The toolbox thread

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

I was going to add a war story or 2 from my side, then realised I have way to many

 

Let's not give our age away here ....

 

First time I ended in ER ..... left the welding for a minute, chipped without eye protection .... that shard was hot enough to melt into my eye !!  Had to get family to take me to hospital.

 

Many years later ... WEARING my eye protection, while grinding ..... I was doing a lot of grinding and wiped the sweat of my brow with my sleave .....got a very fine metal particle into my eye .... That was one very long night in ER.  None of their magnets or deys could get it out .... had to see a specialist the next morning.

 

 

Most stupid one .... helping another Hubber at home ..... just "quickly" bend a 10mm rod ..... he looks at me and says: "If that thing slips ..."  Nee man, I've got this ..... BAMMM !!  Properly split open my bottom lip.  4 years later, still feel the scar tissue .....

Edited October 17, 2022 by ChrisF

[PhilipV]

The Rules of Safety are  written down in blood. 

[Steady Spin]

Drilling out a rounded bolt on my rear shock… brand new drill bit breaks and I go straight through my left index finger. 

Lucky for me I missed the important stuff and no permanent damage. 

[patches]

Good little gadget I found while aimlessly wandering the aisles of the tool shop...

Sure, a piece of masking tape does the trick, but these are pretty cool. Also, unlike the regular depth collars, no allen key required, and they clamp the bit better. Sometimes those grub screw ones struggle to find the land between the flutes and don't get too much grip.

[dave303e]

So here is a question. With us going off grid I have 1 issue to work around with a few ways to skin the proverbial cat. 

The invertor is going to take a hammering with the welder and I don't want to abuse it straight out the gate. but being farm life, I weld pretty much weekly.

Option A - Petrol welder set, arc welding only- never used a basic one and they are ridiculously expensive.

Option B - Generator to run the invertor welder(leave option to get small mig/tig at later stage)

Then there are lots of options within each option.

I have seen a few older Miller Roughnecks for a good price- any input on them?

I have a 7kva diesel Generator with a broken alternator- so there is an option to get the welding alternator unit as a replacement- but that will involve some building/modifying. However that unit will be a pain to move around and given my Dec holiday job is a new cattle working facility I will need to be welding out in the field.

Thoughts- ideas, opinions?

I hope we are getting the Makita 40v stuff in SA soon, it will certainly do better with off grid living

[madmarc]

8 minutes ago, dave303e said:

So here is a question. With us going off grid I have 1 issue to work around with a few ways to skin the proverbial cat. 

The invertor is going to take a hammering with the welder and I don't want to abuse it straight out the gate. but being farm life, I weld pretty much weekly.

Option A - Petrol welder set, arc welding only- never used a basic one and they are ridiculously expensive.

Option B - Generator to run the invertor welder(leave option to get small mig/tig at later stage)

Then there are lots of options within each option.

I have seen a few older Miller Roughnecks for a good price- any input on them?

I have a 7kva diesel Generator with a broken alternator- so there is an option to get the welding alternator unit as a replacement- but that will involve some building/modifying. However that unit will be a pain to move around and given my Dec holiday job is a new cattle working facility I will need to be welding out in the field.

Thoughts- ideas, opinions?

I hope we are getting the Makita 40v stuff in SA soon, it will certainly do better with off grid living

I'd go option B

Invertor welder is small and portable and it welds easier than a normal arc welder - The only shlep is moving the genset around - maybe jerry rig a mini trailer to move it round the farm 

I have a 6.5kva Honda genset i had to drag out the garage every time i use it - built a wheel kit with some 8" inflatable tires - what a pleasure to use now.

[Maaknplan]

On 10/17/2022 at 12:38 PM, ChrisF said:

 

Let's not give our age away here ....

 

First time I ended in ER ..... left the welding for a minute, chipped without eye protection .... that shard was hot enough to melt into my eye !!  Had to get family to take me to hospital.

 

Many years later ... WEARING my eye protection, while grinding ..... I was doing a lot of grinding and wiped the sweat of my brow with my sleave .....got a very fine metal particle into my eye .... That was one very long night in ER.  None of their magnets or deys could get it out .... had to see a specialist the next morning.

 

 

Most stupid one .... helping another Hubber at home ..... just "quickly" bend a 10mm rod ..... he looks at me and says: "If that thing slips ..."  Nee man, I've got this ..... BAMMM !!  Properly split open my bottom lip.  4 years later, still feel the scar tissue .....

Experience is gained about 2 seconds after you need it

[100Tours]

On 10/17/2022 at 7:45 PM, Steady Spin said:

Drilling out a rounded bolt on my rear shock… brand new drill bit breaks and I go straight through my left index finger. 

Lucky for me I missed the important stuff and no permanent damage. 

Yah I also had to find out that I should not be using my fingertip on the blind side of a 20mm board I was drilling in to. Straightest hole I have ever drilled until the 3mm tip popped out the far side and into my index finger.

Edited October 24, 2022 by 100Tours

[The Ouzo]

OnedayOnly have a CAT Impact Wrench, with 2 x batteries and charger for R1699 today.

Very tempting.

[TheoG]

1 minute ago, The Ouzo said:

OnedayOnly have a CAT Impact Wrench, with 2 x batteries and charger for R1699 today.

Very tempting.

I scrolled through OnedayOnly this morning, completely missed it, definitely going to check it out.

[The Ouzo]

2 minutes ago, TheoG said:

I scrolled through OnedayOnly this morning, completely missed it, definitely going to check it out.

I see now there are 2 listed, did not really dive into the details to see the difference, both are brushless 18V units but the one is double the price of the other.

[ChrisF]

2 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

Just goooing it out there , there's A similar deal on takealot right now for A similar kit but from Hikoki and I trust the Japanese much much more than the American branded china stuff..

 Link ?

[patches]

13 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

OnedayOnly have a CAT Impact Wrench, with 2 x batteries and charger for R1699 today.

Very tempting.

12 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

I see now there are 2 listed, did not really dive into the details to see the difference, both are brushless 18V units but the one is double the price of the other.

3 hours ago, BaGearA said:

takealot: Hikoki - 18V Li-Ion Cordless Impact Drill Kit

https://www.takealot.com/hikoki-18v-li-ion-cordless-impact-drill-kit/PLID45135431

No apparent difference between the two CAT Impact Drivers, and R3700 is definitely on the steep side for a DIYer level tool. However, R1700 is not a bad deal for a brushless impact driver with 2 batteries and a charger.

The battery looks very similar to the Black & Decker one... wouldn't be surprised if there's some cross contamination in the factories.

As for the Hikoki, definitely the more reputable brand, however the tool in the link is an Impact Drill, not the same as an Impact Driver (Which is also not the same as an Impact Wrench).

It's also a brushed version, so even though Hikoki is a pro-level brand, this is aimed at DIYers (which is no issue if that's all one wants). But in my opinion and for the money, a mid-level brushless from a pro-sumer brand (between DIY and Pro... like AEG/Ridgid) will probably be a better bet.

Edited October 26, 2022 by patches

[dave303e]

Honestly- if you looking at battery drills/drivers, select a brand you like and stick to it. There are multiple good brands, but select one and keep consistency in one charger/battery system. Having 3-4 batteries that work with all your tools is useful. So while the drill may be cheap, check there is a grinder, circular saw, impact wrench and other tools you may want down the line.

Then- most importantly- make sure they have a dustbuster/vacuum/leaf blower that the Mrs would enjoy. She will only have to deal with not enough batteries once and you will have free reign to buy as many spare batteries as you want...

[The Ouzo]

8 hours ago, patches said:

Impact Driver (Which is also not the same as an Impact Wrench).

other than the chuck/nose/connector thingy (yes that is the official technical name for it ok  ), what are the core differences between an impact driver and impact wrench ? The wrenches always seem to be slightly cheaper.

[dave303e]

Impact wrenches usually have a bit more torque to tighten/ loosen tough nuts/bolts. They usually have short bursts of high torque followed by minimal resistance or vice versa. Like tightening a nut, no resistance then you want it to just hammer the last bit tight.

 

Impact drivers have less high end torque, but are happy to drive at a lower torque for longer time periods. Like driving in 180mm pozi drives into wood without a pilot hole. Slow consistent hammer. 

 

If you are roofing or framing an impact driver is worth it's weight in gold.

Edited October 27, 2022 by dave303e