^^ that's when you get http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005BTM5JY/ref=pd_aw_sims_1?pi=SS115&simLd=1 and do a quick change.

2/3/2015 11:03:22 PM

Hmmm. Very nice.

[Edited on February 4, 2015 at 5:13 PM. Reason : but still need a hammer drill]

2/4/2015 5:12:51 PM

For hammer drills Ryobi offers both the https://www.ryobitools.com/power-tools/products/details/374 and https://www.ryobitools.com/power-tools/products/details/634 if you are needing it.

I'm kinda all in on the ryobi One+ system going back about 6 years when I had to do some demo/construction on short notice and it was the only local option short of the professional grade stuff at double the price. I got the kit with the sawzall, 2 speed drill, circular saw, light, charger, and 2 full size batteries. I've since picked up a right angle drill (paid for itself 3x over with the first job I had to do) and the 1/4" impact driver (came with mini battery and another charger).

[Edited on February 4, 2015 at 7:01 PM. Reason : format]

2/4/2015 7:00:43 PM

But then that uses a different battery than the driver Igor posted, right? Also, for just a little more I can get a Milwaukee combo set and have what most agree is the nicest set available.

2/4/2015 8:16:36 PM

Home Depot is running a deal right now where I can buy the 18v brushless hammer drill and 1/4 hex impact combo with 2 batteries for $400 and get either another battery or the cordless sawzall for free. kinda tempted to do that. I'm going to need the impact driver soon for sheeting the inside of the shop.

2/16/2015 6:35:22 PM

went ahead and got the M18 fuel combo with a third 4.0 amp-hour battery for free

2/20/2015 10:33:04 PM

damn right, and never look back.

That M18 Fuel sawzall is the shiz too.

2/21/2015 10:54:43 AM

you tried the grinder? i've got a corded metabo, but a cordless grinder would be handy as hell.

2/21/2015 3:06:12 PM

good choice on the m18 fuel stuff...I really love em

2/21/2015 3:19:14 PM

everyone seems to agree they're the best tools you can get. the question is just whether or not they're worth the high price.

2/21/2015 4:06:29 PM

i felt like I should come in here and post:

the other day while using my sawzall it stopped working. Tried several batteries..it would start then stop. Flashing LED
tool wasn't hot and I hadn't been using it long at all (i used it much longer to demo my garage with no issues)
i couldn't even finish cutting the fenders because it wouldn't come back to life. Next day it worked fine again...
I need to call customer service and get it fixed i guess

(as a side note..my sawzall fell off the pegboard on my wall at least 4 times, landing blade first into concrete. it should be able to handle that i would think..)

3/3/2015 2:17:38 PM

hmmmm, try shaking it or seeing if there's a position that it 'wont' operate.


either way, make use of their warranty department, shit's hot, son.

3/3/2015 3:36:59 PM

drove 1-5/8" drywall screws hanging OSB on my shop ceiling with the milwaukee 1/4" impact driver yesterday. drove a few hundred and never had to swap batteries with the 4.0 Ah XC battery. the battery gauge even said 2 of 4 bars left at the end of the day. my buddy helped me and he brought a bosch drill with Li-ion batteries that is a few years old and he had to swap batteries twice. very happy with the performance.

also, i wish i'd got a 1/4" impact driver a long time ago. beats the shit out of a regular drill/driver for driving phillips head wood screws.

3/8/2015 8:57:23 PM

sending my sawzall in for service today
the lady said it would take 7 days to get it back


going to give it a nice large hook on the pegboard so it doesnt get beat up too much this time

3/9/2015 9:06:12 AM

Freshie arrived today!
..now that's a warranty

3/16/2015 4:54:29 PM

milwaukee has an 18V 5.0 Ah battery now

4/13/2015 10:28:42 PM

^yeah man, that's one on my list for the Fuel sawzall I have. A good hard run with that thing will drain a 4.0 faster than expected.

4/17/2015 3:14:47 PM

going through all my dad's shop stuff. he was a diesel mechanic for over 20 yrs before he went to the power company. Lots of nice stuff (snap-on, mac, matco, SK, etc.), but damn if that kind of work doesn't take a toll on your tools. the tools have a lot of miles on them and it shows, but they still get the job done. a good bit of it is stuff that was his father's, who was also an auto/diesel mechanic. both of them put their initials on their tools with an electric engraver, so it's cool to see that. looks like my dad went to using the last four of his social later in his career. really awesome to still be able to use the hand tools they used to feed their families for so many years.

one of the cooler finds was a set of Blue Grass brand double boxed end wrenches marked with my grandfather's initials. well, 3 wrenches out of the set, anyway. my dad left a lot of tools in the shop at my mom's house when they split up, so i'm going to check over there to see if the others were left behind. i'd never heard of the brand, but it appears that they were decent quality american-made tools by a small mom-and-pop outfit in kentucky. it's a pretty sad story about how they were bought out and run in the ground. apparently they have a decent collector value, so i don't know if i'll keep them or try to put them on ebay.

also found an International Harvester branded 5/8" combo wrench. i'd never seen one of those either. hoping to find some more at my mom's.

and an Easco round head fine tooth 3/8" drive quick release flex head ratchet with my grandfather's initials. these were made by Danaher, now part of Apex Tool Group, and were sold under many brand names, mostly Craftsman. it is really smooth, but the socket retention detent ball is broken in half. of course, you can't find rebuild kits anymore, but i found some on a military surplus site. minimum order was $50, so i had to get 12 of them. gonna try to make some money on ebay with the extra kits. seen them going for $25+ on there.

also, it's frustrating as hell to have a whole rail of sockets of one brand with one of another brand stuck in it. got a few examples of that in his box. a set of really old 3/8" drive shallow blackhawks with an Easco 9/16". a set of deep well 3/8" drive snap-ons with a Cornwell and a Craftsman to make it complete. annoys me. going to try to make them complete with ebay or something.

4/17/2015 8:34:04 PM

that's really cool

4/18/2015 9:41:21 AM

seems that the Easco 3/8" long flex RHFT ratchets aren't all that common, but the military used them extensively. while he was enlisted in the Army, my grandfather was a motorpool mechanic and an ambulance driver (means he drove the ambulance, maintained the ambulance, and was cross-trained as a medic). now i'm thinking there's a good chance he borrowed this one from uncle sam.

4/18/2015 9:48:32 PM

Pulling all the drawers and slides out of my dad's old Snap-On toolbox and cleaning away 28 years of dirt and grime.

5/8/2015 5:56:00 PM

care to show pics?

I'm going to take some pics of my go-to mechanic tool group, soon, and post in the thread. Over the past 6 years I've honed down what I use regularly when working on cars, and since I don't have an enclosed garage it all gets piled into a wheelbarrow and carted from basement to carport area. Since Christmas I've really stepped up my game with a 3/8" impact socket set for my M12 Fuel impact, and made use of my M12 Milwaukee 1/4" hex impact as a nut/screwdriver.

5/8/2015 8:09:27 PM

that's it the other night before i started tearing it apart. the top and bottom box are date coded 1987. the side cabinet is from 1989. all the top box drawer slides are soaking in evapo-rust right now. also have a new cover stop on the way from snap-on. i'll post pics of the drawers when i finish it up.

i use hex to socket adapters in my M18 fuel hex impact driver. rarely have to break out the air wrench. i want one of those M12 3/8" impacts, though.

what brand impacts have you been getting? i've got my dad's snap-ons, macs, and matcos, but his stuff was geared towards working on heavy diesel, so there's not many metric sockets or small stuff. i need to add a set of deep well metric impacts and 3/8" drive impacts in SAE and metric. thinking about Grey Pneumatic. they're made in Taiwan, but get good reviews. there's also a place really close to where i work that sells them. they're guaranteed for life, so all i'd have to do is drop in during lunch, give them the broken one, and walk out with a replacement.

[Edited on May 8, 2015 at 9:55 PM. Reason : afds]

5/8/2015 9:45:03 PM

for 1/2" I have all Harbor Freight sockets. No issues except for the U-Joint/Swivel joint (looks like a CV axle in a car) nearly falling apart, but I'll take that. I have their deep well sets, and a combo set of shallow 1/2" and 3/8" sockets that I separated.

For 3/8" I have a couple of Tekton deep well sets that have their own case for SAE/Metric. IIRC they were literally $9 for the sets on amazon, but I cant find them now. Metric 10mm-18, SAE 3/8- 3/4" iirc. If you look for them, they are in the grey plastic cases. They have a ton of offerings and quantities, but these sets were the most economical, and for the impact size and work that I do they are perfect. As for shallow sockets, I pulled them from the HF set mentioned above.

So, now I have a 12" husky tool bag with the following:
- M12 3/8" Fuel impact
- 3/8" deep SAE & Metric
- 3/8" shallow SAE & Metric
- 3/8" extensions/wobbles/u-joint
- 3/8" internal torx sockets
- M12 1/4" Hex Impact
- Dewalt 'impact' driver bit set (has a sweetass magnet ring that slips over the bits to hold fasteners)
- Kobalt countersink driver bit set with various bits and adapters for 1/4" hex
- couple M12 batteries
- M12 right angle drill - found it useful to store here in the chance that I may need it for a tight spot.

IMHO, I would opt for the M12 Fuel 3/8" impact for its performance and size. they have a M18 3/8" impact, but it's chassis is just too bulky with the battery (judging from my M18 1/4" hex imact, the motor/gearbox areas are about the same size). I'm going to wait until this coming black Friday to get the big 1/2" M18 fuel impact to replace my current 20V craftsman impact. I love it, but need to get all my cordless tools on the same battery.

5/10/2015 8:01:51 AM

We've got a 3/4" drive M18 Fuel impact at work. It's a beast, but just the other day we still found something it wouldn't budge.

5/10/2015 5:50:06 PM

I was up at my mom's place for Mother's Day, so I dug around in the toolbox my dad left there. Lots of good stuff. Decided it would be easier to just bring it all back, sort it out, and take my mom back a decent set of tools out of it all. Brought back two 5 gallon buckets full of stuff.

5/10/2015 9:57:51 PM

Just picked up a DeWalt brand set of 6pt sockets and wrenches.

Pretty decent deal and the case is nice too. Until I pick up a tool chest, everything lives in cases or bags.

If anyone was in the market for a brushless 20v impact driver or worklight, the DeWalt DCF895 and DeWalt DCF050 worklight are pretty great.

[Edited on May 11, 2015 at 11:28 AM. Reason : l]

5/11/2015 11:27:49 AM

I try to avoid tools made in China and Taiwan if I can

5/11/2015 7:36:19 PM

but i do have a Lowe's Kobalt long handle flex head 3/8" drive ratchet that is actually pretty damn good. i think it's made by William Tool of Taiwan. they make the vast majority of the cheap Taiwan ratchets and torque wrenches. Harbor Freight, etc.

[Edited on May 11, 2015 at 9:45 PM. Reason : it got a lot better after i pulled it apart and poured some oil in it]

5/11/2015 9:45:17 PM

Anyone have a tuner?

like a HPtuner type thing?

I need to program/flash my truck to disable the stupid DOD/AFM capability.

Stupid GM and their shitty parts.

8/24/2015 3:31:50 PM

Yeah I have a HP Tuners - Never messed with a 4th gen though, all my stuff is 3rd gen.

Id be willing to try it, but by the time I purchase the credits it might be only $50 more to pay RPM or Mayhem to do it for you since they have unlimited licenses im sure.

8/26/2015 5:53:11 PM

***off topic post*** but does anyone know where to shop for used ag/construction equipment around Raleigh (other than CL)? Namely, compact tractors.

9/8/2015 3:32:16 PM

Smith's near Goldsboro maybe?

Depends on what you're looking...more details needed.

9/8/2015 7:18:47 PM

I'm contemplating getting something capable of performing several tasks instead of having to rent equipment or hire out work. Trenches for drains, water lines, electrical lines, etc, tilling, grading, moving rock and gravel. If it would also replace my lawn tractor, that would be great, but not required. A good garden tractor could do a little of this, but I'm also considering compact tractors since those could likely fit all of my needs. I don't know anything about compact tractors, so I don't know where to begin, or if I'm overestimating their abilities.

9/8/2015 9:57:44 PM

by the time you buy all the implements to do all that shit, you will come out ahead by renting

9/8/2015 10:00:50 PM

^this.

You're looking at a good $10-15k for all that shit for a used one. new compact tractors start in the $12k range, and that's bare - no deck, loader, etc.

[Edited on September 9, 2015 at 7:43 AM. Reason : -]

9/9/2015 7:42:31 AM

I'm just looking for input on where to shop around for compact tractors. I can do my own cost/benefit analysis.

9/9/2015 9:05:18 AM

True Temper ball-peen. Put it on a new hickory handle with some boiled linseed oil. It was my grandfather's.

https://goo.gl/photos/n1rtum5nQPSvGLuP8

2/5/2017 7:21:22 PM

awesome.

2/6/2017 7:29:44 AM

restored my dad's bench vise. he had it as long as i can remember. not really a good brand or a very nice vise, but it's been abused and held up very well. i thought it deserved some love after all these years.

https://goo.gl/photos/SPdS4VLfVNnM6saWA

5/15/2017 10:17:20 PM

Stopped by the hazard fraught, horrible freight, etc yesterday

Went in to pick up a diesel compression test gauge.

Came out with two tools I did not expect, and both have impressed me so far..

I heard AVE give some decent marks to this ratchet, so I figured I would give it a shot against the $100 Fap-off and then keep it at the house for general use. So far, I give it equal marks, except they only offer it in the comfort grip handle version which I dislike. My Fap-off is just a plain chrome handle.


The second tool reminded me of my favorite "Mountain" wrenches https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-MTNRM6-Universal-Reversible-Ratcheting/dp/B00DDO1DPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516489760&sr=8-1&keywords=mountain+wrenches

I only used it once so far, the mechanism isnt super tight, but in some situations I can see it being very useful as a slim-ratchet. For example the transmission fill plug bolt on my race cars is up high in the tunnel and takes a short hex socket and some fandangling to get out. This should make that easier.

1/20/2018 6:11:33 PM

HF is stepping up their game on a few things. I got two of the Hercules brand 4.5" grinders. I've been happy with them. There's a youtube video where a guy tears it down (not AvE) and it seems to be built as good or better than any other <$100 grinder. I don't think most folks would know the difference between it and a Bosch, Makita, or Dewalt if you blindfolded them. It won't replace my 6" Metabo, but I've been leaving a 6" cut off on the Metabo, a 4.5" flap disc on one Hercules, a 4.5" grinding rock on the other Hercules, and a knotted wire wheel on my ancient 4.5" Snap-On (rebranded Black & Decker) and I have reduced my disc swaps to almost never.

[Edited on January 20, 2018 at 8:35 PM. Reason : only $35 each]

1/20/2018 8:26:46 PM

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/d/snap-on-air-hammer/6427074641.html
Pretty decent deal on a nice air hammer.

Been looking for a box like this for a LONG time. Wish it wasnt in Charlotte.
https://greensboro.craigslist.org/tls/d/snap-on-krl1022-with/6443177553.html

Wish someone other than the $$$ tool brands would come out with 30 inch deep boxes.

[Edited on January 26, 2018 at 9:10 PM. Reason : ]

1/26/2018 9:09:37 PM

got a few projects coming up with lots of square tubing and angle to cut. ordered one of those 14" MK Morse dry cut saws. been drooling over them for a few years.

11/24/2018 12:15:43 PM

got it today. it's pretty sweet. i'll put it through its paces in a couple weeks.

11/28/2018 6:40:13 PM

which brand miter saw should i get, who makes the best stuff these days?

[Edited on November 29, 2018 at 1:30 PM. Reason : or maybe not best, who makes the moderately priced but still good stuff?]

11/29/2018 1:30:00 PM

It's really all about the same. I've got a cheap Skil homeowner grade miter saw and it has kept up just fine. I'd be tempted to get the Hercules one from Harbor Freight. I have two of their grinders and would put them up against any other grinder under $100.

Power tool brands are mostly just names now. The actual companies are long gone due to buyouts, mergers, and licensing.

[Edited on November 29, 2018 at 6:23 PM. Reason : B]

11/29/2018 6:20:41 PM

^^ This answer is a little late to the game. Depends on the size you're after. For a big 12" sliding, I'd either get the $350 DeWalt via Amazon or snag a referb Hitachi from Big Sky Tools if you can wait for one of their sales (Usually around $200 shipped).

For smaller saws... they'll all kind of similar.

12/20/2018 9:36:57 AM

ordered this set of clampable welding squares

https://fireballtool.com/fabricator-package-8/

i got the set with an aluminum and cast iron mix. got a table to build and can't wait to try them out on it.

12/20/2018 10:24:08 AM

^fucking sweet man. I follow that guy on IG and he makes some cool stuff. Blows me away that the original squares were hand-fixtured and welded (I guess post-process machining was done to ensure accuracy)

12/20/2018 8:20:26 PM