Tools you wish you knew about sooner?

[scotts90ranger]

I've been using the heck out of my swivel head ratchets lately, don't know why I didn't buy one sooner... and by swivel head ratchet I mean like THIS not the normal pivoting head ratchet... when I was doing the turbo on my 7.3L powerstroke I used the heck out of the 1/4" drive swivel head ratchet I have...

So, what other tools did it take too long to find out you should have gotten sooner? I'm sure I have more, but I'm liking these ratchets lately...

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve never used one of those. Are they less prone to coming off the bolt or trying to break your hand like the conventional ones like to do?

 

[dvdswan]

Those are cool, but I broke 2 at the swivel at the handle. I guess I was using too much force doh. But they are handy to reach in odd areas if you don't need to extra torque.

The extended reach ratchets are handy as well.

As far as tools I should have had earlier... floor jack when I was younger and just dealing with the bottle jack, tool cart after buying one and realizing how nice it was to have all the tools right next to you rather than having them on the core support and knocking the on the floor... particularly that pesky 10mm socket and wrench.

 

[ryan]

a cordless 1/2" drive impact. I kept thinking air was better for so long, and was so wrong

 

[Uncle Gump]

I have an old SK ratchet like that... I think I remember it being broken. Been a long time since I've even thought about it. I also bought a 1/4 drive one from HF... handle must be 24 inches long... with a sliding T handle. I've use that on lower radiator hose clamps many times.

I'm guessing I have 8... maybe 9 different 3/8" drive ratchets. They all have their place...

But I agree with @ryan these battery operated tools now days... I only wish I had them when I did this stuff for a living.

 

[Roert42]

Those swivels look nice, looks like you could use it at a buy driver after you break the bolt loose.

I recently got a nice hydraulic bottle jack. So much nicer then dragging my floor jack out into the gravel driveway or in a parking lot.

 

[bilbo]

Those swivel ratchets work well for bellhousing bolts. Mine would be the m12 electric ratchet. I would have never bought one, but ended up getting one for 'free' as part of a promo. Then found out how awesome it is!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Not sure if there has really been much in the way of mechanic tools that I wish I had known about sooner, but there are a bunch that I wish I would have made a point of buying sooner.

For construction tools, I wish I would have known how useful the Multimaster tool is sooner than I did. I had an option at one point not too long after they first appeared to pick one up cheap but I considered it a useless hobbyist/homeowner toy. Then several years later I had to help another contractor with replacing like 12 doors in a house. We got the first door in and all the wedges sticking out all over and I start pulling out my knife to try and cut them off and this guy goes, put that away, this is the best tool ever, and pulls out a multimaster. Buzzzz. Done. Well balls. My hated task of cutting wedges reduced to seconds and sawdust.

 

[racsan]

ratchet end wrenches, great for when a ratchet/socket wont fit. Use a 9/16” daily at work and its not broke or worn out yet!
Im wanting a cordless 1/2” impact, its just a hard $ bullet to bite.

 

[RangerNumber3]

Thumb wheel ratchet. Great for removing under engine shield bolts.

 

[ryan]

I didn't know about crows feet wrenches for the longest time either, and now I use them a ton

 

[ryan]

Im wanting a cordless 1/2” impact, its just a hard $ bullet to bite.

Bite that bullet, it's 100% worth it.

 

[Shran]

Water pump bolt holding tool...for removing Ford fan clutches
Tap handle that has a square drive for use with a ratchet
Crow's foot wrenches have saved my ass a few times
Flex head flare wrenches for brake lines
Portable band saw (bonus points for one of these on a Swag table.)

This is my favorite 3/8 flex head ratchet, and it's cheap: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7741482

Ditto on the cordless impact although I've had various different models for the last 10-15 years. The old 18v DeWalt ones were what got me addicted. I am a Milwaukee guy now but Bosch and maybe Makita make one that is 1/2" square drive with a 1/4" hex drive hole in the anvil as well...fills two purposes quite well, they are stupid cool.

 

[bilbo]

Not sure if there has really been much in the way of mechanic tools that I wish I had known about sooner, but there are a bunch that I wish I would have made a point of buying sooner.

For construction tools, I wish I would have known how useful the Multimaster tool is sooner than I did. I had an option at one point not too long after they first appeared to pick one up cheap but I considered it a useless hobbyist/homeowner toy. Then several years later I had to help another contractor with replacing like 12 doors in a house. We got the first door in and all the wedges sticking out all over and I start pulling out my knife to try and cut them off and this guy goes, put that away, this is the best tool ever, and pulls out a multimaster. Buzzzz. Done. Well balls. My hated task of cutting wedges reduced to seconds and sawdust.

I forgot about that one. I swore them off too, as a novelty, then bought one. Now it seems to find its way into every project somehow. I bought a cordless one last summer and it's even more awesome.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yep, I guess an oscillating saw is up there for my trade. I bought a cheap one to start and upgraded to a much higher quality once the first crapped out. The first was loud and vibrated excessively. The new one is much better and has two "speeds".