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Brian M. II

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Everything posted by Brian M. II

  1. I just read this whole thread since I would like to get a dual bevel slider in the future, no specific timeline as its for hobby stuff. I just want to say thank you to whomever posted the Festool recondition link. I never knew about that link. Also a lot of great advice on here. Thank you.
  2. Hi everyone, I am fairly new to the forum. I have posted a couple things and have looked for advice here as well. I thought I would introduce myself as I have started coming to the forum more frequently. I am an avid DIY, if I can build the same thing for less, or improve upon it; I will build it myself. I went to college for Electrical and Computer Engineering and currently work at a veneer mill as the industrial engineer. I work closely with the continuous improvement manager trying to always improve how we complete tasks. My degree isn’t used as much as I would like, but I got a lot of value from my degree none the less. I helped build a camp with my dad, which is where I currently reside. I wired most of it up, helped do the plumbing, and helped build the building inside and out. I have learned a lot from working on it; one thing I learned is I suck at mudding sheetrock. I have built a pole barn/ firewood storage this past year. It isn’t the prettiest building, but it helps keep my wood dry and cost me gas money to borrow a truck for the wood, 2 tarps, and a box of screws, maybe 50$ total. I am working on the bathroom vanity, on hold at the moment for raised garden beds, and will then redo the cupboards in the kitchen. As it is supposed to be deer camp, we (my wife and I) are going to build the cupboards from reclaimed pallets for a rustic look. Before we do the cupboards I plan to build a router table to help with the finishing touches. I plan to build my own house in a few years if no financial hardship falls on us and I find a piece of land that I find fits what we need/want. I like building with wood and want to get into some metal working too. I have used my dad’s mig welder for a couple small projects, used the schools arc welder when their mig was down, and have taken a class on tig welding. I enjoy working on cars as long as it isn’t my own that has broken down when I need it. I plan to tackle head gaskets in the beginning of July on my wife’s Subaru. I have a wife, 4 cats, and a bunny. My wife helps me with a lot of projects. Her brother is great a wood working and has taught me some stuff and helps me out when she can’t. I love firearms and would like to have my own shooting range one day where I teach others how to shoot effectively. I am still working on my own shooting skills and have been teaching my wife as well. I am usually working at my job, or at home on some project my wife or I have cooked up. When I am not working I am usually doing a bible study, helping at youth group, or spending time with family. I think that is just about everything about me. If anyone has questions feel free to ask. I look forward to getting to know everyone better. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Brian M. II
  3. I bought the Milwaukee 2 1/4 HP router kit Model # 5616-24. I have only used it for 1 project and it work great. The soft start is very easy and gives plenty of time for a good hold. The router is lighter than I expected and very easy to control with one hand. I plan to make a router table for it in the future. I didn't have time to do that before this project so I through together a quick jig to hold my pieces and give me a larger area to set my base on to have a more consistent pattern. My wife held the jig and it went great. This is the most I have used a router and I would make this purchase again. I have used my dad’s older, larger router before and it this one is a lot easier to control. I had so much fun doing the project I have already found more projects when time and money permits. I want to thank everyone on this forum who helped me make a wise choice and go with something a bit larger. This router had tons of power and although I didn't get to play with many functions I like having the variable speed in case I need it and I like how the depth is set. I can’t believe I haven't bought one of these before. I also love the case. I like how the two sides fold down and how many slots there are for bits. I may do a full review after I have used it for a while on a larger array of projects.
  4. Thank you. That is great information to have. I'm sold on buying the kit. Now I just have to save up for a little bit longer. Thank you.
  5. Thanks Chase. You have been a huge help. I thought that would be the consensus. I think that's exactly what I will do. I plan to check my funds and just buy the kit even if I have to wait a couple weeks. I would rather spend the extra now for a good router to tackle all my jobs then find out I need a larger one later on. Thanks again to everyone who helped.
  6. Yeah I wanted to stay below 150 but it seems to be worth the extra just to get this one to start with. This is one reason I like being a part of TIA. I now can ask the questions and get feedback on what I am looking for from others, instead of making a poor decision. I definitely think I am sold on the 2 1/4 I just am not sure if I need the plunge kit yet, or if I can buy the plunge base a month or so down the road. After I figure that out I will have a new tool to help finish up some projects.
  7. I would like to get into doing more stuff as I plan to build my own house. I was thinking of finishing a table I started, redoing our cupboards, putting in drawers, making a gun rack, and maybe some other projects down the road. Thanks for your help. I saw the router with the kit for 250$ or without the plunge base for 180$. I wasn't sure if I could by the plunge base later or if it was worth buying it as a kit now. Thank you.
  8. Right now I am leaning towards the 2 1/4 hp router from Milwaukee. My question is, can I buy the plunge base after so I can save a little now? I didn't see just the base for sale on HD or on the Milwaukee site. I saw some plunge bases on other sites for sale but didn't say what size router they fit. Thank you.
  9. I don't know everything I will use the router for, but I don't want a router so big I can't do trim work.
  10. Thanks for all the input, it has been a great help. I noticed that both PC and Milwaukee don't have a variable speed 1 3/4 HP router. Should I just get one of them, a small compact one that is variable speed, or go to 2 1/4 HP which does have variable speed. Sorry for my ignorance. I just don't know if the variable speed is super important. If it helped give a better cut I assumed all routers would have a variable speed. Thank you.
  11. Thank you Chris. I will look into them. I plan to look at some more in person tomorrow. Is the Milwaukee one to big to use as a trim router?
  12. Thanks for all the input. I think I am going with the dewalt and then maybe get a Milwaukee down the road to use with a table.
  13. DR99 I saw that one. I was going to include it but I saw it didn't have a variable speed. I assumed that was something to look for. If I am wrong please correct me. I don't know enough about routers to make a well informer choice. All information is welcome. Thank you.
  14. Yeah I planned to get some good bits. That is one reason I set my limit to 150$ ish. I know bits make a huge difference. Thats one reason I started this instead of just going with the DeWalt router. I didn't know if somone would talk me out of the DeWalt which in turn would put 50$ more towards bits. Thank you for helping me so quickly.
  15. Thanks Chase. I am definately leaning torwards the DeWalt. I can get by without the table. I can make a table if I end up needing one. I just wanst sure if the DeWalt was worth the extra compared to the others ($50 more at HD).
  16. Thank you both for your quick responses. I thought one or both of you would be the first to respond. I would like to stay below 150$ and trying to stick with HD unless I can save a lot somewhere else, gift cards and store credit card. I didn’t like reading that it doesn’t fit router tables. Although I planned to make my own, sometimes it’s hard to make something as good as you can buy for the same price and convenience. I also wanted to try and router out an 80% lower receiver which requires a depth of 1.250”, however, that isn’t a must. How does the speed play in, sorry for my ignorance, is it something that means saving a lot of time or does it help with the finished look? Thank you both for your help.
  17. Hi everyone, I was hoping I could get your help. I am looking for a good compact router. The 4 that caught my eye are as follows, DeWalt DWP611, Bosch PR20EVSK, Makita RT0701C, and the Ridgid R24012. I don’t know much about routers and have only used one occasionally. The one I used was large and my dad’s; I can use it when I need a larger one, so I would rather get a compact one for myself. I like making my own stuff, and a router is a tool I am looking to get soon to help finish up some projects I have. I won’t be using it all the time but I want one that will last and be versatile. The things I noticed are the DeWalt and Ridgid have a nice clear base with LEDs for visibility. The DeWalt has a plunge depth of 1.5”, the Bosch is around 1”, the Makita is 1.375”, and I couldn’t find the Ridgid maximum plunge depth. The DeWalt has a speed of 16,000-27,000 rpm, the Bosch is 16,000-35,000 rpm, the Makita is 10,000-30,000 rpm, and the Ridgid is 20,000-30,000 rpm. Since I don’t know much about routers, and you don’t know what you don’t know, I am looking for help from the TIA community. What is everyone’s opinion and more importantly why? What else should I compare before buying? Thank you.
  18. Thank you. It is a great sawzall. For my wife to enjoy the tool says something in and of itself, as I was always asked to cut up the pallets and now she doesn't mind. Although, now I want to.
  19. First of all I want to thank the guys at TIA and Milwaukee for this great giveaway. I really appreciate it. For this review I cut up some trees and pallets for my wife for some projects we are doing. The temperature when cutting was around 27 degrees. Batteries usually work better when it is warmer so I add that in. I used the 2720 fuel sawzall. Used 2 XC Red Lithium 4.0 Ah batteries from Milwaukee; 1 fully charged which had been drained 1-2 times before. The other battery had 2 battery status lights (33-54 percent via manual). I used a C3 Craftsman reciprocating saw. I used 1 19.2 NiCad craftsman battery, which I believe was overcharged. Crappy charger and batteries I have had for I believe 1-2 year and already dying (not much use), hence why I am switching to Milwaukee. I used one 9” nail embedded blade by Diablo for all tests. This was a used blade by my wife the day before on pallets. I believe she cut 1 pallet the same way I did and then one a different way. How I cut pallets. I pick a side of the pallet, groundside or load side to start on. I then cut all the locations down an entire outside stringer on my chosen side. I then move to the other outside stringer on the same side and do the same. I then cut the center stringer off. I then flip the pallet and work on the other side (ground or load). I cut between the stringer and the slabs as I call them so I hit mostly nail. If the boards are nailed down well, which most are you hit wood most of the way from either pallet or stringer. At times I will be into the stringer enough that I cut the nail off in the stringer and can then pull board off. Usually this is the center stringer, which is the hardest one to cut apart. The first step I did was cut two birch trees up and then a Maple. These are young trees. This drained the battery from 2 lights to 1 light, I still had power when finished doing this and I did not expect that to happen. These trees have been sitting for 2 nights. The first White Birch had 6 cuts done to it. The diameters (all in inches) that I cut are: 3 ½, 3, 2 ¾, 2 ¼, 1 ¾, and 1 ¼. The second White Birch had 5 cuts. The diameters (all in inches) that I cut are: 2, 1 ¾, 1 ½, 1, and ¾. The Maple tree had 3 cuts. The diameters (all in inches) that I cut are: 2 ¼, 1 ¾, and 1 ½. The second step I did was work on the pallets. I used the same blade but started with the fully charged battery. My pallets all had 3 stringers and ranged in number of slabs. I am assuming each pallet had 2 nails connecting slab to stringer as most of mine had 2 nails some had 3 and some had 1. Side note, my brother in law has a kobalt battery powered reciprocating saw he can’t cut a full pallet, I think he said he can do about half of one. Sorry I don’t know model or anything. I believe 18 volt if that helps. He bought it 2 years ago. Ok back to the testing. I started out on one pallet expecting to get a good portion done. I finished the first pallet in around 5 minutes. This pallet had 11 slabs cut off which ends up being about 66 nails. For the math work out 11 slabs times 3 stringers is 33 nailed locations. I assumed 2 nails a location for 66 nails. To me this was awesome. I used to use my dad’s DeWalt corded reciprocating saw with a DeWalt demolition blade and would spend around 10 minutes a pallet. Since I finished the first pallet, I moved on to pallet number 2. I now had 3 status lights showing up (55-77 percent). This pallet took me about 8 minutes to finish. This pallet had 13 slabs for 78 nails cut. Expecting to only get most of 1 pallet done I was amazed I had finished 2 pallets. I now had 1 light showing up (10-32). Something to note, the blade came out while cutting. I could have hit the lever but I truly doubt it as it has a nice heavy spring to lift up on to change out the blades. Since I still had 1 battery status light showing up I went on to pallet 3. The battery lasted another 2 minutes. It cut 14.5 cuts or 29 nails. It lasted for 4 2/3 slabs. I thought this was pretty good. Since I still had pallet to go I grabbed the other battery, which had 1 status light on. This battery lasted 1 minute for 11 cuts or 22 nails. The way I cut, this battery finished no slabs. To see how well this compared to my old craftsman saw I put the charged battery into that and it lasted 4 minutes. It had 7 cuts, finishing 2 slabs off. The saw was still moving when I stopped since any amount of pressure from the wood would stop the blade. I waited 10 minutes and tried my first battery (the originally full one) again. It still did not run the saw and had a quick blinking status light (end of discharge). A couple things to note, the fuel felt like it ripped through the pallets while the craftsman did not. I know the blade was getting older each cut but even the last cuts of the fuel went quicker than the craftsman. Although the fuel felt heavier the craftsman was harder on my body to use. The fuel felt great in the hands and although it still vibrated, come on it’s a reciprocating saw; it vibrated much less than the craftsman. Both saws had quick no tool blade changing although I like the fuel method better, a lever you twist up while the craftsman just had a lever you lift. Both very similar and both auto closed. You can remove the blade without needing to touch it, which is nice for those hot blades. The craftsman has a button you need to push to the side to run the saw. It is a run lock where you need to push it every time the trigger is released, a pain in my opinion. The fuel has a lock as well. Push it one way and it is locked so the trigger can’t be squeezed, the other way it is unlocked. The fuel’s lock remains where it is pushed to so it is left locked or unlocked, I liked this a lot. I used the fuels adjustable shoe at one point just to test it out. It worked great and even had a marking for max since the whole shoe can be removed. Before doing this project I was finishing up a pole barn out of poplar cores (4 inch diameter centers of logs). I used a miter saw to start my 45 degrees marks but finished the cuts with the fuel after receiving it. I used my dad’s DeWalt before this saw and was limited by cord, I also needed hex key to remove the blade (my wife loved the quick change after using my dad’s saw). I worked on this project mostly after work, which by then would be dark. The led light aided in making cuts that I had marked, before it was too dark to use a tape measure. Since the pole barn is about 8 feet tall at its shortest spot, the rafter hooked worked great in allowing me to set the saw down without having to go up and down a snowy ladder. As I was writing this I was charging a fully drained battery. The manual says a fully discharged battery back with a normal internal temperature will take 30-75 minutes to charge. My first battery that was just used around 15 minutes prior to charging (so probably still hot on the inside) took 78 minutes. Just over what a normal battery would take. My second battery took 82 minutes 38 seconds to fully charge. Note these had quick flashing status indicators still so fully discharged. I would guess if I had a M18 light I could get a tad more power out of the batteries but that’s just guessing. The full battery with the pallets lasted 15 minutes of almost continues run time (20 minutes total time). Overall I am very please with the saw. Having 15 minutes of straight run time is pretty good in my opinion, especially since my craftsman one (I know NiCad and not sure of Ah as it wasn’t marked) lasted 4 minutes. I think the power can replace a corded one. I also think this one works better than my dad’s corded one, although a corded saw never runs out of power. Since I have this kit and another Milwaukee kit I have four 4.0 batteries. That is an hour of straight run time. That is pretty good in my opinion. I don’t want to give all the credit to the saw, I know a good blade makes a big difference and thanks to TIA I bought Diablo blades, since they were recommended. These blades were awesome. I don’t think I would go to another blade but Diablo. I may try Bosch as I have heard those are good blades but the Diablos were night and day compared to the Dewalt Demolition blade. A couple things I would maybe do, if I wanted to improve anything. The obvious is more runtime. The case is great, and even has a spot for some spare blades that can be up to 9inches long. This is great although I would rather this area be a bit larger and deeper to allow more blades to fit. For instance I bought a kit of Diablo blades which came in a case, I think it would be great if this small case could fit in the sawzall case. Something minor, but it could still be improved by adding more space for more blades. Another nit pick would be to label the cases. They have a small label on the side for what came in it, although I would like large “sawzall” lettering on the topside of the case. Since, I have two cases similar in size this would help in grabbing the correct case quickly. Thank you for reading and I hope this is helpful to others. Thank you. This is my first review so be easy on me. However; if you have any suggestions or tips on how to do better reviews I am all ears. Thank you.
  20. Nice I have been wanting a pro pac ever since TIA did a review on them. I never heard of them before that. I want to get 2 of them, 1 for construction type work and another for automotive. It is nice to just have a tool grab bag for the most common items. Great find.
  21. I agree with Tool Junkie. We did our camp in pex and our friend (the plumber) had a pex tool similiar to the milwaukee one. Everything went together quick and easy without any leaks. Still no leaks 2 years later. However, about 6 months ago at my parents house had an old solder spot starting to leak, a side that is close to the wall. The low visibility when soldering can be an issue. This caused us to cut a hole in the floor and wall to fix everything. When I build my house I might just buy the tool and pex the whole thing. Although I don't know which is better, pex or copper as far as life expectancy, still planning to do some research.
  22. I cant offer much on which brand is better, although I do appreciate everyones input as it helps me choose what accessories to buy. For some outside work I have moved away from square bits and have gone to the torx as they seem to grip better and strip less for what I have done so far. The dewalt bits I was using would strip some of the screws out and after a couple screws got stripped the bit was rounding up and was becoming useless. These were just cheap dewalt bits that were on sale. I guess I learned to spend the extra on any of the bits mentioned here, to save the frustration of stripped heads. Thank you.
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