PutnamEco

I perform regular maintenance on my tools, beyond keeping the exterior clean, I take apart most of my regularly used tools every six months or so and with my less commonly used tools yearly, to clean and grease them. I can't believe how many professionals don't do this. This has allowed me to keep my well built tools, running for ages, and I often catch problems before they can become tool killing problems. I always check the bearings, switches, and gearcases. Blowing out switches and cleaning the old grease out of the gearcase before relubricating. I am a big fan of Stihls high performance gear lubricant, (0781 120 1118) as it is meant to hold up under high speed and heat. For any tools that have spline drive, I use Hondas moly paste (08734-0001) on the splines. I feel Krytox is overkill for a power tool ($$$ lol) although it is a superior lube. Yes, I try to keep my tools clean as possible. I wish I could get all my tools without rubber overmolds. It is almost always the first thing to wear out and make a tool ugly and uncomfortable to use. If your working around anything greasy it tend to hold the grease rather than let it be able to be wiped off easily. I also hate when the edges start peeling up, and how if you remove the rubber your left with a tool that is almost useless. At least they feel good on the showroom floor... No pneumatic nailers??

I don't see anything. Had that problem the other day, trying to embed Youtube videos, it may take a while for them to show up. I could not see the videos until the next day. My armchair webmastering opinion would be that the database is not configured for user uploads. It should work if you define it yourself by inserting your own code. First you will have to find an somewhere to host your image, then post it Like this [img=http://i.imgur.com/kNjht.jpg]

Just a pedantic nit pick, but, Knipex do NOT make tongue and groove pliers. They call the joint they use for their adjustment a box joint.

I'm only commenting on how they looked, I don't personally own any Footprint planes. Compared to the Veritas planes, the finish on them did not look as refined. I may be biased by what I own though, I guess it would be kind of like comparing the finish of Snap-on to Proto.

Same here, I just wish I didn't have to deal with five different chargers all the time.

Sad thing was, I thought I was buying it as an upgrade from my Porter-Cable 548, which by the way, I still have in excellent running condition.

It is showing up like its supposed to NOW??? Might have been a glitch on my side. It was not working for me the other day. I just got nothing, not even a placeholder or any text or other indication that there was an error.

I lucked out when I started out, with decent hand me down tools and a few cheap used tools, but I had yet to learn that when you buy quality tools you only cry once, but when you buy junk tools you cry every time you use them. I was a brand fan for Black & Decker since they where what most of my first tools were. Unfortunately, when it was time for me to buy some new tools, the quality of their tools had gone downhill, So , there where a bunch, I'm guessing it was back in the late 70s or early 80s when I had my first let down from Black & Decker. It was a circular saw, this really cheap plastic deal. It had worked reasonably well for a few months but unknown to me at the time the shaft was spinning inside the bearings when it got hot, couldn't for the life of me figure why I couldn't cut a straight line. even with a shooting board. I was hopping mad and ready to call it quits for a while then. The drills of that line hardly lasted any time at all either. They could last any where from a few days to a couple of months. went through a bunch of them under warranty. It was then that I found out the factory rebuilds were a better deal, after the initial failure or two was fixed they lasted for a fairly decent while. The sanders were the same way. I ended up trying one of there much more expensive drills, from B & Ds "Industrial" line and it lasted next to forever. With the good luck that I had with that drill, I started investing in better tools. A habit I maintain to this day. Some of the other wonderful tools that I had from my cheap tools is good tools phase were a Craftsman jig saw, that had a rotating shaft (it was a feature) that could hardly follow a line, and the rotating shaft like to vibrate itself unlocked, fun times... Then there was the General Electric multi-tool, which was a power head that could be fitted to either a drill, sander or jigsaw base. The sander sounded like a somebody took an electric shaver and put in in a paint can full of nuts and bolts and then put that into a clothes dryer and turned the whole mess on. I always wondered if the tool was actually doing anything or if it was really me just pushing it around as a noisy sanding pad that was getting the work done. The drill was so weak that it often stalled drilling really easy holes, you know, like 1/4" holes in pine. The jig saw had about an 1/8" stroke so it was basically just vibrating its way through the wood, and the noise it made had everybody in the neighborhood worrying as well. I'm going to call the GE tool the worst I've owned since not only did it not do one thing well, it didn't do three things well.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, They look significantly safer then what we use here in the U.S. I often wish we here in the states were not so stubborn and would be willing to change to clearly better standards. I can't believe we still have not widely adopted the metric system. You all in the U.K. seem to have the best of both worlds. How many amps are is your standard 110v service? Here in the U.S. older houses usually have 15 Amps. while new construction and commercial are most often 20 Amp.

The Skil Sand Cat was one of if not the first of the "home owner friendly" consumer grade belt sanders offered. The competition at the time were beasts, like the Porter-Cable 564 and 362 and many "locomotive" type sanders were still available at the time, like Skils 449 and Porter-Cables A3 I don't recall ever seeing a worthy belt sander come from Black & Decker.

Bahco are one of those brands that are frustratingly difficult to find here in the U.S. If it were not for the internet, I don't think I would ever have a chance to purchase them. They seem to have disappeared a few years ago, along with Sandvik. I think Bahco bought Sandvik, and then Bahco was bought by Snap-on. I don't think Snap-on is really all that interested in retail marketing, which might be why they are so hard to find here. I have a lot of Channellocks spread throughout my tool collection, some in the shop, some in purpose built tool sets, and in every vehicles that I use. I have a bunch of Knipex that I carry for daily use. I'm kind of a sucker for gimmicks in slip joint pliers and their Alligator and Cobra Pliers are really well made. Knipex has a tool they call the Pliers Wrench which is like a cross between an adjustable wrench and a pair of Channellocks, real handy for building out a minimalist tool kit. Speaking of neat gimmicks, Snap on has that Thumb adjustable joint on some of their pliers, which seam to work really well. http://buy1.snapon.c...ore&dir=catalog When it come down to it though, simplest always wins in the end, especially when it come to getting down to work in the grease and mud. I would be interested to hear your opinions on which brands fail, and how. I can't imagine breaking many of them. Especially brands like Snap-on or Knipex, even brands Irwin and Craftsman seem pretty robust. Even really cheap stuff like those Robo-Grip pliers look like they would be hard to break. I have come across some brands that are REALLY rare here in the states but you may be more familiar with, King Dick, and Usag, they both seem well made, but I only saw them briefly and didn't really get to check them out all that well. I think the Usag where an OEM set for a car. Channellocks are, I believe, the industry standard, to the point that they have become the generic name for these type of tools. Hardly anyone calls them anything else. Kind of like Kleenex. Very seldom have I heard them called slip joint pliers, I have more often heard them called water pump pliers, but even then, this is fairly rare.

I have some Festool and I really like what I have. I find the T-18 drill to be pretty potent, It wont match a 28v drill but it will hold its own, and I really like the electric clutch. Protools are NOT available here. and the fact that most of the rest of the world runs on 50 Hz. unlike the 60 Hz. we run here in the states, really makes them impractical to convert power for them, for grey market use. With the cost of converters/inverters being cost prohibitive. I have been tempted to find myself a grey market generator. Even though it would probably be illegal, I would love to bring a set of 220v 50Hz tools to a jobsite just so people would quit trying to borrow my tools and plug things into my generator when I'm not looking. I really want the PDC 18-4 TEC for that 3800 RPM top speed. I could use that in more than a few applications. Interesting fact, some Hilti, and a lot of Mafell saws will work on Festool tracks. I really like using my Hilti cordless circular saw on the track for trimming deck ends and the like. Speaking of power, I've always wondered what type of plug they use on tools in the UK for 110v? This info is not easily found on the internet.

Around here a couple of my acquaintances are saying the Bosch blades are the best of the bunch. I haven’t tried them yet, so I can't comment from personal experience, I don't use multi-tools much.

I wasn’t' aware of the Metabo radio being able to charge, I live in a really rural area and don't get to see many Metabo tools. I have never even seen one of their radios. Dewalt does license their patent to other companies, some are just unwilling to pay. Looks like a nice radio. It is rather pricey here, and they do say it charges 14.4v batteries as well. http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B0069TMSM4

Couple more http://www.platt.com...aspx?zpid=15301 http://hartford.ebay...ew/?ad=16670095 http://www.ebay.com/...=item2570e93fe4 They're out there, you just have to look for them.

Ok then http://store.harryep...l?via=googProds A lot of them are out of production here you can find some model numbers to further your searches http://all2ools.com:...&func=view&pn=2 Saved searches and patience on Ebay often pay off

Porter- Cable died twice, once under Rockwell, then Pentair semi-restored them to the quality brand they once were, then under Stanley Black & Decker they turned Chinese, they will never be what they once where. Now they are just another Chinese/Mexican commodity tool brand. Wasn't it Skil that manufactured the Sand Cat?

Would this be what your looking for? Channellock 424 4.5" Mini Tongue & Groove Pliers http://www.ebay.com/...=item2ebca6c3eb

With grey market tools, there is always the fun you have with adapting to their power requirements. Converters at the amperage power tools use are pricey. With cordless tools there is less problems as often you can just purchase an American charger. Sometimes this will come around and bite you though, as sometimes they use different batteries as well. I'm looking into trying my hand a getting a few tools that are not available here. I really want a ProTool PDC 18-4 TEC hammerdrill. Some of the ProTool saws look interesting as well. I always wonder what a riving knife would be like on a good framing saw. I could imagine it would make ripping framing lumber a good bit safer.

I believe only Dewalt and Bosch radios charge batteries, it is my understanding that Stanley Black & Decker, Dewalts parent company holds the patent for radio chargers.

I started out with B & D and Porter-Cable/Rockwell. I stuck with B & D through their "Professional" and "Industrial" lines until they turned yellow. I still have some of the older tools and the original B & D Super Sawcat remains one of my favorite tools. Later I adopted Milwaukee as my preferred brand, after the not so great change of B & D to Dewalt. Rockwell and what they procured from Porter-Cable had been "value engineered" to end up as pretty poor tools before Dewalt finished what was left of B & Ds professional quality tools. I was a late adopter of Makita. They finally won me over with their 9.6v line of cordless tools. And their 5007 circular saw. I did run both a Skil 77 and later a Milwaukee 6365 dropfoot saw through this time as well. I did flirt with both Milwaukee and Porter-Cable 12v tools before switching back to Milwaukee for 18v. More recently with Milwaukee selling out to TTI, I switched back to Makita for 18v tools. I have bought a few other tools as well, Usually aiming for higher quality tools. Hilti, Festool, and Mafell all have some worthy tools. So what I guess I'm saying is today I don't really have a favorite brand. If you would have asked my favorite when I started out I would have said Black & Decker, later I would have said Milwaukee. Today I just can't commit to a brand to call my favorite.

I can't comment on the Milwaukee but I will tell you the Bosch 1591EVSK is one of the sweetest jigsaws I've ever seen.

I have their marking gauge and sliding t bevel, they seem pretty good. I may try one of there back saws. I looked at their planes and was not really very impressed. They did look like good workable tools though. Footprint tools can be purchased in the US from Woodcraft. http://www.woodcraft.ccom I have always been impressed with Veritas planes http://www.veritastools.com/ Bridge City Tool Works makes some interesting tools as well. http://www.bridgecitytools.com/

Here in the US, If the post is marked "postage will be paid by addressee" what you do is tape that card to something nice and heavy like a brick or a box of rocks...

I can't seem to find the Metabo BS18LTX-X3 for sale in the U.S. Might be another one of those tools that doesn’t make it stateside. That torque multiplier could be a real game changer. It may be a better choice as a grey market tool than some other EU tool offerings though.