pilotbraden
pilotbraden Dork
11/16/11 3:26 p.m.

My dad sent this to me. I think that some of you might enjoy it.


DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "E36 M3!"

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. It is especially valuable at being able to find the EXACT location of the thumb or index finger of the other hand.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "Son of a BITCH!" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
11/16/11 3:31 p.m.

Yes. Indeed I did.

It is missing one important tool, though.

24" breaker bar: A tool used to exploit leverage and the element of surprise in order to make you slam your knuckles into some hard, unyielding steel part.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
11/16/11 3:37 p.m.

I think that was the first thing I ever saw on the internet.

dimarra
dimarra Dork
11/16/11 3:38 p.m.

No offense intended toward the OP, but...

Yet another bastardization of Peter Egan's brilliant original version.

It saddens me.

stuart in mn
stuart in mn SuperDork
11/16/11 4:10 p.m.

This list does seem to come around every year or so, doesn't it. I suspect it predates Peter Egan by about a century.

JoeyM
JoeyM SuperDork
11/16/11 5:15 p.m.

I like it...A longer version is on my wall in the garage. That variant must have passed through a homebuilt aircraft forum; the table saw entry makes reference to demolishing a tail assembly.

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/11 5:55 p.m.

Originally published as a Side Glances column by Egan - I've got it in one of his books. It reads too much like him to be plagiarized.

joey48442
joey48442 SuperDork
11/16/11 6:08 p.m.
Keith wrote: Originally published as a Side Glances column by Egan - I've got it in one of his books. It reads too much like him to be plagiarized.

Except the swearing. That seems out of place.

Joey

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/11 6:42 p.m.

Let me clarify - the version that's published under his name is obviously his writing. The mutated versions that have spread across the internets have obvious changes, and you can usually spot where the writing has suffered.

This is purportedly the original, and I'll probably check it against the book tonight: http://www.woodbutcher.net/tools.shtml

dimarra
dimarra Dork
11/16/11 7:16 p.m.

Nope, that's not it.

The original ties together a floor jack, 2x4 and tweezers at the end.

Will search...

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/11 7:25 p.m.

The floor jack and tweezers are in there, but in the middle...

dimarra
dimarra Dork
11/16/11 7:30 p.m.

My humble apologies!!!

Yes, that IS the original.

Thank you.

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