What tools did you buy today?

[Altan]

Got a Steinel CAS cordless glue gun, amazing quality and very small and light, made in Romania. I have a LiHD 5.5Ah battery from Metabo but I will get another battery I think for this as this battery is very big and I want this tool to remain small and light. The LiHD 3.5Ah looks quite compact, if not I would go for Li-ion 2Ah battery. 

[Altan]

Just now, Altan said:

Got a Steinel CAS cordless glue gun, amazing quality and very small and light, made in Romania. I have a LiHD 5.5Ah battery from Metabo but I will get another battery I think for this as this battery is very big and I want this tool to remain small and light. The LiHD 3.5Ah looks quite compact, if not I would go for Li-ion 2Ah battery. 

The photo shows a 2Ah Li-ion battery on it and it is a good size for it. 

[Jronman]

The new Ego commercial products I ordered arrived a little bit ago. I have gotten some use with the string trimmer but not the hedge trimmer yet. Possibly after I finish picking up leaves in 3 to 4 weeks I can get some use with the hedge trimmer.

[Altan]

Got a DeWALT DCW210 sander and I think the design has some problem and it is odd looking as it is not symmetric, here are some photos. Why is this odd shape?!!!  

[Eric - TIA]

I have the same sander and love it.  Are you talking about the pad to the base being off?

[Jronman]

oh the dust collection holes might be what @Altan is talking about

[Jronman]

maybe it is for Diablo sandpaper. It has a strange hole layout too. https://www.diablotools.com/products/DCD050040H04G

[Altan]

On 11/27/2023 at 6:52 PM, Eric - TIA said:

I have the same sander and love it.  Are you talking about the pad to the base being off?

Yes, that is what I meant, it looks unprofessional to me. 

[Altan]

On 12/4/2023 at 6:01 PM, Jronman said:

oh the dust collection holes might be what @Altan is talking about

No, that is not what I was talking about. 

[Jronman]

I retired some snow shovels two weeks ago. I intended to buy one from the local hardware but they ran out of stock. I decided to order one. The replacement I ordered arrived this week. I got a Snowcaster 24 inch snow pusher. Turns out snow pushers don't work very well as a scoop. As a result I checked my hardware store today and they restocked the snow shovels and I bought one. I don't recall the brand but I was told by the lady who runs our local hardware that her son has one and it is still going after 10 years. She said he did snow removal at one time. Snow removal is hard on stuff. I don't know how long ago her son quit snow removal, but it sounds promising that it is still in working condition.

[Jronman]

Winter 2024 Tool Crate arrived. We got a Klein 7-in-1 socket driver, a set of Stealth Mounts Tube Mounts, a pair of Unilite electricians shears, a Unilite right angle USB rechargeable light, a Troll Co Clothing hat and sticker set, a Gerikt'n Margin Marker, and one Tool Crate sticker.

[fm2176]

On 10/30/2023 at 1:00 PM, Jronman said:

I decided to order the new EGO commercial 17.5 inch string trimmer STX4500 and the commercial articulating hedge trimmer HTX5300-PA. I got $20 off but still pricey. The place I buy replacement parts had them in stock. I have been waiting for them for over a year. Next spring I will probably pickup the commercial edger and if it is out maybe the commercial PGX charging setup.

 

Sounds nice.  I have no need for EGO's commercial equipment, and the only thing I really use nowadays is the string trimmer.  The Bad Boy mower handles the acre fine, but that trimmer does an excellent job.  To be honest, though, if/when that craps out, I'll look into a professional gas trimmer.  I like the instant start of the EGO, though, so I may consider replacing it.  It should have years more given its relatively light use.

 

It's hard to believe it's been nearly six years since I got my EGO tools.  At least one of the 5Ah batteries is on its last legs--it started showing signs a few years back.  I have no hedges, rarely use the backpack blower, and the push mower sees use once or twice a year in the little enclosed area I have for my dogs.  So, the cost of replacement batteries may do in my little experiment with battery powered OPE.  It was great in Northern Virginia, with relatively close neighbors and a smallish 1/4-acre lot.  South Louisiana is much less friendly.  Using the trimmer in the sun mid-summer, the battery heats up like crazy.  

 

Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas now carries a couple of EGO saws: Search Results (basspro.com).  Employees get 15% off of national brands, with 25% off a few times throughout the year, so if I need a fresh battery, I may go that route despite them being only 2.5Ah.  It makes sense, I guess, to offer hunters a relatively quick and quiet way to clear out a shooting lane or do some pre-season cleanup.  The stores I've checked all show "Limited Stock", meaning one available, and I know the ones we have are in the overhead in the back, so you may have to order online, but if anyone has BPS/Cabelas gift cards they have no use for and needs a chainsaw and/or pole saw, there you go!

[Jronman]

I ordered some empty inserts for the new attic systainer from ToolsToday. I have never bought from them before. I have plans to create a custom bit setup. Many kits include too many duplicates or bits you don't need/want all the time. Of the 3 I ordered only one arrived. I never got any emails regarding anything. I sent a support message to them but I will call on Monday when they open if I don't hear back from them in my emails. I also ordered the new Festool CXS 18 from Tool Pros (used to be called Festool Products; a sister site to Tool Nut). This comes with the CXS 18, attic systainer SYS3 DF M187, the new compact right angle chuck, Centrotec chuck, 3/8 keyless chuck, 2 High Power 4 ah batteries, a Centrotec magnetic bit holder, and a charger. I also Ordered a set of 7 Centrotec brad point bits, a Centrotec locking bit holder (essentially the Wera locking bit holder but with a Centrotec shank), and the eccentric chuck. This will be my first Festool drill/driver. I don't know if it will replace my m12 installation driver but we will see I guess.

[fm2176]

I haven't been on much of a buying spree lately but have gradually gotten some gunsmithing tools.  Nothing fancy... I need to finish the cleanup/downsizing and figure out where I want my gunsmithing and reloading stations to go.  Speaking of which, reloading tools are on the short list.

 

Oddly enough, I've moved on from the Big Box home improvement stores to Walmart as my tool Mecca.  Not really, but I do wander down the tool aisle now after scoring some deals.  The local Home Depot is close to my work, while the Lowes is across the river.  Walmart is less than four miles away and a regular stop these days.  They have a habit of marking stuff down by 50%, so I got a pick set for cheap that was missing one, and then saw that a lady restocking the clearance aisle had a heavy Hart mechanics tool set on her cart.  The handle had broken off, all tools were present and unblemished, and it was marked down from $130 to $65, so I took it.  About a week later an employee came up to me with a 36" prybar that was missing it's packaging for 50% off.  I guess he recognized me as the local weirdo that buys tool deals?  I don't know...

[Jronman]

3 minutes ago, fm2176 said:

 

Sounds nice.  I have no need for EGO's commercial equipment, and the only thing I really use nowadays is the string trimmer.  The Bad Boy mower handles the acre fine, but that trimmer does an excellent job.  To be honest, though, if/when that craps out, I'll look into a professional gas trimmer.  I like the instant start of the EGO, though, so I may consider replacing it.  It should have years more given its relatively light use.

 

It's hard to believe it's been nearly six years since I got my EGO tools.  At least one of the 5Ah batteries is on its last legs--it started showing signs a few years back.  I have no hedges, rarely use the backpack blower, and the push mower sees use once or twice a year in the little enclosed area I have for my dogs.  So, the cost of replacement batteries may do in my little experiment with battery powered OPE.  It was great in Northern Virginia, with relatively close neighbors and a smallish 1/4-acre lot.  South Louisiana is much less friendly.  Using the trimmer in the sun mid-summer, the battery heats up like crazy.  

 

Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas now carries a couple of EGO saws: Search Results (basspro.com).  Employees get 15% off of national brands, with 25% off a few times throughout the year, so if I need a fresh battery, I may go that route despite them being only 2.5Ah.  It makes sense, I guess, to offer hunters a relatively quick and quiet way to clear out a shooting lane or do some pre-season cleanup.  The stores I've checked all show "Limited Stock", meaning one available, and I know the ones we have are in the overhead in the back, so you may have to order online, but if anyone has BPS/Cabelas gift cards they have no use for and needs a chainsaw and/or pole saw, there you go!

Yeah batteries don't last in the heat. I am probably 50-50 on useable and unuseable/faulty batteries now. I got something like 14 batteries from Ego (rough guesstimate). The commercial backpack battery is by far the best in the heat and cold (or seems like it) but it was purpose built for commercial. I think the batteries with the old fuel display last longer but that is only a theory.

[Jronman]

2 minutes ago, fm2176 said:

I haven't been on much of a buying spree lately but have gradually gotten some gunsmithing tools.  Nothing fancy... I need to finish the cleanup/downsizing and figure out where I want my gunsmithing and reloading stations to go.  Speaking of which, reloading tools are on the short list.

 

Oddly enough, I've moved on from the Big Box home improvement stores to Walmart as my tool Mecca.  Not really, but I do wander down the tool aisle now after scoring some deals.  The local Home Depot is close to my work, while the Lowes is across the river.  Walmart is less than four miles away and a regular stop these days.  They have a habit of marking stuff down by 50%, so I got a pick set for cheap that was missing one, and then saw that a lady restocking the clearance aisle had a heavy Hart mechanics tool set on her cart.  The handle had broken off, all tools were present and unblemished, and it was marked down from $130 to $65, so I took it.  About a week later an employee came up to me with a 36" prybar that was missing it's packaging for 50% off.  I guess he recognized me as the local weirdo that buys tool deals?  I don't know...

I don't know what premium tool brands Walmart carries but I have seen they carry Little Giant ladders which is one of the better ladder brands. Seems like a lot of the tools are more value focused.

[fm2176]

17 minutes ago, Jronman said:

I don't know what premium tool brands Walmart carries but I have seen they carry Little Giant ladders which is one of the better ladder brands. Seems like a lot of the tools are more value focused.

They are more value focused.  Their "premium" brand is Hart, made of course by TTI.

 

 

[Jronman]

Hart is premium? I thought it was Ryobi quality at best?

[fm2176]

It's basically Ryobi with slide-on batteries in lieu of the stick ones that Ryobi's used for over a quarter century.  But for Walmart, it's "premium". much like the Bostich 18v and short-lived FatMax power tools were.  

[Jronman]

My Festool CXS 18 arrived the other day. I have already kitted out the attic portion of the Systainer with an assortment of bits. I could have gone with a prefilled assortment from Festool but I decided to buy some empty holders and fill them with my own bits.I have a mixture of Wera driving bits, Festool Centrotec bit holders, Festool Centrotec brad point bits (black color) and some Milwaukee hex shank bits (gold color). I am considering doing a lid swap between the box the CXS came with and the new SYS3 Combis if they come to the states. They just came out in Europe. I would expect if we get them we will get them in the next wave of Festool USA releases. If I pick up a TPC in a few years I will probably do a different but similar custom setup for the attic if it comes with one.

[Eric - TIA]

That's a nice setup.  I wonder if they sell just the box.  I like the Festool drill but I have a couple of drills that I use I like that box and would like to get one.  I like the setup with the bits on top and easy access.  Nice.

[Altan]

16 hours ago, Jronman said:

My Festool CXS 18 arrived the other day. I have already kitted out the attic portion of the Systainer with an assortment of bits. I could have gone with a prefilled assortment from Festool but I decided to buy some empty holders and fill them with my own bits.I have a mixture of Wera driving bits, Festool Centrotec bit holders, Festool Centrotec brad point bits (black color) and some Milwaukee hex shank bits (gold color). I am considering doing a lid swap between the box the CXS came with and the new SYS3 Combis if they come to the states. They just came out in Europe. I would expect if we get them we will get them in the next wave of Festool USA releases. If I pick up a TPC in a few years I will probably do a different but similar custom setup for the attic if it comes with one.

 

Festool brad point drill bits are made by Fisch and you can get them with normal 1/4" E6.3 hex shank from Fisch as well, of course much cheaper! 

[Jronman]

4 hours ago, Altan said:

 

Festool brad point drill bits are made by Fisch and you can get them with normal 1/4" E6.3 hex shank from Fisch as well, of course much cheaper! 

The Fisch hex shank bits are not sold in the states. Disappointing but that seems to be how things go sometimes. We get products Europe doesn't get and Europe does the same. At least we can still buy the round shank bradpoint bits. I also saw what looked like to be an extended hex shank. I wasn't listed as centrotec but it looked just like Centrotec. I wonder if they are compatible. There is actually a pretty nice (round shank) 29 piece Imperial and 25 piece Metric brad point Fisch kit available here. I might pick one up if I think I need more sizes. It is only $178.99 for the 54 bits which is actually pretty decent deal considering how nice Fisch bits are. It does 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch in 1/64 inch increments and does 1mm to 13mm in .5 mm increments.

[Jronman]

11 hours ago, Eric - TIA said:

That's a nice setup.  I wonder if they sell just the box.  I like the Festool drill but I have a couple of drills that I use I like that box and would like to get one.  I like the setup with the bits on top and easy access.  Nice.

Not only do they sell the box but you can get the box in 3 different heights. Here is a link.https://www.toolnirvana.com/collections/empty-systainers the listings should say lid compartment.

 

I would stick with Festool branded systainers with the lid compartment. Tanos also sells the same boxes in Grey and blue color scheme or all Anthracite color scheme but you pay a bit more. I'm surprised Tanos is more expensive. It used to be less expensive than Festool. https://systainer.store/collections/lid-compartment-m

 

Also here is where I bought the insert trays empty. They have them in stock. The above link also sells them but is sold out. https://toolstoday.com/systainer-83000566-bit-cassette-for-systainer3-lid-compartment-m-137-237-light-grey.html

[Altan]

7 hours ago, Jronman said:

The Fisch hex shank bits are not sold in the states. Disappointing but that seems to be how things go sometimes. We get products Europe doesn't get and Europe does the same. At least we can still buy the round shank bradpoint bits. I also saw what looked like to be an extended hex shank. I wasn't listed as centrotec but it looked just like Centrotec. I wonder if they are compatible. There is actually a pretty nice (round shank) 29 piece Imperial and 25 piece Metric brad point Fisch kit available here. I might pick one up if I think I need more sizes. It is only $178.99 for the 54 bits which is actually pretty decent deal considering how nice Fisch bits are. It does 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch in 1/64 inch increments and does 1mm to 13mm in .5 mm increments.

 

Actually I got the Fisch hex shank brad point drill bit size 9mm from Amazon US, some of their sizes are only sold in US. The Fisch, Star-M and W L Fuller brad point drill bits are the best European, Japanese and American brad point drill bits that are made of HSS, not HCS and they remain sharper for longer time. WL Fuller does not make them with hex shank though. Star-M does make them in a lot of different sizes, but all are the same length. There is a German guy obsessed with German, Swiss, Austrian and Japanese tool accessories and he sells online as well and can post everywhere, his prices are much cheaper than half price from the other online sellers, if you want I can send you his contact details. He can find whatever you want, his advertisement in his unfinalized website is "Don't search, find!" loool

 

This extended hex shank is called Japanese 6.35 Hex shank I think and they are 4-5mm longer than Western 1/4" E6.3 hex shank. I grind them to make them shorter to become like Western hex shank. Or it might be the 5.5mm hex shank like the one with Wera bit holder in the photo.  The other photo is the Star-M hex shank brad point drill bits made of HSS.