TTT -- The Tool Thread (5 Viewers)

[lt1fire]

Oh and my favorite story was when a customer came in a bought a new door lock and wanted it re-keyed to his old key. At the time..... 5 months in, i didn't even know that this was something we offered. I was the only one there so I had to call our assistant manager for our department, who was a new transfer to the store, to do it. He couldn't believe I didn't know how to do it. I just said, i'm 19 do you think I just decided to teach myself how to re-key a lock in my spare time out of college? Nice thing was he agreed and then actually taught everyone in our department how to do it.
I loved my coworkers..... mix of young kids like me and then the post retirement crowd. Great bunch. The management liked me also on my exit interview they did say I was at the top of the list to take over a department in the store and could make AM easily in a few years. In hindsight that would have been nice in the short run as assistant managers at that time early 2000's were making 75k, store managers were at 140k. But that kind of work environment just isn't my thing.

 

[gasman4u]

Anyone have any torque sticks they’d recommend? I know, I know, use a torque wrench. I’m looking for any recommendations (if there are any).

I had an Indy shop do ONE tire rotation for me. I thought I had found a decent spot. Nope. Turned out to be a moment of weakness and at least one lug nut of every wheel had to have a breaker bar applied to get the lug off. Lesson learned. I even told my wife to NOT go there if I wasn’t in town.

 

[JohnVee]

I just spent an hour after watching a plumbing video trying to figure out what kind of secret weapon wrench the dude was using. "Ratcheting flare wrench" for the win. Skip this video to 1:25 to see it. It's not the crappy video where I first saw it.



Amazon product ASIN B005VMURH8

 

[roadstr6]

I just spent an hour after watching a plumbing video trying to figure out what kind of secret weapon wrench the dude was using. "Ratcheting flare wrench" for the win. Skip this video to 1:25 to see it. It's not the crappy video where I first saw it.



Amazon product ASIN B005VMURH8

Game changer.

 

[Pick]

if you're into hour-long vise video's, this is a good one. ..

 

[NCFJ]

If you are into hour long videos about vises, you're beyond help!

 

[jynx]

I'm gonna have to admit, I watched it and now I want one of his vises. D@mn thing is a tank.

 

[NCFJ]

See post # 1766

 

[jynx]

See post # 1766

Not ashamed!

 

[NCFJ]

 

[weejub]

Table is pretty cool too:

FA75 Table System Overview

FA75 Table System Overivew Fireball Table System is a top-of-the-line table and fixture combination that stands out from the competition in several ways. Tables Construction: It is constructed using single-piece (mono block) machined castings that offer excellent flatness and rigidity without...

fireballtool.com

But . . $10K

 

[NCFJ]

I hope to be building a frame table early next year and I'm estimating around $8,500.00 when complete.

 

[Malleus]

I must have been under a rock for the past three years...has anyone ever used these heat shrink solder wire connectors and what were your experiences?

 

[fourtrax]

better than the crimp on

 

[SFROMAN]

I must have been under a rock for the past three years...has anyone ever used these heat shrink solder wire connectors and what were your experiences?

I bought a box to test them out to see what the hype was.

My experience with them is they don’t work. I never felt comfortable every time I used them so I stopped using them. I still have an almost full box.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I bought a box to test them out to see what the hype was.

My experience with them is they don’t work. I never felt comfortable every time I used them so I stopped using them. I still have an almost full box.

Same. Just about every single one I used on moonshine failed and had to be replaced.

 

[Malleus]

I was afraid of that

 

[JohnVee]

I’ve never heard an electronics guy who has used them recommend them.

There’s been a fair number of people trying them in the other forums here. My memory is that most of the people recommending them are not the people that are known and respected for their wisdom on MUD. But I’d imagine those things have a great use somewhere, and there might be a trick to nailing it every time in those applications.

I guess we’ll just have to keep waiting for a lazy way to beat proper tools and technique.

 

[JohnVee]

Great crimp connections start with knowing where the seam is (unless it’s not seamed) and using a proper crimping pliers the correct way, assuming one starts with the right size connector for the wire(s). Most people just don’t do that making it hit or miss.

Then there’s the mistake we’ve all made, and will continue to make, where we forget to put the heat shrink on the wire before making the crimp, then just covering it with whatever cheap electrical tape we have because there’s probably not enough wire left to cut it off and install a new connector…then we forget about it and the tape melts off or crumbles away leaving us with an exposed chunk of bare conductor that either shorts out or just rots away over time. Yeah, I’m talking about everybody!

 

[fourtrax]

i generally do a western union splice and solder when i can. i know there are those who say the solder joint is rigid and vibrations will cause them to fail. if you look at most automotive wiring harneses that are mechanical crimp style. it's just hard to find decent butt connectors that are the correct size for the wire you are working with unless you plan for it. (as johnvee mentions). this is one of those thing you can grab some popcorn and hear all kind of stories. just insulate, 3m tape is worth it, and fuses can save the day.