Buying tools and doing your own work (another rant)

[runabout879]

In the past, when I needed a specialty tool that I really couldn't afford, and wouldn't need on a regular basis, I've gone to e-bay, ordered said tool, used it to complete the job, then re-listed the tool on e-bay for the same price so someone else could do the same thing. I was only out the $5-10 for shipping, got the job done right, and went on my way.

[twocool]

In the past, when I needed a specialty tool that I really couldn't afford, and wouldn't need on a regular basis, I've gone to e-bay, ordered said tool, used it to complete the job, then re-listed the tool on e-bay for the same price so someone else could do the same thing. I was only out the $5-10 for shipping, got the job done right, and went on my way.

Great idea....this is where "clubs", and "groups" and "friends" and even E-bay are great assets.  There are places you can rent tools too...like advance auto...or specific rental places...

Cookie

[twocool]

I fit in here somewhere... I would love to do all my own work, but unfortunately I don't have, and probably won't ever have the time. Not for a long while, anyway.

Incidentally, if you look far enough I'm sure you'll find a business who realises the best way to ensure a profit is good quality work. That said, this kind of thinking is scarce unfortunately. 

Mechanics are like bottled water, I'm basically paying for convenience.

You're right...for someone like youself...it is better in the long run to get somebody to do your service.....you pay more...but so what?  You have a need and they fill the need..capitalism!..

So as far as a business which does quality work....the word gets out....(good and bad) ..the trouble is sometimes people don't want to pay for quality work.....I sympathise with business owners.....they get screwed from all sides...hard to get and keep good help...lots of overhead.....government breathing down their necks...and customers who want fast, good, and cheap!..

I gotta say ...the airplane shop where I work.....easily 1/2 of our customers come to us because the are pissed off at the last place which did work for them!  Luckily my boss stresses quality and precision over speed.........But in the world of airplanes......the customer cannot legally do his own work on most things........all work must be done by an apporved shop, and signed off by a credentialed technician....so we do have a "captive audience"....

Anyway...I stopsometimes in to maybe three or four shops in my area to bick up some plastic polish or whatever....it seems that they are all doing a very brisk service business.....so there is the need, and they are providing the service and the customers are paying the price...life is good!

Cookie

[runabout879]

In the past, when I needed a specialty tool that I really couldn't afford, and wouldn't need on a regular basis, I've gone to e-bay, ordered said tool, used it to complete the job, then re-listed the tool on e-bay for the same price so someone else could do the same thing. I was only out the $5-10 for shipping, got the job done right, and went on my way.

Great idea....this is where "clubs", and "groups" and "friends" and even E-bay are great assets.  There are places you can rent tools too...like advance auto...or specific rental places...

Cookie

Yeah, I checked with Autozone first, but they had generic tools, where I needed a specific one. One example was working on a Neon, had to pull the harmonic balancer, and all Autozone had was the generic 2 prong puller. Dodge cars required a 3 prong.

[Jared]

 
I use tools everyday.... catch is I work on the water...so I don't buy snap on tools for work ( Harbor freight and Flea Markets..). Wrenches etc  do end up in the water and if I can't find it with the magnet  (and it's not my last wrench etc of that size) it sometimes gets abandoned and then later replaced ....I have multiples of everything for this reason...
Frankly harbor freight wrenches  seem just fine for that kind of everyday use.... They do sell some junk tho so it is hit and miss... Husky socket wrenches and  sockets usually tho... Harbor freight screwdrivers too ( some of them are ok...some not so good..)..Band saw blands (portaband) are good...sawzall blades suck there...



For my home tool setup...I have a Snap on top and bottom box with a non snap on side cabinet...  I will go for a NICE toolbox.... I didn't say NEW toolbox... Jesse has seen my setup ... If you bought my bottom box from Snap On it would be north of $2500...top box is probably $2k...side cabinet dunno...

I paid $300 for the whole rig....it was dirty but cleaned up ok...Vintage 1985 or so...was a diesel guys box... some of the hardware is rough and  the bottom drawer needs the slide stops fixed... All the locks work and I have all the keys...
I can get the parts from snapon...might even be warranty...

Look on CL and other places and you can get a good used box (I kept my eyes open for a little while...and pounced..)...If you don't need  The Tycho Monolith taking up half your space...don't buy it....heh

What's in my box... My first "big" set I bought was Husky from Home Depot...(circa 1993 dunno if what they sell now is still "Husky" but seems ok..) so a good bit of that... some oddball Snapon stuff I have bought at Flea's and at Carlisle etc.... Some craftsmen from years back and some harbor freight stuff...

I don't wrench in the garage everyday but they get used often enough on the bikes etc I deal with here. I have lost a few sockets ( probably in my garage...)  but can't recall breaking a husky yet...
I don't even own a crescent wrench...I occasionally have one for work ( which the boss steals all the time)- Fine for emergencies but I'll get the wrench I need first...that's just me...again my home setup.

So yeah...doing some of the maintenance yourself definitely pays for the tools... You can never have too many tools....[Tim Allen grunt]...

My 2 cents.

[mister]

Not everyone who has others do their work is a mechanical retard who makes $100 an hour.

As stated, people forget Their Time - it has a value as well. They will work for themselves for free for days but give the boss an extra 5 mins?

For me to do a Fix on my bike I would need to have a day off work. So not only do I have a loss of income for the day I also have a Cost of parts - so I go out double negative.

If all you do is work 8 hours days, five days a week, then I am sure you have time. My days are often 14 hours long with a short 8 hour day for a Sat, but this is also often a 12 hour day. Excuse me for not wanting to ditch that income so I can slowly learn the art of some fiddly repair work. And specially when my mechanic can work magic with my bikes (yes, I have a good one).

Bad Mechanics are like bottled tap water - paying for convenience. But maestro mechanics who save me time & money cause I don't need to have time off work... like golden egg laying geese - are well worth it. I used to wrench my own stuff but really cannot be bothered anymore. My time is better spent elsewhere.

Michael

[twocool]

Not everyone who has others do their work is a mechanical retard who makes $100 an hour.

As stated, people forget Their Time - it has a value as well. They will work for themselves for free for days but give the boss an extra 5 mins?

For me to do a Fix on my bike I would need to have a day off work. So not only do I have a loss of income for the day I also have a Cost of parts - so I go out double negative.

If all you do is work 8 hours days, five days a week, then I am sure you have time. My days are often 14 hours long with a short 8 hour day for a Sat, but this is also often a 12 hour day. Excuse me for not wanting to ditch that income so I can slowly learn the art of some fiddly repair work. And specially when my mechanic can work magic with my bikes (yes, I have a good one).

Bad Mechanics are like bottled tap water - paying for convenience. But maestro mechanics who save me time & money cause I don't need to have time off work... like golden egg laying geese - are well worth it. I used to wrench my own stuff but really cannot be bothered anymore. My time is better spent elsewhere.

Michael

"All work and no play makes Jack a....."

When do you have time to even "ride" your bike?

How do you get the bike to the dealer for service, or does he pick it up?  I mean "that" takes time too..In fact most dealers are gonna be closed once you are done with your work...

What else do you do for fun?  Anything??

So, at your funeral, you want to be know as...."yep, he's the guy who worked 14 hours a day"??

Sorry for busting your balls, but I am really worried about you....But I do get what you say.....DIY mechanics don't make sense for everybody...to each his own....whatever floats you boat...etc..

Cookie

[BaltimoreGS]

If you have the room, this is a very nice toolbox for the money:  http://www.harborfreight.com/13-drawer-red-industrial-quality-roller-cabinet-90320.html   There is a coupon in the latest issue of Rider magazine that brings it down to $350.  If you don't have much space, this is another nice option:  http://www.harborfreight.com/580-lb-capacity-four-drawer-roller-cart-95659.html  I've seen it put on sale for about $100 at the retail stores.

-Jessie

[mister]

Not everyone who has others do their work is a mechanical retard who makes $100 an hour.

As stated, people forget Their Time - it has a value as well. They will work for themselves for free for days but give the boss an extra 5 mins?

For me to do a Fix on my bike I would need to have a day off work. So not only do I have a loss of income for the day I also have a Cost of parts - so I go out double negative.

If all you do is work 8 hours days, five days a week, then I am sure you have time. My days are often 14 hours long with a short 8 hour day for a Sat, but this is also often a 12 hour day. Excuse me for not wanting to ditch that income so I can slowly learn the art of some fiddly repair work. And specially when my mechanic can work magic with my bikes (yes, I have a good one).

Bad Mechanics are like bottled tap water - paying for convenience. But maestro mechanics who save me time & money cause I don't need to have time off work... like golden egg laying geese - are well worth it. I used to wrench my own stuff but really cannot be bothered anymore. My time is better spent elsewhere.

Michael

"All work and no play makes Jack a....."

When do you have time to even "ride" your bike?

How do you get the bike to the dealer for service, or does he pick it up?  I mean "that" takes time too..In fact most dealers are gonna be closed once you are done with your work...

What else do you do for fun?  Anything??

So, at your funeral, you want to be know as...."yep, he's the guy who worked 14 hours a day"??

Sorry for busting your balls, but I am really worried about you....But I do get what you say.....DIY mechanics don't make sense for everybody...to each his own....whatever floats you boat...etc..

Cookie

Firstly, let's drop the "I am worried about you" thing. You don't know me from a bar of soap, you are Not worried about me at all. That's just insincere internet chatroom bs. Now to answer your questions...

Thankfully my mechanic works from his home. So I can drop the bike off "on the way home". Other times I might only do a 10 hour day. Seeing as I could start at 5am or 6am that gives me an hour's grace after work when businesses are still open. So I can do Some stuff there as well. Local bike shop is only 10 minute from home and they drop me off and pick me up 

I ride 7 days a week - 6 for work, one for enjoyment.

I am one of those people who actually enjoy my work (if you enjoy it it's not work, right?). And even though I am an employee I have the power to say "nope, not doing it" to any foreman, boss, supervisor, manager, whatever, and not get fired or in trouble. It really is quite cool.  What's my job? Not tell'n 

If you want something done give it to a busy man.

Michael

[Birdmove]

   I worked on large freight hauling trucks for 24 years. I got to the point that I wouldn't trust any Craftsman open end wrenches not to "spread" in  use and bust knuckles. The Snap-on wrenches did not do this. Also, the Snap-On easy outs or extractors were, bar none, the best out there. There are lots of cheapo extractors that will break, and then you get to try to extract the extractor. Snap-On will replace your wrench (or whatever) if the finish becomes even slightly dull-even if the toll works just fine.

    Jon

[twocool]

Not everyone who has others do their work is a mechanical retard who makes $100 an hour.

As stated, people forget Their Time - it has a value as well. They will work for themselves for free for days but give the boss an extra 5 mins?

For me to do a Fix on my bike I would need to have a day off work. So not only do I have a loss of income for the day I also have a Cost of parts - so I go out double negative.

If all you do is work 8 hours days, five days a week, then I am sure you have time. My days are often 14 hours long with a short 8 hour day for a Sat, but this is also often a 12 hour day. Excuse me for not wanting to ditch that income so I can slowly learn the art of some fiddly repair work. And specially when my mechanic can work magic with my bikes (yes, I have a good one).

Bad Mechanics are like bottled tap water - paying for convenience. But maestro mechanics who save me time & money cause I don't need to have time off work... like golden egg laying geese - are well worth it. I used to wrench my own stuff but really cannot be bothered anymore. My time is better spent elsewhere.

Michael

"All work and no play makes Jack a....."

When do you have time to even "ride" your bike?

How do you get the bike to the dealer for service, or does he pick it up?  I mean "that" takes time too..In fact most dealers are gonna be closed once you are done with your work...

What else do you do for fun?  Anything??

So, at your funeral, you want to be know as...."yep, he's the guy who worked 14 hours a day"??

Sorry for busting your balls, but I am really worried about you....But I do get what you say.....DIY mechanics don't make sense for everybody...to each his own....whatever floats you boat...etc..

Cookie

Firstly, let's drop the "I am worried about you" thing. You don't know me from a bar of soap, you are Not worried about me at all. That's just insincere internet chatroom bs. Now to answer your questions...

Thankfully my mechanic works from his home. So I can drop the bike off "on the way home". Other times I might only do a 10 hour day. Seeing as I could start at 5am or 6am that gives me an hour's grace after work when businesses are still open. So I can do Some stuff there as well. Local bike shop is only 10 minute from home and they drop me off and pick me up 

I ride 7 days a week - 6 for work, one for enjoyment.

I am one of those people who actually enjoy my work (if you enjoy it it's not work, right?). And even though I am an employee I have the power to say "nope, not doing it" to any foreman, boss, supervisor, manager, whatever, and not get fired or in trouble. It really is quite cool.  What's my job? Not tell'n 

If you want something done give it to a busy man.

Michael

Thank's for the clairification...I'm not worried any more....phew!   

Cookie

PS  Moderators,   How come we are not ending up in the tard farm???  I mean really...nothing very useful in these type of posts anyway....(me and them).

[sotomoto]

Best tool is the gstwins.com and i really mean that

And after all this information, i bought some tools from local shops and some other from ebay.

And do most of the service job alone...

Thank each and everyone of you over here

Thank you gstwins again

[The Buddha]

PS  Moderators,   How come we are not ending up in the tard farm???  I mean really...nothing very useful in these type of posts anyway....(me and them).

Ask and ye shall receive.
Cool.
Buddha.

[cbrfxr67]

,...nice.

[BaltimoreGS]

Sorry to see this ended up in the tard farm.  I was going to add some pictures but decided to start a new thread instead:  http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=57698.0

Jessie

[slipperymongoose]

Thanks to my fitting apprenticeship I was supplied with tools thanks to a government grant, I'll do just about anything to my car/bike I've only given up on my bike once thankfully it was a cheap fix. As for the car I'm getting it serviced at the dealer till all my handbook is stamped out. Working on cars/bikes/trains is relatively simple when I started picking up spanners etc to work I was surprised to find how easy it is and rewarding. And also its hard to find a good mechanic who won't screw you sideways. Wheather you work on things yourself of get someone to do it for you as long as you enjoy the end product and it works.

[Electrojake]

Attention light-weights. . .
1.) It was a cool thread.
2.) It even stated (Rant) in the topic header. Idea exchange is good, & shouldn't be considered a personal attack.
3.) If The Tard Farm is only place we can chat then The Tard Farm is jolly good with me. 

. . . its hard to find a good mechanic who won't screw you sideways.
Wheather you work on things yourself of get someone to do it for you as long as you enjoy the end product and it works.

Agreed!
A mechanic is a person with a natural ability. It's not something you can simply learn. Too many people are employed as mechanics that just don't have the core ability.
An artist, an athlete, a school teacher, it doesn't matter, Some people are very good at their craft because they just are. They have the gift.

Final thought. . .
Some really good mechanics work in high production shops that simply don't allow them the time to do a good job. The work has to be pumped out, job after job, etc...
But that's fodder for another post.

[slipperymongoose]

Totally agree, I couldn't work in a high turnover place I'd get sacked! I like takin my time and makin sure I'm right. Plus most if the time I'm getting up and down getting tools, turning compressors on etc. So that's eats up time when I work on my car, but much faster on the bike. Yeah some ppl are naturally gifted others just trained. Me? I'm partially gifted I need a bit more expirence to speed up.

[BaltimoreGS]

Glad to see this thread came back to life!  I actually have to decide tonight if I want to hang up my wrenches.  I interviewed with a fleet leasing company today for an "Automotive Service Specialist" position.  Pretty much a fancy name for a guy that sits in a cubicle an a call center staring at a computer screen arranging and approving service to leased company vehicles.  The automotive industry is changing and it is getting harder to make a living turning wrenches.  Warranty work always pays mechanics less than regular shop times and cars are coming with longer and longer warranties.  Extended warranties really shaft the mechanics because they pay even lower times than warranty work and will not pay anything for diagnostic.  The latest cut to our pay is the included maintenance with the purchase of a new Toyota.  For those not familiar, professional mechanics are payed by the flat rate hour.  Each job is assigned a flat rate value which the mechanic is payed no matter how long he spends on that job.  An oil change pays 4 tenths of an hour.  A tenth of an hour is 6 minutes so an oil change would be break even at 24 minutes. If I get it done in faster than 24 minutes I make more money; I take longer than 24 minutes and I am theoretically losing money.  Camrys and Corollas can be done rather quickly but vehicles like a Tundra always take longer than 24 minutes.  In an average day I see a lot more Camrys and Corollas than I do Tundras so I usually come out ahead as far as oil changes are concerned.  A tire rotation without balancing also pays 4 tenths of an hour so an oil change and tire rotation normally nets me 8 tenths total.  Under the Toyota Care included maintenance I only get payed 3 tenths for doing an oil change and tire rotation, less than half of what I'm used to making.  I think it may be time for me to try a new career....

-Jessie

[slipperymongoose]

Damn shame to see someone off the tools at anytime because of progress etc.