Northern Virginia Roll Call

Out of curiosity does anyone here run hids with 50w ballasts?

 

I did in the stock housing then switched to 35w in a projector housing.

 

I have projectors with the 50w ballasts... installed new bulbs in February and I just lost the passenger side headlight. Is that lifespan expected for running at the higher wattage? I estimate max ~400-600hrs on the bulbs

 

From my experience its all about brand, and even then hid's are unpredictable. I've had them last a few months or a few years.

 

None of the normal restrictions on this harbor freight coupon. I may get a proper toolbox.

 

wow didnt expect 40k+ for this! Why did dad insist on wood over metal? What were his points for advantage and disavantages of each?
Laser level is a must have for projects; we bought one when we did our deck after buying the house for making sure the 27 posts were ultra level.

Does anyone have any recommendations for wood siding powerwash and repaint/stain??

 

Just saw that email... any experience with US General? I was just looking at what Lowes and Home Depot have and I'm super disappointed everyone is going toward the "soft" drawer pulls. I miss the lift latch the Craftsman boxes used to have.

 

Their new series 2 US General tool boxes are better made than anything I've seen at Home Depot or Lowe's. Their drawers have a locking mechanism that works well and doesn't feel like an after thought. I wouldn't even think twice about getting one of these over HD or Lowe's.

 

Sweet. They looked good when I checked them out last weekend. A little annoying the slide latch doesn't go all the way across like my Snap-On box did but I'm guessing that's a patent thing.

Now the question is if I should get something cheap and small to get by or do I just buy the 3-bay now and sort out how to move it in a year or so...

 

I went with the 44” one. I’ll get the top when I go back to get these damaged corners rectified.

 

The latest generation US general boxes are nice. The blue one has a single lock on each drawer and is ball bearing. I also had a 2nd generation that fell off the trailer going up the mountain and it held up great after a repaint on the lid.

Blue is latest generation:


This black one is the 2nd generation with ballbearing drawers but no locks


1st gen would be just the metal slider drawers which obviously wear out over time with heavy tools.

You will not be disappointed in the latest generation boxes; built quality is super solid.

 

preinspection appears to be recommended before grabbing it.
There is also a guy that has a coupon database: https://www.hfqpdb.com/
Highly recommend it for quick checks on coupons; he also has a wish list on Amazon so buy him something if you saved some dollars and he will send a super nice thank you note!

 

I use that website all the time, it’s amazing.

 

I had saved a ton of money through site so he got something really nice from his list back in the day. Spread the word as he does a good duty for us!

 

That blows.

 

Agreed. I had like 4 people come over to help me unload it too and then we found it was damaged.

 

Thats a great question. It mainly came down to looks. A steel building would have been around 18k cheaper - they don't look too great though imo. I think the only upsides are that it looks better on the outside and can be finished on the inside. He likes that barn look.

 

I feel your pain. When i was picking up my 56" milwaukee tool box it fell over in the trailer. Thank god one drawer came out and got trashed and the rest of the box was 100% fine.

 

Love the green. I wanted blue but after seeing that color I think I'm leaning that way.

The only thing about the 44" that makes me hesitate is that there is no tall bottom drawer like the other two have for boxed tools but maybe I'll just look into getting a cabinet to go with it.

 

That’s a good point. I wish I had room for the 56” version because the drawers are a bit deeper on that. Fuck though, over a grand for the base and top. Just a bit too much for me and my uses