A Tool by Any Other Name: Unique Uses of Everyday Items, Part 1
/By Homer Chaney, Owner/Chief Technician at Venturi Coffee Works
Every experienced technician or mechanic understands the value of a quality tool. Often times even an apprentice or new tech can tell the difference in the caliber of a tool when presented with different brands of the same type for comparison. For me, as an example and general rule, my aircraft hand tools are Snap-on or Proto, and for coffee equipment I may favor Knipex, Wera, and professional-grade Craftsman. I’m also brand loyal to Makita and Fluke. Different backgrounds and styles have an effect on why we choose what we choose and there are many fine brands that can get the job done. However, sometimes the unassuming item found in common places or serving a specified purpose in another field, is just what you need to succeed.
Sometimes these items present themselves to us when we require a function but don’t mind the form (and happen to save cost). Other times, these items speak to us while looking through the vast array of stray things cast about workshops and warehouses. Even still, they may jump out at us whilst perusing through stores and businesses during the course of our weekly errands (usually while thinking about that project we’re working on or is fast approaching). And better yet, when someone passes along that gem of knowledge about how they used an item to meet a need that directly correlates to your situation outright opens and blows your mind. The ability to think outside the box doesn’t come naturally to everyone and is mostly earned through experience.
However inspired, the following are a few examples of unique and clever uses of everyday things:
Item: Steering Wheel/Universal Puller
Use: Removal of grinder burrs and motor shafts.
Note: Some companies offer a specialized/custom tool for purchase to perform such tasks on their equipment. With slight modification (some of us make our own jigs), this tool can walk between the worlds of automotive and coffee repair.
Item: Bottle Corks
Use: End protections for pick sets, scribes, Exacto knives, razor blades. Spacers.
Note: There are different densities to choose from to cover a variety of applications (red wine and champagne corks are preferred).
Item: Paper Clips
Use: Clearing obstructions in jets/gicleurs or reaching and pressing reset buttons on certain electronic boards or equipment.
Note: Some technical manuals actually call out the use of fine drill bits to achieve the same purpose. However, three basic sizes/diameters of paperclips can take you pretty far.
Item: Magnets
Use: Finding wall studs for mounting of equipment or brackets. Opening latches on equipment doors. Magnetizing bits to stay inside drivers or tips to hold fasteners. Collection/removal of ferrous metal shavings.
Note: Be careful where you keep it so as not to damage any sensitive electronic parts. You just might be able to use a small one to troubleshoot magnetic control switches under the right circumstances.
Item: Skateboards
Use: Furniture dolly, mode of transportation – one of my techs prefers the longboard – or as a reminder of those days when you had time for hobbies.
Note: The anti-skid surfaces and raised ends can be useful with odd sizes or angles. Save your back and work smarter, not harder.
These are only a few examples of what can be used or accomplished, with a little cleverness, ingenuity, and practical thinking. Coffee Technicians work on more and more complicated equipment and in diverse environments, so why not simplify? Translate the experiences from those other industries or situations you’ve been a part of to take inspiration wherever you can find it and succeed in the tasks at hand.
Just ask yourself, what would MacGyver do?