Garage Shop: Tools

And I guess if I would have read the next post I would have seen that

 

This dude bought one too

 

Seeing his makes me want to put some stickers on; I've got well over 200 of them or so.

At the hospital though

 

My 5 drawer cart is white and when I got it matched my (at the time) truck, so it’s a TRD edition box. Figured it was right that the black cart is Honda edition to match the newest bike.



The beer fridge is where my stickers usually end up though

 

Maybe I should do the fridge instead; it's a regular size.

 

I'll always post this tool every time I use it. I love it lol

 

I've had all 3 HF carts. I'd stay away from the 4 drawer cart. The large drawer tracks break after a while, if anything heavy is in them.

I love the little single drawer cart for home use. Fits a lot of tools, easy to move around.

I use the 5 drawer cart at work (mechanic). It's holding up really well. Has bigger casters and is more heavy duty than the 4 drawer.

 

Keep doing it, the people need to know! I found out about that little gem from a similar post on TW!

 

For anyone that's got a lot of wiring in their future, I picked up this Eastwood kit and I was impressed with the quality of the tools. I've bought my share of crimpers and the ones included in the kit were really high quality, with quick change jaws (hadn't seen that before). Pity they don't sell them separately!

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-crimp-right-weather-pack-connector-crimping-kit.html

On a related note - anyone have favorite one-stop-shop for high quality wiring harness materials? I have been trying to wade through the digi-key site to find what I need, but it's overwhelming. Looking for automotive connectors, heat shrink, high-quality multi-strand wire, mesh cable protectors, anti-rattle wrap, terminals, etc. I thought Eastwood was going to be it but they don't have it all.

 

Only know of this site because of Mike Finnegan being regularly sponsored by them, but wirecare.com is worth a look.

 

Check out CE Auto Electric Supply. Tony is great and has some fabulous products.

https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/custom-cables/

 

I get a lot of my materials from Del City (delcity.net). Good prices, wide range of products, fast shipping.

 

starting a new job in a few weeks, so got a tool cart. after i got it all assembled, stickers and vinyl started jumping out of the corners of the garage to thoroughly coat it. i'm calling it a sacrificial surface, once i start throwing tools at it later.

still need to run back by the store to grab one of the folding side shelves to add on to it. never enough working space!

 

Do you k ow the country of origin on this set (in 2023)? I’m a fan of some Lang tools that are still Made in the USA. I’m not a “rah rah USA only!” guy but I notice a large difference between their MiUSA and Made in China quality.

 

Good suggestions for wrenches? Preferably not ratcheting. Icon seems over rated to me. Pittsburgh impact sockets have served me well, but not sure about wrenches. I have my eye on a Tekton set right now.

 

I love mine; ~ $150ish last winter on sale... The drawer lives on top of my garage box (Little stiff, but perfect for me). The cart: I wheel that thing all over the basement; mobile work station etc.... Big project? It's light and not too bulky, I'll carry it upstairs to hold a Milwaukee crate with my tool belt and whatever else is needed (Vs having them strewn all over the kitchen...)

Bonus use found! Been doing a lot of paining around the house... put a cheap sheet of HF plastic on it and set the roller paint tray on it... Heck of a lot easier having that thing right at waist level, I can scoot around as needed (Vs on the floor, bending over 10x a minute etc.)

 

Home depot or ace, whichever is most convenient. Also lifetime warranty and easy enough exchange. My issue hasn't so much been breaking tools but them growing legs and walking off the jobsite. So now I just buy whatever I can get replaced easier

 

o I have a real nice set of SK long 6pt metrics; love them; but prices now way too high (If you can find them)... I scored some supplemental SK stuff (NOS I believe as the new owners were liquidating prior to moving plants)... keep an eye out for used/Ebay

o Got some Carlyle also very nice, but way overpriced now... maybe if/when NAPA has a big sale (Crazy, local Napa could not even touch Napa.com prices and could not order individual pieces for me). too bad, nice consumer grade stuff

o Old (Early 2000's) Kobalt is nice (Had to be a major US manufacture at the time)... now just Amazon/MIC grade

o Williams (USA) if you can find it a a good price is just as good as anything (Prices and availability vary greatly)

o Moving forward: Tekton for sure! great quality, fast shipping, buy direct for 10% rebates

 

I bought a set of Tekton ratcheting/flex-head wrenches from Amazon a couple years ago for around $150. Prices sure have gone up as they are currently $240. Been happy with them though. Have a bunch of Tekton stuff (torque wrenches, regular wrenches and a multitude of sockets) and they have all served me well. Have to get the torque wrenches calibrated every year and they always spec out. Would definitely recommend their products if you're interested...

Wrenches:


Torques:


Impact Socets (red cases left):

 

Excuse the mess (small garage) but finally got my hands on a 20 ton press -







SWAG kit should be here soon so I'll be able to bend whatever I cut off the CNC table.

Also going to be replacing the jack with an air over hydro setup so I can use my air compressor instead of the dumb handle.