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Tools your dad never owned...

zorbazorba Senior MemberPosts: 24,107 Senior Member
in Clubhouse #1
What tools do you have that your dad never owned for whatever reason?

1) Sawz-All. Dad never owned one, I don't know why. I'm sure he used them on the job, but they would have belonged to whatever shop (electrical contractor) he was working for. I love mine!
2) Vice-Grips. A huge pair of Channel-Loks was all he ever used, he never saw the point of Vice-Grips. I have one set, a "Lever-Wrench" brand which is slightly different than actual "Vice-Grips" brand, but same idea.
3) Oscillating Saw. They probably didn't exist back then - best thing ever invented from my viewpoint! My son-in-law introduced me to them.
4) Drill press. I couldn't live without one, dad never owned one.
5) Jigsaw. He never had one, I've worn out a couple. I finally found one that is probably old enough for him to have owned when he was an apprentice - and I don't think I'll wear this one out! A lot easier to use than most.
6) Air compressor. Unless you count a couple of 12 volt "tire inflators", dad never had one. I do, along with an air nailer that dad never owned either. I'll be adding a pneumatic grease gun and an air impact soon.
7) Torque wrench. Tighten it until it breaks then back off a quarter turn!
Of course, he never had battery powered anything because they didn't really exist back then, but I don't either as I wouldn't use them enough to justify the expense. Whether or not dad would have cottoned to them I'm not sure. He was so used to stringing a couple of hundred feet of cord that he didn't think anything of it - for that matter, neither do I.
-Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

"If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
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Replies

  • LinefinderLinefinder Moderator Posts: 7,319 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #2
    MasterCam. A 20 HP Haas CNC machining center.  A Haas 15 HP CNC lathe. He passed before either were common. He would have been amazed.

    OTOH, I've flipped out a couple of toolmakers and even more engineers with a pair of Weiss  Left/Right aviation snips and a ball-**** hammer. But my Dad could do things with those I can't even begin to replicate.

    Mike


    "Walking away seems to be a lost art form."
    N454casull
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  • earlyagainearlyagain Posts: 7,157 Senior Member
    #3
    Actually most of my tools are from my Dad. Since he was a mechanic and a machinist for part of his life. I doubt I have any tools he went without. Having an excess of guns and ammo with assorted paraphernalia is something he didn't indulge in to the extent I do. 
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  • RugerFanRugerFan Senior Member Posts: 2,429 Senior Member
    #4
    Of the ones you listed, my dad never had an air compressor.  Neither 1 of us has a drill press. I do have a welder. 
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  • ilove22silove22s Senior Member Posts: 1,438 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #5
    my dad is still kicking..... my tools are his tools and vise versa.

    i will say my dad is stubborn and quick to judge.

    so when we bought him a impact drill, his comment "i dont need that".  well he went through the 1st one and has the 2nd one.

    same with a sawz-all.  "i wont use that".  Well after cutting up a stainless steel sink in a basement in a rental, it was "im glad i had that".  it was nice to have when i was cutting up the Galvanized pipe in the house.

    I had a chance to buy a tablesaw, jointer, radial arm saw from work.  "we wont use them".  well, we have used all of it for many things.  He's used the jointer, i havent. 

    went out and bought a drill press and 30 gal compressor.  both Craftsman.  Just happen to show up with a great salesman there.  Both were "last years model" and he wanted them off the floor for the next versions.  Got really good deals on them.  Compressor wasnt "needed" according to my dad.  But use it alot of the cars and bikes.  Then used the compressor with a nail gun to make a new shed.  Also, doing trim work around the house.  

    i just bought an oscillating saw.  Used it for installing PEX and cutting out some holes in the Lath&plaster and sheetrock.

    its really nice to have the right tool for the job.  




    The ears never lie.

    - Don Burt
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  • VarmintmistVarmintmist Senior Member Posts: 7,497 Senior Member
    #6
    Multimeter. His electrical jobs were covered with a dc test light in automotive, and a plug in test light for household.

    Chop saw, he had a miter box.Sheet rock square, along with the miter box, he just didnt do home renovations or carpentry other than repair.
    It's boring, and your lack of creativity knows no bounds.
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  • GunNutGunNut Posts: 6,729 Senior Member
    #7
    My dad was never a tool guy.  I remember more than once a knife being used as a screwdriver much to my mothers annoyance. 
    Old West Saying: God created men, but Col. Sam Colt made them equal.

    General George Patton:  “Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.”

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  • JerryBobCoJerryBobCo Senior Member Posts: 8,161 Senior Member
    #8
    I own an ambidextrous metric crescent wrench.  Not sure if Dad ever had one of those.  

    Kidding aside, some of what I have now I inherited from Dad.  He probably never had a cordless hammer drill, but certainly had tools I've never owned.
    Jerry

    Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
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  • waipapa13waipapa13 Senior Member Posts: 856 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #9
    Heck, I'd like to have half of what my Dad does. Only thing that springs to mind is I have a decent chainsaw. 
    Funny part is, I'm the tradesman and he works in an office.
    OTOH 90% of my stuff works.
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  • JayhawkerJayhawker Moderator Posts: 17,220 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #10
    My Dad, and after he passed, My step-dad both worked in the oil patch...most all of their tools were outsized and heavy...huge pipe and crescent wrenches...I think the smallest sockets and open end wrenches they owned were over an inch in diameter...stuff that, unless you worked in the oil patch, you wouldn't have much use for...
    Long ass breaker bars were a thing...
    Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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  • zorbazorba Senior Member Posts: 24,107 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #11
    ilove22s said:
    so when we bought him a impact drill, his comment "i dont need that".  well he went through the 1st one and has the 2nd one.


    That's another one. I'd never even seen one before I moved to Florida, but they're just the ticket for drilling masonry. Maybe dad's employers had them, but the VERY few holes we drilled in concrete we did with a conventional drill and a masonry bit. I've drilled more holes in concrete in the 3 years I've been in Florida than dad and I put together ever did at home - dunno about his workplaces.
    How long have these been available?

    And yea, I have all his tools now, think about him every time I pick one up. Goddess Bless that man for everything he inspired in me and taught me.
    -Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

    "If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
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  • mosseybuckmosseybuck Member Posts: 538 Senior Member
    #12
    My Dad was an electronics engineer all of his life. He got into woodworking as a hobby and had a lot of wood working tools that I inherited. He was a pretty good all around handyman. When I was a teenager I helped him build a couple of wood boats. One a runabout and a cabin cruiser. Sawsall was one tool he didn't have but I have a couple of them and they get used a lot. He had a couple of large bandsaws that I wish I had, but I got a really nice Jet 18" bandsaw at an auction a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite shop tools. Gotta agree with Zorba, bless him for all that he inspired in me and taught me.
    USMC '59-'65, NRA Lifer, Tennessee Squire
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  • ilove22silove22s Senior Member Posts: 1,438 Senior Member
    #13
    zorba said:
    ilove22s said:
    so when we bought him a impact drill, his comment "i dont need that".  well he went through the 1st one and has the 2nd one.


    That's another one. I'd never even seen one before I moved to Florida, but they're just the ticket for drilling masonry. Maybe dad's employers had them, but the VERY few holes we drilled in concrete we did with a conventional drill and a masonry bit. I've drilled more holes in concrete in the 3 years I've been in Florida than dad and I put together ever did at home - dunno about his workplaces.

    How long have these been available?

    And yea, I have all his tools now, think about him every time I pick one up. Goddess Bless that man for everything he inspired in me and taught me.
    @Zorba,

    I have no idea, but i believe that we bought it for xmas when i was in Highschool.  So that was about the late 70s/early 80s.  Im sure they were available earlier than the 70s.

    About a drill/mason bit.  Yes, you can use that and believe thats how my dad did it before the impact drill.  But having an impact drill along with a masonry bit, was much faster/easier.




    The ears never lie.

    - Don Burt
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  • zorbazorba Senior Member Posts: 24,107 Senior Member
    #14
    ilove22s said:
    About a drill/mason bit.  Yes, you can use that and believe that's how my dad did it before the impact drill.  But having an impact drill along with a masonry bit, was much faster/easier.




    Yea, like light years faster!

    -Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

    "If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
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  • VarmintmistVarmintmist Senior Member Posts: 7,497 Senior Member
    #15
    Jayhawker said:
    I think the smallest sockets and open end wrenches they owned were over an inch in diameter...stuff that, unless you worked in the oil patch, you wouldn't have much use for...
    Long ass breaker bars were a thing...
    Thats what I wish I had. His 1" drive set and the 4' pipe wrench. I have had use for that pipe wrench about 3 times in my life, but when you need one, there isnt a lot of substitute.


    It's boring, and your lack of creativity knows no bounds.
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  • RaftermanRafterman New Member Posts: 261 Member
    #16
    My dad never owned an air compressor that I know of. I bought a small Craftsman back around 1982 ish that still works and wouldn't be able to live without. If it ever dies it would be replaced pronto.
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  • ilove22silove22s Senior Member Posts: 1,438 Senior Member
    #17
    Rafterman said:
    My dad never owned an air compressor that I know of. I bought a small Craftsman back around 1982 ish that still works and wouldn't be able to live without. If it ever dies it would be replaced pronto.

    whats funny is that how you get by without something until.

    then once you have it and had used it, you wonder how you did without.


    The ears never lie.

    - Don Burt
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  • zorbazorba Senior Member Posts: 24,107 Senior Member
    #18
    ilove22s said:whats funny is that how you get by without something until.

    then once you have it and had used it, you wonder how you did without.


    Yep. I feel that way especially about my oscillating saw - where have you been all my life?

    -Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

    "If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
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  • CHIRO1989CHIRO1989 Senior Member Posts: 13,046 Senior Member
    #19
    Nose hair trimmer.
    I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn away from their ways and live. Eze 33:11
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  • DrawbarFlatsDrawbarFlats Posts: 788 Senior Member
    edited June 2020 #20
    My dad isn't much of a tool guy. I doubt he even knows how to change the oil filter on a car - Lol! He's more of a numbers kind of guy. I always get him irked when I tell him "Righty Tighty and Lefty Loosey" when he's about to break or strip out a bolt or nut! A couple years back I threw him a curveball when he was trying to hook up a propane fitting. He'd be all red-faced hollering at me "I thought you said "righty tighty lefty loosey?!!" 
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  • DrawbarFlatsDrawbarFlats Posts: 788 Senior Member
    #21
    GunNut said:
    My dad was never a tool guy.  I remember more than once a knife being used as a screwdriver much to my mothers annoyance. 
    That's my dad to a "T"!!
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  • ilove22silove22s Senior Member Posts: 1,438 Senior Member
    #22
    DrawbarFlats said:
    My dad isn't much of a tool guy. I doubt he even knows how to change the oil filter on a car - Lol! He's more of a numbers kind of guy. I always get him irked when I tell him "Righty Tighty and Lefty Loosey" when he's about to break or strip out a bolt or nut! A couple years back I threw him a curveball when he was trying to hook up a propane fitting. He'd be all red-faced hollering at me "I thought you said "righty tighty lefty loosey?!!" 
      :D:D:D:D
    The ears never lie.

    - Don Burt
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  • MichakavMichakav Senior Member Posts: 2,818 Senior Member
    #23
    My dad had the basics. I had more "mechanical" tools than him when I was 18 because I loved working on stuff. Always tearing apart dirt bikes and working on my own cars because it was cheaper to buy the tools than to have to pay labor. He did have many more woodworking tools than me though. I never got into woodworking.
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  • jaywaptijaywapti Senior Member Posts: 4,981 Senior Member
    #24
    Drill press,lathe, mill, tig, stick mig, oxy, welders, all my dad had was a hammer some screwdrivers, adj. wrench,some pliers, he was not a mech but he could add up all the days receipts faster than our accountant on an adding machine and got the correct total.

    JAY
    THE DEFINITION OF GUN CONTROL IS HITTING THE TARGET WITH YOUR FIRST SHOT
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