Ever wished you had a tool that doesn’t exist?

Are there any products or tools that you have ever wanted but not been able to find or buy?

I’m currently brainstorming some ideas for simple parts I could design and make to sell for a small profit. I’ve got the 3D modelling skills due to what I teach and have sold quite a few digital files before (mostly car wheels / gear box designs / engines) but want to try 3D printed items as a prototype that I could batch produce at a later date.

Are there any products or tools that you have ever wanted but not been able to find or buy?

No.

Yeah, I ‘d like a box that I can switch on and place near me so when at 11pm on a Saturday night after I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine, and I decide to make some ‘small’ adjustments to my bike ready for Sunday’s ride, it goes…

“Stop, what are you doing?” in a loud voice until I put all my tools away.

Yes, quite a lot of the time actually.

Most recently I was in the garden lifting and shifting a load of concrete slabs using an old scaff pole and was rather chuffed with how effective it was.

I refined the design in my head over the next few weeks of digging up concrete until I realised that I’d designed a pick axe and it would have been a hell of a lot easier if i’d just borrowed one of them.

wow, my first ever double post

but want to try 3D printed items as a prototype that I could batch produce at a later date

You mean just 3d printing from the likes of aluminium?

I would like a remote switch in the garden that makes turds go back cats’ bums.

At considerable speed.

Well whatever I imagine as a good idea turns out to already exist. So no.

Well whatever I imagine as a good idea turns out to already exist.

Cool. Where have you seen the cat-bum-turd-returner-vengeance-switch for sale?

A tidying hammer

A scalp massager that does the weeding

cocktail bar/autonomous hoover combo that can climb stairs

slowoldman – Member

Well whatever I imagine as a good idea turns out to already exist. So no.

It’s still quite satisfying when you come up with an idea from basic principles and it turns out to already exist, though.

It’s not a tool, but I designed a better chain device a couple of years ago. Made a prototype out of an old Stinger and a block of alu, tested it, it worked brilliantly then along came narrow/wides and suddenly it seemed pointless. But the same idea’s cropped up again for minimal lightweight guides, it’s quite satisfying really

I would like a tool with a little pointer on that, when you press it, points in the direction of the little thing you just dropped on the floor and now can’t find.

The Mrs. says my tool does the job very well so can’t help there.

Where have you seen the cat-bum-turd-returner-vengeance-switch for sale?

*clears throat*

Cat a log?

I’m not really sure what you are asking, it seems like you want people to give you ideas that you’ll then model / print & sell.

I’d love an affordable, minimalist multitool with an 11-speed chain splitter that’s relatively lightweight and doesn’t have any stupid snap on/off parts that’ll get lost. Must come with a JIS screwdriver for adjusting Shimano gears.

*clears throat*

Cat a log?
I hope you do that for a living – if not, it’s a wasted talent!

I’m not looking for actual ideas. Just a starting point but enjoying the posts so far!

A Magic Wand, so when people bring in their cars to be repaired, we can just wave a magic wand, and they require no parts or a bill for the labour involved. The customers believe we have one, so it would seem I need one.

Not a tool idea but I’d love a helmet mount for my UtraFire light. Might be easy to 3d print a prototype to test then get mass produced. Maybe use the Exposure Joystick mount as a starting point.

garlic -Not a tool idea but I’d love a helmet mount for my UtraFire light. Might be easy to 3d print a prototype to test then get mass produced.

I’ve been 3D printing helmet / light mounts and no complaints yet. No need to get them mass produced

I’ve been wanting a motor bike wheel building jig that’s floor standing and has one size axle and locking adaptors for all bearing sizes low and behold I’m almost finished building it ow and it must have good dial gauges check done that as well lol

A long stand.

Cool. Where have you seen the cat-bum-turd-returner-vengeance-switch for sale?

Clearly I don’t have your imagination.

Cat a log?

Boom tish. Are you here all week?

I know plenty of tools I wish didn’t exist..

Not very current these days, but having wrestled a very reluctant square taper shimano bottom bracket (plastic cups) from an alu frame a few weeks back, a BB tool that had a bolt that screwed into the crank bolt hole to hold the tool tight in the plastic keyways while you could put a big spanner/socket over the end… that would have saved a lot of slippage, broken plastic and swearing.

Of course, now that I’ve typed that out I’ve realised that I probably have a suitable bolt/washer combination in the shed that would have fitted through the 3/8″ drive opening to hold the tool in place, then used a big spanner/socket to take it off.

So a tool that gives you the benefit of hindsight once you have had time away from the problem, but while you are busy making a pigs ear of the job, that would be cool.

I refined the design in my head over the next few weeks of digging up concrete until I realised that I’d designed a pick axe and it would have been a hell of a lot easier if i’d just borrowed one of them.

😀

I have many tools that don’t exist – most recently a drift for getting BB30 cups out. I have a receipt and I’m sure I once used it to replace a BB but, nope, doesn’t exist.

Send me any tool you like and I can make it non-existent for you