Worst tool ever...
 

We've seen the posts "What's the best tol for.." or "what's your favorite tool"

Well, I ask, what's your worst, or teh worst one you've seen?!

Mine? probably the 'electric razor plane' by GP. Although I don't own one, I dunno why I would want to...

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Smart cut monokote trimmer. I bought one, tried and now it sits in a box as it's worthless and I can do a better job my way.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Yeah, I got one too!! thanks for teh reminder!!

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Just to reinforce grnbrt's analysis of the Monokote trimmer the only good thing about it was the 2 #11 blades included. Other than that it makes an excellent paper weight and nothing else. Dr.wogz if you want a good plane try the Tower powerplane. Tower sells it for half what Micro Mark wants for the same thing.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Worst tool for me has to be the d*mn woodpecker. Not only is it pretty much useless, I always seem to find the sucker by slapping the back of my hand into those millions of nice sharp points. Other than that, the contour sander I bought. USELESS. I do better with a razor plane and a sanding block.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

I'd say a small hand drill (don't remember manufacturer), but this thing was not designed (???) to hold drill bits smaller than 1/8". Funny it came with 4 drill bits:
1/32", 1/16", 3/32" and (the winner!!!) 1/8". And it is actually barely holding a 1/8' one [:'(]

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Oh, that reminds me of another one. My freaking tap handle. If I beat it into submission, I can get my 1/4 - 20 tap in it. But if I want to use anything smaller than that, I have to chuck it into my drill and go VERY slow. I hate that thing.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

To me there is nothing more annoying than purchasing a pack of CA applicator tips, only to find out they don't quite fit the bottle of CA I am currently using. What a mess.

TX-Deck

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

I have two tap handles and both have two steps to hold the square end of the tap. Look down into the throat of the tool and see if there is a second set of jaws further into the tool to hold the smaller taps.

John

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Thanks JWN, I'll take a look at that tonight.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

The Z bender that you put the wire in and bend, and then can't get the wire back out of the pliers has to be the worst. I have a new red handled one that is great, but the older ones with the slots cut in the end just plain suck!

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

I like My GP power plane It is great for rough carving blocks wing tips leading edges ect.
Tools that SUCK are Tpins, GP ball drivers, TF dumb cut tool.

I have junk but I cant find it to bad I love to gripe about bad products.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

X-acto wood plane....dosen't plane just tears out big chunks
Threw it out 10 minutes after I got home with it.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Smart Cut, without a doubt!! It did have some cool looking brass thumb nuts on it, though. One day I will find a use for those. I don't know why I haven't thrown it out yet.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Thats that little black plastic job that jabbed my thumb the first couple of times I reached for it? If so, yeah, piece of junk. I can do MUCH better with a single edged razor blade.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Actually, the one that burns me is the Dave Brown six shooter fueler. Lots of guys have them, I know, but mine just slips all over and takes more effort than an old well pump! I have to hold the pump with one hand, and turn the crank with the other, and it turns so stiff that I gave up. The plastic gear type pumps with the little handle turn so easy I just put the Six shooter away. I won't even sell it, wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Wow, should have taken a poll on the monokote trimmer. I had the same experience. Should have just bought a box of #11's versus that thing. Do companies even TEST their products any more?

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Most frustating tool: Fox and GP prop reamers. I used it to enlarge the hub to fit my Saito 100 and the prop didn't have a nice fit and had some freeplay. Engine shaft was 8mm exact but the nearest reaming step in both tools is 8.1mm. Nowadays I just fit a cylindrical file into my power drill and get a perfect fit everytime.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Scar

LOL im with ya there m8, thank god i never actualy went out and brought the damn thing, i got mine of a guy selling a load of RC bits few planes/engines and ods and ends,

im kinda old fasioned when it comes to refueling i use my trusty bottle :), all thw guys at the field have electric jobs, i saw this and thought i would give it go :(

come back from the field with arms like garth!!! LOL i think its up the loft now ;)

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

besides the 6 shooter it has to be my OLD! drill...

the wife brought it back from shopping one day because it was in a sale, this is just a waste of space, you put a 1/8 bit in and it drills a hole big enough for a fencing stump!, the chuck is way out of alignment...

i just use it for ROUGH grinding and cutting now

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Bigbird1, If you want a good plane for balsa work, look in Micro Mark. They have one that uses double edge razor blades that will shave paper thin shavings off the work. The plane itself is cast out of pot metal and I spent a little time polishing the foot to make it smooth but it is the best tool I have ever found to shape leading edges and wing tips. Best of all no sharpening needed, double edge blades are cheap and they last a good while on balsa.
This is a great thread but we shouldn't just talk about the tools that are useless, we should also share info about the ones that really do the job!

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: CCRC1

Bigbird1, If you want a good plane for balsa work, look in Micro Mark. They have one that uses double edge razor blades that will shave paper thin shavings off the work. The plane itself is cast out of pot metal and I spent a little time polishing the foot to make it smooth but it is the best tool I have ever found to shape leading edges and wing tips.
===================================
I have one like that now...
Only I think it's a Solington...(probably mispelled)
Kind of a metalic blue...cast, uses razor blades.
You're right...best thing since sliced bread...:)
Took a few times to adjust the blade, but once their, nnnooooo problem at all..

BB1

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Yup! thats it. I think it's made in Sweden. I used some simichrome to polish the foot to make it smooth so it didn't leave any marks on the balsa and cleaned up the casting a bit where the blade exits out the bottom. I just used it last night to shape the leading edge on an Utter Chaos I am scratch building.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

TF trimming tool nice looking, you think like it should work, but it does not.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

The best trim tool I have found is from Harry Higley. It uses a single edge razor blade and will trim the covering with just the right amount of overlap. I see a lot of you are purchasing the Top Flight tool and are not satisfied with it. Try the Higley tool, I think you will find it much more effective.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

The Higley tool also allows you to use the same blade for more cuts as there are many cutting slots. Flip the blade over and you have even more.

On the micromark manual plane, does anyone have the item number ? All I could find was the powered plane. Thx

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I ordered it through the local hobby shop...not really expensive...
If you have trouble finding one, I'll check with the hobby shop here..

BB1

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

I just love Joe's kits and planes...fly like they are on a rail..
Got a 1/3 scale Corbin Baby Ace kit this week for a Poulan 46 that I'm converting...
Not to get off the subject..:eek:

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Thanks BigBird. I have the plane from Master Airscrew and it works great. It shaves very smoothly especially if it is side slipped a little. I have not tried resharpening the blade yet, but I hope it can be done. A plane that uses ordinary razor blade will be great

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

I love my smart cut, does a far better job than I ever could. I'll be covering my latest over the next couple of weeks and it will see plenty of use. So don't understand what you guys are complaining about on that one.

As for worst tools, I have tried about half a dozen hinge slotting tools, and all were bad to worse. Best so far has to be the GP hinge slotting machine, that falls into the so so category. For the most part these days I try to hinge using the covering where possible, and avoid hinge slots altogether.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

davids razor plane is a very good one, i dont know what i would without it now i have one!

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

never yet come across a tool i hate

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

The smart-cut is definitly useless. I use a straight edge and a #11 blade and get far better trim. It should be improved with a roller cutter and then it might be a reliable piece. I have too many neat tools that I'll never use...I guess that makes me the most useless.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

To me, the worst tool is one that you don't need. But there are people out there who will buy anything, so manufactures will make them.

There are a million of them, but the only one that comes immediately to mind is: GP makes a tool for opening clevises.

Ever hear of a Screwdriver?

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

My votes are for the 6 shooter pump ( work ok.. but tend to bust the line inside quite often) and the monokote trimmer. Got one free, so I cannot complain.. but they're just about useless.I do much better with a razor blade or a #11 x-acto knife.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

With a couple exceptions, I've found most tools by Top Flight and Great Planes to be nothing more than gimmicks that don't work. They're the kind of companies that try to convince you that you can be a master model builder with no skill.

The Great Planes magnetic building board is a pile of junk. Other than the magnets themselves and the board, all the accessories are about as cheaply made as possible. Also, it doesn't come with nearly enough magnets. I found the magnets through another source for $.055 each and bought 200 of them. Then I built my own fixtures and now I have a top-notch building system.

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

Worst tools I have encountered:

TF Trim Cutting Tool
GP Hinge Marking Tool

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

CafeenMan,
I agree with you about the Great Planes magnetic building board fixtures - junk. However the board and the magnetics themselves are great. The magnets are very strong. I've been trying to find extra magnets for it. I've only been able to find ones that were about half the strength of the Great Planes. How about telling us where you found workable magnetics for 55 cents each.

John

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

JNorton - First, look at the fuselage construction and wing construction examples on my web site to see how I use the magnets:

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...ruction/06.htm

I get them from the Magnet Source. You have to buy 100 of them to get them at that price. I bought 200. THey are the EXACT SAME as the ones that come with the Great Planes board. Be sure to get the right product number. They have two identical style magnets - one has the hole drilled in the plates and the other style doesn't. You need 10-24 or 10-32 screws to attach them.

http://www.magnetsource.com/

Part # CA41LWH

RE: Worst tool ever...
 

mtudo98,
I forgot about that one!! Yep, I was a sucker too!!
It gouged the balsa with the two little feet that pivot (kind of), and never did mark the center of my trailing edge. I use a ball point pen now with masking tape wrapped around it to make it the right circumference. Draw a line, flip wing over and draw another line to confirm center. Cheap, accurate, and easy. I did throw that one away.

Pilgrim