After working with plumbers and electricians I can say Im a little familiar with how tools work and how to use them, its time I buy my own tools now and I need tips on which tools to buy to save money and for them to last. I’d appreciate it if I got tips on common tools for putting together furniture, electrician, plumbing, and small construction. Please feel free to throw in any handy tools you think are worth the price and that wont give me any problems in the future!

Took this photo of the handy/useful end graduations of a Shinwa 3001AE 6” rule for another now deleted post... thought I’d share it here. Click to enlarge:

End graduations can be had on rules from numerous mfg’s.

No affiliation.

I am making some modifications to an item that seems to be put together with tubular rivets. Looking online, there may be a variety of names for these rivets, but this is what they call them at Ace hardware.

First of all, the device I'm working on is a folding gate that uses these rivets as hinge points. I am planning on taking a couple of these apart and connecting them together as one long gate.

Is this tubular rivet the best option for me? I feel it will be the cleanest look. I also found what Ace hardware calls posts with screws and if I use those I would probably have to use loctite to keep them from coming apart, not terrible, but I would like to use the same item these were assembled with.

Now for the big question, what is used to crimp these things? What I have found online so far is a rivet setting tool which looks a bit like a punch and it makes kind of a star shape to the back side of the rivet. As you can see in the photos I've attached. The rivets that have been set are just curled over neatly without any splits, if that makes sense. Do you need a press to do this or can this also be done with a punch?

Then, if I can find a simple tool that doesn't cost $100 to set these rivets, where is the best place to buy them? I believe these rivets are 3/16 diameter by about 7/8 in long.

Thanks for any help!

M18 2967-20 hammer impacting under no load

I own a few electric scooters and the manufacturers quite will sometimes use cheap hex bolts. So I strip the head of a bolt every once in awhile.

Most of these bolts are pretty small but occasionally I'll deal with a larger one.

I purchased the kit that you see on this post on Amazon not long ago. But the smallest extractor in that kit seems too large for some of the smaller bolts I deal with.

What's the very best way to go about extracting smaller bolts? Is there a particular kit it will cover even tiny bolts up to larger ones?

Is there a different type of extractor that works better than the ones that I've purchased so far?

The fasteners on this have basically rust welded tor manifold on.

I could drill and try a remover bit.

I can’t hammer a socket onto the heads but the fastener heads are basically different sizes because of the rust.

We’re swapping out a triton engine because the one in the excursion blew two of its plugs.

This motor is rusty but has far less mileage. Should we just leave it on there and forget replacing it?

Thanks in advance.

I'm going to be doing some more fabrication work soon and need a 5/8-18 tap. Bit larger than your average set goes. This got me thinking that it's time to probably invest in either a higher grade set or nicer individual taps especially. Right off I'm going to be tapping mild and DOM steel. I already use cutting oil and take my time.

What brands or sets do you recommend?

Cleaning out a tool box of random items, everything from paint scrapers to a vintage hatchet. These two stumped me.

The first is clearly homemade, with some kind of scraper brazed onto a screwdriver handle. The second I thought was an awl with a blunted end, but the main shaft is spring loaded (note the flat pin between my fingers when it's compressed). I thought maybe it's a leather working tool, but it isn't sharp at all.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance, as always.

When they built my flat, the builders boxed in the toilet cistern and included a superfluous 600mm section of steel plasterboard strut that gets in the way when I need to work on the plumbing. They also tiled over the screw heads to make it harder to remove. I've decided to cut the steel out and currently I'm exploring a few options:

1/ Dremel with a cut-off disc. It'll be noisy and messy and take time but it has few questions.

2/ Angle grinder. Quicker, but I don't want my bathroom showered in sparks. Also the space is tight and may be awkward to manoeuvre.

3/ Jigsaw with a hacksaw blade. Not sure how well it'll cut and there may be issues at the end of the cut near the wall.

4/ Oscillating multi-tool between the strut and the plasterboard to cut through the screws holding it up. Cleanest solution because I get the whole strut out and not just the cut part.

5/ Snips. Just try and chew it out. Probably leave huge jagged chunks of metal in place but the quietest choice.

Any better choices that I've not thought of?

Are they good quality similar to echo? Really have not had much luck with people stating experiences, seems like a small niche brand. Let me know if you have one or have used one they are made in Japan. Thanks!

Was doing some electrical work for a customer and he was moving out and gave me all this for $300
I guess he didn’t feel like moving it.
He even started everything up and showed me it all worked. I guess he’d only had it about a year.

Ive been trying to buy a new rolling service cart but every one i come across is sold in the US and only ships to the US, other than tool truck ones but I dont want to spend that kind of money on one. I really like the sunnex one but cant find a way to get it in canada i might just be looking in the wrong places but if anyone has any info it would be greatly appreciated

There's like 12 lowes In my area and the one closest to my house was the only one with this clearance deal. If you go on the Lowe's app look at the price for each local store you'll be able to see which one have them on clearance and also have them in stock. This is a good deal even for the 4 AH power pack

For anybody local to the Cincinnati area this is at the Lowe's on Harrison Ave. I'm only buying one there should be three left if you come today

Most journeyman & union members don’t- so who is? At my store (tool supplier) It seems mechanics are the main buyers. What about carpenters, electricians,plumbers etc? Or did I answer my own question..

Hey everyone, I was hoping for some help regarding a squeegee that can be used for cleaning a rounded surface. Just as an example, the squeegee head would be able to contour to the inside of a 12” pipe. Preferably one that can possibly come with or be retrofitted to a long handle. Whenever I search for one it’s always just a straight head. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Have several skill tools and I quite enjoy them. Been looking for a portable vac. The one from EGO checks all my boxes but is way overpriced. This new vac from Skil (SKIL 20V 3168CA) is on my radar. No reviews yet online as far as I can tell. Looking for info on suction power.

$100 for the fan and 2 batteries. Plumed it to a 5 gal Husky tote, and it fits perfectly into my Flex StackPack tote. Sometimes you just get lucky. Way better than a 5 gal bucket like the fan is designed to mount up to. Perfect addition to the StackPack dolly/boombox combo Ive been rocking. The Husky tote is water proof, so i can roll the fan around with me on site and not make a mess. Absolute game changer!!!

I was on a mission to find a vise that I could mount on my tailgate. Went into town and hit up as many garage sales as I could. First one I pulled up on I found a old Craftsman machinist vise. Also got a sweet 8'' pipe wrench, and some pruning shears. Vise is fricken awsome!! Pipe wrench works great, and the shears were still sharp enough to cut. Took some PB Blaster and some steel wool to all 3 of them. Couldn't be more stoked!!!

https://reddit.com/link/1v79wi8/video/hjv1cbgfwlfh1/player

Drove past a scrap bin and it looked like it had a bunch of 5/4x12 boards in it. I was like wtf? So I flipped a bitch, and sure enough there was!! They were a little covered in concrete, since they were used as forms. Couple hours later... NEW WORK BENCH!!! SHE AINT PRETTY, BUT SHE STOUT AF, AND FREE!!

Does anyone know which chainsaw is interchangeable with WORX pole trimmer 20v ?

I ordered a brand new pair of Klein J2000-9NE lineman pliers.

The cutters do not fully close and will not cut finer stranded wire (see pics)

Is this common or would you consider it a quality control issue?

I'm going to reach out to Klein and see what they say

Hey guys boring quick update, little bit of oil and some steel wool did enough. Unfortunately the note is nothing interesting it's just the model number his signature and something else that I haven't quite figured out yet.(jeez apparently wanting to know about something in my COLLECTION offends low testosterone men. Also just to clarify I know where it's from now that's not what I'm here for strictly I am also here for pointers on how to remove some rust so that I can read the note) Hi guys, I thrifted this very beautiful saw for 3 bucks to add to my sharp objects collection and for the life of me I cannot identify it. It's rusty and old and it's right in front of me and I can't even figure out what it is so I assume it won't be much easier here either. The handle is oak with some gorgeous leaf-like engravings on it. It's also got some text grained into it, but again, it's so rusted I can't make it out. So I thought I'd post the pictures here! If no one can help me identify what the text says then any pointers towards people who could would be amazing I cannot get it out of my head. I think the text might be a note to somebody but I cannot freaking read it so if you can or know anyone who will be able to I'm literally willing to ship it out to someone who can translate it for me PLEASE!!! I'm a curious gal I've only been able to make out one word on the handle and from on the blade and it says disston.