OK, let me say up front that I believe that everyone who calls themselves a mechanic or builder should have good tools. It is a wonderful feeling to turn a screw with a perfectly fitting Phillips head driver, or tighten a bolt with a smooth-handled, close=tolerance wrench. And the feel of an expensive torque wrench clicking precisely is confidence inspiring. So yes, everyone needs a set of good tools ? the best they can afford.
That said?..there is also something to be said for CHEAP tools!
Today I was cruising through Home Depot to pick up some spray foam goop, and there was a stack of Ryobi Drill Drivers for $25 ? case included. Now I have a fine drill driver from a well-established company that has served me well for many years ? it is my ?good? tool. But it generally lives at home, as I find that I have more use for it doing household stuff than I do on the RV. (I am a bit weird that way ? I prefer to install and remove screws on the RV by hand ? I guess I stripped to many fasteners on my old beat up Grumman over the years?) But occasionally, I want a drill drive at the airport to remove inspection covers ? and then I have to remember to bring it from home, or drive home and back to get it. $25 to have one for very occasional use at the airport? What a deal! (use quality bits in that cheap driver by the way?.)
Or take wrenches. You can pretty much assemble 90% of all fasteners on an RV with a pair of 3/8? and a pair of 7/16? wrenches. But how often do you have to go looking for them when you?re mocking things up, putting things together or taking them apart for all those times before final assembly? Well, how about stopping by the Fly Market at Oshkosh and buying a handful of each size ? say a half dozen of each? Now spread them around the shop. Pay two bucks a piece for them. Use them for temporary hardware. Save the good ones when you put in your permanent nuts and bolts.
And what about when you need to modify a wrench? Sometimes, the handle needs a kink, or given the tight nature of aircraft assembly, you need to grind something off here or there to make it fit ? having a $2 wrench to grind away on sure beats taking a Snap-On to the wheel!
Cleco pliers are another thing ? buy a bunch of them! Again, the Fly Market at your friendly neighborhood giant fly-in is a good place to buy some. Keep a couple in the cockpit, and more on each side of the airplane and/or wings. You will save a huge amount of time in your build if you don?t have to go hunting for your one pair.
And don?t be afraid to buy some inexpensive air tools. Cheap drills might very well damage the project, but aside from those, other tools really can?t do much harm. I bought a couple of die grinders, pneumatic cut-off wheels, and angle grinders at Home Depot when I started my build. I?ve been using them ever since. They might quit on me, but they probably won?t ruin any airplane parts in any way that they can fail. (Of course, a great way to make them last forever is to tell yourself that as soon as they die, you?ll get to buy that ?good one? that you really want. You?ll be passing that (working) cheap tool on to your grandchildren?. )
Once again, I?m not advocating building your RV with the latest tool set from K-Mart?.but occasionally, a cheap tool that you don?t mind throwing away is just what you need!
Anybody else got any cheap tool ideas?
Paul
That said?..there is also something to be said for CHEAP tools!
Today I was cruising through Home Depot to pick up some spray foam goop, and there was a stack of Ryobi Drill Drivers for $25 ? case included. Now I have a fine drill driver from a well-established company that has served me well for many years ? it is my ?good? tool. But it generally lives at home, as I find that I have more use for it doing household stuff than I do on the RV. (I am a bit weird that way ? I prefer to install and remove screws on the RV by hand ? I guess I stripped to many fasteners on my old beat up Grumman over the years?) But occasionally, I want a drill drive at the airport to remove inspection covers ? and then I have to remember to bring it from home, or drive home and back to get it. $25 to have one for very occasional use at the airport? What a deal! (use quality bits in that cheap driver by the way?.)
Or take wrenches. You can pretty much assemble 90% of all fasteners on an RV with a pair of 3/8? and a pair of 7/16? wrenches. But how often do you have to go looking for them when you?re mocking things up, putting things together or taking them apart for all those times before final assembly? Well, how about stopping by the Fly Market at Oshkosh and buying a handful of each size ? say a half dozen of each? Now spread them around the shop. Pay two bucks a piece for them. Use them for temporary hardware. Save the good ones when you put in your permanent nuts and bolts.
And what about when you need to modify a wrench? Sometimes, the handle needs a kink, or given the tight nature of aircraft assembly, you need to grind something off here or there to make it fit ? having a $2 wrench to grind away on sure beats taking a Snap-On to the wheel!
Cleco pliers are another thing ? buy a bunch of them! Again, the Fly Market at your friendly neighborhood giant fly-in is a good place to buy some. Keep a couple in the cockpit, and more on each side of the airplane and/or wings. You will save a huge amount of time in your build if you don?t have to go hunting for your one pair.
And don?t be afraid to buy some inexpensive air tools. Cheap drills might very well damage the project, but aside from those, other tools really can?t do much harm. I bought a couple of die grinders, pneumatic cut-off wheels, and angle grinders at Home Depot when I started my build. I?ve been using them ever since. They might quit on me, but they probably won?t ruin any airplane parts in any way that they can fail. (Of course, a great way to make them last forever is to tell yourself that as soon as they die, you?ll get to buy that ?good one? that you really want. You?ll be passing that (working) cheap tool on to your grandchildren?. )
Once again, I?m not advocating building your RV with the latest tool set from K-Mart?.but occasionally, a cheap tool that you don?t mind throwing away is just what you need!
Anybody else got any cheap tool ideas?
Paul
