Workshop Tools
Small Tools That Save Annoying Garage Jobs
Five ugly little tools that solve dropped, hidden and badly lit problems before a ten-minute garage job turns into an hour.
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Some tools do not make a job possible. They stop a normal job becoming irritating. That sounds like a small distinction until a washer drops into an engine bay and the whole afternoon changes shape.
This is the category for ugly little objects that save time by preventing the stupid part of the job.
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Flexible magnetic pickup tool with LED
Flexible magnetic pickup tool with LED
For steel fasteners in awkward places. Researched, not tested.
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Telescoping inspection mirror
Telescoping inspection mirror
Useful for hidden leaks, clips and part numbers. Researched, not tested.
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Magnetic parts tray
Magnetic parts tray
For fasteners during disassembly. Keep it away from swarf and paint.
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The parts tray prevents the second-most annoying version of the dropped-fastener problem: the one where the fastener was never dropped, only put somewhere clever and immediately forgotten.
Battery terminal brush
Battery terminal cleaning brush
For cleaning sound but corroded terminal contact surfaces.
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It is not glamorous, but clean contact surfaces remove one common cause of lazy starting before the diagnostic tree gets expensive.
Nylon trim tools
GOOACC nylon trim removal tool kit
GOOACC
For interior panels, clips and soft trim. Use progressively rather than with brute force.
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The practical point is not that nylon is magic. It is that nylon is less damaging than a screwdriver when the tool slips, which is exactly when trim damage happens.
For where these belong in a small workspace, see how to organize tools in a one-car garage.