[RickRuski]

Tool Definitions: -



DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands , so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.



WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light .. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!'


SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make expensive custom teak moldings too short .



PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads . Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters .



BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs .



HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle ... It transforms human energy into a crooked , unpredictable motion , and the more you attempt to influence its course , the more dismal your future becomes .



VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after regular pliers to completely round off bolt heads . If nothing else is available , they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand , and are valuable in the creation of instant blood blisters .



OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire . Also handy for igniting the grease inside the engine room , and ruining the fiberglass hull where the propeller shaft struts mount , when you want to remove an recalcitrant cutless bearing .



TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity .


BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge .



TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect , and the integrity of the mounting it is attached to .



PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt ; but can also be used , as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.



STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.



PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part .



HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short .



HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war ; the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit .


UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as rubber fenders, liquids in plastic bottles, costly pump gaskets , refund cheques , and most rubber or plastic parts . Especially useful for slicing work clothes , but only while in use .



SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal favorite!!) Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a beyotch!' (while in the initial stages of aggravation) at the top of your lungs ! The lexicon of curses tends to elevate from there . It is also , most often , the next tool that you will need .