Tier 1, 1.5, or even Tier 2 tools thread

[Welder]

My replies in bold.

Once you realize the utility of an adjustable wrench, you'll wonder how you lived life without.

LOL, you may be the only car guy I know who sees utility in an adjustable wrench. I've got one that'll open to 2-1/4" and the only thing I use it for is that narrow window above 2" where I don't have actual wrenches that size. Also use it and the others for grabbing the edge of steel once it's heated red hot to bend it in a controlled fashion, or to bend it cold if it's thin stuff, say 1/4" or less. Other than that, those wrenches never see a nut or bolt.

For the garage a 16-ounce ballpeen reigns supreme.

Yes but a bunch of little whacks dinking around with a 1-lb hammer equal one or two with a 3-lb hammer.

[LittleLebowski]

My replies in bold.

Yeah, I’ve got crescent wrenches I haven’t used in years, your post crystallized why I don’t.

[OlongJohnson]

Once you realize the utility of an adjustable wrench, you'll wonder how you lived life without.

I have hammers. I also use the Crescents as small detail brakes for sheet metal work.

For the garage a 16-ounce ballpeen reigns supreme.

I have a nice SK ball peen of probably 12-16 oz that I found in the dirt in a SSJY a long, long time ago. It's good.

I also have about a 2-lb copper hammer. It gets used a lot, because it's softer than steel and won't peen it.

[RevolverRob]

My replies in bold.

Oh, I should have been more clear. I don't use the adjustable wrench much in the garage. Around the house though? All the time. Like, I'm not going down 6 flights of stairs and 40-yards down the alley in the middle of Chicago winter to get what I think is a 3/4" wrench to unscrew a gas pipe fitting or tighten the leg on the sofa...only to have it turn out to be a 13/16" wrench (or worse metric, or worst I need two wrenches because everything is free spinning). I have two 8" adjustables right here in the 'junk' drawer that will do just fine for this quick task. Nothing needs to be torqued to spec.

When I am in the garage doing something and/or working on a car in the garage, sure, I'll stop and find the right wrench/combination of wrenches. But for stuff around the house, the adjustable does a fine job for many basic tasks.

They also do work great for bending sheet metal (cold thin, or hot thick stuff), a trick my father taught me at an early age. Of course, a set of handbrakes works equally well if not a little better. But again, if I'm bending a piece of decorative tin my wife bought at Michael's, I don't want to go to the garage for hand brakes when I have an adjustable wrench (or two) and a pair of lineman's pliers on hand right here.

Where adjustable SUCK and they DO suck is anywhere where you need to apply a high level of torque (period) and especially at an angle. It's one of those things where the adjustable is so loosey goosey that you can really make a mess of things if you're trying to apply a lot of torque on things. Also, anywhere where you need a nice tight fit between wrench and fastener (like say where you might prefer a 6-point over 12-point socket or wrench).

[awp_101]

Like, I'm not going down 6 flights of stairs and 40-yards down the alley in the middle of Chicago winter to get what I think is a 3/4" wrench to unscrew a gas pipe fitting or tighten the leg on the sofa...only to have it turn out to be a 13/16" wrench (or worse metric, or worst I need two wrenches because everything is free spinning).

Adjustables are a big player in our shop for similar reasons. Sure, I've got a dozen or more combination wrenches on the bench but when an air inlet on a tool I'm tearing down or assembling can be between 7/8" and 1" and still be in spec or they quit spot checking a supplier and no one caught the metric parts we were sent, an adjustable just saves time and effort. Sometimes I need the 36" adjustable in conjunction with a cheater bar and a flame wrench to get big, rusted together pieces apart.

Their CEO was a bit of a temperamental prick from what I heard.

I think he got fired though.

Yeah, I heard he had a real Napoleon complex.

[RevolverRob]

Adjustables are a big player in our shop for similar reasons. Sure, I've got a dozen or more combination wrenches on the bench but when an air inlet on a tool I'm tearing down or assembling can be between 7/8" and 1" and still be in spec or they quit spot checking a supplier and no one caught the metric parts we were sent, an adjustable just saves time and effort. Sometimes I need the 36" adjustable in conjunction with a cheater bar and a flame wrench to get big, rusted together pieces apart.




Yeah, I heard he had a real Napoleon complex.

Man that image is missing only one step for me. When I slide the cheater over the end of the breaker and put ~200 pounds of me on it.

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My next tool will probably be one of the Ryobi air compressors that runs on their 18v batteries. I know a real air compressor would be nice, but I don't have access to the electrical panel for my garage to determine if I'm going to overload it running a normal compressor. But I have a lot of 18v Ryobi batteries (because #RyobiMasterRace ) and it's mainly going to be for running a powder coat gun and the occasional air tool (impact gun and air hammer).

I bought one of the 3/8" drive Ryobi impact guns a few weeks ago. It works great on stuff that is lightly stuck or fairly loose. The kinds of things a 1/2" ratchet would break loose. But it lacks the gumption to dig deep like an air impact gun. There is something deeply satisfying about "whump whump whump...brrt brrt..." progression of sound as you break loose a stubborn fastener with an air powered impact gun.

[Welder]

I bought one of the 3/8" drive Ryobi impact guns a few weeks ago. It works great on stuff that is lightly stuck or fairly loose. The kinds of things a 1/2" ratchet would break loose. But it lacks the gumption to dig deep like an air impact gun.

There's definitely a progression of guts in cordless impacts.

My current customer just bought a 3/8" drive Milwaukee M12 ratchet. I'd been vaguely considering picking one up so I borrowed it for some repetitive work I'm doing at the moment. Wow, glad I didn't bother. That thing is gutless. But safe compared to an air ratchet. It shuts off immediately when the fastener starts to get a little tight, won't slam your knuckles into something like an air ratchet will if you're not paying attention. It really needs more guts to be useful on anything over 1/4" or so; everything else you're stuck using it like a manual ratchet for another 1/2 a turn.

One of my most-used impacts is the light M18 Fuel 1/2" one Milwaukee makes (made?) with the ball detent. I want to say it's rated 205 ft-lbs or so. It's real-world useful for bolts up to 1/2" diameter. Anything 5/8" and bigger needs a bigger impact, either their big 1/2" or in my case a 3/4" M18 adapted down.

Years ago I was a Dodge mechanic straight out of college, and I've still got all of those air tools....even use them sometimes. But I don't miss being tied to a compressor and dealing with hoses everywhere. My old I-R 1/2" air gun is still a beast, but it's an outdated beast now...heavy and loud. I still use it for wheel work because I trust it with torque sticks, and I don't trust the rapid impact motion of the cordless guns with them. And I still use my Mac 3/8" air ratchet for brake caliper bolts; it's a habit and I'd be helpless to do otherwise.

But for the last 14 years my work has been mobile, and I usually don't even bring the International service truck with the compressor on it to jobs anymore; I think this past year I put about 400 miles on it total, mostly just pulling my forklifts around or picking up stuff that I needed a 14' bed to haul. The move to cordless tools means I can even sometimes skip the F350 and cram enough stuff into the cab of my junky Colorado to actually do a passable job at mechanic'ing and welding on some simpler jobs.

[OlongJohnson]

My next tool will probably be one of the Ryobi air compressors that runs on their 18v batteries. I know a real air compressor would be nice, but I don't have access to the electrical panel for my garage to determine if I'm going to overload it running a normal compressor.

My first compressor was a Porter-Cable Job Boss. Out of production now, but it got a lot of stuff done for me. I especially like how it travels better than the pancake types. You can set stuff on top of it in the truck going to the track. Have plugged it into a ton of electrical systems, and never a problem. Would look for something similar if I was buying a small compressor again.

I did get a 33-gallon Craftsman 165psi oilless on Black Friday sale as soon as I had a big enough garage.

[AKDoug]

There's definitely a progression of guts in cordless impacts.

My current customer just bought a 3/8" drive Milwaukee M12 ratchet. I'd been vaguely considering picking one up so I borrowed it for some repetitive work I'm doing at the moment. Wow, glad I didn't bother. That thing is gutless. But safe compared to an air ratchet. It shuts off immediately when the fastener starts to get a little tight, won't slam your knuckles into something like an air ratchet will if you're not paying attention. It really needs more guts to be useful on anything over 1/4" or so; everything else you're stuck using it like a manual ratchet for another 1/2 a turn.

One of my most-used impacts is the light M18 Fuel 1/2" one Milwaukee makes (made?) with the ball detent. I want to say it's rated 205 ft-lbs or so. It's real-world useful for bolts up to 1/2" diameter. Anything 5/8" and bigger needs a bigger impact, either their big 1/2" or in my case a 3/4" M18 adapted down.

Years ago I was a Dodge mechanic straight out of college, and I've still got all of those air tools....even use them sometimes. But I don't miss being tied to a compressor and dealing with hoses everywhere. My old I-R 1/2" air gun is still a beast, but it's an outdated beast now...heavy and loud. I still use it for wheel work because I trust it with torque sticks, and I don't trust the rapid impact motion of the cordless guns with them. And I still use my Mac 3/8" air ratchet for brake caliper bolts; it's a habit and I'd be helpless to do otherwise.

But for the last 14 years my work has been mobile, and I usually don't even bring the International service truck with the compressor on it to jobs anymore; I think this past year I put about 400 miles on it total, mostly just pulling my forklifts around or picking up stuff that I needed a 14' bed to haul. The move to cordless tools means I can even sometimes skip the F350 and cram enough stuff into the cab of my junky Colorado to actually do a passable job at mechanic'ing and welding on some simpler jobs.

The big Milwaukee 1/2 drive impacts are the real deal. They out perform our IR 3/4" air impact on most chores. They are good enough we now have two to keep things moving. It seems the only thing our compressor does now is run a die grinder and the tire machine. My 18V Milwaukee collection is bordering on excessive, but they are worth it. My latest additions are the framing nailer and the rear handle 7 1/4 skilsaw.

[OlongJohnson]

I'm going to call myself out here, and also claim a meme.

Olong's Law:

Every tool thread, if it goes on long enough, will devolve into a cordless electric tool thread.

I hate that, and I'm as guilty as anyone else.