TRDdrew's shop updates and improvements- The Cruiser Cottage

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knuckle47 said:
I have had my snap-on ratchet and sockets since 1974… in the last 4-5 years when I use them, I am amazed i was 21 and they were probably $45 for the set !
By the way, that ICON light is really great. Mine is maybe 4 yrs old and just does 90% of the work i need it for
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Yes i'm liking it thus far! I have the smaller braun one and it works good but this one is incredibly bright. Plus compared the the 150.00 Snap-on equivalent, this was a steal.

My box is mostly Snap-on, Matco and Cornwell. Back in high school when I was first getting into the autobody industry my friend and Matco dealer at the time had a bunch of used SK tools on his truck and when I asked him about them he told me this story

"A technician at another shop had been given a terminal diagnosis and was given 6-8 months to live. I'm helping him sell off his tools so the family doesn't need to worry about the funeral expenses"

I was really taken back by that, I couldn't imagine receiving that kind of news. He gave me a price on the whole lot and honestly I probably paid a bit more than I should have but I wasn't going to negotiate and it was a fair price. He let me put it on my truck account, and he paid the full amount to guy, He was also doing the leg work all free of charge. Other people bought some of the other tools the the guy had and ultimately over the course of a week or two he did sell all of his tools. The Tech made it about another year before he passed. I reach for those SK's all the time!!!

I have a notification set on their website to email me if the rebuild kit comes back into stock. They told me it will eventually, I will buy it to put this ratchet back into service once they do.
 
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Great story The first time I’d used that S-K set was to strip down a Chevy 327,,,,327! A long time ago, I was planning to swap it into my 74 LC some time in the future or put it into a Jeep CJ 2A I had been rebuilding. When we moved from VT, the tools came with me the 327 and the CJ2 did not.
 
Rip vice, You served me well

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One of my technicians is getting out of the industry and gave me his jump box with a broken volt meter, I have the same one but mine has a big crack in the case, so made one good one out of the two.
Also got the top drawer of my box all finished up with some magnetic socket rails from Amazon. I like these because I can mix and match 1/4"- 1/2" drive, it's convenient for my torx kits that have multiple drives in one set. The roto molded trays take up a lot of room I feel like this is a better solution
Took advantaged of HF 40% off ICON wrenches Saturday, got me so extra long ratcheting and some S wrenches.

If I don't post I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas

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I've had the same jump box for a number of years. Works well!
 
I use my 12V pack to start my 6V tractor…. You should hear that thing spin…it’s perfect
 
TRDdrew said:
One of my technicians is getting out of the industry and gave me his jump box with a broken volt meter, I have the same one but mine has a big crack in the case, so made one good one out of the two.
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You should be able to find a suitable voltmeter to replace the broken one and one of these hot staplers (or Amazon equivalent) is pretty handy for fixing cracked plastic. Staple it from the inside and then apply some epoxy across the seam. If the seam has openings or holes, apply some epoxy to the outside and sand it smooth.
 
PAToyota said:
You should be able to find a suitable voltmeter to replace the broken one and one of these hot staplers (or Amazon equivalent) is pretty handy for fixing cracked plastic. Staple it from the inside and then apply some epoxy across the seam. If the seam has openings or holes, apply some epoxy to the outside and sand it smooth.
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Luckily only thing wrong with mine was a weak battery and a crack in the case, so I ended up swapping the volt meter over from mine. You can see it in the back ground all put back together.

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Sorry yall for all the tool box pics my OCD has gotten the best of me the past couple of weeks and I've been going through drawer by drawer cleaning and reorganizing
 
In 50 years that I have played with my tools, I have never been able to keep it looking this good once I started working on something. If you saw it today, you would laugh or cry…yours makes me smile 😄
 
knuckle47 said:
In 50 years that I have played with my tools, I have never been able to keep it looking this good once I started working on something. If you saw it today, you would laugh or cry…yours makes me smile 😄
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I have a horrible habit of once I start a project and I pull tools out they end up on top of the box instead of back in it lol. Then the process starts all over again.

Hope you all and your families had a great Christmas. As if i needed more tools my secret santa got me a set of Vessel JIS screw drivers
 
Well after a bunch of research I've landed on a Doyle 4 1/2" vise from harbor freight. I whole heartedly was going to go with @WarDamnEagle advise and get a used Wilton bullet like a c2 or c3 but everyone at least around me believes they are made of gold with an average price of about 400. I know they are great I just couldn't justify it. First impressions of the Doyle are good. It's super heavy for its size at 39lbs, all the action on it feels nice and smooth, 7700 lbs of clamping force, and the casting looks great compared to other Chinese vises I've seen. It was also on sale for 99.95 which I thought was good value for money compared to a equivalent Wilton tradesman.

Will it last 50 years... idk but if it doesn't o well, gave it a shot. It's got a warranty so time to put it to the test

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I have a couple Doyle vises in my shop and they do what they need to do. They seem to be on the higher end of the Chinese manufacturing scale.
 
PAToyota said:
I have a couple Doyle vises in my shop and they do what they need to do. They seem to be on the higher end of the Chinese manufacturing scale.
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Ya that's what I've seen as well, seems decent quality
 
In that case, I might be due for a 6” vise. I have had my craftsman 4” for over 45 years
 
The boy and I took a drive last night on a marketplace hunch. A gentleman's wife had posted a picture of garage items for sale and in the back corner I saw what I believed to be an older snap on cart/box. She told me everything was for sale and to call her husband, which I did and he told me to make him an offer. Being the lowballer I am I said.... 200? "Sure come get it, I'm retired and not working on cars anymore" he said. We loaded up and headed out after work. Wasn't till we were on our way and I called him to give an eta he tells me it's also full of tools!!! o_O
We get there pay the man and loaded it up, we had to unload the wrench and socket drawer into buckets to be able to lift it into the truck. Wasn't until we get home and are going through it I tell my boy it's actually his. He's pretty darn excited his first box is a snap on, even if it is vintage. A fare amount of the tools were Mac, Snap on and Cornell as well. Box will get some TLC and all the slides need to be greased but deal of the year right here. 🍻

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Tractor supply... I couldn't resist lol

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