Using the old stuff.

[john k]

A week ago I bought a medium size farm tractor.   Am doing some work on it in my yard.  Under a shade tree no less.   It is a long way from my shop, too far to run an air hose, so I decided to do it the old way, the armstrong method.   At work, I have a drawer full of impact sockets, wobblies, extensions, and air tools.   Not very often do I have to go borrow anything, but can work out of my box and cart, with 150psi air handy.   Sorta culture shock to tear into a big project with a breaker bar, some old sockets, and multiple trips up to the shop to fetch more stuff.  There I am laying on the ground, using my weight to pull down on a breaker bar, 1-1/8 socket, and noticed it was the underlined Craftsman bar from my dads set.  Immediately got to thinking of disassembling my first car, and working on other tractors 45 years ago, using this exact same breaker.   How I used to think about getting new tools, and get an air impact, how it would make life better.   Maybe it did at that, as I'm 61 and not had any rotator cuff problems.  Or carpal tunnel syndrome.  On top a barrel I lay out a set of wrenches, from my carry tool box, and notice one of them is from the set my father bought me when I turned 16, not even imagining I'd be under a shade tree, 45 years in the future, working on a tractor built when I was 8years old.   Just thinking, things are approaching full circle, or am I wrong?

[Papaw]

You are not wrong!

We are the ones who will appreciate the old tools and old ways passed on to us by our fathers and grandfathers.
Often, when I am doing something, I'll recall how it was done in the past, and realize that I am doing it almost the same way- feels good!!!

[OilyRascal]

Good for you knowing how to do in hard times.  I wish I was closer to help you.  I'm a fine tool pusher, and I'm sure I'd learn more than a thing or two from you.  Enjoy the project, don't make it work like I would!

...Sorta culture shock to tear into a big project with a breaker bar, some old sockets, and multiple trips up to the shop to fetch more stuff........

reality check for you?  Only mildly interesting to note:  I have plenty of air tools, air hard piped to drops, regulators, filters, water settling pots, hose reels...........and I haven't used the first air tool outside a chuck to fill tires.  It's what I'm used to........cheater pipes and quality tools.

[RedVise]

Dont know if you have read any of Roger Welsch tractor books, but he mention the early tractor manuals show how to use a tree limb (braced of course) to support the tractor while being worked on. The early tractor users were converting from horse power to small internal combustion tractors and did not have many mechanics tools. Lucky for us, now we are looking for the wrenchs they supplied to the buyers!


Brian L.

[john k]

Would you be talking about the books: (Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles), (Love, Sex, and Tractors), (Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them), would you?   Of course being from Nebraska, I have run into Dr. Welsch a few times, and had my copies signed.  I can recommend them to anyone who has ever liked a tool, a tractor, or small town living.   He has written better than a dozen other books too.   Here many of us are surrounded, and more, with nice shiny chrome tools of all description, and what do we go digging for, but the cast iron original equipment, makes sense, huh?

[Nolatoolguy]

Its always good to do it the old way sometimes I think all these people rely so much on power tools that when something breaks they panic and dont know what to do. Not to long ago I saw a mechnics shop with a sign that said "due to broken air compreser we are closed" my thought was yes its less productive to work without a compreser but ide rather work slow then not get it done at all.

At a side job for my cousin we install evaperated solar tubes an untill there secure and pressureized there very fragile because the air tools have to much power even the angle air ratchets vibrate the mount to much. We have to use hand tools on them for half the job.

Anyway


Its good to do it the old way sometimes. I still use some of my grandfathers tools an have pawnshop finds that are older but not antique yet. They work great :)

[RedVise]

Would you be talking about the books: (Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles), (Love, Sex, and Tractors), (Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them), would you?   Of course being from Nebraska, I have run into Dr. Welsch a few times, and had my copies signed.  I can recommend them to anyone who has ever liked a tool, a tractor, or small town living.   He has written better than a dozen other books too.   Here many of us are surrounded, and more, with nice shiny chrome tools of all description, and what do we go digging for, but the cast iron original equipment, makes sense, huh?

John, those are indeed the books!   If you should run into Dr. Welsch again, please pass on my regards. My Library space is limited, but he makes the cut.

Brian

[Branson]

Its always good to do it the old way sometimes I think all these people rely so much on power tools that when something breaks they panic and dont know what to do.
Its good to do it the old way sometimes. I still use some of my grandfathers tools an have pawnshop finds that are older but not antique yet. They work great :)

My favorite story is about a fellow who came out to an old fart's house to hang a door.  He got to the point of having to fit the door to the frame and found he had left his power planer back at the shop.  The old fart handed him a Stanley #5 (in good tune).  The guy couldn't see how he could use it and drove the half hour to his shop, picked up the power plane, and drove the half hour back to fit the door.  I still have trouble believing the story, but I remember a contractor who bought a plane and asked me why it had two blades in it -- not two blades, I told him, that one on top is a chip breaker...

[Branson]

Heh!  Most of my tools are cordless.  Cordless hammer cordless chisels....

[strik9]

I work in a shop with two air compressors and most all the modern toys a person could think of in a better shop.
We use the air tools on the tougher jobs of course, that is where they shine.

On a normal type job I break out the DOE and DBE wrenches first, ok, they are new wrenches but still the older styled stuff and they work well.
   I have combo wrenches, line wrenches, ratchet wrenches and an assortment of less common styles from semi-modern to the 1920's vintage stuff.

I prefer the simple designs and time proven tools best, a square handle shape on a screwdriver, a plastic one for work and an older wood handled one at home.   A simple DOE wrench would be my favorite type to use above all.   New Wurth metrics at the shop and an eclectic assortment of whatnot brand for puttering on a home project.

The new high tech stuff has its place on the modern cars but the older styles are still king on the yellow tractors we see at the shop.   I never would have guessed that backdating my tools could make my job easier a bit.   And it has.