Jump to content

BMack37

Members
  • Posts

    4,214
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    85

Posts posted by BMack37

  1. I'm sure you could easily make your money back eventually, however that would mean you would have to work at it, deal with fussy customers oh and most likely having to get up in the mornings....lol

     

    For sure, you could build a business around it but it will take work and customers are mostly a-holes. Realistically if you want one bad enough, you can get your money out of it but you're going to put in your time and patience! ...and maybe your mornings haha

  2. for something cheap like one of these bits it may be worth trying.......I find most strip or round off more than they snap....then again I use #2 Robertson mostly....

     

    The thing is if I go through getting some oil and a container specifically for this, I'm going to use it for more than some bits. I need fuel for my torch also, might need a new torch because that thing hasn't been used in a long time. I also have 11 different models, 9 different manufacter's bits to use right now, haha.

    • Like 1
  3. I've wanted one for a while also. I have a friend that when his baby was born prematurely by almost 3 months I had to jump into action and get him some Cuban cigars. I posted on a forum that I was looking for some with aluminum tubes so I could get them laser etched with her name and birthday. Well some incredible member of the forum(his name is Ron) sent me five cubans for free as a gift to my friend, still can't find someone that seems reliable to do the laser etching locally. I have a contact that will do it (he gave me the idea) but he's in the UK but I really don't want to put him out.

     

    Point is, if you have the money to buy the tool you can make money on the side because there's a shortage of reliable laser etchers. The guy I know in the UK does everything from acrylic to aluminum to cigars, it's a really cool tool! So you should buy one! haha

  4. I bought what was at the time the top of the line Sony TV it was a 50 inch SXRD and it cost a pretty penny. Best picture I had ever seen on a TV, for about 9 months. Then the Optical block went out for the first time. This was a top pick on "Sound and Vision" magazine too. I had to have it replaced twice. It turned out to be a major defect with the TV. I will say that Sony replaced it both times for no cost to me and in a timely manner but I am very leary of Sony ever since. 

     

    Yeah, those would turn green when the optical block went, they were great sets when they came out. I actually replaced an optical block about two months ago in a Sony. Apparently there is a guy that repairs the optical blocks for about $200. I didn't really do any homework on the guy because I was just pulling it and then reinstalling and calibrating it, but it worked. I normally just tell them to replace the TV because the optical block is expensive as hell when you can find them, it would probably be a $800 repair now. The only projection TVs we do anymore are DLPs, changing color wheels and DLP chips mostly.

     

    Keep in mind, that set was actually made by Sony a lot of components were made in Japan. Currently, all Sonys that I've seen are made in China buy one of the various Chinese companies. So better or worse, you really can't compare that Sony to this Sony. I haven't seen (inside) their curved displays yet(which I believe they stopped "making"). I wouldn't buy a Sony, I really wouldn't...shame because they made some really good TVs about 6-7 years ago and before then...I just don't see the value over an LG or even a LG paneled Vizio. Sony mostly uses AUO panels, same kind of panels you'd often find it an off-name brand.

  5. According to Milwaukee they heat treat them for 12hrs vs 4hrs.

     

    Isn't that done in a flamed oven? The heat a quench introduces carbon(from the oil) into the metal...at least that is my understanding.

     

    I've thought about doing this with bits/screwdrivers...but I've never done it and I'm not sure about how it fully effects the metal. I know it makes it harder but generally harder means more brittle...but I don't know and haven't done enough research to start doing it myself.

  6. I know people love superfeet,. but I did not like them at all. I got the orange pair and they were just so uncomfortable, I switched back to the insoles that came with my Thorogoods.

     

    Speaking of insoles though, for winter time I love these.

    http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/72756?page=adults-shearling-insoles

     

    Did you try them without the plastic cup? If the arch doesn't line up or it's too big it can cause a lot of pain and damage to your foot.

  7. Awesome information folks, I really appreciate it.  This is way I love the crew here at TIA, I have learned a ton, now I need to digest all of it, and see if I can narrow done some choices.

     

    SIDE NOTE: Unfortunately plasma is no-go, due to the interference they create on my Ham and Shortwave radios, I guess I should have mentioned that but didn't think they we still being produced.

     

    -Steven

     

    The owner of the shop I work at is big into Ham and Shortwave, he has a couple of plasmas and they don't really interfere any more than LCD/LEDs...but yeah, if you're buying new you aren't going to get a plasma. Panasonic stopped making them last December, Samsung and LG stopped this year. They couldn't get the price low enough to compete with the Chinese LEDs, it's an expensive technology.

     

    I should have some magnetic ferrite cable clips at the shop if you are having any interference problems, if you want a couple. Just PM me an address. :) 

    • Like 1
  8. I can vouch for Superfeet insoles also, I don't use them in shoes/boots but I did use them in my last pair of hockey skates. Make sure you do your research and get the correct color code for you. Very good quality and they are supportive, most people think spongy is going to be more comfortable but a snug, supportive bed for your feet is really what's comfortable. Spongy can lead to blisters and muscle fatigue.

     

    Nalu, that is dead on. Mattresses are not something to skimp on, a good mattress can change your life for the better. A poor mattress can literally debilitate you, back pain is not something that should be thought lightly about, especially as you age. Keep in mind you spend 5-8 hours a night on your mattress, how much time do you spend in your car? You can get by on a beater car/truck instead of driving something nice and easily save $10,000 or more. A top of the line mattress is under $3,000 and you will probably keep it for 8-10 years. I'm a big fan of Sterns & Foster and Sealy(same company) myself...and yes, I sold furniture/mattresses when I was in college and I used that line to sell...but it's true. 

    • Like 1
  9. Dodge Ford Chevy, same kind of discussion it can go on forever.......I feel the same about some LED TV's when properly calibrated I'm not talking preset buttons I'm talking 3 to 4 hour manual set up.......some incredible picture quality......like walk right into the scene quality.......LED tv's have the capability if properly set......

     

    I work on TVs all day, 5 days a week...I know how to calibrate a TV. Most people don't know what they're doing, I do. Every TV out of the box or at the store is set up to look like crap. I hear several times a week "Wow, I didn't realize my TV could look that good" or if it's next to a Panasonic plasma it's "My TV looks great but why doesn't my TV look that good?"

  10. I was looking and came home more confused.The Blue shirt at Best Buy told me to stay away from Sharp.Because they get a thin green line at the bottom of the screen.He showed me one that had it.He claims they do not glue the screen or panel in well and it comes loose and that is what causes the green line?He said if you want a budget TV go with Vizio.

     

    He was pushing 4k and if I was buying I would go with the 49'' 4K Sony.However I might just go with a 1080p and forget 4K.But it will be a Sony.That is what I have now and have always had good luck with both of my 32'' Sonys .So to me after you look at Sony you go home.

     

    Seems to me people get new TV sets every 3 to 5 years that buy anything but Sony.My newest one is at least 5 years old and the other one is when a 32'' was $1000.00 so its got some age on it for sure.Might wait until one of them crap out.But that might be a long time.

     

    He's waaaay off. Now I can't say that there isn't a problem with the recent Sharp panels, but I can tell you that no one "glues" their panel in and certainly not Sharp. The panel assembly is attached to the front bezel by metal clips. The panel is then held together by metal and/or plastic frames with several screws. Then they take tape and seal the edges so there is no light bleed through. This is how all panels are held together, with the exception of the tape...some use thin plastic and then tape that plastic down. The only glue is sometimes LEDs are glued onto the assembly frame before they're screwed down. On Sharp, that only happens on their low-end sets that are only edge-lit on the bottom, the medium-high to high end are edge-lit on all four sides...unless they're full array, where they are along the entire back, this is done for local dimming.

  11. that may have been true a few generations back, like when Plasma first came out but the newer LCD/LED panels with 240hz have better picture quality now. A big problem with Plasma is they are gas filled and it fades over time so your picture gets less and less sharp and there is nothing you can do to fix it. another problem with plasma is heat....heat and electronics don't mix.........a big problem with LED TV's is if you smoke the LED lights can get covered with nicotine over time and show a slight yellow effect but who smokes in their houses any more?.......

     

    I'll take a Panasonic plasma over any LED on the market, it's too bad they don't make them anymore. Nothing creates a more realistic picture than a Panasonic plasma. They also don't get nearly as hot as they did when they came out and they easily last as long as LEDs. I see a lot of LED TVs with bad panels, it's much less common on plasma. The latest generation of plasmas also don't fade even close to how they used to, you can easily get 5 years before they start to even start to fade...the thing is, LEDs have a brighter picture because LEDs are bright. That's also why the darker colors look faded on LEDs.

  12. The one thing you do have to worry about is that I think they have a circuit in the tool and maybe the battery that can tell if it's a Dewalt/Milwaukee battery/tool being used...but yeah, that's how I'd do it. I've seen people use wood as a way to connect the clip portion to the plug portion.

     

    Sounds like a nice conversion for your plug-in tool, What's the amperage on the vacuum? I'd be worried about heat if it's drawing near max amps, you could probably use the air coming out the back to cool the power supply with a heat sink if it's an issue. Post some pics when you're done, I know I'd like to see how everything came out. It's nice to see I'm not the only one rigging things up.

     

    I had a customer bring in an old radio that didn't work and it needed a power supply. I had to make the plug out of a mono stereo 3.5 cable, then the power supply was a little high in voltage so I had to solder a couple of diodes and a resistor so I didn't burn up any of the electronics. This radio was the customer's Father's radio, he remembered being a kid and listening to baseball games with his Dad...was awesome to help him relive those times.

    • Like 1
  13. some also call this the soap opera effect... aside from Samsung some others offer an enhanced motion 120hz to 240hz so when looking at TV sets never get enhanced anything.........

     

    They pretty much all offer enhancement, first thing you should shut off...problem with Samsung is you can't shut it off. We worked on a 8000 series Samsung and it was terrible, watching it made me feel sea sick.

     

    I hate DLPs, we still work on them. The original DLPs made me sick to watch after a while and I saw weird coloration in them. Later DLPs were better but I hate how soft the edges are and obviously the larger ones are darker because it's a lot to ask for a lamp to light up such a large TV. The squeel from the color wheel and high voltage sound from the ballast were also pretty annoying. Plus, in areas like Florida(where I live) with the power surges, the lamps take some big hits because they lose power and that kills the fan that cools the lamp. Plus with replacing lamps(every two years), a color wheel(after about 5 years) and a DLP chip(about 8 years) they're not cheap to own.

  14. I like SuperDuty's but have no need for it, don't like Ford's 150's, style and interiors turn me off. My next truck will be a lease from whoever has the best fuel economy at the time for the best price. I'm loyal to Ram for ownership, have had a great experience but as a self employed business owner, leasing is the way to go, so brand loyalty isn't as important, just doesn't really matter. If the offerings match what's available now, It looks like an ecodiesel is leading right now. We'll see what Ford comes up with and what changes they make in the near future. 

     

    I know several people with Fords from the past ten years, rarely does one have an interior where the door panel's material isn't falling off. Maybe it's the Florida heat but it only seems to effect Ford. Shame too because I think ford has come a long way in quality vehicles.

  15. The current Kobalt line isn't made by Danaher's Gearwrench. It is sourced through a company called JS Products out of Las Vegas.

    They're a huge importer and also own the Steelman name. They're also the source of most damn near all the Taiwan made bit sockets being sold by professional brands including Carlyle and even Mac. At the tool shows I've been to JSP always has one of the biggest booths.

     

    Thanks for this info, I guess people just assumed it was Gearwrench based on the previous relationship with Danaher.

     

    What's your preferred ratchet/socket right now? As far as value(Best product for the money, not just cheapest usable set)

  16. My current job is electronics repair and I've been doing it for a few years now. Our main business is repairing TVs. Right now, Sharp Quattrons are the best TV out. I prefer plasma for the realistic flesh tones and movement but since they've stopped making them the Sharp LED is the best out there...short of the Pioneer Elites which are very expensive, they're literally the Sharp Quattrons with full array LEDs and local dimming.

     

    LG is probably the best value TV out there. They use good panels but crappy components, so buy the extended warranty.

     

    Vizio doesn't make anything and never have. Originally they were either LG or Samsung on the inside...now it's mostly low quality Chinese everything, AUO panels/timing control boards with main boards and power supplies from whatever Chinese manufacter. The high end Vizio is a little better with a LG panel and Sharp(Delta) power supply and Chinese main board...but they have an issue with bad panels, I have three 70" Vizio TVs that are junk and we stopped letting people leave them.

     

    I hate Samsung's picture, they always have some sort of digital enhancement thing that you can't turn off so things in motion get this weird motion blur.

     

    Panasonic's LEDs are pretty nice but not nearly as nice as their plasmas were, they use LG panels.

     

    4K, don't waste your money in my opinion. Right now most people aren't even getting 1080p content through their cable/satellite box. The amount of 4K content won't be widely available for a while and really, unless you're getting a huge TV AND sitting really close, you won't see the difference. They have charts online that show where you'd benefit with a 4K TV, most people won't benefit.

     

    Always get the extended warranty, every brand has it's issues. It's worth the extra cost for the security.

  17. Apparently there is a glitch or an intended mass generation of points on Shop your way. For every 1,000 points, you get $1. It can take 24-72 hours for your points to show up. I would have posted this earlier but I wanted to confirm the points came through. You get additional enteries for sharing via Facebook or Twitter. For FB you can click the pull down menu on the left, select "custom" and select "Only me" to have it not visible to your FB friends. For twitter, I just made a fake account. I've earned about $17 worth of points thus far and I'm still waiting for my second day of points to hit my account. I was able to checkout with this set of nutdrivers for NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET! http://www.kmart.com/craftsman-12-pc-nutdriver-set-in-zippered-case/p-010W065282428001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

     

     

    Here's the link to the sweeps "app"

    http://www.shopyourway.com/app/2/l

     

    Currently these are the ones that are posting a lot of winners(Post taking info from another site):

    Epic Way to Win
    10,000 points - 1,000 winners
    5,000 - 5,000
    1000 - 600,000
    500 - 700,000

    Prizes a Plenty
    5,000 points - 2,400 winners
    1,000 - 150,000
    500 - 210,000

    Wealth of Winners
    3,000 points - 1,000 winners
    2,000 - 10,000
    1,000 - 150,000
    500 - 200,000

    Ready Set Win
    2,000 points - 20,000 winners
    1,000 - 100,000
    500 - 200,000

    WWL (Maybe Upcoming in 7 days)
    5,000 points - 5,000 winners
    2,000 - 5,000
    1,000 - 100,000
    500 - 200,000

     

    I will try to update if there are more that are paying out.

  18. This isn't my first Kobalt conversation. Yes, those ratchets, like about all of the first generation Kobalt tools made between 1998 and late 2002-ish, were labeled "J.H. Williams: A Division of Snap-On" or something to that effect. Now here's how that shook out in reality.

    Lowe's, seeking a bonafide house brand of tools to compete in the premium homeowner mechanics tools market, didn't do a lot of searching for an OEM. They pretty much had Snap-On in mind from the start. They wanted to make a big entrance into the market and knew that a known association with Snap-On would provide just that. Snap-On was willing to provide that, though somewhat indirectly through their J.H. Williams industrial brand.

    While the J.H. Williams Div. was the contract holder, Snap-On supplied Kobalt from across their existing product lines. Much of the hard line stuff (including the ratchets) was actually sourced from the Blue Point mechanics line rather than Williams. To this day you can buy an "evolved" form of these ratchets from Blue Point, though they have more teeth and are made in Taiwan. The sockets were Snap-On. People can argue otherwise until they turn blue in the face, but they are unmistakable in every detail, right down to the flank drive, the font of the number stampings, and even the date code.

    The original Kobalt line was undoubtedly the best value in tools. For Christmas in 1998 I got a big socket set, a wrench set, and a screwdriver set. To this day I still have all but the wrench set and use them as part of my everyday lineup. They were great tools and had they remained under Williams contract, my toolbox would look drastically different today.

    That being said, I wasn't overly crazy about the ratchets. They were 36 tooth (a course count by today's standards), not overly smooth, and had a fairly rough back drag. They're kinda like an old F-150 with a 300 6 Cylinder, durable and dependable, but not really a performance machine.

    When the original 5 year production contract ran out, the Snap-On association was over, but here are different theories as to why. One theory is that Snap-On was unhappy with the extent to which Lowe's had thrown their name around as evidenced by the claims on the packaging and in advertising often showing Kobalt besting all but Snap-On in various tests and the consumer perception that Kobalt was simply Snap-On brands at a cheaper price (even if it was largely true).

    The other popular theory is that Lowe's walked away from the partnership simply because of money. You will hear that Snap-On wanted much more money the second time around, and you will also hear conspiracy theories that Lowe's planned a bait and switch from the start and always intended to go with a cheaper OEM in the 2nd generation. I don't know the truth and without testimony from an upper management type from the time, we'll probably never know the official account, but the truth is probably somewhere in between.

    In any event, 2003 saw the 2nd generation production go to Danaher. With the Snap-On association gone and a noticeable drop in overall quality, Kobalt quietly faded into the realm of nothing special. These days with the Rotar made ratchets and nearly the entire line imported by JS Products, Kobalt has become an afterthought to most tool enthusiast.

     

    I'm not saying any of this is wrong(because I do NOT think you are wrong) but you can still buy the Williams ratchet of the same design also. These particular Blue Point and Williams ratchets are identical and are both made in Taiwan...that being said, neither is the same quality as the original Kobalt(Which was made in the US).

     

    I've heard the current Taiwan Kobalt is made by Gearwrench, it's actually very nice quality...you just need to be careful to not get the Chinese Kobalt sockets, the Chinese sockets don't have a COO stamped on the socket, the Taiwan says "Taiwan" on the side. Right now they're a steal at 50% off, IMO...but again, as we both know it's not NEARLY as nice as the original Kobalt sets.

×
×
  • Create New...