[sdiy] The joys of good tools

[Magnus Danielson]

Hi!

Today I made a field excursion to Fridells, a serious hardware store in
Stockholm. I have always been bad at knowing my hardware stores, but my dear
friend Sten wanted to show me this and why not, I know lot's of stuff I need to
get.

THE tool I got today is actually worth serious mentioning, namely a 360 degree
table vice. I've long wanted one since I've worked with them before and it is
so good to have one at the table when doing various soldering jobs or minor
mechanics. If you don't know it, let's put it like this, it is a small vice
which you can turn in any direction (hence the 360 degrees) and tilt in any
direction (+/- 45 degrees) and then lock in that tilt and twist direction.
Lovely when you are soldering cables and stuff like that, locking things in a
natural direction so you work without strain etc. When you've learned to work
with one of these, you can't really understand how you did without one.

Now, why haven't I got one before? Well, the electronic house Elfa has one,
which is good and I've used and also bought for the firm. However, that one
goes for a little too high price to feel right for my pocket. Now, being out
in a totally different place than I usually am, I found one for what is about
the 6th the price of the other one, and it does what I want it to do. So, for
219 SEK (about 24 EUR or slightly more for USD) I got what I wanted - great!

It is not only the joy if getting a tool I have longed for which makes me write
about it here, I also think that it is one of those tools which people forget
to write about. We write about soldering irons, pliers, cutters, screwdrivers
etc. but a good helping hand like this...

Another tool I got today was a locking plier, which is another way to keep
things locked up. Another tool which I have longed to get.

Then a suitably big plastic toolbox. I've found out that I transport tools
across the country a little too often so a suitable toolbox seems like a
great idea.

Top that with getting a new RJ11 plug for the phone (the snap had broken, so I
replaced the RJ11 in the matter of minuites) and a new lamp for the shower
(now installed, besides minor adjustments and gluing it works and looks great).

So, see for yourself what some new toys... eh, tools can bring. It may save you
both trouble and money (how many times have one not destroyed something by
doing it sloppy or by the wrong tools?).

Cheers,
Magnus - who saw many neat heavy-duty tools but let them be - for this time