Tool Talk

[MAY03LT]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CP8DLK6/?tag=gmtnation-20

I have the SK variant of these and I think what did the 14mm/17mm in was using them to crack bolts loose. Yesterday I had to get out a crossthreaded upper strut mount nut and needed the leverage since it was tucked under the body with next to no clearance. I think having the fixed end will prolong the life of the ratcheting ends.

 

[Blckshdw]

Well, the tool bug landed a decent bite on me. Finally broke down and picked up one of the Rigid tool boxes @xavierny25 has. This should be a much better deal for me, as I'm at the point where I can fit all of my necessary tools in my old box.

Somehow I lost my 3/8" drive breaker bar (who does that? ) So I needed to buy a new one. Figured I will convert my old small toolbox into one that stays in the EXT full time, so I'll start collecting some dupe common tools that would be handy to have if I get stuck away from home, or decide to be a good samaritan.

Also got some mini saw blades to use with my Dremel, just because.

 

[xavierny25]

My tool chest is full with all types of fun toys.

 

[DAlastDON]

My tool chest is full with all types of fun toys. View attachment 77524

You have the cheshire cat to protect it all.

 

[Blckshdw]

Welp, I got annoyed having to hunt for screw driver bits and other little things in the top tray of the new tool box, and other stuff was getting buried in the main compartment, so I bought the smaller organizer for those items and now there's a lot more space in both. Maybe I should buy more tools to fill them up?

 

[northcreek]

Bet you've never seen one of these, I know I haven't....

 

[littleblazer]

I figured instead of starting a thread, I'd just ask in here. Anyone got a recommendation for a vacuum tester? I was looking into a mityvac but was wondering if it would be good enough for measuring engine vacuum as well. Have a vacuum leak in the Vette that's causing weird vent issues and want to try and fix it. I'm also to believe it will fix the cruise control lol.

 

[Capote]

Welp, I got annoyed having to hunt for screw driver bits and other little things in the top tray of the new tool box, and other stuff was getting buried in the main compartment, so I bought the smaller organizer for those items and now there's a lot more space in both. Maybe I should buy more tools to fill them up?

My Supervisor at work has 2 sets of the one you have on your table lol. He's got tons of Rigid tools and etc.

 

[AWD V8]

I figured instead of starting a thread, I'd just ask in here. Anyone got a recommendation for a vacuum tester? I was looking into a mityvac but was wondering if it would be good enough for measuring engine vacuum as well. Have a vacuum leak in the Vette that's causing weird vent issues and want to try and fix it. I'm also to believe it will fix the cruise control lol.

I've had a MityVac for years. It both measures are supplies vacuum. Works well. I bought the plastic version over the aluminum, no problems with it.

 

[Mooseman]

Bought a set of these Pro Point nut extractors from Princess Auto. Was doing a job on my wife's CR-V to replace the V-Tec solenoid when one of the 10mm bolts just wouldn't come out. The head was just rusted to hell and the socket just stripped it. No room for anything else. The one for 3/8" worked perfectly. Being 1/2" drive, you can use them with an impact too for wheel nuts.

I found $95 was a bit steep but now I'll have them for next time.

 

[xavierny25]

New FLUKE Multimeter to keep around the house. I have the Field piece in the truck and another crappy FLUKE at work. This one needs a bag, gator clips and the back hook.

 

[Blckshdw]

My bad for slacking in this thread.

For black Friday, got me an 18V Makita cordless impact along with some impact bits. Few other random stuff came with the shipment, but not important.



Last month after moving into the house, picked up a Makita reciprocating saw to match it (the batteries anyway)



More stuff coming in the not too distant future for sure.

 

[Blckshdw]

Picked these up this morning, don't wanna deal with making fuel runs, and the 5 year warranties are nice too. Now, my wallet hurts.

 

[Reprise]

I don't have the lawn tools, but I do have the Ryobi 18v One+ system (3/8" drill, flashlight, electric impact, air inflator, fast charger/maintainer). I like them - batteries charge fast and give good power, and they aren't godawful expensive. Only downside is that they're Home Despot exclusives - but there's a lot of HD stores around. And as you said - 5yr warranty.

I have no experience w/ the 40v system, but if it's like the 18v, I think you'll be happy. That lawn mower looks pretty cool - saw it on TV (it can be stored standing on edge - way cool). Batteries will probably take a bit longer to charge, I'd imagine. Make sure you get an extra battery or two.

Looking on HD's site, it looks like some folks have had problems - both with the batteries and the chargers. I haven't, FWIW, and hope you don't as well.

 

[Blckshdw]

(in)conveniently, all 3 tools come with different amp hour batteries. 5.0 for the mower, 3.0 for the blower, and unknown for the trimmer. So of course the mower took the longest. I got impatient and ran the trimmer around trees, and tight spots I knew the mower wouldn't reach. Grabbed the mower battery at about 80% and said to hell with it. It was a little warm to the touch, while the others weren't.

By the time the mower wore out, the battery was still pretty warm when I took it out. That wasn't the case with the trimmer and blower batteries. Wouldn't think the higher capacity would cause that, guess we'll see how it does over time. If any of them were gonna fail, I'd rather it be the lower capacity ones, and I'd just replace em with other 5ah ones.

They all performed great though. I was really surprised how quiet the mower was, like I'm not worried about cutting the lawn at 8am on a weekend to get in front of the heat, and waking the neighbors quiet. Trimmer is about the same as some of the gas trimmers I've heard. The blower is loud as hell, and when you press the turbo button for the extra power... that's a wrap! lol

Was tempted to get one of those trimmer heads with the hinged plastic cutting teeth, but this one came with 3 extra spools of string. So I'll wait until I run through these, then upgrade.

 

[Mooseman]

I love Ryobi One+. I've got two drills, two drivers, recip. saw, weed whacker and 1/2" impact. Tried their circular saw and it sucked. Couldn't cut anything thicker than cardboard so I returned it.

The one thing I do hate is that their batteries will just not take a charge unexpectedly. Red light on the charger would just flash and refuse to charge even though there was still some juice in it. I think it's an internal timer that kills it just by the number of times it's been charged. I've had two die like that. I'll have to take them apart and see if I can replace the cells but if the circuit in the battery is programmed to kill itself, it won't help.

 

[Blckshdw]

Finally got through the remaining crap in my shed, and found a few goodies buried in there.

Got a paint sprayer, not sure what shape it's really in. The cup has some dried/powdered paint in the bottom, I think that can be cleaned up. May be a good learning tool when I decide to venture into laying down paint and experimenting, before investing in some good equipment for any real work.



Also uncovered a 3' cutoff tool, little rusty, but the moving parts feel smooth for what I could do manually. I actually have a couple uses for this one already, so I'm glad I found it before I bought one (if it's still in good working condition)



And lastly, I dunno what the hell this thing is. At first glance I thought it was some sort of drill press, but I don't think that's gonna work with a fixed bit Anyone have any ideas?

 

[littleblazer]

Finally got through the remaining crap in my shed, and found a few goodies buried in there.

Got a paint sprayer, not sure what shape it's really in. The cup has some dried/powdered paint in the bottom, I think that can be cleaned up. May be a good learning tool when I decide to venture into laying down paint and experimenting, before investing in some good equipment for any real work.

View attachment 81671

Also uncovered a 3' cutoff tool, little rusty, but the moving parts feel smooth for what I could do manually. I actually have a couple uses for this one already, so I'm glad I found it before I bought one (if it's still in good working condition)

View attachment 81672 View attachment 81673

And lastly, I dunno what the hell this thing is. At first glance I thought it was some sort of drill press, but I don't think that's gonna work with a fixed bit Anyone have any ideas?
View attachment 81674
View attachment 81675

Maybe a bit sharpener?

 

[rizzo20]

Anyone have any ideas?
View attachment 81674
View attachment 81675

Kind of looks like a hole punch/press for leather maybe?

 

[Blckshdw]

Finally joining the big boys and picked these up from Home Depot today.

30 gallon, 175 psi air compressor


4 piece air tool kit (1/2" impact, air hammer, 3/8" ratchet, 1/4" die grinder) On the website, there were complaints about the case, since older models did not have space for the hose fittings being attached to each tool. Many buyers tossed the cases, others modded them with either Dremels or hot knives to make provisions. I'm glad I got an updated case with the necessary space, at least until I buy a tool chest.


On recommendation from one of the reviews on the compressor, I opted to pick up an extended compressor drain valve. A number of people complained about not being able to reach the drain valve without getting on the ground, or tipping the compressor over. I got them swapped out, and the braided hose isn't long enough to reach a convenient spot for mounting, so I'll end up fabricating a bracket ( I think I have some scrap aluminum in a box somewhere) and spay it black to match.


Now, to get back to the actual talking part of this thread... I did notice on each tool, it says to "oil daily" I assume that's just a general suggestion, similar to changing your motor oil every 3000 miles. How often does everyone else oil their air tools? Every use? Every few uses? Some other measure? My inquiring mind would like to know.

 

[littleblazer]

Finally joining the big boys and picked these up from Home Depot today.

30 gallon, 175 psi air compressor
View attachment 81698

4 piece air tool kit (1/2" impact, air hammer, 3/8" ratchet, 1/4" die grinder) On the website, there were complaints about the case, since older models did not have space for the hose fittings being attached to each tool. Many buyers tossed the cases, others modded them with either Dremels or hot knives to make provisions. I'm glad I got an updated case with the necessary space, at least until I buy a tool chest.
View attachment 81700

On recommendation from one of the reviews on the compressor, I opted to pick up an extended compressor drain valve. A number of people complained about not being able to reach the drain valve without getting on the ground, or tipping the compressor over. I got them swapped out, and the braided hose isn't long enough to reach a convenient spot for mounting, so I'll end up fabricating a bracket ( I think I have some scrap aluminum in a box somewhere) and spay it black to match.
View attachment 81701

Now, to get back to the actual talking part of this thread... I did notice on each tool, it says to "oil daily" I assume that's just a general suggestion, similar to changing your motor oil every 3000 miles. How often does everyone else oil their air tools? Every use? Every few uses? Some other measure? My inquiring mind would like to know.

If I'm using them often, like every day I just oil when I know it'll sit. At the end of a project if you will. You can also get an inline oiler and never worry or so they say. That set looks very similar to my cousins craftsman set...

 

[Reprise]

I don't use mine often...but I've been using them the last few days.

I do add a few drops at the beginning of a day's use - and I suppose if I worked in a shop, etc. - I might invest in an oiler, as @littleblazer mentioned above.

At my age / physical shape - I'm glad to have them!
I'd have found them hella useful when I was younger, as well...but I couldn't afford the investment back then.

 

[littleblazer]

GM special tool J-Redneckgarage2017. There's two plugs resting on the tongue for the idle air circuit passages and that is a manometer. You would bot believe how hard it is to find an inch of water gauge. You know what though, it's just as accurate so who cares.

 

[Blckshdw]

I had been meaning to get a cordless drill for a while now, opted to get an 18V Makita to go with my impact and reciprocating saw. Had one on my Amazon list for a while, middle of the pack as far as torque rating, but when I went to buy it last night, a better model was marked down to almost the same price, so I grabbed this one instead.



Turns out this is their top of the line hammer drill, which I didn't know until I looked up some YouTube videos after unboxing it. Why did I need to do that you ask?

Well the chuck appeared to be stuck wide open, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how the heck to close it!



Crack open the manual, and it told me what I expected to see. Clockwise to close, counter clockwise to open. But all it would do was click once in each direction and lock.

Came across one unboxing video, where the guy clicked the chuck and then fired up the drill to get it to open and close. After a few tries, I was able to replicate the result. Quite a relief, now just need to find something that needs holes in it!

 

[Reprise]

I had been meaning to get a cordless drill for a while now, opted to get an 18V Makita to go with my impact and reciprocating saw. Had one on my Amazon list for a while, middle of the pack as far as torque rating, but when I went to buy it last night, a better model was marked down to almost the same price, so I grabbed this one instead.

View attachment 82430

Turns out this is their top of the line hammer drill, which I didn't know until I looked up some YouTube videos after unboxing it. Why did I need to do that you ask?

Well the chuck appeared to be stuck wide open, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how the heck to close it!

View attachment 82431

Crack open the manual, and it told me what I expected to see. Clockwise to close, counter clockwise to open. But all it would do was click once in each direction and lock.

Came across one unboxing video, where the guy clicked the chuck and then fired up the drill to get it to open and close. After a few tries, I was able to replicate the result. Quite a relief, now just need to find something that needs holes in it!

As long as it uses the same battery system, it's all good!
Nice when you can score something better, cheaper!

 

[Blckshdw]

As long as it uses the same battery system, it's all good!
Nice when you can score something better, cheaper!

Yeah, had been swapping my single 3Ah battery between the 2 tools before, which was fine for the most part, since I was never using either of them extensively... Until this week. When rebuilding my rear gates, I needed both tools, and forgot to put the battery on the charger after the first day, ran out of juice halfway through the 2nd and had to go to my corded drill and a pair of 50' extension cords.

I also ordered two 5Ah batteries and a dual battery charger, so won't have that issue again.

 

[Blckshdw]

Decided I wanna tinker a bit, and learn a few electrical things, that were gonna require a meter that was better than the bottom of the barrel stuff I've bought before. The 2 cheap meters I have now, neither of them works for continuity testing, hasn't bitten me in the ass yet. Wanted something I could check frequencies with (PWM duty cycles) but didn't want to blow a bunch of money on an oscilloscope, or put together one of the kits available out there. Figured I'd see what good ol' HF had, and settled on this one for $30 and some change...



Some of the lower models measured frequency, but in reading the manuals, they all say not to exceed 9 or 10 volts. Obviously unless you know for sure the PWM signal is coming from a 5v reference, that might damage the unit. This one doesn't have that restriction. Was a bit curious why this was in a pretty solid cardboard box, compared to some of the others that are in the plastic cases until I got it open.

Has a nice storage box for the unit and it's accessories. Wasn't expecting that. In addition to the standard leads, it comes with a temperature lead, and a spark plug wire clamp for measuring RPMs. There are ports on the unit for testing transistors too. Don't have plans at the moment to use any of those, but hey who knows...



The unit comes with a nice rubber case for protection, the case has a little stand on the back, as well as a rubber tab with a hole for hanging it. Pretty convenient. Hadn't noticed any of those features when looking on the website, so all considered bonuses.

 

[northcreek]

You guys know any Jerks that need greasing ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Grip-N-Lub...279818?hash=item1ca4853dca:g:PBEAAOSwISRajaWf

 

[Mooseman]

The two reviews give it a 1 star and bad quality. I know it's a PITA when I'm greasing having to keep pressure on the fitting to keep it from oozing out.

 

[northcreek]

It is the job that I hate the most, I would rather go sealed and "greaseless" parts, given the choice.

 

[Blckshdw]

Got my tool chest put together and situated in it's new home. After getting it out of the box, noticed it has a built in surge protector with some USB charging ports. Completely overlooked those when picking this one out, so that's a nice bonus. Cord isn't long enough to reach any outlets though. :sigh:

Couldn't figure out how I want to organize everything just yet. Anyone have any suggestions, cautionary tales, or wanna share pics of how they've got their goodies in their chests? Was thinking of adding a foam pad layer, and making cutouts for stuff like sockets, and adding labels for quick and easy identification.

 

[xavierny25]

Got my tool chest put together and situated in it's new home. After getting it out of the box, noticed it has a built in surge protector with some USB charging ports. Completely overlooked those when picking this one out, so that's a nice bonus. Cord isn't long enough to reach any outlets though. :sigh:

Couldn't figure out how I want to organize everything just yet. Anyone have any suggestions, cautionary tales, or wanna share pics of how they've got their goodies in their chests? Was thinking of adding a foam pad layer, and making cutouts for stuff like sockets, and adding labels for quick and easy identification.

View attachment 84262View attachment 84263

My brother has 3 different tool chests. All staged differently for different things. He also has foam pads with cut outs for specialty tools in them. I'll be sure to post pics when I swing by his shop. There are 2 boxes in this pic.

 

[Blckshdw]

More shopping... this time, for a bench vice. Most of the models in my price range had mixed reviews. The good ones were great, but the bad ones involved catastrophic failures with minimal use, or light use. So ended up with a trusty Harbor Freight 4", 360 degree swivel model, and got the 2 year extended warranty just in case.

Got my holes drilled, and lucked out that a couple of bolts that came with my lawn mower cage were the right length and thickness. This should make my cutting, drilling, and grinding projects a lot easier.




And just because I stumbled on this the other day...

 

[littleblazer]

My aunt got me one of those electric ratchets for my birthday. I'm used to the air ones so it was nice having the torque lock out (aka knuckle saver).

I also got one of those low profile impacts from the harbor freight. There are a couple of things that would have been handy for on the project...

Photo:


Mod edit: Merged photo with the previous post as they obviously belong together.

 

[Mooseman]

Say what you will but I have heard lots of good things about HF tools despite not having them in Canada. We do have Princess Auto here, which is similar, but the name of their house brand tools is "Power Fist". which as a name is horrible. Quality, depending on which tool, is mediocre to good for Chinese tools.

HF is at a point where a lot of pros are breaking away from the tool trucks and going there for their tools. They're like drug dealers. They get you hooked, you pretty much have to mortgage your first born to keep up and you are buried in debt for a long time. Sure their stuff is "the best" but at what cost? My sons are getting into aircraft maintenance and heavy diesel and I have taught them to stay away from the tool trucks except if they buy used tools and are getting warranty exchanges.

On another note, battery operated tools are at a point where they are as good or better than their air counterparts. I have a compressor with all the air tools and these days I have been using more my Ryoby One+ impact. It delivers as much torque as the air, is lighter and no air hose. And just having a charger plugged in rather than a compressor uses less electricity and less noisy. I wouldn't mind getting a battery operated ratchet neither.

 

[Blckshdw]

Power Fist? Sounds like something that would be discussed in the Anything Goes forum... Someone needs to revisit the name selection on that one.

From personal interactions, I've been warned off HF's electric power tools for failure reasons. I remember I was in their store one time looking at backpack garden sprayers, and a customer came over and told me to look elsewhere, as he bought one and it stopped working during it's first use. From my own experience, only thing I've gotten from them that failed was a 1/4" click stop, torque wrench, that never click stopped. Caused me to snap one of the PCM bolts in the process Been pretty happy with everything else. Hand tools, sockets, saw blades, air tools, testing equipment... Different sized wheels for random projects around the house.

I like being able to blow off surfaces after cutting/sanding/grinding jobs. And being able to air up tires without needing to get my bike pump, or go to the gas station. At some point I want to get into HVLP painting, so I bought my compressor and take size with that in mind.

 

[littleblazer]

Say what you will but I have heard lots of good things about HF tools despite not having them in Canada. We do have Princess Auto here, which is similar, but the name of their house brand tools is "Power Fist". which as a name is horrible. Quality, depending on which tool, is mediocre to good for Chinese tools.

HF is at a point where a lot of pros are breaking away from the tool trucks and going there for their tools. They're like drug dealers. They get you hooked, you pretty much have to mortgage your first born to keep up and you are buried in debt for a long time. Sure their stuff is "the best" but at what cost? My sons are getting into aircraft maintenance and heavy diesel and I have taught them to stay away from the tool trucks except if they buy used tools and are getting warranty exchanges.

On another note, battery operated tools are at a point where they are as good or better than their air counterparts. I have a compressor with all the air tools and these days I have been using more my Ryoby One+ impact. It delivers as much torque as the air, is lighter and no air hose. And just having a charger plugged in rather than a compressor uses less electricity and less noisy. I wouldn't mind getting a battery operated ratchet neither.

Yea. The harbor freight stuff has gotten pretty good. I have some of the older metric wrenches that would spread removing a side post on a battery though. You know the stuff that gave harbor freight its name. For 99% of anything, it's good enough. But I also have some mac and matco stuff and there are those couple of circumstances where a matco socket fits in the space where the craftsman or harbor freight won't.

If I had to buy tools, I'd stick with husky. I've gotten really good deals and I haven't broken any of them. I do like my 3/8 matco spark plug ratchet. It's a nice piece but otherwise I just usually go for the husky if not that.

The only thing I like about my 231 vs an electric impact is that I can still jam it where the electric ones won't. It's still just a hair smaller. These are under very specific situations though.

For the most part, it's all pretty good now. And if you need a custom tool, it's a lot less painful to hack up a hf vs a snap on or something lol.

 

[xavierny25]

@Blckshdw these are a great add on to have in that new toy chest of yours. It keeps sockets inline and easy to identify. I keep forgetting to take pics of my brothers cabinets for you. shoot me a pm this Friday cause I'll be there doing random stuff. And yes he has these trays in his box.

 

[Blckshdw]

Hmm, those might be an option. Much better than the tiny racks the sockets came with.

And charge your phone already, before it dies!!!

 

[djthumper]

Hmm, those might be an option. Much better than the tiny racks the sockets came with.

And charge your phone already, before it dies!!!

Too late, I think it died...