Game changers in your lifetime that you could not do with out- tools and gizmos

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Used correctly: the smart phone. Between having a flashlight, a camera for pix of serial numbers and wiring, using it to take notes, access to the net for tips and tricks, plus using it as a phone.
 
MrJLR said:
Without question, the internet.
The ability to access information, purchase products from around the world, communication. ....single handedly the biggest game changer of my lifetime.

Jeff
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I want to point out that a lot of younger car builders don't know the pleasure of trying to build cars back when I started in the mid-80's....
Finding parts was mail-order, pouring through catalogs, phone calls, junk yards, etc.....
Now I can sit on my couch and shop...click a few buttons and it shows up on my door-step a week later. ....
Game changer for sure.

Jeff
 
Battery piers. I use them almost daily great to get screws broken if they are to tight.
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Yunick13 said:
Used correctly: the smart phone. Between having a flashlight, a camera for pix of serial numbers and wiring, using it to take notes, access to the net for tips and tricks, plus using it as a phone.
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Without it im out of business. Appointments, answering machine,parts ordering,timekeeper,tax calculator, torque specs, client list and credit card/debit machine.
 
The laptop pc. Original pc tower, monitor, keyboard, and mouse required a desk and chair somewhere. Laptop is on far end of dinning room table. When we have company I slide it under the sofa.
 
SLOPAR72 said:
Got the call early AM to fix a leak under a house. As I was making quick work of it with my Shark-bites I got to thinking about what I have seen in my lifetime that changed how I do things.... I can name 2 right off the Bat and am curious to see what pops up....

Stay strong and safe people,
JW

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I been in Water industry over 30 years those brass fittings and the crimping type
1" to 4" are magnificent but remember some wells will eat right thru copper,
They seem to last just fine on municipal water.
 
MrJLR said:
Without question, the internet.
The ability to access information, purchase products from around the world, communication. ....single handedly the biggest game changer of my lifetime.

Jeff
Click to expand...
10-4 on that
And it has allowed us to find car related items much easier.
 
Kern Dog said:
Wood frame construction jobsites have changed a LOT in the past 10 years. I joined up in 1986. Back then, most guys had their own circular saw, most were "Skil" brand. Hardly anyone had anything else except hand tools.
By the late 90s, guys up here started buying air compressors and nail guns. A few had electric Sawzalls.
From 2010 or so, the switch to cordless stuff has been impossible to ignore. Circular saws, Reciprocating saws,(Sawzalls) drills, impact drills, planers, roto hammer drills, Multi-tools, even some nail guns.
Mechanics.....you hardly see them using air ratchets anymore.
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When I was in highschool, I did some construction. I remember dragging an air compressor and/or generator out to job sites. Though I work in an office these days, I have a ton of cordless tools that make life so much easier. Now that I live on a 3acre yard, not having to drag an extension cord (or 3) out is great. My corded oscillating tool stopped working this summer and I bought a ryobi one. Didn't expect much but it works surprisingly well. I will say that some tools just haven't been replaced with batteries just yet. There has been no battery circular saw that seems to work well enough for me.

My cordless impact is probably my most often used tool.
 
It's tough to get this all down to just one or two items.....LOLOL as he types on his laptop, with the LED lamp in the background, and the "no vacuum tubes not even the picture" TV set
 
phaelax said:
When I was in highschool, I did some construction. I remember dragging an air compressor and/or generator out to job sites. Though I work in an office these days, I have a ton of cordless tools that make life so much easier. Now that I live on a 3acre yard, not having to drag an extension cord (or 3) out is great. My corded oscillating tool stopped working this summer and I bought a ryobi one. Didn't expect much but it works surprisingly well. I will say that some tools just haven't been replaced with batteries just yet. There has been no battery circular saw that seems to work well enough for me.

My cordless impact is probably my most often used tool.
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Try the 7 1/4 20v DeWalt. With a Big battery. Been using mine for years..I think i trashed my last corded saw.... after the cord got jacked and the guard came off. Of course, everything is just about junk nowadays.
 
@lilfontleroy

Wheel dollies are awsome. I use them daily. No other way to get all the cars in the shop.

Some cars go in sideways, other stack on the lifts. Throw a good ratcheting tie down on each wheel and i use em in the parking lot. (Carefully because you do not want to see what they do to a fender when the car fall off... its ALL BAD i assure you.)


Pneumatic rivet gun. We use lots of rivets.

And last just having the right tool for the job. When I first started I would make tools or "figure out" a way to get the job done.
Now days just having the right tool is so nice.
2 post lifts, a smooth floor to roll on, a welder, compressed air, A SHOP to work in, all of it is a game changer for me.
 
Having fished over 45 years now and chased Mr. Bass many times over this is a game changer in that it works anywhere in many ways. It revolutionized Bass fishing really and when the day on the water is just not working out this is a bait that almost always puts something in the boat....

JW

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Cope said:
@lilfontleroy

Wheel dollies are awsome. I use them daily. No other way to get all the cars in the shop.

Some cars go in sideways, other stack on the lifts. Throw a good ratcheting tie down on each wheel and i use em in the parking lot. (Carefully because you do not want to see what they do to a fender when the car fall off... its ALL BAD i assure you.)


Pneumatic rivet gun. We use lots of rivets.

And last just having the right tool for the job. When I first started I would make tools or "figure out" a way to get the job done.
Now days just having the right tool is so nice.
2 post lifts, a smooth floor to roll on, a welder, compressed air, A SHOP to work in, all of it is a game changer for me.
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Having gotten into my Industry around 1990 there was a huge shift in the way things were processed in the department we call Pre-press. The computer age basically took a manual and extremely crafted skillset and put in into a Monitor with a Keyboard and a new generation of workers of that phase in the Printing industry. It was not the path I took in my career but not only did it streamline the work, but it also slaughtered many an employee with a Pinkslip on friday....

It's interesting how this thread also includes the change in someone's flavor of business.... Didn't see that one coming lol...

JW
 
Impact driver, I still can remember how **** it was trying to set screws with the clutch drill
 
Affordable quality hf tig welders, well a couple thousand
 
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The incredible software that allows me to create electronic products, including schematics, PCBs, and software on microcontrollers.
 
MrJLR said:
I want to point out that a lot of younger car builders don't know the pleasure of trying to build cars back when I started in the mid-80's....
Finding parts was mail-order, pouring through catalogs, phone calls, junk yards, etc.....
Now I can sit on my couch and shop...click a few buttons and it shows up on my door-step a week later. ....
Game changer for sure.

Jeff
Click to expand...
Yeah Man. The Junkyards were the bomb back then! 4 spds, rally gaigez, glass, sheet metal.. I miss that stuff so bad. And the 8 3/4 sure grips w/ 3:55s outta trucks and vans for 40$
 
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