Inferior Tools and Their Uses

Not enough hams understand, appreciate or recognize high quality tools and hardware. I have been handed sockets that shatter when torquing a grade 5 bolt, knife blades that dull and notch when touching steel and screwdrivers whose tips break or bend. Recently a few low grade bolts were mixed in with my purchase of grade 5 bolts sets for splicing sections of my new tower, which I discovered when the threads stripped while leaning on the wrench.

Paying for quality makes good economic sense since you won't soon be shopping for replacements or left cursing at the top of the tower with no recourse but to come down and replace a failed tool or part. You know the saying: you can pay now or you can pay even more later. Over my long career as a ham I have learned the lesson through painful experience and I can now say that it is in my bones.

Despite this good advice there is a place for tools of lesser provenance. I'd like to cover a few of these as they relate to tower work.

Multi-sized ratchet wrench

When I first noticed these tools on the shelves of hardware store several years ago I turned up my nose at them. Ratchets are by nature prone to failure and the more features they sport the more unreliable they become. A fantastic sale price convinced me to give them a try. Now one have one or two of these with me on every climb. Each wrench has 4 sizes, two on opposite sides of each head.

The set I have hasn't yet suffered a failure. Considering how much use they get that's impressive. The tool encourages me to check bolts more often and make it easy to tighten them well. An important feature is that the ratchet can be reversed with a flick of the thumb of the hand holding it. Tools that allow one hand operation are wonderfully convenient when you're hanging off the side of a tower. Because the large head makes it impossible to fit these wrenches into small spaces such as splice bolts on triangular leg towers, read ahead to the next section.

Adjustable wrench

Can you remember the size of every fastener you have on top of your tower: tower attachments, antennas and electrical connections? Do you keep a record of each one use it to select the wrenches to pack for your climb? I do neither. It's tedious, prone to omissions and errors and you can never find the document when you most need it.

In addition to a selection of good quality open ended wrenches I usually pack a small adjustable wrench to avoid having a tool roped up the tower or, worse, having to climb down to get it. This tool is far from ideal but in a pinch you'll become a believer.

Utility knife

These are cheap, fit easily into a tool bag pocket, can be operated with one hand and despite easily dulling a fresh sharp blade is had in seconds. You can use them to sever tie wraps and tape in one motion, strip wires in a pinch and for other odd jobs. There are far better knives out there, ones with longer lasting blades, more ergonomic and sturdier construction. I avoid the cheapest ones that do not take replacement blades or provide a means to lock the blade position. The latter can prove dangerous.

Years ago I used a multi-blade camping style knife such as the venerable Swiss Army Knife. Despite their ubiquity the steel quality is not up to hard use and the blade can jackknife on your fingers with an injudicious motion.

Multi-tip screwdriver

Many small electrical connection screws on antenna feed points, baluns and control lines have a screwdriver head, not a hex head. The variety of tip styles is the dilemma. I always pack proper screwdrivers for the work I am planning, but too often I don't know which tip styles I'll need, or I need to work on a connection other than the ones planned.

A stubby multi-tip screwdriver such as that pictured is cheap and takes up little room in a tool pouch or pocket. The steel quality is better than I would expect for the price; I haven't yet ruined a bit. When not up the tower I keep it in a kitchen drawer for routine household repair jobs.

Old guying hardware

In my garage and outdoors I store an inordinate quantity of old and rusty guy hardware. These include thimbles (as shown), turnbuckles, guy grips. guy strand, shackles and much more. It finds occasional use when pulling and adjusting guys, lifting jobs, messenger cables and tram lines.

I would never use them to permanently guy a tower since they do not have enough service life remaining. Just be sure to inspect old hardware before using it. I am blessed with lots of space to store stuff that others would (sensibly) discard.

Cheap vinyl tape

For coax connectors and other critical electrical splices I use high quality sealing and protective tapes and covers. A roll of moderate quality vinyl electrical tape is usually in my tool pouch for less critical tasks. These include securing cables to towers, masts and yagi booms. Several wraps of vinyl tape holds well and doesn't risk excess compression from cable ties on expensive and fragile cable. I also use the cheaper tape to weatherproof temporary connections. Just be sure temporary doesn't become permanent.

On the ground it can be a handy way to secure coils of guy strand, coax and other long cables into tight, easily handled packages for transportation and storage. The tape can later be cut without a qualm since it is so cheap. Do watch for tape that can't be easily worked in cold weather or that leaves a sticky residue when removed. Cheap tape also has a habit of unravelling when exposed to weather.

Oops!

I drop things. Dropping tools from 150' can easily destroy tools, whether cheap or dear. It's comforting to know that if I drop a cheap tool I have lost little except time. But do make sure your friends below are wearing hardhats! When I drop a good tool I pull out one of my cheap tools.

Good tools can sometimes surprise. After going through a series of "lifetime guarantee" ratchet socket wrenches over the years that spontaneously disassembled I chose to invest in an expensive tool that I purchased in a shop that caters to professionals. A friend dropped it from 75' directly onto the concrete tower base.

The socket and wrench separate on impact. I never did find that socket, so it must have bounced a considerable distance. I expected the wrench to be junk. To my surprise it had only a small scratch on it and it worked perfectly. Two years later it's still working fine.

Spending money on good tools can pay dividends. Even so there is a place for cheap tools when doing tower work. Choose wisely and tower work can be proceed on schedule and without undue stress.

Gloves

Tower and antenna work is hard on gloves. Thin work gloves are inexpensive and I discard them when they are too worn for safe use. Gloves suitable for use in cold weather, of which we have an abundance, is another matter.

There are good products on the market, for a price. I try these from time to time. But for daily use I have another solution.

I participate in a variety of sports, including winter sports. As a matter of course I buy well insulated gloves with leather palms and that allow excellent finger flexibility. Eventually they wear out, sporting tears and other defects. When this happens they become tower gloves.

They are usually good for one winter season of tower work. Tears that expose the insulation can be patched with electrical tape with only a small loss of flexibility. Your hands stay warm and protected from abrasion and bruises at almost zero cost. You can typically find excellent sales on ski gloves of this type in late winter.

Even if you use good gloves be sure to keep a pair of cheap gloves with you. Otherwise you'll have a cold and painful descent when you drop one. And you will.