[Vintage-race] Fw: Tools Explained in time for Father's Day

[John.Desantis at Inficon.com]

The list has been quiet of late - and someone somewhere needs a laugh.



BY A DO-IT-YOURSELFER: 

DRILL PRESS: 
A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock 
out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings objects 
across the room, denting that freshly-painted Mustang fender which you had 
carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. 

WIRE WHEEL: 
Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench 
at the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses 
from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh*t' 

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: 
Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old 
age. 

SKILL SAW: 
A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. 

PLIERS: 
Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of 
blood-blisters. 

BELT SANDER: 
An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into 
major refinishing jobs. 

HACKSAW: 
One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It 
transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more 
you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. 

VISE-GRIPS: 
Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing 
else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat 
to the palm of your hand. 

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: 
Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop 
on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of 
which you want to remove a bearing race. 

TABLE SAW: 
A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for 
testing wall integrity. 

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: 
Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed 
your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. 

BAND SAW: 
A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good 
aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can 
after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. 

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: 
A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot 
to disconnect. 

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: 
Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style 
paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be 
used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. 

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: 
A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted 
screws into non-removable screws. 

PRY BAR: 
A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you 
needed to remove in order to replace a 50-cent part. 

HOSE CUTTER: 
A tool used to make hoses too short. 

HAMMER: 
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a 
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the 
object we are trying to hit. 

UTILITY KNIFE: 
Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered 
to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as leather 
seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, 
refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing 
work clothes, but only while in use. 

DAMMIT TOOL: 
Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 
'DAMMIT' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool 
that you will need. 
 
 
 John DeSantis
Hasn't been, and Never will be Racing.