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wormil posted:I frequently use my sawzall in places where I would need a long rear end extension cord, like under the house or pruning trees in the back yard, being cordless is nice. Exactly, that's why I have a set of cordless and corded tools. Being able to go cord free to do something quick is worth it to me.
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Jul 17, 2013 19:07
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wormil posted:I frequently use my sawzall in places where I would need a long rear end extension cord, like under the house or pruning trees in the back yard, being cordless is nice. Yeah I second this. The sawzall (or milwaukee hackzall variant) is a tool you're likely to carry around, and one you're not necessarily going to run full out for minutes at a time - each cut is a few seconds. I think it's unlikely you'll run it down faster than you can charge the next battery. A grinder I think is a good corded candidate because there is a decent chance you're grinding something down for minutes at a time. That said, I think cordless everything is nice.
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Jul 17, 2013 19:41
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Is there a corded battery-pack adapter? Like, an AC-DC transformer that runs off 120VAC and plugs in in place of a battery? And if not, how the hell is that not a thing?
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Jul 17, 2013 19:44
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Bad Munki posted:Is there a corded battery-pack adapter? Like, an AC-DC transformer that runs off 120VAC and plugs in in place of a battery? Good idea but It would have to be a fairly large ac-dc converter which wouldn't be too small or cheap. A 4ah cell will probably put out 10+ amps and maybe significantly more for short periods. I bet they can't fit it within the size of the battery otherwise you'd probably see them. If you wanted to buy a big wall wart and wire it into a pack I bet it would work. I had been toying with the idea of doing this from a 12V lighter plug to a 12V battery pack.
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Jul 17, 2013 20:02
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A heavy pack at the wall with a minimal-weight (basically empty) connector in the battery port would be optimal, it'd make the tool lighter. Of course, then you'd be sending DC down the longest part of the power cord, which doesn't work as well over distance, but you know, I bet a smart EE guy could figure out the details. Paging smart EE guys to the tools thread, we need a cleanup on aisle 18(VDC)
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Jul 17, 2013 20:35
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rotor posted:i need a cordless framing nailer. I've got a Paslode and I love it- one of the few tools that perpetually survives my quarterly truck box purge. The batteries stay charged long- even in New York winters- though you'll need to eject the battery from the gun after you use it or it'll sap pretty quickly. It currently holds the wonderful quality for me of being quite fixable when, for some reason, it isn't firing. If you're going to be framing up a house, it's better to have pneumatics- but beside that, get the Paslode. You get the added fun of the butene/propane smell after every fire, which holds about the same pleasure and disgust as smelling your own farts.
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Jul 19, 2013 12:16
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asdf32 posted:Yeah I second this. The sawzall (or milwaukee hackzall variant) is a tool you're likely to carry around, and one you're not necessarily going to run full out for minutes at a time - each cut is a few seconds. I think it's unlikely you'll run it down faster than you can charge the next battery. I have the M18 sawzall. With the big batteries, it only runs for 3 minutes or so. I can cut 4-5 roots or something. Its pretty lame. Of course it came with two of the big ones, but I had one stolen with my drill. You would need 3-4 of the big batteries and two chargers to keep up with it.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:14
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I have the Porter Cable reciprocating saw and it's probably the best tool in the set. The 18V batteries last pretty well.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:40
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blindjoe posted:I have the M18 sawzall. With the big batteries, it only runs for 3 minutes or so. I can cut 4-5 roots or something. Its pretty lame. Of course it came with two of the big ones, but I had one stolen with my drill. You would need 3-4 of the big batteries and two chargers to keep up with it. I have the m18 Hackzall and while using it to cut conduit, allthread, uni-strut, etc.., I can keep going just fine with 2 batteries(one compact lithium and one normal lithium) and one charger. The larger sawzall just eats battery power but the hackzall is much more efficient from what I have read. Edit- I have a corded port-a-band that I use when there is house power available, but a lot of times you are moving around too much or its not convenient to run a cord for a couple cuts. It seems to me that the only time I have downtime waiting for batteries to charge is when I forget to charge them and start a project with half-dead poo poo. One thing that people don't always think about is that battery life on a cordless saw is affected a lot by the type of blade you are using and how sharp it is. Choosing the proper blade (finer tooth blade for thin stuff, coarser tooth blade for thicker stuff) for what you are cutting helps a lot. Having a good selection of blades that are fresh and sharp will go a long way to prolonging your battery life. iForge fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 20:52
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Bad Munki posted:A heavy pack at the wall with a minimal-weight (basically empty) connector in the battery port would be optimal, it'd make the tool lighter. Of course, then you'd be sending DC down the longest part of the power cord, which doesn't work as well over distance, but you know, I bet a smart EE guy could figure out the details. Use a power-brick instead of a wall wart, that way you can keep the lenght of the DC side to a minimum. For 3 metres of DC side cable I would just use regular 2.5mm^2 cable. I've been considering doing this with my Bosch drill as the NiCd battery is well a NiCd. My dad has been using his old cordless impactdriver as a corded tool like that for years. I have a few small questions of my own as well. We're moving house soon and I want to DIY as much stuff as is feasible, I have a lot of paid vacation saved up, so saving a bunch of money and starting a little wood shop of my own seems like a good plan. Am I correct in assuming that a tracksaw with a properly aligned track can do bevel and miter cuts? I'm looking for a decently versatile saw that isn't a childhood trauma triggering tablesaw or a much too expensive radial arm saw. I'm also looking to buy a plunge router, the internet says to look for a machine that can take half inch bits, everything in DIY stores here is 8mm, which is closer to the 1/4" the internet says I should avoid. Is it really worth twice the amount to be able to use 12mm bits? All the interesting bits seem to be 8mm. The 12mm routers are generally over 1.5kW as well which seems a bit much for My First Router, or is a 1200W router too weak if I want to build a bunch of kitchen cabinets?
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Jul 19, 2013 21:05
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blindjoe posted:I have the M18 sawzall. With the big batteries, it only runs for 3 minutes or so. I can cut 4-5 roots or something. Its pretty lame. Of course it came with two of the big ones, but I had one stolen with my drill. You would need 3-4 of the big batteries and two chargers to keep up with it. I think you've got a problem with the saw or the battery. No one will design a tool that burns through a battery that quick and batteries can't be safely discharged at that rate anyway. I'd try the other batter or consider returning it or brining it to a service center.
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Jul 20, 2013 01:20
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Bad Munki posted:Is there a corded battery-pack adapter? Like, an AC-DC transformer that runs off 120VAC and plugs in in place of a battery? There are ways to cordify your cordless tools. Basically gut a dead battery pack and solder some wires from it to the charger. A plug somewhere along the line is nice but not essential. There's an Instructable for it. Or just have two batteries, charge one while using the other, and rebuild them/replace with the new lithium hotness when they wear out. In my experience, a Sawzall-type recip saw is one of the few tools you should duplicate -- cordless version matching your drill to take to the junkyard to help with stubborn bolts, and the real Milwaukee-brand thing for the shop in case you ever need to cut a car in half in the driveway. On the other hand, the cordless angle grinders, while interesting, don't look very efficient. They're probably enough for a cutoff in the field, though. Of course, by that reasoning, a little HVAC-repairman-size oxyacetylene rig would be the best mobile tool -- gas axe to replace the saws, and you can weld/braze things back together with it too. If you're of the offroad persuasion, a cordless Sawzall, beefy jumper cables, and SMAW rods should be in the emergency kit. Sort of the duct tape/WD-40 joke taken to its logical extreme. (You may want to upgrade your alternator.) Edit: also I will never not recommend a short-handled three-pound drilling hammer. An essential part of any toolkit. You think you'd never use it, but once you have one it's always the first thing you grab (be sure to get wrenches/ratchets with a no-questions lifetime warranty; the main use of the minisledge is tight-spaces breaker bar). Chillbro Baggins fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Jul 20, 2013 |
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Jul 20, 2013 07:48
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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asdf32 posted:I think you've got a problem with the saw or the battery. No one will design a tool that burns through a battery that quick and batteries can't be safely discharged at that rate anyway. I'd try the other batter or consider returning it or brining it to a service center. My previous comment about going corded was based off of using a Milwaukee cordless sawzall; they really do eat through batteries. I used to use it to break down pallets and I could usually do 1.5 pallets before it quit
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Jul 21, 2013 03:55
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asdf32 posted:I think you've got a problem with the saw or the battery. No one will design a tool that burns through a battery that quick and batteries can't be safely discharged at that rate anyway. What? Of course they can. Battery discharge rates are measured in C-values, which is a factor of the battery's overall capacity. That is, a 1C battery can discharge 1x its rated capacity per hour, so a 1C 2000mAh battery can discharge safely at 2 amps continuously. An average high-power lithium pack will be rated for at least 20C discharge (so that 2000mAh battery will be safe at up to 40 amps), and a good quality balanced lithium pack can reach C values of 50C or more, at which rate the whole pack will discharge in 72 seconds. Batteries have really advanced a lot in the last 5-10 years. (Note that discharge rate is usually a lot higher than the safe charge rate...a 40C discharge battery might only be rated for a 4C charge, but that still means you can fill the whole thing up in about 15 minutes).
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Jul 21, 2013 04:11
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Delivery McGee posted:There are ways to cordify your cordless tools. Basically gut a dead battery pack and solder some wires from it to the charger. A plug somewhere along the line is nice but not essential. There's an Instructable for it. Cordless angle grinders are awesome. When I go to the junkyard to pull a truck axle I don't even bother touching a wrench until I've run all my batteries for it flat. Hell with unscrewing rusty ubolts, all I have to do is cut them right at the apex of the U and then wrestle the halves 90-180 degrees with a pair of vise grips and the axle is out. It took me 20-30 minutes to pull the rearend out of a ford explorer on Monday and that included jacking it up off the ground. Used maybe 1/4 or 1/2 of a single battery charge, too. They cut e-brake cables and swaybar links quite nicely as well. You really need two batteries to put in series if you're going to ghetto stick weld offroad. One isn't enough voltage unless you bring like 1/16" 6011 or something. I completely agree on the drilling hammer, except I'm a fan of the 4lb blacksmiths hammer with one chisel point and one flat face. And yes, I completely demolished a 14mm gearwrench last time I did that... I need to find out where to return those. kastein fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Jul 21, 2013 |
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Jul 21, 2013 14:41
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Sears, done it; they sell the Gear Wrench branded ones online alongside the Craftsman ones. My 4-pound minisledge (all one solid steel casting, no wood handle, so you can hit stuff with the elbow  ) and a 10-inch pair of vicegrips are the most important tools I own.
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Jul 21, 2013 15:04
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Splizwarf posted:Sears, done it; they sell the Gear Wrench branded ones online alongside the Craftsman ones. They told me they didn't handle gearwrench returns last time I was there. I just checked the gearwrench website and it says they should if I bought it there... this is probably going to turn into a he-said she-said "where is your receipt" slapfest  I guess I will find out if I'm going to keep buying my tools at that Sears or not when I try exchanging it again with a copy of the gearwrench returns policy in hand. (weasels who try and get out of lifetime or extended warranties based on bullshit gotchas in the terms really piss me off)
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Jul 21, 2013 15:22
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How's that Ridgid stuff working out for you, anyway?  But seriously, yeah, gently caress that poo poo forever. When I go into some place like Autozone they just look up the grand list of Everything I Ever Bought and go "Yeah, there's one of these in there, go get another and have a cool day man!" And somehow there seems to be more and more Duralast in my toolboxes, hmm.
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Jul 21, 2013 15:34
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Splizwarf posted:How's that Ridgid stuff working out for you, anyway? I haven't had to put in any claims on the ridgid stuff yet. I'm not looking forward to the day when I do... Ryobi basically told me to go gently caress myself concerning those nicads. So I'm not buying any more of their tools, which is a real shame because I rather like them. One of the batteries is getting gutted and combined with a 12 volt and 6 volt 7Ah lead acid gelcell in series on my next paycheck, at which point I should be able to run my angle grinder for approximately 89 years at the junkyard without a recharge. So I won't be buying any more of their batteries, either. Kinda disappointing really, especially since I'd had the drat tool for less than a year and was planning on buying another corded angle grinder or two, a drill press, and probably some other stuff, all Ryobi because I've had good experiences with their angle grinders and drill presses in the past. Oh well, you gently caress me over on warranty and I don't buy your poo poo anymore! End of story.
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Jul 21, 2013 15:49
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My mistake, I meant the Ryobi stuff with pristine (yet effectively ancient artifact) receipts and all the packaging required etc. At least I had the first letter correct! 
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Jul 21, 2013 15:54
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Sagebrush posted:What? Of course they can. Battery discharge rates are measured in C-values, which is a factor of the battery's overall capacity. That is, a 1C battery can discharge 1x its rated capacity per hour, so a 1C 2000mAh battery can discharge safely at 2 amps continuously. An average high-power lithium pack will be rated for at least 20C discharge (so that 2000mAh battery will be safe at up to 40 amps), and a good quality balanced lithium pack can reach C values of 50C or more, at which rate the whole pack will discharge in 72 seconds. Batteries have really advanced a lot in the last 5-10 years. So good point about the cells, I didn't know discharge rates were that high off the top of my head. However my original statement should stand for the pack assembly. 50C for a 3Ah pack/cell is 150A. The high capacity battery the poster said they were using is two sets of cells in parallel so that means it takes 300A to actually discharge the cells at 50C (and the new packs are 4Ah actually). There is a chance that the pack allows bursts into the 100A+ range but not for a minute. 300A is a massive amount of current and the PCB in the pack should shut down way before 300A. I'd be shocked to discover otherwise. So I think it's pretty safe to say that a tool that literally drains the batteries in 1 minute has got some problems. Overheating is a different story, but actually draining the battery that quick means there is a problem. dwoloz posted:My previous comment about going corded was based off of using a Milwaukee cordless sawzall; they really do eat through batteries. I used to use it to break down pallets and I could usually do 1.5 pallets before it quit Really? I've got the 18V hackzall variant and and have had good luck cutting 2x4's. I know I've made probably 2 dozen cuts on a single pack (I don't remember whether it was large or small). I know one thing that makes a huge difference is the blade. The wood blades cut a 2x4 in 15 seconds (I actually timed it once). asdf32 fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Jul 22, 2013 |
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Jul 22, 2013 01:00
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Before I had my second one stolen, usage was identical for each battery. I doubt the tool is broken, it seems to work fine. Once you make a couple cuts, the batteries will be in overheat mode when you chuck them on the charger anyways, so they take 30 minutes to recharge as they have to cool first. I still use the drat thing though for cutting roots/logs in the ground as I don't want to gently caress up any other saws. The blades are probably too dull, as the rocks and junk get to them even though I chuck them after the 4th cut.
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Jul 22, 2013 20:29
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Is there something I can use to crimp a ring or other terminal on heavier gauge wire? What I'm going to do is install a radio in mine and my wife's car, and I'd like for it to look at least somewhat professional, but most of the crimp tools I've seen for that large of wiring are in the $200+ range. I might try to rent one, but I was seeing if there is another option or something I can try to do those types of crimps without the specialty tool.
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Jul 22, 2013 23:29
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Ideal 30-500 crimpers with a 10-12 awg die are like $75 and are expensive for what they are. How big is the wire?
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Jul 23, 2013 01:24
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Gothmog1065 posted:Is there something I can use to crimp a ring or other terminal on heavier gauge wire? What I'm going to do is install a radio in mine and my wife's car, and I'd like for it to look at least somewhat professional, but most of the crimp tools I've seen for that large of wiring are in the $200+ range. I might try to rent one, but I was seeing if there is another option or something I can try to do those types of crimps without the specialty tool. I used to have a pair of cheap bolt cutters that I notched with a dremel tool for a couple different sizes of crimps and it worked really well until I either left them somewhere or they got stolen. I measured off another pair of crimpers to get the sizes right. An hour or so labor +  was a much better option than expensive crimpers at the time.
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Jul 23, 2013 04:56
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Gothmog1065 posted:Is there something I can use to crimp a ring or other terminal on heavier gauge wire? What I'm going to do is install a radio in mine and my wife's car, and I'd like for it to look at least somewhat professional, but most of the crimp tools I've seen for that large of wiring are in the $200+ range. I might try to rent one, but I was seeing if there is another option or something I can try to do those types of crimps without the specialty tool. I see a bunch of highly rated ratcheting crimpers on Amazon. Crimps 10-22awg. They look exactly like my $75 crimpers which I've used extensively. http://amzn.com/B0002KR9GQ
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Jul 23, 2013 15:03
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Tim Thomas posted:Ideal 30-500 crimpers with a 10-12 awg die are like $75 and are expensive for what they are. How big is the wire? Most lines for amps are 4AWG. The smaller stuff (10-22) isn't an issue and those crimpers I wasn't too worried about, but I couldn't find much in the way for the larger diameter stuff. What I'm looking for is the best way to crimp the ring terminals on something like this, on the heavy gauge stuff (4ga in that one). The other stuff I'll get a crimper to do those. I found something like this, but I'm probably searching terribly.
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Jul 23, 2013 19:20
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Ok, so go with something like a cheapo Eclipse CrimPro Crimper and get the 300-077D AWG 2-4-6 die. Should be $40 shipped or so. If you're feeling especially raunchy, you can get a number of die heads to go with your ratchet crimper handle.
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Jul 23, 2013 23:31
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Does anyone have any lawn mower recommendations? We're buying our first house and keep thinking of things like this that we need. I looked around some and found pretty solid reviews of the Husqvarna 7021p but it is hard to put much weight behind some random YouTube video from someone who just got it. I'm looking to save money where I can but not cheap out completely. I don't need a self-propelled mower since the yard is flat. Mulching is a big plus.
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Jul 24, 2013 18:48
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Economic Sinkhole posted:Does anyone have any lawn mower recommendations? We're buying our first house and keep thinking of things like this that we need. I looked around some and found pretty solid reviews of the Husqvarna 7021p but it is hard to put much weight behind some random YouTube video from someone who just got it. How big is your yard? I have an electric Black and Decker mower that I've been really happy with. Dealing with the cord is much less hassle than you'd expect (they have a cordless version too), and the lack of local pollution/reduced noise is pretty awesome too.
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Jul 24, 2013 19:05
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The house sits on an 8000 square foot lot which is mostly grass, aside from, you know, the part that the house is covering. I hadn't really considered electric.
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Jul 24, 2013 19:16
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Does anyone here know small engine repair? My string trimmer is giving me fits.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:33
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Economic Sinkhole posted:The house sits on an 8000 square foot lot which is mostly grass, aside from, you know, the part that the house is covering. I hadn't really considered electric. Ok, that's not much bigger than my lot and it's definitely workable for me.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:40
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kid sinister posted:Does anyone here know small engine repair? My string trimmer is giving me fits. What kind of fits? And if no one here can help you, try Cycle Asylum -- lots of motorcycle people are familiar with small 2-stroke engines.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:23
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Looking to get a wood lathe. I'm afraid I don't have much of a budget, so I was hoping to buy used. There's just about nothing on the local craigslist, but I did find this http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/3880204631.html It's an old craftsman lathe, and it's handy that it comes mounted to something. Any opinions on this? I'm going to call tomorrow to see if it's still available and if it functions. I'm mostly interested in turning pens, shaving brush handles, and briar pipes
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Jul 24, 2013 23:31
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kid sinister posted:Does anyone here know small engine repair? My string trimmer is giving me fits. There used to be a thread in Automotive Insanity but I can't find it so it may be gone. You could post in cycle asylum like sagebrush said, or check out donyboy77 on youtube, he has 100s of great small engine repair videos.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:42
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Economic Sinkhole posted:Does anyone have any lawn mower recommendations? We're buying our first house and keep thinking of things like this that we need. I looked around some and found pretty solid reviews of the Husqvarna 7021p but it is hard to put much weight behind some random YouTube video from someone who just got it. I have the self propelled version of that mower, mine has a wash port to hook a hose up to, I don't recall if that one does. That is a nice feature better than sticking a brick on the handle and spraying with a hose to clear out buildup. The engine is basically bullet proof, I like that it has larger rear wheels and the deck seems well built. The rear handles have a couple of different angles they can be set to which is nice, usually mower handles make me feel like a giant (I'm only 6ft tall). My lot is 3/8 of an acre and the mower has served me well, it has always started on the first pull. Prior to this one, I lived down the street from my parents and used their mower which had the same engine, never had a single issue with it over 3 or 4 years of using it. Feel free to PM me if you have any random question about it
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Jul 25, 2013 01:43
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Sagebrush posted:What kind of fits? I posted this in AI but nobody responded... Anyway, my string trimmer will only start on full choke, will die if you give it too much gas too fast once it is started and switched back to open choke, and once you have it running the kill switch is merely a suggestion. It likes to flutter until it finally decides to stop. It's record is 45 seconds after I switched it off. So far I've replaced the carburetor mounting gasket, all the fuel lines and the guy I bought it from a month ago claimed he gave it a new spark plug. I also disassembled the carburetor fully and meticulously cleaned it inside. All internal gaskets and other pieces looked in perfect condition too. As for the kill switch, the switch itself rang out just fine with my multimeter for both on and off.
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Jul 25, 2013 04:55
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kid sinister posted:I posted this in AI but nobody responded... Anyway, my string trimmer will only start on full choke, will die if you give it too much gas too fast once it is started and switched back to open choke, and once you have it running the kill switch is merely a suggestion. It likes to flutter until it finally decides to stop. It's record is 45 seconds after I switched it off. Sounds like an air leak somewhere. Does it have an air filter somewhere ? Sorry I know bikes and cars not harden equipment  I am looking for a welder to replace a £30 one from aldi. I am still learning and doing arc, any recommendations?
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Jul 25, 2013 05:57
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TopherCStone posted:Looking to get a wood lathe. I'm afraid I don't have much of a budget, so I was hoping to buy used. There's just about nothing on the local craigslist, but I did find this http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/3880204631.html Those tube lathes are unpopular, I've never used one but people claim the tube flexes and they vibrate a good bit. Also the price is about 2X what it's worth. If these are reasonably close, they are better deals. http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/tls/3940597435.html (I have this same lathe) http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/tls/3937549076.html
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Jul 25, 2013 08:50
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