snowman
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2004
- Location
- Southeast Michigan
I ask this as a real question.
My father in law was a mechanic at Ford (tech center) for twenty years. He also wrenched in his garage at home for extra money. This was when tools went in and out. His box now is full of custom made tools that he made at work. He said at work they had tons of them, just sitting on the shelf.
I just pulled the engine on a couple of cars. I have made custom tools no less than five times in the past month...and that's with me wrenching on occasion. Once in a while I find that snap on actually makes the tool I needed, but mostly, it's a one off job that I couldn't have been able to do without my tool.
Come to today...the rubber whip aftermarket antenna that someone put on the taurus I am driving broke. Off to the junk yard. What's this? In order to get the old antenna socket out of the car I need a custom spanner socket? (it has four slots, too small for a spanner, too tight to grab with channel locks or some such tool. I stopped at the decent sound shop that actually does good installs and they said they use a screwdriver and a hammer) I spent 15 minutes in the shop, 1" round stock, 3/4" drill through. Cut it so it had two little ears sticking up at the end of the bar. Unscrewed the copper nut from the pot metal base which was corroded all to hell (there is no way I would have gotten it with the screwdriver method).
So really? I take it for granted that I can cut/weld/grind/turn/mill tools to make them fit. That when I need a socket that is thin wall, I can just chuck up an extra and take a little off the outside.
What do the real mechanics do?
My father in law was a mechanic at Ford (tech center) for twenty years. He also wrenched in his garage at home for extra money. This was when tools went in and out. His box now is full of custom made tools that he made at work. He said at work they had tons of them, just sitting on the shelf.
I just pulled the engine on a couple of cars. I have made custom tools no less than five times in the past month...and that's with me wrenching on occasion. Once in a while I find that snap on actually makes the tool I needed, but mostly, it's a one off job that I couldn't have been able to do without my tool.
Come to today...the rubber whip aftermarket antenna that someone put on the taurus I am driving broke. Off to the junk yard. What's this? In order to get the old antenna socket out of the car I need a custom spanner socket? (it has four slots, too small for a spanner, too tight to grab with channel locks or some such tool. I stopped at the decent sound shop that actually does good installs and they said they use a screwdriver and a hammer) I spent 15 minutes in the shop, 1" round stock, 3/4" drill through. Cut it so it had two little ears sticking up at the end of the bar. Unscrewed the copper nut from the pot metal base which was corroded all to hell (there is no way I would have gotten it with the screwdriver method).
So really? I take it for granted that I can cut/weld/grind/turn/mill tools to make them fit. That when I need a socket that is thin wall, I can just chuck up an extra and take a little off the outside.
What do the real mechanics do?