Greatest hand tool inovation - non-power? IYO

[sachbvn]

Alright - I put this here and not hand tools because generally the hand tool thread has to do with hand "woodworking" tools - and this is more general. Admins - move if you'd like.

Ok - so - in your guys' opinions, what is the greatest hand tool innovation. What truly marvels YOU, what are YOU amazed about. It could be new, could be old, could be not in use anymore.

I'll give you my example - yall can just add to it. Sound good?

Ok - to get us started.

Vise grips - that's my vote..... those are a true handyman's friend... you can do a ton with them, you can use them as a clamp (quick release clamp mind you) - you can use them as a wrench in a pinch, you can use them as regular pliers, you can use them to bend metal, pick up hot things, clamp something down to weld or cut with a torch. You can snip wires.

They adjust fairly quickly, exert a ton of clamping pressure, yet release so easily.

Vise Grips really do amaze me - I think they should be a homeowners "must have" list for tools - even for people that would rather call someone to fix something than to try themselves.... They should be given as wedding gifts - that is how much I adore them.

Ok - I probably came across in the "little creepy" department, but seriously - any one else share this type of love for a single tool?

Something simple, claw hammer, pry bar, screwdriver - all non-powered hand tools are acceptable.


Zac

[sawduster]

Funny you should say vise grips. Just used a pair to bust open the top of a bottle of tung oil that had got glued in place cause I didn't wipe off the excess last time I put the lid on. Looked for my regular pliers, then my water pump pliers and remembered they're both in the tool bag in the lock box on the truck. Found them vise grips right where I left em.

I got to say that the coolest hand tool as far as I'm concerned is the Yankee Screw Driver. They're makin those again BTW. They got the ratcheting ones all beat to heck. Next best is the quick change 1/4" hex driver and accessories. Combine the two, and voila, a toolbox in your pocket. Well, maybe add a vise grip for the fit-em-all/really grab on to stuff stuff. ;D

[TDHofstetter]

I was gonna' speak up with Quick-Grip clamps and Yankee screwdrivers... Jer, I've got one Yankee-style driver that's got a native 1/4" hex drive. I like that a lot better'n my old original authentic Stanley Yankee. Ever see Torx bits for a real Yankee?

Then there's the mechanical pencil. Good as sliced bread. And... the "triangular square", the SpeedSquare... provided it's a real one, 1/4" thick.

Um... then... there's an old-school water level, a dozen times more accurate than any laser level on the market and more versatile (it can work all the way around corners and the accuracy at 1/4 mile is the same as accuracy at 12") and it's not at all tender; you can literally throw it into your toolbox without any risk of hurting it.

There's... uh... the card scraper. BOY I'm glad somebody decided to do that!

Then we look at... at...

Na, I can't point to one (or even three) and say "THAT made all the difference".

[Doug B]

Tape measure. I use that way more than anything else in the shop...simply because I always measure twice and cut once...at least in theory

I guess along the same lines, I cannot imagine not have a digital caliper for precise measuring. That has got to be the neatest thing invented since sliced bread.

[admin]

I agree with Doug, gotta be the tape measure. Between the tape measure and the mechanical pencil, they get more usage than any other. (Ok, I confess, I rather like my scrapers too!)

TJ.

[Mark T]

Nah, it's the MAGNET that they just started putting on the end of the tape measure! Don't know why they didn't do it a LONG time ago, but man does it make a tape measure even better!!!!

Oh, come to think of it, that may not hold so true for woodworking. But I do a lot of measuring of steel pipe, conduit, beams, stuctures, and so on. So it made it a lot easier to do what I do.

[sawduster]

Jer, I've got one Yankee-style driver that's got a native 1/4" hex drive. I like that a lot better'n my old original authentic Stanley Yankee. Ever see Torx bits for a real Yankee?

I've got adapters from Lee Valley to convert my Yankees to the 1/4" hex drive. Like I said, tool box in your pocket. ;D Torx, Robertsons, and all the other stuff.

[admin]

Jan 4, 2010 18:28:16 GMT -6 Mark T said:

Nah, it's the MAGNET that they just started putting on the end of the tape measure! Don't know why they didn't do it a LONG time ago, but man does it make a tape measure even better!!!!

Oh, come to think of it, that may not hold so true for woodworking. But I do a lot of measuring of steel pipe, conduit, beams, stuctures, and so on. So it made it a lot easier to do what I do.

Actually, it'd be handy as all get out if ya dropped an arbor washer/nut on the TS, or some other item made of metal in a delicate spot.

[CajunRider]

Hammer!

When you have it in your hand you feel like having the power to hammer out any problem. Plus all problems look like nails.

[Joe Lyddon]

Jan 4, 2010 17:00:17 GMT -6 Doug B said:

Tape measure. I use that way more than anything else in the shop...simply because I always measure twice and cut once...at least in theory

I guess along the same lines, I cannot imagine not have a digital caliper for precise measuring. That has got to be the neatest thing invented since sliced bread.

I just got a Story Pole Fast-Cap Orange tape measure!

They are fantastic! 1" wide tape... with white writing space on one side... Write on it with pencil... rub off when done... Notepad on the face... Pencil sharpener in one corner... Easy to control belt clip... Cool way to control the wind-in speed... 16' ... and for only $6.50!!

I love it!!

[sawduster]

You know, one of the most overlooked and maybe useful "tools" is the good old Homer Bucket with one of them tool roll thingies to stick on it. Holds all sorts of "stuff" from liquids to solids to assorted hardware and tools. Need to think something over for a bit, flip it over and it becomes a little stool to perch upon while enjoying a cup of Joe. ;D

[dcarter636]

The crescent wrench, adjustable spanner to some, is my pick; it's a squeezer, pounder, and pry bar all in one package that can be carried in the back pocket of your blue jeans.
No I don't use them much anymore but a crescent wrench in your pocket can be a lifesaver out on the road. Penny's authorized home repair tool kit includes an 8" crescent wrench, common pliers, 12 oz hammer, and set of screw drivers.
You can wrench most any nut or bolt (or permanently mark the unwrenchable by rounding off the hex flats), when I used to carry one it was invaluable for percussively reminding stuck carburetor floats of their proper place and purpose in the grand scheme of things automotive.

[fredbelknap]

For me it would be a pocket knife. Can't imagine life without one.

[sawduster]

You can wrench most any nut or bolt (or permanently mark the unwrenchable by rounding off the hex flats), . . .

And that is when Zac's favorite tool, the vise grip comes in handy. Almost as good as a pipe wrench for bustin them round headed bolts loose.

[deepsplinter]

Gotta be the pocket hole jig. ;D

[dcarter636]

Aha! a heretical heathen in our midst.

[Leo Voisine]

You guyz already mentioned a bunch of tools I would have mentioned.

Soo, I just find a single edged razor blade to have so many uses.

Cutting, scraping, cleaning.

I use it all around the house for all srots of stuff.

I can thing of nothing better to scrape away a run or drip on a finish I am nearly done with.

[Joe Lyddon]

I have a Swiss Army knife that I like a lot!

It even has tweezers built-in which are good for those lil splinters! ... just used it the other day! Saved me all kinds of time! ;D

[lockman]

Mine is my Gerber multi-tool I carry on my belt every day.

[TDHofstetter]

Here's one:

The BASIN WRENCH.

Ever swap out a faucet WITHOUT one? A faucet that didn't ship with pigtail hoses?

They're WICKEDLY handy for other things, too... like for example a pipe plug with the corners rounded totally off by a Crescent wrench followed by ChanNelLocks followed by ViseGrips. When you're under a tractor trying to get the water bled out of the transmission in prep for the year's winter, and that basin wrench TAKES that pipe plug, you've just saved yourself the pain of welding a wrench onto the dang thing just to get that first quarter-turn (after which it's gotta' be ground back off). Or... they'll turn a pipe you can't get onto with a Stilson. Or... if flung hard enough at the back of a head, they'll take a mugger flat off his feet, after which they'll assist you in pounding him to a crisp.