Fetishism: (lit. fetish = a lifeless object that is worshiped as a god)
Fetishism. It is often used in a sexual context. A stiletto heeled fetishist gets more excited from the heel than from the girl. Besides the sexual aspect, I am also a fetishist: tool fetishist. That is not taboo, but innocent entertainment. Yet?
Most people never come to tinkering because they have no tools. They say. And they used to have a good excuse for that: professional tools were expensive. Very expensive. In the meantime, that is no longer the case. Just look at the sites of the advertisers of our printed editions.
To simply enjoy our hobby, we do not need a specialist garage. No electronic things that were not even there when our classics were made.
HO! Things are already going wrong there. Because with vehicles that are not used very intensively, a brake is sometimes required at the start of the season. The car feels a bit slow. Everything is not going so well.
If after the first ride you check the temperature of the brakes with an infrared laser thermometer, then you immediately know if something is up there. Without stooping. That smart measuring instrument can also be used to determine whether there are hot or cold spots in the block or radiator. And just like with all tools: it is very interesting on the tool board in the shed or garage.
A simply good socket wrench set is also a winner. I prefer caps with an inner hexagon. With that you can make less wide strokes than with a twelve-sided cap, but it has more grip on bolt heads and nuts that have been used for a lifetime.
A set of ring / open-ended spanners or just the purchase of the sizes on your classic? The best investment and crackling.
In fact, all that 'standard tools' can be purchased in completely assembled sets or sets. Sometimes also with price bangers the Aldi, the Action and the Lidl. The quality is generally good for hobby use.
But it is the pieces of special tools that make life and the tool board so beautiful. And we already mentioned it: these tools are nowadays simply for sale and affordable.
A torque wrench is a thing that determines the tightening force of a bolt or nut. Too loose connections can work loose. Too fixed connections ... Oops. A broken bolt. And then see the remnants to remove. Securing spark plugs is also better with a torque wrench. Some cylinder head constructions have rather little meat between the spark plug hole and the valve seat edge. There the case can go to tear. That is expensive!
Once a tension spring has to be mounted or dismantled
a feather puller a must to spare your mood and knuckles. A tool of nothing. Yet…
A lot has already gone wrong when removing door panels and such. Including relationships. While flawlessly lifting the mounting pins that connect the panel to the door with a special tool is just a joyous job.
And then there are things like valve spring tongs. A blessing for everyone who tried to dismantle or assemble valves with a lot of messing around and pipes under a vertical drill stand. For the people who have not experienced it. At least one of the deposit half-moons that hold the valve disc in place tends to disappear with a short jump, after which it remains absolutely untraceable.
Another change: the spring clip with which spiral springs are pressed together so that shock absorbers can be dismantled. On a rainy Sunday I had improvised such a thing myself. He almost worked. When the spring was almost under maximum tension, my tool broke and I got all kinds of hardware against my forehead. The doctor with weekend service has it attached properly.
For key work under the car, the car must stand on axle supports. Never on the jack. And if there is anyway tinkering under the car, then such a roll bed is ideal, plus a magnetic tray for the loose screws and bolts.
Another thing with a magnet: A telescopic marker with a magnetic point. Ideal for fishing bolts, nuts and washers from the greasy darkness where they - OEPS! - in his cases. With such a magnetic stylus there is often a telescopic stylus with a rotating mirror to be able to see where you cannot look.
For the time being the conclusion is:
Good tools are fantastic. Even when you are not using it, it gives your storage space a professional look. What is also very nice: a lift. But that requires a little more space.
And the things we mentioned? They all cost from a euro or five to fifty.
Tinkering can start very simply. And in the process they learn. We are never too old to learn.