When Improper Tool Use Leads to Unexpected Consequences

In the Reliability Forum section of Reliable Plant magazine, industry suppliers respond to questions posed by editor Paul V. Arnold. This issue’s call was directed at manufacturers of hand tools, asking: “End‑users frequently misuse hand tools for tasks they weren’t designed to perform. What is your favorite story about improper tool usage (a bad decision and its outcome)?”

Ed Liss, Marketing Manager for Distribution at Snap‑On Industrial, delivered the most compelling response.

“Most hand‑tool failures stem from misuse,” Liss explains. “Users often cut corners by using the wrong tool or simply lack the appropriate tool in their arsenal. My most memorable example, however, involved intentional misuse.”

He recalls beginning his career on a Snap‑On tool truck. “I had a valued customer, Nelson, who routinely pushed the limits of our generous warranty policy. One afternoon, Nelson requested a warranty replacement for a pair of diagonal cutters that were dull. At that time, we offered a sharpening service for dull cutters, but Nelson insisted on a brand‑new pair of pliers. When I declined, he asked what would happen if the tools were broken. I told him we would gladly replace them. Without hesitation, Nelson clamped the pliers in his bench vise and yanked on the handle.”

He heard a loud snap and immediately realized the vise had failed: the movable jaw had shattered in half. “Nelson was like Popeye after a can of spinach—smoke wafting from his ears and a flushed face,” Liss recalls. “I offered to sell him a new vise, and I had one on my truck.”

Nelson, in a rush, wrote a check for his weekly payment and left. “I departed abruptly, and we never discussed the incident again,” Liss says.

For more information from Snap‑On Industrial, visit Snap‑On Industrial.