Handfools

[Theultimatehic]

Irwin quick strippers.  I bought a pair and so did a few other guys.  With constant use they have all broken. Guess they weren't supposed to do that much stripping. Back to my Klein strippers 

[justinkendall]

47 minutes ago, BMack37 said:

 

For a true adjustable wrench, try Channellock. They are the only adjustable wrench that I've tried that works like you expect it, it doesn't loosen until you make it loosen.

 

Alternatively, Knipex pliers wrench, they're pricey but they're worth every penny.

 

Just looked at the Knipex. I don't need the 12" or 16" versions so the prices are not too bad.

[dwasifar]

1 hour ago, JimboS1ice said:

Talking about a pass through socket and ratchet set? Those are actually nice depending on your brand but my gear wrench vortex set and sockets are very useful
 

 

This one was called an O-Ratchet, from a company in Denton, TX.

 

 

You can kind of see how that worked.  It's a hex drive instead of a square drive.  The smaller sockets would snap inside the ratchet's drive hex, and the larger ones snapped onto the outside.  There's a sticker inside the case touting a lifetime warranty, but from what I've been able to glean on the internet, the company went out of business in 1992.

 

The other thing was called a Watt-a-Driver, and it was a straight-up interchangeable screwdriver, not a ratcheting one as I thought I remembered:

 

 

Those batteries are long dead, of course, but at least they didn't leak, and when I put new batteries in it I discovered it works just fine after all this time:

 

 

Although I don't really know why it wouldn't, I guess, or why I should care.  The thing's been sitting collecting dust for at least twenty years, and you can see it's still unused inside the case.

[dwasifar]

Oh, how could I forget the Pack Horse. Folding saw horse made of resin with a recessed handle. This is someone else's pic:

 

 

I impulse-bought this thinking it was a Stanley product because of the color. Didn't try to use it for over a year, and when I finally took it out to put it into service it broke immediately:

 

Obviously at that point it was too late to return it. It's been sitting in the basement since then, and I just put it in the trash today as part of a basement cleanup. A complete waste of money.

[JimboS1ice]

 

This one was called an O-Ratchet, from a company in Denton, TX.

 



 

You can kind of see how that worked.  It's a hex drive instead of a square drive.  The smaller sockets would snap inside the ratchet's drive hex, and the larger ones snapped onto the outside.  There's a sticker inside the case touting a lifetime warranty, but from what I've been able to glean on the internet, the company went out of business in 1992.

 

The other thing was called a Watt-a-Driver, and it was a straight-up interchangeable screwdriver, not a ratcheting one as I thought I remembered:

 



 

Those batteries are long dead, of course, but at least they didn't leak, and when I put new batteries in it I discovered it works just fine after all this time:

 



 

Although I don't really know why it wouldn't, I guess, or why I should care.  The thing's been sitting collecting dust for at least twenty years, and you can see it's still unused inside the case.

Similar design to what gear wrench and others put out now just sounds like poor quality metal


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[MikeyB]

3 hours ago, justinkendall said:

 

Once I get my tool fund built up (2016 depleted it, thanks Milwaukee!) again I'm going to hit KC Tool hard picking up Knipex, Wera, and Wiha tools.

 

Im with you on that Justin. For my electrical hand tools i am mostly on the Klien  side, but I have to explore a little more with KC tool and pick up some other brands.

[dwasifar]

59 minutes ago, JimboS1ice said:

Similar design to what gear wrench and others put out now just sounds like poor quality metal
 

 

Why?  It hasn't broken.  I just don't use it much.  Don't usually need it.

[jeffmcmillan]

4 hours ago, dwasifar said:

 

This one was called an O-Ratchet, from a company in Denton, TX.

 

 

You can kind of see how that worked.  It's a hex drive instead of a square drive.  The smaller sockets would snap inside the ratchet's drive hex, and the larger ones snapped onto the outside.  There's a sticker inside the case touting a lifetime warranty, but from what I've been able to glean on the internet, the company went out of business in 1992.

 

 

The newer pass through wrenches are a lot better.  I have a Gearwrench set that probably sees more use than any of my other wrenches.  A nylock nut two feet down rusty allthread is more common than you'd think.

[justinkendall]

 

The newer pass through wrenches are a lot better.  I have a Gearwrench set that probably sees more use than any of my other wrenches.  A nylock nut two feet down rusty allthread is more common than you'd think.

How do you like the Gearwrench set? I've been thinking of getting it but can't decide if I really need it or not since I have their ratcheting wrenches.


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[jeffmcmillan]

1 minute ago, justinkendall said:

How do you like the Gearwrench set? I've been thinking of getting it but can't decide if I really need it or not since I have their ratcheting wrenches.

There's almost no case a pass thru wrench is better than a ratcheting wrench other than a recessed nut down a long stud.  The advantage to me is that it's a small kit to bring along and cover most functions of sockets and ratcheting wrenches at a quarter of the weight.  If you're the type to find a locknut down 8" of a pressed stud, recessed about 1-1/2" with obstructions both above the bolt end and around the bolt for its full length, then you can definitely justify these.  Otherwise it's not something you need but sure is nice to have at times.

 

The nut in question was run down with an extra deep socket in one of the first assembly steps and they thought nothing of it.  Then it falls on us to remove the damn thing when the part needs replacement.

[mike_dave]

3 hours ago, dwasifar said:

 

Why?  It hasn't broken.  I just don't use it much.  Don't usually need it.

I think it would really shine when working a lot with threaded rod 

[justinkendall]

32 minutes ago, jeffmcmillan said:

There's almost no case a pass thru wrench is better than a ratcheting wrench other than a recessed nut down a long stud.  The advantage to me is that it's a small kit to bring along and cover most functions of sockets and ratcheting wrenches at a quarter of the weight.  If you're the type to find a locknut down 8" of a pressed stud, recessed about 1-1/2" with obstructions both above the bolt end and around the bolt for its full length, then you can definitely justify these.  Otherwise it's not something you need but sure is nice to have at times.

 

The nut in question was run down with an extra deep socket in one of the first assembly steps and they thought nothing of it.  Then it falls on us to remove the damn thing when the part needs replacement.

 

In that case since I don't have to deal with that maybe I'll pick up the Milwaukee HollowCore nut drivers. They seem like they would be more useful to me. I don't deal with threaded rod often and when I do it's easily assessable and generally shorter lengths.

[NicolasRamos]

Speed Out extractor bits (as pretty much everyone else said)

Every single adjustable wrench ever. Seriously I get the concept but how is it helpful if every time you go to turn the bolt or nut it loosens itself and slips? I shouldn't have to hold my thumb down hard on the screw to keep it right on the bolt.

Every tongue and groove plier I've tried other than Channellock, Irwin (with the push button), and the Gearwrench ones I currently have.

Lisle convertible internal/external snap ring pliers

More than likely these Southwire wire strippers I just got.


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If you follow Abel (adelectricinc on IG) he recently had a grip malfunction on a pair of those same strippers. He dm'd me a video. The grips slid right off while pulling a mounting screw off of a switch!


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[justinkendall]

If you follow Abel (adelectricinc on IG) he recently had a grip malfunction on a pair of those same strippers. He dm'd me a video. The grips slid right off while pulling a mounting screw off of a switch!


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I don't think I follow him but I'm going to give him a follow now. That's kind of what I'm expecting to happen. I don't use wire strippers often, I think I used them 3 times last year, but I have a few small projects to do so if they fail somehow doing them (which I'm sure they will) I don't see how they expect a professional to use them. I have yet to find a negative review of any Southwire product on Instagram. I spent some time on YouTube the other day looking for anything negative and every video was raving about them.

My GFCI tester I got came with something rattling inside right out of the package. Hopefully my multimeter and fishtape show up this week so I can test them out. I already promised a guy on Instagram I'd run it through 100' of PVC with multiple 90°'s because everyone is just replicating the test Southwire did when they introduced it and not showing it used on long runs.


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[Todd the Tinkerer]

These are my worst. I use to expect more from Craftsmen.


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[dwasifar]

15 minutes ago, tcoscarelli said:

These are my worst. I use to expect more from Craftsmen.

 

Actually I have both of those too, and while I don't use the Clench Wrench very much, I like and use the Robogrip.  Maybe not as much as you've used yours, though, judging by the amount of wear.   What turned your Clench green?

 

 

[dwasifar]

On 1/1/2017 at 1:27 PM, BMack37 said:

 

For a true adjustable wrench, try Channellock. They are the only adjustable wrench that I've tried that works like you expect it, it doesn't loosen until you make it loosen.

 

What's different about them that makes them perform better?  I have some older Craftsman adjustables that are reasonably good in that regard, but it never hurts to try something better.

[Todd the Tinkerer]

 

Actually I have both of those too, and while I don't use the Clench Wrench very much, I like and use the Robogrip.  Maybe not as much as you've used yours, though, judging by the amount of wear. [emoji4]  What turned your Clench green?

 

 

The green is paint. My robogrips never gripped very well. I prefer Chanelocks


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[BMack37]

4 hours ago, dwasifar said:

 

What's different about them that makes them perform better?  I have some older Craftsman adjustables that are reasonably good in that regard, but it never hurts to try something better.

 

There is an extra contact point on the screw mechanism and the tolerances are nice and tight. You can tighten it on your finger and let it dangle, it won't come off until you manually release the screw. On top of that the jaws open wider than most and the jaws are deeper while relatively slim.

[Conductor562]

On 1/1/2017 at 9:12 PM, jeffmcmillan said:

There's almost no case a pass thru wrench is better than a ratcheting wrench other than a recessed nut down a long stud.  The advantage to me is that it's a small kit to bring along and cover most functions of sockets and ratcheting wrenches at a quarter of the weight.  If you're the type to find a locknut down 8" of a pressed stud, recessed about 1-1/2" with obstructions both above the bolt end and around the bolt for its full length, then you can definitely justify these.  Otherwise it's not something you need but sure is nice to have at times.

 

The nut in question was run down with an extra deep socket in one of the first assembly steps and they thought nothing of it.  Then it falls on us to remove the damn thing when the part needs replacement.

 

This pretty much sums it up. They're good for a road set or some application where you don't want to carry deep and shallow sockets. That's about it.