Toolfreaks Anonymous

[lizzie]

  I never knew that the square (Robertson) drive was invented around the same time as the Phillips drive screws. I also was unaware that they had a name other than square drive. 

Nor did I.
I have been calling them square bit screws since I discovered them. Lol

Now what IS frustrating is taking apart something that someone built using different types of screws on. Having to grab 2 or 3 different bits is a pita, but a few years ago, I put together a "tackle box" of driver bits to keep them all together, and I just grab that box when working on a project.

[Sfttailrdr46]

  I never knew that the square (Robertson) drive was invented around the same time as the Phillips drive screws. I also was unaware that they had a name other than square drive. 

Nor did I.
I have been calling them square bit screws since I discovered them. Lol

Now what IS frustrating is taking apart something that someone built using different types of screws on. Having to grab 2 or 3 different bits is a pita, but a few years ago, I put together a "tackle box" of driver bits to keep them all together, and I just grab that box when working on a project.

I wish I could do that but my problem is I have different toolboxes for different jobs so there is a bit of overlap. I have one for electrical another for plumbing and a third for HVAC and last but not least one for oil-burner work. Then there is the Roll around for car and bike projects 

[Sfttailrdr46]

If I sold off all my tools and A/G stuff I could finance an all inclusive 3 week trip to Australia. with a back country Harley tour 

[lizzie]

I do the same with toolboxes...one electrical, one specifically for erecting and dealing with Martin houses/ poles. One plumbing, and one for general wood projects. Oh...
And the bucket! 😆
When there will be screws involved, I grab two battery drills, the driver bit box, and the drill bit tackle box. Haha

[Lt. Dan]

Yep me too, I do the same with toolboxes...one  for AC electrical, one specifically for low voltage,  one for plumbing, and one large one for building and wood working projects. Oh...an I hve "the bucket" also Lizzie!  although it was a gift and not really my style. I have numerous tool boxes for metric and SAE end wrenches and sockets, ratchets, pull handles and extensions. 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" drives in both metric & SAE and 3/4" and 1" drive in SAE.
(Yep, 1" drive, my father owned a heavy construction company with dozers etc. And I have a tractor, bushhog, box blade, PTO post hole auger, plus other implements that have large nuts and bolts.)
And these are just the ones in my pickup and at my house most of the large tools, table saw, band saw, welders, torches are in my father's shop next door.  My son bought his house and shop and we share the shop as I did with my father.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I am a tool freak with..... WAY too many tools.
I used to  be an industrial mechanic. ( Master Repair Machinist class A), HVAC certified, and held a maintenance electricians license.
At one time I had 4 roller cabinets with top chests.
One roller cabinet was dedicated to metric tools.
One top chest was full of precision machinist tools.
I had a top chest filled with electrical equipment & electrician tools.

These days I am down to 2 roller cabinets.
I also still have 5 tool boxes and 3 tool bags.
I sold my 1 inch drive socket set and my 3/4 drive socket set.
I sold the tool chest with most of my machinist tools.
I have been selling or giving away tools and tool cabinets (to my son's) ever since I retired.
I still have a 6 ft. Johnson type pry bar that I used for positioning heavy machinery.
I have chests full of tools, bags full of tools, buckets full of tools, cabinets full of tools, shelves with tools that are too big to fit in anything.
I have Way.... too many tools for what I need these days.



Best Wishes - Tom

[Firewalker]

I wish I was that organized, Tom!   

I prefer bags for projects and also have them outfit for specific jobs.

[Novagun]

We're doing alright here. Learning a bit about tools and a bit about each other. Arguing about fastenings. Why not? A good thing to do and never shall we all agree. (thank goodness)
And a message to Hoosier Daddy. We still haven't talked about planes yet. It is coming.  A plane is a tool and needs tools and a plane is a tool as well.

[Van]

    How about a hand held power planer.   I found this one at a yard sale cheap.  Its one of my favorite power tools as I like to work with wood.  It was made for Sears by Bosch and uses Bosch replacement blades.  I've used it plane door tops and bottoms to fit, smoothed board edges and thinned gun stock blanks too.   

[Sfttailrdr46]

Got the same one and bought it new from Sears Robuck in Hicksville NY sometime around 1970.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

So......does anyone else have a ...Tic Tracer ? 


Best Wishes - Tom

[bantam5s]

I recently got a leatherman accessory pocket sheath for my leatherman bond, and the FedEx truck just dropped off a Streamlight microstream USB to go in the flashlight loop on the side.
I've got many flashlights and a few that would fit, but I was looking for something rechargeable with decent output for work.
My current carry for work is much brighter ( has a 1000l turbo mode ) but even a little fat for a pocket in my opinion and the button is too easy to accidentally turn on.
This one will do 250l for 1.5hr, and 50 for 3.5hr.

[Novagun]

Planes..
It had To come.  I have two hand held power planes. One is a Bosch and it has only one blade in the head. Had to try it in the shop before I bought it. A good plane giving a good finish.  I have another Hitachi that is ancient. Metal body and a pressed steel case. It has three high speed steel blades and the finish it gives is outstanding.
Then there are  six  wooden planes ranging from smoothers  to jack and roughing out planes.
Five block planes. Including one low angle. l enjoy sharpening the planes as much as using them .    And there are 6 Steel planes ranging from  smoothers to jack to a big  jointer.  I keep them all sharp.  Then there is a kit of molding planes and the rebate plane and the hand router and the steel scraper plane.
Then there is a prized draw knife.  Got that one out of the bilge of a Charles Mower designed ocean racer. That was built in Shangai 1907.  The  owner of the boat knows  I have it and he is not getting it back.  Any draw knife job he needs, I will do it. Just a marvelous tool that needs to be kept razor sharp
I use them all at times but obviously some much more than others.

[bantam5s]

These are all the tools I use to shape and make hickory tool handles ( except for the saw and single bevel hatchet )

I recently got the set of English made CROWN cabinet scrapers and they have been a game changer , they're around $10 for the set.
The brown handled tool is a burnisher which a hard steel rod you run across them to raise a sharp bur on the edge , about $15 and also made by Crown.
It was brand new till the pup got ahold of it, now I can't use it without getting a splinter.
I just haven't gotten around to fixing it.

[Buldawg76]

Being a mechanic for 45 plus years I have seen the introduction of all those new screw drive head configurations change thru the years and while they do offer some improvements it also requires the necessity to buy new tools to fit the changes. Just not a necessary upgrade IMO. I never had any issue with stripping screw heads when using correct removal procedures.

If it aint broke don't fix it goes along way in my world.

Just my .2 cents from a lifetime of dealing with removing and installing all types of fasteners.

BD

Well a cave worked quite well for a house but here we are in 2021 arguing about the best fastener type.

Well a cave still works quite well as a house but not all fastener types are up to par here in 2021. I do not use straight slot or Philips if at all possible, seldom square drive and mostly torx or allen since they tend to be least easy to strip out of all fasteners other than good old hex head screws and bolts.

Hence my if it aint broke don't fix it motto, hex head and age old external square head fasteners just do not strip if the correct tool is used and they are not allowed to become corroded or rusted. Forgive me if I am stuck in the 60/70s time era back when vehicles were actually fun to work on and did not require half the vehicle to be disassembled to fix a minor issue.

I can fix the modern techno wonders rolling down the roads now but does not mean I want nor desire to do so or see the need for all the techno garbage in them.

Be honest and tell me if you feel safe knowing there are semi trucks rolling down our interstates right now with no human behind the wheel carrying 80,000 pounds of goods at 70mph or Tesla's in auto pilot mode with either a drunk person in the drivers seat or in the back seat playing video games. I have a friend whose son bought a Tesla specifically so if he got drunk his car could drive him home. The problem is humans program the systems in these vehicles and we as humans make mistakes so the computer is only as good as the person that wrote the code. There are numerous accounts of Tesla's involved in wrecks while in auto pilot modes where the system did not recognize people or vehicles on the side of roads or semi trucks/trailers turning across the lane in front of the Tesla. One individual was decapitated by the trailer since the car never checked up before going under the trailer.     

BD

[Buldawg76]

That's what makes the backroom a fun place to post all the varying opinions many times allows us to learn something new. I never knew that the square (Robertson) drive was invented around the same time as the Phillips drive screws. I also was unaware that they had a name other than square drive. 

I never knew they had a name other than square drive and were found mostly in mobile homes in my experience. Very rarely if ever used in motor vehicle applications.

BD

[Insanity]

Being a mechanic for 45 plus years I have seen the introduction of all those new screw drive head configurations change thru the years and while they do offer some improvements it also requires the necessity to buy new tools to fit the changes. Just not a necessary upgrade IMO. I never had any issue with stripping screw heads when using correct removal procedures.

If it aint broke don't fix it goes along way in my world.

Just my .2 cents from a lifetime of dealing with removing and installing all types of fasteners.

BD

Well a cave worked quite well for a house but here we are in 2021 arguing about the best fastener type.

Well a cave still works quite well as a house but not all fastener types are up to par here in 2021. I do not use straight slot or Philips if at all possible, seldom square drive and mostly torx or allen since they tend to be least easy to strip out of all fasteners other than good old hex head screws and bolts.

Hence my if it aint broke don't fix it motto, hex head and age old external square head fasteners just do not strip if the correct tool is used and they are not allowed to become corroded or rusted. Forgive me if I am stuck in the 60/70s time era back when vehicles were actually fun to work on and did not require half the vehicle to be disassemble to fix a minor issue.

I can fix the modern techno wonders rolling down the roads now but does not mean I want nor desire to do so or see the need for all the techno garbage in them.

BD

Not enough caves for everyone these days. I prefer torx or allen my self also but that is more for aesthetics but the durability is there to back it up. I know why phillips is used becasue of cam out and that also means it will cam out when trying to remove it hence it was broken from the start and total junk IMO. The second most useless fastener next to slot.

[Buldawg76]

Being a mechanic for 45 plus years I have seen the introduction of all those new screw drive head configurations change thru the years and while they do offer some improvements it also requires the necessity to buy new tools to fit the changes. Just not a necessary upgrade IMO. I never had any issue with stripping screw heads when using correct removal procedures.

If it aint broke don't fix it goes along way in my world.

Just my .2 cents from a lifetime of dealing with removing and installing all types of fasteners.

BD

Well a cave worked quite well for a house but here we are in 2021 arguing about the best fastener type.

Well a cave still works quite well as a house but not all fastener types are up to par here in 2021. I do not use straight slot or Philips if at all possible, seldom square drive and mostly torx or allen since they tend to be least easy to strip out of all fasteners other than good old hex head screws and bolts.

Hence my if it aint broke don't fix it motto, hex head and age old external square head fasteners just do not strip if the correct tool is used and they are not allowed to become corroded or rusted. Forgive me if I am stuck in the 60/70s time era back when vehicles were actually fun to work on and did not require half the vehicle to be disassemble to fix a minor issue.

I can fix the modern techno wonders rolling down the roads now but does not mean I want nor desire to do so or see the need for all the techno garbage in them.

BD

Not enough caves for everyone these days. I prefer torx or allen my self also but that is more for aesthetics but the durability is there to back it up. I know why phillips is used becasue of cam out and that also means it will cam out when trying to remove it hence it was broken from the start and total junk IMO. The second most useless fastener next to slot.

Yep slot and Philips are only good for light duty application where secure retention of item is not a priority. And cheap manufacture is more a priority than quality.

BD

[Novagun]

Fastenings.
There is no doubt that drill driven screws are good and they are easily driven into soft wood and quick. Square drive or torx have to have the most secure
 hold from the driver. We have here things called boogle or bogle screws. you will have them maybe using the same brand name. They are countersunk heads with a female hex drive. Galvanised and in big sizes 50 to 200 mms long, maybe more. The big ones really need a pilot hole. Very good holding power and can be set home with a hex socket.
I still like slotted wood screws. They are better holders than the thin shanked drill driver screws and certainly have their place in hardwoods that just break the heads off drill driver screws but they need to have a hole drilled for them. Some now come with square drive heads.
I don't disagree with any of the opinions so far but some screws are better than others for some jobs.
I am always a little concerned that driving big screws into soft wood without a pilot hole can split the wood and is some cases reduce the holding power.

PS. What is a Tic Tracer.
PPS. We haven't talked about nails yet.

[Hoosier Daddy]

We're doing alright here. Learning a bit about tools and a bit about each other. Arguing about fastenings. Why not? A good thing to do and never shall we all agree. (thank goodness)
And a message to Hoosier Daddy. We still haven't talked about planes yet. It is coming.  A plane is a tool and needs tools and a plane is a tool as well.

OHHHH,
A plane, not a plane...
Now I gotchya!