# Things that require non-standard or unconventional tools

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-require-non-standard-or-unconventional-tools/285098>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 16, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-require-non-standard-or-unconventional-tools/285098 "2005-01-16T23:02:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-require-non-standard-or-unconventional-tools/285098/61 "2005-01-19T03:25:20Z")

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…or maybe even in their home machine _shop_. (I’m certain I fixed that once. How did it sneak back in?)

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-require-non-standard-or-unconventional-tools/285098/62 "2005-01-19T03:43:54Z")

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> [@minor7flat5](#):
>
> I’ve gotta know. Was there a great rash of thefts from the Ford plants – you know, guys slipping a live center from the lathe in their overalls in order to complete their home machine ship? Well, they really showed those fellows. They probably felt pretty darned silly trying to jam a Ford center into a Morse tapered hole.

To be honest, I’ve no freakin’ clue. I’ve got a copy of _The Henry Ford Shop Manual_ and it says that their taper is the easiest to measure, which is absurd, since all tapers are calculated using the same formula, and are made the same way (with minor adjustments to the compound to get the correct ratio), plus, it’s pretty rare that you’re going to need to make a live center, since they’re fairly cheap to buy. I can’t even imagine that it works as a preventative measure against theft because it’s easy to make an adapter.

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