There’s an interesting mix of people who read this blog. On the one hand, there are hard core installers. These are the people who live and die every day on the quality of their tools. Then, there are the serious DIYers who often times will do the same type of work as the professionals, just less often. On the other side, there are a number of people who, I’m assuming, just like the stuff I write. I’m guessing they just find it entertaining enough to stick around a while. For example, my mom (Hi, mom.)
This week’s Fun Friday goes out to the people who do the work and the DIYers, not so much to the casual reader. (Sorry, mom.) If you’ve been at this sort of thing a while you probably have an odd collection of tools. Personally, my wrenches and sockets come from all over. Some were inherited from people who passed away. Why? Because I’ll never turn down an old tool. Quite a few were purchased when I ended up getting a large gift card from a major retailer. And, of course, there are the tools I bought when I needed them. Take for example the crescent wrench bought at the auto parts store when I needed to change a battery in their parking lot.
And then, there’s the ubiquitous 10mm wrench which comes with Televes antennas, which is so well made that I keep one in my emergency toolbox. (It’s also the right size for a lot of 12 volt car batteries.)
Which type is best?
With so many mismatched tools, it’s easy to pick up something and wonder if it really is the right tool for the job. I have hundreds of sockets and about the same number of box wrenches. They’re all of differing ages and differing manufacturers. Some are ratcheted, some are 12-point, some 6-point.
There is this dream, of course, that at some point I’ll just donate all my old tools, all of them, and start again with a plan that gives me the best tool for every situation, bought with intention. But let’s be honest. That’s not going to happen.
The next best thing to do is to figure out which kind of tool is best and then use that. So for that, I went to YouTube.
The videos that really helped me
Check out these two videos:
The one on wrenches and sockets is really serious. There’s a lot of math and you can really get an understanding of what kind of tool is best. (I won’t spoil it for you.)
On the other hand, the Donut Media guys are sort of goofy but honestly they get to the real heart of things, as far as durability. I actually found this video the most helpful because my go-to socket wrench looks just like that 1933 model. I’ve had it forever and what I like most about it is that it’s tough. It doubles as a hammer for small jobs and never stops taking punishment.
These videos did change my mind a bit
Without completely spoiling things, I got a lot out of these videos. I’m not so sure I’ll really reach for that old reliable socket driver anymore, and I have the ammunition I need to justify buying a new one. On the other hand, the video on wrenches wasn’t as helpful but it did give me a better idea of which kind of box wrench to choose when I have a choice.
I should point out that Solid Signal doesn’t sell a lot of tools but we do offer a lot of other great stuff and when you buy something at SolidSignal.com it helps fund articles like this one. So please do if you can. Thanks!
