Dropped $260 on a torque multiplier for a job that only needed a 4-foot cheater bar
Was on a boiler rebuild in Gary, Indiana back in March. Tube sheet bolts were seized up bad. Foreman told me to just grab a cheater and lean on it. I didn't listen. Ordered a torque multiplier overnight, $260 with shipping. It showed up Tuesday. Used it on exactly 6 bolts before the job got rained out and they swapped us to another unit.
The 4-foot pipe we already had in the conex woulda done the same thing in half the time. My partner still brings it up every time we rig up. The multiplier's been sitting in my gang box since April.
What's the dumbest tool you bought that a piece of scrap pipe coulda replaced?
Wait, $260 overnight and it only got used on 6 bolts before the rain shut you down? That is brutal. The pipe was literally sitting in the conex the whole time and you walked right past it to order a whole machine. Then the multiplier just lives in your gang box collecting dust while your partner gets to roast you for it forever. Bet that $260 stings every single time he opens his mouth about it.
That overnight fee is nothing compared to what that machine rental probably cost for the day. Rain days are the worst because you pay for everything and get nothing done.