Tools & equipment that are fantastic.

[Oaktree]

Right now it has the weed whacker head with the nylon fingers.

I like those too, it's amazing what they'll cut. I have a brushy embankment I'll use it on, works almost as well as as a blade, and is more forgiving if you hit a rock.

 

[jjeff]

I hear ya on the propane forklifts. Don't know how anyone can work around one of them. 5 min. and I'm nauseous.

most Zambonis are propane powered, ice rinks at times would wreak of it. I guess I grew up being used to the smell lol.

 

[JethroB]

most Zambonis are propane powered, ice rinks at times would wreak of it. I guess I grew up being used to the smell lol.

The early Zamboni’s were built on Willys Jeeps. A restored 1953 on a CJ3B. Propane fueled? The 11th one built by Zamboni.

 

[jjeff]

The early Zamboni’s were built on Willys Jeeps. A restored 1953 on a CJ3B. Propane fueled? The 11th one built by Zamboni.
View attachment 783631

I do remember a few similar looking ones at various hockey rinks. I remember when I was a kid at one of the rinks we pushed shovels around with skates on into a big pile where older folks shoveled it off the ice. I believe some of the newest ones are now battery powered?

 

[Hay Dude]

A very small, but hopefully helpful contribution:

I was looking for cheap spray paint for attachments & trailer frames that are black.
Lowes sells 12 oz cans of flat black or glossy black spray paint for $2.49. ($2.27 with Lowes card). I was skeptical, so I tried a couple cans on some areas where paint was missing.

Goes on nice & smooth, dries quickly, sticks good. I bought more.

$2.27 for a can of decent spray paint. It’s even made in USA.

 

[jjeff]

A very small, but hopefully helpful contribution:

I was looking for cheap spray paint for attachments & trailer frames that are black.
Lowes sells 12 oz cans of flat black or glossy black spray paint for $2.49. ($2.27 with Lowes card). I was skeptical, so I tried a couple cans on some areas where paint was missing.

Goes on nice & smooth, dries quickly, sticks good. I bought more.

$2.27 for a can of decent spray paint. It’s even made in USA.

View attachment 784892

Rattle can rebuilds? Lol anyways used similar inexpensive rattle cans for the the entire dump bed of my old dumper with black before I drove it to the great north it actually held up pretty good for 5 years or so also added a two tone black stripe on lower half of rusted out rockers and fenders with it.

 

[JasperFrank]

Love Makita 6095D and DA391D cordless drills with keyless chucks. They are light duty - not really meant for large screws or bolts, but I've used mine for 20 years to disassemble and re-assemble desktop computers. They will run 6 hours, near continuously, doing this sort of work. I've had batteries that lasted 5 years with daily recharging. They are light and fast and the 6095 lets you set the torque very low - important for electronics.
These are nearly free at garage sales, cause big box stores don't sell the 9000 type batteries anymore, but new batteries are available for about $15 on-line. These are also very easy to rebuild and un-phazed by 3 foot drops on to concrete floors.

 

[2manyrocks]

Those makitas were the drills that really persuaded a lot of people that cordless tools were capable of doing real work. There were other cordless drills that came to market earlier, but makita's drills actually worked.

 

[jjeff]

Early overpriced Panasonic branded cordless rings a bell with me anyway.

 

[ovrszd]

Those makitas were the drills that really persuaded a lot of people that cordless tools were capable of doing real work. There were other cordless drills that came to market earlier, but makita's drills actually worked.

As happens often, this has changed three times since I paid attention. Started with Makita. Then DeWalt. Now Milwaukee.

Seems like the followers study the current leader and improve on their design to take the lead. Capitalism at it's finest. And we the customer benefit.

 

[jjeff]

As happens often, this has changed three times since I paid attention. Started with Makita. Then DeWalt. Now Milwaukee.

Seems like the followers study the current leader and improve on their design to take the lead. Capitalism at it's finest. And we the customer benefit.

I think my blood type is b.y. as in black and yellow lol.

 

[ovrszd]

I think my blood type is b.y. as in black and yellow lol.

I've had DeWalt 18V tools since 2009. In the last 18 months I've started transitioning to Milwaukee. The current 18V Milwaukee tools are leaps and bounds ahead of my old DeWalt 18V tools. The attention to details is much better. I have no experience with the current 20V DeWalt tools so can't speak about those.

 

[jjeff]

I've had DeWalt 18V tools since 2009. In the last 18 months I've started transitioning to Milwaukee. The current 18V Milwaukee tools are leaps and bounds ahead of my old DeWalt 18V tools. The attention to details is much better. I have no experience with the current 20V DeWalt tools so can't speak about those.

I can speak for 20 volt way better than 18 volt imo most of my 20 volt tools are brushless amazing battery life. I still have 18 volt most from 2006 I brought them to my cabin. DeWalt cordless never let me down, before 2006 had Milwaukee 18 volt always replacing batteries now story time: my car was stolen has all my Milwaukee and carpentry tools in it only thing I missed was my Milwaukee corded circular saw. Switched to cordless DeWalts never looked back. If I had a problem I took them to a DeWalt factory store repaired or replaced tools that looked like a mack truck ran over them some like it turned around and ran over it again lol.

 

[jjeff]

Handy fairly inexpensive kit for odd shaped bolts and fasteners internal hex and torx specifically it's gear wrench brand filled a void of odd sized and missing metric and standard sizes from my tool collection. About 70 bucks at the time from tsc never stripped out anything since I got this set 4-5 yrs ago. Most 1/4 and 3/8 drive ratchet biggest sizes are 1/2" drive. Not impact rated I believe but have occasionally used impacts withem.

 

[kenmbz]

My Stihl FS110, The area you see was thicker than the background in this picture. Autumn Olive, Vines, berry thickets. This Brushcutter gets through it all with a Razor Renegade blade.

I have the stihl blades, star, notched etc. But the Carbide is my choice for tough areas and new trails.
I cut through 2-3" berry thicket and autumn olive without issue.

Rocks can chip the teeth, but so far only on my second blade, where the other blades I had to resharpen almost every outing (so 2-3 hours of cutting).

I also have that Makita drill, and buy batteries on ebay. It still works > 20 years and through 3 houses.

Most of my tools are Makita M12/M18 now. Only disappointment is the quick lock pole saw.
It is slow and needs a thorough cleaning to oil properly. But it works. Chain loosens up in long cuts, even with a sharp chain and nice chips.
Have not replaced a battery yet, understand they had bad batches of 12AH and the 9AH was not reliable.

I have the 5AH and 8AH (which are my preference for the weed wacker and pole saw) and one 3AH which I use on my light. The blower is pretty decent and I can use it inside the garage without suffocating.

I have the Echo long (225 I think) hedge trimmer for the ornamental grasses, burning bushes and large hedges.
Really takes a lot to cut the larger ornamental grass and it used to down my old trimmer.
And doing a few hundred feet of bushes is easier since I can pretty much walk it along the driveway.

 

[WinterDeere]

View attachment 784928
My Stihl FS110, The area you see was thicker than the background in this picture. Autumn Olive, Vines, berry thickets. This Brushcutter gets through it all with a Razor Renegade blade.

Ah... that brings back memories. Can't remember if the handlebar Stihl with blade I had was indeed the FS110 or another model, but it looked identical. That thing was a mighty little beast!

 

[tallyho8]

I was working on my F150 today thinking of a couple great things I bought years ago. One is this Fisher pneumatic lift, $800 delivered. As a teenager I worked at a service station that had a 4 post lift and a Fisher lift exactly like this one. We rarely ever used the 4 post since this is easier. I use 6 jack stands (I know it's overkill).
The other is a portable HF compressor, $90 on sale. I have a large 2 stage shop compressor but again, convenient. I built so many things with it using air nailers, impact wrenches, etc.
Curious what tools/equipment others have that weren't all that expensive at the time that are useful.View attachment 774215View attachment 774216

I have the same Harbor Freight compressor and a smaller, lighter Porter Cable compressor that I like much more and I got it for $89 on sale. When I am out in the field it is easier to bring the small one out there plus it works much better. If I am using a long extension cord the HF one will not start on the low voltage when it has some air pressure in the tank. The PC compressor starts even on very low voltage. I just use the HF one in my shop.

 

[WinterDeere]

The older I get, the more I appreciate smaller tools. Even my smaller "portable" compressor is a complete PITA to carry from the shop to the house and back.

 

[two_bit_score]

The older I get, the more I appreciate smaller tools. Even my smaller "portable" compressor is a complete PITA to carry from the shop to the house and back.

Yep, smaller and more portable!

 

[Hay Dude]

Milwaukee disappointed me when they moved all their production off shore with possibly the exception of sawzalls. I still have a huge Milwaukee rotary hammer drill (corded) made in USA, but it’s 20 years old.
DeWalt has more assembly and some production here in the USA than Milwaukee. I like that. I will reward them with my business for at least some USA production.

I was at a home improvement expo about 10 years ago and Milwaukee had a huge exhibit. There were several Milwaukee reps there and I voiced to them my opinions about closing plants in the USA and moving them to Asia. He agreed it was wrong, but said their parent company left them with no choice.