Mickle's tip of the day - Tools: Wear and tear.

[mickle]

Get your head around the idea that most tools are consumables. By consumables I mean that they wear out. It's important for your safety and the long term preservation of the components on your bike that you learn to bin tools when they've reached the end of their working life. That means files, saw blades, screwdrivers, spanners (regular and adjustable ) allen keys. It's false economy to continue using equipment which has passed its sell by date. Blunt blades don't cut straight. Worn allen keys, screwdriver blades and bits mash the working edges of fasteners. Worn spanners turn the edges of your nuts and leave you with bloody knuckles. Blunt cutters don't cut, they munch. Once you've come to accept that they have a finite life it becomes easy to throw them at the bin the very moment that they let you down. And once in the bin don't go fishing it out - get your ass to the tool shop for a replacement.

And it goes without saying that buying cheap tools is false economy. Buy the best tool you can afford at every opportunity, you'll thank yourself every time you use it.

 

[subaqua]

Flat blade screwdrivers can be sorted with some timely attention from a file. but worn allen keys and spanners need to be weighed in for scrap.

 

[Mad at urage]

Flat blade screwdrivers can be sorted with some timely attention from a file. but worn allen keys and spanners need to be weighed in for scrap.

Or the worn end can be cut off - less leverage, but it works (sometimes less leverage is good ).

Worn spanners can be filed out to next size up (actually, I've never done that)

 

[theclaud]

Mickle! You'll have to stop these Tips of the Day - they are seeping into my unconscious mind. I went to buy something I needed at lunchtime and almost drifted into buying a Stanley Ratchet Screwdriver without really knowing why I was doing it.

 

[tyred]

Or the worn end can be cut off - less leverage, but it works (sometimes less leverage is good ).

Worn spanners can be filed out to next size up (actually, I've never done that)

Worn spanners can be modified for all sorts of things, ground out to fit those weird sized square nuts found on old ploughs and other farm machinery, bent or shortened to suit some awkward to get to nut or cut a quarter inch or so out of an old ring spanner for a diy brake pipe spanner.

 

[mcshroom]

On the topic of worn out tools. My spoke key is worn out, and I'm betting there's better ones out there than the cyclo thing I have atm.

Any advice on a good spoke key that is less likely to round of the nipples of spokes?

 

[4F]

On the topic of worn out tools. My spoke key is worn out, and I'm betting there's better ones out there than the cyclo thing I have atm.

Any advice on a good spoke key that is less likely to round of the nipples of spokes?

tsk, that looks like a tso ...

 

[Mad at urage]

Worn spanners can be modified for all sorts of things, ground out to fit those weird sized square nuts found on old ploughs and other farm machinery, bent or shortened to suit some awkward to get to nut or cut a quarter inch or so out of an old ring spanner for a diy brake pipe spanner.

Ain't that what molegrips are for?

 

[mickle]

On the topic of worn out tools. My spoke key is worn out, and I'm betting there's better ones out there than the cyclo thing I have atm.

Any advice on a good spoke key that is less likely to round of the nipples of spokes?

http://wheelfanatyk.blogspot.com/2009/05/wheel-building-tip-no-1-turning-nipples.html

 

[mcshroom]

tsk, that looks like a tso ...

Works rather like one too.

 

[ASC1951]

Or the worn end [of allen keys] can be cut off - less leverage, but it works.

Isn't that a bit extreme? I thought proper allen keys are hardened steel so what you would save on a new allen key you would lose in hacksaw blades and knuckles.

I'm with Mickle on quality of tools. Park Tools for bike specific tools and proper Sheffield steel for spanners. And the right size spanner for the bolt - none of these poxy adjustables!

 

[mcshroom]

http://wheelfanatyk....ng-nipples.html

Thanks. That helps a lot

 

[gbb]

Or the worn end can be cut off - less leverage, but it works (sometimes less leverage is good ).

Worn spanners can be filed out to next size up (actually, I've never done that)

A disc cutter's good for opening out spanners for those odd sizes, and more useful, if you use a flap disc in your grinder you can thin out an old but good quality spanner to make the strongest cone locknut spanners. Ive got every concieveable size doing that, they'll last forever.

 

[gbb]

Isn't that a bit extreme? I thought proper allen keys are hardened steel so what you would save on a new allen key you would lose in hacksaw blades and knuckles.

I'm with Mickle on quality of tools. Park Tools for bike specific tools and proper Sheffield steel for spanners. And the right size spanner for the bolt - none of these poxy adjustables!

If you can cut an allen key with a hacksaw blade...it's useless quality anyway. A disc cutter does cut good quality allenkeys. It's a good fix if you're stuck.

 

[subaqua]

like i said, weigh it in for scrap