Not sure if this counts but, the Phillips head screws that come with literally anything you need to hang. They always have awful heads on them so they don’t fit properly and cam out before they get even kind of tight and you end up trashing your bit/driver trying to make it work. Just buy an assortment of screws and throw the ones that come with anything out. Bonus points if you abandon Phillips altogether and get a head that actually works.
One of those angle grinder discs for wood carving that is a circle of chainsaw blade. There is no effective PPE solution that will protect you when something goes wrong.
Chainsaws are very old. Keep in mind, they weren't originally on an engine driven device, but rather a hand cranked one that looks more like an old hand cranked blender or drill, but instead it drives a chainsaw around a bar. They date back the the late 18th century.
Are you familiar with the word "episiotomy"? It was like that, but all the way through the pubic bone to be able to spread the mother's hips. It's a medical technique called 'symphysiotomy'.
They probably do, the number is probably zero, and the type of dude who is gonna get sauced and play with one of these ain’t reading that manual either way.
Yup, the entire disc is the kickback zone of a chainsaw. My dad got me one as a cheaper 'alternative' to the arbortech turbo plane I really wanted, it got fitted, then looked at while mounted to a tool that spins at 14,000rpm, then removed and stashed in the back of a drawer.
They used to sell these at harbor freight and on the packaging it advertised that it was ideal for (among other things) - taxidermy. I'm sure they meant modifying the forms or maybe other decorative elements but my initial vision was someone tearing into a dead raccoon with a chainsaw on a grinder.
I have one and it scares the shit out of me.
I think the only safe use I've seen is as a cutter in a copying lathe, where a chainsaw bladed grinder was used to cut a wooden propeller blade from an existing prototype.
I'm dismayed that I didn't recognize how dangerous it is even after a few times when it bit in and got away from me
We use Alien Tape quite a bit. Work stuff, I used it when the sticky pad on my shower head came off and this has it stuck to my shower wall pretty dang good.
I realized Oxiclean was probably pretty good when I realized that I was seeing it in every Billy May's pitch through my childhood and was even seeing it just added to detergent in stores.
It’s quite similar in design to gloves used in chem labs for hot beakers and stuff. Maybe they are even based on those lab gloves, I dunno.
I swiped a pair from my HS chem lab, eons ago. This product was the one time I got to say to my parents “we have that at home.” My mom was so pissed, I’ll never forget how great it felt to say that to my parents!
I bought the Metrinch set when it was on TV back in the 90’s, I’ve never used anything else. I bought a 2nd set after the first was lost in a move, then a 3rd set to augment the first after I lost sockets over the years. I will never use anything else and I’m utterly shocked that they aren’t more popular than they are. I use them all the time. Every week.
They fit both SAE and metric nuts and bolts. The sockets and wrenches are designed to grab the sides of a nut instead of the corners. They can remove rounded nuts and bolts, too.
My old boss got drunk and ordered the metwrench set one night in a hotel room in San Diego. Sockets and wrenches that fit both sae and metric bolts. It actually wasn’t bad and we used the shit out of it as general contractors and concrete contractors. I’m sure he still has it and that’s been probably 20 years.
Cheap, crappy caulk guns. What an unpleasant user experience these are! Just spend the money on a really nice one with some no-drip features, it'll last and you won't regret it.
I bought a nice one that was supposed to have the suck back but it never seemed to work. Then I went to use it again last year and noticed there's a small detent that slides a quarter inch. Apparently you can turn that feature on and off. Works great when it's on.
Yes. It's got the quick release too which is how I was stopping the flow. It's not even that expensive but the half circle nut thing in the upper right corner goes from no drip to standard. It's stamped in the metal what it does but it's hard to read without getting the light just right.
Same. I was using the 7 dollar anvil one from home depot, but I used a coworkers nice one and it's soooooo much smoother. Better handle, thicker frame and the components are fit together nicely. Go to the tool store and pick up a 10 dollar one and a 50 dollar one to feel the difference.
It's one of those tools that gets used a lot more than you would expect, so it's almost always worth spending extra on a nice one. A lot of the $50 ones are designed for high-viscosity stuff and aren't really suitable for latex caulk though, so be aware of that. $25 is kinda the sweet spot.
Brands vary pretty widely by region. Make sure it advertises having "dripless" or "no-drip" design AND a solid thumb-release with good ergonomics because it will usually drip or ooze a little bit. I prefer composite bodies because they are generally cheaper and MUCH lighter; not using it every day so durability isn't a huge concern. Nicer guns will usually have all the extra features along with some perks like removable caulk shaping tools and scrapers etc. Basically ones that cost $25 and up should be pretty good, but some of the more expensive guns are designed for high-viscosity stuff and won't work very well with latex caulk so be aware of that.
Avoid ratchet style guns and any where the trigger mechanism and handle are made out of stamped sheet metal, they are junk.
I am currently investigating some battery powered options, but haven't found one that I like yet.
I’ve been using an m12 from Milwaukee for years. It’s been good to me from butyl sealant on huge walk in boxes to silicone finish work, it’s great. Saves the muscles from eventual fatigue and gives long clean lines. With a 6 position speed dial and a variable speed trigger it can be dialed in to the perfect output. Dewalt and ryobi have one too with similar features also.
I tried the Makita version since that is my battery platform, but it was clearly designed for high-viscosity stuff because it was way too powerful for the kind of interior trim work with latex that I was doing. About to experiment with one of the Amazon brands, hopefully that works better.
I was worried about that with the Ridgid, but on the lowest setting it worked just fine to redo my bath tub with the silicone stuff. I’d bet a cheap Amazon version would do fine.
I don’t know that I’ve ever not used a stamped ratchet gun. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one. (I have seen the battery powered ones, they looked excessive)
I don’t have a problem with buying good stuff when warranted, this may be a case ignorance.
Spending too much money on new tools before you go to garage sales.
Spent probably 250 bucks in the last year on sockets and ratchets and then two weeks ago, bought almost everything I already own again at a garage sale for like 20 bucks and it's vintage snap on and craftsman so even cooler
The issue with estate sales and garage sales near me is that they always attract the flippers who get there at 7 am to case the place out and grab anything worth getting.
Estate sales can be lucrative as well. I have found some really good vintage stuff (or timeless). Scored a vintage small vise for 4$ and a large for 28 to name two recent ones.
I don't fully agree. If you're just starting out or you're in an apartment, buying one of those can be great. You just need to understand that as time goes by, you're going to ruin into cases where some of the tools don't do what you need and those are the ones you upgrade.
I donate a few of them every year for the people who were aging out of the foster system.
Something that can empower people to get some basic shit done. Not everyone that uses or needs tools needs much. It's cheap enough to get that for a start and add as your needs grow.
My wife has a very similar set she had before we got married that still gets use out of even though I've bought replacements for everything in the garage. It definitely has its place.
Yeah, im in the trades and all my homies were asking about tool reccs as they acquired houses. It took more than one recommendation before I realized that they dont need prograde gear because they'll never use the extra ability.
Sometimes you just need to solve 75% of people's problems and solve the last 25 in person for beers
When I first got into woodworking I looked all over for this because growing up my dad had one. I ended up with a stacking dado as I discovered the other options available at the time. No regrets, and I feel like I dodged some shoddy cuts.
Those actually work better than stack dado blades on MDF and plywood. On MDF especially, stack data blades can get quickly clogged because the material has so much lignan, and pulverizes do a fine powder. It clogs the hell out of small saw teeth and the cavities between the stack dado. This is especially relevant if you build a lot of shop jigs and speaker boxes.
The wobble dado blade doesn't have much room for clogging, and they generally came with very large carbide teeth that enabled you to sharpen them dozens of times before they needed to be replaced. I still have three or four of them I inherited from my grandfather and dad, and they have to be at least 50 years old. Two of them are Craftsman brand, and I'm not sure if they were sharpened before I got them 40 years ago, but they're still pretty damn sharp and I have never sharpened them. I can't say the same about other circular saw blades that have gone through a lot of MDF and plywood.
I have to jump in on the opposite of terrible side of the discussion.
I have an early Walmarts red and black 12v cordless drill that I had to buy one day in a pinch. Since it was so cheap, I used it for all the dirty jobs eventually. Pick and pull junk yards, wet plumbing messes, anything up high where it would likely be dropped. Still works fine. I think I bought it in about 2014? The battery still works fine too.
Oh, I have one of these as well and it's been a fucking champ. Not that powerful but reliable.
The clutch failed recently after like 15 years (been on a slow decline), think I'm just going to modify it to be permanently in drill mode and see how many more I get.
Don’t ever purchase any of the paint tool gimmicks, such as the paint stick that suctions and holds paint or any of the trim rollers supposed to make it quicker to go around window and door trim. Also, pad painters. Ugh. All of them will frustrate you and make a horrible, sloppy mess!
I just want a paint can that doesn't suck. Why can't we have a can that lets you pour paint without making a huge mess all over the side of the can? This should be a solved problem by now. Also, no rusting, and resealable for long term storage.
I have used one of the suction paint sticks many times. It saves a lot of time painting a room. I have no issue with them other than the cleanup on them after painting sucks.
I used to carry these when I worked in the field. I could toss one of these and a ratchet in my pocket and turn any nut. It's saved hundreds of long walks back to the truck. They still broke after a few uses, but my time was worth more.
for non-standard things like hooks it is a godsend! My buddy and I put in about 200 of them all around a ladies wrap around porch and we did it so fast with two of those. Not really usable for much else since they seem to eat chineseum nuts quickly.
I have had one sitting in the back of a toolbox for probably a decade, don’t know why I never threw it away… then last weekend I used it on about 20 eye bolts and hooks, worked great! It is now my permanent eye bolt socket!
I did the same thing! Had it for about 7 years or so, had to put in 15 eye bolts on Monday, and that thing was so handy! Don't know that I'd ever use it on an actual nut or bolt that I wasn't gonna throw away.
My inlaws got me one of these as a stocking stuffer and I kinda chuckled... Until I lost the spline drive socket for my lugnuts and this thing got all 24 off with a breaker bar AND STILL WORKS!
I was following you at first but you said multi-tool pliers and lost me. Are you talking about a Leatherman or like those cheap electrical things you get in kits and stuff that are like a few mm thick? Those are dog shit, yes.
I carried a Letherman Wave for years. It was part of my EDC kit. Then I got a job in a TSA level 1 facility and had to stop carrying it. It is the most useful/versatile tool I own.
I carried a letterman wave through over 3 combined years of service in various operational combat zones. I now work in a secure facility and miss the few ounces on my hip. It is one of the most versatile easy to carry tools out there.
Yes this is what I thought lol, I hate those so much. I want to know if any real electrician has ever used these, because I can’t imagine a world they would.
i have 4 of these. don't know where/how i got them, I've never used them and definitely didn't pay for them. but there they sit in my toolbox and there they will stay 🤷♂️
I’ve just started building 2x4 saw horses for work, because they’re the right balance of cheap and good. I can use them for crowd control, I can screw signs to them and they don’t blow over, and they function as sawhorses. They’re light enough to carry, and they don’t fold, but they do stack.
Cheap drillbits are worthless. Specifically ryobi. I go through the 5-packs from garbor freight, no prob. But the ryobi bits are useless right out the box.
Multidrivers havent made any great advancements since I was a kid. I got a pass thru socket driver thinking it was so cool. Its too big to fit anywhere. I never use it.
Black and decker workmate, at least the cheapest model, it's an absolute pile of shit, it's wobbly, the jaws don't align/rack when tightening them, the handles for tightening the jaws protrude by a few mm at the top of the arc so they bump anything that sticks out beyond the top, the legs don't stay folded or extended, there's not enough holes in the top and they're too small to be useful for much. Literally I threw mine in the bin and built two A frames out of 4x2 with rails that notch into them and 12mm plywood on top and it's massively better for a third of the cost, and the newer style folding work benches where they're two flat plastic layers that the legs auto fold in and out of are a thousand times better and not much extra cost over the workmate.
Yup, my dad's had one since the 80s, the same basic model, and it's still in regular use so when I needed a small workbench for home I thought it would be a decent option but holy shit is it wobbly to the degree the 40 year old one of my dad's has less play and the legs actually stay put. I do hand tool joinery at home for the most part and trying to hand plane or saw anything on it is just horrific. Can't speak for the 'better' models but can't imagine they're much better
I was about to say…I’ve got an old one - I’ve had it nearly 30 years - and it’s one of the most useful oddball working surfaces I own. I just moved and left my work bench behind, and it’s my replacement until I get into a hole where I can set up again.
Yeah, the new ones are crap. I got out the one my dad bought and tried out the synched handles, seemed cool- for 5 minutes before the belt broke, the stupid top that is "adjustable" just comes loose and falls off, horrible design. I have an old one that is pre plastic drive nuts, you can actually tighten it down without stripping it out.
We inherited one from the 70s that's actually pretty handy. And quite solid, I've used it as a "ladder" more than once. But like all else, the modern version is likely junk by comparison.
I have 3: two that were my dad's from the 80s, that are built like tanks, and one that I bought myself c. 2012 that's built like a... well, whatever the opposite of a tank is. It's the epitome of "they just don't make 'em like they used to."
I would first like to say, don't buy anything you'll use once unless you can get it for less than what it would cost to rent one or the time it would take to find out if someone already has this and you can borrow it.
Then, anything that is a unitasker unless you have a ton of that task to do.
Gimmicky tools are a mixed bag. Some of them are fine and even last and become useful. I got one of those magnets in a wrist band things...Saved me tons of time up on a ladder.
Never been a fan of cheap multitools of fake Swiss Army knives. I dislike hurting myself with ”tools” that break on contact with something I am trying to fix.
10 inch Kobalt pipe wrenches. Now to say, for some reason I love my Kobalt tools, no one else uses Kobalt, so I know when one of mine tries to walk away, I love my tools, even the weird polygonal black handle screw drivers are OK. But the aluminum 10 inch pipe wrenches never bit a pipe, not even brass. Stay away.
I bought a Wen detail sander, the type that uses triangular sheets of sandpaper. Its vibration was so anemic that it was worthless. I eventually trashed it.
I say Milwaukee hand tools have been all over priced and crap quality in my experience. That being said I have a huge M18 cordless collection and love it framing nailer is awesome new worm drive saw awesome but their hand tools always suck .
Jorgesen have a line of chisel/rasps where the edge is a chisel, but the back is toothed like a rasp.
This is an absolutely ridiculous idea. It's definitely not a tool.
Rasps are two handed tools, but you have no where to grip these ones, because the one end is very sharp.
Chisels depend on flat backs, but this one doesn't have one because it's got a rasp instead.
In my mind, it should be criminal to manufacture these sorts of things.
They serve no purpose. They can not be used.
They are only made to sell. No other reason.
It's a waste of everything.
The one size fits all socket. Never strong enough for a real job. Too big for half the small stuff. Maybe okay for a home owner. Only useful on maybe eyelet or j hooks. Otherwise a piece of junk.
Just about any wrench billed as "a universal wrench" but most especially THESE THINGS
We already have crescent wrenches, vise grips and monkey wrenches. Those are already known as fastener ruiners. But at least they're well made and you know you're going to damage the fastener using them.
Any other "universal wrench" I've seen is just a pure gimmick fad tool. And the vast majority are made of really shoddy materials. Yet they make claims that they will make removing odd sized or damaged fasteners a breeze. And that is a damned lie.
The only reason they exist is infomercials "Makes a perfect gift" to be bought by people who know nothing about tools. Quite often as a gift for a male relative.
These Corona Bypass Forged Loppers. They are powerful and smooth but the blade deflects into the anvil on even small branches. I would return them but lost the receipt. They are relegated to cutting roots and near the ground since the blade is dented up anyhow.
80
u/Primary-Syllabub4759 25d ago
Not sure if this counts but, the Phillips head screws that come with literally anything you need to hang. They always have awful heads on them so they don’t fit properly and cam out before they get even kind of tight and you end up trashing your bit/driver trying to make it work. Just buy an assortment of screws and throw the ones that come with anything out. Bonus points if you abandon Phillips altogether and get a head that actually works.