PutnamEco

Almost everyone I know in construction is totally clueless when it come to using metric. The only people that I know that have any understanding are mechanics that work on Japanese or European vehicles, people involved in the sciences (biologists, chemists, etc.) and druggies. People in general in the U.S. don't like change and can't be bothered to learn about what the rest of the world does.

See if you can have one shipped from here cheaper.

Bahco tape measures are a little pricey here in the states, and most people don't want anything to do with metric on their tape measures, and almost all of Bahco offerings that I see have metric rules on them.

They are a mixed bag, with factories all over the place. I think H K still makes bolt cutters in the US

Could it be the body shop guys use their own tools and the service station supplies tools for employees? The difference between paying someone $25 an hour versus minimum wage?

Trade Barriers

I have an original Super Sawcat, Which part is it you want measured? Parts diagram @ ereplacementparts.com as far as I can tell the only place the blade is clamped is through the center hole.

I'm guessing some kind of burr for a soft material like foam or wet (green) wood. Reminds me of Saburr-Tooth burrs.

I guess that is one of the advantages of being a tool addict, there is almost always some new tool coming along that I have to try out before I wear the old ones out.

They look like they could be rebranded Gearwrenchs, where were they manufactured?

Wow, you must be further out in the sticks than me, Even here in the second poorest county in Florida, the car guys are maxing out their credit on Mac and Snap-on. I don't think you would even be considered for a job here unless you had a quality set of tools to begin with, no less all the grief you would get from your fellow mechanics.

Gearwrench makes ratcheting box wrenches. When Danaher spun off the ratcheting box wrenches from Matco to form Gearwrench they were their flagship product. Are you referring to another one of their products?

Happened a while ago Apex tool group has been buying brands for a while now and value engineering.... You may be suprised by all the brands they control.

You could match the other models up if you cared to, same companies....

Do Halfords have a house brand, or does some other company manufacture them? We don't have Halfords here in the States and I am totally clueless about them. I have an ancient Craftsman set of both metric and SAE, a couple of Snap-ons in metric 10+11,12+14mm and my newest set the Gearwrench Qaudbox set that I carry for daily use. The Cman set is really big and bulky and kind of defeats the purpose of a ratcheting box end wrench with the size of the things,(and this style is no longer in production having been replaced with a new more compact style) they have a really coarse action, The Sanp-ons are great and I have not had any problem with them, the Gearwrench set has held up so far and they work OK, they have a reversing lever that is really tiny and can be a pain for me to flip sometimes, but I guess that is the compromise I make for not having to carry enough individual wrenches that cover the sizes the Grearwrench set covers.

It is a type II good for 225lbs, Unfortunately I need a Type I or better as I weigh about 200 lbs. and often have to lift heavy objects for installation, It does look like an interesting concept though. The price has probably gone up from all the "quantitative easing" that the Fed has been doing....

I got my Little Giant on sale as well, for around $100, when Home Depot discontinued selling them, I would not have purchased it otherwise, as I am really happy with my regular Werners.

IR is pretty popular with the car and truck guys, they seem to cater more towards them with their cordless line up. I'm doubting many mechanics are buying into the likes of Milwaukee and Dewalt.

Which wrenches were you referring to?

Hmmm, where have I seen those before? I prefer 1" wide tapes for out in the field I most commonly carry a Stanley Fat Max in either 16' or 25' I have a Fastcap Pro Carpenter with a standard reverse blade on my bench at home in the shop. I can't keep track of all the tapes I do have, they, like utility knives, seem to follow me home from the supply house on a regular basis. I agree with the self lockers being backwards, I think the concept might be a good one though, I just can't break my old habit of pushing the button when I want to lock the tape though.

I bought a Little Giant ladder for the same reason. The weight is its downfall though, and they know it, they put wheels on it. It does have the advantage of folding out flat to a 17' ladder and has a 1A rating. Who makes that ladder and what is its weight rating?

Maybe you didn't understand the question, I was referring to Channellocks offering of a Uni-Fit 4-In-1 , Which claim to fit 16 sizes of multiple drive styles both Metric and SAE with just two wrenches.

I don't really know if I like self locking tape measures like US Tapes Pro-SL or Komelon Self Lock It could just be habit for me, when I extend a tape measure and push the button I expect the tape to stay extended, not snap back. Do you use a self locker and do you like it? How long did it take you to get used to it?

Laguna has come out with a CNC lathe. I have to wonder how much longer we will actually be working with our hands if CNC tools keep progressing as fast as they do.

How do they fit on the differing(SAE vs Metric) sizes of fasteners? Can they shift a really stuck nut or are they more appropriate for for lighter work?