PutnamEco

Here in Florida, tin is one of the most common roofing materials, followed by asphalt or fiberglass shingles, we use felt only on a low angle roofs, like 5 degrees or less. Slate is wickedly expensive here, tile only slightly less so. We do on occasion also run into copper roofing but this is becoming even rarer as the price of copper rises. Ceder shingle are pretty rare, used mainly for historic restoration. I do try and stay away from masonry as much as I can. I prefer to work with "big dumb" wood. We have a mix of construction here in FL, the two most common forms of houses are cement block and stick built, followed by prefab, then mobile homes. Most of the brick construction here is historic. Timber frame is really rare. Please note, the US is a large country and things are different in other regions. Nationwide, I would say that stick built house are the most common. It is only in the Southeast that cement block houses are really common. Brick buildings are a lot more common in the Northeast. I am assuming that you know that stick built is built predominately with 2" x 4" lumber, timber frame is done with 6" x 6" or greater wood. Most of our timberframe is done in the Northeast and Northwest, although a lot of faux timberframe is showing up as decorative elements. One of the things that I had to adapt to since I moved here from the Northeast is hurricane standards. Here we have to build our houses to withstand prolonged wind loads. In some areas of the country, like California , they build with seismic loads in mind. We in Florida share a lot in common with how we accomplish these goals. Most of this involves really securing the structure to the foundation, and securing the roof from lifting forces. It seems really odd that we have more fasteners holding things down then keeping them up... I volunteer a lot in my spare time. One of the more interesting projects I'm working on is bird feeder kits for Eco Adventure days at my local state park. I also volunteer at an old water works, that we are transforming into an environmental education center and community garden, and I help keep an abandoned cemetery maintained.

I have always loved internet communities, ever since the first BBSs I have always found some people passionate about the same things I was. Something that is sometimes hard to do IRL. There are some awesome forums and blogs out there that have great knowledge bases. I must admit though that some of them have caused me to become pretty thick skinned, especially when it comes to politics. I would much rather waste an evening on the forums than stuck in front of a television, especially these days with the lack of any really good programming.

Chat room would work. PM doesn't get everyone involved.

Do we have a hidden moderators thread? I would love to discuss splitting threads, and would REALLY not like to step on anybodies toes. Seems we get pretty far off topic sometimes, like in the "how do you care for hand tools" discussion ending up as a discussion on knives.

Cool, Thanks

Can you get Lenox tools in the U.K.? I find I prefer their arbors. Greenlee has a quick change arbor as well.

The thread on knives the other day got me thinking about one of the handiest tools I carry. I lost one of my favorites, the Leatherman Wave, so I have been carrying Victorinox's version. I also have a few others that I will break out on occasion. I would carry my Gerber 600 more often if it had a pair of scissors included, as I love they way I can just flick it open. I also have an older SOG Paratool that I often carry when I want a really small and compact tool that I can conceal under clothes or in a pocket. I prefer to carry a multi-tool over a plain knife for the versatility these tools offer. I often find I need things like a screwdriver or pliers about as often as I need a blade.

1200 watts is about a 10 Amps

I would be thinking Festool CMS

Hate it when OP replies, before I finish my reply, answering what I'm wondering about. LOL You could build a jobsite tablesaw into a workbench. This is a pretty common space saving concept that I have seen done; Most of the people that I know, that are really short on space. have switched over to using track saws. One Idea that I liked that was thinking outside the box was Dino Makropoulos upsidedown rig http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JBr_q9KT7E

It would depend a lot on what your cutting. 300mm seems like a lot of blade for a small circular saw motor to be spinning. If your just using it for light cutting in soft wood you may not have any problems, If your taking deep cuts in hard woods I can't see that saw lasting very long, especially if your going to do any production type work. I'm wondering what your motivation for doing this is. I have seen far more scary unsafe set ups of this type than well made rigs. Table saws are one of the easier tools to get a serious injury from, and could be made even more dangerous with some poor design thrown into the mix.

Yes, but, with the exception of Makitas DS4000 all the other ones feel like toys compared to the Milwaukees,

Bosches winged channel chisels are supposed to be all the rage, I won't comment personally, I try to steer clear of masonry. I have had excellent results with any of the Hilti bits I've used. I have heard rumors that some of there stuff is starting to be imported from China now though. Most of my SDS bits are Boschs. As for hole saws, I have an older bi-metal Morse set that just won't quit. I do have a few carbides, a Lenox single tooth in 2 1/8" for door hardware, it cuts very quickly, super easy to sharpen as well, but man, does it leave a rough looking hole. If it broke I would be buying another one that day or the next. I use a Bosch multi tooth for when I'm working at a more refined pace on higher quality doors. I have a mix and match box full of just about all the major manufacturers hole saws but rarely use most of them. If I'm not grabbing my Morse set, I'm most likely looking for one from Greenlee. I like the new Lenox arbors the best. My favorite reciprocating saw blades are Boschs when I can find the ones I like. I'm particularly fond of the RDN6V. For strictly cutting metal I'll go for either Boschs RECM9X2 or Lenoxs 21069618GR I have been disappointed in Milwaukee’s "Torch" line, it seems to me they just wear out very quickly. Their wood blades are a little better, but they are not among my favorites. I won't go out of my way to pick up any Dewalt blades. If I'm looking for cheap blades I'll instead head to Walmart and pick up some Black & Deckers. I like Skils brush blade for finishing the cuts in 6"x -8"x material. For ships auger bits, again I've got a mixed box of bits, mostly Bosch, Milwaukee, and Greenlee with a few Irwins thrown in as well. If you asked me to pick a favorite today I would say Milwaukee. I haven't used my new Bosch "naileaters" or Greenlees impact driven ship augers enough to form a decent opinion. They both seem like they may worthy contenders. Do you all want to get into brace driven bits? For selfeeds I do like Milwakees version and really appreciate the replaceable screw feed part, not to mention one of the best extensions I've ever worked with. A couple of the larger bits have changeable cutters. I work mainly in pine, these bits probably wont work well in hard woods, I wouldn't even like to think about putting a 3" hole in oak with one. Your going to need a large drill for some of their larger bits. They don't stay sharp for a particularly long time and are a real pain for me to resharpen, but I feel they are worth if. Rigid makes a really fast self feed bit, that when I'm trying to work quickly and don't mind a rough hole, are my first choice. Think 1" holes through framing. I think they may have discontinued them as I no longer see them on my local stores shelves. For spade bits, I most often use Irwins regular bits. I don't really care to use self feed spade bits but when I do, I think the Boschs Daredevil bits work the best. I mostly run Freuds thin kerf diablos in my circular saws, although I do have some Tenru and Irwin blades kicking around. I still have not worked through all the Hilti blades that came with the saw I bought from them either. They seem like pretty good blades, I haven't ever seen them on any store shelves, so once they are gone, I'll probably not be get any more, not saying I wouldn't if I found them again at a reasonable price though, as they do work pretty well. I run either Festools stock blades or a Forrest blade that I use for some cross cuts in my track saw. I know I've skipped over a few, if you want my opinion on anything more specific just ask.

Just like cable television was supposed to be worth it because there were no commercials, so satellite radio will end up as well.

You don't think the 1600 series are traditional spade handled drills???

From the few clips I've seen this show looks pretty good, I'll have to find more, Thanks for telling of this show.

People in the US are often like the Luddites, digital radio is not big over here, and is hard to find any radios that will receive it, even though the broadcasters have adopted it. Most people in my neck of the woods seem to think it is just another way for the corporations to suck even more money from the people. We just switched to digital television and there are still many older people bitter about it.

I try to use mine evenly by writing on them, A B C D etc. as well as purchase or rebuild date. Then I cycle through them in order,

I would have been stopped dead in my tracks more than a few times if it wasn't for my Hole Hawg and large spade handle drills. Wasn't any WAY a cordless drill could have handled some of those holes.

Same reason they don't have diagnostic scanners built into cars, your supposed to go pay the dealer to deal with your problems, regular folks aren't supposed to care about anything other then who to give their money to. Just think of all the poor dealers who couldn't survive if anyone but them could fix their things. If your really going to get into it, the remote control modelers are always on the bleeding edge. They have much more sophisticated chargers and battery management systems then we in the power tool world are accustomed to. Head on over to RC Groups and dive in.

Which radio is it that works for digital broadcasts? Our Makitas over here certainly don't do that. I have yet to see a work radio that does. The closest we get is Boschs radio with a dock for subscription satellite radio (Sirius).

I know Milwaukee has a cool tool that just slides onto the battery pack and can tell all kind of information about the battery. I remember it doing some things like recording whether the pack overheated, charge cycles, and I think it even registers what tools it was used on. This tool was a dealer only tool, but I did find a dealer who was willing to sell me one if I offered him way to much money. I'm sure the other manufacturers have similar means of determining what has gone on with their Lith-Ion batteries. You may be able to download this info off the chip yourself, if you were determined enough. If your interested at all in the chips (integrated circuits) that manage your batteries http://liionbms.com/...p_bms_chips.php http://www.electroni...912782&cmp_id=7 There is a guy over in the Dewalt owners group who likes dissecting tools and batteries and posting about them. http://dewaltownersg...f82f&board=26.0

Wow, What do you guys use for drilling big holes? I just skimmed through a couple online UK tool websites and it would appear your Milwaukee tools and the U.S. version of Milwaukee tools have quite a few differences in their line ups. I don't think we have any circular saws in common.

Plenty on YouTube

I believe you should still be able to find an original Makita battery brand new. If not, there are a few places that will rebuild your battery to better than new specifications for a reasonable price. I send my old batteries to MTObatteries Some of the aftermarket batteries I have seen seem to have been rather sketchy. If you find a brand that seems reputable, I would love to hear of it.