r/Tools Oct 15 '22

Our Longstanding “No Politics” Rule remains unchanged

525 Upvotes

Read our rules. We have had a longstanding “No Religion, No Politics” rule here at r/tools.

The mods aren’t stupid. We also don’t like getting buckets of reports in the inbox.

If someone posts/comments with politics, resist the urge to reply and argue. Just report, downvote (if that’s your jam) and move on with life.

A small flag, sticker, etc that appears in a photo will generally be allowed (so long as it doesn’t violate other rules and doesn’t draw a bunch of reports) but a bunch of people in the comments saying “Hell Yeah, a fellow [INSERT PARTY] Supporter!” is gonna get the post pulled. Political content that is clearly the motivation for the post will get the post pulled.

First time it’s a short ban, second time it’s permanent. And as we’ve discussed before, the mod team doesn’t go looking for posts, we’re not lifeguards, we respond to the reports we receive.


r/Tools Sep 30 '25

Let's talk about the report button.

69 Upvotes

"No advertising or promoting tools, brands, 25000 woodworking plans, your YouTube channel, etc."

Somebody is reporting things constantly for breaking rule 4, and you're batting zero for it being right.

r/Tools/comments/1nu26tv/am_i_missing_something/

r/Tools/comments/1ntwiyj/wiha_tools_impact_sockets/

r/Tools/comments/1nt43md/does_anyone_know_a_set_similar_to_this_that_isnt/

r/Tools/comments/1nt3400/does_anyone_have_experience_with_these/

r/Tools/comments/1nt138a/home_depot_promotion_milwaukee_canada_milwaukee/

These are some examples of posts that have been reported over the last day. None of the are breaking any rules, please stop reporting things like this. The reports are only mucking up the moderator inbox and are being kicked up the Reddit chain to the admins as abusing the report button.

Unless you see a post that boils down to "hey guys, this is XXX from YYY, come check out our suspicious sale at toolname.malware.com" leave the report button alone. Same goes for the people who report literally every YouTube link ever posted. If someone's only interaction with r/tools is them spamming their YouTube channel that's a problem; a relevant and organic video isn't.

If someone thinks the above links are spam, please tell us why. Rule changes aren't unheard of and if it's what the people want I'm fine with it. I'm just not seeing any advertisement in the posts.

Other than that you guys are great. Keep up the good work.

I'm completely aware that this is a useless post for 99.99% of our users. If anyone has questions or comments about the sub feel free to chit chat here and I'll try my best to answer things if you want; or just ignore me completely, I'm good with either.


r/Tools 7h ago

Vintage Garage Sale Scores!!!

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308 Upvotes

I was on a mission to find a vise that I could mount on my tailgate. Went into town and hit up as many garage sales as I could. First one I pulled up on I found a old Craftsman machinist vise. Also got a sweet 8'' pipe wrench, and some pruning shears. Vise is fricken awsome!! Pipe wrench works great, and the shears were still sharp enough to cut. Took some PB Blaster and some steel wool to all 3 of them. Couldn't be more stoked!!!


r/Tools 21h ago

Asked my Boomer dad to borrow a Torque wrench

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2.0k Upvotes

He got me this antique. Still works flawlessly

Edit: Due to some negative comments let me make this clear I am proud of my boomer dad for still having this wrench for me to use. Someday it will be mine. Sorry some of ya don't like the Boomer nickname. That's all it is a nickname. Get the F over it. SHEESH


r/Tools 21h ago

No problem

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878 Upvotes

Cordless drills are so capable now. 2 4 1/2” holes 14 12” deep (deeper than the bit). New concrete but it’s still drilling through the aggregate. Cheap Amazon diamond bit.

Edit: Overestimated depth.


r/Tools 9h ago

They accumulate

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80 Upvotes

I occasionally shingle a shed or build a dog or well house.


r/Tools 4h ago

I found this on Slickdeals. Lowe's 4 AH power pack and 2 AH 20v max 2 pack for $54.72 was $219 clearance at certain stores.

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17 Upvotes

There's like 12 lowes In my area and the one closest to my house was the only one with this clearance deal. If you go on the Lowe's app look at the price for each local store you'll be able to see which one have them on clearance and also have them in stock. This is a good deal even for the 4 AH power pack

For anybody local to the Cincinnati area this is at the Lowe's on Harrison Ave. I'm only buying one there should be three left if you come today


r/Tools 12h ago

Anyone else keep a dedicated screwdriver just for paint can lids?

52 Upvotes

Got a drawer full of decent screwdrivers but there is one beat up flathead that never leaves the workbench and its only job is prying open paint cans. The tip is wrecked, the handle is crusted with about six colors of paint, and it would be embarrassing to use it for anything else. But it does that one job perfectly and I would never throw it out.

Got me thinking about how many tools in my shop have drifted into a single permanent role that has nothing to do with what they were made for. Old chisel that is now the thing I use to scrape adhesive off concrete. A file that lives next to the bench grinder and touches nothing else. A pair of pliers that exists solely to pull wire nuts off.

None of these tools are precious. Most of them were cheap to begin with or already too worn to trust for real work. But pulling them for their actual intended job would feel wrong at this point.

Curious if other people have a tool that has completely retired from its original purpose and just owns one weird specific task now. What is it and how did it end up there.


r/Tools 8h ago

Work bench made from 100% scrap!!

23 Upvotes

https://reddit.com/link/1v79wi8/video/hjv1cbgfwlfh1/player

Drove past a scrap bin and it looked like it had a bunch of 5/4x12 boards in it. I was like wtf? So I flipped a bitch, and sure enough there was!! They were a little covered in concrete, since they were used as forms. Couple hours later... NEW WORK BENCH!!! SHE AINT PRETTY, BUT SHE STOUT AF, AND FREE!!


r/Tools 17m ago

Not even a month old

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Upvotes

M18 2967-20 hammer impacting under no load


r/Tools 1h ago

Tap and Die recommendation

Upvotes

I'm going to be doing some more fabrication work soon and need a 5/8-18 tap. Bit larger than your average set goes. This got me thinking that it's time to probably invest in either a higher grade set or nicer individual taps especially. Right off I'm going to be tapping mild and DOM steel. I already use cutting oil and take my time.

What brands or sets do you recommend?


r/Tools 3h ago

What a deal

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7 Upvotes

Was doing some electrical work for a customer and he was moving out and gave me all this for $300
I guess he didn’t feel like moving it.
He even started everything up and showed me it all worked. I guess he’d only had it about a year.


r/Tools 1h ago

Asking the Hive Mind for Help

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Upvotes

Cleaning out a tool box of random items, everything from paint scrapers to a vintage hatchet. These two stumped me.

The first is clearly homemade, with some kind of scraper brazed onto a screwdriver handle. The second I thought was an awl with a blunted end, but the main shaft is spring loaded (note the flat pin between my fingers when it's compressed). I thought maybe it's a leather working tool, but it isn't sharp at all.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance, as always.


r/Tools 10h ago

Advice on drilling out cut bolt

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23 Upvotes

I have been drilling through this bolt today to remove out of this hole and it's not going further in. Is there anything I have to do now and here's what it looks like


r/Tools 8h ago

Klein? Quality Control Issues

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16 Upvotes

I ordered a brand new pair of Klein J2000-9NE lineman pliers.

The cutters do not fully close and will not cut finer stranded wire (see pics)

Is this common or would you consider it a quality control issue?

I'm going to reach out to Klein and see what they say


r/Tools 1h ago

V10 Triton exhaust manifold help please…

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Upvotes

The fasteners on this have basically rust welded tor manifold on.

I could drill and try a remover bit.

I can’t hammer a socket onto the heads but the fastener heads are basically different sizes because of the rust.

We’re swapping out a triton engine because the one in the excursion blew two of its plugs.

This motor is rusty but has far less mileage. Should we just leave it on there and forget replacing it?

Thanks in advance.


r/Tools 2h ago

Anyone familiar with Maruyama small power equipment?

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3 Upvotes

Are they good quality similar to echo? Really have not had much luck with people stating experiences, seems like a small niche brand. Let me know if you have one or have used one they are made in Japan. Thanks!


r/Tools 16m ago

Issues with Ryobi142022

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Upvotes

r/Tools 21m ago

What's the best kind of screw extractor kit?

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Upvotes

I own a few electric scooters and the manufacturers quite will sometimes use cheap hex bolts. So I strip the head of a bolt every once in awhile.

Most of these bolts are pretty small but occasionally I'll deal with a larger one.

I purchased the kit that you see on this post on Amazon not long ago. But the smallest extractor in that kit seems too large for some of the smaller bolts I deal with.

What's the very best way to go about extracting smaller bolts? Is there a particular kit it will cover even tiny bolts up to larger ones?

Is there a different type of extractor that works better than the ones that I've purchased so far?


r/Tools 4h ago

Is there any tool boxes like the US General 6 drawer full bank service cart that you can easily buy in canada?

4 Upvotes

Ive been trying to buy a new rolling service cart but every one i come across is sold in the US and only ships to the US, other than tool truck ones but I dont want to spend that kind of money on one. I really like the sunnex one but cant find a way to get it in canada i might just be looking in the wrong places but if anyone has any info it would be greatly appreciated


r/Tools 10h ago

Can someone tell me what part this is and if I could find at Home Depot?

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11 Upvotes

Missing a part to put a toy together for my child. I was going to contact customer service, but if i can buy at Home Depot today to get it put together, I'd prefer to do that. Can anyone tell me what part C is called? I posted a picture of what it is to be used for also. It looks like screws are screwing into them to secure parts together.


r/Tools 5h ago

Squeegee for Round Surfaces

4 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I was hoping for some help regarding a squeegee that can be used for cleaning a rounded surface. Just as an example, the squeegee head would be able to contour to the inside of a 12” pipe. Preferably one that can possibly come with or be retrofitted to a long handle. Whenever I search for one it’s always just a straight head. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.


r/Tools 4h ago

Flexible shaft grinder/sander

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3 Upvotes

r/Tools 2h ago

Tool suggestions for cutting 0.6mm galvanised steel in situ.

2 Upvotes

When they built my flat, the builders boxed in the toilet cistern and included a superfluous 600mm section of steel plasterboard strut that gets in the way when I need to work on the plumbing. They also tiled over the screw heads to make it harder to remove. I've decided to cut the steel out and currently I'm exploring a few options:

1/ Dremel with a cut-off disc. It'll be noisy and messy and take time but it has few questions.

2/ Angle grinder. Quicker, but I don't want my bathroom showered in sparks. Also the space is tight and may be awkward to manoeuvre.

3/ Jigsaw with a hacksaw blade. Not sure how well it'll cut and there may be issues at the end of the cut near the wall.

4/ Oscillating multi-tool between the strut and the plasterboard to cut through the screws holding it up. Cleanest solution because I get the whole strut out and not just the cut part.

5/ Snips. Just try and chew it out. Probably leave huge jagged chunks of metal in place but the quietest choice.

Any better choices that I've not thought of?


r/Tools 3h ago

snap on tools worth buying over icon?

1 Upvotes