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Cool New Tool Thread

GypsyR said:
OK. It's a (not cheap) little 13 inch belt sander. Different speeds and the belt can be rotated 360 degrees. It's pictured in the "fit in the frickin" drawer" position. It's a bit of an awkward shape. Body shop guys are big on these things and one of them turned me onto them. There's also an 18 belt sized one. You don't use it much but it's still handy as hell sometimes. Ever grind off a rivet or something with an angle grinder and leave "C" shaped grinding marks you wish you could have avoided? Everyone uses just the tip of these for spot sanding/grinding. Once you get in the habit actually having it around more uses for it seem to pop up. Like doing a super sharpen on a lawn mower blade without taking the blade off. Sometimes you will use it instead going to a big belt sander or bench grinder just bacause you don't want to walk over there. Spot weld grinding, taking shard edges off sheetmetal, all kinds of things you can do.

Belts in different grits can be had for a buck apiece or even less like off Temu or at Harbor Freight but the really good ones that last are made by 3M and run about 3 bucks each.
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Gypsy, who made the machine, model number, etc., or did I miss that someplace?
 
Mach1 Driver said:
Gypsy, who made the machine, model number, etc., or did I miss that someplace?
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By appearance alone you can tell its a Milwaukee product. They call it a bandfile sander. Looks like typical price is about $250, looking online. Lots of makes out but not all are created equal. You could go cheap with a HF pneumatic knockoff for only $25. Electric for about $55. I didn't see a cheap Chinese battery option in a quick search. I have one of the HF electric ones. I figure for as little as I might use it I'd see how it holds up before buying anything $$. I find I do that more and more these days. Too many expensive specialty tools collecting dust. It's like Gypsy wrote though, you'll likely find yourself using it more than expected. I know I am starting to.
 
Horseplay said:
By appearance alone you can tell its a Milwaukee product. They call it a bandfile sander. Looks like typical price is about $250, looking online. Lots of makes out but not all are created equal. You could go cheap with a HF pneumatic knockoff for only $25. Electric for about $55. I didn't see a cheap Chinese battery option in a quick search. I have one of the HF electric ones. I figure for as little as I might use it I'd see how it holds up before buying anything $$. I find I do that more and more these days. Too many expensive specialty tools collecting dust. It's like Gypsy wrote though, you'll likely find yourself using it more than expected. I know I am starting to.
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you may be able to tell that, but I don't use Milwaukee products so it just looked red to me!
 
kb3 said:
you may be able to tell that, but I don't use Milwaukee products so it just looked red to me!
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Red doesn't register as Milwaukee to me either. I have one Milwaukee tool that is a 60 year old sawzall, that is all metal and in its own metal tool box. The box is red but I'm not sure the tool is. Its a dinosaur but it still works, kinda like me.
 
The most popular major brand players are distinct in color which should make identification easy for all.

MIlwaukee = Red/Black
Dewalt = Yellow/Black
Makita = Teal Blue
Bosch = Dark Blue

the others

Rigid :rolleyes: = Orange/Black
Ryobi o_O = Pea Green
Harbor Freight Hercules = Neon Blue/Black
Harbor Freight Bauer = Red/Black
 
Horseplay said:
The most popular major brand players are distinct in color which should make identification easy for all.

MIlwaukee = Red/Black
Dewalt = Yellow/Black
Makita = Teal Blue
Bosch = Dark Blue

the others

Rigid :rolleyes: = Orange/Black
Ryobi o_O = Pea Green
Harbor Freight Hercules = Neon Blue/Black
Harbor Freight Bauer = Red/Black
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Craftsman Red/Black :rolleyes:
 
Weird little grocery called Lidl has this bench thing for all of $15. Couldn't resist. Actually pretty darn handy. Made adjusting endplay on a T5 is easy-peasy. Assemble then flip it up on its face to measure. I imagine if/when it dies from not being made out of the most robust materials I will be addicted and have to replace it with a more upscale version. But for the money...
stand-t5.jpg

stand-tank.jpg
 
Local online auction house is killing me but I ain't takin them back.
About $30 for the pair. This is just me checking one to make sure the bits are all there and it works because the box was open. That's not how they actually mount, I know. They appear new and never used though. Score!
align.jpg
 
Saw the ole Harborland has a sale so I grabbed a few things to help round out my collection.

My screwdriver drawer was always a mess, so I grabbed a new set:

Before and after
20240619_183504.jpg

I also grabbed a set of deep 1/2" metric sockets. Only had a couple on my divider thing so figured why not.

Might pick up a couple sets of the deep 3/8" sockets later on. I don't plan on getting rid of any decent tools, the duplicates get set in a bin in case i need to ever sacrifice a tool for a particular project.

Just like to have a nice set of "go to" tools when I pull open a drawer.

I also grabbed another box a bit ago. Another good sale they had going. It's a 52" box to compliment the old 72" I've had. Means I got to shift the top box i had onto the new 52" so I have a 72" worksurface now (if I ever can keep it cleaned off )

Also picked up a matching end locker for the bigger items.
 
msell66 said:
Harbor Freight is opening a store in Ames this Saturday. Told Deb I’d be gone all day :D
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I definitely don't mind wandering around seeing the different deals. I recently signed up for their members club. It's definitely worth it if you're making a larger purchase. I ended up saving an extra $60 on the cabinet I just got for signing up.
 
Boom said:
I definitely don't mind wandering around seeing the different deals. I recently signed up for their members club. It's definitely worth it if you're making a larger purchase. I ended up saving an extra $60 on the cabinet I just got for signing up.
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Yeah, I just joined too. You have to be cautious about the quality, but lots of stuff is good enough for a hobbyist.
 
I've lost count of cheap spray guns (use them for upholstery work/spraying glue), die grinders and cut-off tools I have bought from there. They last way longer than they should and in the grand scheme cost pennies on the dollar compared to the big name stuff. Each has there place.

Their "professional" lines like IKON etc. have come quite a way. Using my decades old Craftsman stuff as the bar the import stuff isn't all that bad. They might bend easier or snap once in a while but again, for the price they have their place.

What you should never buy unless in a pinch is disposable stuff like abrasives. Their stuff is basically crap. Doesn't work well and can actually screw up work pieces and have horrible life expectancies.

I have a couple of their Black Widow spray guns sitting in a cabinet now waiting to spray the next project. From all I've seen I expect great results from them. Really looking forward to trying out their disposable cup set-up. Being a one-man show having the ability to pre-prep multiple cups before I start spraying will be advantageous.
 
Harbor Freight sucked me in with $100 off. I modified the winch mount so I can use the snow plow on the front earlier this year. Figured since the mount is made for a winch...might as well fill the hole. Still waiting for the Anderson connectors to wire it up.
 

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