jenskolson

I will second that. The crimpers are absolutely useless. I end up using them as just heavy duty needle nose pliers. The idea of having all the features in one is great but unless you only are installing outlets they don't cover everything so your going to need separate pliers, strippers, cutters.

True the craftsman sockets where cheap, I think the final cost for all the sockets and drive tools was $425. And I know the guys at the local sears, and warranting is super easy. I tested that out friday when I warrantied a breaker bar and two ratchets.....Turns out ratchets and breaker bars don't like 8ft cheater bars. Conductor you should have conductor approved stickers, and you can send out for Conductor approved boxes and bags.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions of what to add to my new tool box. Here are the picture of what I have so far. Ended up choosing the Harbor freight 56" toolbox Randomness drawer. Also now has a iOBD Scanner, and a fluke laser distance measure. Here is the socket drawer money shot. I got the Craftsman 299-piece socket set, and the 21 drive tool set. I am not impressed with the fit and finish. I also got a custom foam fit drawer liner. Which I absolutely love! Pneumatic Drawer. I have since upgraded to the Husky 800 Ft/pound impact wrench. And added harbor fright die grinder and cut off tools. Gearwrench Combo wrenches, Proto adjustable wrenches that I found in a box, Tekton stubby and Crowfeet. Also Gearwrench quad box wrenches (not Pictured) Random hammers and pliers Ratchets and Torque Wrench. Screw drivers and bits

Yes, you have to wait for the pressure treating chemicals to dry all the way through the wood before painting. I would wait 6 months to be sure but you would probably be fine after 3 months. When you do paint them either get a paint formulated for pressure treated wood or use a latex based paint. Also do a couple light coats of paint vs one thick coat. Light coat will make it last longer and look better.

Yeah, I am way more use to it. I also figured out that I tightened the motor in to much and it was causing it to bind up and not slide smoothly. I loosened those set screws up and slides way better now.

It's only 120v If I get smoked that is just one less coffee I have to drink that day. Only affects routers sold with base without insulated handles and it is the base that has a problem. Mine is just the motor and it would have to work really hard to shock me.

I would love that for a couple of my tools. Or for when I run down all my batteries.

Yeah, seams like everyone puts it off, I know we did for years. Up until now we had been using a little freud portable router table (http://tinyurl.com/pp7r4sm). After this floor standing one for just a couple little runs, I'm never going back. I hated using the router table, it felt like it would break or move and my hand would slip into the bit. But this floor standing one is a beast I know it won't budge. Also the dust collection is way better. It would be interesting to see what tools people have been putting off for the longest. And which ones are actually worth the wait when people get them.

Just got the Woodpecker's PRP1 router table package into the woodshop today. Added a Porter-Cable 7518 3 1/4 HP router motor. Took a while to put together but runs like a dream. The adjustment mechanism is a bit weird and have not totally got use to it. Woodpecker has awesome obsession with anodized aluminum.

I understand that they needed to come out with a bit handle but this really does not even compete with other companies current offerings. Here are just a few better bit holding handles: Wera Kraftform Bitholding Ratcheting Screwdriver http://tinyurl.com/pkfq6sz Wera Kraftform Kompakt http://tinyurl.com/os7epog Felo Smart Handle http://tinyurl.com/o36249q Milwaukee ratcheting http://tinyurl.com/k5s32vh The only reason I could only see getting the klien over these is having a hard on for the klien handle.

I am interested to see when Milwaukee expands too far. It seams like there is a new product every week. Some of the product don't seam like that big of a scissors, pens, tapes. But getting in to the multimeter battle with klien and fluke might not be a battle they can win. I'll be interested in seeing how it measures up against Klien's Multimeters, but I don't think it will touch my fluke.

I second this and for sanding the price is worth it. You could drop the barrier to entry and just use a shop vac and not buy an extractor, but I freakin love my ct26. Best Vacuum I have ever purchased, there is something really nice about quiet dustless sanding.

Hey guys I guess I should show off some of my work so people know what I have done. My most recent major project has been a cnc ready walnut chair. This chair is one of the first finished furniture pieces me and my business partner/father have produced using our new mongo CNC router. We both lean to the danish modern/Maloof style of furniture. After making a could prototype chairs the Maloof way we could not see us being about to get the production time down to a point where we could make a profit selling dining room or rocking chairs. In college I had learned a little about using CNCs, so we started looking into different ones as a way to speed up the carving of seats and legs. We settled on a Legacy Artisan II. We received the CNC beginning of August. We got to work learning the machine and prototyping Rocking Chairs and dinning chairs. So that is the back story about this chair, its the first finish CNC Chair. The wood is Black Walnut we logged just north of the Twin Cities and then hauled back to our Idaho shop. We cut the chair in 4 sections: 2 sides, seat, and the back. Each of the sections get Cut on the Bottom/back then gets flipped and cut on the front/top. To give a little insight into cut times. Back: 20 min per side ==== 40min Total Seat: 15 min on bottom and 45 on top ==== 1 hour Total Side: 30-40 per side ==== 2:45 hours Total Joinery: The sides and seat are put together before cutting using dominos, then the final assembly is put together using screws and plugs in the Maloof Style. After the whole things is assembled there is about 1-2 hours of final shaping/sanding before finishing. Finish: The finish we use is a traditional Maloof Oil/Poly and Wax/Poly. I also add a couple smaller projects that I have done.

Hey thought I would let everyone know that amazon is having a sale on tekton tools. It is a Buy $45 dollars worth get $10 off. And it just so happens that their big impact socket sets are right around $45. I ended up getting all four of these sets. TEKTON 4885 1/2" Drive Deep Impact Socket Set, 11-32mm, 14 Sockets http://tinyurl.com/mqzxy69 TEKTON 4880 1/2" Drive Deep Impact Socket Set, 3/8"-1-1/4", 14 Sockets http://tinyurl.com/mls8s7w TEKTON 4817 1/2" Drive Shallow Impact Socket Set, 11-32mm, 14 Sockets http://tinyurl.com/md2jbpm TEKTON 4816 1/2" Drive Shallow Impact Socket Set, 3/8"-1-1/4", 14 Sockets http://tinyurl.com/m4l27m4 Make sure to do separate checkouts for each one, so you get $10 off each. (I threw in an allen key set and hammer to get to $45 with the shallow sockets. You really can't beat 14 deep impact sockets for $35!

Well Placed a big order last night. Ended up getting the 15pc Gearwrench Combination Wrenches. Sorry Conductor, I did try to order the Proto but both Zoro and ToolUp said the set was discontinued by their supplier. I thought the gear wrench was a nice compromise and I little less expensive. Got the Tekton stubby wrenches, Tekton Crowfoot sets, Gearwrench 120p Regular and Flex head ratchets, Gearwrench 2x needle nose pliers, Craftsman Ultimate Socket set, and Craftsman 21pc extensions and adaptors And I will be going down Friday to get the Harbor freight 56" tool cabinet. This should get me buy till my amazon finger wants something else.

Report back after you have used them for a bit. Would love to hear what you think.

Does anyone have any experience with Metrinch tools? Can they actually replace both SAE and Metric combo wrenches? I am wondering if they can be used in tight of spaces where you have to do the wrench flip every 1/8 turn. They look very interesting, German made with lifetime warranty.

I absolute love my Knipex pliers wrench. If you push the wrench the right way you really don't have to grip the handles at all. Think of using a tongue and groove pliers you don't squeeze the pliers you use the built in mechanics to provide the gripping power.

If you say stay away from craftsman who would you go with?

And if a contractor what type. Framers use way different tools than finish contractors.

1. Conductor you have convinced me Blackhawk Combo wrenches it is. (List has been updated) 2. As for ratchet I like teardrop style and I do like the look of the gearwrench 120xp. I like higher tooth count 72+ but am not dead set on a tooth count. I would say higher the better unless you loose strength. I don't really torque the crap out of bolt with my ratchets I have breaker bars and impact for that. My everyday ratchet right now is the Wera Zyklop 3/8", eventually I will round out the set with 1/4 and 1/2. The Wera is in my service bag and does not get dirty. My goal for this set is it stays in the shop and can get oily and grimy instead of the wera. Send all the links you think I should look at I will read them all.

I haven't had any problems with gearwrench either but I have had friends that had problems warranting tools. I have gear wrench ratcheting wrenches and love them. I am bouncing between gearwrench and craftsmen for the sockets. I like craftsmen because they have the ultimate set that I can get and be done. There is a sears less than 5min away if a socket breaks. And there is pre made foam liners for craftsman socket sets (http://foamfittools.com/details00515.php) I did really consider dewalt for this tools box/set because they don't have as complete of a lineup of sockets, and my OCD will require all the sockets to be the same brand.

Yes I would fully expect a pro to recommendation from Conductor. I don't know right now if the price is justified for the amount they would get used. I am a maintenance manager at a large assisted living facility, and I would be using the tools to maintain the equipment and fix my own truck when it breaks.

I will defiantly look look into 1/2 drive crowfoot wrenches My problem with pre-made sets is they have a bunch of stuff I don't need. Like the Gear wrench auto master set has a bunch of screw drivers, hex keys, and pliers. I already have felo screw drivers, knipex pliers, and a ridiculous amount of hex keys. So I don't want to spend extra money on those tools that I will just get rid of.

Then I would get them.