This weeks most . . . >>> Worthless Tools & Gadgets <<<

[OS OK]

Reading the following posted by mold maker gave me an idea about a picture thread/post...(post subject was, 'infrared thermometers')

"I bought a second and more expensive unit.
The cheaper was the best, but almost worthless. It will tell you what not to touch, but not how bad it will hurt.
They're both in that drawer with all the other worthless gadgets that looked good before I spent the coins."

I had to laugh my tail off at that...so here's my 'this weeks most worthless tool or gadget'.
I'm sure I'll be suckered into buying another in the future though . . . :bigsmyl2:

194765
OK...so open the junk drawer and pull out those gadgets that you wasted money on...take a picture and post it here.

[No Blue]

I have mine in the kitchen; use it to determine when the oil in the fry pan is up to temp. Or to check the temp of a fillet of fish while it's cooking, or the same with a pork chop or steak.

When I was wrenching on cars, didn't have them then, but there were lots of parts on a car that you could check; brakes, cooling system, AC, exhaust manifolds for a dead cylinder, just your imagination with what you could come up with.

[country gent]

We had one at work for checking bearings and gibs / ways on the faster presses ( 400=450 strokes per minute). It gave a good idea of if the parts were getting enough pil and the condidtion of them

[jmorris]

I use mine often but they don't work on reflective surfaces.

[TexasGrunt]

I'd take a picture of my worthless tool but I'm sure it would get me banned.

[OS OK]

"Gosh...I'm glad I wasn't sippin my Joe when I read this! That's dang funny...I'm glad your feeling better!"

[oger]

I use mine all the time, from looking for dead cylinders in a car engine to checking mold temp ( I spray moly lube on the outside of alum molds)

[Harter66]

We call her Remmy , Remington when she's in trouble , Rohm probably would have been a better choice .

194783
The poor girl has an amazing nose unfortunately when it turns on everything else goes offline ..... Her mother was a 85# Rottweiler her father was a German shorthair that talked her into laying down .....
She's a sweetheart and just smart enough to make force necessary for training the parts she didn't feel like doing .

Maybe Pot scrubber would be a better name .......

[OS OK]

It looks like she's saying..."Oh no...what'd I do now?"

[Harter66]

Just like mold she grows on ya after a while .

[EDG]

Those are really handy for checking the temp in a skillet or the back of the freezer when the fridge needs a little more R134.


Reading the following posted by mold maker gave me an idea about a picture thread/post...(post subject was, 'infrared thermometers')

"I bought a second and more expensive unit.
The cheaper was the best, but almost worthless. It will tell you what not to touch, but not how bad it will hurt.
They're both in that drawer with all the other worthless gadgets that looked good before I spent the coins."

I had to laugh my tail off at that...so here's my 'this weeks most worthless tool or gadget'.
I'm sure I'll be suckered into buying another in the future though . . . :bigsmyl2:

194765
OK...so open the junk drawer and pull out those gadgets that you wasted money on...take a picture and post it here.

[OS OK]

Lee's ladle dipper...uhhh? It looked good in the catalogue but...come on, what do you dip with this tiny little what-cha-ma-callit?

"Olives?"


194787

EDG...we're kinda talking worthless tools and gadgets in relation to handloading/casting. It's like mold maker said...it only tells you 'ballpark' or 'thereabouts' temps when pointed at the right surface. When they advertise these gizmos they don't mention that part. We throw good $ after bad in order to find out for ourselves, we have the wrong application here for general use.

[mdi]

Posting pictures on this forum ain't exactly good for me as when I tried it in the past I had sketchy results. Anyway, the most worthless piece of junk I've acquired is a press. I saw a new manufacturer a while back and ordered one of their presses because I was looking for a dedicated decapping press. Well, my SmartReloader press arrived and it looked OK in the box. I was less impressed when I started setting it up and I tried to process some .38 Special cases. The action felt gritty, like there was sand in the linkage. I had to exert much more force to size/deprime about 10 cases and the ram/frame fit was so sloppy I had to guide every case into the die (like nearly 1/16" of slop). The slot for the shell holder was tight, but seemed crooked (?). I now have it hanging over my bench as it's only use now is a reminder to never purchase anything made by SmartReloader...

[220]

Im sure there are plenty of worthless tools out there many that have been invented to address problems that don't exist but a I think a lot of it comes down to users that have no idea on how to use the tool.
IR temp guns are a classic example, the early versions were quite expensive usually came with a extensive listing of emissivity values and the emissivity could be set on the gun. They were usually only purchases by people who knew how to use them.
IR guns have become cheaper and cheaper and are now available to anyone, features like emissivity settings and comprehensive listings have been dropped to cut price. People purchase them thinking they will give a point and shoot reading and are disappointed when they don't get accurate readings.
If your disappointed with your IR gun find yourself a emissivity table and how to use it.

[gwpercle]

I'd take a picture of my worthless tool but I'm sure it would get me banned.

Yeah My wife says some of my tools are worthless too but I'm still not ready to toss them in the junk drawer....I keep a lot of worthless , useless stuff around !

[lightman]

They are good for exercising the cat!:p

[Gee_Wizz01]

The laser is the only thing that works on the 2 I have. The only reason I keep them is to play with the cats.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[CastingFool]

I used an IR thermometer at work, was good for checking temps on heating ducts, pipes, etc. You can use them to check bearings on motors, fans, etc. but you have to do it all the time, so you get a feel of what is normal running temp, or overheating due to wear. I got a cheapie one from HB for home use. Hardly ever use it, so it just may qualify for the useless tool category.

[jmorris]

Another gadget I played with for a few weeks was a thermal camera. It has several different settings.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/gn/Thermal/image_zpsfdio2wt3.jpeg

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/gn/Thermal/image_zpssrmm7sjw.jpeg

It gives you "the whole picture" and makes it easy to spot why the radiator on my oldest 8N hadn't been cutting it.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/gn/Thermal/image_zpsnb6fefw6.jpeg

The little red spot on the left is the alternator sticking out from behind the shroud.

[OS OK]

jmorris...you have some pretty cool stuff over there...the wife and I have been drooling over having a thermal camera since we discovered them.
I don't think anything can hide from the thermal...especially the newer ones $5K - $8K +.
I've watched hog hunts with thermal in complete darkness...boy, talking about 'booger men' in the night...there ya have one!

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could just wear a pair of special safety glasses and see like that.

[OS OK]

This shorter caliper found it's way to the junk drawer because it doesn't have the resolution in the dial to read very closely.
The larger dial reads .100" with a revolution, the smaller reads .200" with one revolution.
There is a lot less space between .001" marks to indicate over or undersize at the .001"/resolution...then for an exact measurement we go to the micrometer.


194842

[jmorris]

The thermal I took those photos with was a cheap one that plugs into a phone or iPad.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/seek-thermal-otterbox-universe-compact-thermal-camera/5233500.p?skuId=5233500&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=73cecf1a-9f0a-4499-a8c4-02d1ed6b2a92&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg218887&ksdevice=t&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CKrLhbSE3NMCFQqOaQodDfYCOw

[OS OK]

I musta pushed the wrong button...all I ever get on the phone is living 'hungry' color. Oh, I know what it is...no radiator!


194907
:bigsmyl2:

[Carrier]

Thermal camera technology has come along way since I payed $6000.00 for a low end
Fluke T-125 a decade ago. But it is still working and gets used a lot.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p45/r404a/IR000090-1.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p45/r404a/IR000090.jpg

[OS OK]

Boy I coulda used one of those cameras back when I contracted industrial control and power distribution...spot the hot joints in buss bars, motor connections, gutter taps and circuit breakers...shoot, I think I'd used it everywhere I went! You boys are getting some serious help with instruments like that!

[Carrier]

The uses for one is only limited by your imagination. I was awfull nervous for the first while about how much it cost but it paid for itself faster than I thought it would.
It also saved me a bunch of time and agrivation when I was able to pinpoint a couple of places in my house where the furnace pipes came apart for upstairs. Didn't have to cut half the drywall down to find the exact spots in the walls.

[dverna]

The most useless tool I ever bought was an RCBS Green Machine.

[OS OK]

I have always thought that it's a cool looking progressive...it's mesmerizing to watch the brass appear from the right like marching soldiers. I'd love to tinker with one someday.

[jetinteriorguy]

By far the most useless reloading tool I've had is the Lee folding primer tray. Now, I have a lot of Lee equipment and am pretty happy with it. But LEE IF YOU ARE LISTENING please get rid of this piece of junk.

[bangerjim]

The thermal I took those photos with was a cheap one that plugs into a phone or iPad.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/seek-thermal-otterbox-universe-compact-thermal-camera/5233500.p?skuId=5233500&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=73cecf1a-9f0a-4499-a8c4-02d1ed6b2a92&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg218887&ksdevice=t&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CKrLhbSE3NMCFQqOaQodDfYCOw

That IS cost-effective! The ones we used for industrial thermal surveys & process heat leaks are approaching $8-10K and are amazing/accurate. But for a hobbyist, that little iPhone plug-in looks like fun.

[bangerjim]

The IR gun is not a waste of money.....as long as you use it for what it was designed for......black/dark surfaces...and NOT shiny lead!

I have 2 of the HF ones and an industrial quality one that cost me over $200 and all three read almost the same. The HF thing is a decent tool.

Just do not think you can read the top of your pot or shiny molds. Either float a black oxide washer on top or use "aluminum black" liquid to make one end of your aluminum molds flat black. Works for me.