Worthless Tools Gallery. What Tools do you regret buying?

[Waldo1]

Anything from Harbor Freight that has a threaded adjustment screw/retainer in it. Their screws are all made from some secret alloy that has the same strength and Brinell hardness as cheese.

 

[chips&more]

i think i bought your conduit cutters twin.:banghead:
i tried to cut some 1/2" copper tubing for a air compressor repair job a few moons back.
has the same spiral cutter issue right out of the box.
i threw it out and finished the job with a hacksaw and small half round file to smooth out the cut.
i now have a Blue Point (Snap-On tools) mini tubing cutter and multiple Rigid tubing and pipe cutters of may sizes.
i would recommend either brand to anyone who would listen.

I’m hearin ya Ulma Doctor. I would like to add to that wish list of pipe cutters a cutter of the same design but made for cutting plastics like PVC and ABS. The cutting wheel is thinner and does a wonderful job. You can also use a regular metal cutting Ridgid pipe cutter in a pinch for plastics.

 

[Jamiethesquid]

Not to break the spirit of the thread but, what do you use to cut cement board. I was gifted 28 4 x 8 sheets of cement siding, it has a wood grain on it, painted white (primer?) Plan on using it to line the blacksmith shop. I made a couple of cuts with a 7 inch metal cutting abrasive wheel in the skill saw, lots of dust and horribly slow. Picked up a masonry one, is it going to be any better?

Greg

Will post some of my useless purchases, will just have to think which were the worst.

I don't remember the brand and it is thoroughly sanded off now, but I bought it a Lowes, It was a 6 tooth carbide tipped blade for the Hardi-backer stuff. It was probably less than $15 dollars. I remodeled a kitchen with backsplash and floors and did a tile floor in a bathroom, The Sawblade was a godsend. The mess was substantial, only an outside project. I used an older Skil brand saw so I didn't ingest all that fine grit into the inner workings of my Hitachi. Wore a respirator and glasses and had a Patton fan blowing the dust away from me. After the projects were done the carbide was pretty beat, But it still cuts, and does it pretty cleanly, So I will continue to use it. Before that it was a score and snap procedure with a t square and a utility knife. For cutting curves or outlets, The jigsaw blade with the carbide grit is the way to go. YMMV

 

[stupoty]

My first telescopic boore guages were a little diapointing, ok ok they don't work and one broke when i touched it. I'm not sure things can be worse than that.

I did find a solution though, i bougt some second hand mitutoyo ones.

so their in the scrap bin now.

i got some of the real small hole guages (expanding wedge type) and they are ok to use, not amazing but they do work.

my general rule now is if theirs a branded version available for not a lot more than a basic one I get that. E.g. I didn't skimp on an edge finder it was only £6 more for a starret one than a no name china one.

lern from your mistakes, don't keep making them (i should follow my own advice i reckons)

Stuart

 

[SG51Buss]

The solution is the Makita 18v litium ion tools. All my cordless stuff is now makita with the 18v, 3.0 AH , lithium ion batteries. They aint cheap, but worth every penny. Makes every other cordless tool that I've ever owned look like a kids toy. I don't say that lightly.

We liked ours so much we purchased a second one, so we don't have to fight over them. It's also useful to have one with a driver bit, and one with a pilot drill in it so you don't have to constantly change between them...

One thing the r/c care world taught me was if it aint a LIPO battery it aint worth using. Lipos hold the same power spec from start to finish more or less then they have a protection mode that cuts power back to tell you to charge it.

Well, that was enough to get me to do some research and get caught-up with the 21st century. Sure 'nuff, Ryobi has new 'One-Step' Lithium batteries and dual-chemistry chargers that'll ensure a future life for my 12-year-old gadgets. So, when my last battery goes *poof*, I'll upgrade to this system.

Thanx, Chuck, DMS, Xalky! Yew guyz and this forum are great!

 

[lens42]

Since HF is a leading subject in this thread, I'll point to hfreviews.com as a good resource before you buy.

 

[xalky]

Well, that was enough to get me to do some research and get caught-up with the 21st century. Sure 'nuff, Ryobi has new 'One-Step' Lithium batteries and dual-chemistry chargers that'll ensure a future life for my 12-year-old gadgets. So, when my last battery goes *poof*, I'll upgrade to this system.

Thanx, Chuck, DMS, Xalky! Yew guyz and this forum are great!

Christmas is right around the corner.

 

[chuckorlando]

I suspect we own the same dark blue ryobi set. I still have a bad taste in my mouth about battery powered anything from that garbage set. With the exception of drills.

Well, that was enough to get me to do some research and get caught-up with the 21st century. Sure 'nuff, Ryobi has new 'One-Step' Lithium batteries and dual-chemistry chargers that'll ensure a future life for my 12-year-old gadgets. So, when my last battery goes *poof*, I'll upgrade to this system.

Thanx, Chuck, DMS, Xalky! Yew guyz and this forum are great!

 

[francist]

Weller electric soldering iron, the one with the red plastic handle. As soon as the tip got up to soldering temperature the handle got so soft the mounting screws fell out. It's funny now but at the time :angry:

-frank

 

[John Hasler]

Sledgehammer and axe purchased at a surplus store. When I tried to use them I found out why they were "surplus". The plastic of which the handles were made had evidently been incorrectly formulated. Seemed fine cold, but as soon as work warmed it up a bit the handles turned into noodles. Swing the sledge ten times and you've got a lump of iron on a rope. As for the axe, well...

They're sort of usable in below-freezing weather.