New tools you've bought recently?

[Rick W]

You're a fan of afternoon naps... good food... two never ending project trucks and spending money?

Three project trucks, and some stupid trailers too’

 

[JoshT]

I think most of us here are.

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I'm all the time buying new tools, often replacements for ones I forgot I had or can't find, but I dont usually take pictures of them. Did today though.

First up:

Just the pump, the gauges are rentals. It's the 3 CFM Two Stage Vacuum Pump from Harbor Freight. (Ignore the oil stain, it's from the rental pump)



We purchased a R134a manifold set but rented a pump last time we did this, maybe 15 years ago. Only vacuum pump now available for rent locally was the 1.8 CFM unit from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Discovered our manifold hoses had dry rotted, so went back and rented those. With the leaks fixed the rental pump would only pull about 14-16" of vacuum on the system and seemed like it took 10-15 minutes to get there. The system held that vacuum steady all night. Decided a stronger vacuum pump was needed so picked this bad boy up this morning. Reopened the system to check that the orifice tube was installed correct (still not sure) so all vacuum was lost. Reconnected the manifold, switched on the pump, and almost instantly it was asbove 20 inches of vacuum, and only a minute or so more it was at 29-30 inches. Wow that worked well!

As it turns out it was a very good purchase. My compressor is apparently bad, so I get to do it asll over again in a few weeks. By then we'll also have a new manifold, or new hoses of the one we have. Oh if you are doing this and have one nearby, check Ollie's for R134a, the sometimes have the basic 12oz cans for <$5 a can. Unfortunately they were out but Wallyworld has it for about $10 a can. They don't have the fancy cool boost stuff (tthat I kind of wanted) but it's a lot cheaper than the $30-40 a piece for those cans, expecially if you don;t know the condition of the system.

Other "tool" I purchased wasn't a truck tool, but hopefully something that will be put to use with TRS later this year. I suppose it would be a "camping tool".


Coleman Carlsbad 8-person "Dark Room" tent. While I was in Ollie's this morning checking for the R134a, I decided to have a look around and spotted a bit of camping gear stacked in one area. Not unusual to find camping gear there, but the store I normally visit near work mostly has sleeping bags and small 3 person dome tents. This store had a few of these and some 10 man domes. These were marked at $80, as you can see in the link (click picture) this tent normalls sells around $200 at wallyworld and at least 150 for most places I saw online.

If the claims are to be believed this tent will solve or at least help with a few problem I have tent camping. First it's a 15x12x6 10 man tent that I'll mostly use solo, I hate the lack of space in the normal 3 man dome tents. Second, the "dark room technology" is supposed to help decrease light transmission (it seem to) and lower temperature as a by product (we'll see). I hate the ammount of light that most tents allow through and heat is my number one reason for avoiding tent camping. Maybe this with a fan will be livable. Finally, a larger tent is usually dificult to pitch solo, atleast the larger ones we've had in the past. I set-up, checked it out, took down, folded, read the instructions (sewed in the bag), then bagged it in about an hour, in that order. Was doing at my parents house in case I did need help, but I did all of it alone except for my niece pestering me the whole time. Without the little annoyance and having assembled it once, I think I can do it quicker next time.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I bought a shallow/standard 27mm socket. I will get to those timing chain tensioner pistons.

 

[wildbill23c]

I've bought a few tools recently...due to my grandfather's passing a few family members suddenly after 30+ years that they suddenly want to take up wood working and are taking grandpas old shop tools....so...since I use them frequently I had to replace them....so...to start I bought a new table saw, a jointer, and router/table combo....I'll get that stuff paid off and then buy a planer, compound miter saw, etc.

Kind of good timing though as I'm working on putting a floor in another section of the shop so 1/2 the shop will have a floor and I'll use that half for wood working, the other half will remain dirt and will be where my tractor is stored.

 

[Gavinbaine]

Newest gadgets I got. Both were out of necessity. But so far impressed with both

 

[gaz]

From The LOWE'S,

SKILL, 21 Piece Drill Index with case
On sale for $14.99

I needed some fresh sharp bits to perform a job. I have only used one of the two ⅛" bit so far; it has drilled 50 holes in double thickness automotive structural steel sheet metal with ease, still going!!

 

[Roert42]

I got to my mothers house this morning to do some concrete work. Realized that the drill I brought to mix the concrete in a bucket had too small a chuck for the paddle mixer, and the hose brought leaked lot no end when I hooked it up to the spigot in the basement.

Went to the HF and go a new hose and the cheapest 1/2” chuck corded drill they had. I don’t think we finished the first 80lb bag of ready mix before the drill started to smell like burning plastic.

Good ole made in PRC

 

[Rick W]

I got to my mothers house this morning to do some concrete work. Realized that the drill I brought to mix the concrete in a bucket had too small a chuck for the paddle mixer, and the hose brought leaked lot no end when I hooked it up to the spigot in the basement.

Went to the HF and go a new hose and the cheapest 1/2” chuck corded drill they had. I don’t think we finished the first 80lb bag of ready mix before the drill started to smell like burning plastic.

Good ole made in PRC

I’m a fan of Harbor Freight, but I have no confusion about what I’m buying. When I was in high school, I worked at a hardware store (Wiebe Hardware, West New York, NJ, founded 1903). This was before all the Home Depot, etc. When people went to all the other hardware stores, and they couldn’t find “it,“ whatever “it” was, we would have it in three sizes and two colors. I was very spoiled.

Tangent, in the 1960s, I found three 48-star US flags upstairs, and I still have one of them. It was a different time.

Everything is cordless now, so HF is selling the corded drills for like $29 that used to be $89. The Christian in me hates to admit that the criminal in me totally wore out one of those drills, and then I bought a new one, and then I turned the old one in on warranty.

I’m going straight to hell…

I think the guys in the store knew exactly what I was doing, I’m in there every week with Lincoln. They do have a great marketing program that draws you in.

 

[Roert42]

I’m a fan of Harbor Freight, but I have no confusion about what I’m buying.

I think the guys in the store knew exactly what I was doing, I’m in there every week with Lincoln. They do have a great marketing program that draws you win.

I hear a lot of great things about harbor freight. Everything I’ve bought there has impressed me. Jack stands that collapse, grinders that vibrate themselves to pieces, incandescent work lites that that shatter from the heat of the bulb, bearing pullers that shatter when hit with a slide hammer.


However, I will say, they have an extremely healthy variety of one time use items. Where else can you get four different types of hydraulic press, a cement mixer, lawn chairs, and every type of hand tool imaginable in multiple colors?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I largely gave up on HF after snapping a 3/8” breaker bar by hand, no cheater pipe, three times in as many months. Compare that to my old Craftsman 1/2” that I’ve had a six foot cheater bar on a few times without issue. There’s not a lot of things that I’ll wander into a HF looking for anymore. I do have some of their stuff and what I have I can’t complain a ton about (since the stuff I would complain about has already failed)

 

[Bill]

A Mastfuyi multimeter through Amazon's instant junk from China program. Because I didn't want to drive to Harbor Fright to buy one there.

 

[bilbo]

Where else can you get four different types of hydraulic press, a cement mixer, lawn chairs, and every type of hand tool imaginable in multiple colors?

Mills Fleet Farm. Add guns, hunting and fishing gear, and basic groceries too!

 

[Rick W]

Mills Fleet Farm. Add guns, hunting and fishing gear, and basic groceries too!

I googled it. There really is such a place.

Long drive for me though.

This is the one that’s close by.

 

[pjtoledo]

there are some in Wisconsin that are closer to you.

 

[bilbo]

I googled it. There really is such a place.

Long drive for me though.

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This is the one that’s close by.

Should you ever find yourself near one I'd recommend stopping in. It's one of the stores I really miss from back home. I haven't found anything like it down here in South FL, though I did se a Rural King in Fort Myers. One of these days I'd like to stop in and see what it's about. I think it's similar to FF.

Another good one is Menards. It's a home improvement big box store. You get a pick ticket for lumber, bricks, bags of dirt, or whatever heavy big stuff you want and drive right up to it in their yard to load it. At Lowes & HD I have to push a thousand pound cart around like Sisyphus. The downsides are their lumber is usually inconsistent quality so you've got to pick through it and I've heard the owner is kind of a scumbag.