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ASSTASTIC posted:I'm starting to switch my brand loyalty from DeWalt to Hitachi recently. Their 18v LiIon sets are pretty nifty and I just got a cordless sawzall and its a BEAST. Don't worry; I own a 13A Milwaukee Corded Sawzall also. Their 18V li-ion drill rules. I use mine almost daily. The first thing I did was start punching holes in a 2x10 with a 2 1/2" hole saw, no sweat. I also used it to shred a bunch of stuff in my compost heap (picture a small lawnmower blade welded to a rod), and it scared the hell out of me. I also have the Hitachi circular saw which is quite good too. Cast base and such, not sheet metal. I use it with an AIO guide and a sliding shoe and it's really been accurate for me. I have a DeWalt hammer drill and a jigsaw. The DeWalt stuff is just a little bigger, I get a much more comfortable grip with Hitachis. I love garage sales! If you live anywhere near blue-collar workers or farms, you're in business. I scored a 3/4HP belt-drive 8" grinder that will loving kill you and everyone you love. It's mounted on 20 pounds of steel plate. $40. The extra-special perk that I have in my area is Snap-On. It seems like everyone has worked there at some point and has a pile of old wrenches for sale. Good quality, but if you're a civilian don't count on ever getting a replacement from a vendor, they just don't service us. As far as my tool fetish goes, every now and then I make something for my wife to keep her happy. Every project needs a new tool, amirite? I also like to tell her how much I saved by doing some work on the cars and yes I did need two complete sets of wrenches to do it so lay off woman!
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Jan 27, 2011 21:30
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I'm not one to get scared much, but my Lancelot (chainsaw on an angle grinder) scared me and put a huge channel in a piece of wood I was turning into a fruit bowl. Threw it away that day and went back to hand chisels. Every time I used it, I fully expected to end up in the emergency room. I have no idea how anyone does anything useful with them but I've seen pictures so there's that. I secretly believe that it's actually done with a Foredom and they just pose an angle grinder with the piece for effect.
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May 22, 2011 00:43
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Looking back at it, the woodminer looks like it would be OK. The way it's laid out it looks like it would limit the depth of cut to something reasonable. This is the thing that hated my fruit bowl: http://tinyurl.com/3w4v2mo (woodcraft link) It still looks like a bad idea, a year later. Eep.
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May 23, 2011 20:20
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ASSTASTIC posted:http://www.amazon.com/King-Arthurs-45822-Lancelot-center/dp/B0000224SJ Notice that the first review (4 stars!) includes a trip to the ER. 
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May 25, 2011 20:25
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Chauncey posted:If your drill chuck is weak, you can buy the hex shank drill bit sets. That way each of the 3 chuck jaws is gripping on a flat. Voila, no more spin! Seconding this. I've been really quite pleased with the Irwin set I bought, they have facets cut in the shanks and the 1/2" bit is necked down to fit into a 3/8" chuck which is sort of nice. I also have a set of quick-change hex bits so I can swap between drilling and driving really quickly, nice for housey stuff. If I'm drilling metal or anything high-accuracy there are better options. Keyless chucks are convenient but they sure suck at gripping sometimes.
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Jun 1, 2011 16:39
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Ahz posted:Any good recommendations on a value priced corded circular saw? Nothing in the ryobi range, but closer to $100 vs. $150+. Love my Hitachi 7 1/4" saw. Aluminum base, plenty of power, good adjusters and scales. $89 at Lowes right now.
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Jul 5, 2011 19:14
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Miscreant posted:I bought this set and had to return it because the clutch on the drill driver was useless. It was either wide open or stupid loose with no adjustability at all. Having said that if you don't care at all about the clutch on the driver it's hard to beat that price. I've got that Hitachi drill-driver, but didn't get it in a combo. The first one died immediately, the chuck fell off because the drive shaft came out of the drill, spilling its ball bearings. I've been running the second one hard for several(?) years now. I've driven a ton of deck screws, drilled a ton of 2" holes with a hole saw, and drilled the bejeezus out of a bunch of steel with a step bit. Original battery, no issues. My clutch also works properly and I use it a fair amount. I suspect that their QC is not so good on this line. If you get one, make sure you can return it easily I guess. My Hitachi circular saw keeps on trucking, never a hiccup.
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Jul 27, 2011 21:38
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Cross_ posted:Yeah..no. I was thinking around 50 pieces. I will see if there are any machine shops that can just use lasercutting/waterjets to make me some baseplates with the appropriate cutouts. If you haven't bought the boxes yet, and you're in North America, Bud Industries will do custom cutouts in their stuff. Custom paint, too.
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Jun 27, 2012 21:43
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Super Waffle posted:Should I buy this immediately? I wouldn't. The TS has those horrible stamped tables, probably direct drive too. The jointer is on a really weird awkward stand with a joke of a fence. I'm guessing 1/2HP motors on the jointer and BS, not sure how bad that is on a jointer but that's pretty wimpy for a BS. The BS looks similar to one my dad had, workable but not great.
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Feb 4, 2013 12:57
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I've been really happy with Kroil, better than PB Blaster for what I've un-stuck. It seems to need about an hour of penetrating time. I've had a couple of suspension bolts that weren't going anywhere dry, then I remember the Kroil, put it on and go eat a sandwich. Come back and the stuff comes off like nothing ever happened. I haven't tried acetone/ATF, mostly because I don't have any ATF around.
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Oct 1, 2014 15:49
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We used a scythe as a general lawn mowing implement in France. We were up in the mountains so not only is a push mower tough to use, but the gas to run it was pricey so just about everyone used the good old scythe. I remember the old coot next door (in his 70s or so?) just walking along swinging it like it was no big deal, smoking the whole time. Once you get a rhythm going, it's sort of zen. I stuck it hard in the ground a bunch and whanged it off of the hidden rocks in the tall stuff so I also got to sharpen it a few times.
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Apr 22, 2015 18:03
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7000 series aluminum is the bees knees though. It machines beautifully. I've worked it with wood bits that I don't plan to use for wood anymore, carbide mostly. Jigsaw goes through like butter, I lube it with a squirt of WD-40 sometimes in the thicker stuff, 0.25" would be right about the threshold for that. I don't know how it compares for corrosion resistance though. If your boat goes in salt water, I'd stick with the marine alloys and suck up the horrible gumminess.
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May 4, 2015 15:21
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Oooh yeah, Robertson 4 lyfe. I just had about 12 cub scouts putting together toolboxes. Because I am a jerk and I like to experiment on children, I gave some of them Philips drivers and some of them Robertson (Spax screw, takes either-or). Much higher success rate with the Robertson screws overall, but they found it a little harder to get the initial engagement because Philips just sort of falls into the slot. I had to show them how to tip the bit a little to get an edge in there.
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May 6, 2015 20:01
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sweet_jones posted:Does anyone have a jigsaw they are happy with? I have the ryobi mentioned above and agree with the assesment. I like my corded Dewalt DW331K, it's powered through a fair bit of 1/4" mild steel and 7000-series aluminum and the only damage was to my hearing. I particularly like the speed control, you can set a limit and ease into it, which is nice for starting. Blade changes are easy, just pull the lever and the hot blade drops on the floor. My only complaint is that on really thick wood it doesn't quite cut square and it's probably because the guides aren't super rigid. Maybe Bosch does that better, it looks like their side support is better.
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Jan 24, 2019 20:56
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Different question: I'm considering taking a course at The Crucible, specifically looking at the welding courses. The thought process behind this is basically "welding sounds fun", I don't have a particular application for the skill in mind right now. What would y'all recommend -- MIG, TIG, or go do something else entirely? I'm looking for recommendations specifically for "which sounds more fun to do a weekend course in", not so much for long-term practicality of the skill. If the course is fun enough then I can look into additional courses or buying tools, but it needs to pass that first bar. I took a metalworking course at a local art studio and absolutely had a blast. For welding, we started on oxy-acetylene then SMAW (stick welding) then MIG. Learning to do it on gas was pretty ideal because you really learn how the molten puddle moves around, and with practice you get some very nice looking welds. It's really not that great for the home gamer though, since you'll probably keep running out of gas at the wrong time and keeping a bottle of acetylene is maybe a little sketchy. SMAW is super flexible, but no one seems to want to learn that. So, I guess of your choices I'd start with MIG as long as the instructor is good and doesn't let you get away with bad welding techniques. I wouldn't start with TIG, it's a little more like gas welding but with the extra fun of starting up an arc and trying not to screw up your tungsten electrode. SMAW equipment is cheap to acquire and cheap to run which is probably one reason I like it so much. I got the HF inverter welder (sooo cute!) and keep to the small diameter welding rods and it runs like a champ for my little projects. I can't build bridges but I can do tons of motorcycle-scale stuff. Later I lucked into a free MIG (actually FCAW, or flux-cored arc welding) and keep eyeing up the regulators to get some shielding gas going because boy howdy does it make a loving mess with flux-core wire. It's a little more of a money pit than the stick welder that way.
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May 6, 2019 20:29
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Comparing stick welding and flux-cored wire welding, I posit that the cleanup is easier with stick. You break off the spent flux and (if you're doing it right) you have a nice scalloped weld beneath it. Sometimes the flux just falls off on its own after it cools down. FCAW throws molten crap all over the project so you have to come back with a cup brush or something to get that all cleared away. It's like little beads of metal all over the area, and burned flux, ash, whatever that stuff is. I don't do any of this for a living so this is firmly a home-gamer's point of view. Actual weldors with certifications would probably disagree with me on some of this. My equipment is the cheapest crap from Harbor Freight and my training was 6 weeks long from a metal art guy almost 20 years ago.
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May 6, 2019 22:32
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Then there's the most expensive piece of maple ever... 8/4 hard maple, probably 6" wide, and about 1/2" too long to fit in my Forester sitting on the dashboard and going all the way to the back hatch. The Safelite guy was sort of amused that it was broken on the inside.
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Oct 1, 2019 15:55
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SouthShoreSamurai posted:Budget is decent, but I'd prefer to stay out of Occidental range. (Though if there really isn't anything that's anywhere near as good, I can wait and save up for it.) If you like Duluth pants, get the firehose work pants and this getup: https://www.duluthtrading.com/contractors-handy-pack-96722.html https://www.duluthtrading.com/mens-duluthflex-fire-hose-ultimate-cargo-work-pants-71703.html ...then come back and write a full report because I only have the pants, not the pouches. I love the flexy pants and wear them almost every day, but I don't do framing so I haven't bothered with the genuine accessories. I've got the Duluth work apron, it's nice.
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Nov 5, 2019 22:19
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Don't cut it, just get some sheet steel and make a new one based on the old one so you still have the option to mount a blade guard. If it's anything like mine, there are a couple of slots that slip over the attachment bolts, just trace that shape into the new steel and go nuts on the top side, just make sure you end it tangent with the top of the blade. I did it with some scrap steel shelving and a jigsaw.
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Dec 4, 2019 18:27
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Jaded Burnout posted:I have some aluminium sheet lying around but not steel, would that do? Or is it going to bend? It really depends on the Al; if it's hardware-store grade 6063 it might be too soft. Some 7075 would be pretty good, I think. My first try with steel was too thin and vibrated to the point where the wood hung up on it. I'd just match the gauge of your guard with steel and save the aluminum for something pretty.
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Dec 4, 2019 19:13
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Vindolanda posted:Are the rotary tool drill press things a total waste? I’ve got a few holes to drop through 2-4mm brass plate, and I’d prefer them to be perpendicular to the surface. I’m in a small flat so something storeable would be best. I had noticed this thing from dremel My dad has one, it was way better than I thought it would be. We were using it with a water tub to drill holes in shiny rocks with diamond bits. I already have a big drill press and I'm considering buying the Dremel one for smaller jobs, as the chuck is humongous and won't effectively grab wire-size drill bits like the Dremel chuck can.
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Feb 25, 2020 22:08
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Have you seen wheels pop anywhere besides the collar and spin freely? I've always wondered but never had it happen but I've seen the collar break a lot and that isnt bad at all Mine usually fragment from the edge, I've never spun the center out of one. The non-reinforced Dremel cutoffs will absolutely explode if you get sideways, the fiber-reinforced ones are much more resistant to my idiocy. That's what I used to cut my wire shelving, except my Dremel plugs in. If I had to do it again, I'd probably use my hacksaw anyway.
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Apr 6, 2020 20:09
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n0tqu1tesane posted:I've got a kit like that, and I've had the bearing on one of the bits come apart on me while using it, but otherwise they've been fine. At least two of the bearings let go on my cheap-ish set that had lots of stars on Amazon. Depending on what you're doing, that could ruin your workpiece.
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May 13, 2020 16:42
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Loctite on the little allen screw that holds the bearing on helps. I don't think that helps when the bearings spit their guts out and the outer race goes walkabout.
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May 13, 2020 21:08
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