Conductor562

There was a big wreck out in California a couple years ago where the Engineer on a commuter train ran a stop signal because he was talking on his cell phone and hit a freight train head on. Long story short, bunch of people died and congress passed a law banning all electronic devices from the locomotive cab.

I'm constantly reaching for my Proto bent needle nose pliers. They're so handy I just can't stop myself from grabbing them. I broke about 1/4 off one of the tips. Ground them down with a bench grinder and they're good as new.

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised the Red Lithium didn't run in the 28 minute range, but as I was saying, it isn't like Milwaukee jacked the price up on the Red Lithium kits so I guess I have no right to complain.

If your like me, you've got a peg board or a toolbox (or both) full of tools that were manufactured and purchased for specific but limited range of task. What I want to know is which of those tools do you find yourself reaching for the most? I'm not talking about which one you have the most use for, I'm talking about the one you FIND the most use for. That one tool you can't help but reach for even when you know another tool is probably better suited for the job. That one tool that just feels so right in your hand that your willing to improvise to make it work.

It always get me how hard it is to distinguish british lead singers from americans. They talk totally different but the sing about the same.

My heart hurts : ( LOL, but seriously, I agree with that. I'm not real demanding when it comes to fit and finish though. I like the fact that I don't have to concern myself with the tool getting banged up because it wasn't all that flashy to start with. I imagine this is the same thought my wife had when she married me.

Proto amazes me. They make such awesome tools but advertise so little. They have made somewhat of an attempt at social media, though most of their posts are more about industrial safety than tools.

Plus, now the FRA will advocate you being deported to hell and slowly executed for even having such a device.

Some guys at work used to rig up different tool batteries to power their portable DVD and CD players. Some things we could make a special coed and tap into the Locomotives power through the radio, but being a 74V DC current it was hit or miss on what devices it would play. We all knew the ones that worked and vice-versa, but every once in awhile you'd end up with something that wouldn't run. A lot of guys preferred the batteries because A: You could hide it quicker if shit went down, and B: It didn't require you to disable one of the radios to get it's power source.

I bought some of the run of the mill Dr. Shoals once. They didn't last a real long time but the did make the boots more comfortable. I had to do something to help me suffer through the Chinese Redwings I got that time. Damn things might as well been made of concrete.

I had a pair or Durashocks one time. The were nice boots. I'd have probably stuck with them if my company had offered them in the boot program.

I know I'm a little late as smoking has fallen out of fashion, but is anyone still using Zippo lighters? I've carried the same one since 1998.

Yea, but you'd be surprised how much better it looks after taking off the fubar'd mower deck and hitting with 3 cans of degreaser. All the larger bolts have the International Harvester logo on them. I broke em down with a combo wrench and finished off with a 3/8 Proto ratchet, but to be honest, I think the Proto ratchet could've handled it alone. It amazing that a machine built so simply was still in use until last summer. I'm figuring on a project cost of around $1000 dollars and taking about 8 months to complete. It could be significantly less depending on how the motor looks when I open it up. I've got a machinist buddy that offered to repair the deck for whatever the material cost so that helps. I figure fair market value will be between $1500 and $1800 once completed. I'm not building it to sell though, just wanted something to tinker with and I enjoy preserving relics of days gone by. You buy something comparable now and it's junk in less than 10 years. Thought about putting a modern motor on it but that just isn't how I roll, lol.

LOL, awesome!

Man, the 11 in 1 Klein is sweet. I use mine daily as well.

I cut the center out of my Milwaukee sander case using my multi-tool. Made a nice toolbox for my little boy. Interestingly, it also had a removable Milwaukee emblem which I used on my roller toolbox.

As a tool junky, the thought of parting with any of my tools causes me to break out in a sweat. Be that as it may, there are a few tools I just really don't use much. Of all the tools in your shop (power or hand) what ones do you use the least. Obvoiusly there are any number of specialty tools used for very specific tasks that spend a lot more time in the box than in your hand, but I'm thinking more in terms of main stream tools. For whatever reason, I rarely use my Vice-Grips. I have 3 combo wrenches of most sizes and find myself using 2 of them in places where it would probably be easier just to hook the Vice-Grips on it. Surely everyone has some type of quirk like that about them?

Underwater? I did not know that. If I were to dip any of my tools in the water intentionally I would not sleep for 3 nights. I guess if it were that important....

I bought my M18 kit in Feburary of last year. No noticeable loss in performance as of yet. The Makita's rapid charge which I have always understood would shorten the life. But, I'm no battery expert either.

Ah, got it.

I've seen those carving blade kits for angle grinders. They would be awesome if I had even the slightest idea how to carve. Come on guys, I know everyone has at least 2 or 3 examples of this?

What's a quid?

That's right. Repeat customers pay the bills.

Yea, the Makita hasn't exactly wowed anyone in any of the reviews. But, at least it didn't catch on fire this time around, lol.

Just wondering how you guys use your tools for "unintended purposes". For example, I find the hefty construction and high leverage of Channellock 369 lineman's make them ideal for pulling stubborn cotter pins and misfired brads. As a matter of fact, I probably use them more for that than anything else.