AMA about DIY (not punk but that might come up too)

[Chad]

I want to thank BottledViolence and BadMrMojo for giving their time and knowdlege to us for our 1st AMA. Thank you to everyone who particpated as well!

[Ikoma]

Agreed!

[sbonner]

Great job all around!

[BadMrMojo]

Thanks to all, especially to BV for sharing wisdom, Chad for making it a thing, and everyone who asked questions. It was a ton of fun.

[BottledViolence]

Thanks to all, especially to BV for sharing wisdom, Chad for making it a thing, and everyone who asked questions. It was a ton of fun.

For sure! Thanks for the chance to talk about tools and stuff!

Now we need BMM to get back to work on the MAME and showing us how he did it!

[BottledViolence]

I know it's over, but I just replaced an outlet and decided to take a picture of my electrical tools.



The continuity tester on the left never gets used but it was in the bag.

I keep a box of wire nuts and those plastic push connectors. I'm not sure how well they hold up, but a lot of my boxes have very little extra wire and they fit in better than nuts.

Utility knife
Dikes (The linesman's pliers can cut also so they are a bit redundant.
Needlenosed pliers (handy but less important than linesmans)
Linesman's Pliers (most used tool after the screwdrivers)
Outlet tester (not required but it checks ground and polarity and is cheap. This one was free)
Wire strippers (this kind is my favorite, but there are cheaper ones and you can strip with the knife or dikes if you are careful and don't nick the wire)
Zip ties!

Top right is my flashlight
Screwdrivers, one phillips, one straight. These are Klein wire bending, they have a lug on the handle that lets you loop the wire perfectly for screwing onto the terminal. Don't even need pliers.
The silver thing is a sheath ripper.
The pen looking thing is a voltalert. It tells you if a line has juice without actually touching a wire. It also lets you know if an outlet is hot and if the polarization is correct.

[BottledViolence]

Very good, very old film about proper tool usage

[Peetiedog]

Thank you for that video link. I now know my mother (who was the handy person of my childhood) was a Primitive Pete. The video did not cover her favourite impromptu tool replacement... The butter knife for the screwdriver. I believe that nearly all of my childhood screwdrivers... I mean butter knives, had twisted or mangled ends from this practice. The ones that we're still pristine were the first selected for the newest screw (the bent ones are harder to use as a screwdriver). She was a wizard with chicken wire, duct tape and telephone wire too. She once started and drove a truck around the yard using a 5 gallon bucket for the seat, rope for the gas peddle, and mop handle for the brake. How I and my siblings survived I still wonder some times... Please note that past being BA Bracas from the A Team in construction projects she was a great mom... Maybe because of it... Hum...

My father was a cost accountant and smart enough to let her do the handy work and stay married for 50+ years.

[BottledViolence]

Every time I go to Harbor Freight and they offer a free screwdriver set, I pick one up just to give to people that I know use their butter knives for screwdrivers.

That way at least I know that the screws won't be all buggered up when I have to go fix their stuff.

[McNutcase]

Every time I go to Harbor Freight and they offer a free screwdriver set, I pick one up just to give to people that I know use their butter knives for screwdrivers.

That way at least I know that the screws won't be all buggered up when I have to go fix their stuff.

and that you'll be able to make a sammich with unmolested butter knives.