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DayRider

A right tool

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I have often been referred too as a right old tool, but what tool in your box can you not do without. Or have you any cheats that you have learned over time to get round them tricky moment? I have to admit the one thing in my box that I always use is my paint brush, after every run its the one I go for to clean down.

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A tamiya JIS screwdriver.  I used a pozidrive or Philips for years.  The right screwdriver makes so much difference.  

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7 minutes ago, davidwj95 said:

A tamiya JIS screwdriver.  I used a pozidrive or Philips for years.  The right screwdriver makes so much difference.  

I know exactly where you are coming from, no more stripping the tops of screws. Good shout.

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I have one particular pair of small blunt-nosed pliers that I use all the time. They're too small for anything but RC models, but perfect for gripping steering rods while you thread on the rod ends. Or even (carefully!) shock shafts. I've also found I can use them to install E-clips, if I'm careful, and for popping balls into rod ends and suspension links. And tons of other chores. I've had them for over 20 years, and if I ever lost them, I'd probably have to quit the hobby...

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Vernier callipers to help identify the screws... I’m not tuned in to a 2.5 x 8 or a 3 x 7... why so similar?.. I’m half blind :(

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36 minutes ago, Lee76 said:

Vernier callipers to help identify the screws... I’m not tuned in to a 2.5 x 8 or a 3 x 7... why so similar?.. I’m half blind :(

I have a magnifying glass in my box and would not leave home with out it!

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59 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

I have one particular pair of small blunt-nosed pliers that I use all the time. They're too small for anything but RC models, but perfect for gripping steering rods while you thread on the rod ends. Or even (carefully!) shock shafts. I've also found I can use them to install E-clips, if I'm careful, and for popping balls into rod ends and suspension links. And tons of other chores. I've had them for over 20 years, and if I ever lost them, I'd probably have to quit the hobby...

Like a comfortable pair of jeans, I have some tool that warn out new one don't feel right.

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50 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

The plier type things designed to grip round shafts like damper pistons and turnbuckles.

People are liking the pliers.

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10 minutes ago, DayRider said:

People are liking the pliers.

Trust me - if you havent got some. Get some.

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Xuron flush cutters.  No more cleaning up parts after trimming off the sprues.  I never realized how much I needed them until I had them.

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53 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Trust me - if you havent got some. Get some.

I have long, short, fat and thin pliers. So handy when making up shocks and those little E clips, arrrhh! I don't know how many of them I have pinged across my desk!

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Oh, JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screw drivers definitely made a difference for me.  Since that's mentioned already...

[1]  I'd go for a pair of curved scissors.  

Hmvgn4N.jpg

They don't look impressive. But once you start using them, they just make it easier to cut bodies with.  

4sFxFqb.png(Dexter approves)

[2]  The other is a brand, rather than a tool.  I used X-Acto knives until about 25 years ago.  But they were anything but exact. They'd get dull faster. So I preferred to use old school razor blades for scale model building.  Razors get dull just as fast, but at least they were sharper than X-Acto. 

Once I found OLFA brand (made in Japan), I never looked back.  As sharp as razor blades but stays sharper longer than razors. 

 vsdyiuU.jpg

Tiny stickers that's wrapping around these 6 tail lights?  These blades were very useful. 

F6qdX4R.jpg

 

[3]  It isn't a tool, but I don't think I'll build any RC car without plastic-safe Teflon grease.  It is stickier than Tamiya's ceramic grease. But because you only need a thin film of teflon, gears turn easier.  Only oil like WD40 would be lighter. But you can't use WD40 (it can destroy plastic, and it won't last long anyway).  But this grease have stuck on my Wild Willy 2 gears for 20 years, protecting even the aluminum pinion.  

nB5WB6D.jpg

You only need this much and it stays like this for decades. It's not any louder either.  In my opinion, this is something Tamiya should sell as an optional aftermarket grease. (Then again, Tamiya doesn't sell LiPo to children. Maybe Tamiya thinks kids would eat it. While people fry eggs on teflon pans everyday, eating teflon grease won't be good for health...)  

ItuZ7BQ.jpg

 

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Wowstick for me... Kind of lost it's charm when someone said it'd looked like a "ladies bedroom toy" though 😂

download.jpeg

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Tamiya JIS screwdriver #1 and #2. Tamiya e-clip tool. (Since I have this tool I never lost a clip, the carpetmonster gets hungry.)

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Dewalt gyroscopic screwdriver with adjustable speed and torque...perfect for the times I forgot the grease.  Then I forgot a spacer. Then I got aluminum shafts. Then I forgot to grease the shafts.  Then I forgot to oil the bearings.  Then I got an upgraded diff.  Then I got an upgraded counter gear. This tool really saved me from wrist replacement surgery. 

 

IMG_0720.JPG

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Tamiya screwdriver set - blue - my first and only JIS screwdrivers.  Despite owning Japanese cars and motorcycles for years, I never realised the screw heads were different to Phillips heads and (like many other Japanese owners) complained at how bad their screws were.  My Tamiya screwdrivers now get duty not just on my Tamiyas but also for my 1:1 vehicles.  Just yesterday I replaced the indicator bulb in my GSX-1400 with my Tamiya set.

It's getting a bit worn now - the screwdrivers are fine but the hex drivers are starting to slip (+1 for JIS in the JIS vs hex war).  I might get a new set, or possibly look around for one of those nice JIS bit sets to go in my RC toolbox, and consign the Tamiya set to my automotive / spare tool heap.

Many years ago I bought a Clarke 5-piece mini pliers set.  They're small blue-handled pliers that are perfect for RC stuff.  There's a conventional flat set which gets used for generic stuff, although the jaws have a rough-cut edge so not for use on soft materials.  There's a needle-nose set for those hard-to-reach areas and a bent needle-nose set for those harder-to-reach areas.  There's also a round-jaw set which is absolute dynamite for popping off ball cups without marking the cup or the ball, and finally a side cutter that I use for trimming parts off sprues.  Unfortunately (like many carry-around tools) the side cutter doubled up as a wire cutter and general get-off-there-you-little-so-and-so tool, so they're now looking way past their best and don't work too well.  I should replace them with the Tamiya side cutter set.

Other stuff I couldn't do without:

Schumacher body reamer

Swann-Morton scalpel

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I've got various ' favourite go to tools ', but something I have used a lot in hard to reach areas is an old Tamiya turnbuckle spanner - not just used for turnbuckles .

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3 hours ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

Dewalt gyroscopic screwdriver with adjustable speed and torque...perfect for the times I forgot the grease.  Then I forgot a spacer. Then I got aluminum shafts. Then I forgot to grease the shafts.  Then I forgot to oil the bearings.  Then I got an upgraded diff.  Then I got an upgraded counter gear. This tool really saved me from wrist replacement surgery. 

 

IMG_0720.JPG

Awesome . Now you just need to remember where you left it last ;)

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My milling machine:

OK, it won't fit in a toolbox, but along with digital calipers my most vital bit of kit.

Mill.jpg

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1 hour ago, MadInventor said:

My milling machine:

OK, it won't fit in a toolbox, but along with digital calipers my most vital bit of kit.

Mill.jpg

Nice 

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