Tools and Tool Lockers

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7134, 4 February 1930, Page 10

Tools and Tool Lockers

Motor ear manufacturers and coachbuilders are as far as ever from reaching a decision as to the best place for carrying the tool kit. Modern cars are so reliable, it is true, that the tool kit is seldom required, but- there is no need on this account to put the tools where they can only be reached with difficulty. On many cars the tools are stored under the seats. If they can all be reached by the removal of the driver’s seat cushion it is not so bad, but it is exceedingly annoying to have to ask one or more of the passengers to alight when it is necessary, say, to tighten a nut or get out the jack or wheelbrace. Out-of-date Methods. Carrying the tools in boxes on the running boards is out of date, although many coachbuilders provide very neat containers sunk flush with the running boards or suspended beneath them. The ehief disadvantage of the tools being thus conveniently situated»is that unless the lockers are exceedingly well made they are apt to be damaged by the ingress of water, while sometimes these lockers have the effect of reducing the ground clearance just where it is most required, i.e., midway between the wheel centres.

An excellent position for the tool kit is in the scuttle and some manufacturers provide a door in the dash under the bonnet by which the tools

can be reached. Sometimes, however, these are'awkwardly situated;' so that the lower part of one’s clothing brush against muddy wings and runningboards when seeking to extract the tools. ..... Quito a good place for tools is just inside the scuttle, forward of the doors. They can bo arranged there in an upright position, so that the one required may be immediately selected. They are kept dry. and clean and there is no likelihood of such permeating fluids as oil or rubber solution trickling on to them as often happens when tools are stored together with tins of spare oil, tyre repair outfits, etc. , under one of the seats. There are other positions for the tool kit;; for instance, in a locker at the back, above or in the place of the petrol tank, whilo another excellent position would be under the cowling which is becoming fashionable between the front dumb-irons. We have seen the tool kit neatly accommodated inside the panels of the doors of some cars, while in certain closed cars it has even been stored packed flat in the head lining.

Under the Bonnet. It has been the practice of many manufacturers for a considerable time to house such tools as arc more commonly required, such as the jack, wheelbrace, grease-gun, sparking plug spanner, etc., under the bonnet. It is necessary however, when this is done, to make sure that they are secure against rattle or theft. The la3t word in tool kit arrangement, we suppose, would be to have a neat pocket next to each component requiring special tools, such as the carburettor, magneto, etc., in which the particular keys or spanners required would be held always in readiness.

Methods of carrying the tools in their lockers are also of interest. Perhaps the neatest and most convenient manner is to provide boards or drawers suitably padded, with shaped recesses to accommodate each individual tool. Cork, rubber, wood, felt or some special composition is generally used for this purpose, with the form of each tool fretsawed out. If a close-fitting lid be provided the articles are held securely in place, otherwise special clips will be required. No tool-locker is really well made unless the articles are kept clean, accessible and secured against rattling about in the box. Unless this is prevented the faces of spanners will be worn and objects capable of being taken to pieces, such as adjustable wrenches, will rapidly dissolve into their com- ’ ponent parts. It is better, if no other means is provided, to keep each tool in its own pocket in a strong, well made tool-roll. If this be tightly strapped together and thte kit kept in a clean, dry place, the tools will remain in fairly good condition provided the whole roll does not shake about to such an extent that the tools wear through the material.. Another method of carrying tools

is to strap them, each in its proper place, to a board which is in itself detachable, while another is to push each item into a close-fitting rubber pocket.