The toolbox thread

[patches]

8 hours ago, Stretched@Birth said:

I engraved a message and logo onto a wooden Swiss Army knife on the weekend, getting placement right was critical.  

I've cut a 90 degree corner out of 6mm MDF.  My laser's origin point is set to the top right corner of the workpiece.  I stick a piece of masking tape to the honeycomb grid, then pulse the laser to make a mark and I set that as the origin.  I then stick the corner piece so that the corner is on the pulsed mark, and stick it in place with masking tape too.  Helps to line up odd shaped work pieces, or where you require repeatability.

On the knife, I did an initial pass at 8% power and 400mm/s, so it just marked the knife.  Wasn't happy, was able to sand it out, adjust and rerun.  Once I was happy, I upped the power and ran it.

Edit: Added pics

Good idea with the light, sandable pass to determine position.

The wasteboard I made (albeit with the damn rombus grid on it) has tabs in 3 of the 4 corners so that I can position the laser frame in the same spot each time.

Had my grid markings been square, and with 0,0 (home) being 0,0 in Lightburn and the machine's home, it would have made positioning that little bit easier. Once I go to a honeycomb bed, and even next time I do a cut on the cookie tray, I will be sire to try your masking tape trick. 👍

[patches]

No Festool, stop tempting me!

Festool has a new portable table saw coming next Feb(ish), and it looks mighty purdy 😍

https://www.festool.co.uk/products/semi-stationary-work/cordless-table-saw/577371---csc-sys-50-ebi-basic-set

[The Ouzo]

As mentioned before, was eyeing this deal and it was tempting me. They did not drop the price today but I decided WTH, its a good deal let me go get it. 

Then whilst browsing their site this morning I noticed this leaf blower. I've been wanting to get a new one since my old corded one was holding on with its last legs, decided I'll try my luck when I'm there and see if they can knock some more off the price. They dropped an extra R100 off. As it was an already good deal decided to take it too.

 

These are direct from the SA distributor. Apparently the clearance sale is because WORX is changing distributors in SA so they are clearing out stock.

They had a fair amount of stock in the warehouse, so I'll keep checking I'm sure they will push more deals as time goes on.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

23 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

As mentioned before, was eyeing this deal and it was tempting me. They did not drop the price today but I decided WTH, its a good deal let me go get it. 

Then whilst browsing their site this morning I noticed this leaf blower. I've been wanting to get a new one since my old corded one was holding on with its last legs, decided I'll try my luck when I'm there and see if they can knock some more off the price. They dropped an extra R100 off. As it was an already good deal decided to take it too.

 

These are direct from the SA distributor. Apparently the clearance sale is because WORX is changing distributors in SA so they are clearing out stock.

They had a fair amount of stock in the warehouse, so I'll keep checking I'm sure they will push more deals as time goes on.

links please.

[ChrisF]

A "toolbox" question ...

 

Few years back you could buy a toolbox in the shape of a briefcase.

 

Once opened, tools would be in straps in the bottom and the top.  Sometimes with a mid-flap for more tool space.

 

 

Any idea if these are still available, and where ?

 

 

 

Adendorff says they have not been able to get this for a long while.

 

 

 

PS .... Looking for empty cases.  Want to put cycling tools in it.

[The Ouzo]

1 hour ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

links please.

worxtools.co.za

[The Ouzo]

On 11/25/2022 at 11:22 AM, The Ouzo said:

As mentioned before, was eyeing this deal and it was tempting me. They did not drop the price today but I decided WTH, its a good deal let me go get it. 

Then whilst browsing their site this morning I noticed this leaf blower. I've been wanting to get a new one since my old corded one was holding on with its last legs, decided I'll try my luck when I'm there and see if they can knock some more off the price. They dropped an extra R100 off. As it was an already good deal decided to take it too.

 

These are direct from the SA distributor. Apparently the clearance sale is because WORX is changing distributors in SA so they are clearing out stock.

They had a fair amount of stock in the warehouse, so I'll keep checking I'm sure they will push more deals as time goes on.

A brief test of the blower last night and I suspect it may be a little underpowered for my needs, will try and give it a proper test this weekend.

(although even if its underpowered for the big jobs, it could still be a useful tool for the smaller more frequent jobs, so it wont be a total waste)

[mazambaan]

18 hours ago, ChrisF said:

A "toolbox" question ...

 

Few years back you could buy a toolbox in the shape of a briefcase.

 

Once opened, tools would be in straps in the bottom and the top.  Sometimes with a mid-flap for more tool space.

 

 

Any idea if these are still available, and where ?

 

 

 

Adendorff says they have not been able to get this for a long while.

 

 

 

PS .... Looking for empty cases.  Want to put cycling tools in it.

Maybe RS Components but keep a firm grip on your credit card; bad things have been known to happen when perusing their website.

[patches]

On 11/25/2022 at 10:22 PM, The Ouzo said:

As mentioned before, was eyeing this deal and it was tempting me. They did not drop the price today but I decided WTH, its a good deal let me go get it. 

Then whilst browsing their site this morning I noticed this leaf blower. I've been wanting to get a new one since my old corded one was holding on with its last legs, decided I'll try my luck when I'm there and see if they can knock some more off the price. They dropped an extra R100 off. As it was an already good deal decided to take it too.

 

These are direct from the SA distributor. Apparently the clearance sale is because WORX is changing distributors in SA so they are clearing out stock.

They had a fair amount of stock in the warehouse, so I'll keep checking I'm sure they will push more deals as time goes on.

That's a great deal for a cordless leaf blower! Good buy!

[patches]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:52 PM, The Ouzo said:

A brief test of the blower last night and I suspect it may be a little underpowered for my needs, will try and give it a proper test this weekend.

(although even if its underpowered for the big jobs, it could still be a useful tool for the smaller more frequent jobs, so it wont be a total waste)

For sure! One of THE MOST used tools in my garage is a little dust blower. Whether it's to send sawdust from the workbench out the door, dust off a dust off a piece I've just sanded, or even (and often) dust myself off, particularly after the nasty ceiling demolition I was doing.

Edited November 27, 2022 by patches

[patches]

Time to try out the new-ish XGT track saw

On the left, Makita XGT 40V plunge/track saw (although 40V is it's max rating, it's actually 36V nominal).

On the right, Makita LXT 36V (2x 18V) plunge/track saw.

 

The 40V is a fair bit narrower than it's 36V counterpart. Might be handy in tight spaces.

 

One battery is more convenient than 2! Especially when it comes to having spares!

 

The single battery and lower centre of gravity should make bevelled cuts a lot more pleasant. Although the Makita track saws have an anti-tip washer in the base, they still have the potential to flip the whole track if not careful.

 

With great power comes... slower top speeds?!?! 🤨. The 40V version has 1400 less rippums than the 36V. I'm interested to see how that translates into performance. I'm guessing the science-people at Makita did it to focus on torque and perhaps lean more towards a tool that can hold a constant speed through tough material, more than outright pace.

Whilst I'd love to do a head-to-head shootout between the 2, I'll be selling the 36V ASAP to try recoup some clams.

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by patches

[The Ouzo]

So as suspected, the leaf blower is a bit on the underpowered side for the bigger jobs, it does an ok job on it, but I've got the crappest paving ever (they call is cobblestone, but its just broken bricks layed in a rough pattern with huge gaps between).

For the light to medium duty stuff its wonderful. And being cordless is such a pleasure.

The lower power though makes it great for places like the courtyard where the high powered blowers just send stuff flying in all directions.

 

I'll probably keep a close eye on the higher powered blower and look to buy one further down the line.

[dave303e]

10 hours ago, patches said:

Time to try out the new-ish XGT track saw

On the left, Makita XGT 40V plunge/track saw (although 40V is it's max rating, it's actually 36V nominal).

On the right, Makita LXT 36V (2x 18V) plunge/track saw.

 

The 40V is a fair bit narrower than it's 36V counterpart. Might be handy in tight spaces.

 

One battery is more convenient than 2! Especially when it comes to having spares!

 

The single battery and lower centre of gravity should make bevelled cuts a lot more pleasant. Although the Makita track saws have an anti-tip washer in the base, they still have the potential to flip the whole track if not careful.

 

With great power comes... slower top speeds?!?! 🤨. The 40V version has 1400 less rippums than the 36V. I'm interested to see how that translates into performance. I'm guessing the science-people at Makita did it to focus on torque and perhaps lean more towards a tool that can hold a constant speed through tough material, more than outright pace.

Whilst I'd love to do a head-to-head shootout between the 2, I'll be selling the 36V ASAP to try recoup some clams.

 

Let us know how the 40V goes. I am very keen to test that.

Fridday night our power went out, it was off till late Sat afternoon. I am on a tight deadline building the shed. If it weren't for Makita, it would have been a disaster. I can quite literally say that with 2 5ah batteries a makita impact driver will drive pozi drives till the cows come home. We are on a dairy farm so this is quite literally.

I off chance bought a makita circular saw that was on special a few months back. It also saved the day. I was able to continue framing walls and putting up sheets of corrugated steel without any added delay.

If I had bought a circular or track saw a few years back. For my general work. I would never have bought a table saw. 

Back to your topic- I was drooling over the 36v sliding miter saw the other day. Wondering if I should hold out for the 40v stuff. 

[The Ouzo]

For those looking for deal also check out topdogtoolshop.co.za

They appear to be having some decent specials, although I dont know the regular prices of the stuff so cant really say if its good or not

[patches]

13 hours ago, dave303e said:

Let us know how the 40V goes. I am very keen to test that.

Fridday night our power went out, it was off till late Sat afternoon. I am on a tight deadline building the shed. If it weren't for Makita, it would have been a disaster. I can quite literally say that with 2 5ah batteries a makita impact driver will drive pozi drives till the cows come home. We are on a dairy farm so this is quite literally.

I off chance bought a makita circular saw that was on special a few months back. It also saved the day. I was able to continue framing walls and putting up sheets of corrugated steel without any added delay.

If I had bought a circular or track saw a few years back. For my general work. I would never have bought a table saw. 

Back to your topic- I was drooling over the 36v sliding miter saw the other day. Wondering if I should hold out for the 40v stuff. 

I'm almost completely cordless. Just the table saw and my big Festool router left. Very convenient, but at times also not.

The 36V track saw coupled with the cordless dust extractor meant 4 batteries were in use at any given time (I only have 5). If 2 go flat, I'm snookered.

As for sliding mitre saws, I really like the Makita's with forward facing rails. The only other options (off the top of my head) with that system are Festool's Kapex and certain Hikoki models. (Bosch glide system is also great if you want a mitre saw that doesn't require space for sliding rails).

I nearly went the Makita 36V route (think I was looking at the 260mm), but I decided to go for the small 40V (216mm, LS002G), as it was more compact and the 40V saws use shadow lines in stead of laser.

 

For what I do the 70 x 312mm cut capacity is sufficient. For it's compact size and weight (16.4kg), the saw is dynamite in a small package.

I possibly should have waited and saved for the 260mm or 305mm version, but the 260mm version is less convenient for what I do (deeper but shorter cut capacity @91 x 279mm) and the 305mm was about R5000 (equiv) more expensive.

Very happy with my little 216mm 40V, so if the cut capacity will suit your needs, I'd go with that. Otherwise go big (305mm), either 36V (DLS211) or 40V (LS003G) as the differences are mostly the laser and some other minor things.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by patches

[dave303e]

I still have not seen Makita 40v in stores in SA unfortunately.

I am moving towards less corded tools, just makes life easier around the farm. I agree with you on the 216 blade, I have the metabo corded with a 216 blade. You can do so much with it. I have only needed a deeper cut twice and then I just flipped it and cut from the back. For most framing, roofing and general work you don't need much more.