Tools, measurement and records

Care and correct use of hand tools, power tools and instruments, and the equipment records that make every other procedure faster.

Scope

Correct use, care and storage of hand tools, power tools and measuring instruments, and the equipment records — model, serial and date — that make every other procedure in this repository faster.

Common failure modes

• A measuring instrument stored under load and now out of calibration
• A tool put away wet and corroded
• The wrong driver size used, which damages the fastener
• A battery pack stored fully discharged
• No record of model or serial numbers when a part is needed

Sections

• Hand tools, drivers and fasteners

  Hand tools and the fasteners they turn: selection, cleaning and storage, and identifying a bolt or a screw by size, thread pitch and grade marking before it is replaced.

  1 published

• Power tools, guards and battery packs

  Power tools and their battery packs: guards, vents, matching an accessory to the tool, hearing protection, and the storage that decides how long a lithium-ion pack lasts.

  0 published

• Measuring instruments

  Multimeters, torque wrenches, gauges and thermometers: correct use, the settings that destroy an instrument, and the storage that keeps it reading true.

  0 published

• Model numbers, data plates and date codes

  Finding out exactly what a machine is: model and serial plates and where manufacturers hide them, date codes, and the household record that turns a parts search or a recall check from an afternoon into a minute.

  1 published

All procedures in this category

• How to clean and store hand tools so they don't go rustyRust on a hand tool is almost never a failure of the tool. It is water, left on bare steel, in a space that spends half
• How to find and record the model and serial number of every appliance in the houseAlmost every useful thing you can do with an appliance starts with its model number. Checking whether it has been recall