Toolfreaks Anonymous

[bantam5s]

Anyone else got a thing for channellock?

I do... It is amazing how the name "Channel Lock" refers to arc joint pliers in most peoples mind.
 Kinda like Kleenex = tissue.
I have several Channel Lock brand tools. Arc Joints, Parrot jaws, dikes (side cuts), and needle nose.
 But mine are so old their handles have turned a green tint instead of bright blue.

They make an excellent pair of Dykes for sure.
I have tried an older pair of 338 though and hated them, the linesman style handles just didn't provide the same leverage as the smaller 337.


The standard 337 is / was excellent , but the newer E-337 is even better.
The little E-336 is one of the best 6" dykes I've ever used, that repositioned pivot on the " extreme leverage " or E series truly is great.
I love their 357 flush cut nippers too, a very stout tool.

Those older 338 and their GL series pliers are the only tools actually made by them that I have tried and didn't like.

I won't try any imported tools with their name on it, nor will I try those ugly new futuristic things they came out with a year or two ago.
I can't stand the way they look, the features don't interest me, and I've heard they're not actually very good.

[bantam5s]

Anyone else got a thing for channellock?


I think I do, this is just what I could grab quickly.

actually I DO like the brand, own several different tools of theirs...a couple of pairs of channel locks, a pair of regular pliers and a diagonal cutter, and there's a couple more that I am forgetting at the moment. I think that for the money, they are a really good value, and I am always happy to see that name-brand on an item I am looking for.

I am very happy to say that in this picture the 4th pair down on the right is one of the first pairs of "Channellock " pliers made by Champion De'arment who would later change their name to that of the patented tool they were so well known for.
With a false patent date of 1933 on them they were made before the patent was actually granted in 1934 making them pretty early.

I do not know how long my grandfather owned them as they may have been a later flea market score, but they have seen a lot of use over the years and continue to serve me well.

[lizzie]

Thank you, David! Great information!

[Buldawg76]

Next... What is it's purpose?
 Mine are out in the shop and this is a "file photo" from google (no peeky)

That's a wrench used to reach the tranny to differential bolts on the top side of an Olds Toranado or Cadillac Eldorado front wheel drive from the mid 60s to mid 70s. I have 2 identical to it, 1 SAE and 1 metric.

I also have three tool boxes with one being 5 ft long and 3 ft deep and still have more tools than space to store them from 50 years of mechanic work.

Tools make you money when they save you time on a job. Never enough tools. If I had to buy every tool I have now in todays prices it would be well over $100,000 worth.

BD

Actually... my two are MUCH older than that. 
 Long before USA dabbled in the metric system.
They are called a "Manifold Wrench" and came from my Grand Father, think 1930's.
They were for the exhaust manifold bolts on a flat head Ford engine.

My SAE wrench came first before the metric craze hit the domestic auto scene. There were two bolts on those front wheel drive trannies that you could not see the bolts and had to go by feel to get to and without the curved wrench you could not even get to them at all. The metrics came later when foreign cars became more prevalent in front wheel drive. Actually have several in multiple sizes now also.

I have maybe 40,000 invested in all my tools that were bought between 50 and 30 years ago since I have had to buy very few in the last 20 years. But to replace the socket and wrench sets and all the special tools I have in todays dollars would be well over 100,000 dollars. I have impact socket sets that I paid 90 bucks for that are now 600 plus for the same sets. All have lifetime replacement guarantees and I do track down tool trucks to get broken/worn out tools replaced as needed.

BD

[Novagun]

Well that is a bonus that the warranty is honoured.

[Novagun]

Dead right. It is Estwing and not Eastwing. Lack of ATD there on my part.  Maybe this was the first time I actually read the label.

[lizzie]

Dead right. It is Estwing and not Eastwing. Lack of ATD there on my part.  Maybe this was the first time I actually read the label.

Easy mistake to make due to pronunciation. In this part of the country, it's pronounced with the long e, as in East.

[Firewalker]

I've had Estwings but gave them away to the kids, I am a Vaughn hammer guy.  I got my first Estwing from a dear friend, my wrist hurt so bad by the end of the day it was throbbing! I borrowed a Vaughn 20oz from another guy on the build and gave him a 20 by the end of the day and have kept it on my carpenters belt through hundreds of projects, several builds, 2 hurricane sheathings and a She-Shed over the past 30 years. Still going strong.

My baby... a little worse for the wear but still strong.

 

[Buldawg76]

Most all tool manufacturers have a lifetime warranty on hand tools like sockets, wrenches, pliers, ratchets, breaker bars, etc. I own lots of Matco, Mac, Snap on, SK, Craftsman hand tools and all have lifetime warranty for wear and breakage. Its just a matter of knowing the local tool trucks routes or stores to get them replaced.

Craftsman are now sold and warrantied at Ace hardware, Lowes, home depot or most any hardware or home improvement stores since Sears has gone under.

I have hand tools that are over 50 years old and have had no issue getting them replaced when worn out or broken. You do not even have to be the original purchaser, I have found ratchets and pliers on the side of roads that were rusted beyond salvage and get them replaced with new ones no questions asked..

BD

[bantam5s]

Most all tool manufacturers have a lifetime warranty on hand tools like sockets, wrenches, pliers, ratchets, breaker bars, etc. I own lots of Matco, Mac, Snap on, SK, Craftsman hand tools and all have lifetime warranty for wear and breakage. Its just a matter of knowing the local tool trucks routes or stores to get them replaced.

Craftsman are now sold and warrantied at Ace hardware, Lowes, home depot or most any hardware or home improvement stores since Sears has gone under.

I have hand tools that are over 50 years old and have had no issue getting them replaced when worn out or broken. You do not even have to be the original purchaser, I have found ratchets and pliers on the side of roads that were rusted beyond salvage and get them replaced with new ones no questions asked..

BD

I think too many people taking advantage of the famous warranty Sears had is part of what sent them under.

My dad has found tools on the side of the road that were obviously broken from falling off a truck and being ran over and warrantied them, that's not something I'd personally do.

If I found a perfectly good tool that eventually broke on me under normal use that's a different story.


If any of my American made Craftsman tools break I will not be exchanging them under warranty,  I'd much rather have a broken American made tool than brand new Chinese replacement.

[Privateer]

I equate time to money.
Unless it's a high dollar tool? It's faster and more cost effective to just buy a new one.
I also expect any tool to pine for the fjords at some point.
Plus there is a tax exempt incentive at times to just toss them aside.

[lizzie]

I completely forgot to post one of my very favorite tools!
I keep one of these in the desk drawer (living room area), one in the detached laundry room, and one in the man cave/ shop.

[Back_Roads]

 Hmm I have a good collection of Craftsman tools that bought the farm under what I call normal use like snapping them with a cheater tube, never bothered to get them replaced as they did not have the same quality as the tools I broke. Never really bought into Snap-On etc. but did acquire some as they stopped by the shops I have worked for weekly and then the added service was a +, and I found Snap Off tools to be thinner and made to fit where the sun don't shine quite well

[Back_Roads]

 Then there are the days a good solid rock works just fine 

[lizzie]

Then there are the days a good solid rock works just fine 

Well, it seems to have worked back in the Old old old old old days.

[Madd Hatter]

Then there are the days a good solid rock works just fine 

My wife is good for using a rock. When we were painting the house I noticed that the top of the paint cans were dented in. Found out then that she was hammering down the lids with a rock. Instead of tapping around the rim to seal it she's banging on the center of the lid with a rock. 😲😣

[Buldawg76]

As I stated I have not bought a new tool from the tool trucks in over 30 years since I had already bought most all the hand tools and specialty tools I needed to do my work on the vehicles I was working on at the time.  I agree the newer tools from all manufacturers are not what they used to be but then what is these day. Quality is a thing of the past for most items we consume in our lives.

For those that do not believe on using the lifetime warranties on hand tools and such I wonder if you also do not use the warranties on new cars or appliances and any other item that has a warranty included with the sale. I am not well off enough to just throw a broken tool out and have to buy a new one when I paid for it the first time with the lifetime warranty included in the sale. When you use tools every day to make your living for 50 years they wear out and since I did not make the warranty policy on the tools but paid my hard earned money to buy it your darned right I will expect the warranty to be honored for life if that's what is stated. To each his own but the stagnant wages paid in the dealerships for line techs is just plain disgraceful IMO.

Todays cars are far more difficult to diagnose and repair yet the going flat rate of pay has not changed in more than 40 years by more than a few dollars per hour. Its the driving reason there are no qualified techs in dealer ships today that are capable of correctly fixing the new cars right the first time. You get what you pay for and if you do not pay a tech what he's worth you will not get quality work plain and simple. Its why I got out of dealerships 20 plus year's ago due to lack of commensurate pay for my knowledge of the current vehicles I was repairing. I was a master certified tech getting paid flunky wages.

BD   

[PlinkoCalmie]

Trailbuilding and prescribed fire controlled burns.  It will dig any smallish tree in no time, I can pull a 2 inch caliper *heavily* rooted wild tree easily in a few mins.

[maraudinglizard]

I prefer not to hack and wack as much as possible when it comes to yanking small trees up. I use a pullerbear tool to get the privet up without tearing up the fence. I use a backhoe on the bigger stuff. They will even weld your name on the tool for free.

  https://www.pullerbear.com/

[PlinkoCalmie]

I prefer not to hack and wack as much as possible when it comes to yanking small trees up. I use a pullerbear tool to get the privet up without tearing up the fence. I use a backhoe on the bigger stuff. They will even weld your name on the tool for free.

  https://www.pullerbear.com/

I love those things so much, they aren't versatile enough for the type of clearing I do most often, because I have to hike in, but they're great.  I also love yanking big stuff with a brush puller whenever I can, it's so satisfying.