What new tools have you got lately?

[Midnightmoon]

The Snap guy that stops by the shop consistently complains about how much his sales have dropped since the HF stores opened locally. He didn't give any specific #'s, but he is complaining how even the professional technicians now have a variety of "Pittsburgh" tools in their box.

 

[SirRobyn0]

The Snap guy that stops by the shop consistently complains about how much his sales have dropped since the HF stores opened locally. He didn't give any specific #'s, but he is complaining how even the professional technicians now have a variety of "Pittsburgh" tools in their box.

I could go down a rabbit hole on this one, and when I get a little more time this evening I may elaborate, but the short version is I would be one of those guys. Technician pay has been flat for the last 20 years or so and tool truck prices have skyrocketed. Any more that most of us simply can't afford to buy everything off the tool truck like we could in the old days. And yea, sure some of the HF stuff is crappy, but some of it really is professional quality.

 

[Midnightmoon]

I could go down a rabbit hole on this one, and when I get a little more time this evening I may elaborate, but the short version is I would be one of those guys. Technician pay has been flat for the last 20 years or so and tool truck prices have skyrocketed. Any more that most of us simply can't afford to buy everything off the tool truck like we could in the old days. And yea, sure some of the HF stuff is crappy, but some of it really is professional quality.

I'm certainly not going to disagree with you.

 

[bucket]

I could go down a rabbit hole on this one, and when I get a little more time this evening I may elaborate, but the short version is I would be one of those guys. Technician pay has been flat for the last 20 years or so and tool truck prices have skyrocketed. Any more that most of us simply can't afford to buy everything off the tool truck like we could in the old days. And yea, sure some of the HF stuff is crappy, but some of it really is professional quality.

Unless Harbor Freight expands their selection of tools by a great deal, it can only take away so much from the tool truck sales. Sure, the general application type tools can take away from the more expensive brands, but for the more specialized stuff, Harbor Freight has nothing to offer.

Earlier in the year, I bought a Bauer 6" orbital polisher and a few of the foam pads. I've only buffed the station wagon with the polisher, but it seems to work well. The foam pads are very nice for sure though. They seem as good as the 3M pads.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Unless Harbor Freight expands their selection of tools by a great deal, it can only take away so much from the tool truck sales. Sure, the general application type tools can take away from the more expensive brands, but for the more specialized stuff, Harbor Freight has nothing to offer.

Earlier in the year, I bought a Bauer 6" orbital polisher and a few of the foam pads. I've only buffed the station wagon with the polisher, but it seems to work well. The foam pads are very nice for sure though. They seem as good as the 3M pads.

I'm not going to disagree and the tool trucks have huge catalogs that a guy can order out of.

@Midnightmoon About 2 years ago our snap on dealer sold his truck to go to work as a sales rep for Jasper. He blamed the HF for stores for a decrease in sales, he said guys can buy lifetime warrantied tools there for less than his purchase price from Snap on.

We still have a Cornwell dealer, but we haven't had a Mac or Matco dealer in years. I can only speculate on why those guys have never been replaced, but it sucks for a guy like me that had a lot of Mac tools to have to send them in to the company to be warrantied.

 

[SirRobyn0]

@AyWoSch Motors & @wanderinthru Well I got 2 5.0AH's Bauer for Christmas. So I have all my old aging 1.5AH's I don't know I don't think they are worth rebuilding since they sell new for $22, and frankly I always found them to be pretty marginal for bigger projects or heavy duty work like mixing paint. I'll keep them around and use them in the fan and radio I have until they won't do that anymore. I've used the 3.0 I just bought a few times over the weekend, and though at first I thought they felt a little heavy and changed the balance of the drill and driver, but I've changed my tune on that, I did not even notice the difference while using them.

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[PrairieDrifter]

I ended up getting those pieces off eBay, guy didn't budge on the ridiculous price. I just had to eat it and consider the deal I got on the whole jack and just factor it in, as they were the only ones I could find. I only needed one trunnion for the caster, but I got some extra parts for spares, so that's cool.

Got everything cleaned up, new bearings as most were missing, and got everything all greased up and put together.

It rolls like an absolute dream, I can't wait to make it pretty someday. This will be the shop jack only, no outside work for this old girl. I'll pick up one of those Daytona jacks sometime for that.

I would like to get it into town to at least pressure wash it.

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[PrairieDrifter]

All the casters even have their own grease zerk, five grease zerks in total, find that on any new jack. They are the push in style zerks, which I haven't seen in a while, for some reason both the rear wheels even on the two I just got, all the zerks are missing.

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[AyWoSch Motors]

Stopped by harbor freight, got me a new jack. 12 ton, only $19. Also got a remote starter, a spark tester, a proper test light, a set of 4 gear pullers (not pictured), and a 48in light.
That light was the best 20$ I ever spent, saved me last night.
It's perfect size for hooking up under the hood, and it lights the engine bay better than daylight.

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[Camar068]

Stopped by harbor freight, got me a new jack. 12 ton, only $19. Also got a remote starter, a spark tester, a proper test light, a set of 4 gear pullers (not pictured), and a 48in light.
That light was the best 20$ I ever spent, saved me last night.
It's perfect size for hooking up under the hood, and it lights the engine bay better than daylight.

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nothing meant, but be careful with that remote starter. If it lasts 3 starts its good.....otherwise its a hazard. Got one from elsewhere local, and it burnt up after 2 starts.

 

[WP29P4A]

One of my favorite tools, no more beating the pickle fork.

 

[Catbox]

a 48in light.
That light was the best 20$ I ever spent, saved me last night.
It's perfect size for hooking up under the hood, and it lights the engine bay better than daylight.

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I love these lights.
We use one for a work light in the driveway and with a simple bungie cord it attaches most places. It was fantastic when we changed the ball joints on the Suburban.

I picked 3 more of them up for various uses around the house.
They are great for $20 each.

 

[Camar068]

I love these lights.
We use one for a work light in the driveway and with a simple bungie cord it attaches most places. It was fantastic when we changed the ball joints on the Suburban.

I picked 3 more of them up for various uses around the house.
They are great for $20 each.

There's a mod on here somewhere that someone installed LED lights to the hood....possibly with an ON/OFF switch. Been meaning to do it....keep forgetting. Gettin' Old

 

[wanderinthru]

One of my favorite tools, no more beating the pickle fork.

So, what does this little press do? Something specific?

 

[Blue Ox]

So, what does this little press do? Something specific?

Yes. It replaces a pickle fork with a press. Try to keep up.










P.S. A pickle fork is a ball joint separator.