely on the side of the road doing unplanned work. Much less fun than doing planned work at home.