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

OH! I AM SOOOOO JEALOUS! I only have a 9’ ceiling.

Well in truth I have no roof, yet, I thought I would install the lift before I complete the shop. The roof and walls are coming, I hope to be in a shop by the 1st of the year.

I bought at Lowes a Craftsman vertical Air Compressor on 2 pnematic wheels. It weighs in at 167 lbs, supposedly was assembled in Tennessee, and is replacing a smaller Craftsman that I had for around 25 years.

Not sure if this counts because I didn't buy it but... I had a surprise waiting for me when I got home today a nut and bolt thread gauge. Jay (Lugnutz) sent it to me, very cool. Thanks again Jay.

Tuts,
You are welcome.
I went to an auction today. Bought what I went for. Skatblast media blast cabinet and vacuum. Has gloves and foot pedal control and some media inside too. I need to make some space for it. My shop is packed full.
I made my 63 C10 earn its keep. It laid down in the bed for the ride home.

A good water trap at the machine helps. Also, getting some spare nozzles, gloves and plastic film for the window. Bulbs, too. Nothing worse than being in the middle of blasting something and the light goes out.

I've used 60 grit red garnet for the past 10 years of so. Seems to do the job without warping anything and leaving great grip for paint. https://www.mcmaster.com/8072T67/

Just bought a tool cart from HBF, it seems to be pretty well built for the money. Gave just over $80.00 after my discount.

Phak1- look up “danmar max jax” . They are a mid rise lift and they can me moved around fairly easy or made permanent. They will lift over 6k (6k rated). I was skeptical at first but a buddy had one in a home garage. I thought it was dumb that I couldn’t walk under a car thats only 50” off the ground. Then he rolled out his modified computer chair that tilted back like a recliner and my attitude changed. I was like “i could totally deal with this”. Gotta do what ya gotta do in the space you got.

Set of Clutch Head Screw Drivers.

MNSmith Found a set of 1/4,3/8,1/2 impact adapters that are real short,have a ruff knurl so you can pull it off,work good !!

MSNmith Bought sone stubby impct adapters3/4 thru1/4 real short and compact great for Dewalt impact.

Knurls always help.

This is sooooooo nice!
I’ll be selling my Eastwood Flaring Kit because this will do all that and more.

Dewalt 20 volt battery powered sawzall and a set of deep well metric sockets.

Jay, you will love that flaring kit. I bought the same kit a couple of year back and use it all the time. using this makes flaring way to easy and they always turn out great.

I have that kit but haven't used it yet. Only because the last brake job I did, I went JIC with my fittings. I used the BrakQuip kit.

Picked up this metal chop saw today. Came with 3 additional cut wheels. Barely used. I have a GMC hand drill that I love. Lots of torque. I now do enough metal work that I can justify owning my own chop saw.

Bought a Bead Blaster thru amazon. Got it in just a couple day.
Tried it out today and it worked great! Wish I had one years ago.
https://www.amazon.com/XtremepowerU...hy=9023524&hvtargid=pla-567457239026

Don

I was expecting a blasting cabinet, but you meant tire beads. With a little add-on, that would make an awesome spud cannon.

You could also make it a portable air supply.

Kevin, I had not thought about a spud gun, I may have to ponder about that some. Or maybe shoot old golf balls out of it?
And yes Mark, I just need to get some fittings and it would make a good air tank to pump up a tire when the need be.

Don

1963 DeVilbiss compressor with a hole in the tank. I have a brand new 30gal tank to swap.
Plus a free extra compressor pump that is probably worn out. Looks like it was the original pump for this.

The green one looks like the one we used to have (craftsman).

Speaking of grinders with paddle switches and safeties in another thread, I got tired of a corded DeWalt 90 degree angle drill that has a wraparound body trigger. When you lay it down, it will activate. There is no good place to grab it for a bit change and it's a must to unplug it when you do. No on the fly bit changes. So I picked up a Milwaukee cordless angle drill. Straight finger trigger on it. Keyless chuck. Better directional switch, too. And, it can fit in to tighter spaces!!

Also, I picked up a neat set of relay bypass tools. Basically for diagnoses or triggering a relay manually. These things will plug in to a relay socket, and they have an on/off switch on top of them. Much better than guessing/using a jumper wire! So, the next time my GM F.I. fuel pump stops working, I can plug this thing in place of the relay and it will help tell me if it is the pump side of the system or the relay side of the system. (Hint, more times than not, the fuel pump goes bad. It does live in a pretty crazy environment!)

Picked up a 4” Porter Cable angle grinder and a 29 piece drill bit set at a garage sale. The grinder looks new and only 2 of the 29 bits had any use on them. Fair $20 investment in some spares I believe.

Last set of tools... a Carter Carburetor tool case and selection of various Carter-marked tools, plus a few extras. This is the second set I've picked up relatively cheaply. They pop up regularly on eBay, but usually for more $ than I would care to pay.

I'm rebuilding two Carter YFs for a friend, a 788S and a 966S. A very simple C-shaped tool, Carter T109-212, makes easy work of holding the diaphragm shaft down to check pump adjustment.

In any event, it seems I'm an accumulator of vintage tools like this.

Doug

Took Ms Kathy to several garage sales this morning. I sit in the car and patiently wait for her to browse and more important to her visit. She surprised me at the first sale with a gallon freezer bag full of Cresent brand sockets and a heavy 1/2 inch Cresent ratchet. Everything was there except the very rare 10mm. Probably 5-7 pounds of sockets and the wrench for a whopping $2.00. Guess the guy bought the set just for the 10mm sockets.
I made sure to tell her she did good.

BX23S Kubota backhoe. Handy little dude around the ranch. Already dug out a collapsed septic tank and several old pole barn piers. Moved some asphalt from a location across the road over to the barn floor.

Martin, very nice. I sometimes wish my Kubota B7800 had a hoe.

John

I've been looking for a replacement 3/4" ratchet because my Harbor freight cheapo quit working. Harbor Freight will not honor their warranty without a receipt. There hasn't been practically any inventory for a somewhat reasonably priced piece from the other stores, so I finally gave in and snagged a Master Force from Menard's for $54.00 after the rebate. They claim free replacement if it fails and no receipt necessary.

I would have loved to buy a Craftsman, but none in stock and not sure I can count on the lifetime warranty without a Sears store for support.

John

HF can look up what you've bought with your phone # so they were giving you the runaround.
Craftsman stuff is being sold by Ace Hardware, Lowes and probably other places, so you shouldn't have any issues getting warranty help. Full disclosure - I haven't tried swapping a Craftsman tool for a long time.

None of the places that I've seen selling Craftsman didn't have a 3/4" ratchet on the shelf. So it wouldn't be an easy in and out for a warranty replacement. On the other hand, I've been checking for a month or so and do know that the 4 or 5 Menard's in the Omaha area all have inventory if it fails.

John

I found myself having to borrow an O2 socket from a coworker for the second time. Now I have a nice 3 piece Matco set that should cover every O2 sensor on the planet! (General rule. If I find myself borrow a certain tool more than once,, I should probably have my own!)

Harbor Freight body repair set, Hammer and several dollies. 12 ton hydraulic press. Paintless dent repair set. Have some repairs to make to the ‘62 C-10 grill and headlight bezels.

Good luck with the paintless dent repair stuff. I had no luck on my '51. The metal was too thick to move with the stick-on tabs.

I bought a 2-1/2 ton aluminum floor jack from Harbor freight. I got tired of my old 30 year old craftsman jack slowly creeping down to the floor and my 3 ton made in china all steel that weights what seems like 3 ton, dropping to the floor quickly when I try to slowly release it.

The new one was on sale for $180 and operates so smooth is very low to the floor, rapid jack and much lighter for me to carry.

Kevin, not for the old stuff. Hammer and dollies for those.

I had a set of wheel dollies. I guess they are going to live with the race car operation. Got myself another Harbor Freight set. Not to be loaned.

Bought and SOLD a HAAS five axis mill when new shop in country only has limited current and single phase. Just over a million with very expensive tooling and computer programs. Made a whopping 17.5k profit. Do miss it on one of a kind specialty parts. Same with 3D printer and plasma sprayer but when one moves from a 41k sq ft shop into a 6k one it is pretty much back to basics. New shop sure is easier to keep (somewhat) clean. Old bones and big shop didn't mesh that well but there are a lot of "used to could do that" thoughts.

Just scored a nearly new (1 yr old) full small Argon bottle with control valve, gauges and all connectors to reconfigure my flux-core wire welder (already designed to be convertible) to shielded gas operation. $50 on Craigslist. Future body work welding will be so much less stressful.