Tools wearing out

[AcuraTech]

Not breaking suddenly, but just wearing out.

I go through vice grips every couple years, because the teeth get mashed/worn out over time, and just don't grip as well.

1/4 ratchets need rebuilding/replacement every couple years. Fine teeth get jammed or strip.

Chisels get dull, can only be re-sharpened so many times.

Side cutters get dull and worthless, although I have to say that the Knipex pair I own has been staying much sharper than the Snap-On pair I also own. BTW I highly recommend Knipex.

So what tools have you worn out over the years?

 

[Shannow]

Cold Chisels, and flogging screwdrivers.

My brother is GM for a company where guys work on construction and building sites, and always bought his guys Bosch drills and stuff. They would last months, before somebody stole them.

One of his tradesmen asked him to consider chinese GMC branded tools, as a rubbish drill that's there is better than a good drill that's not.

They trialled it, tools stopped being stolen, and they started wearing them out at 8-12 months.

 

[Silk]

Thing is,if you use the tools every day,you don't notice them wearing out...you just compensate.Kinda like Willie Nelson's guitar,they are so familiar and part of your life that you'll just keep using them.Screwdrivers work their way down from the treasured new one used for special tasks,to the most worn in the box that gets used with a hammer.

I know builders here Shannow that are so sick of their tools being stolen,that they price [censored] tools into the house price.It doesn't matter if they don't last the job,they just get another.Of course the off shoot is they are less often stolen anyway.If the house owner wants the tools after completion they are welcome,they are just junk at that stage.

 

[Canawler]

I fix steam sterilizers and instrument washers for a living which involves a good bit of plumbing type work. I primarily use adjustable wrenches and Channellock style (tongue and groove) pliers. Even though used primarily on brass pipe and fittings, I seem to wear out the teeth on the Channellocks fairly often and you just can't get them to grip right. Adjustable wrenches also get sloppy in the joint area and once the jaws can flex out of parallel they start to round off fittings.

 

[wavinwayne]

For guys like me who don't turn a wrench for a living, it's danged near impossible to wear out a tool. I've broken a few tools from abuse, but can't recall wearing any out.

 

[Kestas]

Screwdriver tips can be refreshed; a file is your friend for this task. For Philips screwdrivers I only use the interchangable tip types. I've been using the same tip for 22 years. My tool box has two main screwdrivers... one solely for prying, the other for screws.

With vise grips and cold chisels, their metallurgical design needs to maintain a balance of hardness and toughness. If they're too hard, they run the risk of shattering and possible eye damage.

I've never ruined a ratchet. I use a breaker bar to get things started. I see my fair share of rusty bolts doing automotive work in the rust belt.

I can't say that I've worn out any tools. After a while you get a feel for the limitations of tools. If one tool doesn't work, grab something that does, or approach the job from a different attack.

 

[tom slick]

wire cutters and strippers wear out, especially if someone borrows them to cut steel wire.
Phillips screwdrivers and small (1/4 - 3/8) 12 pt sockets and universal joints. I've broken ratchets and sockets, once again usually smaller stuff, but they weren't worn out. the socket and ratchets included snap-on btw.

Jet engines rarely have bolts larger then 1/2" and they have lots of them in hard to reach places that are seized. for instance there are about 200 1/4-28 bolts and nuts holding on the upper fan duct on a GE F110 series engine, that is just one single part so the tools get a lot of use/wear every day.

 

[firemachine69]

Drill bits and screwdrivers (the cheap kind).

And a 12 point-socket used with a breaker-bar on a four-sided nut.

 

[1sttruck]

The chisels have been long enough as I've been able to just sharpen them over the years. Philips and square bit tips wear out, especially with hardened fasteners. Some wrenches got worn a bit working around machine tools, they seem to have harder fasteners than typicla automotive. I quit using vise grips as they wear out kind of quickly. Pliers with serrated jaws wear eventually. I've sharpened wire cutters and such but it's tedious. I've been able to keep the hand saws sharpened and usable, and replace handles on sledges, hammers, axes, and mauls. Files wear out, but I only buy Nicholson and they seem to last well enough.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Silk

I know builders here Shannow that are so sick of their tools being stolen


The pawn shops here are filled with tools due to the construction slowdown.

 

[onion]

The pawn shops here are filled with tools due to thieves.

I've worn out all kinds of stuff. I'm kinda hard on tools- I get my money's worth out of those lifetime warranties.

Screwdrivers get dull. Chisels get dull, and the end flares out... I grind it down and flare it out again... the chisel gets shorter and shorter 'til I make a routine trip to Sears.

The joint gets loose in any sort of plier... and/or the teeth get dull. Gotta love those Craftsmans!

I use mostly Craftsman wrenches, and the box ends hold up pretty well- but the open end tends to stretch after a few years and start rounding bolts (but not enough to warrant any of this Metrinch silliness).

I wore out my IR231 1/2" impact and my IR 212 3/8" impact... took 10 and 11 years, respectively (replacing some parts along the way). Finally replaced them both recently with modern composite IR impacts.

My Craftsman ratchets tend to get loose and finally strip out after a year or two- especially the 3/8 ratchets.

Pretty much any brand of 12-point socket tends to wear out. The 'teeth' will wear down and eventually start rounding bolts (at which point I dig out a 6-point socket socket). The only 6-point sockets that I've worn out are chrome Craftsman sockets- the ones that I use hard tend to kinda stretch and flare after several years... then eventually crack.

It's hard to "wear out" a hammer, but I used to have a long-handled 9-pound sledge. As the years went by, I kept breaking and reinstalling the handle. It's down to about 18" now, and it's just about right for the kind of work I do. Or it must be... seeings how it's been about 4 years now since I broke that handle. Or maybe my aim just improved.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

What's the consensus on Stanley sockets and such? I have some nice deep socket sets from Stanley and I like them.

 

[alreadygone]

Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
What's the consensus on Stanley sockets and such? I have some nice deep socket sets from Stanley and I like them.


If that's the case, what difference does it make what ANYBODY else thinks?

Bob

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: alreadygone
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
What's the consensus on Stanley sockets and such? I have some nice deep socket sets from Stanley and I like them.


If that's the case, what difference does it make what ANYBODY else thinks?

Bob


I have a set of Harbor Freight sockets in the same category. They are well over 30 years old and were made in Japan before HF started sourcing from Taiwan then from Uncle Mao's Workers Paradise. They are definitely better than Craftsman.

Unfortunately, they are no longer available and my son lost several of them in his formative years.

 

[Steve S]

Using tools to make a living wears them out, home tools last a lifetime.

 

[TurboLuver]

Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
What's the consensus on Stanley sockets and such? I have some nice deep socket sets from Stanley and I like them.


I received a set of stanley sockets and a stanley 1/2 in drive ratchet for christmas about 4 years ago and I have to say they have stood up very well. I have even used the sockets with my air impact many times.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I've never worn out a tool, I simply don't use them enough to wear anything out.

 

[firemachine69]

I've worn out some women, and some of them were tools, so does that count?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69
I've worn out some women, and some of them were tools, so does that count?

 

[BrianWC]

Stanley sockets work fine for me. But the socket wrenches themselves are what give me heck. I bought a little 1/4 inch Stanley socket wrench set from Wal-Mart a few years back. The wrench locked up after maybe a year? No complaints about the 3/8 inch ones, though. Believe it or not, a Stanley 3/8 inch socket wrench with one of those Gator Grip universal sockets serves me well for a lot of projects. It sure has kept me from stripping my oil pan drain bolt.