fm2176

I smoke a lot of pork ribs, but the beef ribs I smoked last week turned out great. Also, pork shoulders and butts for pulled pork. More recently, though, I decided to expand my horizons a bit. We like to do roast beef or Rueben sandwiches on occasion so I decided to save money otherwise spent on pre-sliced meats and smoke my own beef. I've done a couple of beef roasts and one slab of corned beef so far.

Eric, I though the same when I went to Menard's website yesterday. Regional stores have a unique feel to them that cut and paste national chains lack. I plan to make a jambalaya pot one of my first purchases once I retire. I went to a cook-off or two while I recruited down there and there really are no comparisons between online recipes and the "real deal". I used to use Blue Runner meal bases (https://bluerunnerfoods.com/product/creole-jambalaya-base/) when I wanted something good but quick. As an aside, the electrical contracting business my neighbor ran before he opened his own business did the wiring for Blue Runner's facility in Gonzales, LA.

Eric, I bought this kit as my second Thanksgiving set: https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/outdoor-gourmet-deluxe-turkey-fryer-kit#repChildCatid=917554. Academy is hard to beat on prices (East Coast Lowe's and Home Depot stores sell basic 30-qt. fryer setups for $60-70), and the set at the link includes both a 30-qt. frying/boiling pot and a 10-qt. pot which is perfect for frying fish. I kept my original fryer stand outdoors for about 7 years and I think it's still in storage, while the pots are somewhat thin aluminum but hold up well. I'm looking forward to retirement at my house in South Louisiana in 18 or so months. Down there, just about every store has a selection of outdoor cookware and an extensive Creole/Cajun foods section. I've never tried my hand at making jambalaya from scratch, so a good jambalaya pot is on the list--I may modify one of my burners for use or buy a dedicated jambalaya pot stand. I also need to boil some crawfish; I've assisted others but never took the helm myself despite steaming blue crabs quite a bit when I was younger. Outdoor cooking makes the wife and family happy, leaves less cleanup, and gives the cook a chance to take a break from the hustle and bustle inside the house, especially during the holidays.

I feel you. I'm fortunate to have a Lowe's about a mile away from the house and a Home Depot less than two miles. I almost always go to the latter, though, as they have more of the brands I want (DeWalt and the TTI power tools), a better Special Buy layout (most Lowe's stores crowd their holiday specials in the center aisles or by lawn and garden), and more predictable--but still hit or miss--clearance deals. When I stop by Lowe's these days, it's usually in hopes of finding clearance items. It seems like they clear out the tool section overheads and hardware section every once in a while, and I've scored some great deals on both hardware and miscellaneous tool accessories (likely from since-replaced display tools) such as an OMT accessory kit for $1 or a package of Tapcons for $2.

That sucks, unfortunately those Skil tools come from the transition period between NiCad and Li-Ion batteries, when a lot of tool brands ultimately either compromised to maintain compatibility (notably Ryobi and Ridgid) or scrapped their designs for new ones optimized for Li-Ion batteries. My Porter Cable experience was similar, where I ended up with most of the 18v lineup while failing to see that 20v Max was going to replace it. On the plus side, we got larger capacity batteries in smaller and more powerful tools, albeit at the expense of those who are/were heavily invested in the older platforms. With a little soldering know-how and the help of the internet, you could replace the cells in your batteries (do so at your own risk), and you may be able to find an adapter to use other batteries with your tools, but otherwise those Skil tools are as useful as B&D Firestorm, Milwaukee V18, PC 18v, and Kobalt 18v/20v Max once the batteries die. While I'm sure there are others, the only brands I can think of that actively support tools originally powered by NiCad are DeWalt (18v batteries are still available, along with the 20v Max adapter), Ridgid 18v, and Ryobi One+ (both allow the use of any battery in any tool).

I agree that Ryobi has come a long way. While I don't see them being able to fully compete with Milwaukee or DeWalt, they make a strong case for those like you who want to streamline your battery platform. One of the most major pros is also one of the most major cons of sticking with Ryobi--their battery format. Much like Ridgid 18v, Ryobi's One+ system is designed to work across tool generations, limiting their ability to produce tools as compact as those that Milwaukee and DeWalt are releasing (Ridgid's sub-compact line comes to mind, with otherwise tiny tools requiring a large battery mount). Ryobi has managed to release some tiny batteries recently but the pod-style battery has disappeared from other platforms for a reason. Another positive thing I believe Milwaukee and DeWalt have going for them are semi-compatible 12v/18v systems. M18 and most 20v Max chargers can be used with the lower voltage batteries, and DeWalt has a few tools (mostly radios) that can use either battery. Ryobi seems to be content with having a large and mostly inexpensive 18v lineup. I like that I can use my tools without additional chargers, and even the manufacturers have offered mixed 12v/18v tool combos in the past. If I absolutely had to downsize to one brand, I think Ryobi might be it, though. Of course, I'd cheat by using my FlexVolt miter saw with the cord, and I'd have to keep the M12 batteries for use with the heated gear and lighting, but most of us could probably get by with Ryobi, whether we are DIY'ers or professionals.

I have both the regular M12 drill/impact kit and the Gen 2 Fuel. For the price, the former is hard to beat, especially when Milwaukee includes it in their free battery promos. Depending on your level of patience, you can get the kit and a free battery for just over $100 with tax. That said, after using my M12 Fuel and 18v class drills, the non-Fuel is almost maddeningly slow and underpowered (much the same way I feel about my old DeWalt 12v Max tools). Also, you'll get a 3/8" chuck versus 1/2" on the Fuel model.

Well, it's almost Christmas, meaning time to do a bit more outdoor cooking. On Thanksgiving I had just shy of the 25-person state-mandated limit (I was hoping to exceed the limit, though), and fried four turkeys for everyone to feast on. I also offered to fry turkeys to go, and ended up frying four more that guests had brought. Needless to say, I had two fryer stands going at the same time, for about four hours each. Eight turkeys set a personal record I don't expect to beat anytime soon. I also smoked a large ham (or double smoked, if you prefer, as hams are already smoked) over charcoal and alder wood injected with Tony Chachere's praline honey marinade and kept moist with a bit of apple juice. Cornbread went on the grill as well, though eight boxes was overkill and the center wasn't perfect due to the grill cooling down. I cooked a country ham in the oven, but it was nowhere near the hit that the praline honey ham was. About six years ago I cooked Thanksgiving dinner entirely outside using both gas and charcoal. From the ham to the turkey (one of the two times I used my Big Easy oil-less fryer), to the sides, everything went from the outdoors to the table in a few hours. A few years earlier, I boiled about fifty pounds of shrimp with the temperature in the low teens. It took a little while to get the 50 or so quarts of water boiling (I was using my 100-qt. pot), and this was before I had a lot of experience, but the food was great (minus the shrimp absorbing a bit too much starch from the potatoes I put in too early). Next week's plans are still up in the air, but regardless of whether I have a small get together at home or visit someone else, I'll definitely be replicating the smoked ham (though probably with hickory this time). My wife has been talking about another fried turkey, so I'm thinking of a larger bird instead of the smaller (10-13 lb.) ones we cooked last month. I'm looking at another family get together before winter is over, and need to hit up my sister who claims she can get jumbo shrimp from her North Carolina connections for cheap (Louisiana spoiled me with $2.99/lb. shrimp stands being common--my neighbor down there gets them for about half that price). Anyway, who else considers outdoor cooking a year-round option? I realize that not everyone here lives in a relatively temperate state like Virginia (less than two more years! then it's back to the Gulf Coast), but to me there's just not a lot of joy gained from cooking indoors. My philosophy is that a grill is a primitive oven, meaning it's ideal for baking while also adding flavors that no indoor oven can. A fried turkey beats a roasted turkey any day of the week, with even the larger turkeys taking under an hour (about 16-18pounds is the threshold, though, so those giant 20+ pound birds are out of the equation). Perhaps best of all, in the winter your drink of choice stays cold and free of bugs, allowing you to focus on the cooking when you need to take a break from drinking.

This reminds me of Stine, down in Louisiana (https://www.stinehome.com/). They have a large drive through lumber yard which seems to offer a better selection than most Lowe's and Home Depot stores. They also sell DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Craftsman, and other power tools. Plus, they are uniquely Louisianan, in that they have a lot of regionally popular items that other home improvement stores just don't sell. Jambalaya and boiling pots, for example, as well as plenty of LSU themed products.

If I decide to paint the boxes, it would probably be just a couple of quick sprays with some paint, to both deter thieves and to identify my boxes from a distance. The lids and handles would stay black.

As an East Coast/Gulf Coast resident I've never even seen a Menards, and while Home Depot is the largest home improvement chain, Lowe's has a monopoly on a lot of small Southern towns (I've noticed that HD seems to stick close to the interstates). Brand exclusivity would guarantee limited sales of Bosch and MetaboHPT tools outside of the Midwest. Also, consider that Menards has a fraction of locations compared to Lowe's and HD (@350 compared to over 2200 each for the latter two), and no major tool brand would voluntarily limit themselves to a restricted consumer base. With that said, in a sense the two largest chains have managed to essentially do what you propose. Home Depot is the only physical retailer to sell TTI's Ridgid and Ryobi 18v power tools, is dominated by Milwaukee, and offers Makita as well. Lowe's has a less impressive (IMO) selection of brands and leans on DeWalt as it's premier brand (with Kobalt, MetaboHPT, Bosch, Bostitch, Craftsman, and Porter Cable having variable presences in stores). The most obvious "crossover" brand between the two stores is DeWalt, but even that brand is split. Home Depot gets FlexVolt and Atomic, while Lowe's gets the 12v Max tools. This goes back for years, as my string trimmer and blower were Lowe's clearance specials, purchased in early 2016 as Lowe's gave up 20v Max OPE just as Home Depot was starting to stock it. As for having a large selection of tools, I think it really just depends on the store. I've noticed that Home Depot in particular focuses on different brands and tools depending on the size and location of their stores. In Northern Virginia, for example, the Milwaukee section offers just about anything you could want, up to and including demolition hammers and accessories. Further south, there are Ridgid end caps in some stores, Makita in others, and most stores have a Ryobi endcap. Some of the Atlanta area stores carry just about anything tool you want in the major HD brands.

I recently picked up the ToughSystem 2.0 stack from Home Depot and used it this past weekend. The improvements over the first generation are obvious, though I incorporated a couple of 1.0 boxes for this past weekend's project. The automatic clips are more positive and less flimsy than the plastic clips of the original, the boxes themselves just feel more substantial, and the removeable organizer boxes in the small box are great (I filled them up with M12 batteries, an M12 USB charger, and random other things before diverting one for use as a drywall screw/wire nut box). A first generation small box and organizer clipped in nicely regardless of where I placed them in the stack. I was going to use one of my Packout systems, but currently I only have shallow organizers (one full size and four [maybe six] half-width). The ToughSystem organizer was loaded so I didn't even transfer stuff to the two new 2.0 half-width organizers. I tossed an eclectic assortment of M12, M18, Ridgid, and DeWalt tools in the bottom box and headed south for the project. The Packout system is nice but as a non-professional I just haven't been able to bring myself to advertise the fact that I own expensive tools and storage. DeWalt (and Ridgid) are much more subdued in color scheme and fit my needs while travelling. Plus, for some odd reason I'm not as concerned about damaging those boxes as I am about breaking one of my Packouts. With that said, however, I see a lot of Packout boxes in the beds of professional contractors these days. If you have the money and/or the need for the additional modularity, Packout seems to be the way to go (though I may spray paint mine purple...just in case).

I picked up the Ridgid 18v butane heat gun. I justified it for use in a drywall project I started over the weekend, and of course like most of my purchases it was on clearance ($65 from $129 at Home Depot, though online it was showing an $89 regular price on some sites). Using my discount brought the total for the heat gun, a bucket of joint compound, sanding sponge, three pairs of clearance Firm Grip duck canvas gloves, and a 500' roll of tape to just over $100. The heat gun is pretty nice, despite the need for butane in addition to a battery. One thing I really like is the cool down feature, where the fan continues to circulate air for about 30 seconds after the heat is turned off. This cools the tip down to where it can be touched with a finger (or tossed in a bag/box until the heat gun is needed again). At a rated max temperature of 1100 degrees, this seems competitive with many corded models and it surpasses the rating of both the Milwaukee and the DeWalt. Also, since butane is used for heating the battery life should be better than the Red and Yellow heat guns. Of course, butane has to be purchased and kept on hand, so I'll see how I enjoy using this heat gun in the long run.

Don't curse yourself, especially with the post-holiday deals coming up. Home Depot will often have their holiday specials marked down 25-75%; I picked up my two M18 brushless compact drills for $54 apiece (Special Buy price was $99, marked down to $60 with add'l 10% discount) mostly for the compact batteries. I started out simple five years ago, deciding to go DeWalt all the way. Deals, TIA reviews/recommendations, and necessity now sees me with DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Ryobi, in different voltages and with everything from archaic brushed tools to M18 Fuel One Key. I can't remember how many times I've told myself I'm done buying tools only to find another deal or discover I needed something I didn't have or couldn't find.

I've seen a number of the modular boxes in the back of trucks too. What amazes me is how few seem to be secured. There are lots of dishonest people out there who know the price of those boxes and wouldn't hesitate to "liberate" them, Granted, there's no telling what's inside, but how many people spend $80+ on a box to store rusty nails? When I haul my boxes in the bed of my truck, I use at least one cable lock. I also try to lay them down and/or cover them up. I've heard too many stories of a quick stop for coffee resulting in a person's tools getting snatched, and even a lot of vans up this way (Northern Virginia) have reinforced locks on the doors.

I think that both bags and modular boxes have their places. I lucked out a few years ago and found a Milwaukee rolling tool bag for just over $40; when I went back to pick up the other two a day later they were gone. I like using that bag for small-ish jobs where I can fit everything in the bag, hand carried bags for other jobs, and my tool boxes for when I need to carry more tools and/or desire some level of weatherproofing. When I get my tools organized again, I'll primarily use my modular storage over bags. A few years ago, when I had the project house, I had my tools organized by type. Electrical was kept in a couple of electrician-styles bags stored in a ToughSystem DS450, plumbing tools were in a 13" Milwaukee jobsite box, sign-making tools (Ridgid cordless routers w/batteries, paint, etc.) were in a DeWalt rolling toolbox, and so on. Once I added ToughSystem to complement my Ridgid system, I turned a DS450 into a drywall tool kit, kept a DS300 loaded with basic tools (hammer, tape measure, level, square, etc.), and used a DS130 for batteries. I also kept most of my tools in the bottom Ridgid box. Now, I think I have enough storage and tools to dedicated a particular brand to each type of job and brand of tools. I'll likely match the tools to the boxes and create dedicated boxes for the type of job: low-voltage, residential electrical, plumbing, drywall, rough carpentry, and so on. I'll probably also use the smaller tool bags inside the boxes for even more convenience when doing random jobs or helping out friends and neighbors. It's nice having so many choices, but it's also addictive trying to keep up with the latest and greatest.

What are everyone's thoughts? I own a technician's bag picked up on clearance a few years ago and find it to be exceptionally well-made, while even the inexpensive bags offer great value for the price. Heading into DC this morning, two construction workers crossed in front of me, with one pulling a Husky rolling tool bag and the other carrying a large Husky bag. That led me to think about how I haven't noticed Milwaukee or DeWalt bags, with the exception of a few Yellow tool bags that obviously came with the power tool(s) inside. I've seen a couple of DeWalt tool boxes (including ToughSystem and T-Stak, but when it comes to bags it seems that Husky is the prevalent choice around here. Anyway, just an observation that led to the question above. Do you use any Husky tool bags, and if so what are your opinions of them?

Well, I invested in the ToughSystem 2.0 stack from Home Depot, along with a couple of half-width organizers. It seems well-thought out, trying to maintain backwards compatibility with the older ToughSystem while addressing some of the shortcomings 1.0 had when compared to Packout. I'll be using the heck out of this in the coming months and hope it impresses. Since I'm good on modular storage, I'm gifting some of my older ToughSystem components forward to a good friend. He's been struggling to find employment so he's been doing a lot of handyman work. He also has a house to renovate while he's living there, and I promised him one of my spare ToughSystem Music+Chargers a few years ago. Rather than giving him the radio by itself, I figure I'll outfit a ToughSystem stack with some hardware, tools, and a couple of batteries for the radio. Anyway, now's the time if you want to invest in some modular tool storage. Ridgid, ToughSystem, and Packout are all at the lowest prices you'll probably find them, and I would recommend any of the three if they fit your needs.

I included MetaboHPT initially, but forgot to add them back as I was trying to put the brands in alphabetical order. They've been added now. I found a triple hammer on clearance a while back but passed on it, and I owned an older brushed (pre-Metabo) impact driver that worked well. I also found a bunch of pre-merger Metabo tools on clearance at Lowe's four years ago but passed on those as well. Thanks for the suggestion, and if anyone else thinks of a popular brand I overlooked in the poll, I'll add it as well. My wife teases me about not owning Makita, since I have basically every other brand Home Depot sells. I hear great things about the brand, and have found many great deals at 50% or more off, but simply can't pull the trigger. I know myself too well: if I give in and get a single Makita deal, I'll start buying the rest. The half-dozen platform thing can be a pain, but it's nice having a choice of brands: I have DeWalt 12v Max, 20v Max, and FlexVolt; Milwaukee M12 and M18, Ridgid 18v, Ryovi 18v, and EGO OPE...🙃 As for Ryobi, they have some great stuff, and I own quite a few of their tools. The lack of larger batteries is an issue, but I'm sure Makita is (slowly) working towards developing/releasing them. As I stated above, I can't consider investing in Makita unless I really want to end up in debtor's prison. Ryobi's chief appeal (to me) is that they cater to the homeowner/DIY'er, while offering stuff that even pros can use. As you state, they offer what other brands don't, and the pro who buys into Ryobi is investing in a great system that can serve equally as well around the house. I use my 6-gallon vacuum quite a bit, the Devour sweeper regularly, and the Score speaker system gets used for entertainment. No other brand offers the latter two, and the fact that Ryobi continues to utilize the established One+ battery system speaks volumes about their dedication to supporting their tools. I have a 15-ish year old drill inherited from my father-in-law that works well even with the newest batteries. I can't think of another brand that allows you to buy a new tool kit and use the battery with a drill made over two decades ago. I had a Kobalt 20v Max impact wrench which was very nice (since gifted to my brother). The only bad thing I could say is that Kobalt has switched systems fairly often. Their 18v stuff was replaced by 20v Max, with the batteries being interchangeable. IIRC, it was essentially Kobalt's way of jumping on the "high capacity" bandwagon, with 18v offering 1.5Ah/3.0Ah and 20v offering the then-new 2.0Ah/4.0Ah batteries. 24v Max seems to be even better than the older system, and so long as Kobalt sticks to it, I can't see why it shouldn't remain competitive with the SBD and TTI brands.

Multiple choice poll: what's your favorite cordless tool brand? I think I hit most of the more common brands here, though I left off niche ones like Bostitch and Dremel. Please feel free to select multiple answers if you want, and leave a comment as to why your preferred brand is the best for your needs/wants. I'll take the safe path and choose four: DeWalt - it's what I grew up seeing and I love their quality and versatility Milwaukee - powerful and innovative but just slightly below DeWalt in my eyes Ridgid - the LSA has me hooked, though they are definitely the mid-tier between Milwaukee and Ryobi in terms of features and price Ryobi - inexpensive, innovative, and offering what others simply choose not to

From what I understand, Avanti is the bargain line of the Bosch-owned Freud blades. I've seen the two-packs at Home Depot for about half the price of Diablo blades, but have always passed on them since I've had good experiences with Diablo and, honestly, check country-of-origin when buying accessories (funny, since most of my cordless tools are made in China). I don't think you went wrong for the price you probably paid. I too have the little high volume inflator/blower, and had the small tire inflator (older model with dial gauge) until I gave it away a few weeks ago. It's impossible to list them all here, but I started buying Ryobi when I got the pole saw free with a 3Ah starter kit and now have quite a few including the pin and brad nailers (my finish nailer is a Dewalt). I could have honestly gone Ryobi for 95% of my needs/wants, but now I'm "stuck" with DeWalt, M12, M18, and Ridgid as well.

I'm currently in the military and the bulk of what I've seen used is DeWalt. It seems that every Army unit has some poorly accounted-for DeWalt tools that walk away, but the biggest users, Directorate of Public Works maintenance types, are good about keeping their stuff close. We had some equipment installed in our vehicles a few years ago and the contracted installation team all used M18 and M12 tools, with their chargers working overtime to keep them going.

2.5 years later... I still don't regret buying into the Ryobi One+ system. I recently used my backpack sprayer, and one of my most used "tools" is the Devour sweeper. While I do have a barely-used drill (an old blue model my father-in-law bought for the batteries) and a bare-bones impact driver (picked up on clearance mainly for the smaller battery), I don't regularly use Ryobi's core tools (drivers and saws), opting instead for DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Ridgid. Another great thing about Ryobi is the brand's gifting potential. I recently gave my inflator to a friend who inherited a Ryobi drill and a couple of batteries, and now I'm tempted to get him a larger battery and some more tools. I know I can get him a decent gift without breaking the bank as I would with other brands.

Welcome to the forums! Ryobi is a great system to invest in, and TTI (the company that manufactures Ryobi One+ tools as well as Ridgid and Milwaukee) seems intent on retaining their well-established customer base. Ryobi is the only tool brand I know of where you can find a twenty year old drill at a yard sale, buy a new battery and charger, and go to work. Also, they have some unique tools and accessories that other major cordless tool brands don't offer, like the Devour cordless sweeper and the glue gun.

It looks like a drum brake spring tool. I have one similar (somewhere) that I used to use when I was a mechanic.