CHAPTER 1 COMMON MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND THEIR USES

CHAPTER 1 COMMON MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND THEIR USES Tools are designed to make a job easier and enable you to work more efficiently. If they are not properly used and cared for, their advantages are lost to you. Regardless of the type of work to be done, you must have, choose, and use the correct tools in order to do your work quickly, accurately, and safely. Without the proper tools and the knowledge of how to use them, you waste time, reduce your efficiency, and may even injure yourself. This chapter explains the specific purposes, correct use, and proper care of the more common tools you will encounter as an ABE. Also discussed briefly are other aids to maintenance, such as blueprints and schematics. TOOL WORK HABITS LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Describe the Tool Control Program. List several good tool work habits. "A place for everything and everything in its place" is just good common sense. You can't do an efficient repair job if you have to stop and look around for each tool you need. The following rules will make your job easier and safer. KEEP EACH TOOL IN ITS PROPER STOWAGE PLACE. All V-2 divisions have incorporated a Tool Control Program as directed by the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Maintenance Program (ALREMP). The Tool Control Program is based on the concept of a family of specialized toolboxes and pouches configured for instant inventory before and after each maintenance action. The content and configuration of each container is tailored to the task, work center, and equipment maintained. Work center containers are assigned to and maintained within a work center. Other boxes and specialized tools are checked out from the tool control center (tool room). KEEP YOUR TOOLS IN GOOD CONDITION. Protect them from rust, nicks, burrs, and breakage. KEEP YOUR TOOL ALLOWANCE COM- PLETE. When you are issued a toolbox, each tool should be placed in it when not in use. When the toolbox is not actually at the work site, it should be locked and stored in a designated area. NOTE An inventory list is kept in every toolbox to be checked before and after each job or maintenance action, to ensure that all tools are available to do your work, and to ensure that they are accounted for after you have completed your work. USE EACH TOOL ONLY FOR THE JOB IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO. Each particular type of tool has a specific purpose. If you use the wrong tool when performing maintenance or repairs, you may cause damage to the equipment you're working on or damage the tool itself. Remember, improper use of tools results in improper maintenance. Improper maintenance results in damage to equipment and possible injury or death to you or others. SAFE MAINTENANCE PRACTICES. Always avoid placing tools on or above machinery or an electrical apparatus. Never leave tools unattended where machinery or aircraft engines are running. NEVER USE DAMAGED TOOLS. A battered screwdriver may slip and spoil the screw slot, damage other parts, or cause painful injury. A gauge strained out of shape will result in inaccurate measurements. Remember, the efficiency of craftsmen and the tools they use are determined to a great extent by the way they keep their tools. Likewise, they are frequently judged by the manner in which they handle and care for them. Anyone watching skilled craftsmen at work notices the care and precision with which they use the tools of their trade. The care of hand tools should follow the same pattern as for personal articles; that is, always keep hand tools clean and free from dirt, grease, and foreign matter. After use, return tools promptly to their proper place in the toolbox. Improve your own efficiency by organizing your tools so that those used most frequently can be reached easily without digging through the entire contents of the box. Avoid accumulating unnecessary junk. 1-1