What a great vernier! I've a bunch of Etalon stuff. Perhaps the nicest stuff on the planet.
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Tools you waited too long to acquire
- Thread starter slow-poke
- Start date
What a great vernier! I've a bunch of Etalon stuff. Perhaps the nicest stuff on the planet.
ChazzC
Ultra Member
They’re not wear blocks, but I basically have five pairs of sacrificial blocks. Also, per Starrett, Webber croblox are made from Rc 71-73 Chromium Carbide and outlast normal steel and Ceramic blocks. I’m pretty sure they will outlast me, and given that I got these NOS blocks for about 3-1/2% of list I’m happy with them.
Ironman
Ultra Member
If I ever get that anal on boring out something to tap a bushing into, just take me somewhere it won't make a mess and shoot me.
ChazzC
Ultra Member
Even I'm not that anal, and don't plan on ever needing to get that close when boring. And while I'm not worried about wear on even my cheap gage blocks, I don't want them to get scratched, so using my "wear blocks/plates" makes sense in certain applications – I should have had them when I used a gage block stack to align the Z-Axis Scale with the ways on my Mini-Lathe (see full article in HSM Jan/Feb 2024):
Not good practice to have gage blocks rubbing against cast iron (even if it is machined).
Ironman
Ultra Member
I don't know if this qualifies as a tool, But I regret not buying this Mini-excavator 20 years ago. It is so useful. I have moved and planted trees with it, dug water lines, loaded scrap metal, loaded firewood, unloaded 45 gallon drums of waste oil and yesterday picked up and arranged for photos, all my farm implements that are getting sold with my little tractor.
I built a thumb for it and that made it even more useful.
I built a thumb for it and that made it even more useful.
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ChazzC
Ultra Member
that’s not a tool, THIS IS A TOOL!
I have a thumb for my 3pt backhoe. I rarely use it. But when you need a thumb, it's awesome!
Ah! So those machines that have acquired a thumb have moved up the evolutionary ladder.
Add a ChatGPT AI processor and we’re all f#$4ed
I cut off a chunk of my left thumb at the table saw in HS shop class. Still miss it at times...
This happened in a small town in rural Alberta many long years ago. The local GP called up another doctor in Lethbridge, described the injury to him & they decided that it was too risky to attempt sewing it back on.
Years later I met a guy in university whose father was a surgeon. Got invited over to his folk's place for supper (did I ever tell you how much I hate mutton/lamb & mint jelly?) & ended up discussing my missing thumb tip. He took a look at it (the saw blade cut it off at an angle from the tip of the thumb to the base of the finger nail) and said that he would have attempted to re-attach it.
No point in crying about spilled milk.
As far as using my big toe, yeah, not so much.
Ironman
Ultra Member
I find a plasma is the greatest tool I have, as it makes me look like I know what I'm doing. I can sit at the computer, listen to River City Blues band and draw and piddle around so it all fits together. And then cut it all out and, be damned, it still fits together. I can squeeze parts out of all the scrap bits I could not bear to throw out and if the edge is missing a bit in one spot , just fill the spot with weld. Note the plate under the soapstone. And then no cleanup grinding...bonus
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Maybe 10 years ago I purchased an oscillating tool that I used infrequently. Well, in the last couple of weeks I’ve probably put at least 10 hours of use on it.
I sure wish I’d purchased a carbide blade before, getting one of those last weekend transformed how well it can plunge cut. This is the set I purchased from one of the big box stores:
https://federatedtool.com/diablo-do...TYCzu1mTnv3TDuStA-WfuLwo4TDhAiQhoC7JYQAvD_BwE
I sure wish I’d purchased a carbide blade before, getting one of those last weekend transformed how well it can plunge cut. This is the set I purchased from one of the big box stores:
https://federatedtool.com/diablo-do...TYCzu1mTnv3TDuStA-WfuLwo4TDhAiQhoC7JYQAvD_BwE
I bought one recently and I sure wish I'd bought one 10+ years ago to help me on all my renos. Total game changer when working on old houses.
DPittman
Ultra Member
Good to hear of those reports. I've never had an oscillating tool and often wondered if I needed one or would ever use it.
Yup, Don should be along soon.