I have been turning wrenches since I was in Grade School and I refer to myself as a Mechanic. I also went back to school in ’89 and graduated with honors from a Ford Motor Company sponsored College program in ’91 and worked as an “Automotive Technician” for ten years.
I can tell you right now, they are not the same thing. Which is why I will always refer to myself as a “Mechanic”.
And yes, I have all kinds of shit like that from solving problems over the years out in my tool boxes.
I’ve heard “you’ll never get a wrench on it” more than a few times working around industrial machinery and that just makes it funner.
There were so many times that I wished that there was a way to force the idiot that designed what I was working on to have to come repair it. Let them suffer the consequences of their poor design.
Got a couple of weird tools in my toolbox also.
yeah, I have a couple of wrenches just like that in my old tool box
I’ve got wrenches like that from working on my Kenworth and my hotrods. Won’t touch a car or truck unless it’s twenty years of older.
When I was in a&p school, the instructors knew I could weld and make a torch kiss my ass. They put my dumass to “helping” the instructor teach welding with arc and gas, both. Advised other folks that the best reason to have these skills it to make your own tools.
Need to revive the “Mystery Tool” posts!
Yes
Are ya’ll twisting my arm? I have something better to twist…
Stop throwing a tantrum, we’re trying to make you famous.
Yup. SEVERAL of those in my collection. I used to hate having to sacrifice a “really good” tool to make a “specialty” tool, but have since found that “perfectly good tools” are peanuts at yard sales, and can be used to make specialty tools that often gain places of honor in the tool chest, whilst leaving the “really good” tools unscathed! I keep a drawer in the chest for just such candidates…
you’ll have 5 bolts in a part. 4 will be easy to get to but there is ALWAYS that one, hence a need for hand made specialty wrenches. i may never need one again but if a 74 dodge comes with a bad water pump, i have it covered if i can find it.
and why is it the one bad plug on a small block chevy is ALWAYS on number eight behind the brake booster???
what, you mean someone did a 6 plug tune up on a V-8 ?
yeah. seen that a time or two over the years.
when you find 6 plugs are that bad looking, but the last two are a stone bitch to get out and look like they came off the factory line ?
anyone else have a 37 inch extension with a 9/16 on it for
top tranny bolts on old small blocks chevys ?
No, but I’ve got socket ground round in back to get flexplate bolts in a ’67 1/2 Chevy II by just cracking the tranny loose.
Chevy Monza v8’s and 70’s Trans Am’s.
Not a clue and I DO NOT want one for new shit.
Ugh. Just remembered, it’s easier to jack up the front passenger side and go over the tire and under the AC compressor(a6??) with a long extension to get the front 2 plugs on that side of a big block Pontiac.
Got a whole drawer of “wrenches” like that. Each for a special task. Some are their generation mods.
The cost of a garage sale Craftsman is cheap compared to the time and blood they save.
Growing up we had a lot of Grampas old tools. No freakin idea what happened to them, dammit.
Phil, it’s always a good day when I see you post, hope you are doing well.
I always tell people I am not a machinist; I’m a fabricator.
A machinist makes perfect parts, every time. A fabricator takes a part he fucked-up while machining it and makes it look like a design feature.
We also can make equipment out of nothing. Which has served me well on The Farm and in racing.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Worked with a mechanic for years taking care of a Roll grinding shop. Between us we both had Special Tools. A fresh outta college “Safety” guy declared war on special tools. He was politely informed if he pushed the issue, straws would be needed for every meal.
I pay close attention to what my Mechanic buddies impart to me because I’m aware how they came to know it!
Techs replace parts till they find what’s wrong. Mechanics figure out what’s wrong then fix it. Any more today it’s the computer says…..
Yep, at the hangar we got POT (Principles Of Troubleshooting) training every few years. With the price of aircraft (or car) parts finding the problem by throwing parts gets awful expensive very quickly.
I have a 3″ long offset 7/8″ wrench for Beechcraft flap cables, a 13mm socket welded to a 12″ extension just for removing the starter on a BMW M30 slant six and a few others….
Right On Mike Fox!
I guess my tool boxes full of tools like that would qualify me, too.
I don’t need no stinking Special Service Tool. I’ll make my own!
Looks like we’re gonna have to start making our own parts, too.
Those could have come out of the bottom drawer of my old side box. Whenever I was at yard sales of flea markets, meaning frequently, I would pick up old crappy wrenches when I found them for 50 cents or a buck just so I would have something to cut, bent, fold, spindle and mutilate without sacrificing my good stuff.
Every. One. Of. Us. on this blog have made our own “specialty’ tools. In my case as well, I have also designed and built custom electronic troubleshooting tools but that takes time and searching for ones already built seems to be faster/cheaper! ‘Twasn’t always so, but now it is. Thank the Interwebbies for that phenomenon!!
You’re all way too forgiving. Do those adjustments to the machine designer’s limbs and you’ll have less of the problem in the future.