Tool Reviews

I break beads with just a hi-lift jack tucked under the rear bumper.

 

I normally do too, but these ATV tires weren't having it. I even rigged up a bar and plate to push down off of my jeep's plow hydraulics. A bead for a 9" rim just doesn't have enough stretch to it to give up easily. This pushes down and in just at the perfect angle.

This thing should make simple 2-second work of car and light truck tires.

 

I normally use a Cobalt drill on stainless.......with any common lubrication...........It also tends to like constant feed pressure...........I suspect the Onion may act as coolant or perhaps a form of lubrication.....?

 

The trick to drilling stainless steel is a slower spindle speed than conventional steel with a heavier feed rate and keep it cool with oil, water or whatever. I use water soluable oil in my shop as a lubricant and coolant. Do not let the stainless change colors or heat up, it will work harden and then you will end up breaking the drill or welding it to the stainless steel. A 5mm drill bit should run between 750-1000rpm maximum in stainless steel.

 

These are awesome, made in the USA

Price is good too.

Holesaw Arbors & Pilot Drills

 

With the recent storm, I will be putting more time on the Husky Rancher 460 that I picked up last spring. So far, I've been very pleased with this saw.

Is The Husqvarna 460 20 inch The Best 60cc Chainsaw?

https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-Rancher-60-3cc-2-Cycle-Chainsaw/dp/B003CJTWDW

 

I have had a Husky 460 for quite awhile and it has been a great saw. Probably cut over a 100 cords of wood with it now and it just keeps coming back for more.

 

Always used Husqvarna since they were new in this country. Always admired their design and durability.

 

I've spent many days cutting firewood and cleaning up storm damage with my Husky 460 and it just keep going! I wouldn't hesitate to get another to replace it. I lot track of how many chains I've filed away.

 

I needed elective credit when I was in junior college. Took a small engine rebuilding course. We torn tons of stuff apart and rebuilt them; small stuff like chain saws, weed eaters, etc. . .
I remember the Husqvarna was just so "over built" quality wise compared to a lot of the other brands we were constantly tearing into. You could tell the quality was there. I was kinda sold on that brand ever since and now all my outdoor power equipment is Husqvarna. I know a lot of Stihl folks feel the same way about Stihl, although I've never had any experience with them.

 

Our Auto-Arc welder at work finally suffered liner death. Could not find a direct-fit liner since the machine is over 30 years old and long since out of production.
Did find a universal liner on eBay that was just the liner, but the Auto-Arc has a special compression fitting on the one end that I do not see how you could re-use it.
So, needless to say, the Boss and I went looking at welders at AirGas while we were getting the acetylene and oxygen tanks refilled. Well, the cheapest machine they stock was $2600 and had a touch-screen display.
Was not liking the touch screen or the price. So, we ended up at Eastwood to check out what they had to offer. We ended up buying Eastwood's MIG250. Yes, it's made in China, but so far all is great. It will run from .023 to .045 wire through it and can run on 110V or 220V. Can be adapted to use a spool gun for aluminum too (sold separately). There is a chart inside the wire feed area door that gives you settings based upon method of welding, thickness of wire and the thickness of what you are trying to weld.
We recycled our Auto-Arc's cart so I had to add angle iron to make a platform for the new welder to sit on (the bottom of the old welder was the top rails of the cart).
Checked the settings chart, set the machine and boom! Welds were created right out of the box. Nice. Just had to lower the wire speed a little bit.
I would recommend this unit for those that do not want to spend a thousands on a welding machine. Eastwood's retail was $899.00. but it was on sale at $50 off.

 

I hope I don't have the same issue. I too have an Auto Arc 250, but its basically a Miller. Any replacement parts I've ever needed come straight out of the Miller 230 parts book, including the liner. Even if the liner wasn't available, the gun and feed cable must have been cheaper than a whole new machine.
-Donny

 

Yesterday I had to take interior door and window handles off a Willys PU,made a tool to push the escheon(?)down from a plastic felling wedge,drilled a 5/8" hole and carved a slot to it,drove it between handle and escheon and could see the pin to drive it out...if the pins hadn't been to long they would have come out perfect

 

Another tool that’s worthy of a good review.

Echo SRM-410U Brushcutter
SRM-410U Gas Grass and Weed Brushcutter | ECHO USA

I bought this a few years ago, and it has been an absolute joy to use. This is Echo’s flagship model. Power is abundant, balance is spot-on, it has a manual compression release button that makes it effortless to start, and it has started reliably on the second pull every summer after sitting untouched for 11 months at a time.

I use it to clear about 4 acres of our property every year. A tank of gas lasts about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Our land is too steep for a pull-behind brush mower to be safe, so it takes about 30 hours with this and Echo’s fixed (.155”) string head. (Another 5-star review IMO.)
ECHO Trimmer and Brushcutter Accessories

I will say, the harness that comes with the trimmer is garbage. I knew this going into it and bought the 4-point harness.
Product and Equipment Accessories for ECHO units including Safety Accessories


A lifetime of manual labor has left all of my fingers in my right hand with trigger finger that gets unbearable with constant use (welding, grinding, chopping wood, sanding, riding dirt bikes...), and this is the one tool that I can use that doesn’t aggravate that issue. Carpel tunnel and cubital tunnel, yes, but I can work through them. The trigger fingers are a nightmare. I think it doesn’t bother my fingers because the machine is so well-balanced, very little grip is needed on the bars.

Five thumbs up.

 

Been looking at the Stihl 131R or the 111R string trimmers. The 131R sort of has my eye at the moment with 'changeable gearbox' accessories.

I burned up one of the 4-stroke weedeaters (well, it still might work, but the pull started is DOA and I'm done, it's just not fully in the trash yet; I'm done working on it. It's been 1 hour of working on it for every 15 minutes of use lately, and it's not an F-22 by any means).

That echo has more power yet than what I've been looking at... more than the Binford 7000 series.

 

I have to agree with this. I’ve had tires that the bead simply would not break free with a Hi-Lift. I’ve lifted the front of my CJ-5 off the ground trying to break some free.

 

Since we have a thread for this, I will copy to here -

Regarding Nick's comment on screwdrivers: Wera, and laser tip if available. Best d**n screwdrivers I've owned. Maybe other brands are best for automotive work, but for general use, they are great.

I have this set and holder on my indoors bench, and it's awesome. Amazon.com: Wera - 5105650001 Kraftform Plus 334/6 Screwdriver Set with Rack and Lasertip, 6-Pieces: Home Improvement

Only gripe - it does not come with a #0 Phillips. I have an Xcelite tool (which I already had) in the empty hole. https://www.amazon.com/Xcelite-Regular-Phillips-Screwdriver-Overall/dp/B00ED7LYLA/ref=sr_1_3 Excelite is good, Wera is much better.

 

I bought these a couple years ago on Tims advice and they are excellent.

 

Dewalt hammer drill..DCD996B
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DR90MM6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I bought this drill to replace my Dewalt 20 volt hammer drill because its just been beat up and used hard since new. That drill was amazing.

This new one is underwhelming.
First off on pulling the trigger where it needs immediate torque, it just goes beep. Even with a fresh battery it does this.
Second, the chuck came with a pretty good wobble and has gotten worse. Right out of the box it had it.
Third, The chuck won't tighten down to stop a 1/4 drill bit from slipping.

I used to be really happy with my dewalt tools, but now the replacements aren't as good as those that came before. In fact, the worn out old ones work better than the new ones. Similar issues with my new 4.5 inch angle grinder.

I will not buy another dewalt i think. I used to be a real fan of milwaukee, now their stuff is made by ryobi. Whats the next brand to move on to?

 

Here is a $300 (total cost) Milwaukee brushless ratchet. It worked great for 3 months then the head broke and it stopped ratcheting. I took it apart put it back together and told my tool guy. He couldn't believe it broke and neither did anyone at the shop. Now it's a $300 paperweight. I could have it fixed but I bought a HF ratchet and it's doing fine at the moment.