I had a teacher in high school who espoused cheap tools are the best unless you're working on something that the tool has to work. Pliers for example. "You probably aren't strong enough to break pliers" he said. "So why buy expensive pliers?"
Now for removing a stuck on exhaust manifold bolt a cheap ratchet is a bad idea. Same with a cheap socket and extension. I found that out one evening when the ratchet, the 6" extension and the socket all broke at the same time. The sudden release caused by wrist to fracture too. I used my dad's old Mac Tools breaker bar Snap On extension and S-K socket for the rest of them.
A cheap tool almost cost me my life once.
I was working alone, at around 3 o'clock in the morning at a client's large workshop. (desperate times, desperate measures) I needed to drill a decent sized hole, about 16mm (5/8") if I remember correctly, in a machine bolted to a wall around 3m (10ft) above the ground.
At this point I realised that I had left my big Desoutter electric drill at home, and had run flat every single battery that I had with me for my power tools. This was many years ago, when battery-powered tools were fairly rare and expensive, and nowhere near as capable as they are these days.
So I cast about the workshop toolroom, and found a brand new electric drill with a suitably large chuck. I knew the branding, and it was the cheapest tool that could be bought at the local tool shop. But like I said, desperate times, desperate measures.
So I sharpened and loaded the drill bit, sorted my ladder and extension cord, and set to drilling. By the way, this is my trade. I know how to properly sharpen a drill bit, and how to manage pressure to quickly, efficiently and safely drill holes in most materials, steel included, as in this case. The old Desoutter drills especially had utterly phenomenal torque too, so grip and trigger control to be able to manage break-through jams was a must. The clutches and electronics on modern drills these days allow most people to just grab and go, and it's pretty hard to get hurt by kickback etc.
Back then Health and Safety was nothing like it is now, but still…
Anyway, I got in position and set to drilling. Unfortunately, access in the machine was extremely tight, and the only viable drilling position had the drill just a few inches in front of my face. This wasn't ideal, but it was the only realistic way the job could be done.
Needless to say, I was waiting for the inevitable breakthrough jam, ready to instantly brace my grip and release the trigger.
Well, of course the drill jammed. I braced the stabiliser handle and released the trigger immediately, but the drill failed to shut off.
It took about five seconds of my full strength wrestling the stabiliser handle of the drill as it approached my left eye socket, while simultaneously fighting to release the jammed trigger, (including checking the trigger lock-on, which was not engaged) for me to realise that I was in serious trouble.
Because of my position, I could not apply enough force on the drill handle, or move my head or escape down the ladder, as the drill had me pinned.
So I did the only thing I could think of: I pulled down on the drill with all my weight, and then shock-jerked it with every bit of strength I could muster. I snapped that big hardened steel drill bit off entirely, throwing the dril down to the floor. The cursed thing was still running when I climbed down the ladder and unplugged it.
I later disassembled the drill, discovering that part of the pivot in its cheap plastic trigger had fractured, and fully jammed the mechanism.
I made a cup of tea, and sat and nursed my bruises for a bit. As I looked up at the space I had been working in, it dawned on me that, had I lost the wrestling match with the drill, the leverage from the stabiliser handle would very likely have caused it to penetrate my eye socket, possibly even killing me.
I left the drill fully stripped down on the customer's tool bench, for them to puzzle over in the morning. I've vowed ever since to buy the best and most reliable tools I can reasonably afford. And yes, that includes Knipex pliers!
