fm2176

Share your memories of things that we once took for granted. Despite the large amount of disparity in ages here in the TIA forums, please feel free to share what you remember, regardless of how young or old it may make you sound. I'll start with a few easy ones: Remember when Craftsman hand tools were proudly "Made in the USA" and represented a level of quality that made them ubiquitous in garages and shops across the United States? Remember when incandescent bulbs were our primary means of lighting, and we were just fine with using them? Remember when we had two buying options: in person at the retailer or mail order? Remember when a payphone call cost a quarter, as immortalized by Travis Tritt, only to have the price raised months after the song? Remember when we had to find a quarter for the payphone after we received an urgent text on our pager? Remember when a car could get 35+ mpg without hybrid technology or complex monitoring systems? Remember when computers had mere kilobytes of RAM yet cost thousands of dollars? Things change, often for the better, but there are times I long for those days when everything seemed simpler and less hectic. I realize that this feeling comes with age, and that older folks might consider my own fond memories as examples of complicated times while younger ones may think I'm archaic, but there is something relaxing about remembering what was once the norm. We'll never get it back but we can reflect and relive those times when everyone was immortal and things would never change.

Those Irwin pliers are outstanding. I've found a number of the PowerSlot diagonal cutters for as little as $5 each, and despite giving a few as gifts I still have probably 4 or 5 of them. The pistol grip pliers I found maybe once or twice, and I think I have a couple of those, while the linesmen pliers have been the most elusive, with only one pair popping up at a decent price. My local Lowe's had two marked down to $24.98 before jacking them back up to full price but even those are gone now.

My bank account wishes it was only you. I'm often driven to buy things I don't really need based primarily on the fact that they are discounted so heavily. I've suppressed this desire when it comes to truly useless items, but if I find an accessory set, utility knife, tape measure, or even a power tool I already have (but could "use" just one more), I usually give in to temptation.

That's one of the downsides to dedicating a ToughSystem component to larger items, they increase the cost of ownership quite a bit unless you repurpose them for other purposes as needed. This would be nice, especially since even the Pro Organizers are not all compatible with each other. I think that DeWalt would have a much more budget friendly answer to the Milwaukee Packout, with its half-sized organizers, if they enabled a ToughSystem user to attach small organizers.

pilot light

I watch a number of videos, but usually am only interested in those that currently, or one day might, apply to my needs and wants. Needless to say, I watched both the Ridgid heater (that or the DeWalt are on my want list) and the Ridgid router (have one and love it!) reviews this morning. Great addition to TIA, in my opinion.

bush hog

I don't know if it's the same issue or not, but my 2763 impact is about to go back to Milwaukee after very minimal use. It works fine so long as you commit to full speed, but trying to gradually pull the trigger results in a fizzing sound and error code.

I couldn't find the Facom ToughSystem boxes on their sites, but did find this: https://primetools.co.uk/product-category/tool-storage-workbenches/plastic-tool-boxes/page/2/?brandlist[0]=facom Also, here's the rolling box with TS brackets: https://www.manomano.fr/servante-roulante/servante-jetm4-6-tiroirs-edition-limitee-composition-4-tiroirs-et-equipement-toughsystem-facom-jetblkmax17im-4879835 I like the red and black look of them and feel like Milwaukee's Packout would be better served with a similar color scheme, but paying a premium to import these to the US isn't worth it since the DeWalt versions are readily available.

Welcome to the forums! Your statement about quality tools, while unfortunately true for the most part, is at least somewhat offset by the advantages in safety features, ergonomics, and user-friendliness. For example, I inherited an old metal-cased drill from my dad that just screams of electrocution and broken wrists. I'll gladly use one of my newfangled drills instead of it!

Pain train

Professional bearing

Public toilet

Just spent a whopping $3 at a local pawn shop for a Snap-On screwdriver and a 5-pack of Bosch jigsaw blades which is missing a blade.

I've found post-holiday deals to be better, but much more hit or miss for the reasons Grumpy MSG described. The holiday sales are nice, but I've lucked out in the past and found holiday specials at HD as much as 75% off their sale price. It is good to check for promo cards at HD throughout the year, though. In my opinion cordless tool deals can be better in the summer and fall, as holiday deals usually require a particular tool or kit to qualify for a free tool. As an example, I took advantage of Ridgid's buy two bare tools, get the 2.0Ah starter pack for free last year. This enabled me to buy tools I didn't already have in Yellow of Red, instead of having to buy yet another drill kit. Diablo is also good for promos throughout the year. They often have special buys on flap discs, saw blades, and other consumables. They also offer $1 recip blades every so often.

Garden salad

Tell me about it. I'm hoping to find another DeWalt tape measure promo but they seem to have disappeared. I kind of threw my 25' US tape and cracked the housing. The tape still works perfect, but I want a backup.

I went ahead and grabbed one of the kits. M12 may be an eventual investment but I needed something else to use my batteries with.

Got a fresh (2017 date code) DeWalt 12v Max DCK212S2 kit with recip saw and drill for $45.06 at the Exchange. When I was looking at these previously they all had 2013-2015 codes, with the newer kits having 1.3Ah batteries while the 2013 and 2014 kits had 1.5Ah batteries. There were a couple of older kits left but fresh, albeit lower amp-hour, batteries are an obvious plus. Sadly, this completes my 12v Max tool collection (minus lasers and such) with only four tools and a couple of lights.

The Greensboro, NC store was the only one I've seen the 5-packs at, after looking in stores from GA all the way to VA.

I would add Louisiana, but it was colder down there yesterday than it was here in GA or in VA. It is nice knowing that sub-freezing temperatures are usually offset by 60 degree days the following week, though.

That's the best way to start, by failing immediately! Now you have no reason to be disappointed as you accomplish those things that weren't quite resolution worthy.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm not currently invested in 40v Max and likely will never be, but the 2x20v Max mower looks promising. The 40v Max model should be perfect for lawn specialists dealing with postage stamp yards and such, though. Both it and the 20v Max model should have plenty of runtime to handle the yards common in newer middle clas developments.

They are kind of like Big Lots in its earlier years; lots of buyouts from other retailers and wholesalers with decent prices. They carry everything from books to mattresses to cookware.

That's a good point about goals versus resolutions; perhaps my own plans are better described as the former. Resolutions seem to be broken quite often, usually to the profit of fitness centers. 😄