Thread: Don't you just hate

Tools that stop working 3 days out of warranty, adjustment screws that require a special position (read contortionist) of the body to get to.
Lovely handles that work on a socket type arrangement, easy to adjust, that break without much effort!!! Packaging that is hard to open, and when you do, product fall out onto the floor, where its hard to find, I now open them above a large tub.
Kryn

When the spanner you are using falls under the bench and never out into the middle of the floor.

Phil

Phil, I don't think that the manufacturers really design spanners to do that, I would call it forces of nature.
Kryn

Malicious engineering such as propitiatory engineered fasteners and parts designed to drive the customer back to the dealer for supplies. The Company has the nerve to think that they will be in business the next week when spares needed.

Companies changing there packaging so that the item that used to fit in the drawer/ shelf no longer does. (Fasteners packets used to sit nicely in my fastener drawer...)

Soft start power tools

The plethora of screw head types: Hex, torx, posi drive, security torx, security hex, tri wing, tork set, clutch and of course the wonderful 'one way' heads - somebody should definitely blow the imbecile who designed them up.

i bought a set of frost imperial drills. The plastic case for the drills , with the hinged devices for the row of drill hole slots is pathetic. The whole thing fell apart and the drills went all across the shed floor . BTW one of the new drills was bent .. this a quality control problem

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Some of the little things that manufacturers do just to annoy you.

My pet hate is those vac formed plastic tool boxes that appear to be cad designed and robot packed.

The last time the corded tool will easily fit in its box is on the day I open the box for the first time.

When I attempt to fit the drill of jigsaw or whatever it is, back in the case edge always catches the power cable and the cord has to be fiddled with to obtain closure of the case.

Fair dinkum its only a little thing,but a better design could do away with it PITA. Mr Ted Bullpit was correct, they should be blown up!

What niggley little annoying thing have manufacturers come up with that gets up your nose as far as metalwork and tools/machines are concerned?

Grahame

So... I now get my little multitool out with a wood blade and cut a slot, hole or something, to push the cable into...
I found that I was not putting the tools away. And when I thought about it when you're in full flight doing stuff the extra time taken used to really annoy me so I instinctively stopped doing it and ended up with a bunch of empty boxes and some loose tools...

Originally Posted by david.elliott

So... I now get my little multitool out with a wood blade and cut a slot, hole or something, to push the cable into...
I found that I was not putting the tools away. And when I thought about it when you're in full flight doing stuff the extra time taken used to really annoy me so I instinctively stopped doing it and ended up with a bunch of empty boxes and some loose tools...

Me too! Until I found I was losing track of tools ,blades etc associated with the particular tool I was using.Could not bring myself to throw the empty cases away( hoarder) and ended up needing double the space. All toolboxes now have the tool and accessories in them and branded on ends what they are and on a shelf or in a rack. Time saved just in looking for .....
Also recycle old cases(tools that died or broke) and rehouse other tools or bitz and pieces in them.

I made the rookie mistake of buying a 'name' brand that I was familiar with (yellow and started with 'S') from a big green store (started with 'B') a nice little set of flat screwdrivers...
5 of them in the set and they each lasted...maybe a quarter of a turn... 1 after another they went in the bin...
worst $15 I ever spent
mark

I bought one of the S brand screwdriver sets with all of them in. I remember stretching to pay the 30ish dollars then. I still have them, and they're still great.
Now, the same looking set is about $25.00 from the B shed. There's no way you'll convince me the quality now is the same as what I bought back then.

I'm starting to sound like my Dad, perhaps he was right after all?

I hate product that is:

1) Heat sealed in rigid clear plastic, requiring you to cut the pack into bits as there's no way you can prize it open without the product getting launched across the room in your struggle.
2) Same sort of plastic, but held onto a cardboard back with loose staples, and you know you'll end up getting bitten by one of the staples.
3) Held to a backing sheet with wire or zip ties, so even after you struggle the package open, you've still got to wrangle the ties into submission.

I can't understand why so many companies buy good brand names just to ruin their hard earnt reputation by branding cheap and nasty tools with the trusty old brand name. How short sighted of them!! There won't be any good brand names left soon.

The other thing I get annoyed with is the poor conversions from metric to imperial. Is it 1/2 inch or 13mm, there is a difference people!!