Tools - New Cheap Ones & Old Good Ones

I went to the dentist yesterday for what I thought was going to be the final installation of the dental implant. That didn't work out as planned but at least this trip was painless and they assured me I'll get the new tooth next time for sure. Anyway, when traveling to the dentist I drive right by a Harbor Freight and a couple of blocks down the street, a new two story Menards. That being the case, I check the sale papers from both places and plan a stop if need be. Normally these trips are about six months apart but with the implant thing and all that's gone awry, it's becoming more of a monthly trip. In fact, I've made at least ten trips since they pulled the tooth in May. So it's not likely I'm going to need much traveling by as often as I've been doing as of late.

However, I couldn't resist this set of screwdrivers. With coupon, only $4.99. Thirty two pieces total including a Tee handle driver that every motorcycle mechanic must have, and that one in the foreground with the blue shank? That's a telescoping pick-up magnet. Granted, it's all Chinese crap but for five bucks I now have a screwdriver set that I can keep in the new barn to use on the VW, lawnmower, etc., without making a trip to the shop.

They also had bench brushes for $1.98. I was looking for one of those to clean up around my new lathe and for two bucks each, I bought two. That little widget in the foreground is a peg I turned on the new wood lathe to hang the face plate on when not in use. I managed to get the diameter of the small end just about right on the button for a good glue fit in the hole I bored in the end of the bench. Which I did with this:

It's been a while since I've used a brace and bit but it's amazing how well they work. The cabinet where I keep this thing is right next to the spot where I needed to bore the hole. It took less time with this than it would have to drag out the electric drill, spade bit and an extension cord. And it was nice and quiet. There's something very pleasing about working wood with hand tools. If I ever get back on the boat project, quite a bit of that will be done just with hand tools. In fact, when they ran the story in Wooden Boat magazine, the builder put the whole boat together sans power tools. 

It's a shame that schools no longer teach much of this. If you want to light a fire under a young guy, a brace and bit along with some other hand tools makes for one helluva match. If you're a craftsman or a dreamer, you watch Richard Proenneke's Alone in the Wilderness, and you'll be buying a brace and bit to have around even if you don't need a hole drilled. I watched a few episodes of the Prepper show and I was surprised there was never much focus by anyone on making sure they had the proper tools for supporting themselves without electricity. Lots of food, guns and ammo, but not too many hand saws and bench planes. If things go bad, I'll be set for hand tools but I'm going to miss my cordless drill.