Tools
26/05/16 05:16
For as long as I can remember tools have had an important place in my life. There were several people in my life who taught me about tools. My father was an FAA-licensed airframe and power plant mechanic and was authorized to conduct inspections on aircraft. His toolbox at the airport was filled with special tools: mirrors on long handles, screwdrivers with long shafts, pinking shears for cutting fabric, special pliers for winding safety wire, and neatly organized rows of wrenches and sockets.
My Uncle Ted, who was actually my great-uncle, had been a machinist and sheet metal worker and his tools were mostly organized in boxes and drawers he had made himself. There were a variety of tools for bending metal, a couple of different rivet guns and many different sizes of hammers.
My grandfather had a long carpenter’s toolbox with several saws, claw hammers, chisels and wood planes.
When I was young, I knew that I was not allowed to touch another person’s tools. I received a hand-made tool bench and my own tools from my father and I had my own screwdrivers, hammer, crosscut saw, pliers and even a small wood plane, though I never learned to sharpen it until I was a teenager.
I can remember well being fascinated by the tools that existed in the world and very interested in the people who used those tools. As a result, it is no surprise that our grandson is very interested in tools. I have tools in a variety of locations: some in our camper, some in my pickup, many in the garage. I have a case with precision tools for working on electronic equipment and making fine repairs that our grandson has often seen as it is the place I turn when looking for tools to repair broken toys.
On our last visit to our grandchildren, our grandson asked me, “Did my dad teach you how to use tools?” If you look at it from his point of view, it is a rational question. After all, we both possess skills that he has not yet acquired, and it makes sense that one of us must have taught the other. The comment was very amusing to me and I have been remembering and mulling it ever since he said it.
So, as a departure from the usual, a few comments about tools might be in order for today’s blog.
I own a lot of saws. I have several power saws including a skillsaw, a table saw, a band saw, and a radial arm saw. I also have lots of hand saws including hack saws, crosscut saws, several fine-toothed Japanese pull saws, trim saws, keyhole saws and other specialized saws. The purpose of all saws is to transform materials from too long for the application to too short for the application. I know the old adage, “measure twice, cut once,” but I am capable of cutting on the wrong side of a pencil line despite having measured three or four times. In a way it is handy that there are so many different tools for making boards too short. It brings to mind another saying I used to hear from my grandfather: “I cuts it and cuts it and it is still too short!”
Saws have many other useful functions such as the creation of sawdust. I am sure that people experienced regular shortages of sawdust when there were only hand tools for their use, but with modern power tools, there is no excuse for a shop that isn’t filled with saw dust. I have a large shop vacuum that generally holds 20 or 30 pounds of sawdust, but that doesn’t keep sawdust from coating every other surface in my garage. It smells good and is a good absorbent. And you can write notes, such as the length you want to cut a board in the sawdust. The other day, thumbing through a boat builder’s magazine I saw an advertisement for the sale of “wood flour.” I’ve used sawdust as a thickener for epoxy and other glues for many years, but never thought of it as a commodity that one would buy. Perhaps there is more value in my garage than I thought.
Power saws not only enable the creation of more sawdust at greater paces, they have other functions. For example, a table saw can be used to launch wood projectiles to test the integrity of the walls of the garage. A band saw can be used to cut larger pieces into smaller pieces so they fit in the trash more easily.
And a hacksaw is in a category of its own. It can transform precise and careful movements of the human arm and hand into a crooked, unpredictable motion that directs the blade into almost any shape except a straight line. I think that is why it is called a hacksaw: anything cut with the tool looks like it was hacked off, not like it was removed with a precision tool.
Speaking of tools for propelling objects across the room, none is more effective than a drill press. A drill press is a power tool that is very useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock from your hands and smacking you right in the chest hard enough to take your breath away. It can also be used to fling a coffee cup across the room right onto a freshly painted project that was carefully set in a protected corner where nothing could get to it while that perfect paint job dried.
I have many other useful tools. For example vice grips can be used for many functions. They work well for completely rounding off the heads of bolts that were only partially destroyed by regular pliers. They also are among the most useful tools in the shop for creating blood blisters. Another special function of this tool is transferring intense welding heat into the palm of your hand.
A screwdriver can be used to convert common slotted screws into non removable screws while at the same time raising blisters on your palms. A hammer is one of the most effective tools in the shop for removing fingernails. Usually it allows for several days of decorative blackened fingernails before their removal.
But I’ve run out of space in today’s blog. Perhaps there will be more useful tool tips another day.
My Uncle Ted, who was actually my great-uncle, had been a machinist and sheet metal worker and his tools were mostly organized in boxes and drawers he had made himself. There were a variety of tools for bending metal, a couple of different rivet guns and many different sizes of hammers.
My grandfather had a long carpenter’s toolbox with several saws, claw hammers, chisels and wood planes.
When I was young, I knew that I was not allowed to touch another person’s tools. I received a hand-made tool bench and my own tools from my father and I had my own screwdrivers, hammer, crosscut saw, pliers and even a small wood plane, though I never learned to sharpen it until I was a teenager.
I can remember well being fascinated by the tools that existed in the world and very interested in the people who used those tools. As a result, it is no surprise that our grandson is very interested in tools. I have tools in a variety of locations: some in our camper, some in my pickup, many in the garage. I have a case with precision tools for working on electronic equipment and making fine repairs that our grandson has often seen as it is the place I turn when looking for tools to repair broken toys.
On our last visit to our grandchildren, our grandson asked me, “Did my dad teach you how to use tools?” If you look at it from his point of view, it is a rational question. After all, we both possess skills that he has not yet acquired, and it makes sense that one of us must have taught the other. The comment was very amusing to me and I have been remembering and mulling it ever since he said it.
So, as a departure from the usual, a few comments about tools might be in order for today’s blog.
I own a lot of saws. I have several power saws including a skillsaw, a table saw, a band saw, and a radial arm saw. I also have lots of hand saws including hack saws, crosscut saws, several fine-toothed Japanese pull saws, trim saws, keyhole saws and other specialized saws. The purpose of all saws is to transform materials from too long for the application to too short for the application. I know the old adage, “measure twice, cut once,” but I am capable of cutting on the wrong side of a pencil line despite having measured three or four times. In a way it is handy that there are so many different tools for making boards too short. It brings to mind another saying I used to hear from my grandfather: “I cuts it and cuts it and it is still too short!”
Saws have many other useful functions such as the creation of sawdust. I am sure that people experienced regular shortages of sawdust when there were only hand tools for their use, but with modern power tools, there is no excuse for a shop that isn’t filled with saw dust. I have a large shop vacuum that generally holds 20 or 30 pounds of sawdust, but that doesn’t keep sawdust from coating every other surface in my garage. It smells good and is a good absorbent. And you can write notes, such as the length you want to cut a board in the sawdust. The other day, thumbing through a boat builder’s magazine I saw an advertisement for the sale of “wood flour.” I’ve used sawdust as a thickener for epoxy and other glues for many years, but never thought of it as a commodity that one would buy. Perhaps there is more value in my garage than I thought.
Power saws not only enable the creation of more sawdust at greater paces, they have other functions. For example, a table saw can be used to launch wood projectiles to test the integrity of the walls of the garage. A band saw can be used to cut larger pieces into smaller pieces so they fit in the trash more easily.
And a hacksaw is in a category of its own. It can transform precise and careful movements of the human arm and hand into a crooked, unpredictable motion that directs the blade into almost any shape except a straight line. I think that is why it is called a hacksaw: anything cut with the tool looks like it was hacked off, not like it was removed with a precision tool.
Speaking of tools for propelling objects across the room, none is more effective than a drill press. A drill press is a power tool that is very useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock from your hands and smacking you right in the chest hard enough to take your breath away. It can also be used to fling a coffee cup across the room right onto a freshly painted project that was carefully set in a protected corner where nothing could get to it while that perfect paint job dried.
I have many other useful tools. For example vice grips can be used for many functions. They work well for completely rounding off the heads of bolts that were only partially destroyed by regular pliers. They also are among the most useful tools in the shop for creating blood blisters. Another special function of this tool is transferring intense welding heat into the palm of your hand.
A screwdriver can be used to convert common slotted screws into non removable screws while at the same time raising blisters on your palms. A hammer is one of the most effective tools in the shop for removing fingernails. Usually it allows for several days of decorative blackened fingernails before their removal.
But I’ve run out of space in today’s blog. Perhaps there will be more useful tool tips another day.