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 Slight welder upgrade for me. Oh god what have I done? Now I need another several hundred dollars in materials and cable.
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Nov 12, 2014 22:41
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Motronic posted:
And here I was excited to show off my new clamps...  I'm starting to outgrown my meticulously organized tool box. Starting to have breaker bars and torque wrenches and hammers laying around all over the place. But I don't have enough stuff to really need a full size tool chest. If I could get like the bottom half of this, I'd be happy. That said, I'm considering getting the red tool cart from Harbor Freight. It looks like more than enough space to hold everything I own. Anyone have an opinion about it? http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-carts/30-in-5-drawer-704-lb-capacity-glossy-red-tool-cart-61427.html
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Nov 13, 2014 00:50
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Uthor posted:That said, I'm considering getting the red tool cart from Harbor Freight. It looks like more than enough space to hold everything I own. Anyone have an opinion about it? The drawer rollers feel properly Harbor-Freight-quality, but I know someone with that cart and they've been pretty pleased with it otherwise.
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Nov 13, 2014 01:05
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I have the black cart and my brother has the red one. For the price, they can't be beat.
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Nov 13, 2014 07:05
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Uthor posted:That said, I'm considering getting the red tool cart from Harbor Freight. It looks like more than enough space to hold everything I own. Anyone have an opinion about it? I've been seriously considering that exact cart. I'm curious how well it will roll if I use it for a single set of pretty much "everything basic". You know, socket set, wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. Then I can keep my existing too-small box for less-used things like torque wrenches, duplicates of other stuff, oddball pliers and screwdrivers, brake tools, really big and really small sockets....... If it works out I may get away without buying a bigger box and it seems like it would be more convenient to be able to easily roll the basics somewhere right next to where you're working.
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Nov 13, 2014 15:25
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Google Butt posted:Anyone have experience with the hf sawzall? I need something to cut a bit of 2.5" exhaust tubing It'll do the job, but only buy one if you're OK with the saw only working half a dozen times before it dies (this is the case with most HF power tools.)
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Nov 13, 2014 17:12
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Geoj posted:It'll do the job, but only buy one if you're OK with the saw only working half a dozen times before it dies (this is the case with most HF power tools.) It worked. I have that exact box and it's filled to the brim with a ton of poo poo and it's perfectly fine. I'm happy with it.
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Nov 13, 2014 20:35
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Are there any sorts of polishing pads that can be used with a sander like this? http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/sanders/6-in-dual-action-air-sander-68152-8054.html
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Nov 15, 2014 18:57
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Parts Kit posted:Are there any sorts of polishing pads that can be used with a sander like this? No and don't try- it will swirl like none other.
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Nov 16, 2014 05:38
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Looking to get my old man an infrared thermometer for Christmas. Initially I had my sights set on a Fluke, but HOLYSHITISTHATINPESOS?! kicked in. There's a bunch of more or less dubious brands around that fit the budget. What should I be looking for in one? He doesn't have a specific need, I just figured it would be something nice to have around the house.
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Nov 16, 2014 13:09
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Uthor posted:
I have the black cart from HF. I have used it at a Pepboys and a dealership. Both of which had lovely beat up floors and the toolbox itself was overloaded. The casters are still in good shape and the drawers are still good. Only one time I tipped it over but that involved multiple open doors and multiple tequila sunrises. I have known plenty of people who get the red or black cart and are very happy. The red cart has another drawer and locks, but other than that the carts are both great.
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Nov 16, 2014 14:49
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bolind posted:Looking to get my old man an infrared thermometer for Christmas. Initially I had my sights set on a Fluke, but HOLYSHITISTHATINPESOS?! kicked in. I got a POWER FIST infrared thermometer from my AI secret santa last year and it seems to work pretty well for basic stuff. You can't set the emissivity, so it's probably not very precise for shiny objects, but that can be handled with a bit of black tape. Google says it's ~$20. I figure the most important things to look for is a laser for sighting and a relatively narrow angle for where it measures, otherwise you have to get really close to whatever you're measuring. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Nov 16, 2014 |
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Nov 16, 2014 15:32
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The Halfords 5 drawer + 7 drawer combo is back down to £200, ending tomorrow. I think you'll struggle to get better for the money new in the uk, I'm happy with mine.
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Nov 18, 2014 13:56
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KozmoNaut posted:I got a POWER FIST infrared thermometer from my AI secret santa last year and it seems to work pretty well for basic stuff. You can't set the emissivity, so it's probably not very precise for shiny objects, but that can be handled with a bit of black tape. Google says it's ~$20. Yeah, I've got a $15 one from dealextreme that works way better than I expected it to. Gets used almost daily in the kitchen, and tested against my Thermapen it's within a degree or two. It's amazing how many uses you find for one once you have it.
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Nov 19, 2014 09:54
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KozmoNaut posted:I got a POWER FIST infrared thermometer from my AI secret santa last year and it seems to work pretty well for basic stuff. You can't set the emissivity, so it's probably not very precise for shiny objects, but that can be handled with a bit of black tape. Google says it's ~$20. Ignore anybody that brings up emissivity when talking about IR thermometers because unless you're working in a lab it hardly ever matters. "Let me just look up spaghetti sauce on my emissivity chart so I can properly calibrate my IR thermometer. I wouldn't want it to read my 140 degree sauce as 142 degrees!"  Distance-to-spot ratio is about the only thing you need to compare unless you're preparing something to go to the moon.
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Nov 19, 2014 11:09
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Torque wrench chat from a couple pages ago: I have a set of Armstrong Torque Wrenches ($170 for the 3/8, $250ish for the 1/2) and the manual specifically states that there is no need to return the setting to the lowest between uses.
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Nov 20, 2014 22:47
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I'm picking up a third car and I want to to garage it over the winter by turning it sideways and pushing it back against the wall since my garage is deep enough to accommodate it. To do this I'll need to pick up auto dollies and a floor jack and I'd like to do it for under $300 if possible. For the dollies, I'm looking at two sets of these or this set of four, it looks like with either option I'd need to grease the casters to make sure they move. I'd prefer to get the cheaper set of four but I'm not sure if the casters on those ones would be able to get over the groove that runs across the midpoint of the garage floor. Ideally, I'd like to leave the car on the dollies for the duration of the winter for maximum garage space/less effort, but is that a bad idea? It would be sitting on them from the near future through March minimum and I'd hate for the tires or dollies to get messed up in the interim and have a logistical nightmare once the spring thaw rolls around. As far as the floor jack goes, I think I need at least a 3 ton jack since the Buick I'm getting weighs ~3600lbs and My wife's SUV weighs ~4000lbs. Am I going to hate myself for buying a sub $100 3 ton jack from Harbor Freight or should I just suck it up and get one of the better reviewed $150 ones from Amazon?
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Nov 21, 2014 06:16
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nollij posted:Torque wrench chat from a couple pages ago: Ya its a myth with modern wrenches. Not even being sarcastic.
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Nov 21, 2014 06:17
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BXCX posted:I'm picking up a third car and I want to to garage it over the winter by turning it sideways and pushing it back against the wall since my garage is deep enough to accommodate it. To do this I'll need to pick up auto dollies and a floor jack and I'd like to do it for under $300 if possible. For the dollies, I'm looking at two sets of these or this set of four, it looks like with either option I'd need to grease the casters to make sure they move. I'd prefer to get the cheaper set of four but I'm not sure if the casters on those ones would be able to get over the groove that runs across the midpoint of the garage floor. Ideally, I'd like to leave the car on the dollies for the duration of the winter for maximum garage space/less effort, but is that a bad idea? It would be sitting on them from the near future through March minimum and I'd hate for the tires or dollies to get messed up in the interim and have a logistical nightmare once the spring thaw rolls around. As far as the floor jack goes, I think I need at least a 3 ton jack since the Buick I'm getting weighs ~3600lbs and My wife's SUV weighs ~4000lbs. Am I going to hate myself for buying a sub $100 3 ton jack from Harbor Freight or should I just suck it up and get one of the better reviewed $150 ones from Amazon? You only have to jack up one wheel at a time. The HF jack will be fine.
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Nov 21, 2014 06:31
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BXCX posted:Ideally, I'd like to leave the car on the dollies for the duration of the winter for maximum garage space/less effort, but is that a bad idea? It would be sitting on them from the near future through March minimum and I'd hate for the tires or dollies to get messed up in the interim and have a logistical nightmare once the spring thaw rolls around. [/url]? Or you could just get a set of 4 jackstands, and pull the dollies out until you need them again. Seriously, it's like 20 min of work and honestly, can you see yourself moving aforementioned car around much during the winter months?
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Nov 21, 2014 06:44
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Store it on 4 jack stands, rather than the dollies. Keep weight off the tires during long-term storage. Bag the tires or just drape cloth or garbage bags over them to arrest dry rot and UV damage. The midline groove in your floor could probably be ignored with the right thing covering/filling it, like newspaper or rope.
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Nov 21, 2014 06:45
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BXCX posted:Am I going to hate myself for buying a sub $100 3 ton jack from Harbor Freight or should I just suck it up and get one of the better reviewed $150 ones from Amazon? I bought that same HF jack early this year for $80 and used it to swap the rear axle/install a lift kit/perform a bunch of other maintenance on my jeep. It was great the whole time, although it's a little too short now that I have the lift in. Make sure to actually use the little bolt to fasten the two handle-halves together, and tighten it well into the base - I didn't and had a durrrrrr moment where it all came undone and suddenly I didn't have enough clearance to get the handle back in, with the whole rear end up  My XJ weighs as much as your Buick so that should be fine 
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Nov 21, 2014 07:32
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BXCX posted:I'm picking up a third car and I want to to garage it over the winter by turning it sideways and pushing it back against the wall since my garage is deep enough to accommodate it. To do this I'll need to pick up auto dollies and a floor jack and I'd like to do it for under $300 if possible. For the dollies, I'm looking at two sets of these or this set of four, it looks like with either option I'd need to grease the casters to make sure they move. I'd prefer to get the cheaper set of four but I'm not sure if the casters on those ones would be able to get over the groove that runs across the midpoint of the garage floor. Ideally, I'd like to leave the car on the dollies for the duration of the winter for maximum garage space/less effort, but is that a bad idea? It would be sitting on them from the near future through March minimum and I'd hate for the tires or dollies to get messed up in the interim and have a logistical nightmare once the spring thaw rolls around. As far as the floor jack goes, I think I need at least a 3 ton jack since the Buick I'm getting weighs ~3600lbs and My wife's SUV weighs ~4000lbs. Am I going to hate myself for buying a sub $100 3 ton jack from Harbor Freight or should I just suck it up and get one of the better reviewed $150 ones from Amazon? Having done this with a dual-axle boat trailer (w/ boat) every season for a decade, a running start will clear most expansion joints in the floor, but get the vehicle as close as possible before putting it on dollies so you have less things to roll over with tiny wheels. Ideally you would put the car on jack-stands to not get flat spots on the tires, but in practice you'll probably be under the car trying to jack it up to remove the dollies once its in place and I've never had flat spots after one season (granted, trailer tires are at over twice the pressure of car tires and built differently. YMMV). Also, the when I first started reading your post, I thought you were planning on putting it on a tilt trailer  Preoptopus posted:Ya its a myth with modern wrenches. Not even being sarcastic. We should probably all just do what our individual wrench manufacturers suggest in the manual.
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Nov 21, 2014 07:39
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Preoptopus posted:Ya its a myth with modern wrenches. Not even being sarcastic. There's a similar myth about leaving spring-piston air rifles / bb guns / airsoft cocked and firearm magazines loaded.
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Nov 21, 2014 10:48
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Hey dudes, quick question. I'm going to start fixing my car up myself but I've never been a big car guy so I could use some suggestions on which jacks/tool kits would be good for a beginner. I don't need anything crazy, just the essentials for doing basic maintenance and poo poo. Looking to keep it on a budget too so cheaper is better too. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Nov 21, 2014 17:06
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Jack: You can usually find some kind of sale for a floor jack and jack stands somewhere. Getting a jack at places like Harbor Freight is fine, but don't cheap out on your jack stands. If you don't already know, don't work on your car using only a jack to hold it up. Tools: A socket wrench, sockets, wrenches, torque wrench, breaker bar and screwdrivers will be what you'll need for 90% of automotive work. Aside from a torque wrench, you can usually get all that stuff in a huge kit. I don't cheap out on basic tools, just because it's annoying as gently caress to shear a cheap socket or something right in the middle of a job, but it's up to you. You can get a good set of this stuff for $100-$200, depending on the brand and whether or not you can find a deal. Otherwise, I just buy tools as jobs call for them. When you plan to do something, research and see if you'll be needing any tools you don't already own. Getting halfway through a job and realizing that you're missing an integral tool is as annoying as breaking them. edit: I should note that you're going to end up with a lot of stuff eventually. I went from a small tool chest to 2 large tool cabinets and 3 separate small tool chests, and I still have poo poo laying around in my garage. AncientTV fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Nov 21, 2014 |
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Nov 21, 2014 17:17
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AncientTV posted:Jack: You can usually find some kind of sale for a floor jack and jack stands somewhere. Getting a jack at places like Harbor Freight is fine, but don't cheap out on your jack stands. If you don't already know, don't work on your car using only a jack to hold it up. I'm going to agree with all of this and add just a couple minor points: - Buy a 3-ish pound drilling/engineer's hammer. There are many jobs that will do well with a heavy dose of BFH. - Sometimes Wal-Mart will run specials on a big Stanley "Mechanic's set". I've been using (and abusing) one of these sets for a few years now and somehow nothing has broken. You can pick them up for 50-75 bucks if you keep your eyes open.
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Nov 21, 2014 17:57
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Thanks for the feedback everyone, I'll go ahead and grab the Harbor Freight jack and the cheaper dollies and a set of jack stands. I'm hoping there's enough room to get behind it to put it on the jack stands without having to crawl under the car and still have room to park the other cars, I'll need to measure again to be sure.
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Nov 21, 2014 18:12
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:- Sometimes Wal-Mart will run specials on a big Stanley "Mechanic's set". I've been using (and abusing) one of these sets for a few years now and somehow nothing has broken. You can pick them up for 50-75 bucks if you keep your eyes open. I'd either do this or get a 3/8" socket set and screw drivers for $20-30 at HF to start, then get a better idea of the tools you need or use once you start wrenching. I do most of my routine work with two or three sockets, a screwdriver, and a set of triple square bits (VW).
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Nov 21, 2014 20:10
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A note on jack stands: Avoid this type:  Get this type:  They are much less likely to fail.
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Nov 21, 2014 23:22
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Raluek posted:A note on jack stands: Avoid both, IMHO. I hated my ratchet types, as the intervals ALWAYS seemed to favor being an inch too low.
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Nov 21, 2014 23:37
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I realize they're probably fine but that seems like a lot of weight to be ultimately just hanging out on the threads of a screw. The fine adjustment is probably nice but is there anything that actually locks them into a set height? I really want to get a set or two of these eventually.
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Nov 21, 2014 23:48
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Raluek posted:A note on jack stands: Why? What's the failure mode?
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Nov 21, 2014 23:54
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Cakefool posted:Why? What's the failure mode? Welds break; legs buckle, and you suffocate. Unless on asphalt. Then it may survive long enough for the drive to not. I have yet to see a pin break on one of those, though. E: semicolon, not comma. West SAAB Story fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Nov 21, 2014 |
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Nov 21, 2014 23:55
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Wasabi the J posted:Avoid both, IMHO. Cast aluminum? Ehh, these really don't seem to be designed for cars at all.
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Nov 21, 2014 23:56
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IOwnCalculus posted:I realize they're probably fine but that seems like a lot of weight to be ultimately just hanging out on the threads of a screw. The fine adjustment is probably nice but is there anything that actually locks them into a set height? I haven't had any issues with them; they support the weight of my Exploder; they don't really worm back, because the threads are so shallow. BraveUlysses posted:Cast aluminum? Ehh, these really don't seem to be designed for cars at all. They're not specifically, they're for RV's, but they're rated at the same weight and have similar dimensions as most auto jackstands, many of which are cast aluminum. I normally put all four under the load, being paranoid. I feel more secure with them than I did with my Harbor Freight ratcheting stands. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Nov 22, 2014 |
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Nov 22, 2014 00:09
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Cakefool posted:Why? What's the failure mode? Although I haven't seen it firsthand, my understanding was that the base could twist and collapse easier, and if the vertical section's tube wall gets damaged at all it can kink and fail. The ratcheting ones seem like they'd be harder to twist, and since the vertical section is a chunk of cast iron it can't fail that way either. Wasabi the J posted:Avoid both, IMHO. How do you even put an axle on that?
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Nov 22, 2014 00:24
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I wish I could rationalize buying 4 of these jackstands but I'll keep using my Husky steel ratcheting type ones with a safety pin.
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Nov 22, 2014 00:31
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IOwnCalculus posted:I realize they're probably fine but that seems like a lot of weight to be ultimately just hanging out on the threads of a screw. The fine adjustment is probably nice but is there anything that actually locks them into a set height? Don't worry too much about it. Assume those are 1" coarse bolt threads and they're grade 8. The recommended torque spec is 900 foot pounds and the clamping load (tension/compression in the bolt, assuming zero friction) is 54500lbs. Bolt threads that aren't smashed up or stripped are incredibly loving strong. Hell, the clamping force on a properly torqued 3/8" bolt is greater than the weight of any vehicle I own except the big green broken one. You've got more to worry about in whether it'll tip over or bend the threaded portion than you do with its thread strength. I think most jackstands have bases that are far too small for comfort.
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Nov 22, 2014 00:43
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I am a fan of the integrated bottle jack and ratcheting stand ala http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GJJZ5YC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1416614910&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX200_QL40 That one is taller and bigger than the one I have but Amazon's selection is weak. That one looks aimed at trucks; mine is fine for my average-height car but obviously bollocks for something sporty/low. Also hey, a bigger footprint for Kastein! I like them because often the only good place to put a stand is right where the goddamn jack has to go. 
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Nov 22, 2014 01:18
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