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Motronic posted:That is my recollection. On top of that it comes down to how much you’re paying for quality and how much time you’re putting into making sure you are getting what you paid for, as laid out in a book a goon on here recommended, Poorly made in China, by Paul Midler.
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Sep 19, 2022 01:42
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Frank Dillinger posted:On top of that it comes down to how much you’re paying for quality and how much time you’re putting into making sure you are getting what you paid for, as laid out in a book a goon on here recommended, Poorly made in China, by Paul Midler. And to be sure you can get great deals based on this if you want to put the work in. I have MANY harbor freight angle grinders, but I've always taken them apart, scraped out the "grease" that I've come to refer to as "chinese gutter honey" (it's really a consistent thing you find in these tools across brands.....I swear it's something close to the boiled down effluent from restaurant sewage), cleanwd them out from all the casting swarf and misc contamination in there and repacked them with actual quality grease and.......surprise they last for a real long time. Lots of these things come with spare brushes and everything. I don't get that.....it's like they're trying real hard to be quality but somehow don't realize you'll never get into that second set of brushes with the poo poo grease them are shipped with. Same thing with air tools. I don't even bother strippign them anymore because they are so cheap. I just bought another needle scaler. Put the sir fitting on it, fill it up with tool oil to the top, let it sit for a couple minutes then wrap it in a shop towel (for your own sake) and run that fucker. It seems to blow out all the swarf/garbage/etc and makes them last a lot longer. You only need to do it the first time then just keep them lubed as normal.
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Sep 19, 2022 01:55
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Frank Dillinger posted:Weren’t the Daytona ones the ones that were made in the same factory as Snap-on and Snap-on got all butthurt about harboring freight advertising that? That’s just the Daytona ‘Super Duty’ jack. Harbor Freight has ridden that reputation for the entire Daytona brand, though it seems like they’re all good quality.
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Sep 19, 2022 02:55
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Any jump pack suggestions?
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Sep 19, 2022 23:33
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C-Bangin' it 
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What size vehicle(s) do you plan to use it on, do you plan to carry it around all the time, will it be used to power other stuff or strictly emergency jump starting?
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Sep 19, 2022 23:38
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Colostomy Bag posted:Any jump pack suggestions? The generic lithium one I bought from Costco worked great until we left it in the trunk of our Miata for ~10 months uncharged. Looks to have killed a cell. I'd buy another one, but take better care of it.
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Sep 20, 2022 00:58
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I got an Audew because Project Farm recommended it. I think I have the slightly smaller version than the one he reviewed, but I've used it several times to jump a 5.7 gen 3 Hemi and a 350 small block Chevy and it's never struggled at all. Plus several times with a Boxster and a Jeep Patriot. It's gotten a lot of use and I've been glad every time that I keep it under the seat is what I'm getting at. THE only thing that's ever annoyed me was when I had a choke problem where the engine would start for an instant then die. The annoying part was the jump pack goes "cool, the motor started so I should shut off" and then I'd have to disconnect the cables to reset before I could try again. Obviously this is how you'd want everything to work 95% of the time though so I can't really complain.
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Sep 20, 2022 01:09
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The Grand Wall of Tools in the currently very messy garage is very much a work in progress. Lots of things are provisional and in the wrong place. However I managed to source som free recycled thick birch plywood strips. Also the good screwdriver situation feels finalized enough that I built a holder for them yesterday that should be permanent. Most of the socket holders are also good enough, but the rest will be replaced with nicer wood and lessons learned. It's hard to tell from my lovely photo but I milled down most of the plywood strip so there's a raised edge in front, keeping the drivers in place if you bump them or something. The nice Wera drivers are Torx, Phillips, Pozidriv and flathead. The blue ones are JIS since Wera don't make those (at least I can't find any). I ran out of time so the labels will have to wait a bit. 
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Sep 20, 2022 11:16
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Advent Horizon posted:What size vehicle(s) do you plan to use it on, do you plan to carry it around all the time, will it be used to power other stuff or strictly emergency jump starting? No diesel, didn't plan on powering other stuff and if I took it with me it would be on road trips. About the biggest thing I would need to jump in my "fleet" is your average 5.4 Ford.
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Sep 20, 2022 11:37
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Colostomy Bag posted:No diesel, didn't plan on powering other stuff and if I took it with me it would be on road trips. About the biggest thing I would need to jump in my "fleet" is your average 5.4 Ford. Get a bigger one than you need. The expense isn’t a crazy difference and it’s one of those “I am very glad to pay a premium to make sure this worked when I needed it.” things, at least for me. If it’s drained because you let it sit or for some reason you have to crank a few times/the battery is really dead then you’ll be happy to have the extra juice. Also, don’t overlook solar chargers for keeping things topped up if you’re not parked near an outlet.
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Sep 20, 2022 14:13
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Getting it at Costco is probably a good idea in light of the generous return policy. These are basically commodity goods. The warranty and the customer service is like the only differentiating factor. I wouldn't put a ton of stock into results for an item like this from Project Farm's testing. He tests a single unit that was made on a particular day. There is no guarantee that the next day's production wasn't made with lower or higher grade cells depending on what the vendor had that day.
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Sep 20, 2022 16:02
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Invalido posted:The Grand Wall of Tools in the currently very messy garage is very much a work in progress. Lots of things are provisional and in the wrong place. However I managed to source som free recycled thick birch plywood strips. Also the good screwdriver situation feels finalized enough that I built a holder for them yesterday that should be permanent. Most of the socket holders are also good enough, but the rest will be replaced with nicer wood and lessons learned. This is a very satisfying post and your efforts will pay off every time you go to do a project because the stuff will just be there when you need it. Being a systems integrator by day I went with a more off-the-shelf solution from Wall Control:  The initial setup with four panels. The cabinets are a combination of a recycled bath vanity and kitchen cabinets from a friend who was remodeling.  For phase 2 I experimented with magnetic strips to hold socket handles and extensions.  They are affixed to the panels by means of machine screws and rivet nuts.  Nope, I'm not OCD at all, and yes there are some scavenged under cabinets lights too  Sharpie'd socket types on the carrier to make my tool passer's job easier  More recently I went back and reorganized the drills and added a rack for battery storage.
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Sep 20, 2022 19:58
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PBCrunch posted:Getting it at Costco is probably a good idea in light of the generous return policy. These are basically commodity goods. The warranty and the customer service is like the only differentiating factor. What is this thread if not a collection of anecdotal evidence based on tools that may or may not be representative samples of their brand's quality? I have 4 Schumacher battery chargers ranging from 5 to 20+ years old and they've all worked great for me. Motronic has had such an opposite experience that he gets mad just thinking about them. If I walked in here, I would probably want to get something that has an approval rating higher than 50%. 1 or 2 data points are still better than no data points. I'm usually the first one to advocate that warranty>quality because if I break a tool I'd rather have the store give me a new Kobalt so I can finish the job instead of waiting for Tekton to mail me something, but I just hate my local Costco too much to shop there. I have no idea where I'm going with any of this but 
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Sep 20, 2022 20:16
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Motronic posted:Lots of these things come with spare brushes and everything. I don't get that.....it's like they're trying real hard to be quality but somehow don't realize you'll never get into that second set of brushes with the poo poo grease them are shipped with. That's a really mixed bag tbh. Their corded portaband blows rear end, my first one literally quit and burned the brushes and commutator beyond repair on the second cut. The one that replaced it (I bought it thinking I was going to work on a project immediately, only found time 6 months later, it failed immediately and I decided I'd rather commit some light return policy fraud and get two shots out of it than sit there dick in hand with my unreturnable broken one, so I bought a new one again and "returned it because it broke" the next day) hasn't quit yet but I don't have very high hopes for its longevity. If you buy harbor freight electric motor tools definitely let them run the brushes in unloaded for a while on the bench before putting a load on them, I think the brushes and commutator were just so poorly machined that there wasn't enough contact area to handle a load and it arced too much and destroyed them before I noticed. Meanwhile I took my harbor freight 4x6 shop bandsaw out of the box in 2013, immediately set it up and began cutting 0.25" wall box tubing and 6x1" hot roll bar stock with it at the maximum feed rate without stalling the motor. I haven't even so much as looked in the gearbox, I know it's leaking and I have no idea how much is left. I probably put 30 minutes of cut time on it last night. It just keeps going.
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Sep 20, 2022 21:01
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kastein posted:...and I decided I'd rather commit some light return policy fraud and get two shots out of it than sit there dick in hand with my unreturnable broken one, so I bought a new one again and "returned it because it broke" the next day)... If this isn't your defacto strategy with literally anything sold retail these days that breaks unexpectedly I don't know what to tell you.
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Sep 21, 2022 00:10
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I'm glad you labeled it garage. I thought this was your bedroom.
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Sep 21, 2022 15:40
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GreenBuckanneer posted:I'm glad you labeled it garage. I thought this was your bedroom. The power tools stored in bedrooms are usually slightly different.
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Sep 21, 2022 15:47
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GreenBuckanneer posted:I'm glad you labeled it garage. I thought this was your bedroom. It wasn't me. it was a cousin, possibly drunk It would be easy enough to sand it off but it fits in with the generally messy theme. Maybe some day it won't. Next might be a new box wrench module with longer dowels. There was a failure to consider that many of them need to hang double or triple or even quadruple for 10mm because why not. Also a module for the ratcheting ones because the current bag has no room for multiples. And a module for the dedicated lug nut sockets since they always end up on the shelf meant for a pair of Red Brand batteries. Oh, someplace for the most essential always used chemicals like brake cleaner too. The need for a tool wall is just because of how the garage is laid out. The two post lift sits pretty close to the left part of the tool wall in order to allow for one additional car parked behind whatever is on the lift, so there's no room in front for drawers. OTOH it's obviously prime real estate for convenient access to car related tools. A wall covered in plywood you're not afraid to put holes through is very customisable, like most power tools sit on screws with heat shrink tube on them and it works great. There are labels behind the power tools, just sharpie on masking tape as a memory aid. Not as slick as painted silhouettes but, you know, provisional.
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Sep 21, 2022 16:30
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Looking at a new set of tools, what does everyone think about these? https://withcharacter.com/collections/tools/products/the-essential-set
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Sep 21, 2022 17:49
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Advent Horizon posted:Looking at a new set of tools, what does everyone think about these? https://withcharacter.com/collections/tools/products/the-essential-set Looks like it has all the essentials. What utter garbage is this?
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Sep 21, 2022 18:18
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Oh it hurts to look at.
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Sep 21, 2022 18:19
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 Pinhole in AC line, no wrenches big enough to remove them. Luckily picked the right one at HF, turns out they are 24/27. The other set went 22-25 for some reason. Was on sale for $36.99 and goes up to 32 I think. Didn’t have a choice after getting the lines off I don’t think I could have ever done it with pipe wrench and adjustable a way too tight if space.
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Sep 21, 2022 18:20
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Uthor posted:The power tools stored in bedrooms are usually slightly different.  please no
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Sep 21, 2022 18:36
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skybolt_1 posted:If this isn't your defacto strategy with literally anything sold retail these days that breaks unexpectedly I don't know what to tell you. Generally it is only when I feel badly wronged. If it breaks suddenly well after I've gotten a return period worth of use out of it, I'll usually buy a new one or try fixing mine. If it breaks on day 91 or 31, or it breaks within a few uses while not being abused and I just had it sitting in the box for a while before I used it to the first time, yeah I'm pulling a fast one on them instead of trying to argue my case with an unsympathetic store manager and looking like a Karen.
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Sep 21, 2022 19:52
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the spyder posted:Looks like it has all the essentials. I've found that keeping a set like that in my desk cuts down on the number of people who don't return borrowed tools. The pink-handled claw hammer and pliers always make it back to me.
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Sep 21, 2022 20:28
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Arishtat posted:This is a very satisfying post and your efforts will pay off every time you go to do a project because the stuff will just be there when you need it. It happens to be the garage/workshop in my house, Invalido just hangs out there a lot with his broken vehicles and complains about the lack of organization (and now and then does something about it). I know where most of the "oddly located" stuff is, he doesn't. All those sockets and wrenches and such are sometimes just perfect. When a car is on the lift, it's within arms length of the front of it and you can just grab a tool, use it, and put it right back without having to go anywhere. It gets a bit annoying when you're under the car and need to go get something, since the ceiling height is somewhat limited (just over 2.7m and some water pipes hanging down stealing another 10cm for some cars), I can't lift a car high enough to walk under it. The MX-5 gets decently high up, but the Kia Sorento tractor gets barely a meter above the ground. So I crawl out to get something banging my head on something, crawl back, and realize I needed 21mm and not the 19mm I got. And on the left side of the lift there's some machinery and a structural column that do get in the way a bit (plus a pile of junk on the floor). The thought occured to me to use Ikea kitchen cabinet stuff (which has a lot of different size drawers/shelves and various useful gizmos available) to make some kind of workbench area, but it didn't really fit well anywhere. If I get rid of a metric ton of junk, there might be a good spot for it. I have a couple of tall such cabinets with drawers in a small storage room behind the garage but most of those drawers are still sitting there unassembled... Any year now, I'll get my poo poo together and spend a week straight just organizing and cleaning.
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Sep 21, 2022 21:48
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Advent Horizon posted:Looking at a new set of tools, what does everyone think about these? https://withcharacter.com/collections/tools/products/the-essential-set I am triggered, but I also want to see you try to do some work with just these.
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Sep 21, 2022 21:51
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PhotoKirk posted:I've found that keeping a set like that in my desk cuts down on the number of people who don't return borrowed tools. The pink-handled claw hammer and pliers always make it back to me. https://www.amazon.com/Cartman-39piece-General-Household-Plastic/dp/B0157YVPTS/
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Sep 21, 2022 22:28
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Advent Horizon posted:Looking at a new set of tools, what does everyone think about these? https://withcharacter.com/collections/tools/products/the-essential-set This is so bad I assumed it was priced in Mexican pesos at first
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Sep 22, 2022 02:31
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Advent Horizon posted:Looking at a new set of tools, what does everyone think about these? https://withcharacter.com/collections/tools/products/the-essential-set should be called The Hulk Set
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Sep 22, 2022 02:42
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:What are the pros/cons of 6 point vs 12 point sockets? 12 point sockets work waaaaaaay better on 12 point fasteners.
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Sep 22, 2022 04:00
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Harbor Freight parts washer: $129. 12 gallons of Simple Green Industrial to fill it: $155.40 I just did a solvent change in my parts washer and figured I would add a drain valve to replace the plug. It’s a metric fitting, M14x1.5, which matches a lot of oil drain plugs. This fits perfectly and has a 90* hose barb built in: 
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Sep 22, 2022 04:54
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How big should I go on a compressor tank? Intended use is topping up tires (ideally I would like it to fill the work truck tires too, and they're like 100psi), a few air tools, and MAYBE some painting. Seems like 20 gallons would be OK but I have no real reference point
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Sep 22, 2022 15:41
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Panty Saluter posted:How big should I go on a compressor tank? Intended use is topping up tires (ideally I would like it to fill the work truck tires too, and they're like 100psi), a few air tools, and MAYBE some painting. Seems like 20 gallons would be OK but I have no real reference point 20 is fine for everything except painting. I feel like this question gets asked a lot, and people all throw in the "maybe painting". Which means a 60 gallon compressor if you're talking about painting anything like a car. Can you do it on less? Sure. Buy you probably don't want to. So decide if painting really is a priority. Because it's the one that actually changes your requirements.
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Sep 22, 2022 15:45
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I would have expected tires and tools to be more demanding. Is it down keeping the pressure consistent or something?
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Sep 22, 2022 15:46
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Its the volume that gets you, especially with HVLP sprayers.
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Sep 22, 2022 15:54
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Crunchy Black posted:Its the volume that gets you, especially with HVLP sprayers. Yep. Only other common ask that is even worse/requires more volume would be a media blasting cabinet. But with painting specifically you just can't stop in the middle of something to wait for the compressor to fill back up. If it can't supply the 10-ish CFM you need without the tank (no common 20 gallon has a pump this large) you're just screwed.
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Sep 22, 2022 16:01
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OK, so rattlecans and prayer it is. Thanks 
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Sep 22, 2022 16:07
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Panty Saluter posted:OK, so rattlecans and prayer it is. Thanks Just for example. you can absolutely paint a fender or maybe one side of a hood with a 20 gallon compressor. You will not make it through an entire coat on a full car body, even if it's a comically small car.
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Sep 22, 2022 16:28
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What’s the deal with ultrasonic cleaner depth? They seem to get wider and longer but barely any deeper - I have a 3L coming that has a 2.6” deep basket, but the same brand’s 22L only has a 3.7” deep basket.
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Sep 22, 2022 16:58
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