That customer who taught me tool maintenance with a coffee can

Had an older guy come by my job site last summer in Columbus, he was watching me patch a flat roof on a hot day. He asked why I kept stopping to let my nail gun cool down, then showed me how he uses an old coffee can full of water to dunk his air tools between uses. Said it's been his trick since 1987 and his guns still work like new. Anyone else got a weird simple trick like that for keeping tools alive longer?

2 comments

2 Comments

brian_kelly916d ago

That coffee can trick is actually genius because it's about keeping the internals cool and lubricated at the same time. I had a framing gun seize up on me once after a long day of roofing in July, just from all the heat and dust getting baked into the seals. The dunking method probably helps flush out some of that fine grit too, not just cool it down. For compressors, I always tell guys to drain the tank after every heavy use day, not just weekly like the manual says. That moisture builds up and rusts the inside, then that rusty gunk gets blown right into your guns. It's funny how the simplest stuff like a coffee can or a drain valve can make tools last ten years longer than they normally would.

mark496d ago

Man, that roofing story hits close to home. I had a brad nailer lock up on me similarly after a dusty summer job, and I just assumed it was done for. A buddy told me to try the coffee can method and it honestly brought it back to life, still runs smooth three years later.