I was giving the ole rollaway a cleaning and reorganizing today and I got to thinking how certain tools make shit WAY easier and how I would be bummed If I didn't have them. My favorites: Craftsman racheting box wrenches. What a great tool. I don't know how many place I have used them where I could not get a regular rachet into. Love-em! Drill doctor. If you don't have one of these, Get one! There is nothing better than a fresh sharp drill bit to make life easier. Not cheap but money well spent. What's you favorites?
Air angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. And my welder. Between the two you can accomplish so much more than you should be able to.
I have an entire roll around full of stuff i couldn't live without, try working on a vintage jap car and you'll end up with a drawer full of special made tool like seal drivers and tools modified to fit special bolts etc. Add the SU's and you'll have lots more. I also have the plastic hammer my mom saved from when i was 2, couldn't ever be replaced, my first tool.
16 once ball pean. I got a 4 pound hammer that I only use for adjusting timming. It seems that several of the cars/trucks I have had the good fortune to own over the last say 10 years? have had electrical problems when they moved in with me and the one tool I find indespensable is my old multi-meter. I have an expensive one that I inherited from the Ol' Man, but the one I use most is a cheapo Radio Shack unit; I think it cost me $7.95 in about '97. The other one I had finally shorted out after about 25 years of use.
The first two thing's that came to mind for me too..'cept i use the angle grinder with 3" disc's and use an air cutoff tool ( muffler cutter) for the cutoff wheel.. Those three thing's are priceless when i'm building something.... I'm sure there's more..but, those are damn important to me
is a lift a tool? if so then my lift is my favorite tool. the older I get, the more I like it. just did a clutch. got a leaky "under a lift" tranny jack for free. if I had to do it on jackstands I'd have paid someone to do it.
die grinder with a black strip wheel, cut off wheel, andmy HTP200 Mig. Oh yea, remember how it was before you had a bench vice?
my creeper,,snap on impact,,wobble extension,,swivel extensions,,speed wrench,,,breaker bar,,torque wrench,,distributor wrench,,magnetic tipped screwdrivers,,just 2 name a few,as well as everything stated above
My wife ordered me a set of the Metrench tools from an infomercial about 12 years ago, they advertise that the remove (and tighten) even rounded nuts....they work! they came in a hard shell case and they are the first tools I pick up to do anything.
Tugmaster, got a story for you since you mentioned Vise Grips. A buddy called one weekday and ask if he got his car over to my shop Saturday,could I weld in his new spring hangers.He had a 34 Ford with V8 open drive line mounted on the original Ford spring and he had decided to change to parallel leafs in the rear.He said he would have everything changed over and clamped in place and ready to weld. I said "sure,be over 'bout nine". Well, Saturday morning I got to my shop a few minutes before nine thinking he won't be here for a while. As I was Facing the building unlocking the door with my back to the street, I heard the distintive sound of my Buddies 34 Ford. I turned around in disbelief and sure as the wind, he came driving in the Parking lot.I thought " "Oh well" he got someone else to do his welding job. As he shut it down and climbed out I asked " Already got it welded??". "Nope" he said" you said If I got it to you place you would weld it up for Me." By that time I was under the car! There to my SURPRISE was a pair of leaf springs with hangers Clamped in place with 8 pairs Vise Grips. He said "I drove over real careful....."
Mig, grinder, air compressor and my trusty 2-ton jack. I seriously hate you guys with the plasma cutters, make us using cutoffs and saws look like bulls in a fine china store!