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Veering back onto the floor jack discussion. I had decided and today I was gonna go into town and buy the floor jack and jackstands. However someone elsewhere commented that they got and recommended a floor jack that could lift to like 80cm, if you wanted to do work under the car like welding. The one I am buying lifts like 51 cm or 20 inches, 80cm is like 30½ inches. Are those extra 10 inches of height worth going for?
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Jan 25, 2024 08:20
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I would be tempted to save money and jack it up in stagesHis Divine Shadow posted:Bought a cheap set of hammers and dollies, wasn't finished very nicely so I polished them up myself. Will have to see how it stands up to actual usage, the dollies look like they might be cast iron. There's the original surface on another dolly too for comparison. I looked at these as well, product reviews look like they're abysmal quality and about half the hardness expected for a set. Any update?
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Jan 25, 2024 09:38
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I only used them on a door and also removing dents from a pair of steel hub caps but they held up for that without noticeable wear. The dollies I believe are cast iron. But don't quote me on that, going off old memories now His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Jan 25, 2024 |
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Jan 25, 2024 09:44
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Trip report on the latest model Harbor Freight manual tire changer: This thing is basically an amish torture device, but it works once you learn the right technique and use enough soapy water.   You have basically no chance of operating it well unless you actually bolt it to the floor. Edit: I'm on my 4th tire and this thing started wobbling around. I thought the bolt holding the base to the legs in front (being pushed apart when you use the bead breaker) came loose. No, it just stripped out under normal usage.  I know better than to use harbor freight supplied hardware, so really this is my own fault. Motronic fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 21:51
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I'm fed up and willing to drop $1000 on hoses and reels both air and water. I'm fed up with my easily punctured hoses that sit on the ground in a mess and the threaded ends constantly break and sheer. Did some searching through the thread and it seems like the spendy Eley hose reels are believed to be worth it while the relatively inexpensive flexzilla hose is plenty good for water hoses. People who've had the Eley and Flexzilla, any buyers remorse? Anyone try the "liberty garden" branded ones? Which flexzilla is the better option to us with a hose reel? $99 with chonky strain relief -or- $70 with less strain relief on the fittings Probably going to end up buying 400 ft or so of some 5/8 and some 3/4. Thinking about a $120 Liberty free standing hose reel for the spigot I use less. I'd put ~150ft of 5/8 hose on it so the reviews saying it wont fit all 200 ft is okay by me. And finally I'd probably get 1 or 2 Eley hose reels. One for the car wash area of the house that'd be mounted and the 2 wheel cart for the back yard so I can add an extension hose on it and have 200+ feet of hose. I also would like a new air hose, any suggestions for an air hose and reel for the 2 car garage and 2 car driveway? Auto retracting would be nice but not mandatory. Going to mounted to sound dampening box containing my air compressor. Lastly, what are the best quality hose ends for what mine inevitable break, corrode, or get run over and need to be replaced? TYIA thread/Motronic
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Jan 27, 2024 17:01
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I have a Coxreel spring drive air hose reel, my only regret is not putting on flexzilla hose when I first got it or buying anything but the flexzilla air hose. In the cold the rubber air hoses are stiff as a board. For a garden hose reel the only thing I know is the plastic ones don't last but you seem to know that.
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Jan 27, 2024 19:34
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Extremely happy with my Eley reel as are my parents who have had theirs for 7 years. Mixed feelings about my Flexzilla water hose. The extreme flexibility is both a pro and a con. It doesn't turn into a tangled mess once it's off the reel and it winds back onto the reel very easy, but it has no kink resistance at all. It's a bit less annoying if it's full of water. It works well enough for my needs that I'm not going to bother replacing it. I've got the less chonky strain relief and I think it's fine. Maybe just get the chonk for the last hose in the line if you're worried about it? e: the short bit of hose that came with the Eley reel seems pretty nice but isn't long enough to really evaluate. I really like the Eley quick fittings, ball valve, and nozzles. They work well and feel like they will last forever. Galler fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Jan 27, 2024 |
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Jan 27, 2024 20:53
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Bought an Eley reel and two years later got another along with a few of their hoses. They are pretty nice feeling material, flexible, and the fittings are great. Can't comment on longevity yet.
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Jan 28, 2024 03:58
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About three months apart I bought a $1/ft Continental hose and then later for the front yard I bought a cheapie flexzilla. Both are... Fine, I guess? The Continental I think is a quarter step down from being rated for automotive radiator use and despite coming coiled about 12" in diameter refuses to coil much smaller than about 2.5' The flexzilla gets banged around on the concrete pavers in my back yard by my toddler and her 5 year old cousin on an almost weekly basis and doesn't leak. I've had both now for almost 2 years
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Jan 28, 2024 07:59
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I started using Zero-G hoses in 2019 and bought my first Liberty hose reel, the one you linked, that same year, I've bought 3 more since then, one was to replace the second reel I purchased but damaged with my tractor when removing snow. No complaints on the hoses, they're easy to put away on the reel or by hand, no issues making small loops or with tangling, and while I don't know if I'd call them kink resistant I've never had anything more than the occasional kink which was a seconds effort to undue. I probably have around 500' feet of them by now and so far I've never had to replace one. They seem to hold up to being run over just fine, long as they're empty of water, and the fabric coating on all of them has held up though I do have to note I live in the north so they're not putting up with extreme sun or heat and I store them in a heated garage during the winter. The reels have been fine too, they're a lot more pleasant to use than any plastic reel I've ever used, only thing I've had to do to them so far is replace a rubber washer or two. They're easy to wind and unwind and with the Zero-G hoses at least 200 feet does fit... I might've even put 250' on one of them. I do have 2 complaints, one is where the hose connects, you can't connect a hose with any significant amount of stress relief because of the angle and if you tried you'd probably break the connection over time. The second issue is I do leave the reels out during the winter and I've noticed in the spring rust colored water coming out of them, it hasn't caused a problem yet, but don't expect them to last 10 years. On the bright side I've spent less than $100 on all the ones I've bought, the 4 I've purchased probably add up to 1 Eley reel.
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Jan 28, 2024 10:31
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Tested my new floor jack last night and it sure is bigger than my old one: These rubber pads though. The first lift I attempted I got the beam I was gonna lift on off center and it slipped off before I really had a chance to lift it, fortunately! A closer look showed that the beam is oily and putting the rubber against the oily metal results in a no friction situation. So I decided these things are probably bad outside a specific situation, by removing them I position the beam between the "teeth" on the metal lift pad and this made a rather positive lock, I could pull and shake on the floor jack without it letting go.   I bet you can buy or make your own liftpads for a particular car or lift point if you wanted to.
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Jan 28, 2024 10:41
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Those rubber pads are for idiots who’d rather die than potentially mar an unseen part of the undercarriage, good job.
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Jan 28, 2024 17:21
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Hose reel chat: at first I was happy with the Flexzilla reel I bought, but the layering mechanism is plastic. In a dusty environment, once any grit gets in there it wears the teeth off of the carrier that actually moves side to side to load the hose back up, and then the reel can't wind without binding. Also when I disassembled it to investigate this, the return spring was rusted and ended up snapping. The Flexzilla hoses are great, but would not buy the reel again.
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Jan 28, 2024 18:23
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I bought a bunch (too many) rubber Craftsman branded hoses at Lowes about 5 years ago now, and they've been great. I probably have around 8-10 50' hoses, mostly from getting a seeded yard established the first year or two, so they basically sat out for the first 6 months, now I really only use 3-4 of them for watering and car washing. Other than running one end over with a car and slightly crushing it, they've been fantastic. I do still need to get a couple reels for them, though.
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Jan 29, 2024 01:23
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it absolutely chaps my hide to re-buy a tool that i know i bought before, but i haven't seen this thing in like a decade so i guess my hand is forced. apparently the HF leakdown tester is $80 now. it's only $20 cheaper than the OTC that it appears to be a rebadge of, but there are some real cheap no-name (or amazon-style nonsense-name) ones on ebay. HF  OTC  ebay  the ebay ones are like 1/4 the price, and resemble what i remember of the old HF one i used to have. anyone used these lately? is the only difference the built-in regulator versus having it hanging off the side? can't imagine it matters, but maybe someone has a strong opinion on whether it's worth the extra $50
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Jan 29, 2024 08:54
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If you don't have a slide hammer set, you should now buy a slide hammer set. Gearwrench set for $60 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TD6K6G/
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Jan 29, 2024 12:29
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EVERYWHERE 
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I made my own from some stock and a pair of vice grips. Having a lathe is nice.
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Jan 29, 2024 12:37
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Having a sacrificial otherwise useless slide hammer attachment that I use for welding onto things has saved my bacon a couple of times. None of the slide hammers in my life are normal metric thread for some dumb reason and I don't have imperial thread long nuts or whatever laying around.
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Jan 30, 2024 06:58
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This isn't relevant to any particular discussion in this thread atm but I figured a gang of you MFs will agree with me on this one. I bought some stuff online from Grainger, I ordered it yesterday afternoon and it showed up this morning which was good. They sent me an email survey to ask how my experience was and in the comments section I wrote the following: "It was good that you didn't force me to create an account just so I can give your company money. I seriously fuckin hate that poo poo. Also the shipping was fast. But I'm really happy that I didn't have to create an account, I really fuckin hate that poo poo and when companies want you to create an account just to buy something from them I do my best to avoid doing business with them. I fuckin hate that poo poo."
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Jan 31, 2024 18:46
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wesleywillis posted:This isn't relevant to any particular discussion in this thread atm but I figured a gang of you MFs will agree with me on this one. LOL yes, I agree. Edit, I exported a list of account logins I had saved in my browser and a password manager that I was migrating for. It was a single column three pages long. I hate that. 70-90 logins that can be compromised. StormDrain fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 19:04
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That drives me crazy. "I fuckin hate that poo poo"
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Jan 31, 2024 20:10
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wesleywillis posted:This isn't relevant to any particular discussion in this thread atm but I figured a gang of you MFs will agree with me on this one. if anyone actually read the feedback i'm sure you made their day
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Jan 31, 2024 21:34
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Guy using an account: "I hate accounts!"
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Jan 31, 2024 22:25
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Safety Dance posted:Guy using an account: "I hate accounts!" Just shows he's qualified!
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Jan 31, 2024 22:32
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Safety Dance posted:Guy using an account: "I hate accounts!" poo poo posting: I fuckin hate that poo poo.
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Feb 1, 2024 00:23
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I've been putting off replacing my now-blown-apart HF swivel impacts. These GearWrench 3/8 deep sockets popped up onsite and for $54 I figured I'd give them a shot. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UM68EM8
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Feb 2, 2024 01:06
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Is there a dedicated harbor freight thread yet or what. In addition to releasing what look like snap-on's most popular pliers (with lifetime guarantee?) I guess they just released some new knipex twin grip clone pliers, which I guess are a push button slip grip thing. For $20? Not bad? https://toolguyd.com/harbor-freight-pliers-knipex-twingrip/ Big step up from my thousand year old pair of Stanley pliers with rounded over teeth, at least. For home use.
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Feb 2, 2024 08:02
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Hadlock posted:Is there a dedicated harbor freight thread yet or what. It's pretty much this thread!
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Feb 2, 2024 15:01
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Uthor posted:It's pretty much this thread! In that case. How are their wrenches? I’m torn between getting a set of Tekton wrenches for 65 bucks or just spending 20-30 bucks at harbour freight and calling it a day. The biggest issue I see is that harbour freight skips some sizes. Is there any perceptible difference for an occasional shade tree mechanic? Am I going to suddenly strip a bunch of nuts/bolts because I bought the cheap Harbor freight Pittsburg wrenches?
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Feb 2, 2024 15:25
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This is all IMHO.... I have minimal experience with harbor freight, but I have experience with the  equivalent called princess auto.There are certain things that as a shade tree/home user you absolutely can save on for the odd bit of rare use. However, wrenches are something that will likely last for decades, potentially your entire life. For things like that I'd personally drop a bit of extra money on a quality set and utilize the buy once, cry once mentality and be done with it. I have some Tektons and they're pretty solidly in the "OK" category. Not a Williams, but better than most other chinese brands. slidebite fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Feb 2, 2024 |
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Feb 2, 2024 15:32
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MrAmazing posted:In that case. How are their wrenches? I’m torn between getting a set of Tekton wrenches for 65 bucks or just spending 20-30 bucks at harbour freight and calling it a day. The biggest issue I see is that harbour freight skips some sizes. I purchased a "300 piece" mechanic's set from HF in 2006 or so. The screwdrivers have long since but the dust, but the wrenches and sockets are still fine. I now have better ratchets, hex wrenches, handier and more specialized sockets and specialty wrenches, but the core is still there. I've rebuilt two transmissions, 4 engines, put a clutch in a Porsche Cayman and a supercharger on a C5 Corvette with them and a couple HF torque wrenches and measuring tools. They're just fine.
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Feb 2, 2024 16:14
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AWWWWW!!! Look at this Kitty resistant wire loom! https://www.amazon.ca/Kanayu-Temper...ps%2C98&sr=8-20 
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Feb 2, 2024 20:36
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MrAmazing posted:In that case. How are their wrenches? I’m torn between getting a set of Tekton wrenches for 65 bucks or just spending 20-30 bucks at harbour freight and calling it a day. The biggest issue I see is that harbour freight skips some sizes. Probably fine, but like Slidebite said, it's a tool that'll last a lifetime, so why not make it something a bit nicer? The older hf wrenches I know from like 10+ years ago were trash, but qc is probably a lot better now, and the market conditions are different. When you can buy the absolute bottom barrel from temu, and next day ALLCAPS amazon brands, hazard fraught has probably had to shift upwards a notch or two since they have a physical location and actual return policy. You can get all manner of full polish made-in-us ratchet sets for cheap, like the older craftsman ones, and I've been real partial to the gearwrench ratcheting wrenches (eg like these). I tend to either just reach straight for the ratcheting wrenches anymore, or just go straight to the 18v impact wrench if something is fuckernuckered. The days of tapping a box end wrench with a hammer are largely behind me with how incredible electric impacts are. Apparently spline drive stuff is pretty decent from project farm's testing. Personally I've had good luck with kobalt and husky branded stuff, and both of those don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon if you're looking for something with an in person exchange type warranty.
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Feb 2, 2024 20:45
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wesleywillis posted:AWWWWW!!! Aw, that looks tougher than the one I bought!  Alex Tech 25ft - 1 inch Cord Protector Wire Loom Tubing Cable Sleeve Split Sleeving For USB Cable Power Cord Audio Video Cable – Protect Cat From Chewing Cords - Black https://a.co/d/i5I9wgd
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Feb 2, 2024 20:47
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wesleywillis posted:AWWWWW!!! It works, our cat has a death wish and that's saved us hundreds of dollars in phone chargers and power cords
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Feb 2, 2024 21:02
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Uthor posted:Aw, that looks tougher than the one I bought! Ha, that's the poo poo I bought for wrapping the wiring in the Nova. Good to know that cats won't like it. Hopefully that also applies to other animals.
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Feb 2, 2024 22:17
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 Amazon knows me too well.
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Feb 5, 2024 14:32
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Catatron Prime posted:Probably fine, but like Slidebite said, it's a tool that'll last a lifetime, so why not make it something a bit nicer? The older hf wrenches I know from like 10+ years ago were trash, but qc is probably a lot better now, and the market conditions are different. When you can buy the absolute bottom barrel from temu, and next day ALLCAPS amazon brands, hazard fraught has probably had to shift upwards a notch or two since they have a physical location and actual return policy. I’ll probably wait and get Tekton. I have a full socket set, duplicates, impact etc. there have just been a few times recently where I needed wrenches and realized wrench pliers aren’t cutting it. Why do I have several tool kits, socket sets etc and no wrenches? I honestly have no idea, just never really needed wrenches until now 🤷🏻♂️
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Feb 5, 2024 15:29
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Long shot I am looking for a chain link like the photo below but I don't know what it's called. Cannot be a standard quick link where there is a threaded nut on the link side. Anyone know what it's called? I believe these are used on overhead conveying applications.
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Feb 5, 2024 17:26
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| # ? May 15, 2024 13:34 |
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Those are called chain locks. There's normally a spacer around the grub screw. Pretty niche if you aren't building a bucket conveyor. e.g. 
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Feb 5, 2024 18:19
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