CaptTrev
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Long Island
just thought this might be fun.
So, go ahead. list em!
So, go ahead. list em!
TOP 5 favorite tools in your toolbox!
- Thread starter CaptTrev
- Start date
On the trail, I assume? My favs in the shop are totally different than those in the back of the Jeep.
For that, I really have only one favorite, and it's a fabbed tool... a plywood folding ramp that I originally built for the dogs, but I use it as a jack platform, table, toolbench, ground cover, dog ramp, and a couple of uses that I'd really rather not mention... ask me on the trail sometime.
After that, a portable drill/driver comes in handy -- I seem to be the only one who remembers to bring one with charged batteries. That and a big bar are two things that I like to make sure get loaded -- they're not so much my favorites as they are the unusual things that really make life easier if you need them.
For that, I really have only one favorite, and it's a fabbed tool... a plywood folding ramp that I originally built for the dogs, but I use it as a jack platform, table, toolbench, ground cover, dog ramp, and a couple of uses that I'd really rather not mention... ask me on the trail sometime.
After that, a portable drill/driver comes in handy -- I seem to be the only one who remembers to bring one with charged batteries. That and a big bar are two things that I like to make sure get loaded -- they're not so much my favorites as they are the unusual things that really make life easier if you need them.
5-90
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hammerspace
OK - I'm going to go overall here, since I spend most of my working time at home on the XJ (not enough time/money/mods for trail work - yet...)
1) Not really a tool, but my inverter is probably the most useful. I mean really - I can charge my Makita batteries wherever I am, and how wifty is that?
2) My 3'x3/8" drive ratchet extension. Picked it up for $10, it's already saved me a minimum of 8 hours and severe knuckle wear on a batch of CPS sensors. No arguments here...
3) My Dremel toolkit (starting with three of the tools proper - two corded and one cordless.) It's not anything super-fancy, but it's been just the ticket for small precision jobs. I can knock parts down to .001" with a little time - as long as I'm not working on anything too hard (material) or any pattern that is too exotic or involved.
4) My bench vise. Metal bender, work holder, anvil - not bad for $40 at Home Depot. Ain't the greatest vise going, but it's cheap enough I don't feel bad beating it with a hammer, filing it, grinding on it, or heating it with a torch, either!
5) My workbenches. I could probably park my XJ on one of them without any trouble. I got the plywood from a salvage job I did a few years ago, so I got to build a pair of nice workbenches (with 3/4" ACX tops!) for about $80 the pair. It would have been less, but I added power outlets to the surface and that makes them all the more convenient. I just take them wherever we move and plug them in, and I don't have to look for an outlet when I need one!
I know not all of these are strictly "tools" - but I've always believe that a "tool" is something you use to expand your capabilites. I was taught years ago that "My gun and my knife are only tools" - and I see no reason to change that philosophy...
5-90
1) Not really a tool, but my inverter is probably the most useful. I mean really - I can charge my Makita batteries wherever I am, and how wifty is that?
2) My 3'x3/8" drive ratchet extension. Picked it up for $10, it's already saved me a minimum of 8 hours and severe knuckle wear on a batch of CPS sensors. No arguments here...
3) My Dremel toolkit (starting with three of the tools proper - two corded and one cordless.) It's not anything super-fancy, but it's been just the ticket for small precision jobs. I can knock parts down to .001" with a little time - as long as I'm not working on anything too hard (material) or any pattern that is too exotic or involved.
4) My bench vise. Metal bender, work holder, anvil - not bad for $40 at Home Depot. Ain't the greatest vise going, but it's cheap enough I don't feel bad beating it with a hammer, filing it, grinding on it, or heating it with a torch, either!
5) My workbenches. I could probably park my XJ on one of them without any trouble. I got the plywood from a salvage job I did a few years ago, so I got to build a pair of nice workbenches (with 3/4" ACX tops!) for about $80 the pair. It would have been less, but I added power outlets to the surface and that makes them all the more convenient. I just take them wherever we move and plug them in, and I don't have to look for an outlet when I need one!
I know not all of these are strictly "tools" - but I've always believe that a "tool" is something you use to expand your capabilites. I was taught years ago that "My gun and my knife are only tools" - and I see no reason to change that philosophy...
5-90
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
- Location
- Vermont, land of big clay
We're assuming traveling kit, not the goodies in the shop...
1: Swiss Army knife (Deluxe Tinker with the little pliers)
2: Big Vise grips
3: Mercedes screwdriver (2 philips, 2 straight bits, chrome plated and tough - truly the Mercedes of screwdrivers)
4: Little vise grips
5: The very elegant slip-joint "chanellock-style" pliers that came with my first Peugeot 403. The handles don't meet and crush your fingers like Chanellocks, and they're indestructible!
6: Little needlenose vise grips
7: Craftsman box-end metric wrench set sadly missing the 8-10 mm one. These are long and thin and fit into tight places well.
8: Large needlenose vise grips
9: Set of S-K flare-nut wrenches
10: I could have sworn there was a medium-sized vise grips in here somewhere....
1: Swiss Army knife (Deluxe Tinker with the little pliers)
2: Big Vise grips
3: Mercedes screwdriver (2 philips, 2 straight bits, chrome plated and tough - truly the Mercedes of screwdrivers)
4: Little vise grips
5: The very elegant slip-joint "chanellock-style" pliers that came with my first Peugeot 403. The handles don't meet and crush your fingers like Chanellocks, and they're indestructible!
6: Little needlenose vise grips
7: Craftsman box-end metric wrench set sadly missing the 8-10 mm one. These are long and thin and fit into tight places well.
8: Large needlenose vise grips
9: Set of S-K flare-nut wrenches
10: I could have sworn there was a medium-sized vise grips in here somewhere....
sidriptide
nobody of any consequence
- Location
- western massachusetts
1. the BFH
2. cable-tie tensioner gun.... zips a zip tie closed to a preset tension, and snips the end off
3. my snap-on mini finger ratchet... a small star shaped tool about 1/2" thick with a 3/8" ratchet in the center that pops thru the center to make it reversible.. its used as a finger tip ratchet..
4. the 2" receiver mounted vise from harbor freight..... since i dont have a garage or a bench the receiver makes it go where i need it
5. i also love my 3' extention for the exact same reason... the CPS... 5 minute job
mike
2. cable-tie tensioner gun.... zips a zip tie closed to a preset tension, and snips the end off
3. my snap-on mini finger ratchet... a small star shaped tool about 1/2" thick with a 3/8" ratchet in the center that pops thru the center to make it reversible.. its used as a finger tip ratchet..
4. the 2" receiver mounted vise from harbor freight..... since i dont have a garage or a bench the receiver makes it go where i need it
5. i also love my 3' extention for the exact same reason... the CPS... 5 minute job
mike
10 pound sledgehammer-useful for bashing out dented body panels, enlarging fender wells, and removing otherwise really stuck parts
a "side o' the road special" crowbar-prying stuff, and occasionally hitting things when angry at them
crescent wrench-the only wrench you'll ever need
vice grips-for when the wrench gives up
and last but not least: leatherman
a "side o' the road special" crowbar-prying stuff, and occasionally hitting things when angry at them
crescent wrench-the only wrench you'll ever need
vice grips-for when the wrench gives up
and last but not least: leatherman
Ralph
NAXJA Member #149
- Location
- Lubbock, Texas
My favorite is always the one I need for the job at hand.
RR3
RR3
- Location
- Redstone Canyon, Nor CO.
nobody mentioned the "Matt-Tool" yet?
Sorry , BOTW 2 inside joke.
Sorry , BOTW 2 inside joke.
Rev Den
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Plainfield, IL
1. Leatherman - NEVER without it.
2. Mini-Maglight - converted to LED for battery life
3. Tire Plug kit
4. Steel toe boots
5. My mind, just gotta to remember to keep it sharp.
Rev
2. Mini-Maglight - converted to LED for battery life
3. Tire Plug kit
4. Steel toe boots
5. My mind, just gotta to remember to keep it sharp.
Rev
xjndmud
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Florence SC
5. vise grips
4. cresent wrench
3. maglight
2. leatherman
1. Hammer
4. cresent wrench
3. maglight
2. leatherman
1. Hammer
Lupine
NAXJA Member #735
- Location
- Foresthill, CA
1. CRASH.
poomba
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Christoval, Tx
The five tools I've found most useful in getting my jeep ready for the trail:
1. Visa card.
2. Master Card
3. Cash
4. Overtime
5. ARP
(Army Relocation Program..as in..hey, that would fit on my jeep!)
1. Visa card.
2. Master Card
3. Cash
4. Overtime
5. ARP
(Army Relocation Program..as in..hey, that would fit on my jeep!)
LRRH
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- South Cheeseland
1) Hammer
2) Bigger Hammer
3) Duct Tape
4) Bailing Wire
5) Biggst Hammer
=)
2) Bigger Hammer
3) Duct Tape
4) Bailing Wire
5) Biggst Hammer
=)
LRRH
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- South Cheeseland
I guess i would have put Leatherman but I've broken three ofg them in the past two years...and never bothered to get another. I've been fine without them.
Rev Den
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Plainfield, IL
LRRH said:
At least the replacements are free.......what the heck are you doing to them? These are Leatherman correct? Not some other brand? I have broken my pliers once in 6 years, and that was as I was using them as a pocket prybar.
Rev
- Location
- REDLANDS, CA. (SoCal)
#1 Baily #4 plane
#2 1 1/4" slicking chisel
#3 Southington Cut co. colapsable framing square
#4 Lufkin 6" "T" square
#5 Stanley #110 block plane (England)
:anon:
#2 1 1/4" slicking chisel
#3 Southington Cut co. colapsable framing square
#4 Lufkin 6" "T" square
#5 Stanley #110 block plane (England)
:anon:
LRRH
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- South Cheeseland
WOW! I didn't know the replacements were free. I had aquired them in a trade =)
I've got them laying in the garage for use of the things that still do work. I will have to dig them up and send them in. I basically just snap parts of them off. =(
And yes...they are "LEATHERMAN".
Rev Den
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Plainfield, IL
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