Tinner's Toolbox

  • How to Install a High Efficiency Take-Off (HET)

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. What is a high efficiency take-off and when do you use one? A high efficiency take-off is an angled tap that feeds a branch off a trunk line. You will only see one when the spec calls for it — they cost more and take longer…

  • How to Get Paid for Side Work (And What to Do If You Don’t)

    I worked the trade for about four years and I have not taken a side job in fifteen. I manage projects for a general contractor in Salt Lake now, so I spend a good part of my week on who owes what to whom and when it shows up. What do you do when a…

  • Ductwork Tools List — Tools Every Duct Installer Carries

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These are the simplest ducting tools and the most basic. The tools you will need to install duct are also the hand tools for duct fabrication. The list is simple. If you understand what all of these are, no more reading is necessary. If you still…

  • Duct Offset Calculator — Travel, Cut Length and the 3-4-5 Rule

    Two different jobs get mixed up on this subject constantly, and I mixed them up myself for a long time. 3-4-5 does not size an offset. 3-4-5 finds square. Those are two separate tools doing two separate things, and most of what you will read online runs them together. So there are two calculators on…

  • HVAC Hand Tools for Beginners: What a Tinner Carries

    HVAC Hand Tools for Beginners: What a Tinner Carries

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Introducing, the tinner. That’s a sheet metal worker — the dry side ofHVAC. Not gauges, not refrigerant. Metal, screws, and power and hand tools. If that’s the side you’re starting on, this is the bag. Five tools you buy yourfirst week, and five more you’ll want…

  • Where Should a Thermostat Be Located? (And Where It Should Never Go)

    Where Should a Thermostat Be Located? (And Where It Should Never Go)

    Where should a thermostat be located in a house? Central to the area the system serves, in the path of the return air, on an interior wall. That location lets the thermostat read an average of the air the house is actually circulating instead of one pocket of air sequestered in a room. Why does…

  • Install Rectangular Ductwork: S-Cleats and Drives

    The s-cleat slides onto two opposing edges and holds the load from one duct to the other. Drives slide over the other two bent edges and get bent over at the corners to keep the joint tight. They have a push and pull reaction. S-cleats alone do not close a joint. Just starting out? Here…

  • The Right Filter For Your Furnace

    The Right Filter For Your Furnace

    Every furnace needs a filter. That is it. There is no getting around it. Let’s discuss why your furnace needs a filter. Let’s also talk about the right filter for your furnace.  To bring this content to you at no charge, we are sponsored by our relationship with vendors. As an Amazon Associate, Tinner’s Toolbox…

  • How to Organize a Tool Box & Tool Chest — A Tradesman’s System

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. “Where is that tool?” The Short Version Here’s the whole system. The rest of this is detail. The last one is the hardest thing you will ever do, maybe. That one is a habit. Organizing tools assumes you already have the right ones. If you are…