Sometimes having all the tools just sucks

[yomax4]

Another day in the life of equipment ownership. I better go look under my hog and see if all is well.

 

[bigtiller]

A friend told me the worst decision he ever made was to buy an appliance hand truck. When people found out he had one, they wanted to borrow it, and his truck, and him also. He said it seemed as if everyone he knew was buying something or moving. He finally started trying to give it away but it always came back to him.

 

[comancheflight]

Feel fortunate your brother wants to help.
Everyone just drops stuff off to me...

 

[dragoneggs]

Neither I or My brother seldom drink beer. If Its hot and I am really sweaty, nothing taste better than a ice cold beer,, or maybe two even. I am just not a big beer drinker. I keep a little white likker in the fridge, but use it mostly for colds and sore throats. My wife uses the white likker to make her cleaning supplies with. Mixes it with essence oils and wipes down the counter tops with it. She likes to make wine too, but we endup giving it all away.

Like others, I have accumulated tools for years, I guess one of the advantages of growing old is you have time to collect the tools you want. Disadvantage to growing old is now you have all those tools and everybody knows it. You will find you have more friends than you realized, when they need something they are your best bud's.

Actually I hardly touch a beer either... it needs to be late afternoon and after working hard outside on a hot day. And fortunately or unfortunately around here we don't get very many hot days! :laughing: Now I do enjoy red wine at dinner.

HD, Lowes, (wherever if they have tools) doesn't matter if I only coming in to buy a rattle can of paint, I have to walk ALL the tool aisles knowing I won't buy or probably see anything I don't already know about. Wife knows and immediately heads to the garden/plant areas and finds me later when she is done. Garage sales are fun but I always feel like I was probably late to get the score I was craving and rarely does a tool go home with me then either. But those days when I do get a new tool on line or happen to come across a used tool that I had to have... are indeed joyous! Oh and I do not borrow tools hence my addiction I suppose.

 

[PILOON]

More than a few times I have spotted some oddball looking tool at a vendor's booth that catches my eye.
Some actually dare you to guess what it is, result is that I have a few that I'll never use. LOL, like a faucet seat reamer and stove pipe crimper to convert straight pipe to a male insert.
I still have one tool that I simply can't figure out. Brand name search takes me to web site that makes particle accelerators. Tool is pistol grip affair that grabs like 3 wires and pulls them together and has all sorts of delicate adjustments. Were I to guess I'd say that somebody paid four figures for that device judging by the delicate and complex machining.
I'll someday load pics under 'what is it' just for laughs and maybe get lucky.

 

[muddstopper]

I have actually borrowed a stove pipe crimper when I installed my wood stove. As I recall, the tool isnt very expensive, but the store didnt have a new one in stock so they lent me theirs.

 

[al3]

When asked, here’s the response I’ve adopted: “Sure I can weld/straighten/rebuild but I’ll need your help”. Nothing like asking for a little investment in requestor’s time to flush out the abusers. Only thing I won’t do is media blast for others-----tell them they can use the equipment, but the labor/fuss is theirs to do.
With respects to welding/rebuilding, I look at it as an education; they can both learn something about various repair processes AND the time it takes to do something correctly. I keep a spare welding hood/jacket around just for this purpose.
It’s surprising the responses; some folks jump at the chance, which is great. A lot simply pass on the offer, saying they don’t have the time or interest---then neither do I.
Exceptions for welding rototillers for those over 70---figure I can help them stay active so they don’t have to be here……

 

[muddstopper]

Another day of everything breaking, again. Went to fireup the troybuilt horse tiller. Got to get those taters in the ground you know. Made a couple of passes and something just didnt see right. grabbed hold of the tiller tines and the whole shaft would wiggle up and down. Bad bearing my first thoughts. Got to fix it, that brass gear is over $100 and it wont last long with a bad bearing. Tore the tiller down and the bearings looked good. Hit google and got a diagram and it seems there is supposed to be 2 .054 shims between the bearings and the gear. Well mine didnt have those shims. I bought the tiller used, I can only guess the previous owner had worked on it before I got it. No one had any shims so I made a trip to tractor supply and bought some body washers. took my mic with me and they measured .052-.057, close enough. Problem was the washers didnt have a 1 1/4in hole in the middle. Ever try to chuck a washer in a lathe chuck and get it true. I messed up 2 out of the pack before I figured out a way to hold it. In the mean time, while trying to figure out a solution for the tiller shims, I decided to use my power rake to till up the garden spot. Of course something didnt seem right, noticed the belts looked oily while using it so I got off and walked around to where I could look at whats going on and the filter had a small pinhole letting oil spray right on the belt. OH well, might as well mow the grass. I was almost done cutting and I heard a bang and fire flew out from under the deck. Thought I had hit something. Lifted up the deck and backed up and didnt see anything so I turned on the blades and bam bang, fire flying, what ever it is It must have got stuck between the blades and the deck. It was almost dark so I parked the mower behind the tiller until the next day. finished fixing the tiller and gave it a test and tie to work on mower. Jacked up the mower and looked under it but didnt see anything, but turning the blades by hand it was obvious the blades where hitting the sides of the deck, dang spindle ust be bent. I took off the blades and removed the bolts fro the spindle. Spindle housing had all flange broke in three large pieces. New spindle assembly is $199.95, Ouch! New housing $35. Welder setting in the corner so what do I do. I wimped out and ordered the new housing. Housing is Aluminum and the flange is 3/8 thick. I have welded one of those housings before and its hard to get clean, hard to weld and impossible to keep flat while welding. I'll weld it up and keep it for a spare when I find the time.

 

[dragoneggs]

Another day of everything breaking, again. Went to fireup the troybuilt horse tiller. Got to get those taters in the ground you know. Made a couple of passes and something just didnt see right. grabbed hold of the tiller tines and the whole shaft would wiggle up and down. Bad bearing my first thoughts. Got to fix it, that brass gear is over $100 and it wont last long with a bad bearing. Tore the tiller down and the bearings looked good. Hit google and got a diagram and it seems there is supposed to be 2 .054 shims between the bearings and the gear. Well mine didnt have those shims. I bought the tiller used, I can only guess the previous owner had worked on it before I got it. No one had any shims so I made a trip to tractor supply and bought some body washers. took my mic with me and they measured .052-.057, close enough. Problem was the washers didnt have a 1 1/4in hole in the middle. Ever try to chuck a washer in a lathe chuck and get it true. I messed up 2 out of the pack before I figured out a way to hold it. In the mean time, while trying to figure out a solution for the tiller shims, I decided to use my power rake to till up the garden spot. Of course something didnt seem right, noticed the belts looked oily while using it so I got off and walked around to where I could look at whats going on and the filter had a small pinhole letting oil spray right on the belt. OH well, might as well mow the grass. I was almost done cutting and I heard a bang and fire flew out from under the deck. Thought I had hit something. Lifted up the deck and backed up and didnt see anything so I turned on the blades and bam bang, fire flying, what ever it is It must have got stuck between the blades and the deck. It was almost dark so I parked the mower behind the tiller until the next day. finished fixing the tiller and gave it a test and tie to work on mower. Jacked up the mower and looked under it but didnt see anything, but turning the blades by hand it was obvious the blades where hitting the sides of the deck, dang spindle ust be bent. I took off the blades and removed the bolts fro the spindle. Spindle housing had all flange broke in three large pieces. New spindle assembly is $199.95, Ouch! New housing $35. Welder setting in the corner so what do I do. I wimped out and ordered the new housing. Housing is Aluminum and the flange is 3/8 thick. I have welded one of those housings before and its hard to get clean, hard to weld and impossible to keep flat while welding. I'll weld it up and keep it for a spare when I find the time.

Mud, help me... use some paragraphs so I don't lose you in the verbiage. That said... your story sounds like the old saying, 'when it rains, it pours'. But the sun will come back out!

 

[oosik]

You know - I can distinctly remember those few times when I've started out to do a "simple" job and it actually ended up being simple. For any number of reasons - I don't think there are too awful many simple jobs. Like many - if I need a tool, I will buy it. The big problem is trying to remember where its stored so I don't have to buy a second one. This situation has become more intense as I have aged. Its really irritating to know you have the tool but not remember where you stored it.