Shit you need to know...

[Sic Pup]

It's as important to keep your head out of the clouds as it is to keep it out of the sand.

[weirdscience]

when shit hits the fan everyone gets splattered

[trilobyte]

Amen, Sue. I remember when growing up, Craftsman was considered 'the' brand for tools. One of my grandparents was a heavy tool user and huge advocate for the brand, pointing out that even with the lifetime guarantee they built them so well he had never once had to take them up on it. As an adult I never saw that level of quality. They were great about replacing their shit, but I got to the point of being tired of working with shit to begin with.

I do have a few cheap tools here and there (sometimes money's not tight, or sometimes it's something I don't think I'll have much of a use for), but I think the better grade stuff is worth the extra money in the long haul. Since we're on the subject of tools, here's my contribution to the thread:

Righty tighty, lefty loosey

I ran into a couple people this year that weren't sure which way to turn a screw.

[lucky420]

If you live in Nevada and haven't registered your car for 4 months, the late fees at DMV are not that bad

[BBadger]

Amen, Sue. I remember when growing up, Craftsman was considered 'the' brand for tools.

Wow, maybe it was different back in those days, as BBS noted, but when I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s I was given with the exact opposite impression of "Crapsman" tools: they were the low-quality shit that Bob Vila pandered on TV when he sold out to Sears after his career on "This Old House." They're now the kind of tools you buy and it burns out after a project or two of work. They also have those ridiculous lines of gimmicky tools like twisty necked wrenches and that motorized hammer for, uh, nailing in that board from the interior of a corner because you stupidly forgot to attach on your just installed deck stairs.

I was pretty wary of this used Craftsman bandsaw I saw on sale for relatively cheap for cutting plexiglass. However, I did pick it up and it ended up working fine. Maybe it's a pre-Vila Craftsman bandsaw.

[Sic Pup]

There are varying levels of tool quality (and snobbery).

[junglesmacks]

There are varying levels of tool quality (and snobbery).

+1

[Raymaker]

mauvés ovriers ne trovera ja bon hostill - a bad workman will never find a good tool

[Trishntek]

Always use a torque wrench when specifications are given and even when they're not, ESPECIALLY when applying steel bolts to aluminum parts. Always torque your lug bolts to avoid damaging the brake rotors. And if you do not know the meaning of the word "torque" in this context, let someone who does know do it for you.

[FIGJAM]

Don't let TrishNtec near your nuts with a torque wrench when you KNOW he has a more genteel tool for THAT job!!!

[EspressoDude]

Always use a torque wrench when specifications are given and even when they're not, ESPECIALLY when applying steel bolts to aluminum parts. Always torque your lug bolts to avoid damaging the brake rotors. And if you do not know the meaning of the word "torque" in this context, let someone who does know do it for you.

and be sure to work your way around the whee nuts tightening each nut in a pattern of one side then the other, then back to the one adjacent to the previous, increasing torque in 3 - 4 steps until all nuts are equally tight. this keeps the parts straight and not warped.

[ygmir]

"A stiff prick has no conscience"

[Elorrum]

I have been selling hardware for ten years, and have seen good tools going to crap and staying at the same price point. Now I just compare rates of failure and replacement. With the most common power tools, brand names have been sold, and the tool quality hasn't stayed with them. People aren't raised knowing what tools are, how to use them, or enjoying them, more's the pity. I had a high school teacher in last week who wanted to buy a load of tools to set up a shop, stationary power tools... dangerous items, and he didn't know how to use them, or what he needed. I asked if there was going to be a knowledgeable person supervising? He said he would be the supervisor. ACK! I bless daily or almost daily the hard ass shop teachers I had in Jr. High when I was the only girl in the class. Those men taught respect for tools, and we didn't get to use the electrics until halfway through the year with the hand tools.

shit you need to know? hammer, screwdriver, wrench, pliers, and saw... no electricity.

[Bob]

You people had tools?

Back in the day we just used our teeth to make blind dovetails.

[Simon of the Playa]

you people have TEETH?...

[Elorrum]

oh shit. it's happened. I'm there. did I even say, "in my day....."?

[KrazyRussian]

Harbor freight works on the "new Craftsman' theory:

Originally, Craftsman tools were produced by major companies building the best of the best under contract to put the famous brand on it. Their motto was, If it ever breaks, we'll replace it", knowing that the specs were so high that it was extremely unlikely it would ever break. (I have a snap on ratchet head that's carrying the Craftsman Brand that was my daddy's...)

Then someone realized.. if you charge the same amount, but instead use the absolute shit cheapest tools possible, when the tool breaks, it only costs 2.3 cents to replace that $21.99 tool... and you just got people into your store again to buy something else at an equally ridiculous mark up.

Then they realized, if the tools are the absolute shit cheapest, people will stop buying your shit tools, so we better have ALMOST the cheapest shit tools, so they won''t break ALL the time, but they're not built like, say, MAC or MATCO or Snap-on... so they may cost 15 cents, rather than 2.3 cents, but they're saving brand loyalty (a little) and making more, because they may only have to replace that tool once, rather than 15 times (which ends up costing them less)...

Harbor freight is an extension of that... you need a tool that you're gonna use once, maybe twice, you pay $14.99 for a tool that may work once, but it's cheaper than paying $49.97 at Sears for a Craftsman Tool (see above)... and if it breaks, hey, its a harbor freight tool, you REALLY expected it to last that long?

Personally - that's why I get the best tools possible the first time. Sure, it's expensive as hell, and takes a while to chase down a MAC or Snap-on truck... but that snap-on socket won't round off like that Tiawanic Special. Sure, I'm paying partly for the name... but I have a tool that will last like my daddy's ratchet head. If I have an One-Time job or need expendables (like sandpaper, grinding compound, even, yeah, air hose), then sure, I may do Sears (and you notice their savings aren't as great there as their genuine craftsman stuff??) IF they still have it (they are no longer tool central, which is sad in a way) but I'd rather break loose a stuck bolt than break loose the back of my hand or the thing I'm working on.

Also, the American who made your tools is happy he still has a job, since you chose to forego the crappy Chinese copy

[KrazyRussian]

I do have a few cheap tools here and there (sometimes money's not tight, or sometimes it's something I don't think I'll have much of a use for), but I think the better grade stuff is worth the extra money in the long haul. Since we're on the subject of tools, here's my contribution to the thread:

Righty tighty, lefty loosey

I ran into a couple people this year that weren't sure which way to turn a screw.[/quote]
Unless maybe you have a flat on your RV or commercial vehical,then the lugs on the drivers side are lefty tighty, righty loosy, or how i like to remember, turn twards the front of the vehical to tighten.

[Bob]

Milwaukee didn't start going to shit until they started thinking back in the 80s *ergonomics* would improve the sales on a perfectly good ten or twenty pound electric drill. That was an American whack job all the way.

[lucky420]

i know the righty-tighty rule. I get confused when I am upside down though, like when working on plumbing a toilet or under a sink...

[cpart]

It is stuff you need to know.

Because us peons will change the banking system?

[graidawg]

if you are on a boat and can't remember which side is port and which starboard (originally steerboard it was where the rudder was) just think is ther any PORT LEFT in the bottle? or just drink the port and let sailors drive the boat.

[Sic Pup]

Travel shit:

Hotwire.com discounted rates based on underbooked hotels, they'd rather give you the room at a discounted rate than let it go vacant. The catch is you book on location, comparable hotel comparisons and star rating (the actual hotel name is masked until booked). I have found by cross-referencing rack rate and a process of deduction you may be able to determine the exact location utilizing Tripadvisor, Orbitz, Travelocity etc. I booked rooms in Tampa, Miami, Ft Lauderdale and Orlando with 100% accuracy and saved a bundle. YMMV depending on hotel concentration (MCO was downtown). If I'm not mistaken you can't change/cancel reservations so check that first (I never had the need).

Bing Travel has an airline price predictor that purports to tell you the best time to purchase your airfare basis historical data.

Autoslash.com will track your car rental reservations and cancel/rebook when the price drops (prices change more often than one might think). I do the same thing manally with my hotel reservations (when not booked through hotwire) since most will allow cancelations up to 6pm on check-in dates. I've found it's well worth the few minutes to periodically recheck as prices often drop the closer to check-on date (see hotwire).

Bedbugregistry.com - SSIA

[EspressoDude]

if you are on a boat and can't remember which side is port and which starboard (originally steerboard it was where the rudder was) just think is ther any PORT LEFT in the bottle? or just drink the port and let sailors drive the boat.

the short words go together port, left; long words: starboard, right

bouys in usa red, right, returning

[Sic Pup]

For many concerts tickets reserved for friends/family/promoters etc aren't actually confirmed until the afternoon of a performance, any excess are put on sale up to minutes before the start. Generally these are the best seats in the house.
I drove to Boston once for a show and on route a buddy called me to tell me seats had dropped on Ticketmaster I gave him my password, when I got to the concert hall I sold my so-so seats (at face) and picked up front row tickets at will call. My experience has been that it's a crap shoot as to whether they are put online or are available at the box office only. If I have time I generally check at the box office to see what's available day of show just for giggles. I've even had some venues take back my tickets and issue better seats(MSG). It always pay to put on your happy face and chat up the person behind the window. I generally express empathy at the long lines and treat the person as a real human being rather than a means to an end.

I also try to live by that last sentence in any situation.

[robbidobbs]

Playatransporation is the phenomenon when no matter how careful you are, playa dirt will get all over you when you try to unpack your shit.

[Elorrum]

Playatransporation is the phenomenon when no matter how careful you are, playa dirt will get all over you when you try to unpack your shit.

Is it just me, or is anyone else a teeny bit uncertain of when robbidobbs is using the word "shit" literally, or as a metaphor? I'm voting metaphor in this instance.

[Packoderm]

(from Cecil Adams)

To kill a vampire it is first necessary to determine its ethnic origin.

Next, locate the vampire's daytime whereabouts, i.e., its grave. My vampire manual recommends placing "a young lad who is innocent of girls," such as Richard Simmons, atop a black virgin stallion, and leading the two through a likely graveyard. If the horse refuses to pass a certain grave, you've hit paydirt, so to speak. The telltale signs of a vampirous corpse are fluidity of the blood, lack of putrefaction, and flexibility of the limbs (we're talking about corpses now, mind you).

Finally, administer treatment as prescribed below:

SPECIES - COUNTRY - APPROVED METHOD OF DISPOSAL

Sampiro - Albania - Stake through heart

Nachtzehrer - Bavaria - Place coin in mouth, decapitate with ax

Ogoljen - Bohemia - Bury at crossroads

Krvoijac - Bulgaria - Chain to grave with wild roses

Kathakano - Crete - Boil head in vinegar

Brukalaco - Greece - Cut off and burn head

Vampir - Hungary - Stake through heart, nail through temples

Dearg-dul - Ireland - Pile stones on grave

Vryolakas - Macedonia - Pour boiling oil on, drive nail through navel

Upier - Poland - Bury face downwards

Gerlach - U.S.A. - Put poppy seeds in grave

Strigoiul - Rumania - Remove heart, cut in two; garlic in mouth, nail in head

Vlkoslak - Serbia - Cut off toes, drive nail through neck

Neuntoter - Saxony - Lemon in mouth

Vampiro - Spain - No known remedy

I realize the above will not be much use in the case of a Third World vampire, but you can't have everything. Incidentally, we'll have none of this "preferred ways" business. There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Take some pride in your work.

— Cecil Adams

[lucky420]

Well the Spaniard's are fucked...

[maryanimal]

...a hard man is good to find.