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Thanks Again!

You guy's once more I have to tell you that this Tool Forum Thread is going the positive way I thought it would.Posts that are being placed are just the sort of things I was hoping to see.Thanks To All Of You!
Lawrence
Wondering how one would distinguish the homeowner Metabo Tools from their industrial line up, or has all the Metabo line gone that way?
 
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Metabo again

Nice grinder! Never heard of the brand before, but then again I don't own that much "german engineering" either! What's the funky shield kinda thingy around the disc though? :confused: LOL. I'm not sure I could even find the guards for any of mine anymore. They tend to come off right away, for better or worse. I wouldn't mind them so much if there was some sort of quick-release, like a cam lock etc., to make it easier to reposition the guard without having to whip out the screwdriver.

Brad, Metabo is available at KMS TOOL'S here in B.C.
Lawrence
 
old saw
don't know if you have seen them ...metals406 has made two nice little seal pullers that look like they should be on this thread
they are a heck of alot cheaper than the stihl puller
 
striperswaper

old saw
don't know if you have seen them ...metals406 has made two nice little seal pullers that look like they should be on this thread
they are a heck of alot cheaper than the stihl puller

Thanks for the heads up !I will ask him if he would like to post them.
Lawrence
 
old saw
don't know if you have seen them ...metals406 has made two nice little seal pullers that look like they should be on this thread
they are a heck of alot cheaper than the stihl puller

I was hoping he would post the picts of the dual paint can opener seal puller he made.
Pioneerguy600
 
They sure enough are but I am a dyed in the wool Ingersol Rand type of guy for my air tools.
Pioneerguy600

Heh, I wish I had the luxury of brand loyalty! If it's a good price or on sale and looks like it'll do what I need without breaking a month or two in, it can sit in my toolbox anytime and I won't complain! Let's just say there's an awful lot of "Mastercraft Blue" in my shop though! It's hard to argue with an air tool set that includes a 3/8" ratchet, die grinder, impact wrench, and chisel, along with a hundred or so various sockets, bits, adapters & fittings, stones, etc. for $100. I'm not going to herald their quality as being on par with the aforementioned names, but they've more than paid for themselves and are still going strong. Heck, my brother used that little air chisel to jackhammer probably 8 square feet of his basement to access his drain/water lines. He went through a couple bits but the tool itself is no worse for the wear.

I have a few other random no-name air tools that I've rescued from scrap and garbage bins in the last year or so, that just needed a good cleaning and oiling to be brought back to life. It's amazing how many people don't realize that EVERY air tool needs to be oiled, some much more than others, and then just run them until they inevitably die. Same guys that never clean their saws properly and then whine and cry when they overheat and die, I guess. At the mill last year, the millwrights were going to pitch out two impact guns, so I offered to look at them one day when we had some downtime. Half an hour or so with each and a bit of light oil, and they were good to go. I'd never even had one apart before then, but they aren't really that hard to figure out. Easier than most saws, anyway.

Back to the MC tools though - I can't imagine paying full price for something like a Snap-On ratchet/socket set. The same tools would be probably 1/4 the price at CT, still carry a lifetime warranty, and probably come out of the same factory or or the next one down the same road. I couldn't count the number of busted or worn out screwdrivers, sockets, wrenches, etc. that I've returned and gotten replaced no-questions-asked without a proof of purchase. I don't have to track down or wait for the bloody tool truck either!
 
seal puller

Here's a link to the seal pullers. . . It starts on the page I linked, and just go to the end of the thread. The double puller started off with just the paint can openers, but are now modified on the ends of the openers. Even though they are modified, they still work just fine with the main body of the original puller setup.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=115857&page=4

Tomorrow's supposed to be fairly sunny and nice, and I plan on making a video on the other style puller made out of a chainsaw file. I'll post it here and in the seal puller thread.
 
Any of you guys here use a makita angle grinder? I am considering buying the kit that baileys has for sale. Comes in a case with an assortment of grinder wheels also. Price seems pretty good too. I can't find it on their website, but its in the master catalog. I have used metabo grinders in the past at work and they are the best, but I want something a little cheaper (under $100) for light duty use at home and it looks like this makita might work.
 
Any of you guys here use a makita angle grinder? I am considering buying the kit that baileys has for sale. Comes in a case with an assortment of grinder wheels also. Price seems pretty good too. I can't find it on their website, but its in the master catalog. I have used metabo grinders in the past at work and they are the best, but I want something a little cheaper (under $100) for light duty use at home and it looks like this makita might work.

Yes, they are very very good. I just did a post on here yesterday talking about makita grinders.
 
Makita Ginders

When I was in construction for a few years one of my jobs was to grind down rough metal after they fabricated stuff on the job site.We used the bigger Makitas as well.Those tools were abused,thrown in the back of pickup's at the end of the day and sometimes those grinders went all day,no problems.
We also used the 1/2 inch Makita drills that have the two handles on them to drill holes through big planks before spiking them to pilings for huge retaining walls.Bloody drill bit would stall out if you did not clean the bit of wood chips with the back and forth motion,when it did stall out that Makita would wrap up you up in a not and still try to keep going.I think those ones were made in Ontario,Canada.
Lawrence
 
New Posters

Great to see some other AS members on here you have not had a previous post to this thread!I suspect this will lead to a more broadly scoped thread.
YAHOO!
Lawrence
 
Mini Torch

Here is my latest tool purchase. It was only $5 but it got the stuck bolt out of my Jred 70E without wrecking any paint. It actually works really well considering how cheap it is. Flame is very adjustable.

attachment.php


attachment.php


That's a nickel for size reference.
 
Heh, I wish I had the luxury of brand loyalty! If it's a good price or on sale and looks like it'll do what I need without breaking a month or two in, it can sit in my toolbox anytime and I won't complain! Let's just say there's an awful lot of "Mastercraft Blue" in my shop though! It's hard to argue with an air tool set that includes a 3/8" ratchet, die grinder, impact wrench, and chisel, along with a hundred or so various sockets, bits, adapters & fittings, stones, etc. for $100. I'm not going to herald their quality as being on par with the aforementioned names, but they've more than paid for themselves and are still going strong. Heck, my brother used that little air chisel to jackhammer probably 8 square feet of his basement to access his drain/water lines. He went through a couple bits but the tool itself is no worse for the wear.

I have a few other random no-name air tools that I've rescued from scrap and garbage bins in the last year or so, that just needed a good cleaning and oiling to be brought back to life. It's amazing how many people don't realize that EVERY air tool needs to be oiled, some much more than others, and then just run them until they inevitably die. Same guys that never clean their saws properly and then whine and cry when they overheat and die, I guess. At the mill last year, the millwrights were going to pitch out two impact guns, so I offered to look at them one day when we had some downtime. Half an hour or so with each and a bit of light oil, and they were good to go. I'd never even had one apart before then, but they aren't really that hard to figure out. Easier than most saws, anyway.

Back to the MC tools though - I can't imagine paying full price for something like a Snap-On ratchet/socket set. The same tools would be probably 1/4 the price at CT, still carry a lifetime warranty, and probably come out of the same factory or or the next one down the same road. I couldn't count the number of busted or worn out screwdrivers, sockets, wrenches, etc. that I've returned and gotten replaced no-questions-asked without a proof of purchase. I don't have to track down or wait for the bloody tool truck either!


That I'll argue with ya. I've used alot of different brands of tools, & for the most part I'll take my Snap On tools over anything else. Yes they are more money, but in the long run they've paid for themselves. I use them all day everyday though.
A C
 
That I'll argue with ya. I've used alot of different brands of tools, & for the most part I'll take my Snap On tools over anything else. Yes they are more money, but in the long run they've paid for themselves. I use them all day everyday though.
A C

Hey, far be it from me to knock their quality. I've used my share and owned a few as well, and for sure you'll get your money's worth out of them. I'm not convinced they're worth the premium though when it comes to the real basics like sockets and wrenches etc., because a CT/Mastercraft or Sears/Craftsman will do the job every bit as well and still carry a lifetime replacement warranty. Just not (technically) for industrial/commercial/contractor use, which is why you don't see many mechs using them. Pretty hard for the guy behind the counter to tell if I broke a socket at the mill fixing something or at home working on a project on my own time, though. Just for reference, right now in their current flyer, Canadian Tire has a 162-pc socket/wrench set including full 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive sets on sale for $49 CDN, regularly $189. How could anyone argue with that price? Or for that matter how much would the same pieces be out of a Snap-On or Mac truck? These aren't your average cheapo Chinese tools either (though they carry those too); they're forged and chromed really well and stand up to just as much abuse as any others I've ever used.
 
Seal puller 2

Okay, I went out tonight and banged out that other style seal puller made from a 3/16" chainsaw file. Took me about an hour give or take. . .



I tried to take pictures that showed the angles the best. The handle is a limb from a Hawthorn, roughed out with a flat fiber disc on my angle grinder. A regular chainsaw file handle would work good probably, but I didn't have any extras laying around. I drilled a hole 2/3 of the way up the handle, and drove the handle on.

The hook-end is the tang of the file, I just drew it out more. . . I also drew the working end of the file out so it had a similar shape to the original tang. Essentially, it looked like a file with two tangs. I considered driving the handle all the way through, and clenching the tang over, but I went ahead and stopped short. The clenching method does work good though, and is used on other tools like old draw knives.

I started by annealing the file, it cooled pretty fast due to it's small mass. I ended up running two normalizing cycles before I quenched, just to make sure I had even grain structure. Once the forming and forging was done, I heated the tool to just past non magnetic, and quenched it in about 80° water I had in a 5 gallon bucket.

I went in the house and wire brushed immediately. . . So as to temper quickly to avoid cracking (I have good lighting inside). The brushing removes some of the hard surface from the quench, so you can watch your colors run during temper. I used my little propane torch to draw it out to an even blue/purple, and stopped the color there with a quick dip in some water. I then ground the end to sharpen it and refine the tip a bit more. . . Being careful not to heat the small tip too much while grinding, which could soften the steel too much.

I finished off the tool with a good spray of WD-40 on the handle and steel.





 
Case Splitter

Here's a case splitter I borrowed from my friend to split two 066 cases today:

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The "claw" section is made up of two parallel (or at least it looks like they used ot be) pieces of 1/4" plate steel with a big arc cut out to fit. The pieces are separated by about an inch, just enough to accommodate the top of the crank. This one worked really well actually. I had to use a wide flathead screwdriver to pop the front apart a little bit, but it was a lot easier to set up than a bar stud mounted splitter. I don't know how well this type could be adapted to various saws, but I think I'll be building something like it pretty soon.
 

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