Do you own a hammer and a screwdriver?

[Ettan]

Your attitude has been that of condensation. You even start this by suggesting that having tools and skills is somehow something partisan.

Being skilled and prepared to take care of you and yours has NEVER been a "right wing" thing. Its called being skilled and prepared to take care of yourself.

I can afford to pay 500 bucks for 50 dollar repair too, I take pride that I am not foolish enough to take that bargain.

Agreed.
But I wouldnt say its just pride. I like to fix stuff, its a way to relax/meditate. A way to take a mental break from everyday life.

[lockedout]

On FB I belong to a group for my neighborhood. This way everyone in the area can keep up to date on happenings and what not, yard sales, lost dogs, etc etc.

This was posted by someone a few minutes ago:



Maybe I am overblowing it, but how does someone not own a hammer and a screwdriver? To make matters worse, this is a neighborhood of homeowners. How do you own a house and not have these two common tools? I'd even go as far as saying renters would strike me just as odd not having them.

Does getting hammered drinking screwdrivers count?

[Lady Dragonheart]

We have several toolboxes full of such things here... So, I do, several.

[Narwal]

I have basic tools, have mounted tv's, installed garage door opener, etc... there are still things I leave to the pros. Honestly, when you have a full-time job, make good money, and have hobbies you like, your free-time can be more valuable to you than saving some bucks. Likewise, my attitude, in that regard, provides the opportunity for someone else to have a job doing shit I don't like to do, such as plumbing or professionally cleaning the carpets.

[IIamaKing]

sorry if you took it that way, it was tied to it for my dad and all his manly men garbage. My apologies for generalizing my circumstances

EDIT: @ your post below this one; at risk for what? having to walk? I think though ima back off from replying to you after this. you seem ready for a flamewar

Get a flat, at night in the rain or snow and have to walk. Thats risk, unnecessary risk at that. Now, lets put your family in the car, assuming you have or ever have one. Your inability and lack of preparedness has now put your family at risk.

No reason for it, nothing logical at least, some ill place rebellion against your dad or some ideal you associate with these sorts of skills.

Like I said I can afford a 500$ repair too, there is just no reason to pay that, I'd rater buy something fun, than pay a guy to do it, so he can do something fun, wioth my money.

Lets take a very easy repair, replacing the drain on your kitchen sink. I can go to Menards and get the part for 10 bucks or less, its is an easy low skill fix takes 30 min or so with out any hicups. Thats a 150-250 dollar repair to get a guy to do it.
No special skills or tools needed only 1 hour(including a trip to the store), I dont know how much you make, but while I can afford a 500 dollar repair, paying 200 dollars for a 10 dollar part and a 30 min job is just stupid.

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Agreed.
But I wouldnt say its just pride. I like to fix stuff, its a way to relax/meditate. A way to take a mental break from everyday life.

The sense of pride and satisfaction that accompanys a fix, nothing compares really.

[hellosaltygoodness]

no. fixing shit is what the landlord is for.

[xuros]

Should post on it a mapquest pic to the closest hardware store!

[Vanyali]

i shouldn't have made the big strong man jokes, i tried to remove a nut and it had locked and tried its best to kill me

[Witchblade77]

sorry if you took it that way, it was tied to it for my dad and all his manly men garbage. My apologies for generalizing my circumstances

EDIT: @ your post below this one; at risk for what? having to walk? I think though ima back off from replying to you after this. you seem ready for a flamewar

honestly? not having a cellphone on you for emergencies is just silly. there are burner phones that cost $12 a month - I know becasue that's what my hubs has. as self admitedly middle class surely you can afford one. i don't know where you live, but in my neck of the woods walking home is the absolute last resort, reserved for thos please never happen situations where entire infrastructure collapses.

also.. that whole right wing shpiel as if self sufficiency is something to be ashamed of? wut?

I was taught how to do things for myself not because its traditionally masculine or whatever else political meaning you assign to it, but for sheer self preservation. you cannot always rely on someone else to do the job for you. there is nothing political about knowing how to do the basics and I will NEVER understand how NOT knowing how to do the basics is a point of pride :/

and i don't know about you, but I don't have enough time to waste on waiting for someone else to fix something simple for me. especially now that internet allows us to reach information I would have had to shlep to the library to get in olden days.

[Djuntas]

I wouldent mind owning more tools and learning about it.

I want to tinker with my old well-keept Mountainbike. My dad is a big cycling fan, he helps me out, but would love to do it myself.

Id love to completely diseambel my bike...clean it, and put it back together. But just getting the chain off scares me.


Meh...i own very little tools, also cant afford it.

[IIamaKing]

honestly? not having a cellphone on you for emergencies is just silly. there are burner phones that cost $12 a month - I know becasue that's what my hubs has. as self admitedly middle class surely you can afford one. i don't know where you live, but in my neck of the woods walking home is the absolute last resort, reserved for thos please never happen situations where entire infrastructure collapses.

also.. that whole right wing shpiel as if self sufficiency is something to be ashamed of? wut?

I was taught how to do things for myself not because its traditionally masculine or whatever else political meaning you assign to it, but for sheer self preservation. you cannot always rely on someone else to do the job for you. there is nothing political about knowing how to do the basics and I will NEVER understand how NOT knowing how to do the basics is a point of pride :/

and i don't know about you, but I don't have enough time to waste on waiting for someone else to fix something simple for me. especially now that internet allows us to reach information I would have had to shlep to the library to get in olden days.

Guy is willing to walk miles to get a repair guy, to drive him back out to his car, to fix his tire for him, a process that could take HOURS. Meanwhile the rest of us are back on the road and going 15 min or so later.

ANd he thinks he is not a sucker.

Not a single ounce of respect for "men" like him. I am probably projecting some of my disdain for my worthless pile of a brother-in-law, but honestly this guy sounds like him. Incapable on every level to take care of things himself. (in the handyman realm).

Honestly, if you own a home and are unwilling or able to replace the guts in a toilet, fix a leaky drain, replace a doorknob, fix some rotten wood on your soffit, why do you own a home? Rent an apt or condo. Those places roll repair costs into your rent. Yearly I save thousands of dollars being able to do stuff on my own. Thats something to be proud of.

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I wouldent mind owning more tools and learning about it.

I want to tinker with my old well-keept Mountainbike. My dad is a big cycling fan, he helps me out, but would love to do it myself.

Id love to completely diseambel my bike...clean it, and put it back together. But just getting the chain off scares me.


Meh...i own very little tools, also cant afford it.

20 bucks can get you a multi tool that can tear down a bike.

Obviously full size tool are preferable, but one of those can get the job done.

[Vanyali]

Since we're talking car work, why the fuck are the positive connectors for the battery buried to deeply within shit that you can't get to it for replacement without a shitload of trouble

[Reeve]

Yeah. I also have a power drill, a digital multimeter, a wrench set, and various other simple tools required for basic maintenance.

But I grew up with a father who taught me basic home maintenance, woodworking, wall building, electric work, plumbing, etc. I taught myself auto maintenance.

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my non mechanical non fixit wife still had a full toolbox including power tools when i met her.

the fact anyone would live without tools is just negligent in my book. but hey, this is what happens when we cut basic shop class and auto shop from our school. useless kids grow up to be useless adults. (yes i'm exaggerating and i dont care)

I'm always amazed at how many women in particular freeze up at the idea of having to change a flat tire. It's really not that hard, I swear.

[IIamaKing]

Since we're talking car work, why the fuck are the positive connectors for the battery buried to deeply within shit that you can't get to it for replacement without a shitload of trouble

Dont get me started on battery placement inside an engine compartment.

[IIamaKing]

Yeah...I try not to be a jerk about it, but I hate, hate, hate people who refuse to even TRY to do things for themselves.

I kinda work in customer service, too...so it really, really grinds my gears sometimes. It's my job to help them, I know, I know...but goddamn, at least TRY before asking me to do it for you.

I cant be a jerk to my brother-in-law, family bullshit, this guy, no such protection.

I get into it with my daughter a lot, she asks me to do something and I ask "well what have you tried" "nothing".

Every thing can be done by you at home, with nothing more than YouTube 9 times out of 10.

[Reeve]

Being skilled and prepared to take care of you and yours has NEVER been a "right wing" thing. Its called being skilled and prepared to take care of yourself.

I can afford to pay 500 bucks for 50 dollar repair too, I take pride that I am not foolish enough to take that bargain.

I agree on a lot of things. There are certain things I'm willing to spend the money on not to have to do it myself though, like oil changes. I live in an apartment complex, so I don't have a great location to do my own oil changes. Same goes for car washes. I'd rather just spend the $20 to let someone else take care of it.

But with stuff like basic home maintenance and tire changes, I don't really understand why people don't do it themselves. It's not exactly difficult to figure out how to change a door lock, and being able to change your own car tire can save you a lot of time.

[Tziva]

I have always had my own tools, even when I lived with other people that owned them or in apartments where we couldn't do our own maintenance.

While it's weird to me that someone wouldn't own those things, on the other hand, I also can empathise with a situation where you avoid buying things that you can easily borrow because money is tight. I can see how, on that logic, someone might make it well into adulthood without owning common, everyday objects yourself.

[Vanyali]

Dont get me started on battery placement inside an engine compartment.

this one is.. ugh. it's the ground to the left of the positive, so it's semi-deep, with what i think is a compressor directly in front of it, as well as more wiring and the air filter right there as well. so not only is it a bit corrosion locked you have to use a half-sized ratchet and it seems to be a 15.5 sized nut, with none of the standards working because why not, so it won't grip to even begin to break the lock, even if you have the room to do it. *rage*

Karrrrrrrrrrmaaaaaaaaa!

I BEAT THAT ONE THOUGH.. that one..

[Dug]

I can understand having money to pay people to do real house work for you but everyone should have a simple toolbox. I couldn't even name half the tools in mine its just a mishmash of random shit I've accumulated over the years and I always happen to have the one I need.

[IIamaKing]

Right?!

That kind of stuff just makes me lose it sometimes. Just try, dammit!

When you can literally type your question into google and get a video back showing you what to do, removes any excuse outside of laziness or stupidity.