July 2008
Skeletool Saved Me from Forgotten House Key
I had some errand to run in the evening, and since it was a short drive I didn't change into my day clothing. I grabbed my car key by the door and left, except I keep the house key on a separate ring in my day shorts pocket... So here I was, 11 PM stuck outside my own home, and have nothing but my wallet and the Skeletool CX that I clipped to my home shorts earlier.
All the doors and windows on the first floor and basement were locked; the second floor windows were open, but I had nothing to reach them with. I circled around the house thinking about what to do. Then I thought, I know how the window lock works, I'll just pry open the basement window. Sure enough, after a couple minutes of grunting they came open. Now, the next problem - I have security bars on the basement window that are made of half inch steel pipes... Damn it! Now what do I do? I tried to reach the emergency escape key for the grate, but my arms weren’t long enough. Then it occurred to me, hey, I have my Skeletool! And I keep the spare Robertson bit in my wallet! (Side note, Robertson screws are the square drive as opposed to cross and slot, more common than the other two in Canada). Since I installed them I knew how to take them off! So I put the Robertson bit in the Skeletool and went to work. Many mosquito bites later the grate finally came off! Whew, I jumped into the basement, reinstalled everything, went upstairs to unlock the front door, and everything was back to normal. Now everything in the basement will be reinforced, and a spare key will be hidden in the backyard somewhere.
Jie Z.
Brossard, Quebec, Canada
OK, you voyeur, you. Enough of reading other people's stories. It's time you told your own tale of gripping heroism or even just neat DIY'ism. We know there's a Shakespeare in you somewhere. Don't make us use the Steens to find it.