Maintenance?

[KITROBASKIN]

Once I needed to replace the handle on a sliding door of a Toyota Sienna. Really did not take long to find a how-to YouTube video that showed a neat trick to do it.

Now if you are looking for tips to meet girls, or fight like a king fu master, well that kind of stuff is going to attract a certain kind of incompetent know-it-all.

Some of us see nothing particularly wrong with a manager trying to solve problems in the most expedient manner, given legalities and such. This is an opportunity. Getting paid to learn a skill is quite nice.

 

[ABTOMAT]

Once I needed to replace the handle on a sliding door of a Toyota Sienna. Really did not take long to find a how-to YouTube video that showed a neat trick to do it.

Now if you are looking for tips to meet girls, or fight like a king fu master, well that kind of stuff is going to attract a certain kind of incompetent know-it-all.

Some of us see nothing particularly wrong with a manager trying to solve problems in the most expedient manner, given legalities and such. This is an opportunity. Getting paid to learn a skill is quite nice.

Learn to sing "Kung Fu Fighting" like Carl Douglas and you'll have no trouble meeting girls.

One thing I would mention about YouTube videos is it pays to watch several on the same subject. I tried following one guy's trick to installing window molding and it was impossible. Another guy's technique was super easy even though it involved more disassembly.

 

[Monocrom]

Getting paid to learn a skill is quite nice.

True.
Being told, "Go learn how to do your job by watching YouTube videos."
Not nice at all. (To put it mildly.)

 

[Monocrom]

As far as those self-defense channels go, I'll just say that there's a difference between someone who is for real, teaching how to avoid being victimized vs. teaching how to fight back if the former has failed. Prevention is one thing, actions are another. For both moral and legal reasons, guys who are legit, they're not going to put out YouTube videos teaching folks how to cripple, maim, or end a person who has decided to target them for victimization.

Just as you never know who a content creator is, nor their qualifications. Content creators have no clue who is watching their videos. Teach someone how to put another person in a wheelchair for the rest of their life, that video might be watched by a 20-something young woman living in a sketchy neighborhood. But could just as easily be being watched by a violent career criminal, or a straight up deranged psychopath.

Yes, I do have an S.D. playlist on my main YT channel. And, I'm extremely careful what I put on it. Guys who are for real aren't going to be sharing brutal self-defense techniques on YouTube. The con-artists, and the arm-chair warriors who think they know what works.... different story.

 

[desert.snake]

As far as those self-defense channels go, I'll just say that there's a difference between someone who is for real, teaching how to avoid being victimized vs. teaching how to fight back if the former has failed. Prevention is one thing, actions are another. For both moral and legal reasons, guys who are legit, they're not going to put out YouTube videos teaching folks how to cripple, maim, or end a person who has decided to target them for victimization.

Just as you never know who a content creator is, nor their qualifications. Content creators have no clue who is watching their videos. Teach someone how to put another person in a wheelchair for the rest of their life, that video might be watched by a 20-something young woman living in a sketchy neighborhood. But could just as easily be being watched by a violent career criminal, or a straight up deranged psychopath.

Yes, I do have an S.D. playlist on my main YT channel. And, I'm extremely careful what I put on it. Guys who are for real aren't going to be sharing brutal self-defense techniques on YouTube. The con-artists, and the arm-chair warriors who think they know what works.... different story.

Yeah, a lot of incompetence and scammers, fortunately there is an association of historical fencing and the books are publicly available. Also some old videos of Fairbairn. I have no doubts about their competence

https://ia904706.us.archive.org/35/items/talhoffersfechtb00talhuoft/talhoffersfechtb00talhuoft.pdf

https://www.thearma.org/pdf/Fight-Earnestly.pdf

But it's better not to do it yourself with friends, the human body is too fragile and all this can end with a quick fracture of your friend's or your neck. This can do this alone, training on a tree or a suspended tire. But it's better in the gym with an instructor

The guys from thearma.org train pretty well. Something like this:



It is not necessary to walk the street with a sword, but the same techniques can be used with a walking stick, umbrella, or ski pole:

Somehow this skill saved my friend when 2 robbers attacked him, it was near the dump and he managed to pick up a piece of mop and beat them

Spoiler: Spoiler

Sometimes, of course, just boxing skills are enough, like this Kazakh fought off 3 black robbers and took their gun from them, but he was lucky that they did not start shooting first. It's better to have a gun with you if the law allows. In other places, it comes down to a choice - to be robbed / killed or go to jail for self-defense.

But yes there is 220V, chemicals, machines I'm unfamiliar with, and inexperience.

Electricity and moving machinery can sometimes be dangerous, but everyone understands that. It is enough to search for videos on the net, something like "a person wound on a machine tool", "accidents at work", "industrial meat grinder", "accidents at the press" and so on, but there is a silent killer - chemistry. This is where the Internet will help - you need to study all the chemistry with which you are dealing, especially if it is in a foreign language. Chemistry books are mostly publicly available on Pirate Bay. There was a case about 5 years ago - my friend's neighbors found a large plastic container for ~ 500 liters on the side of the road, it had no smell and had some Chinese inscriptions. They used it as a water tank in their country house. Both died a year later from a very aggressive form of cancer. As it turned out, it was a container of some very dangerous chemistry that was supposed to be disposed of, but it was simply thrown away.


From the tools you need to take the best available, depending on financial capabilities. Even if you stop doing maintenance, the tool will come in handy anyway.
Knipex, Wera and Wiha mechanical tools are very reliable. Fluke electrical multimeters quite reliable as well. It is only necessary to choose a protective version depending on the environment

 

[letschat7]

From the tools you need to take the best available, depending on financial capabilities. Even if you stop doing maintenance, the tool will come in handy anyway.
Knipex, Wera and Wiha mechanical tools are very reliable. Fluke electrical multimeters quite reliable as well. It is only necessary to choose a protective version depending on the environment

I'm planning on getting a plumbers set from Bahco and I have this already. I know these brands. Wiha isn't what it used to be though.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Good stuff in the image!

I love Snap-on but it is said that they have declined.

 

[letschat7]

I can buy limited SnapOn but it costs so much. I think you pay for the dealer to visit you and replace hardline tools that break.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Does Snap-on still provide that service, though? Years ago they did rebuild a ratcheting screwdriver I used beyond its design limits.

 

[letschat7]

Oh I have no idea nowadays. I hope they do but there is so much abuse of returns and repair in the tool world.

I try to buy quality that I can afford and hope I never have an issue. Some things I would have to mail very very far away if it broke.

 

[desert.snake]

I'm planning on getting a plumbers set from Bahco and I have this already. I know these brands. Wiha isn't what it used to be though.

I usually take tools from the secondary market. At the flea market and lombards there are old instruments in excellent condition for a penny. Something like how to find an NOS SF E1L for $30. Everything should be even easier for you, as there are garage sales. A friend of mine from LA found a great Japanese electric screwdriver and a set of 5 Knipex pliers at this sale for about $20 for all. Screwdriver needed to replace the Ni-cad batteries, now everything works fine.

I've heard good things about Snap-on about their warranty, but I don't think the price is worth it. I don't like bakhko, the steel is weakly hardened, at least in those instruments that I buy here. They may be delivering a better product to you.

 

[Monocrom]

Definitely check out flea markets, and to a lesser degree garage sales. You can sometimes find older tools from decades ago. (The kind literally built to last beyond several decades. Back when America made quality tools.) Don't be afraid of a bit of surface rust. Some 0000 steel wool can take nearly all of that off.

What bothers me is that so-called "Artists" love to buy up those same old tools. No, not to save them, not to use them, but to weld them together or onto flat surfaces as Art. Literally destroying the limited supply of quality tools that survived abuse down through the decades.

 

[bykfixer]

I can buy limited SnapOn but it costs so much. I think you pay for the dealer to visit you and replace hardline tools that break.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Define irony -

Flashaholics making fun of mechanics for collecting expensive tools.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Since we're discussing Snap-On tools -

About 40 years ago, I was having an all-new performance parts VW motor being built by a local VW hot-rodding business. I also decided to have the motor installed and some other performance upgrades made by another German auto mechanic shop. I made friends with a couple of the guys that worked there and would stop by after work to check on the progress.

On Fridays, the Snap-On Guy made the shop his last stop. After the shop closed we'd all sit around and have a couple of beers. Then when the owner left we'd smoke a bowl and go out to the Snap-On truck. The Snap-On Guy didn't partake. Said he had way too much money invested to drive off the road staring at some tree. However, Snap-On Guy would let us play with almost all of his inventory. Talk about kids in a candy store. Every once in a while he'd say - "Hey! put that back. That's really expensive." Then he'd tell us how much it was and what it was used for. Good Times. 😄

 

[knucklegary]

As I remember our Snap-On dealer said he had over $100 grand invested in truck and tools. That was 40+ years ago.. Today must be twice as much

 

[orbital]

+

Just some of the manufacturing/engineered within an hour of me.

Oshkosh (military & trucking)
Briggs & Stratton
Snap-on
Generac
Kohler
Milwaukee tool
Harley Davidson
Caterpillar founded in WI

..could go on, you get the point.

 

[knucklegary]

Good to know those iconic names still reside in America 👍

 

[letschat7]

View attachment 46540

I prefer to buy Anerican. Those tools in the pic are cherry picked NOS from a flea market where I work my first job. I'm slowly building a collection but if it is Euro tools I have to pay retail plus shipping.

I can count on one hand how many things I would get from Harbour Freight.

 

[Fuzzywuzzies]

Watch your step. I'll leave the hows and wherefores to you, but be careful.

I do an advanced and somewhat specialised version of the job in question for a living, and it's taken me a couple of decades to get proficient, from tig work to electronic and hydraulic diagnostics. That said, a lot of my learning, enjoyment and good stories have come from 'biting off more than I could chew' and then learning on the job. If you have aptitude and good work practices - especially knowing when to stop and call in a specialist or better tools - you can do alright.

On tools, yes Snap-On are good, but not that good. I can say on good authority that they are a little overrated, and too expensive.
For my basic tools, I use Wera and Hazet for spanners, Wera for screwdrivers, Knipex for all forms of pliers etc., Fluke for electrical, and Bosch for powertools. Irega for adjustable wrenches, and swathe of specialised tools from quality suppliers. Precious little made in China, and all carefully selected and maintained.

Learn your skills well, and listen to old hands carefully and humbly. All the best.


**Edit: when I say "overrated", I mean just that; rated above their actual value. I don't mean they are bad tools - I unreservedly acknowledge that Snap-On make excellent tools, and I would recommend them to anyone with bottomless pockets.

But there is an aura of worship which surrounds Snap-On tools, which goes beyond what the tools are actually capable of or useful for. For example Hazet spanners / wrenches out-performed Snap-On by a good margin in a German study of the raw strength of a wide range of tools from around the world. I personally find them slippery in the hand, and terrible when working with hydraulics, as the oil makes them near unusable in this respect.

Excellent tools? Absolutely. The best of the best by far? No. Worth the daylight robbery prices? I think not.
Your mileage, experience, and opinions may vary.