[mkgd1]

Those aren’t designed and engineered by American engineers, but by English ones.

That's why they broke.

[CharLac]

I buy the best tools.Some of my tools belonged to my grandfather, and still get the job done today.

I do too. I have never once bought anything that was high quality and later thought "Gee, I wish I'd bought cheep crap instead".

There's an expression: Buy the best and cry only once.

Years ago I learned that lesson. I was 17ish and bought my first motorcycle. Unfortunately, my Dad only had imperial tools so off we went to "Pascals", the local hardware store. As soon as we walked in, there in the bargain bin, was a metric socket set for $10. Dad bought it for me and back home we went. Within an hour I had stripped the 10 and 12 mm sockets. The next day I headed to Canadian Tire and bought a small metric socket set made by Husky. I still use that set to this day.

[eddie1960]

Life all about pork belly this is perfect for my fellow pig aficionados

Seen “Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody” on Netflix yet?

https://www.netflix.com/title/81347666?s=i&trkid=0

[StiffLegged]

Lucas Electrical parts!

Those aren’t designed and engineered by American engineers, but by English ones.

No they weren't, they were designed by the accountants. From another industry a tale: John Harvey Jones the CEO of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was increasingly disturbed by how the bean counters' preoccupations were influencing every major decision the company made: "We must reduce the costs – must we do this, that or the other?" Finally he addressed the board in the following terms: "Let's just close down every plant, pay off all those expensive employees and forget about making products for sale. That should reduce our long-term costs the most, eh?" The bean counters went very quiet and there was something of a shift in the board's thinking thereafter.

For a while, anyway...

[lesmore49]

Years ago I learned that lesson. I was 17ish and bought my first motorcycle. Unfortunately, my Dad only had imperial tools so off we went to "Pascals", the local hardware store. As soon as we walked in, there in the bargain bin, was a metric socket set for $10. Dad bought it for me and back home we went. Within an hour I had stripped the 10 and 12 mm sockets. The next day I headed to Canadian Tire and bought a small metric socket set made by Husky. I still use that set to this day.

Similar story here. When I was in my mid 20's I had my own house. Before that I would always use my dad's tools, which were old but good. As anyone with their first house realizes, things break down and you need some tools. So I bought a socket set, the cheapest they had at Canadian Tire. They were third world manufacture , both metric and Imperial (inch) and I lept them for about 5 years. The sockets were a 'loose' fit ...I would say , for example a 10 mm socket would be at best...an approximate 10mm.

I did not like using them and as you experienced rounded off bolts, etc.

Finally I bought a Canadian Tire Professional brand (their top level at the time) socket set in metric and inch. What a pleasure it is to put a 10mm socket on a 10mm bolt and feel the snug, tight fit. It is a pleasure using quality level tools and over a lifetime, they pay for themselves. I've had this socket set for 30 odd years. Everything works, one socket wrench blew a spring. Lifetime warranty and Canadian Tire fixed it on the spot.

Now they're not at the Snap On quality or cost, but they are a good, robust quality that are good tools.

Funny thing, when I went to the motorcycle dealer when my son bought his new BMW motorcycle, we went into the mechanics area, where it had been dealer prepped. I talked to one of the mechanics about which tools he used, fully expecting that it would be Snap On all the way.

He did have Snap On, but he also had some top line Canadian Tire, Gray, Matco...a mix. As long as it did the job, was reliable, durable and good quality.....it was in his tool box.

[robtcorl]

Youngest son went to trade school to be a GM mechanic (now called automotive technician).
He has some Snap-On tools, but mostly Matco. He presently works on trains and/or busses for Metro Transit after working at a Mercedes Benz dealer for a few years.

They had professional family photos taken last Friday. It had been cloudy everyday for a week, but the photog set the shoot up for 4:00 PM hoping for some backlit sunshine, and she got it.
bacon

[tim60]

Can you be specific? I can’t think of anything that is designed to fail. For example, the manlift trucks I used to maintain and repair were designed to handle three times their rated load. Airplanes as well are designed to handle three times the rated load of the airframe.

I did not say designed to fail. Petrodollars would say that about your orange aluminium things but I would say that was work to design.

What I meant was to acknowledge that parts do break, just like your Allen key. The design of the thing they are in must accommodate the failure of some parts by allowing at least orderly shut down and repair.

I realised I mis-spelt the author’s name.

---

Last edited by tim60; 01-17-2021 at 06:59 AM.

[Racer X 69]

The 4 year state indentured apprenticeship I served earned me a journeyman card, the job title on the payscale page of the union contract said I was a journeyman utility mechanic. Four years of full time college level automotive education, simultaneous on the job training (working in the shop as an apprentice mechanic), and getting sent to GM schools in Portland, Oregon, Altec schools in several places locally, and a week of factory training in Saint Joseph, Missouri, mobile hydraulic training and certification by the Fluid Power Society as a Mobil Fluid Power Specialist, Detroit Diesel DDEC school, Allison transmission school both at Pacific Detroit Diesel, Washington State Certified Gas And Diesel Emissions Specialist, and tons of other stuff I can't remember anymore.

My tool kit when I worked at the electric utility.




I worked on everything they had, cars, pickups, vans, medium and heavy duty trucks trailers, trailers with stuff on them like portable substations, material handling equipment, snowmobiles, even a 1936 Chevy Pickup.

All skills automotive related were used, as well as metal fabrication and body and paint work. Minor and major teardowns, even complete fabrication of a line truck body (the part behind the cab that has the bins and steps up to the mounted equipment) as part of my apprenticeship.


Mostly I did manlift maintenance and repair.

Like on this truck. It has an aerial work bucket made of fiberglass that holds two linemen and their tools. It is attached to a two piece boom, the upper boom is fiberglass the lower boom is fabricated steel with a ten foot fiberglass center section that has a maximum height of 55 feet to the bottom of the bucket. Oh, and the upper boom is overcenter, meaning it can be extended beyond being inline with the lower boom, by about 15 degrees if I recall correctly.

It is also set up for light material handling, notice the short fiberglass boom and winch at the boomtip.

That whole mess is sitting on top of a double elevator unit that adds another 50 feet to the maximum bucket height.





Here's what it looks like all opened up:

[Racer X 69]

Well you got me there Jim.

Still, I prefer to consume things that last. My consumption of goods is an exception, as I typically get the most out of the stuff I buy.

Jeans, jackets and other clothing, gets cared for, and mended many times before being discarded. I rarely sell a vehicle, but rather drive it until the wheels fall off.

I buy the best tools.Some of my tools belonged to my grandfather, and still get the job done today.

When I built my house I specified materials that will endure the test of time.

I am not part of the mass consumption crowd.

Except when it comes to bacon.

The Adams grader and the Ford 8N are 72 years old.

A testament to when things were made to last.

[MarkJerling]

Here's what it looks like all opened up:

There's an erection you can be proud of Racer!

[gaweidert]

Funny thing, when I went to the motorcycle dealer when my son bought his new BMW motorcycle, we went into the mechanics area, where it had been dealer prepped. I talked to one of the mechanics about which tools he used, fully expecting that it would be Snap On all the way.

He did have Snap On, but he also had some top line Canadian Tire, Gray, Matco...a mix. As long as it did the job, was reliable, durable and good quality.....it was in his tool box.

As a professional mechanic you need tools form a variety of manufacturers. They make them with different offsets etc and a tool from one brand may fit to do a job that the same size tool form another does not. We got cheap tools and modified them to do specific oddball things. We would bend and grind them to the shape needed. When a field engineer I worked on stuff costing over 500K. One of the wrenches I got came from a $1 wrench set from the Dollar Store. The were made from stamped sheet metal, but one of them fit exactly for a specific job.

[MarkJerling]

In other news:

Pizzas Saturday night, roast chicken and homemade bread with leftover heat Sunday night. I get a kick out of cooking with "free" heat!

[rod_grant]

I get a kick out of cooking with "free" heat!

"There are no free meals", but you come closer than most!!

[MarkJerling]

"There are no free meals", but you come closer than most!!

Thanks! Oven was still at 230degC last night.

[dbs]

Thanks! Oven was still at 230degC last night.

Hope your not in a bushfire zone.