Tools of the Trades
 

laborers! what tools ya? nerds included!



i always have a flashlight and a pocket knife on me. i also carry a pen: the ultimate tool

https://external-content.duckduckgo....c0d&ipo=images


It's a hammer, a wrench, a vice grip, pipe wrench, pry bar and cracks all kinds of nuts. It's also very useful for removing teeth, fingernails and toenails or so the movies tell me. If you ever NEED to have an answer right now from somebody who's holding out a little, it's a nice little icebreaker to have in the bag (say hello to my little friend). Keep one of these in every tool box, bag, chest and have a couple in the tool drawer, workroom and garage.

ah yes, the good ole channel grips. a definite classic.

https://i.imgur.com/kzOJ5Zy.jpg
I was using this multimeter today to try to track down problems in my vehicle's instrument cluster. In my case a faulty speedo and tach.

It's a 1989 BMW E30 318i. Part of the breed unfortunately - the clusters all go to hell.

It's real needle in a haystack stuff, but I'm learning and strangely enjoying it, doing some soldering work as well. Today I was checking for continuity of all the pins and traces of the main board - something a short while ago I wouldn't have dreamt of doing - but now I'm doing it. :)

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

I am constantly perturbed by the sheer (that wasn't intentional) number of essentially single-use garden tools I end up needing.

We finally gave up and now we have a "lawn guy" who brings his own tools every week. Much easier! :D

In a pinch, this transforms into a screwdriver, a tiny hammer, a scraper, or even a knife if necessary.

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

These things, I think the tools are called human men:

https://i0.wp.com/kgaccountantsblog....4733.jpg?ssl=1


There are no men in our house, so when it comes to garden and any diy/building work I try to do something first but if it's too dangerous or need a professional then we get someone in.

:D

I hate heights for example so getting on the roof is a no no, so man please!

Tools we have are the normal stuff, nothing big. I do like my extension tree cutter, cordless hedge trimmer, and axe though. :)

I was one of the last in my field to do this.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-psFExQqLv...25281%2529.jpg

Retired from the automotive design world a couple of years ago. Around '88 it all just disappeared moving to CAD work stations, starting with CGS, Prime, Catia and Applicon. Then on to Unigraphics, Alias and SDRC. Today, it looks like:

https://blog.fentress.com/hubfs/Blog...og%20Title.png

From '75 through '88, I amassed at least $2k in drafting equipment. Ended up donating it all to our local high school.As for "Tools of the Trade" it went from this:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...9v0og&usqp=CAU

to this:

https://cdn-bmahk.nitrocdn.com/ojbFv...titled-1-2.jpg

I’m loving all these posts, y'all!

here’s another tool i use quite regularly

Is that a crimper? Are you an electrician?

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

@beelzebubble: yeah, it's a RJ45/RJ11 crimper. i am not an electrician, but we occasionally have to follow up on electricians work and fix their screw ups. :lol:

I am always amazed by how often I need a palm sander =\

I've burnt through four of those palm sanders by now. But they got their revenge, they fried my tendons in both of my elbows.:(

I fulfilled a lifelong dream yesterday and bought my own San Angelo bar. I have to trench out about 48 feet to a width of 8 inches and a depth of two feet (barf) in very rocky soil, so I decided to splurge.

The man at the hardware store was like "I don't think that's a thing," and so it was somewhat gratifying to finally locate it in the tools section and have it labeled that way.

I always have a pocket knife in the truck, and at least a short and stubby flathead and phillips head. This flashlight is always in my truck door pocket offering two flood modes and a hanging hook:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_SX679_.jpg


If I'm travelling long distances, I'll carry a larger knife, such as the Gerber LMF II :)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/..._AC_SX679_.jpg



But for MOST of my tool needs, I use this Logitech MX Master:

https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/...02577cv15d.jpg

This is the second most comfortable mouse I've ever owned. The MOST comfortable was discontinued years ago. This is the closest I've found.

I also carry in my purse a recorder.

No, not a tape recorder.

https://external-content.duckduckgo....7ee&ipo=images

I started carrying it one year when my students were stressed about forgetting them for music class, and it's been in there ever since. Once someone found it when they were doing a bag search at a concert. I was like "It's for work." . . . "I'm a teacher." . . . "I promise there will be no recorder solos."

I also always have tickets in my pocket, because children will go above and beyond if they think they can get a ticket for it, even if they don't yet know what the tickets are for.

So, they DON'T know about the cobra yet?

;)

Should have put that in spoilers...

This is on my key chain.

The ones i use most often are the knife (amazingly sharp), scissors (amazingly useful) and built in pen (incredible when you need it).

i don't know if you can pick it out but I'm pretty sure it has a "bump" spoon on the bottom right, that's what a friend said, i don't partake i just take their word for it. Don't ask me who my friends are, but when you got to get s**t done, ya know.


https://www.movieforums.com/communit...chmentid=94335

Back pain everywhere. Also work with Solidworks.

That's how they used to work? that's insane!

When I was young, the veterans had knots on their elbows the size of walnuts.

I went to Northern Tool this morning and scored me some clearance deals.

If you're going to be doing some electrical work in an old house with that crappy, cloth covered wire (I'm slowly getting rid of that garbage) these things are life savers!


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I bought this about a year ago to cut out the door pins on my truck and am surprised at how useful it is. It's great for what it was designed to do but it's also a handy little pruner. I've also used it for cutting down small diameter trees/limbs and really hard salami


https://www.protoolreviews.com/wp-co...ackzall-01.jpg

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

It was the salami bit that won you my uptick in reputation. :D :D

rediscovered knife from my youth

I used this aLOT this summer to install new windows in the house. Wouldn't you know the windows depth was greater than the ones I was replacing, meaning I had to cut all the drywall window edges back by 1/4 inch. Talk about a tough job.

temporary fixes always calls for duct tape

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

I had an experience where I picked up a stub-handled ratchet screwdriver (with about six bits that fit into the handle) at Home Depot.
Upon ringing up, the cashier could not locate the price (despite the UPC on the packaging - it wasn't scanning). She went over to where I got the item to check. I was starting to feel slightly annoyed as once again I was waiting... (why do I always pick the thing they can't find a price for?)

The cashier returned and says to me, "Just take it."
I was like, "What?"
She says, "We can't locate a price, so just take it."
I said, "There's a price on the shelf over by the items."
She says, "But we can't scan the code and it doesn't come up in the computer... we'll have to fix it later... so just take it."
"For free?" I asked.
"Yes. for free." she answered.

I've never had an experience quite like that before or since.
I rarely have such incidents of good luck.
And I use that little screwdriver a lot!

Re: Tools of the Trades
 

Had a similar experience at Home Depot. Hunter ceiling fans were going for $99.99, good deal. When ringing the fan up, it was $9.99. They said it was their mistake and that they would honor it. This is when I passed out.

I've been on the other side of a situation like that. When I worked the customer service desk at a grocery store, a Thanksgiving turkey scanned the wrong price, so the customer got it for free. He came up to the desk afterwards and gave me a teary-eyed, sincere thank you. Moments like that made that otherwise not-so-great job bearable.

As for the main question, I test mobile apps with the actual devices, so most times, my desk is littered with phones, tablets and chargers as if it were the counter of an electronics repair shop.