Tools you waited too long to acquire

[Janger]

This is pretty effective dish cleaner on the sides of the pots, it's not as good on the bottom of the pots because there are too few bristles pointed down. It makes quick work of pasta pots and other deep pots. The bristles on this brush are pretty stiff and work well at removing crusty stuck food. To make this one I 3d printed an adapter and glued it to a long robertson quick change driver and to the brush. To make this work better though I want a cylinder shaped brush with square corners and lots of bristles pointed down as well as sideways.

Other drill brushes I've tried are too soft and both wear and don't clean well. Anybody got a better answer?

 

[CWret]

Electrical/power/control wiring is something I’ve learned not to skimp on.

Good point. Thanks. I agree. Sorta.
But I think that with care these knock-off tools will be just fine especially for a non-professional DIYer.
Also, IMO, a premium, best available and most expensive tool will preform poorly if not used correctly - they may be just a little more forgiving.
I get your point when comparing quality to potentially sacrificing safety - we all make choices:
How about:
- grabbing hold of the business end of a $300 plasma torch vs my Hypertherm;
- using a $50 Mastercraft disc grinder vs my $200 variable speed & braking Metabo;
- protecting your eyes with a no-name auto darkening welding hood vs my Optrel CLT;
- expecting a HomeDepot zero turn mower to perform like my Bob Cat
- trusting a $100 motorcycle helmet vs my Suomy
- wishing your JD could be orange

 

[wmetfab]

Reversing tapping head.
I waited sooo long before i actually got them (one was an Archdale)
I ended up winding down my metalwork business and sold them both! Coulda used them 20 yrs sooner

 

[Susquatch]

Do these work on all sizes of zip ties or are they for a certain size? I don't even own a pair and wish I had bought a pair years ago!

Yes, they do. I suppose there might be a 1" wide zip tie that wouldnt fit, but I've never encountered one that won't. It an amazingly useful tool. You can also just tighten the zip manually to hold things, cut it off leaving 3/4 of an inch tag, and then use the tool later.

This is definitely a tool I wish I bought 50 years ago.

I sorta ordered one today. It's not the brand name Klein, but a no-name knock-off that Amazon markets as its own.

Keep in mind that Klein isn't the top of the line here either.

I've never used a stripper like the one you ordered. All I can say here is that the Klein's work very well. I'd be leery of anything lesser. I'm looking forward to your review too.

However, knowing you a bit, I can say that those crimpers are probably not going to delight you. They don't have the curling feature in the groove.

This is something I am anal about. I've investigated hundreds of fires in my day. The vast majority were caused by poor wire connections. Those plastic pinch wire connectors should be illegal. I hate them. If you ever investigate a fire where someone was killed, especially a child, and find that the fault was one of those connectors, you would hate them too. I never cut corners on electrical connections because of it. I know those connectors are popular, and I know there are prolly members on here who like them. I'll even go as far as to say that statistically, they work. But, in my opinion, those who use them in high current applications (especially outdoors) are playing Russian Roulette. You will not find them in anything I ever did. I don't even have any in a drawer.

 

[historicalarms]

Know what else is missing?

A zip tie tensioner and cutter! Gets in close, tightens the zip tie like you never could, and then neatly slices off the excess.

View attachment 55753

An expedient "old truckers" trick for zip ties...two common pliers, one to push & hold the zip loc head in tight to where you want it and the other to pull the tail as tight as you want.

 

[Ishmael]

Know what else is missing?

A zip tie tensioner and cutter! Gets in close, tightens the zip tie like you never could, and then neatly slices off the excess.

Here's my zip tie machine. I got it with a bunch of other stuff at a yard sale and didn't know what it was till last year. Good thing I found out, though, because last winter I refurbished an old lawn tractor, and it was great for bundling wires and securing them to the frame.

I see that people are talking about wire strippers, too. Again, I used my vintage Ideal wire stripper when I was working on the lawn tractor. Works better than any other one I've tried.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

A TIG/stick welder. But I guess technology had to catch up. I had a MIG, but every so often I wanted to weld stainless or just tack something with stick. Mine was sold by KMS as a Magnum. It's a HuGong Electric Wave 200. I was just looking for a DC stick. I hate AC. I'll use the TIG tomorrow for couple of small tacks . For this job, it's the Only Tool.

Most often I'll buy a tool that I need to do the job. The Fien Multicrafter was just such a tool. They are a Must Have if you do RVs. Long ago I learned the right tool makes the job easy.

 

[wmetfab]

Reversing tapping head.
I waited sooo long before i actually got them (one was an Archdale)
I ended up winding down my metalwork business and sold them both! Coulda used them 20 yrs sooner

How i got the tapping heads..
There was a classified ad for a drill press for $200. For some reason i had a very strong pull to check it out.
Went there and it was an Arboga Maskiner geared head column drill.
I almost wet myself when i saw what it was. Nobody would buy it because it was three phase.
I got the machine, 2 top of the line tapping heads like new, a hand full taper drills.. all for the grand sum of.... $200.

I really sucked that day... lol

There was also a Voest alpine lathe almost identical to mine except 1m
C2C, mine had 2m.
He wanted a couple thousand and it came with tooling and about 200# of morse taper drills and lots more.
Had to pass on all of that, didnt need it

 

[trlvn]

.. all for the grand sum of.... $200.

I suppose you made them load your vehicle too. Sheesh.



Craig

 

[CWret]

I know those connectors are popular, and I know there are prolly members on here who like them.

I do use them but very carefully. All crimp connections are closely inspected. I do prefer a soldered connection with a quality adhesive shrink tube. Yesterday I received the crimpers I mentioned above. They seem very good and solid. I have confidence that they will give a good and consistent crimp.

Here is some sample crimps. The one below each pair is a non crimped example compared to the crimped one beside it.

Here is an end view

 

[Susquatch]

Here is some sample crimps. The one below each pair is a non crimped example compared to the crimped one beside it.

Those are the crimp connectors that I hate. I really can't recommend them no matter how convenient they are or how well they seem to work.

They have no ability to squeeze the entire connector to clamp the wire. The sides bulge wider to squeeze the center which leaves only the center pinching the wires. Movement of any kind can allow the wires to loosen under the pinch. Also the effective wire gauge is reduced because there is no side contact.

To work properly, the connector has to be either swaged or folded to a smaller size to squeeze and hold the entire wire bundle and all the individual wires all around its entire diameter tightly and securely.



And yes, soldering the connection afterward further improves the connection by reducing future corrosion and improving effective contact.

 

[SomeGuy]

And yes, soldering the connection afterward further improves the connection by reducing future corrosion and improving effective contact.

Soldering can also weaken connections though, by having a non-flexible joint. Crimp connections can hold up better in environments with vibration than soldered.

 

[Susquatch]

Here is my folding crimp tool. Again, the release is broken. Shown in the photo are 3 typical connectors. A sealing heat shrink is required. It's a longer process, but far superior to the ones you get at Crappy Tire. The bottom left connector is designed to be swaged and the other two have folding ears. All three work in the tool.

 

[Susquatch]

Soldering can also weaken connections though, by having a non-flexible joint. Crimp connections can hold up better in environments with vibration than soldered.

Yes, proper soldering of wires is an art too. Only the joint should be soldered, not the wire in the insulator. Not the same as soldering components.

I'd also argue that even poorly soldered wires are better than those squeeze crimps. The squeeze crimps don't hold up in vibration at all. Because the wires are essentially squeezed between two plates, movement causes the individual strands of the wire to separate and spread out which undermines the clamping force and totally ruins the integrity of the connection. Poor connections result in high resistance and introduce the possibility of a fire.

 

[CWret]

Because the wires are essentially squeezed between two plates, movement causes the individual strands of the wire to separate and spread out which undermines the clamping force and totally ruins the integrity of the connection

I get your point and appreciate your experience on this subject - but I will continue to use my nice new crimp tool - although now (thanks to your comments) I will be even more careful to do a thorough examination of each crimp to ensure it is as sound and effective as possible. I will also give a higher priority to using other connection options.

Agreed, wire connections are a potential fire source due to poor practices/procedures/tools.

 

[Susquatch]

I get your point and appreciate your experience on this subject - but I will continue to use my nice new crimp tool - although now (thanks to your comments) I will be even more careful to do a thorough examination of each crimp to ensure it is as sound and effective as possible. I will also give a higher priority to using other connection options.

Agreed, wire connections are a potential fire source due to poor practices/procedures/tools - I have total confidence in all electrical components of my $3000+ Hypertherm plasma cutter but I do not think a $300- cutter offers that level of fire safety. As I said above - unplug it when not in use.

Each of us takes the risks we feel comfy with. I have told you what I know so I have done my bit. Your call how you use that info.

 

[CWret]

The automatic wire strippers (that I referred to above) arrived a few days early - well done Amazon!

I told the OWMBO that I got 3 pair because it was a safety issue and that I NEEDED to confirm they were safe gifts for our son and son-in-law (no way she bought that for even a nano second).
They work great. Very happy with these cheap imitation of a premium tool ($15 delivered). The important part is that they do not mark or damage the copper while stripping the plastic (only a bit of care is required to adjust the tension).

 

[Susquatch]

The automatic wire strippers (that I referred to above) arrived a few days early - well done Amazon!

Dying to know what the little plastic gizmo is for.....

 

[djberta]

Dying to know what the little plastic gizmo is for.....

Its a depth stop so you can strip to length repeatedly.

 

[ChazzC]

Can we please move the Plasma/MIG discussion to the Welding Forum? I know I frequently go OT, but . . .


Thanks