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The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
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The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:37 pm
No, not my son, the gift that I bought him.
Useful because it's a 90 tooth ratchet. If you have ever worked in a confined area you know what that means. No long throw here. Useless because it's 24 kt gold plated. I can't see him turning sockets on an old beat up greasy Mustang with it.
Funny story. I called my local Harbor Freight (the vendor) but they were out of stock. So I ordered it on-line. It's been awhile since I have ordered from them and I didn't notice that they had my old address before they changed over to street addresses. Same place different address with no street number.
Oh no, coming FedEx and they can't find my house even with the correct address and his birthday is coming up fast. So I went back to order another one with the correct address knowing that FedEx would return it to Harbor Freight missing his birthday. Then thought, never mind if it doesn't show up I will just order another one later missing his birthday.
Two days pass and a FedEx package shows on on my doorstep. The gold ratchet. Amazing Fedex, your one for a hundred. Two more days pass and another FedEx package arrives. A second gold ratchet. While fooling around on Harbor Freights web site I must have mistakingly ordered another one. So be it. I wanted one for myself anyway.
Hung it up above my workbench, at least it's nice to look at. Who knows, I may need that short throw feature some day.
Useful because it's a 90 tooth ratchet. If you have ever worked in a confined area you know what that means. No long throw here. Useless because it's 24 kt gold plated. I can't see him turning sockets on an old beat up greasy Mustang with it.
Funny story. I called my local Harbor Freight (the vendor) but they were out of stock. So I ordered it on-line. It's been awhile since I have ordered from them and I didn't notice that they had my old address before they changed over to street addresses. Same place different address with no street number.
Oh no, coming FedEx and they can't find my house even with the correct address and his birthday is coming up fast. So I went back to order another one with the correct address knowing that FedEx would return it to Harbor Freight missing his birthday. Then thought, never mind if it doesn't show up I will just order another one later missing his birthday.
Two days pass and a FedEx package shows on on my doorstep. The gold ratchet. Amazing Fedex, your one for a hundred. Two more days pass and another FedEx package arrives. A second gold ratchet. While fooling around on Harbor Freights web site I must have mistakingly ordered another one. So be it. I wanted one for myself anyway.
Hung it up above my workbench, at least it's nice to look at. Who knows, I may need that short throw feature some day.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
fredvon4 Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:01 pm
I deliberately ordered the OS gold plated glow plugs to go with the Kamtechnic Turbo head adapters
Some where in a drawer is a Gold plater air gage from Snap ON I got as a promotional gift, but can't remember what tool I bought from them back then late 90s I think
Some where in a drawer is a Gold plater air gage from Snap ON I got as a promotional gift, but can't remember what tool I bought from them back then late 90s I think
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
NEW222 Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:31 pm
Thats net Bob. Would be nice if there was a 1/4" version. That would be very useful. I know what you mean exactly about a fine tooth rachet in a tight area. Heck and also if anyone else gets the joke, a gold plated 10mm socket would be nice.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:54 pm
NEW222 wrote:Thats net Bob. Would be nice if there was a 1/4" version. That would be very useful. I know what you mean exactly about a fine tooth rachet in a tight area. Heck and also if anyone else gets the joke, a gold plated 10mm socket would be nice.
It seems like everything in metric world is 10 mm Chancey. Rene would take notice - fighting metric every inch of the way.
Another funny story. 58 years and two days ago I was taking my wife to the doctors for a prenatal appointment at the Naval hospital in Portsmouth Va.. Sitting in the waiting room the doctor came out and said they were keeping my wife as she was having the baby. "But Doc, I only brought her in for an appointment." Go home son and come back about five. I did, and I did. I found my wife quite groggy but she smiled and said - It's a boy I knew you would be pleased. After two girls I was.
Mark spent the next 30 days in an incubator before we could bring him home.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
Cribbs74 Mon Jan 03, 2022 12:40 am
Gold tool? Always figured you were the kind of that would prefer a rusty beat up tool to fix up.
Anymore I am just happy to have a tool made in the USA. Considering making a run to the flea market.
Anymore I am just happy to have a tool made in the USA. Considering making a run to the flea market.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
944_Jim Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:56 am
Cribbs74 wrote:Gold tool? Always figured you were the kind of that would prefer a rusty beat up tool to fix up.
Ron,
That's golden!
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:58 pm
Don't get me going on another lost cause adventure. Planes, trains, and automobiles are enough.
Actually I'm really fussy about my tools, even those out in the garage get wiped down and put away after each use. Even the tools in that tool box that my Dad gave me at Christmas in 1953 survive.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
cstatman Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:02 pm
my old man told me "keep your tool clean, and it will last you a lifetime"
YOU ALMOST cost me $69 - cause the light click (90) rachet is exciting. I just cannot justify a gold plated tool
but i found smomething less blingey - and in 1/4" drive
so ya DID cost me some money, but well spent
--- https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-120-Teeth-1-4-in-Drive-Quick-Release-Ratchet/1000594925
YOU ALMOST cost me $69 - cause the light click (90) rachet is exciting. I just cannot justify a gold plated tool
but i found smomething less blingey - and in 1/4" drive
so ya DID cost me some money, but well spent
--- https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-120-Teeth-1-4-in-Drive-Quick-Release-Ratchet/1000594925
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
Levent Suberk Mon Jan 03, 2022 6:33 pm
I remembered Mechanix Illustrated magazine golden hammer award. Hasip Sönmezalp whom a friend of my father won this award at the time by making a telescope. He made the lens by hand from a porthole glass.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
706jim Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:28 pm
Lens or mirror? Many mirrors have been made from portholes, but a lens is a much bigger deal. Glass has to be transparent and free of ripples plus there are at least two and sometimes three lens elements to minimize chromatic aberrations.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
Levent Suberk Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:20 pm
706jim wrote:Lens or mirror? Many mirrors have been made from portholes, but a lens is a much bigger deal. Glass has to be transparent and free of ripples plus there are at least two and sometimes three lens elements to minimize chromatic aberrations.
He made a lens by grinding the glass with abrasives by hand. Time consuming work.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
batjac Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:06 am
NEW222 wrote:Thats net Bob. Would be nice if there was a 1/4" version. That would be very useful. I know what you mean exactly about a fine tooth rachet in a tight area. Heck and also if anyone else gets the joke, a gold plated 10mm socket would be nice.
I wish I could just buy a 10mm socket by itself. They always seems to be missing. Jut last week I was going through an old ratchet set that I used to keep in my truck that I've had for about 40 years, and the only thing missing are the two 10mm ratchets.
The Misplaced Mark
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:29 am
batjac wrote:NEW222 wrote:Thats net Bob. Would be nice if there was a 1/4" version. That would be very useful. I know what you mean exactly about a fine tooth rachet in a tight area. Heck and also if anyone else gets the joke, a gold plated 10mm socket would be nice.
I wish I could just buy a 10mm socket by itself. They always seems to be missing. Jut last week I was going through an old ratchet set that I used to keep in my truck that I've had for about 40 years, and the only thing missing are the two 10mm ratchets.
The Misplaced Mark
Yup, that elusive 10mm anything. The most used metric that I have.
And I just know that 1/2" shorty open/boxed end missing from my shorty set is resting somewhere in a long gone MG engine compartment or under the seat. Maybe on the frame just over the clutch slave cylinder.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
Oldenginerod Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:43 am
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
fredvon4 Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:01 pm
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:21 pm
Good one Rod.
And Fred.............for my next BMW era Mini.
And Fred.............for my next BMW era Mini.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
cstatman Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:37 pm
oh Fred - that is cool. very cool
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:03 pm
cstatman wrote:oh Fred - that is cool. very cool
What is cool is your Craftsman 120 pt 1/4" ratchet. Wonder if it's brand engineered. Didn't Sears and the original Craftsman go belly up? Sold the name maybe. I love 1/4" ratchets.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
Cribbs74 Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:33 pm
rsv1cox wrote:cstatman wrote:oh Fred - that is cool. very cool
What is cool is your Craftsman 120 pt 1/4" ratchet. Wonder if it's brand engineered. Didn't Sears and the original Craftsman go belly up? Sold the name maybe. I love 1/4" ratchets.
Yes they went the way of the Dodo however, the Craftsman brand went to Lowes. The selection isn’t so great from what I have seen. Time will tell.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
cstatman Tue Jan 04, 2022 6:23 pm
article on craftsman
https://housegrail.com/who-makes-craftsman-tools/
they are no longer made in US, but Lowes still honors the warrantly on "hand tools"
IF you have vintage craftsman, its better to refurb/repair yourself,
I wont say the new craftsman is the "best" and I wish there was more made in USA....
look what followed me back to work after lunch break
but they work.
https://housegrail.com/who-makes-craftsman-tools/
they are no longer made in US, but Lowes still honors the warrantly on "hand tools"
IF you have vintage craftsman, its better to refurb/repair yourself,
I wont say the new craftsman is the "best" and I wish there was more made in USA....
look what followed me back to work after lunch break
but they work.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
cstatman Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:59 pm
super pleased to report the 120 tooth thing is awesome.
I was able to use in a very confined workspace, minimal effort to rapidly remove a bolt that would have been near impossible with one of my older ~37 tooth rachets.
thank you Bob and team for pointing out such a thing exists. Never seen or considered in my 57 years. Tight spaces used to mean open end wrench and lots of effort.... super super cool.
I was able to use in a very confined workspace, minimal effort to rapidly remove a bolt that would have been near impossible with one of my older ~37 tooth rachets.
thank you Bob and team for pointing out such a thing exists. Never seen or considered in my 57 years. Tight spaces used to mean open end wrench and lots of effort.... super super cool.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:31 pm
As I mentioned above, on my 16th birthday my Dad gave me a tool box full of Penens tools. Not Snap-On quality but the standard at the time.
I lost a few sockets and the 1/4" ratchet. Also overused and broke the 1/2" ratchet, replaced recently with a few of the missing sockets through ebay. This thread stimulated me to replace the 1/4" ratchet too, which I just did. ebay also. Cost more than the much better Craftsman that you picture, but that's nostelgia for you.
Since, I got together a few of Dad's things and added them to the box.
After dumping the contents many times of the small Penens box, I finally wised up and printed TOP on it.
I lost a few sockets and the 1/4" ratchet. Also overused and broke the 1/2" ratchet, replaced recently with a few of the missing sockets through ebay. This thread stimulated me to replace the 1/4" ratchet too, which I just did. ebay also. Cost more than the much better Craftsman that you picture, but that's nostelgia for you.
Since, I got together a few of Dad's things and added them to the box.
After dumping the contents many times of the small Penens box, I finally wised up and printed TOP on it.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
706jim Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:35 pm
My father's toolbox with a small variety of Craftsman tools hung around for over thirty years. I gave it away on Kijiji for free. Just glad that someone can use these tools.
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
rsv1cox Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:44 pm
706jim wrote:My father's toolbox with a small variety of Craftsman tools hung around for over thirty years. I gave it away on Kijiji for free. Just glad that someone can use these tools.
These tools have worked on a 1937 Ford Coupe, my first car, a 1947 Plymouth Coupe, 1950 Plymouth convertible, 1952 Ford sedan, 1951 Studebaker, 1953 Mercury, 1952 Chevrolet sedan, etc. etc. and a whole bunch of MG's. Stopped needing them when I started buying Hondas back in 1980.
My son will get them, then one of my grandsons, then...............
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Re: The useful utterly useless tool - My Son turned 58 on New Years eve
cstatman Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:21 pm
my old man was a chemical engineer for Eastman Kodak. His tools were patents, slide rules (which I have) and a motley collection of bits and bobs for fixing things around the house.
on a side note, my mom was an artist, but a horrible cook.
I firmly believe children take the opposite tack as their parents. I love fixing engines, and cooking. Though I am no chef.
below pix:
vintage Willy's Jeep a pal used to keep at his family's deer lease. I rebuilt the top end on a friday, and we took it out on the ranch outside Llano, TX the next day (1995-ish? note the Win 30-30 i seem to be holding and still have) it had not run for the previous 15 years
Kid sisters MG B-type, she bought when she was 16, and kept running by herself through high school and most of college. STILL owns, 35+ years later, still runs...
dont remember who I sold the 57 banana to.
on a side note, my mom was an artist, but a horrible cook.
I firmly believe children take the opposite tack as their parents. I love fixing engines, and cooking. Though I am no chef.
below pix:
vintage Willy's Jeep a pal used to keep at his family's deer lease. I rebuilt the top end on a friday, and we took it out on the ranch outside Llano, TX the next day (1995-ish? note the Win 30-30 i seem to be holding and still have) it had not run for the previous 15 years
Kid sisters MG B-type, she bought when she was 16, and kept running by herself through high school and most of college. STILL owns, 35+ years later, still runs...
dont remember who I sold the 57 banana to.
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