What Tools Could Be Improved/Annoy You!

[Project Ideas]

for the next semester (freshman year in college) i have to solve a technical problem. This is going to be a taste of what senior design is going to be like in 3 years.

Basically i need to find an issue and fix it so i figure i would ask if you guys are annoyed by any tools you use on the job? An easy way to respond can be "I Hate It When..."

I would appreciate any help!

[Papaw]

I suppose we might be able to offer suggestions.
We are a group of old tool people and try to keep our discussions here on topic for the most part. Many of the tools we discuss are the forerunners of improved tools as used today.
If you want to be a part of Tool Talk, please post an introduction, we like to know a little about the members we meet here.

[Ietech]

You might try the following links -- I bet someone at one of them wiil be interested and be able to help you out good luck.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/index.php

and/or http://www.eng-tips.com/

[Aunt Phil]

What's really needed is a key on the computer that ratchets up a tiewrap around a portion of the anatomy of a college kid who thinks getting other people to do his work is clever.

[Papaw]

What else do we do when we research something? Taking ideas from one person is plagiarism. Taking ideas from many is called research.

[Branson]

I hate it when I can't read the names under the buttons on DVD players because the lettering is a medium gray on a silver background.  I hate it when I can't read the red lettering against the gray of the God-stick for video players to determine what button I'm pushing.   Color coordination is lovely, but not when it comes to visibility.  Contrast is what is needed.

I'll think about on the job tools, but mostly, I use old tools, and I know and respect their limitations.  Maybe durability/longevity issues here.   My carriage maker's rabbet plane was made around 1770.  It still does the job it was made to do. 

My Makita cordless drills still do the job, but getting the batteries for it is becoming difficult.  I hate it when the tool works, but can't be used because the batteries for the new ones don't interchange.

[lzenglish]

How about Inventing a Dishwasher, where you Don't have to "Wash the Dishes" before you "Wash the Dishes"? This one is Long Overdue!!!!!!!!!

Wayne

[walker]

How about Inventing a Dishwasher, where you Don't have to "Wash the Dishes" before you "Wash the Dishes"? This one is Long Overdue!!!!!!!!!

Wayne

its been done wayne,her name is connie and she works great!!
 brian

[lzenglish]

I'm going to have to tell Connie on you for that one Brian! You will be washing the floors with a toothbrush soon! Lol !!!!!!!!

Wayne

[64longstep/Brian]

How about making a universal remote that will work on everything and it easy to figure out
Brian-

[rusty]

How about a remote that works on the girlfriend?

Off....Off...off!

[1930]

Quote of the day....I like that.........What else do we do when we research something? Taking ideas from one person is plagiarism. Taking ideas from many is called research

[bird]

What's really needed is a key on the computer that ratchets up a tiewrap around a portion of the anatomy of a college kid who thinks getting other people to do his work is clever.

Oh, come on now, the kid's interested enough to find "tooltalk." We primarily learn through others wisdom..... plenty of folks on this site have a lot of that to go around!!!!!   
  Cheers to the kid in school!
bird

[bird]

for the next semester (freshman year in college) i have to solve a technical problem. This is going to be a taste of what senior design is going to be like in 3 years.

Basically i need to find an issue and fix it so i figure i would ask if you guys are annoyed by any tools you use on the job? An easy way to respond can be "I Hate It When..."

I would appreciate any help!

This is my guide on how to become a millionaire....   Find a way to repel carpenter bees. Or, better yet, find a way to get rid of stink bugs. Does anyone else deal with the sting bugs?  I don't like bugs. I can't help it. I can remember being a teenager, stomping on a roach, leaving my shoe on top of the bug with a hand written note for Dad, "RIP."   We still laugh about that!
      But, I digress. I've found biscuit cutters to be a real pain when trying to cut the slots in boards that accurately coincide with each other.
     However, often the biggest problem for me doesn't involve the machinery so much as it lies within the pathetic manuals you receive with a tool.
So, if your assignment is to find a problem and fix it, I would start with manuals. You could create the best tool in the world, but if the "inventor" cannot teach others how to use their invention, the product remains obsolete. .
   I'd look at tools requiring a good bit of knowledge in order to accurately work/ use the tool. I've never understood how someone could invent a tool, but is unable to clearly state to others how to use the tool. Another "tool" that comes to mind is the line of Kreg pocket jigs.  I've seen some of their jigs, and it looks like a nightmare to me!
      After all of my rambling, the important thing isn't  necessarily changing technology, but making technology more "user friendly."
  By the way, which college are you attending? ... none of my business... just curious
cheers, bird

[Aunt Phil]

Bird, I ain't sure if you covered 7½ or 9 acres with that answer, but I'm real sure there ain't a repellant for carpenter bees.

Best cure for them I've found is a tasty mix of sawdust, elmer's glue and Sevin.  I worked up a way of filling their holes with a calking gun and slapping a piece of masking tape on to hold it.  They don't chew their way back out, and the plug stays in place real good.