Tool Tips -- February 2005

If you have an idea that has saved you time and money, Plumbing & Mechanical would like to share your tip with our readers. Our first-place winner will receive the RIDGID Prize Package from Ridge Tool Co. consisting of $200 worth of eight professional hand 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(r) Prize Package consists of eight professional hand tools and has a $200 value:

14-inch and 18-inch HD RAPIDGRIP(tm) Self-Adjusting Wrenches for easy, one-hand operation.
One-Stop(tm) 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

Love Your Tools Keep your tools clean and lubricated. All tools benefit from "elbow grease" - taking care of them on a daily basis. Wipe them down with WD-40 or other light oil and keep the moving parts especially clean and oiled. Also, sharpen your cutters or replace them often. Dull cutting and drilling tools can kill power equipment so much faster and can fatigue the operator a lot quicker, too.

Your tools, if kept in good working order, help to keep costs down due to better working conditions and less labor time, and save you money by not having to replace broken, frozen or worn-out tools before normal wear time is up.

Love your tools. They are a major part of your business operations. And use the required safety equipment for each, too. You can't be replaced like a tool can.

Phillip Reindl
Precision Plumbing Contractors
Kalispell, Mont.

Smooth Tie-In

Don't just spray a tubing cutter with WD-40. After a wet tie-in, take it apart, coat the roller-bearing points, cutter wheel pin and snap-back mechanism with high-quality, water-proof grease. Then, reassemble the cutter. It'll be ready for the next smooth tie-in.

Len Sosinski
Nadolna Bros.
Antioch, Ill.

Straight Claw Vs. Bent Claw

A straight-claw hammer is far more useful to a service plumber than a bent-claw hammer. Let's face it. We're not pounding nails all day. We're prying up floor boards, baseboard moldings, Sheetrock(tm) and even plaster-lath ceilings. A straight-claw hammer is the one to have.

Al Leone
Leone Plumbing Corp.
Peabody, Mass.