Get up off the floor when there is a moderately serviceable tool closer allowing you to park your lazy self right where you are? I don't understand. My favorite tool is the one that is close at hand that I can make do the job.
Too many that I use every time I'm in the shop to call any particular one a favorite. 1/4 and 3/8 ratchets and deep sockets for both plus a set of box and combination wrenches... All from Craftsman and worn smooth from 50 years of use are among the top choices. I have several body hammers and dollys that are about the same age and have seen me through the entire learning process and earned me a good living for many many years.... I still have the DeVilbiss MBC gun that I've shot several thousand gallons of enamel through.. Plus a lot more old friends.....
A pair of single mag glasses when under the dash, the tri focals don't work as I can't bend my neck to see
My Leatherman Wave Multi-Tool, without a doubt. It's basically a small toolbox that you can carry on your belt at all times. It's always shocked & baffled me that more mechanically-minded guys just don't seem to have them. I've been carrying a Leatherman product with me for about 17 years now and I won't leave the house without one. If it were up to me, when a fellow turns 18 years old and goes to register for Selective Service at your local Post Office, they should issue every guy a Leatherman at the same time.
I like all of my hammers, but the Martin Cross Peen would probably be my favorite, as much as I would like to say its my 10 lbs sledge, as that sound very manly. My Smith Torch would have to be a close second, or does that qualify as a power tool?
Multi tools have gotten me out of more than a few sticky situations. I would say that every one should get one much sooner than 18 years of age. By that time your probably a lost cause if you don't have one already.
i have a craftsman 9/16 wrench that belonged to my dad. combined we have owned it about 40yrs and its turned a lot of nuts and bolts. second favorite is a ball peen hammer tha has a pipe handle with a solid rod welded in to damp vibrations. thanks to dad for modifying that one. works like a champ
A pliers with one end of the handle shaped into a bladed screwdriver. Tends to help me keep getting down the road.
This might sound dumb, but my favorite hand tool is the key to my new shop. Last summer, at the age of 47, I built my very first workshop. I'd never had a decent place to work on hotrods before. The key lets me in to play with all the other tools hidden inside.
YES! Nothing like a BFH when you're pissed off and need to brake stuff! Shattered a Model A Ford block at work years ago with one swing. Felt great, coworkers were real quiet for a while.
I love a small hammer that resides in my toolbox. It has a magical effect on me. As soon as I pick it up everything starts to look like a nail.
So many tools, so much work, so little time It's hard to choose but for me it's this....the amount of cut-off wheels and flap discs i have used in the past 5 years alone, is staggering
Ever since I was an apprentice, I have favored the wrench my Master Mechanic boss suggested: the 3/8" drive speed handle. I use it with universal sockets, when used in a 90 degree 'bind' it becomes a medium-sized breaker bar. Then, a speed handle that can be spun with one hand (after years of practice: either hand is equally dextrous) The favorite is the Thorsen 62J, 16" long with a knurled acorn-shaped knob handle. I have also become attached to my Snap-On speed handle (3/8" drive, 26" long) When I worked in foreign shops, the European mechanics all used 'T' handled tools. (dedicated to each bolt size...Metric set included as many as 15 different 'T' wrenches. For years the German mechanics razzed me about my 'Italian-style' with the Speed Handle...) Old habits...my young wife adopted the habit also: she usually has my Thorsen when I look for it!
my jamco wheel cylinder hone .Belonged to my grandad,it's saved me lots of money and frustration over the years
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