Tools

[93STLTH]

for sure the snapon is the best, i have some kolbalt tools that were made by snapon for retail stores . presently the kolbalts are made by williams which are also a top line quality tool co. i looked at some stanley wrenches but passed when i saw they were made in tiawan. .forget the harbor frieght wrenches as they are cheap junk ..buy snap on,kolbalt,williams,matco and they will last you a lifetime

It's true that Harbor Freight tools are not well made, but for the weekend mechanic, they do the job good enough and if they break, they're cheap to replace. I can understand paying the extra money for Snap On or Matco if you make a living with your tools, but considering some of my tools won't get any use this year, it's hard to justify paying 3 or 4 times more for the name brand stuff.

[j2k4]

It's true that Harbor Freight tools are not well made, but for the weekend mechanic, they do the job good enough and if they break, they're cheap to replace. I can understand paying the extra money for Snap On or Matco if you make a living with your tools, but considering some of my tools won't get any use this year, it's hard to justify paying 3 or 4 times more for the name brand stuff.

Just so.

The stuff - I believe - is, when compared with the like of Snap-on, literally priced to 'use once and toss', but it sure can be a life-saver.

Probably 4-5 times I've been on the road, buying a car, or encountering mechanical problems, and hit Harbor Freight to throw together a quickie tool-kit to ensure I got to where I was going.

I've got cheap tools all over the frigging place - everywhere but my garage and workbench.

[thor'svr4]

Have you had any trouble with the media holing the elbow at the shutoff valve on the bottom?

I was able to mitigate the problem by going to a stainless unit, but it would still wear out more often than I liked.

I think your issue might be caused by too much pressure in the tank. That lower valve should just regulate sand flow while the upper valve regulates air flow/tank pressure. Giving the tank more pressure means it wont jam up, but it also means that the sand has a high velocity when it gets to the lower regulating valve. The excessive sand velocity is what causes the valve to wear out. its all about finding the perfect balance. Try adjusting the upper valve so that most of the air flow goes into the rubber line and only a little bit of pressure goes into the tank. That helped out the lifespan of my lower valve a LOT. My first valve wore out in about 4-5 uses but once I installed a new valve and played with the settings I haven’t had the same issue again.

Not sure if that makes sense. its kinda hard to describe.

[Granny]

So lets talk tool boxes.



Kobalt..Dam good product!
I looked at a lot of boxes and this was a good bang for the buck.
$700 for the setup which came with nice liners and covers.

[j2k4]

I think your issue might be caused by too much pressure in the tank. That lower valve should just regulate sand flow while the upper valve regulates air flow/tank pressure. Giving the tank more pressure means it wont jam up, but it also means that the sand has a high velocity when it gets to the lower regulating valve. The excessive sand velocity is what causes the valve to wear out. its all about finding the perfect balance. Try adjusting the upper valve so that most of the air flow goes into the rubber line and only a little bit of pressure goes into the tank. That helped out the lifespan of my lower valve a LOT. My first valve wore out in about 4-5 uses but once I installed a new valve and played with the settings I haven’t had the same issue again.

Not sure if that makes sense. its kinda hard to describe.

I was down to about 40 psi and it still holed after a few sessions; I should note, though, that this was with sand, rather than shell, which I can get pretty easily.

I've used lots of shell in an upright cab, but never in the portable - have to check it out.

Thanks for making me remind myself to try it.

[j2k4]

So lets talk tool boxes.



Kobalt..Dam good product!
I looked at a lot of boxes and this was a good bang for the buck.
$700 for the setup which came with nice liners and covers.

Someone's been to Lowe's, eh?

Get some steel wool and knock the shine off them drawer pulls, Granny - it's killing my eyes.

[Granny]

At first I was polishing it with turtle wax,.
Now I can't wait to plaster it with decals!
Everyone that sees it thinks it belongs to Hubby..he sets them stright!

[Granny]

BTW..I love good tools

[j2k4]

BTW..I love good tools

I could make some hay with that, but.

[EthanS]

I was a tech for 2 years, got sick of working on other peoples FUBAR'D cars. Now I just work on my own and the occasional buddies car. I tried craftsman for a bit while I was a tech, shortly after I switched to Matco and a bit of snap-on tools. Let me tell you, you think a $100 socket set and a $80 set of screw drivers... a quality set will get you SOOO much farther with far less hassle. My craftsman set of sockets wore out after a while, and started rounding bolt heads etc. I got a killer deal on a lightly used snap-on set and I abuse the shit out of them and they still work like day one. They just grip so much better. I absolutely love my Matco screw driver set too, again grip on the heads its just so much better and they don't hurt your hands when you are really forcing it, again I abuse the shit out of them and still work like day one. I have a 4 pc set of matco pliers as well, I was using craftsman vice grips on a stuck bolt, tightening the piss out of it and clamping. Kept slipping off, I switched to just regular Matco pliers... and got the bolt out.

My suggestion if you do any sort of reasonably in depth work on vehicles quite often. Purchase a quality (Matco, Snap-on, Mac) set of..

Pliers
Screwdrivers
Pry bars
Socket set
Extensions
Ratchets
Wrenches are nice too yet I just roll my craftsman set on those.

You can buy used aswell, it still has the same warranty (given your local dealer may be a prick if you didn't buy it from them but they have to warranty it anyways). Not to mention these will most likely still in your tool box when you pass away then your children/grand childeren can use them... because they will still work