Bauer Band Saw: PASS
I don't know how I lived without a bandsaw for so long. I love this thing! That said, it really needs to be mounted to get the most out of it. I bought a table from SWAG Offroad, and eventually welded the SWAG table to a mount that I can slide into the end of my workbench.
Their AA and AAA batteries don't last very long, so even though they're cheap I wouldn't recommend them.
In reply to Rodan :
Have they fixed the back of the blade cutting through the guide problem the old, pre Baur, model had?
My extended warranty is almost up on it and I'm debating getting the Baur replacement or just holding onto this One.
In reply to RevRico :
I wasn't aware of that problem, and haven't experienced it on mine.
Their breaker bar fought valiantly, but could Not win the fight:
To be fair: I had a long pipe on it for extra leverage and it was bending pretty good before it broke.
In reply to Indy-Guy :
The HF breaker bars do seem to bend a lot more than some others. I've had situations where my HF bar couldn't break a seized nut or bolt because the bar bent so much that the torque wasn't being transmitted to the fastener. Switching to my shorter, stiffer Craftsman bar has been the solution on more than one occasion.
boxedfox said:In reply to Indy-Guy :
The HF breaker bars do seem to bend a lot more than some others. I've had situations where my HF bar couldn't break a seized nut or bolt because the bar bent so much that the torque wasn't being transmitted to the fastener. Switching to my shorter, stiffer Craftsman bar has been the solution on more than one occasion.
So harbor freight breaker bars violate Newtonian physics? Torque in = torque out, even if it's bending.
freetors said:So harbor freight breaker bars violate Newtonian physics? Torque in = torque out, even if it's bending.
That's only true when you assume that the bar is perfectly rigid. In reality you do lose torque forces when the transmitting body bends. It takes a fair amount of energy to bend a bar and keep it bent. Especially when it's made out of tool steel.
stuart in mn said:Their AA and AAA batteries don't last very long, so even though they're cheap I wouldn't recommend them.
Home Depot is the place to get batteries here, its 36 energizer aa for $11
boxedfox said:freetors said:So harbor freight breaker bars violate Newtonian physics? Torque in = torque out, even if it's bending.
That's only true when you assume that the bar is perfectly rigid. In reality you do lose torque forces when the transmitting body bends. It takes a fair amount of energy to bend a bar and keep it bent. Especially when it's made out of tool steel.
It's exactly the same way an old school deflection torque wrench works. If you take one of those and a breaker bar of the same length and apply the same force you'll get *surprise* exactly the same torque output.
FAIL:
Worked a few times, then the bladder popped or something, wouldn't inflate anymore. I let them get me on that one. Not worth the gas to go exchange/return it.
The battery in the jump-pack/tire inflator combo lasted about a year. It looks like there are better than OE replacement batteries available, so I’ll probably go that route since otherwise it’s been quite handy to have around.
Magnet broom : go buy one yesterday!!! Holy helpful tool Batman.
RevRico said:Magnet broom : go buy one yesterday!!! Holy helpful tool Batman.
+1
I used one of these after we had a new roof installed a couple years ago. The roofers left ~6 pounds of tire flattening debris in our yard... would have been a lot harder to pick up without the magnet 'broom'!
stuart in mn said:Their AA and AAA batteries don't last very long, so even though they're cheap I wouldn't recommend them.
Yeah I pass on those even when I have a free coupon. The new blue package ones might be ok, but ikea has cheap batteries that seem to work well.
stuart in mn said:Their AA and AAA batteries don't last very long, so even though they're cheap I wouldn't recommend them.
God bless Project Farm on youtube, he showed just how bad they really are.
Truer words have rarely been spoken. That guy is wonderful.
Also a bending breaker bar is still transmitting the same amount of torque you're putting into it. It just stores some of the energy in the bar before full torque reaches the other end. If you're applying continuous force to the end of it then all that is 'costing' you is some additional swing arc you have to put in, but it's still applying full torque to the fastener after the bar has finished bending. For the same reason, you can use a long extension on a torque wrench, feel it twisting, and still be torquing the other end properly. The problem comes when you put such a thing on the end of an impact and the force from the tool doesn't stay applied long enough to 'finish' twisting the extension. In that case you are basically rapidly winding and unwinding the extension like a spring without ever getting full torque out the other end. That's exactly how torque-limiting extensions or 'torque sticks' work.
Vigo said:Truer words have rarely been spoken. That guy is wonderful.
Also a bending breaker bar is still transmitting the same amount of torque you're putting into it. It just stores some of the energy in the bar before full torque reaches the other end. If you're applying continuous force to the end of it then all that is 'costing' you is some additional swing arc you have to put in, but it's still applying full torque to the fastener after the bar has finished bending. For the same reason, you can use a long extension on a torque wrench, feel it twisting, and still be torquing the other end properly. The problem comes when you put such a thing on the end of an impact and the force from the tool doesn't stay applied long enough to 'finish' twisting the extension. In that case you are basically rapidly winding and unwinding the extension like a spring without ever getting full torque out the other end. That's exactly how torque-limiting extensions or 'torque sticks' work.
FINALLY. Someone that understands!
I have to give a big thumbs up the to pneumatic riveter
I have had a few in the distant past that were okay-ish. You had to squeeze the trigger a few times to get a good seat but it was better than using a manual one for 20 rivets. I had a job that required 180 rivets to be set so I bought a new one and this time read the manual. Holy crap! It requires you to tear it apart and fill with hydraulic oil before use. Never knew that before.
Anyway, working like it was designed, this thing is a brute that can snap the shank of a 1/4" stainless rivet if you let it. A few weeks and probably 300 rivets through it and no misses. One pull every time.
Well pleased with this.
I just bought their big manual riveter for doing a new window regulator in my Town Car. Thoroughly pleased, especially for the price. I especially like how it captures the pop rivet stems for you, and the included wrench fits inside there for storage. I haven't tried any of the rivets that came with it.
Pass to the HF yeti knockoff cup. Keep a liquid hot/cold and have held up to dishwasher pretty well. Closing top from another brand cup fits as well.
I used this motorcycle wheel chock for the first time this week and love it.
HF grommet kit, for adding grommets to tarps. Comes with like 100 grommets and the tools you need to punch a hole and install the grommets. Works great. Would buy again (if I ever run out of grommets!)
17" Mini Magnetic Floor Sweeper: PASS
Picked one of these up over the weekend to clean up the driveway after working on my rusty junk. Should have bought one of these years ago! It already paid for itself (it was $8 and change with a coupon) by picking up a nail in the driveway. I have no clue where that thing came from, since I haven't done anything related to nails out there in years, but it found it!
I picked up this a couple weeks back:
Definitely a win so far. Used a coupon that brought it to just over a hundo. It can't get into super tight spaces and there are bolts that need to be broken loose before it can do its thing, but so far it has worked well and become one of those tools that I don't know how I lived without.
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