Thread: Daddy got new tools

The wife told me that for fathers day I could pick up some tools and what have ya. So I first went and got a new 19.2v cordless drill and light to replace the craftsman one that had kicked the bucket after several years of good use and a 1/2" ratchet (not pictured). Then yesterday I got to go pick up some additional tools pictured below.

You are a VERY lucky man!

Originally Posted by DanGTP

You are a VERY lucky man!

I keep that at the forefront of my thoughts just about every day, except I use blessed instead of lucky. She is definitely a woman I am glad to have to spend the rest of my life with.

Yes sir, you better believe it.

I have a philosophy about tools. If you make your living with them, then buy the best, dont skimp just save your money and buy the best.

If you dont make your living with your tools, then buy what will work and that you'll get your moneys worth out of.

To that end I spent less than $150 on everything, cordless drill & Light combo (not pictured), the bearing and race tool set, the angle die grinder, the straight die grinder, the 0 - 4" digital caliper, the 0 - 6" digital caliper and the air tool oil. In fact, when I went into Harbor Freight I found a coupon for the straight die grinder for $4.99.

I'll be going back in the next couple of weeks to pick up a few more things for the die grinders.

If you don't mind me asking how come you picked up a 4" and a 6" caliper?

When I worked in a machine shop it was the classic use the right tool for the right job. And if a measurement didnt need a 6" caliper then you didnt use a 6" caliper. Now, of course, I realize this is overkill. But I did run into situations where the length of the caliper was an issue with the measurement in some tight spaces. It was far and few between, and I probably would not encounter such a situation working on cars, but the principle was there with me when I was shopping and the prices were good so I figured why not. To be honest, the next time I am there I may pick up a 8" caliper as well.

Again, I know its overkill and I may never encounter a situation in which having a caliper that is too big will be an issue, but with the prices I didnt see any harm in being prepared.

very nice score.

I feel dumb.....what is this for?

Looks like a bearing/seal driver. Or whatever else you can find to use it to install.

Good score Scotty! That stuff will all come in real handy when you need it. Speaking of 19.2 cordless power tools..... I spotted a few weeks back that Craftsman had a 19.2 power tool operated RC truck and thought it was the neatest thing! Guess what Jen got me today . I bought a Craftsman 19.2 drill/light combo almost 3 years ago when they first came out with the new C3 19.2 stuff which for the money I dont think can be beat. I have used a lot of cordless tools over the years and had a 12v Dewalt cordless drill that seemed like the king of cordless drills for a long long time but the batteries went south and it seems that everyone wants $60ish for ONE new battery! It was an expensive drill when new, they still are, but Its hard to stomach that kind of money for a new battery and an old drill though its still in excellent shape so I bought the Craftsman 19.2 one and couldnt be happier with it. They make tons of different tools that work on the 19.2 battery and when I saw an RC truck that used the same power tool battery I was in shock and thought it would be sweet to have one of those too hehe. Me and Abby just got done playing with it and its pretty fun. I used to be really big into RC car racing a number of years ago and boy was that an expensive hobby! Its amazing what is out there now and something like this was just the fix I needed since I havent raced in a long time.

Its a bearing and race installer/remover. I have another set, but it starts out way smaller and the largest one in that set ends just a size or two smaller than where the one pictured starts out. I'll probably never use it for anything other than the transmission rebuild but I feel better having a tool that is for that purpose. If push comes to shove I can always sell it when the work is done, but I service a lot of vehicles so it may come in handy again.

Originally Posted by Trannyman95

Good score Scotty! That stuff will all come in real handy when you need it. Speaking of 19.2 cordless power tools..... I spotted a few weeks back that Craftsman had a 19.2 power tool operated RC truck and thought it was the neatest thing! Guess what Jen got me today . I bought a Craftsman 19.2 drill/light combo almost 3 years ago when they first came out with the new C3 19.2 stuff which for the money I dont think can be beat. I have used a lot of cordless tools over the years and had a 12v Dewalt cordless drill that seemed like the king of cordless drills for a long long time but the batteries went south and it seems that everyone wants $60ish for ONE new battery! It was an expensive drill when new, they still are, but Its hard to stomach that kind of money for a new battery and an old drill though its still in excellent shape so I bought the Craftsman 19.2 one and couldnt be happier with it. They make tons of different tools that work on the 19.2 battery and when I saw an RC truck that used the same power tool battery I was in shock and thought it would be sweet to have one of those too hehe. Me and Abby just got done playing with it and its pretty fun. I used to be really big into RC car racing a number of years ago and boy was that an expensive hobby! Its amazing what is out there now and something like this was just the fix I needed since I havent raced in a long time.

Awesome Dave. I got to use my 19.2 drill yesterday to put up some mounts so I could hand my hood off the wall in the garage and get up out of the way. Well I actually just drilled two holes to run some cable through to tie it up.

Ive been trying to go and get craftsman stuff when I can, looking out for the sales and such. But as I mentioned, there are some things that I can get at other places that would work just as well and for less cost. I dont think a bearing/race installer and remover is going to work any better with a craftsman name on it.

Its funny though, as weird as it may seem, I think of you and the quality work you do and the help you provide and when I am shopping for tools Ive got in the back of my head to make sure I get the right stuff so I can do at least as good of work as you do. I dont have anyone around here to really look up to as far as examples and quality go, and Im self-taught on much of what I have learned (well in that I have read a great deal, talked with tons of people and picked information here and there where I could find people willing to share. So for what its worth you are kind of the standard I shoot for. I try not to step on toes but I like to replicate the work others are doing and the things they are doing often just for my own knowledge of the process and work. I like being able to help out here and answer questions and that requires I get my hands dirty, have the proper tools and do the work.

Glad to hear you and Abby are having so much fun, and cudos to Jennifer for getting you such cool gift. You're going to Abby out there building cars that smoke you before long.

I dont know who makes the stuff they have in there (i.e. like craftsman making another line at a lower price point) but Im a believer in Harbor Freight. It may not be name brand but a good deal of their stuff is pretty dang decent and you certainly cannot complain about the prices.

They have another place in Tusla called Re-Tool where you can find slightly used name brand stuff mostly with some pretty decent discounts. Though I have not made it there yet. There is another place called Steves Wholesale. When I work in a machine shop (I was their electronic and electrical tech) we went to Steves A LOT! And it is pretty much just a smaller version of Harbor Frieght and I never had any trouble with the stuff we got from there.

Originally Posted by TDCRacing

Can you imagine what harbor freight's wholesale cost would be....sickening lol ...I agree they got some good stuff

Agreed. To give you an idea of what it is. The straight die grinder I bought, well it normally sells for $15 or $19, cant remember which, but I picked up one of their coupon books and in there was the straight die grinder for $5. Now assuming they are still making a profit on that you can probably assume that their cost was a dollar or two less and they normally sell them for the $15 or $19 and are making a mint. Kinda neat I think. They still make some money and I can pick up decent tools for next to nothing.

Except for my torque wrenches, all of my tools are usually Kobalt. Very high quality for a decent price. They used to be made by Snap-On for Lowes, but I don't know if this is still true.

Nice score Scotty! I just picked up the 4 piece set of prybars from Harbor Freight. I've looked at them several times, but I was in there the other day and the entire set was on sale for $7. How could I pass that up? LOL