satchmodog
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Posts posted by satchmodog
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9 hours ago, Jronman said:
@satchmodog I would suggest getting a router with around 1.5 - 2 hp and support for 1/2 in or smaller collets. It should do just about anything the average guy could want. If the router will live in a router table with lift then you wouldn't need the router to be anything fancy. A fixed base would be plenty. If you regularly use the router outside of the table then you may want to look at getting a plunge base in addition to the fixed.
Excellent. I'm going to head out next weekend and give a look at what's out there. I will also give PC another look and actually just bought their oscillating tool.
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Oh yeah, forgot earlier. Despite my crapping on Porter cable recently for being a ghost brand and putting out a lot of manure compared to the stuff in their glory days, I did just pick up their oscillating tool. Seemed solid and had nice numbers and a good switch. I also liked the quick change blades.
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20 hours ago, dwasifar said:
I saw someone do YouTube teardowns of some of those HF power tools. There's a lot of corner-cutting to get them out at those prices, as you might imagine - flimsy bearings, cheap gearing, sloppy switches. They have a 90 day warranty for a reason.
I am a cheapfugger. That's why I buy expensive tools. It's cheaper to spend $80 once on a Makita or Milwaukee than it is to keep spending $25 on Chicago Electric over and over and over. And that's not even taking into account the wasted time and ruined work from substandard tools.
I'm the same way. I also grew up in the 70s and 80s and remember when shit still lasted. I still expect tools to last a lifetime and won't buy crap.
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10 hours ago, dwasifar said:
So is a cinder block.
and you know that cinder block has better tolerances built in.
I was kinda fascinated by that place. I almost have a hard time believing people buy their power tools. There are generally better options for roughly the same money from manufacturers who warranty their tools for an entire year. I cannot get over the 90 day warranty thing, especially on the Hercules line. I mean hell, they are charging big boy prices for their Hercules line, but still offering the ridiculous 90 day warranty. I highly doubt anything that's on the Herc line is better than any Rigid or Ryobi tool. Both of which come with pretty nice warranties. But I guess some people let their being a cheapfugger override their ability to use logic and reason. I guess that's why the majority of videos for "miter saw" are for HF saws, with these goobers preening over their tools like a 16 year old who just got their first used Ford Maverick.
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4 minutes ago, rrich1 said:
Some machines you do want heavy. Those I want to be stationary. The Triton 3 hp router is just too big and bulku for my liking to be used as an everyday router. Their plunge mechanisms is different as well. There is no changing bases. They make a smaller 2.25 hp router as well.
The DeWalt and Bosh routers are the same hp but one is taller than the other. I like the DeWalt as it has a detachable power cord which makes for easy storage. I tend to sway towards Bosch over DeWalt normally.
If you haven't used a small trim router don't discount it for certain jobs. The one handed use and smaller base really allows to get work done quickly on smaller pieces. So much so that I want to buy the cordless Makita as well. That would put me up to 4 routers as a hobbyist 🤣
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Thanks! All good food for thought!
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Can you define Holding a Charge?
The Makita drill I leave in our garage in the Keys has two batteries and over the past several years they have just croaked. They take a charge just fine and technically, they hold a charge, as long as you define that as a matter of a day before they start losing their juju. I've thrown them back on the charger the next day and 30 minutes later, back to full charge and that's without ever putting them in the drill. If I use them, I'm lucky to drive ten screws before the battery craps itself. I'm going to buy the silly red or pink replacements on Ebay. I'm surely not giving makita any more money for batteries after what this drill cost.
So yeah, what's their parameters for holding a charge? A day, an hour, a week? Technically, Lithiums shouldn't really lose their charge just sitting there(at least not in a week or even a month) and I know NiCads do lose charge, but it's also a slow process.
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3 minutes ago, SetBuilder said:
Better for what? The big HP routers are a bear to use when making a lot of cuts. This is 3/4 plywood but I used a PC 690 to cut out all the handles and a trim outer to do a round over on all the boxes. If I had big long cuts to make in 3/4 then I would have used a larger router. Bigger is not always better, its what is appropriate.
When we make windows some crews have 3.5 hp routers set up in router tables and some have the router bit set up in 3 hp shapers , since they hog out so much material the HP is needed.
Ah, OK. So basically for what I do with a router, HP doesn't really matter much, then. I am assuming what I have is a 1 HP machine and it has spent decades chewing through pine and oak making sills for windows. Like the job I'm currently on is another example. I milled an edge on a few hundred feet of 1x4 to make baseboard. Most things a lot of you use routers for is beyond my paygrade at this stage of my life. I guess I'll be looking for a router with a few more rpm maybe and a few ounces heavier. I am also curious about the design difference between the routers with the mouse ears like I have vs the ones that are taller and thinner looking.
Like I said, my experience with routers is limited to a few things I've done for years and that's it.
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I know I just defecated on Porter Cable in the router thread I started, but this was too good a deal to pass up. My Dewalt oscillating tool shat the bed in Florida. I put it through a decade's worth of work in 4 months, and it was already a few years old. I needed a new one, but with all the money I've spent the past few months on tools, I was looking for a deal. The Porter-Cable pce606k was on sale for 80 bucks. I've seen them over 130.00 in the past and 100.00 seems like the going rate lately, but this was too good. They had three left, one was an open box. I looked it over and it appeared to be in new condition, like maybe someone just opened it. I asked if they'd do a discount on it and I was out the door for 64 bucks
I wanted a new one and wasn't about to drop 150-200 on another one. I considered stepping over to Satan's Warehouse and grab their 30 dollar Chicago Electric tool, but I'll never buy a power tool with a 90 day warranty, ever. It's too bad, because I did go to HF today to grab some sundries and saw that tool. It's heavy and solid feeling.
But to add to my tool purchases I got a 50 foot roll of rubber air hose on clearance for 20 bucks, a 17 piece air accessory kit with all new couplings and M connectors and since someone swiped my bullnose nail pullers in Florida, I got the Pittsburgh tool for 7 bucks. It's every bit as heavy duty as the 40 dollar set that vanished, plus it's got a lifetime warranty
Also grabbed a few packs of oscillating blades, 4.5 inch metal cutoff wheels for my angle grinder and got some Bosch crown moulding jigs for my Dewalt 780. Damn dewalt seems to have stopped making their own jigs and they were 30 dollars. The Bosch set is under 20 and fits the Dewalt saw just fine. Total win today
I cannot tell if I am happier about the PC saw or the air hose. I just bought an identical Dewalt rubber hose last month for 30 dollars and it had fittings on both ends. The HF hose had no fittings, but I got a quick connect and plenty of other goodies in my 17 piece kit.
Also grabbed a new PC 250 16 ga nailer Saturday . I just picked up a second trim job and figured I'd leave one set of guns and a compressor at each house since both are vacant and I come and go as I please.
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18 hours ago, rrich1 said:
Well that depends. I have three routers.
1. Triton 3.25 hp. Ita big, bulky, and powerful. That's why it lives in the router table. The nice thing about the Triton's is they were designed to be used in a table with no lift needed. Just take out the spring and you are good to go.
2. DeWalt 2.25 hp with fixed and plunge bases. This covers my .5" collet bits when I need toove around. Not sure where you live but if you can use a harbor freight coupon at home Depot it comes in at $160. Even less if your store does the Menards 11% rebate too.
3. Makita compact router with plunge and fixed bases. .25" collet machine that I use to round over edges, chamfer and other work if I have the correct bit.
The Bosch routers I have heard are excellent routers for under between $180 and $200. Makita sells a 2.25hp router with fixed and plunge base for around $230
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Hmm, interesting. There's part of me that always liked certain tools to be heavy for vibration and stability. Since I've only really used my old assed Craftsman router, I have no idea what weighs what. To me, the thing seems light, so I'll have to hold a few. I actually wouldn't mind one a tiny bit heavier.
I'm also looking for a new table. But that Triton was one I looked at, too. I've heard nothing but great things about their tools from other guys on jobs.
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12 hours ago, Grumpy MSG said:
Hate on the Porter-Cables if you want but their meat and potatoes tools forever have been routers and sanders. the big differences between today's 690s and those from 20 years ago are a dust sealed switch and more ergonomic knobs. Norm Abrams used one countless times on the New Yankee workshop. Meanwhile the 890s have an extra 1/2 HP and a few other nice features like an easy big adjustment/ micro-adjustment feature and 2 location switch, but can work with the same bases as the 690s. Both the 690s and 890s have multiple numbers 690, 691, 692 which annotate which accessories cone with the router like fixed base, plunge base, D handle and combo kits. Don't think they are tough? walk into a Woodcraft store see what routers they are using for their classes and see how old they are.
if you insist you don't want the P-C though, Makita, DeWALT and Bosch all make nice routers. As for features, If I were going for one router I'd recommend one in the 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 HP range with variable speed, 1/4" and 1/2" collets and get it in a kit with a fixed and plunge bases. A little bit of work on your part and you should be able to hit your price point with a kit like that. If you wanted to add to that later, a trim router in the 1 HP range would be the next addition for roundover, laminate trimming and small work. If I were to get a third, it would probably be a second 1 3/4- 2 1/4 HP or 3 HP (depends on what size bits you want to use most often) specifically to leave mounted in a router table
I own a crap ton of Porter cable, from the 738 Tiger saw which has to be 20 years old now, the 352 3x21 belt sander and the 350 orbital palm sander, as well as the 200, 250 and 350 series nail guns. I've had my belt sander and palm sander as well as the tiger saw for 20 years and two of my nail guns are about 15. Now that all being said, I bought newer versions of the 200 brad nailer, 250 16 ga finish nailer and 350 framing nailer and these are not the same tools I bought before. I've seen the same belt sander and even it seems a little cheap. I won't even go into how big of junk their drills and saws have become. Believe me, I am no brand snob, but at one time if it didn't say PC or Milwaukee on it, I ddn't buy it. However, on your recommendation I will give the PC routers a look. I just hate spending money on what's essentially a ghost brand now. But, if they are taking their routers and sanders seriously still, I'll buy them. There's a lot they aren't taking seriously anymore and it makes me truly sad.
The horsepower thing is something I am wondering about. I see amp ratings on a lot of routers and some have HP. I am assuming the more HP, the better?
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Yeah, I know.
I have been using the same router and table since I started my business in 1994. It's a Craftsman, that's really all I know about the thing, other than it was old AF when I got it, as it was my grandfather's. I'm pretty sure we bought it for him as a Christmas gift in the early 80s. That being said, it's cut miles and miles of sill nosings, table and cabinet edges and God knows what else. Today I started a job I bid on last fall, which is routing one edge of 1x4 and basically making an old style baseboard. This house is a mid 1860s farm house in Wisconsin that had another home built over it, so sometime in the past 100 years someone put up winder casing and base that was all hand milled. It's a cool project and getting the pine and the new Zar stain to patch the existing wood was a treat.
I break out my router today and the guy tells me "here, try mine, don't use that fossil", and he chuckled. So he breaks out this brand new Rigid router that he bought last year before he decided to hire the job out. Thankfully he wanted to do the test cuts and see what depth and bit we were going to use, so I didn't wind up being the one who ganked his new toy lol
He runs one pass with this thing and then goes to shut it off and the switch is broken, so "The Fossil" wound up saving the day and ran an edge on 44-14 foot 1x4
But it got me thinking, the router I have is 6.5 amps and 25, 000 rpm and has a light by the arbor.
It's actually double insulated, unlike a lot of the power tools old gramps left behind. Nice silvery looking shock boxes. Ah, the good old days
Anyway, this thing isn't going to last forever, so maybe I should go looking at new routers. The one this guy had wasn't your typical mouse ear style, it was tall and lean and that kinda threw me. Is that style easier to use somehow vs the old squatty style?
Should I look for more RPM, more amps or any other features? I'd also love a new router table.
I'm just not spending Festool money and I am also sorry, but Porter Cable can lick me for what they are asking for some of theirs. It's a damn ghost brand tool now. If this were the PC of old like a few of my tools, I'd not think twice.
So throw me some names and such up to 250.00. Also, are there any features I should look for? In my entire life, this has been the only router to ever sit in my meathooks. I know how to use it well, I just don't know jack about them.
Crap, the 99 dollar Rigid seemed nice until it died
BTW, if anyone here is a tool savant and has a way to date Craftsman tools, my router is a 315.17480. It's by far the least expensive tool I own, it's a homeowner tool and it's probably 42 years old.
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14 hours ago, fm2176 said:
I'm just about tooled out now...with mostly DeWalt 20v max, some higher demand Milwaukee Fuel tools and a few of their lights, and a few Ridgid tools to boot. Bringing different batteries and chargers for everything isn't too horrible, especially since the Milwaukee Rocket light and DeWalt portable power station have chargers, and I'm glad I found what I've got for the prices I paid, but honestly Ryobi would have sufficed nicely for 95% of what I do.
See, that's the thing, your Ryobi and Rigid would also probably do just fine for most of the really over the top brand snobs, as well. Most brand snobs aren't even pros, they just like having an all Yellow, Red or Blue garage, all neat and shiny. I think most of us buy the top 4 or 5 brand tool that's either on sale, can swap a battery with another we have or is the highest rated. There is also something to be said for tools just fitting your hand better. An example of this is Dewalt drills, for whatever reason just seem to fit my mits best. Bosch may not have the best angle grinder on earth and is certainly not the cheapest, but I found the Slim model to fit me best. Of course, they discontinued it, so I bought a few reconditioned on Ebay. I'll go to my grave with a Bosch angle grinder
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2 hours ago, cliu said:
I got the 2 battery reciprocating saw because of the awesome deal. I got it with 4 5ah batteries, a two battery charger and a bag for about $250. I wanted to get the rear handle circular saw as well with the same things for the same price, but it was sold out. As far as the impact driver and drill go, I'll stick with Ryobi since they work fine for me and are much cheaper.
I hear that. My brother spends so much on Makita tools because he insists they are the best and wants one battery platform. Well, some of their tools are not the best and you can find better for far less. I kinda get the battery thing, but honestly in my work truck the extra batteries and chargers for Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita just don't take up much extra room, if any.
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2 hours ago, cliu said:
I feel like the wanting to limit the amount of tool lines you are in is a big factor. I used Ryobi for my cordless tools exclusively until recently for that very reason among others. Recently I was in need of a powerful rotary hammer, and Ryobi doesn't make one. Thankfully I found an adapter online that allows me to use Makita batteries on Ryobi tools. I am now planning to switch to Makita for my batteries, but I still plan on using Ryobi for most of my cordless tools, I just feel like they are a better value; but I do plan to buy Makita for heavy duty tools i.e. the circular saw, rotary hammer and the reciprocating saw.
Not sure how much you want to spend, but Makita makes a nice kit with a circular saw, recip saw, driver, drill and a goofy angle drill for about $550. The tools are all top notch.
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8 hours ago, Cr8ondt said:
Take all the oddball drills and sneak em away, harvest all the 18650 cells from any of the lithium batteries and just get the Makita kit for her, not only does Makita just make great tools their grips tend to be smallish/thinish.
Fun stuff to use the 18650 cells:
ohh, I like that
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Recently I lent my favorite framer to a friend so he could build his fence and something bad happened. I told him to go in my garage and grab the nailer and a box of nails since I had five cases of nails. When he got home he didn't like my nails because some had some surface rust and patina on them(he grabbed the open box lol) so off to Home Depot he goes and grabs a case of similar looking nails. EXCEPT, they twernt. My gun takes clipped heads and he bought round heads. Back story here is I was 1500 miles away and couldn't go over there and see what went haywire. He just calls and tells me the gun went haywire, there was a loud bang and some parts went flying off. He said he ordered the replacement parts and installed them, but the gun still wouldn't fire. So off he goes and rents a gun, then he buys me a replacement for my 350. It's same model number, but a totally different gun. Damn thing won't even fit in the case. That's how Ghetto PC has become the past several years, half their crap doesn't have cases.
So anyway, I get home and he gives me both guns. No biggie, shit happens. He also gave me the nails he bought. Sunday I am looking at the old nailer and there's no visible reason why it shouldn't work, but there's also six nails still in the magazine, so I fish them out and it's a MOFO. Generally, they just slide out, so I'm wondering if the innards are still ganked. Once I pull them out and inspect the nails, I notice that they look odd. They look odd because they are full round heads and that gun always took clipped. Well hell, there;s your problem, son. I fire up the compressor in the garage and throw some proper nails in and voila, she's throwing steel into a 2x4 like a pro.
Now here's my issue. PC, because they've turned into a ghost brand have discontinued so may parts and the cushion tip was one of them. He ordered the tip, but it's for a later model of this gun and doesn't fit. I have checked five replacement part sites and no luck finding one. I know I really don't need a tip for framing walls and such, but I do other work with the gun and would like to use something that doesn't gank the project. I guess I could also use the new gun on those surfaces, but if anyone has any ideas about finding tips or a home or aftermarket solution to find or replace PC part 887247, I'll buy you a beer
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On 3/31/2018 at 9:39 AM, Cr8ondt said:
Well the lil M12 stuff is defiantly cute. And I'd say that to any man that showed up on my jobsite with those and ask where his pink apron was.
I have the 2650 or some such number like that impact driver for work. I should buy her that Milwaukee 12 volt. However, she's more partial to Blue and that leaves freakin Makita, Kobalt and Hercules. Sigh, my inner tool nerd says Makita, but my desire not to waste money says Kobalt
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3 minutes ago, marsh942 said:
Does anyone know if the rail issues that effected the ls1019 (corded Makita 10”) carried over onto the cordless model?
Im still stuck on a decision. I’ll be working out a van, possibly in remote areas without easy access to power. A cordless table saw would always be handy but I’m unsure if Makita has any plans to release one! I’ve used the FlexVolt and it was great!!
I can tell you only from the saw we had that the rails were smooth as glass and flawless. There was no twisting on long cuts and the profile is perfect for a shop wall.
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5 hours ago, Jronman said:
Wow 32?
OK, the 32 was for effect lol
But really, she had five dead drills and batteries for two more where there is no matching drill. She makes like 3 times the money I make, so I have no idea why she doesn't buy a nice drill. I think she buys things that are cute
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The saw we bought in january had zero play in the detentes. I never once used the lock down. One of the submorons on our job used the saw and kept cranking the lockdown so tight that he damaged the entire unit, however. Now the plate doesn't rotate freely.
I have an older 10 inch Makita and a DWS 780 and we used this saw. In 25 years I have never had to lock down a detente.
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Damn, too bad it's not a recall of the Bosch Slim. I punished that grinder for a decade and it finally shat the bed. I'm sure it could have been repaired, but for how inexpensive they are, not worth it. I cannot believe Bosch discontinued the Slim model. WTF?? A grinder with a thin enough housing to make it super comfortable to use and they shelve it. Just stupid.
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18 minutes ago, Moore,C. said:
I retired a lot of inherited, corded Milwaukee and Makita stuff as I progressed in the contractor world after leaving the army, and the old Milwaukee stuff definitely earned a place in my heart lol I jumped on to DeWalt 18v xrp system on a budget for a Father's day sale and that began a love affair that lasts to this day lol I've beaten but never broken a few dozen of their tools from their first impact and about everything else you can imagine, and while I'm certain the nicads wound up in a pawn shop at some point, I'm told by my best friends that just about all my 20v stuff I sold to apprentices and the company for upgrades are still in use at the mines. I just picked up Makita for the subcompacts as I've been freelancing remodel and odd job electrical recently, and they're badass for sure, but I've had the og brushed stempack recip, 20v brushed recip, 20v brushed compact recip, 20v brushless compact recip, brushed portaband, brushless deep cut portaband, 20v miter, the brushed portaband again after it got knicked, lol and most recently the flexvolt. All amazing and I've used the shit out of them in any environment you can imagine-surface and underground mining, powerplants, commercial and residential from residential, timber to sched 80 black pipe and miles and miles of strut and conduit. Rain, mud, apprentices, never broke one and still own 3 to this day. While DeWalt doesn't have the illustrious history beyond the miter saw, like say Milwaukee, I'm a card carrying member of the black and yellow saw fan boy thanks to them being built from coffin nails in my experience
tl:dr- DeWalt saws have been amazing for me and my paycheck for a very long time
I own Milwaukee, Porter Cable( the good stuff before they became a ghost brand) DeWalt, Bosch and makita and love them all. My first sander was a dewalt palm sander which is still running like new, my 14.4 volt 754 drill and my corded 3/8 inch drill. All freakin amazing tools. I also just pushed aside my Makita 10 inch miter for the Dewalt 780 and while the 780 isn't the fine Mercedes benz fit and finish of the big yeller, I can guarantee that hemi of a saw will do things the Makita only dreams of. I'll continue buying these tool brands as long as they keep performing at the highest levels. Even the once mighty PC still makes some killer nail guns and I just added two more. Man, you guys are going to make me blow all that money on that flexvolt saw
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50 minutes ago, SetBuilder said:
The Milwaukee 18v Fuel sawzall is a beast as far as I'm concerned. I have 2 older milwaukee corded sawzalls that require an allen key to change the blade. The 18v blows them both away.
really? that's good to hear
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2 minutes ago, Moore,C. said:
I've been very satisfied with the flexvolt receipt, though I knock it solely for lack of DeWalts usual 4 position blade lock. I've been equally impressed with the one key, and while I own some Makita I don't own but also hear good things about the 18x2. Starting completely fresh today, I'm intensely curious about the new Bosch ergonomic receipt, and the rigid gen5x recip-because they're the only two cordless I know offering orbital action on demand. Corded, again don't own/haven't tried, but some of my old crews have told me the newest DeWalt and skil are actually pretty sweet. All things aside and in quick need, I believe Milwaukee has the best track record in my eyes (not dud free, but least in my eyes). My 2 cents
I used to be a big Milwaukee guy. I still have my deck screw gun which I would put up against any screw gun ever created on this planet and my Milwaukee circular saw that has to be from 1996. It still runs like new, they both do. Had some turd not lifted my sawzall, I'm sure she'd still be running fine. I walked away from Milwaukee about 10 years ago when their products started circling the bowl, but they have really redeemed themselves the past few years. I actually bought one of their new impact drivers solely because there was a metal nose housing on the thing. I am very impressed by this tool so far. I'd love to hear some reviews of the new sawzalls. I am also a Dewalt user and this flexvolt thing has me intrigued. Seeing I just bought a 780 to retire my old Makita DBMS I wouldn't be averse to getting the Flex volt saw for work and keeping the 780 at home.
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and you know that cinder block has better tolerances built in.
What tools did you buy today?
in Power Tools
Posted
Indeed. A good tool is a good tool, period. It's why I don't dig brand grandstanding. Every manufacturer excels at something and if you need that best, buy it. I own Porter Cable(old stuff) Milwaukee(new and old) Bosch, Makita, Dewalt, an old Ryobi saw and a fossil of a Craftsman router. Good stuff lasts and performs, why not buy it?