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The Perfect Gift: A Tool Box

F

Fred McKenzie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Most everyone has a screwdriver or two laying around the house, but not
everyone has a minimum collection stored in a tool box. If you know a
young person graduating from high school, a single relative, or even
yourself, a tool box with a minimum complement of tools may be the perfect
gift.

Based on my own experience, the BASIC TOOL BOX should include:

A plastic or metal box such as the 13² plastic box from Walmart or the 14²
plastic box from Lowes. The box should have a secure latch that won¹t
come open when picked up.

#1 Philips screwdriver

#2 Philips screwdriver

1/8² Flat blade screwdriver

1/4² Flat blade screwdriver

Standard pair of slip-joint pliers with insulated handle

Diagonal cutters with insulated handle

Long nose pliers with side cutter and insulated handle

Small claw hammer such as Sears 3805 - 7 oz.

Depending on your knowledge of the individual¹s needs and the size of the
box, additional items might include:

Full-size hammer

Crowbar or pry-lever

Flashlight

Tire pressure gauge(s)

Pocket knife & sharpening stone

Soldering iron & solder & soldering braid

Digital multimeter

Set of nut drivers

Set of Allen wrenches

Set of Torx drivers

You get the idea!

73, Fred, K4DII
 
H

Highland Ham

Jan 1, 1970
0
Based on my own experience, the BASIC TOOL BOX should include:
A plastic or metal box such as the 13² plastic box from Walmart or the 14²
plastic box from Lowes. The box should have a secure latch that won¹t
come open when picked up.

#1 Philips screwdriver

#2 Philips screwdriver

1/8² Flat blade screwdriver

1/4² Flat blade screwdriver
==================================
What about Posidrive screwdrivers ? These are similar to Philips type of
screwdrivers but have additional 'notches' (if that is the correct word)
for better grip . The relevant screw heads are accordingly.

Frank , GM0CSZ / KN6WH

PS Most screws used in the UK are now of the Posidrive type.
 
J

jakdedert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fred said:
Most everyone has a screwdriver or two laying around the house, but not
everyone has a minimum collection stored in a tool box. If you know a
young person graduating from high school, a single relative, or even
yourself, a tool box with a minimum complement of tools may be the perfect
gift.

Based on my own experience, the BASIC TOOL BOX should include:

A plastic or metal box such as the 13² plastic box from Walmart or the 14²
plastic box from Lowes. The box should have a secure latch that won¹t
come open when picked up.

#1 Philips screwdriver

#2 Philips screwdriver

1/8² Flat blade screwdriver

1/4² Flat blade screwdriver

Standard pair of slip-joint pliers with insulated handle

Diagonal cutters with insulated handle

Long nose pliers with side cutter and insulated handle

Small claw hammer such as Sears 3805 - 7 oz.

Depending on your knowledge of the individual¹s needs and the size of the
box, additional items might include:

Full-size hammer

Crowbar or pry-lever

Flashlight

Tire pressure gauge(s)

Pocket knife & sharpening stone

Soldering iron & solder & soldering braid

Digital multimeter

Set of nut drivers

Set of Allen wrenches

Set of Torx drivers

You get the idea!

73, Fred, K4DII
Dunno why it didn't occur to me...thankfully it 'did' occur to my wife:
Bought almost the exact (above) setup for my prospective son-in-law
for Christmas. He's mechanically dis-inclined. We're gonna fix that.
Can't have a s-in-l who can't fix stuff....

jak
 
J

Jerry G.

Jan 1, 1970
0
And... You plan to work on SMD circuit boards with this!!!


Jerry G.
======
 
J

Jerry G.

Jan 1, 1970
0
And... You plan to work on SMD circuit boards with this!!!


Jerry G.
======
 
F

Fred McKenzie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Highland Ham said:
What about Posidrive screwdrivers ? These are similar to Philips type of
screwdrivers but have additional 'notches' (if that is the correct word)
for better grip . The relevant screw heads are accordingly.

Frank-

I've heard of Posidrive. I think they are used in an old Hewlett Packard
counter I have. However, the tool dealers I asked had never heard of
them. I ended up using a common Phillips driver for my counter.

Certainly Posidrive would be a better choice where they are more commonly used.

Fred
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jerry G. said:
And... You plan to work on SMD circuit boards with this!!!

Jerry G.
======


I see that you still have reading comprehension problems, Jerry.
Anyway, no one in their right mind would try to cram a good SMD rework
station into any toobox. There is no way I would let anyone shove a
stereo microscope into a toolbox.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
M

Mr Fed UP

Jan 1, 1970
0
Heh heh dont forget the asprin and $50 for the headache and one
tool you'll always have to go get for each job. And a 6" or 8"
knuckle buistin adjustable wrench. LOL

Good luck

K4TWO Gary
 
R

Roy Lewallen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fred said:
I've heard of Posidrive. I think they are used in an old Hewlett Packard
counter I have. However, the tool dealers I asked had never heard of
them. I ended up using a common Phillips driver for my counter.

Certainly Posidrive would be a better choice where they are more commonly used.

I'd consider looking for some other tool dealers to do business with.
Pozidriv (a registered trademark of Phillips Screw Co.) screws and
drivers are very common, sold by just about every tool company from
Snap-on through Stanley to Sears.

Tektronix used Pozidriv screws exclusively for many years, until they
converted over to Torx. A standard Phillips bit fits poorly in a
Pozidriv screw, making it really easy to chew up the screw with this
combination. Any decent toolbox should include some Pozidriv drivers or
bits.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mr said:
Heh heh dont forget the asprin and $50 for the headache and one
tool you'll always have to go get for each job. And a 6" or 8"
knuckle buistin adjustable wrench. LOL


Don't forget a 4" pipe wrench for those tight spots! It has been a
real life saver to remove broken studs and broken pieces of bolts. I
have one made by Rigid.

BTW, you won't bust your knuckles if you buy a real wrench. 8" is too
short to get a good grip on things. I have a 12" and a 14" "New Britain"
adjustable, along with a 4" Xcelite in my electronics tools.

The only tools I usually have to buy these days are new ones to
replace what walks away. :(

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
S

Silfax

Jan 1, 1970
0
A plastic or metal box such as the 13² plastic box from Walmart or the 14²
plastic box from Lowes. The box should have a secure latch that won¹t
come open when picked up.
<snip a bunch of good stuff>

6" and 12" adjustable wench
12' tape measure (25' would be better)
mechanical pencil, extra leads and a small notepad
 
S

Silfax

Jan 1, 1970
0
6" and 12" adjustable wench

oops I meant wrench, although a flexible wench might not be a bad idea
either (but she should be bigger than 12 inches....)
 
J

jakdedert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Michael said:
Don't forget a 4" pipe wrench for those tight spots! It has been a
real life saver to remove broken studs and broken pieces of bolts. I
have one made by Rigid.

BTW, you won't bust your knuckles if you buy a real wrench. 8" is too
short to get a good grip on things. I have a 12" and a 14" "New Britain"
adjustable, along with a 4" Xcelite in my electronics tools.
A common problem is to turn the adjustable wrench around the *wrong
way*! I've had people argue that there is no wrong orientation for the
common 'C' (Crescent) wrench, but there most certainly is. Do it wrong
and you'll be fine 75% of the time; but that one time when you need it
to really bite--and you do it wrong--*you* are the one who gets bitten.
The only tools I usually have to buy these days are new ones to
replace what walks away. :(

Boy Howdy! I recently moved my office/shop and salvaged the buildings
on the property at the same time. I'm still trying to find all my tools....

jak
 
J

Joel Kolstad

Jan 1, 1970
0
Roy,

Roy Lewallen said:
Tektronix used Pozidriv screws exclusively for many years, until they
converted over to Torx. A standard Phillips bit fits poorly in a Pozidriv
screw, making it really easy to chew up the screw with this combination.

How well does it work the other way around -- using Pozidriv screwdrivers on
"regular old" Phillips-head screws?
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
jakdedert said:
A common problem is to turn the adjustable wrench around the *wrong
way*! I've had people argue that there is no wrong orientation for the
common 'C' (Crescent) wrench, but there most certainly is. Do it wrong
and you'll be fine 75% of the time; but that one time when you need it
to really bite--and you do it wrong--*you* are the one who gets bitten.



Yes, most people seem to use it backwards where the stress is against
the front of the movable jaw, rather than the back where its supposed to
be. It doesn't matter if the item is fairly loose, but when you really
need the torque, it needs to be turned the right way. Maybe they need
to cast notches for your fingers to show people the right way to use it!
;-)

Boy Howdy! I recently moved my office/shop and salvaged the buildings
on the property at the same time. I'm still trying to find all my tools....

jak


I'm trying to but my shop back together. I haven't really worked in
the shop since the middle of 2001, right before I got sick and lost my
job. Now, its been five years and two years of hurricanes that made the
mess even worse. Some squirrels nested in the building and chewed the
cords off of everything in sight. I had to put rat poison in there to
kill them all. I'm missing two cordless drills, two surface grinders
and enough hand tools to fill a couple large toolboxes. Since I no
longer do any work away from home I have started hanging what is left on
pegboard over the different workbenches.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
B

Bill Turner

Jan 1, 1970
0
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

Roy said:
Tektronix used Pozidriv screws exclusively for many years, until they
converted over to Torx. A standard Phillips bit fits poorly in a
Pozidriv screw, making it really easy to chew up the screw with this
combination. Any decent toolbox should include some Pozidriv drivers
or bits.



*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

The flutes on a Phillips bit are tapered; on a Pozidrive they are
parallel. In many cases you can use either bit on the other, but if
available, use the correct one.

A Phillips bit can "lever" itself out due to the taper, where a
Pozidrive will not.

Bill, W6WRT
ex Tektronix employee
 
R

Roy Lewallen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joel said:
Roy,



How well does it work the other way around -- using Pozidriv screwdrivers on
"regular old" Phillips-head screws?

In my experience, it works better than using a Phillips driver on a
Pozidriv screw. But it still doesn't fit really well.

Roy Lewallen
 
F

Fred McKenzie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Roy Lewallen said:
I'd consider looking for some other tool dealers to do business with.
Pozidriv (a registered trademark of Phillips Screw Co.) screws and
drivers are very common, sold by just about every tool company from
Snap-on through Stanley to Sears.


OK Guys! I've done some more checking, and still can't find a store that
sells Posidrive or Pozidrive. I have one lead to a specialty tool store
across the state, but the local Ace, Sears and Lowes don't carry either
the screws or the drivers.

I can see where the Posidrive may be used in some electronic equipment,
but all of the screws in the hinges in my house, as well as the screws
holding the locks on the doors, are definitely Phillips. Are Posidrive
screws used for those applications in other countries?

I can see now that my original list should have stopped without the
additional items. The purpose was to define a really BASIC set of tools
for use around the home!

Fred
 
R

Roy Lewallen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fred said:
OK Guys! I've done some more checking, and still can't find a store that
sells Posidrive or Pozidrive. I have one lead to a specialty tool store
across the state, but the local Ace, Sears and Lowes don't carry either
the screws or the drivers.

There's sure no problem finding mail order sources:

http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?TYPE=CATEGORY&CATEGORY=HT+PZDRV+AND+MULTI+SDRVRS
http://www.vermontamerican.com/products/subcategorybrowse.htm?G=157721
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/search_keyword.asp?keyword=POZIDRIV
http://www.aaronsscrewdrivers.com/PowerBits.htm
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...ical=TOOL&pid=00973645000&subcat=Screwdrivers
I can see where the Posidrive may be used in some electronic equipment,
but all of the screws in the hinges in my house, as well as the screws
holding the locks on the doors, are definitely Phillips. Are Posidrive
screws used for those applications in other countries?

I can see now that my original list should have stopped without the
additional items. The purpose was to define a really BASIC set of tools
for use around the home!

The real advantage of Pozidriv is in applications where something is
mass produced with the screws put in by power drivers, so they're fairly
common in manufactured goods. I was really directing my earlier comment
that every toolbox should have some Posidriv bits or drivers to people
doing any kind of work on electronic equipment or other kinds of
manufactured goods. Posidriv tools probably wouldn't be of much use for
most household repairs, so wouldn't be appropriate for a very basic
household tool box. The same goes for Torx.

You can identify Pozidriv screws by a ding in between the slots. There's
a good picture at http://www.aaronsscrewdrivers.com/PowerBits.htm.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL
 
D

Dave Platt

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fred McKenzie said:
OK Guys! I've done some more checking, and still can't find a store that
sells Posidrive or Pozidrive. I have one lead to a specialty tool store
across the state, but the local Ace, Sears and Lowes don't carry either
the screws or the drivers.

I haven't seen complete Pozidrive drivers anywhere around here, but
Orchard Supply (local hardware outlet) has Pozidrive bits in several
sizes, which will go into the usual magnetic-hex-socket driver
handles. In fact, just yesterday I glanced over their $2.99 "17 bits
in a small carrying case" assortment by the cash register, and found
that it contains 3 Phillips and 3 similarly-sized Pozidrive bits.
 
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