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Vin BioEthanol
Jan 18, 2002

by Ralp

Skyssx posted:

Smart charger with a reconditioning cycle. This may or may not work. New gel-cells are probably cheaper than the charger.



Yeah this is really just a "we were going to throw this away but maybe I can make something cool with it for < :10bux:" type project.

That battery eventually ended up pulling the whole 600+ ma from that wallbug (I plugged it into my truck cig lighter for a min and it pulled 1.5a) and I do believe its actually charged pretty decent for a free/old/abused batt. It's stayed at 12.2v for a couple days now unplugged and I've charged my phone twice with it + car charger I also jsut for fun ran a 120v fan and light off an inverter.

The other battery I got never pulled more than 6ma from the psu even after a few hours.

I think I'll just keep on charging it with my 600ma hp jetdirect psu and feel lucky that it works and when I eventually kill it I'll feel lucky for the time I had with it that cost me nothing.

Vin BioEthanol fucked around with this message at 17:27 on May 18, 2011

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BeastOfExmoor
Aug 19, 2003

I will be gone, but not forever.
I decided that I was sick of dithering about what hand tools I needed to pick up to do some simple maintenance on my car and after reading numerous positive opinions of HF's Pittsburgh brand I picked up the 301 Piece Mechanics Tool Kit yesterday for $143 after a 20% off coupon. I haven't done any wrenching with it yet and I will be the first to admit my tool knowledge is based mostly on this thread, but given that it's extremely inexpensive price I thought I'd give my first impressions:

  • Holy crap there's a ton of stuff here.
  • There's no interchangeable head screwdriver with a billion little bits. This isn't a negative, but actually a surprise since usually all "xxx piece tool kits" pad their numbers with a ton of obscure screwdriver bits. This one manages to get to 301 pieces without that.
  • Not a ton of filler as a whole. There's two sets of hex wrenches (long and short) in both SAE and metric, which seems redundant to me, but I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me could speak to this. There's also two sets of 1/4" drive SAE sockets, both 12pt and 6pt. No idea why, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have backups.
  • Set is heavy. Shipping weight is 47 pounds and it feels at least that heavy to me. I wish they'd broken them up into two different cases because it feels awkwardly heavy to carry it one one case with an uncomfortable handle.
  • Case is decent. I was happily surprised to see that the latches are metal rather than the ultra cheap plastic poo poo I see on most molded cases like this which breaks very quickly.
  • The screwdrivers are usable quality, but definitely felt like the cheapest part of the set. The handles are super light plastic. There best use would be to augment a decent interchangeable bit, ratcheting screwdriver. If you have a screw that's too tight to get in with your ratcheting driver than pull these out.
  • There are certainly some things that either aren't included or aren't as useful as they could be in their included state. This breaker bar and this extendable ratchet are on my short list for upgrades, but the included items definitely work for their purposes.


Based on my initial opinions going through the set and the unanimously positive reviews on HF's website I would highly recommend this set for anyone who doesn't already own reasonable quality versions of this stuff.

Colonel K
Jun 29, 2009
A quick heads up for any UK goons wanting a decent toolkit for carry duty. Halfords have an offer on their professional line 150 piece socket / spanner / various bits set here . from £199 to £99. I picked one up on Sunday for the Land Rover.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.

Colonel K posted:

A quick heads up for any UK goons wanting a decent toolkit for carry duty. Halfords have an offer on their professional line 150 piece socket / spanner / various bits set here . from £199 to £99. I picked one up on Sunday for the Land Rover.
They're very good, a large proportion of my tools are Halfords ones.

Keep your receipt, they used to be quibble-free on the lifetime warranty, now they ask for one. Might just be one of my local stores being dicks, though.

meltie
Nov 9, 2003

Not a sodding fridge.

Colonel K posted:

A quick heads up for any UK goons wanting a decent toolkit for carry duty. Halfords have an offer on their professional line 150 piece socket / spanner / various bits set here . from £199 to £99. I picked one up on Sunday for the Land Rover.

Hurrah. I've got the previous version of that kit and it's been great so far. Done various horrible things to my land rover (bulkhead replacement for a start) with it, replaced the water pump on the MX5 with it, no complaints :)

evilnissan
Apr 18, 2007

I'm comin home.
Looking for what I can best describe as a manual impact driver.

You just stick a socket on one end and hit the other end with a hammer, when struck it takes some of that force and twist the socket just a little but to break the bolt loose.

A buddy of mine has one and made short work on some stuck bolts on my motorcycle.

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber

evilnissan posted:

Looking for what I can best describe as a manual impact driver.

You just stick a socket on one end and hit the other end with a hammer, when struck it takes some of that force and twist the socket just a little but to break the bolt loose.

A buddy of mine has one and made short work on some stuck bolts on my motorcycle.

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-reversible-impact-driver-set-93481.html

It's most handy for stuck Philips screws like those holding brake rotors.

Skyssx
Feb 2, 2001

by T. Fine
Snap-On sells them for $60ish.

heat
Sep 4, 2003

The Mad Monk

eddiewalker posted:

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-reversible-impact-driver-set-93481.html

It's most handy for stuck Philips screws like those holding brake rotors.

The most handy thing for those is a metal drill bit, gently caress those goddamn screws.

mod sassinator
Dec 13, 2006
I came here to Kick Ass and Chew Bubblegum,
and I'm All out of Ass
So I saw Harbor Freight has this new counter-rotating blade monstrosity: http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/campaigns/emails/doublecut/doublecutemail511.html

Anyone tried it or something similar to it? I kind of just want to see how the thing works.

heat
Sep 4, 2003

The Mad Monk

mod sassinator posted:

So I saw Harbor Freight has this new counter-rotating blade monstrosity: http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/campaigns/emails/doublecut/doublecutemail511.html

Anyone tried it or something similar to it? I kind of just want to see how the thing works.

The original was one of the cooler things on that Billy Mays show, it's a neat idea at least.

ziasquinn
Jan 1, 2006

Fallen Rib

BeastOfExmoor posted:

I decided that I was sick of dithering about what hand tools I needed to pick up to do some simple maintenance on my car and after reading numerous positive opinions of HF's Pittsburgh brand I picked up the 301 Piece Mechanics Tool Kit yesterday for $143 after a 20% off coupon. I haven't done any wrenching with it yet and I will be the first to admit my tool knowledge is based mostly on this thread, but given that it's extremely inexpensive price I thought I'd give my first impressions:

  • Holy crap there's a ton of stuff here.
  • There's no interchangeable head screwdriver with a billion little bits. This isn't a negative, but actually a surprise since usually all "xxx piece tool kits" pad their numbers with a ton of obscure screwdriver bits. This one manages to get to 301 pieces without that.
  • Not a ton of filler as a whole. There's two sets of hex wrenches (long and short) in both SAE and metric, which seems redundant to me, but I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me could speak to this. There's also two sets of 1/4" drive SAE sockets, both 12pt and 6pt. No idea why, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have backups.
  • Set is heavy. Shipping weight is 47 pounds and it feels at least that heavy to me. I wish they'd broken them up into two different cases because it feels awkwardly heavy to carry it one one case with an uncomfortable handle.
  • Case is decent. I was happily surprised to see that the latches are metal rather than the ultra cheap plastic poo poo I see on most molded cases like this which breaks very quickly.
  • The screwdrivers are usable quality, but definitely felt like the cheapest part of the set. The handles are super light plastic. There best use would be to augment a decent interchangeable bit, ratcheting screwdriver. If you have a screw that's too tight to get in with your ratcheting driver than pull these out.
  • There are certainly some things that either aren't included or aren't as useful as they could be in their included state. This breaker bar and this extendable ratchet are on my short list for upgrades, but the included items definitely work for their purposes.


Based on my initial opinions going through the set and the unanimously positive reviews on HF's website I would highly recommend this set for anyone who doesn't already own reasonable quality versions of this stuff.

So this looks really great to me, I wanted to know what other people's opinions were?

I've read the whole thread, but man.. it's long. Was the consensus that HF is great for everything as long as it's not electric? Everyone's been talking about the decline in craftsman tools, is HF a decent alternative? As long as I'm not wailing on the tools with hammers, are they good enough to rebuild a whole car? Maybe that's a stupid question...

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON

Your Dead Gay Son posted:

So this looks really great to me, I wanted to know what other people's opinions were?

I've read the whole thread, but man.. it's long. Was the consensus that HF is great for everything as long as it's not electric? Everyone's been talking about the decline in craftsman tools, is HF a decent alternative? As long as I'm not wailing on the tools with hammers, are they good enough to rebuild a whole car? Maybe that's a stupid question...

HF's lineup is something of a crap shoot. Most of their handtools are decent, but that said its kind of hard to gently caress up something simple like a hammer or socket set. Their power tools are somewhat questionable, some of them will work fine, others you'll be lucky to finish the first job you use them for. If you're looking to buy something that's going to last a long time or get used daily HF isn't the best place to go, but if you go into it with the mindset that they're for the most part selling cheap chinese-made stuff (and don't get disappointed when your $20 reciprocating saw dies three hours after you bought it) their stuff isn't half bad.

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!
Don't buy combination wrenches from HF, I bought a couple sets and they're all too loose. The HF flare wrenches I got were the worst, in addition to being loose, they flexed open with very little torque. However, their impact sockets have been good, and the reversible telescoping socket wrench I got is loving incredible.

Basically, buy anything you think looks good and make sure you use it hard before the return period expires. If you still like it, keep it. Be prepared to return anything you buy.

Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 19:53 on May 19, 2011

GnarlyCharlie4u
Sep 23, 2007

I have an unhealthy obsession with motorcycles.

Proof

Splizwarf posted:

Don't buy combination wrenches from HF, I bought a couple sets and they're all too loose. The HF flare wrenches I got were the worst, in addition to being loose, they flexed open with very little torque. However, their impact sockets have been good, and the reversible telescoping socket wrench I got is loving incredible.

Basically, buy anything you think looks good and make sure you use it hard before the return period expires. If you still like it, keep it. Be prepared to return anything you buy.

I'd like to second HF's impact bits. I've broken freaking craftsman impact sockets (understandably) and the HF ones always picked up the slack.

I can still hear the craftsman sockets yelling "oh yea well i loosened it up for you!"

bolind
Jun 19, 2005



Pillbug

Your Dead Gay Son posted:

So this looks really great to me, I wanted to know what other people's opinions were?

I've read the whole thread, but man.. it's long. Was the consensus that HF is great for everything as long as it's not electric? Everyone's been talking about the decline in craftsman tools, is HF a decent alternative? As long as I'm not wailing on the tools with hammers, are they good enough to rebuild a whole car? Maybe that's a stupid question...

If you're just starting out, a huge set with every socket is a really great starting point. The stuff you use all the time might break, but then you can upgrade as you go. Not much point in having $100 tied up the that Snap-On female Torx 100 deep 1-1/4" left hand thread unobtanium impact socket you never use.

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON

Splizwarf posted:

Be prepared to return anything you buy.

On this tangent, if you're looking at something that's on the high side and/or you expect to use it frequently it doesn't hurt to buy the replacement plan they try to sell you at checkout. In my experience the stores are very lax on reasons for taking items back.

I've also found their airtools are fairly high quality. For an example, a friend of mine works as a diesel mechanic and found that the $40 Central Pneumatic compact 1/2" drive impact wrench HF sells is a dead ringer for his $260 IR compact 1/2" drive impact wrench.

ziasquinn
Jan 1, 2006

Fallen Rib

bolind posted:

If you're just starting out, a huge set with every socket is a really great starting point. The stuff you use all the time might break, but then you can upgrade as you go. Not much point in having $100 tied up the that Snap-On female Torx 100 deep 1-1/4" left hand thread unobtanium impact socket you never use.

Good call. I think I'll jump on that then, and just upgrade as necessary. Thanks.

R-Type
Oct 10, 2005

by FactsAreUseless
Just bought a very unique set of open socket ratchet tools from Lowes, 1/4 - 1/2, metric, SAE and hex drive with standard socked adapters, clearanced for... $ 99. I was told the set originally sold for 229.00!

What's unique about the set is all the hex head nut/bolt sockets, wrenches and extensions are hollow and pass through, so fastener length becomes a non-issue.

Someone actually made a video review on YouTube, if you can excuse the shitdick redneck presenting the products:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdCkFrcQ1nw

Also an interactive view of a smaller set:

http://webapps.easy2.com/cm2/flash/generic_index.asp?page_id=35818426

R-Type fucked around with this message at 15:37 on May 20, 2011

Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
I've got a small set (both few pieces and for small sized bolts) like that. It's great for adjusting my valves on the bike as I can put the screwdriver through the socket and tighten the valve down while using the wrench to keep the adjusting nut from turning.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

How well do ratcheting box end wrenches hold up to excessive torquing? Comparable to a regular socket ratchet?

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!
It's the same guts AFAIK. I hit mine (Gearwrench brand, locking pivot heads) with a 2-pound sledge a lot. Same goes for that socket wrench I mentioned earlier. I can usually spot my tools by the hammer marks. The bigger ones (14mm+) have also stood up to a 3 foot cheater pipe.

I have broken two of them, but both were a broken pivot locking mechanism on the neck; one because I got something jammed in there and didn't take the time to disassemble and clean it, and the other because I was using the wrench to turn the pusher on a balljoint popper. When the balljoint popped, so did the lock. I was using the wrong tool.

Don't let that discourage you from buying the pivoting head ones. The number of things you can do with pivoting gearwrenches and no other tool is loving absurd and has won me bets, gotten me out of a lot of dumb positions, and saved me about a million year's worth of work. With a set of gearwrenches, a screwdriver with changable tips, some picks, a 2-lb sledge and a pair of vicegrips, I can fix loving well anything.

Also, buy a set of the adapters that are 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" drive shafts with hex heads, and you can use your gearwrenches as super-low profile socket wrenches. :chord:

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.

Splizwarf posted:

Also, buy a set of the adapters that are 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" drive shafts with hex heads, and you can use your gearwrenches as super-low profile socket wrenches. :chord:

This is a fantastic way to get to otherwise impossible to reach header bolts.

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!
Is there anything better than this blower as a canned-air substitute, around the same price? I don't have an air compressor, and I'm tired of buying canned air to get poo poo out of our many home electronics.

meatpimp
May 15, 2004

Psst -- Wanna buy

:) EVERYWHERE :)
some high-quality thread's DESTROYED!

:kheldragar:

Splizwarf posted:

Is there anything better than this blower as a canned-air substitute, around the same price? I don't have an air compressor, and I'm tired of buying canned air to get poo poo out of our many home electronics.

For not very much more you could get a cheap pancake air compressor and have a much more useful tool.

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON
I actually prefer my Toro electric leafblower (~$45 at most home improvement stores) over a compressor for blowing out electronics. Its also nice to have to blow out your garage (turns on instantly and no lingering mix gas exhaust smell) and I use it when I'm drying my car after washing to drive water out of all of the nooks and crannies that it inevitably drips out of two hours later while driving.

Geoj fucked around with this message at 22:33 on May 21, 2011

Lyesh
Apr 9, 2003

Shopvacs are also great for blowing stuff out if they have a hookup on the blower side.

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!

meatpimp posted:

For not very much more you could get a cheap pancake air compressor and have a much more useful tool.

Please go into more detail? I thought this thread hated compressors under a hundred bucks with a passion.

meatpimp
May 15, 2004

Psst -- Wanna buy

:) EVERYWHERE :)
some high-quality thread's DESTROYED!

:kheldragar:

Splizwarf posted:

Please go into more detail? I thought this thread hated compressors under a hundred bucks with a passion.

Different types of compressors. A pancake isn't going to run an impact wrench or a sander, but there are a number of small air tools that it can run, so they're good utility tools to have around if you don't have a larger compressor.

Air chuck to inflate tires? Sure.
Blow wand for the cleaning you're talking about? Sure, it won't have 100% duty cycle, but plenty enough to blow out your dirty-rear end laptop fans or the Cheeto crumbs from your overclocked tower.
One of the nice things it'll do is run a brad nailer, so you can do some small carpentry jobs much easier.

Lowclock
Oct 26, 2005
Does there exist any kind of tool that can help pulling off old dried/shrunken hoses? The other day I had to pull a fuel hose off a level sender and I had to literally stand on it and pull with both hands as hard as I could, even after getting it to turn so it wasn't stuck to the connector.

Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

?

Nerobro
Nov 4, 2005

Rider now with 100% more titanium!
That's my solution too. It works well. A small slit and viola, off it comes.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.

Nerobro posted:

That's my solution too. It works well. A small slit and viola, off it comes.
Do you play a little tune to commemorate the occasion?

Lowclock
Oct 26, 2005
Besides cutting the hose.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.
You can get a variety of small, handled hooks for getting hoses off (or just make your own with old screwdrivers)



Also, use the hook to just pry at the edge and squirt a little silicone spray or similar into the gap, working your way around the joint, that helps a lot.

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!
So what's a good compressor between $40 and $60 bucks? I don't care if it's noisy but a handle on top is good (me big, me carry heavy thing). Wheels are bad, I'm 6'7" and bending down to be at the right angle to roll those little fuckers sucks. Don't care if it takes a week or two to get it off the internet. No eBay or Craigslist, I want it new so I know what abuse it's taken. :v:

Lowclock posted:

Besides cutting the hose.

L-shaped pick with a sharp round tip, like a needle. Get it in and sweep it around. Watch out, you're guaranteed to tear the gently caress out of your finger a minimum of once.

efb

meatpimp
May 15, 2004

Psst -- Wanna buy

:) EVERYWHERE :)
some high-quality thread's DESTROYED!

:kheldragar:

Splizwarf posted:

So what's a good compressor between $40 and $60 bucks?

A bit more than $60 but comes with an air wand, inflater, brad nailer and some other crap (plus free shipping):

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...catalogId=10053

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar

InitialDave posted:

You can get a variety of small, handled hooks for getting hoses off (or just make your own with old screwdrivers)



Also, use the hook to just pry at the edge and squirt a little silicone spray or similar into the gap, working your way around the joint, that helps a lot.

I would consider buying those, but it goes against my policy of ever buying tools that would spend more time being used to play pirates than for their intended purpose.

Splizwarf
Jun 15, 2007
It's like there's a soup can in front of me!
What a dull policy. :v:

I have one whereby I buy tools that let me play pirates whether or not I'll ever use them for their intended purpose.

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Sockington
Jul 26, 2003

Lowclock posted:

Does there exist any kind of tool that can help pulling off old dried/shrunken hoses? The other day I had to pull a fuel hose off a level sender and I had to literally stand on it and pull with both hands as hard as I could, even after getting it to turn so it wasn't stuck to the connector.

I grab pliers and twist the rubber section back and forth until it spins freely. After that, it usually just pops off.

If not, cut the fucker off since the hose end won't be worth saving.

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