Send us your tool tips to win $200 of RIGID tools.

Send Us Your Tool Tips

If you have an idea that has saved you time and money, Plumbing & Mechanical would like to share your tip with our readers. You can e-mail your idea directly to PM editor Steve Smith at smiths@bnpmedia.com, or mail it to him c/o PM, 1050 IL Route 83, Suite 200, Bensenville, IL 60106.

Our first-place winner will receive the following from Ridge Tool Co. The RIDGID® Prize Package consists of eight professional hand tools and has a $200 total value:

• 14-inch and 18-inch HD RAPIDGRIP™ Self-Adjusting Wrenches for easy, one-hand operation.

• One-Stop™ Wrench, a compound tool for installing compression couplings.

• 10-inch Wide-Mouth Adjustable Wrench featuring tapered jaws for tight areas.

• 10 1/2-inch Plumber's Tongue-and-Groove Pliers with extra-wide opening jaws.

• No. 117 Midget Tubing Cutter for use in confined areas.

• No. 151 Quick-Acting Tubing Cutter for smoother operation.

• 6-in-1 Multi-Purpose Screwdriver with two Phillips heads, two flat heads and two nut drivers.

First Place

Magnetic Idea I have a tool tip that has helped me out a few times in a tight spot.

Some of the tools that get used the most are my nut drivers. I only have one that is magnetized. When I get into a spot where I need the other to be magnetized, I use electrical tape.

I take a few about 2 inches long and place it over the head of the nut driver. It has to be “sticky-side-out”. I then fold the tape over the shaft of the driver and wrap it with another piece of electrical tape to hold it in place. Then I can put the screw on the end of the nut driver and the tape holds it in place just like a magnet.

This can end up being a lot easier than going all the way out to the truck to get a large magnet, and trying to get it magnetized for just a short period of time.
Scott Wintersteller
Halls Plumbing, Heating
Bucyrus, Ohio

Maintenance Is Key

Many contractors forget about their most important tool - their truck! Showing up to a job with a dirty truck dripping oil on the customer's driveway doesn't make for good PR either. Maintenance is cheaper than “fixin.” Your truck is the first impression most people will have of you. You can have the best tools, but if your truck is in disrepair and disrepute, you aren't going to get any work done.
Alex Tucciarone
TU-CO Plumbing and Heating
Plainfield, N.J.

Label What's Yours

Keeping tools on the jobsite can be tough. I mark my tools on the visible top or sides with fluorescent paint. I mark ladders and generators with my phone number as well. This makes them easy to see and helps prevent others from mistakenly taking them from the jobsite.
Tom Walter
Foster Plumbing & Heating
Richmond, Va.