fm2176

So, after a rather adventurous move late last month, we finally got back down to the house I left over ten years ago. Between getting the kids in school, handling day to day stuff. And the weather (a heavy rain and/or severe thunderstorm almost daily), I still have to finish unpacking and begin my garage organization. Attached is a photo of what I'm working with. There are actually two built-in garages, a 20'x20' and a 10'x20'. The larger one hasn't had a door on it since I bought the house. The previous homeowner had issues with the full width door getting damaged by heavy winds so he finally decided to use it more like a carport. The smaller garage on the right has a door but I removed the inoperable opener shortly after moving in. Ultimately I hope to have a 30'x40' steel building erected but short term I plan to enclose the double garage. I'm debating adding a smaller roll up door but am definitely adding an entry door. Even shorter term, I need to clean out the 10'x20' and convert it to my interim workshop. This way I can secure my tools and maybe run a window unit ac while tinkering around. Right now the larger space on the left is still full of stuff unloaded from the U-Haul, while the one on the right is pretty much a time capsule. Stuff I stored in it ten years ago is still boxed up, to include old toys from my now adult kids, Army promotional items, video game consoles from the Atari 2600 to the PS2, and a rather impressive collection of Playboy magazines that will be either sold or burned. In mint condition, some full year sets sell for upwards of $100, and someone is asking almost $1000 for the issue with the 1990 Trump interview. Unfortunately, most of my magazines are probably mildewed or otherwise damaged. Anyway, I hope to share more pictures as the shop comes along. I'm not sure how much if anything will be done today, however, as it's already raining. South Louisiana at its finest!

I haven't bought any tools for a while, but now that I'm back in my house I need to get motivated to finished unpacking and to set up my shop. I still have little used tools like my miter and table saws as well as new-in-box stuff like a sander/grinder, band saw, tile saw, and drill press. I also have to set up the router table I finally got back after loaning it out for two years.

Amazon must be off their game...we ordered a new cage for the hedgehog a few weeks ago and it never arrived. We had the tracking info but the day it was supposed to be delivered the status got changed to delayed. After a week my wife called to get a refund and I spent more for the same cage buying at the Petco in town.

Well, I'm moved back down South, having left my smoker and portable gas grill in VA, along with three of my propane tanks. I hauled the charcoal grills and fryer burners to the dump a few months ago. What can I say, the 26' Uhaul truck was beyond packed, so I decided to start over with my grills and burners. I bought another Walkabout grill last week and plan to hit up Academy for another turkey fryer setup before Thanksgiving. At the moment we're still settling in, but the outdoor cooking should begin again in earnest by October. Oh, and one thing I haven't done is boiled peanuts. My neighbor did some a couple of day ago and brought a bag over. Pretty good, and simple enough to make. First up, though, is a full brisket on the Walkabout. That should be a decent challenge given the small cooking area and no smoker box.

Four years later and I still have to decide on a tool storage solution. I'll be keeping the old 26" boxes I made money working out of years ago, but will be looking for something wider. The plan is to get a rolling cabinet and a decent cart for mechanics tools and to label and organize my modular systems for cordless and home improvement tools. I also have to outfit my parts bins. I have boxes of hardware to sort and organize, but in the end it should be well worth it. One thing I miss about working as a mechanic is having fasteners and other hardware on hand. A equipment fielding years ago saw me with the leftover hardware, as the customers didn't want it. A lot of 1/4" stainless and grade 8 fasteners, and more than a few electrical splices and other parts. Also, while I've gone through a fair amount, I still have boxes of screws picked up on the cheap when Tractor Supply switched brands and later Home Depot cleared out a bunch of deck screws. It's going to be a lengthy process, but as I organize the garage I'll be looking into pouring a slab and eventually having a shop built. My neighbor sent me the info for a company that is currently erecting 30'x40'x11' steel buildings for under $17k, so my shop could come sooner than I originally thought, though I'd want to have roll up doors instead of the included garage doors.

Most major brands have their proprietary battery platforms that seem to be here for the long run. Ni-Cad was being phased out in the late 2000s and while some brands had interim Li-Ion platforms (mostly to be used interchangeably with previous tools, the current major battery interfaces are now 10+ years old. DeWalt 12v and 20v Max, Milwaukee M12 and M18, Ridgid 18v, Ryobi One+, etc. Newer technologies like FlexVolt and the short-lived Ridgid Octane series have been released, but even those interchange with previous tools. FlexVolt batteries can be used with most 20v Max tools and Octane batteries and tools were simply a marketing ploy to introduce Bluetooth technology to batteries and increase performance while still being part of the overall 18v line. "Old school" cordless tools have been phased out for a few reasons. The battery technology and brushed motors simply do not offer the power and runtime more modern tools do. The ergonomics can be a bit of, even if some older tools do have an enjoyable retro feel in the hand. Of course, they also sometimes just get worn out or broken, and the cost of repair simply isn't worth it. In another thread, I priced a replacement battery for an old Milwaukee 12v hammer drill at nearly $50 shipped. For comparison I bought my M12 drill and impact combo for $99 a few years ago and got a free battery (3 batteries total). My first DeWalt 12v Max drill came with a reciprocating saw and two batteries, and was purchased on clearance for $45. Both of those sets were older brushed designs but any of the tools can be run with my newest batteries. I replaced the M12 tools with their M12 Fuel counterparts for about $180, getting a Packout case as a bonus, and later replaced the 12v Max tools with this Xtreme kit for $149.

You'll have to go with rebuilt or aftermarket batteries, but they can still be found. The problem with using these older tools is that they lack performance and use a battery technology that's been all but obsolete for over ten years. They also don't really offer a bargain in the grand scheme of things. The above site offers a battery with a six month warranty for $34.95, and with the cheapest shipping option for me being $13.10. So, almost $50 to get a 30 year old drill running.

So, no new tools as of recently, though I did rediscover a few at the flipper house. I may hit up HD and/or Lowes this week to check out Fathers Day specials and clearance items.

The DeWalt mower seems decent. I almost made an impulse buy last year, but I have the EGO and really need a rider or ZTR for my lawn later this year. I agree about the 5Ah batteries that were initially included. I heard a lot of negative things about it back then. When shopping for a mower a few years back I was tempted by the DeWalt 40v Max, but wanted the 20v version. I picked up that EGO, though, instead. I'm really glad I didn't get the 40v mower, as DeWalt discontinued that line only a few months later.

A friend of mine has the Ryobi 40v pole saw and seems happy, but I don't know if he's had any battery issues. I know he got a new battery, but I believe this was due to the tool being an open box without the battery included. I'm sorry to hear that you've had bad luck with your Ryobi batteries. While I really don't know much about their 40v system I will say that their One+ 18v system is a good investment for someone requiring adequate tools on a budget. Right now, Ryobi Days is going on, including the usual two-4Ah battery starter kit with free tool. I looked yesterday but really didn't see anything I need. My oldest One+ batteries are probably 6 years old and still run strong. On the other hand, I've had a couple DeWalt 20v Max batteries die, a FlexVolt battery that seems to be struggling, and an EGO battery that seems to lack runtime. That, and the batteries that came with my M18 Fuel One Key combo needed a jump out of the box before they'd register on the charger (no issues since, though).

If you’re handy with a multimeter you can check the components in the board for continuity and resistance. Also, look for obvious signs of damage (scorch marks, broken solder points, etc.). Sorry I can’t offer better advice.

Well, I’ve officially joined those who have FlexVolt battery issues. Mine may be an outlier, though, so I’ll provide the following info: 6.0Ah battery 2016 production date Came with a display FlexVolt table saw (so no telling if it had been charged and abused prior to me buying it) Relatively little use since buying it in 2017 With that out of the way, I’ll say this. I have 1.3Ah 12v Max batteries dating back to 2010 that still work well despite also seeing little use. I have 20v Max batteries dating to 2015 that see fairly heavy use but still work almost as well as they did seven years ago. I had one 2Ah battery swell up and refuse to charge (possible water damage) and one 4Ah battery that stopped working which DeWalt covered under warranty. Anyway, the M18 Fuel saw I kept at the flipper house was lended to a friend, so I brought out the FlexVolt worm drive style saw from the truck. I only had one battery with it, and quickly found that after making a few cuts in OSB and 2x lumber it would start stalling out. The battery indicator would read 3 bars and a few minutes on the charger would show it fully charged. A friend let me borrow the 6.0Ah battery that came with his chainsaw and it worked fine. Nothing too major, but I was hoping my FlexVolt battery experience would be different than what some have reported. I’ll see how my other two 6.0Ah and my 9.0Ah hold out. Besides occasional use on the 20v Max tools, these batteries have been treated with kid hands, with only a handful of cuts with the circular saw before this past weekend, and very few with the miter or table saws.

The shoulder holster arrived a few days ago. The strap retainers were nowhere to be found, so after I adjusted it I taped up the excess until I receive the retainers from Galco. A quick email resulted in a fast response from the company and I am more than satisfied with the customer service, but then again we are talking about a $200+ holster. The Model 29 Classic draws smoothly from the shoulder rig, and is easily covered by a lightweight button up 2x shirt. I have to be wary of it printing, but in the winter I should have no problem carrying the .44 under a heavy jacket. It is much more accessible than a belt holster when driving, and I may look into Miami Classic or more VHS holsters for some of my semi automatics and smaller revolvers. I disassembled the Mossberg for the first time in well over a decade, and the 25 year old Side Saddle shell carrier had the forward threads strip after I removed the rear bolt. I can probably get another base plate, otherwise I may replace the entire carrier. I did note the reason my 590 has a metal trigger guard...it's actually a 590A1 and the prominent marking was hidden by the Side Saddle that wasn't removed for so long.

"Is this peak American tool use?" Probably. 😁 We Americans find ways to entertain ourselves in the weirdest ways. Tools can both make and save us money, all while costing money initially. If you can get something the manufacturer never intended out of them, why not?

As fyrfytr998 stated, the X1 denotes a battery, in this case, a 2Ah FlexVolt battery. The letter code is for the size/voltage of battery and the "1" or "2" is the number of batteries included, while a "B" means it's a bare tool. All of my DeWalt tools, whether purchased bare or with one or two batteries, have only the tool nomenclature (DCD996, DCF887, etc.) printed on the label.

Looks decent. I have a Ryobi rotary tool that looks similar in function, as well as a Hitachi version without the cord. The V20 cutout tool is probably based on the DeWalt, which I've had for about six years. The DeWalt is a great tool; it definitely beats trying to cut out holes for electrical boxes with a jab saw or utility knife. I saw the fan on ToolGuyd. It looks promising, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was released as competition for the Ryobi clamp fan. Different styles, to be sure, but it looks to be roughly the same size. I still have a bunch of the Ryobi ones lying around from a misguided attempt at selling a few.

Well, it's that time again... the grass is high and the neighbors just mowed theirs, making my yard look especially unkempt. I finally had my retirement physical this morning and sat in the examination room like an idiot for 30 minutes afterward due to a miscommunication. The doctor told me to get dressed while she worked on the paperwork, then when a nurse came in over half an hour later she seemed surprised to see me. The doctor came in a few moments later to tell me that I was free to leave whenever and that she'd call me when the paperwork was completed. While waiting for nothing, I rescheduled another appointment that I could have easily kept if I left when I could have. But hey, there's yardwork to do! My luck held out. I got home and decided to break out the trusty(?) EGO mower. A few minutes in the first 5Ah battery was depleted. A 2.5Ah battery lasted maybe two minutes, and my second 5Ah battery was good for maybe 1/4 of the yard. So here I sit, waiting for a travel authorization to be approved so I can file a voucher (the Department of Defense Travel System is fairly decent these days but can be a pain sometimes), and I'm about to be put on the bad kid list in forty minutes for having an unsubmitted voucher. Meanwhile, my EGO mower sits in front of the house waiting for a fully charged battery so it can continue its duty. So, the downside to battery OPE? Batteries. It takes a while to charge them and, unlike my power tool batteries, the EGO ones seem to not like holding a charge. The upside? Once my batteries are good I can finish the lawn without having to pull a cord, check oil, top off gas, or mix 50:1 2-cycle gas for the string trimmer and blower. I guess I'll finish my Critical Drinker video, have a Dr. Pepper Zero and bourbon, and wait for the shoulder holster to show up. Then it's time to finish the yard, or just wait for the kids to get home from school so they can. 😁

I'll let you know, hopefully it gets here before I head back to the flipper house this weekend. I ordered a vertical holster, the N-Frame Smith and Wesson will probably ride better in that, but if I like shoulder carry I may get a horizontal rig for one of the semi autos or the Taurus 856. I still want to replace my .357 as well, and the K-Frame Model 19 might be conducive to horizontal carry, though my long gone revolver was a great belt carry gun. I'm also debating getting an ankle holster for the J-Frame Taurus (or a future S&W purchase) and/or one of the subcompact semiautomatics. I bought a Magpul Picatinny rail for the AR to mount the SureFire to and subsequently ordered some "airsoft" aluminum rails for the M-LOK in case I want to mount my Harris bipod or other accessories. It's nice living in a friendly enough state (for now) to be able to own what I want, and nicer to know I'll be moving to a state where guns rights will likely not be restricted in my lifetime.

Ordered a Galco VHS 4.0 shoulder holster for the Model 29. Given the fairly large frame I don't think that belt carry will be too practical, and this will allow open carry in the woods as well as concealed carry under a large and heavy enough shirt or jacket. Also just received five more P-Mags I ordered last Friday...just have to order some more ammo, most likely after I move. I picked up single point slings for the AR-556 and Mossberg as well, but need to find or buy an adapter for the shotgun, or just reinstall the 25-year-old tactical sling I had on it for years. The AR sling has a new (to me) push button swivel connector, for which there's a compatible attachment point on the stock. I think I'll still look for another means of attachment, though, as the rifle sits a little low for my tastes while slung. I think I'm about good on firearms for the time being and need to focus on accessorizing and buying ammo. I still may look into another Glock but need to find my Streamlight weapons light and see how it feels on the G17. If I like it, I need a weapons light compatible holster, and I'm also considering adding a light-equipped fore end to the Mossberg 590. If I decide to get another long arm anytime soon, it will possibly be a Benelli tactical shotgun, model to be determined. I may also look into a more modern light to replace the SureFire M951 I currently have mounted to the AR. I used on of those on both my M4 and M249 back in the day, but it's a 20+ year old design and far more compact, light, and brighter lights are now available.

While I still need a proper holster for the EC9s, the pocket holster I bought for the LCP Max and P32 covers it well enough and provides just enough coverage to prevent an exposed trigger (something I'm really careful about when pocket carrying, as I have a tendency to mindlessly put my keys or a pen in a random pocket). Of course, training will lead to muscle memory and eventually to a big NO when it comes to foreign objects in a gun pocket. The IWB holster I picked up for the LCP Max is great! I carry it weak side, and a couple of days ago carried it with the G17 in an IWB holster strong side. Even with two IWB pistols I was able to work, though I need to adjust the Glock holster as it bugged me how low the pistol sits. I've got to dig for it, while my previous pistol/holster combos offered a much easier/better draw. I also picked up some CCW friendly clothing, including button up shirts a size or two bigger than normal and shorts and pants with a couple extra inches in the waist. Tank tops and t-shirts were also on the list, as an undergarment (or two) is preferred to avoid metal to skin contact.

How cold was is? Any chance that condensation build up froze the lines?

I agree with this, everything else is just "nice to have" for the average beginner. There are some tools that become must haves for certain projects, though, such as the aforementioned rotary hammer for drilling a lot of concrete or the reciprocating saw for demolition work. The screwdriver and especially the screw gun are a bit niche, but I use my 8v Max and 12v Max screwdrivers a lot. I'm about to start hanging drywall at the flipper house, so my three 20v Max Screwguns are going to get a workout in the coming weeks.

When most people think of cordless power tools, the classic drill driver probably comes to mind first. By and far, most brands offer more drills than any other single type of tool. A lot of homeowners might not even fathom buying a lot of power tools, but will usually have a cordless drill of some sort tucked away, ready to hang a picture or do some other mundane household task. A hammer function can increase the usefulness of the drill, though it's not an absolute need for the homeowner or DIY'er. This thread isn't really about drills, though, as we already know they are the most versatile drive tool out there. Instead, it's about more specialized alternatives that can save time or trouble on projects. First is the impact driver, a tool that's familiar to most and in some cases has supplanted the drill. While lacking a conventional chuck and the accuracy that comes with those, the impact driver allows quick but changes and can drive screws far faster than most drills. Also, recent years have seen many manufacturers develop impact rated drill bits, allowing the impact to close ground on the drill just a bit more (no pun intended). Next is the cordless screwdriver. Similar in appearance to the impact driver but lacking an impact feature, these often have a drill-like clutch allowing the experienced user to adjust torque and drive depth. Perfect for driving screws into softer surfaces, a screwdriver may or may not be a welcome addition to your tool box. Finally comes the screw gun. Usually designed for either drywall or flooring/decking, these have adjustable nose cones designed to ensure perfectly driven screws, often have a collated screw attachment, and can be locked in the "on" position, with the drive bit only spinning with pressure exerted on the tool. Though by far the most niche of the four tools introduced here, the screw gun is a game changer for those hanging drywall or building a porch. Please share your opinions and comments. Note that I omitted the rotary hammer and some other specialty drill/drive tools, but we can discuss those if there's interest. Just a conversation starter...

That is a very sad situation, but it doesn't surprise me at all that a prosecutor went after him. I've shared the story here, and often shared it during discussions in various college courses, but I realized how politics affect the justice system at the early age of 18. Having the Virginia State Trooper give the judge his opinion that no private citizen should be allowed to possess certain weapons (in this case, a Mossberg 500 with pistol grip and heat shield) at my appeal was a shock at the time. In retrospect, it was '97 and the shotgun was technically an "assault weapon". I also learned the value of hiring the right attorney...the traffic attorney my brother recommended was not well versed in gun laws. I'd need a big safe for my collection these days. The old one weighed 550 or so pounds and I think was a 36 gun. Originally I had an 800 pound safe on layaway but had to downgrade. It was moved seven times, often by myself with an appliance dolly. I plan to secure most of my guns, and if a gun wall is built, it will be inside the reinforced closet and likely have cable locks preventing someone from just grabbing a rifle. Also, and a key thing some don't consider, without ammo the primary purpose of a firearm is gone. I think that even something as simple as locking up ammo separately can be of benefit and would be viewed favorably by a judge or jury. I've worked in four Arms Rooms in the Army. Got bamboozled into the first when my First Sergeant asked me to move with him to Headquarters Company and become the Armorer. I thought I'd be fixing guns, but at the unit level in the Army it's mostly accountability. I was the only person with experience when my company in The Old Guard found itself in a bind, but that Arms Room had some really cool historical weapons, so I managed to keep my unaccompanied access for three years, even after technically going back to a platoon. Later I was an alternate for a Brigade Arms Room, and wouldn't you know it, as a new Drill Sergeant I was made the Company Armorer, spending a week or two after each cycle monitoring weapons gauging and turning in or drawing weapons from Weapons Pool while my peers got some needed time off. In the Army, there's a two lock standard, meaning vault door and individual locks for each weapons rack or cage. The heavy vault doors are only rated for 10 minutes of forcible entry resistance, though. Of course, the few times my alarm was triggered, the Military Police were there in only a few minutes, usually pretty paid back but the first time it happened at Fort Campbell they rolled up in force. Destroying my thin steel and fire board safe when I had to made me realize that almost every safe or vault is like a lock--something to keep honest people honest.

Late night photo, a bit of old (my Mossberg 590 bought in '97 or so) with an M9 bayonet mounted for good measure, a bit of new (the three new Rugers, with the AR-556 sporting a Sig Sauer ROMEO7 red dot, vertical foregrip, and SureFire), and a little purple and blue.