Top 10 Favorite Tools you have or use

[Wingsconsin]

We call it "LOVE" ...



Whenever we need to get apart a well stuck something we get out this tool and give it a little tap...

[slayer61]

My favorite tools....ones that work like they were designed too.

Agreed! ONE tool, should do ONE job, and do it WELL!

[Paul]

Is there such a thing as JIS tap and die sets.... or do people just mean metric?

[Kiwi Canuck]

JIS taps and dies

Is there such a thing as JIS tap and die sets.... or do people just mean metric?

Paul, there is a JIS standard for taps and dies, see the link and scroll down to the last 2 items shown.

http://www.jkcuttingtoolsindia.com/taps-dies.html

Google JIS taps and you will get many results.

My set is a standard metric set and works well, but I think the JIS standard taps will make a thread that is a better fit for a JIS screw.

Cheers,

[gustovh]

Cresent wrench, 6&12"
pliers, regular and needlenose
"long" regular and skinny straight blade and fillips screw drivers
3/8" socket set sae and metric
open and closed wrenches
Well that is more than 10 but can take apart and put back together most anything with them.
V

[Allie]

Well my top two tools are:

1. coffee cup
2. muffin tin

After that the two tools that I went without for years before breaking down and buying are:

1. guitar string winder
2. chromatic tuner.

They save SO much time, especially for someone with several guitars and who hates changing strings.

Most of my mechanical tools are pretty mundane. The old air compressor that my uncle gave me IS quite handy though.

Some tools I really need to get are:

-bench grinder
-impact wrench for lug nuts
-tap and die set
-heat gun
-small parts washer

[Paul]

Paul, there is a JIS standard for taps and dies, see the link and scroll down to the last 2 items shown.

http://www.jkcuttingtoolsindia.com/taps-dies.html

Google JIS taps and you will get many results.

My set is a standard metric set and works well, but I think the JIS standard taps will make a thread that is a better fit for a JIS screw.

Cheers,

ah yes, I see now seems I need to save up for a new JIS set as I am using ISO at the moment.... a good set is not cheap from what I have found so far.... perhaps I should buy direct from Japan rather than local tool makers

the differences from what I can find are http://www.technixltd.com/prod2010/c/C104.pdf

[bwringer]

I'm not sure what tap shank dimensions have to do with anything, but the main difference with JIS metric threads is that sizes 10mm and larger use different thread pitches than US and Euro metric threads.

There's a chart here:

http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Measuring/Metric-Thread-Pitch.aspx

Metric thread geometry for bolts and screws is the same worldwide, so there's no such thing as a JIS-specific tap or die -- just match the pitch and you're golden. Here in the metrically retarded US of damn A, it can be difficult to find the right taps and dies and fasteners.

There are some differences in JIS pipe threads vs. the rest of the world, but that doesn't really affect our bikes.

If you really want to geek out, there are detailed specs for thread fit and geometry here. Mostly useful to design engineers.

http://www.marylandmetrics.com/tech/threadtech.pdf

[Paul]

I'm not sure what tap shank dimensions have to do with anything, but the main difference with JIS metric threads is that sizes 10mm and larger use different thread pitches than US and Euro metric threads.

There's a chart here:

http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Measuring/Metric-Thread-Pitch.aspx

Metric thread geometry for bolts and screws is the same worldwide, so there's no such thing as a JIS-specific tap or die -- just match the pitch and you're golden. Here in the metrically retarded US of damn A, it can be difficult to find the right taps and dies and fasteners.

There are some differences in JIS pipe threads vs. the rest of the world, but that doesn't really affect our bikes.

If you really want to geek out, there are detailed specs for thread fit and geometry here. Mostly useful to design engineers.
http://www.marylandmetrics.com/tech/threadtech.pdf

thanks you have explained it perfectly, so really it is still plain old metric.
Cheers

[gs11ezrydr]

A new tool I have recently added to my collection are these Vampliers they actually work really well so far. http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/07/17...ers-tool-time/

[Big Jay]

http://racetoolz.com/

[Kiwi Canuck]

All the normal tools go without saying, so I'll list some I never really knew how valuable they are until I got them:

Heat gun- I could not survive without one
Real drifts- wow, what a difference to use a real drift instead of a big screwdriver
Step bits- expensive, but amazingly worth it
A good set of snap ring pliers- so much more superior to cheap ones
Strap wrenches- useful in a lot of ways
Allen bolt sockets, both bondhus and straight- sometimes the straight wrenches are useless
A good fuel siphon- I don't miss the occasional mouthful of gasoline
Mity-vac tools- awesome for bleeding brakes by yourself but also a ton of other uses

What brand of snap ring pliers do you have?
I'm looking for the offset ones for M/C rebuilds and changing the needle settings on CV carbs. Not sure if the offset ones sold at HF have enough reach and have not found any other place to buy a set.

[koolaid_kid]

The Motion Pro 08-0279 snap ring pliers work great.

[Eli69]

devcon epoxy gun. i got a box of tubes of devcon a few years ago as a tip on a job. been fixing anything that breaks with it for years.



that and wire wheels, both fixed and portable. wish i didn't need them but seem to use them alot whenever i work on my bikes.

[Allie]

Right now my favorite tool of all time for ever and ever at this very moment is the HF Earthquake impact wrench I bought earlier this year on the advice of some of the members here, bought mainly to deal with stubborn lug nuts. While I didn't use it on the brake job I did today I ended up using it on the caliper holder retainer bolts (the thing that's in your way when you want to slide the rotors off). When I did the right side they involved banging on a breaker bar with a sledge hammer for several minutes, they eventually came off though. On the left side it involved banging UP from underneath on the breaker bar... I was getting nowhere fast. I was about to try prying on the bar with other bars wedged wherever I could get them (always a fun endeavor) when I remembered the air wrench. They were off in mere seconds, I could have saved a lot of time on the other side too. This wrench could really end up paying for itself in short order.