The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest What was the last tool you bought?

3' Diacro press brake..

Bought impact adapters at Fisher auto parts that are real compact 3/4 down to 1/4 Titan brand best iv'e had.

Power probe is a must for diagnosing electrical. One of the best tools I ever bought. I bought the first or 2nd version back in early 2000’s and that thing has saved me so much time it’s ridiculous. Its my go to tool. I rarely even bother touching a old trst light anymore. A lot of people dont get it but imagine having the ability to instantly test for power, ground, continuity, AND apply power, or ground, or BOTH at the same time to test a electric motor or relay ALL WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO JUMP POWER OR GROUND with jumpers. The newer ones even show voltage.

What brand & model? Thanks

Just bought a replacement Stanley 25' Powerlock tape measure to replace the one I bought over thirty years ago. The old one finally had the last three feet rust and break off. Just one of those tools you use all the time, never think much of it until it breaks and you realize just how long you've been using it and relying on it. Like my 30-year old Skil saw, it has/had wonderful wear and patina patterns that I put there

Good bye, old friend.

Ace Hardware opened up a new store here in town...YAY.....they the 3/8" drive Craftsman 10 piece ratchet set is on sale for $10 bucks.
Reg.25.95....on sale for 12.95 but with my Ace Reward card they are 9.95. I bought one each to see the quality and they are pretty nice so yesterday I went back and ordered 4 more sets. You can get SAE or Metric so I will now have a total 3 of each....... I figure they'll make some nice birthday or Christmas presents for 10 bucks! Hey, I may go order 4 more!!
.....the ratchet at least seemed nice and heavy with a good slick finish on it...........maybe YOUR ACE is running the same sale???

I didn't buy it. But I was rummaging around in a box of "stuff" my father gave me. I found his carpenter belt, complete with a pencil and some nails. I also acquired his four foot aluminum level that he had ever since I can remember.

Harbor freight $50 engine stand...... pray for me lol

Be careful if it is the “1,000” lb stand.
It can tip over, if you are not slow-moving, level, and very careful when turning.
I have safely used that model.

Their 2,000 lb stand is very stable.

Definitely!! I use it to store my engines so they roll. I build on the 2000lb one very stable indeed! I wish I had one with a gear box on it to rotate but this will do.

MN bought a set of those stubby impact adapters at MFLPS 3/4 1/2 1/4 great when you go to hick junk yard where you can go in and take your stuff off ! Using DeWalt batt impact !!

I had a job at work that required a long reach, cutoff disc to reach some welds deep in a box. Bought a Jet version. Man o man! Now I got to get one for my personal stash!

I bought 10 (yes 10!) new Walter Carbide Burr bits and a new Chicago Pneumatic 90° die grinder second hand (shop clean out).

I got the bits for $75 - a new set of only 5 is $235 new up here! And the die grinder for $50! I was pretty happy with the day.

Picked up a new timing light. Nothing wrong with the old Craftsman, except that I think it's older than me. The new one does timing, RPM, dwell, voltage, etc. all in my hand. Thought I'd catch up to modern times.

Bought two of these ratchet straps from Home Depot to use for rigging to remove box. For around $9 apiece worked great and can use for tie downs after this.

I have four of those Heavy-Duty Ratchet Tie-Downs with (metal) J Hook - they are very strong and very handy.

"Working load limit of 3333 lbs"

I had to buy some for a project at work. 6000 WLL. 4" wide.

Every time my trailer gets borrowed, some of my straps go missing. Those are handy things. I use mine to lift the cab and such too.

My 14-volt deWalt batteries have now now died and won't hold a charge now for longer than 30 seconds, so this week I upgraded to a 20-volt drill, hammer drill and sawzall. Came with a handycarry bag, too.

Woo hoo!

I recently bought a Harbor Freight "close quarters" drill.

HF Close Quarter Drill

It is not the best $50 I have spent on a power tool but I will keep it. I expect I will find other situations when this configuration works well.
- It is definitely not a right angle drill. You can only reach into a space about as far as the distance from the head to the body.
- It runs at 1300 rpm. That speed does not work well with small diameter bits or abrasive pads.
- The body around the motor is pretty large. My hands are large enough that I can hold it. You almost need to use 2 hands to hold the drill and activate the switch. I doubt it would be comfortable for extended use.

Harbor Freight used to sell a real right angle drill in the Central Electric line. They have discontinued that line of tool as they have shifted their marketing upwards.

I just sprung for a new welding helmet. My old one bit the dust so I upgraded to a Hobart Inventor Series Auto-Darkening model. It's a major improvement as my old one was a flip lens type and over 40 years old. It will take a little getting used to but so far I'm really liking it.

Hobart Inventor

John

I have a hand held induction heater. Works great for heating up stubborn nuts in hard to access places. Much better than the torch and less chance of burning the shop to the ground, again.

I picked up a hard plastic wedgey/prying thing. You can never have too many wedgey things.

Got a set of aluminum wrenches for AN fittings. And a set of AN hose end assembly tools. Maybe I will have no more poked and bloody finger tips in my future?? Made by Koul Tools.

Just picked this Baldor bench grinder up from a yard sale for 20 dollars. It runs very smooth. Now to find some guards, shields and tool rests!

Just finished cleaning my yard sale find up, installed a new cord with a grounded plug and applied a bit of paint. Very happy with the result. Now all I need is the guards, shields and tool rests.

Looking good Phil. That is the "brand" that is used by lots of folks for polishing. That was a good score.
(I have a reconditioned 3/4hp bench grinder from Sears in 1976 and that cotton picking thing won't die)....but I paid more for it. You da man. keep trucking brother.

Thanks! As it turns out, that particular model is a polisher/grinder with the polishing wheel goes where the wire wheel presently. I don’t plan on leaving that wire wheel on without a guard.

Phil you stole that grinder for $20.00. It really cleaned up nice.

Picked up an additional plastic scraper for scraping decals, new blow gun that doesn't leak, and some flush cutters so I don't leave any sharp edges on my zip ties.

I also got a set of muffler mock up tools. 3" radius, 2.5" diameter tubing. Should help wrap that exhaust around frame supports and such.

Picked up a used 30 gallon air compressor as a spare for out in the barn/shop. Always needing to air up UTV tires or mower tires and my little pancake compressor gave up this morning. It’s a El Cheapo Husky brand but it builds pressure.

Wow! Phak 1, that Balder grinder is a nice one. I still use my Dads 1936 double shaft Frigidaire motor. A brand new Frigidaire refrigerator fell off the back of his buddies appliance truck truck and he gave it to Dad. It has been through hades and back. It will no longer start without hand turning it first. I hope I can fix it, I believe I used to know how to repair a centrifugal starter. Anyone out there that can get me started (no pun). Just bought 2 like new Snap On manifold wrenches for Chevy stovebolt manifolds. Doc.

Doc, that Frigidaire motor probably needs a start capacitor to work, but that's just a guess. 1936 definitely pre-dates me.

Picked up the correct factory king pin driver/reamer to do my kingpins. Had to look high and low and do some research to figure out what to look for and then after some emails and questions it turned out to be perfect.

Picked up a SAE set of (open on one end and ratcheted on the other end) gear wrenches. Some of mine had wandered off so a new set was in order.

Those have become "go to" wrenches. This morning, I discovered I could use a set in metric, at home.

Gasket scraper was a little pricey but haven't used one that I like or am happy with. Heard very positive comments on this tool from other mechanics. Made in the U.S.A about an hour West of me in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Can't wait to try it out.

I picked up some exhaust mock up tools. Basically like a Lego set. I got the 2.5" diameter, 3.5 CLR version. They come in 15 degree segments. Snap together and twist until you have the shape you need, then duplicate it in the material of choice. After using them, they are certainly very handy.

That would be so much better than the cardboard tubing I’ve been using!

A set of the clutch head srew tools. I had never seen them before.

Just ordered a 10K two post lift, it will be a month in getting here.


https://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/atlas-pv-10p-sym-asy-2-post-lift-p/attd-pv10px.htm