Chris

LOL that's hilarious I could see that happening with some of these guys.

Absolutely, when I worked at Home Depot this situation came up on a regular basis. What I would do is join the conversation with the customer and help them with whatever it was that they needed and try to use it as a learning opportunity for my co-worker. If I was the employee who didn't have the answers I would take the customer to the employee who did and stay to learn so maybe I would know in the future. Now I was lucky, I worked at HD back when you had a lot of people who came out of the trades working there. The garden department I worked in had 3 horticulturalist and man I sure did learn a whole lot from them, we had some really good times. While on the subject, does anyone know if HD still employs the US Olympic Athletes? I worked with a girl named Dina who was on the US Field Hockey Team, she was a blast.

Man I am glad to hear you are alright and it wasn't any worse then that. I really appreciate you sharing this because I think a lot of people don't realize how important PPE is when operating a grinder. I really like how you said that the guard needs to be on the tool. I know there are times it needs to go but they didn't include it with the grinder for cosmetic reasons.

Chris, you nailed that I dare say.

Hey man, no problem at all. That's what we are here for, to help each other out.

A lot of companies diversify their product lines in this way. SB&D pushes their PC and Bostitch lines pretty hard at Lowes, they really own the higher end market in that store because Bosch doesn't offer the in store diversity that DeWalt does. SB&D pushes DeWalt pretty hard in Home Depot competing with Milwaukee and Ridgid. From time to time they try to push the Black & Decker line at Home Depot in an attempt to compete with Ryobi but that's like trying to fight a guerrilla with one hand tied behind your back. The one company that does kind of confuse me on their diversification is TTI. I say that because Milwaukee, Ryobi and Ridgid are all sold through Home Depot. You would think that they would have put one of the lines at Lowes.

This reminds me of when I worked at Home Depot in the lawn & garden department. I don't think most people realize that Scotts Miracle-Gro owns the majority of lawn and garden products sold in Home Depot & Lowes. Porter Cable is kind of an oddity right now. To me at least, it seems like SB&D doesn't really know what they want this line to specialize in. They seem to be under a constant revamping process. I kind of wonder if SB&D were thinking of having PC go head to head with Ryobi while Lowes wanted their Kobalt line to go head to head with Ryobi. It was a few years ago that SB&D was pushing the Bostitch name real hard, especially in the hand tools arena at Lowes. Then they ended up putting out a lot of hand tools under the DeWalt name at Home Depot. I think (TTI) Milwaukee has done a good job of really going after DeWalt (SB&D) at Home Depot in both the power tool and hand tool aisles. While on the topic of SB&D, I know I have heard a lot of mechanics and other wrench turners complaining that Mac has really taken a turn for the worse in quality.

Reminds me of an "old man" that make out of scrap metal at work when we have to use a hand drill to go through thick steel. I would never buy one of those, even if I was running a steel construction company. Not when you can basically make something similar with a few pieces of scrap plate or buy a mag base drill. Bet you someone in the government is going to push to buy hundreds or thousands of them.

I found all of these kits that include the right angle drills on Home Depot's website. Well I did include 2 that are the tool and a battery or just the bare tool. Ridgid combo Makita 18v combo Milwaukee 18v bare tool Milwaukee 18v XC battery & right angle drill Milwaukee 18v combo Milwaukee 18v combo #2 Milwaukee 12v combo Milwaukee 12v combo #2 Milwaukee 12v combo #3 Milwaukee 12v combo #4 Milwaukee 12v combo #5 I probably could have listed more Milwaukee kits but it was getting kinda redundant around page 12 of 19, haha.

They are out there, it's not an uncommon tool or anything. I just looked online and I found Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Ridgid, Craftsman, Ryobi, Festool, Hilti, etc. all make them. I think the thing is that the tool is not heavily marketed and advertised with all the other power tools. Honestly if I was one of these big companies putting a tool combo together I would probably leave it out as well. I just think most people who rather have another more commonly used tool in it's place. The right angle drill is almost more of a specialty / tradesmen tool. I believe that Ridgid did offer it in a combo set at one time, not sure if they still do or not. I do know where you are coming from though, it is a great tool to have in your lineup.

Alright, I must be getting old or something. I downloaded Periscope and was messing around with it and was kind of like wow, this is really awesome. So I told my brother and a few of my friends and they kind of looked at me like I was 2 years late to the party or something. Heck I was kind of proud of myself, thought I had something kind of hip and new going on, haha. I guess the receding hair line should have been a sign.

Thanks fella's, I really appreciate it. It kind of helped me to write it out, let me vent a little bit. It was hard watching my truck drive away the other day but at the same time I am alright with it. At least I know that truck is being driven now. Everyone here has been absolutely awesome and I think I have found a great online home for myself.

It was August 2013, I had been working on a major overhaul at work for about a year and was one of the lead mechanics on the project. There were a few weeks where I wondered why I even came home at night, just to catch a few hours of sleep and go right back in the next day and keep on rolling. I'm sure we've all been there, and at the time I was really loving it. I had gone to back shift in August and was working a special job we could only do at night because another trade was working in the same area during the day. The job couldn't wait though, it was imperative that both trades finish at about the same time. I believe it was a Sunday evening, I had the night off and was fast asleep in bed with my wife and all of a sudden I felt as if I was being attacked in my own home. It's the middle of the night, I had walked into my living room and I see 4 or 5 grown men talking to me and I can not really comprehend what it is that they are telling me. All I can think is how can I get out of this house? This has all become a blurry memory, but some how I end up in the back of am ambulance as the men in the house were actually firemen and paramedics. In the Emergency Room of the hospital I find out that I had a grand-mal seizure (the kind where you shake) while I was asleep. I had never had a seizure before. My wife said that I had even stopped breathing and my lips had turned blue while she was on the phone with the dispatcher. While in the hospital, they sent me for an MRI and discovered that I had a tumor in my brain just slightly above and behind my right eye and it looked a pretty decent size, about the size of my eye itself actually. This is where my regularly scheduled regimen of doctors all started, I began to see a neurologist and a neurosurgeon. My neurologist started me out on some anti-seizure medications and sent me in for some various studies of me sleeping with all the leads attached to my head. They never have found any reason for the seizures other than the tumor itself. The sleep studies were good though, they were able to determine that I have restless leg syndrome and have slept like a baby taking the medication for that ever since. So I continue to see both doctors, the neurologist is keeping track of my seizures and the neurosurgeon is keeping track of the MRI's and watching the tumor. I have been on a steady regimen of have 1 - 2 seizures every six months, so we see him about 4 times a year. My neurosurgeon said the best course of action was to watch the tumor over a course of months with MRI scans to see if it's growing or not. I believe it was the 3rd MRI scan where it was determined that the tumor was growing and it would be necessary to preform surgery, luckily mine was in a location that can be removed. At this point it is April 2014 and I am getting ready to go in for surgery. This isn't the first time I have had surgery but I have never liked going under the knife one bit. To me though it wasn't about what I wanted, it was about what needed to be done to save my life. I have a craniotomy preformed and the neurosurgeon successfully removed as much as the tumor as he possibly could. I ended up having 4 plates and 8 screws to reattach the bone in my skull, keep meaning to ask the doc if he used loctite because I think I may have a screw loose (haha j/k). Talking to the doctor after surgery, he told me it was about the size of a golf ball and that he removed all that he could. The biopsy did come back positive for brain cancer and I met my Oncologist while in recovery and added him to my regular routine of doctors that I see. Since I have had the surgery, all of my MRI's come back clean, though you can still see the spot where the tumor was located now filled with fluid. Just last week I went in for my most recent MRI and will be seeing the neurosurgeon for the results on Wednesday. It's something I will have to have monitored for the rest of my life. As I alluded to prior, my seizures continue, I regularly have 1 - 2 every 4 -7 months. My most recent seizures were in April, had 1 in my garage and ended up doing some damage which caused a new trip to the ER in an ambulance. After being let go from the hospital the wife and I decided to grab a bite out to eat and I received a second ambulance ride to the ER that day. As soon as I took the first bite of food I went into a seizure, at least the second time I didn't feel onto a workbench and end up on a concrete floor. Due to my medical conditions I can no longer drive a vehicle or work like I used to on the job site. My job has done nothing but be fully supportive to my needs as a person with a disability, I can not thank them enough. Instead of actually working on the job site or in the shop, I am now teaching mechanics when they need help and apprentices who are learning the trade. I actually ended up selling my truck this past week, it's been sitting in my drive way for almost 2 years and seldom driven. The toughest things I have to deal with now are bad headaches that I will get in the morning. They usually will go away after 3 or 4 hours with the right medications but are debilitating to the point that I can not even get up when they start. I have noticed quite a few memory issues, I don't remember as well as I used to. My wife was just telling me the other day about how when I call her on my breaks at work I will usually ask the same questions every time like I hadn't asked them earlier that day. I fatigue a lot easier, but I am getting better with that as of late, but I still have my days. I also do have times where it is hard for me to concentrate on anything, though I usually find a way to push through. I have learned a lot in the process and met a lot of heroes who have lived through cancer and those who fight everyday to help others with it. I can not thank my wife enough for all that she has done for me. If it wasn't for her I don't know how it is I could have made it to where I am today. She goes to every one of my doctors appointments, which is a great thing with my memory issues. Half the time she has to tell the doctors whats going on because I only remember parts of what I wanted to tell them. I titled this thread how my life turned upside down and it really did for a while. There have been a few times where I have been severely depressed as I continue on this journey in my life. The truth of the matter is, with the help of my wife, family, doctors and all of my friends and colleagues my life hasn't really turned upside down. My life has instead just blossomed into another stage with new and different challenges then before. I hope you all don't mind that I am sharing this with you. I am not looking for any kind of sympathy or anything. I really do like it here and want you to all know what it is that's going on with me if I disappear for a few days or if I forget something. I also want anyone to know if they are going through anything, we will have their backs and be there to support them.

Happy Independence Day to everyone! A special thanks to all of our Military, Veterans and Civil Servants who keep this country free and running. Also to all the hard working men and women of this country, especially the tradesmen and women, who keep our skills and economy on top.

I understand where you are coming from with that. Than again I'm the same guy that doesn't really see the allure of Facebook, only reason I have an account is for work (I get emergency alerts). I guess for Facebook though, I have been able to reconnect with people that I have not seen in years. Now Twitter, I find that to be a complete waste of bandwidth. The one good thing about social media are the people who hide behind it. I love getting face to face with social media/ e-mail and phone gangsters.

Had to surrender the beer due to epilepsy but before I used to love Sam Adams. I have had a few beers here and there after starting my medications and have noticed I have completely lost the taste for the micro brews and what not. I have had a few Miller Lite's here and there and I can handle one of those every once in a while.

I set up Periscope on my phone tonight, maybe I'll catch a live broadcast sometime. I agreed to let it send me alerts, so I'm assuming if they do a show I'll get some kinda notice.

Wouldn't doubt this at all, most companies do this. Kinda reminds me of the 20v vs 18v thing.

Another great thing about Pex is you can color code your piping. So it can be much easier to determine the hot from the cold, especially under a house.

Dude I'm 32 and am not planning on slowing down anytime soon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. Go for it!

I have to say that is a great idea to be more efficient on the job. Seems like he really put a lot of good thought into every aspect of that cart. I have a feeling he gets the job done even faster at work now.

Neat idea, I would still go with the traditional method. This is the kind of information that comes in handy when you are in a pinch.

Thanks for the quick feed back, I am going to check into a rotary hammer. I would much rather work smarter and not harder.

I currently do not own a hammer drill and am going to require one in the near future to do some work in my garage to rebuild the sill plates. While I am not planning on starting this project in the next week or anything but I did happen to pass by a stack of the Makita XPH012 Hammer Driver/ Drill at Home Depot. I know it only comes with 1 battery but at $99 it just seems like such a great deal. Has anyone tried drilling through concrete with this drill? And I do plan on getting more into wood working in the future once I get everything situated with my house. From what I hear Makita is kind of the way to go when it comes to wood working projects.

That is an epic deal, I've been slowly changing all of my lights over to LED bulbs. I have yet to change out every fixture but all the ones that run regularly are swapped. Whenever I put in a new light fixture I always put in an LED.