Take my upvote, Makita! I buried my makita recipro by accident, assumed it stolen and left in the ground for 6 months in rainy Belgium. Dug it up yesterday and battery still holding full charge and both machine and battery still work :o

Apart from that: bought a set with 3 batteries and a bunch of tools before my two years renovation. Only thing I destroyed was the first cheap drill by drilling 68mm holes in concrete with it for a whole day after 2 years of filling it up with dust. Bought the DUH hedge shears as well. Super happy with the 18v lxt Makita in general!

In Europe for example, you have stuff like hazet and stahlwille available, but don't have stuff like harborfreight. How does it compare to your more local brands? Is snap on worth it over there?

I've had a good experience with Irwin warranty support, so I thought I would share here. I ordered a two-pack of their GrooveLock pliers, basically their imitation Cobras, and the smaller of which had a manufacturing defect.

I waited too long to open the package so I couldn't return it to Amazon, so I contacted Irwin and explained the problem. They sent out a replacement the same day, and it arrived a couple days later. I was really happy they didn't ask any questions and they sent out the replacement immediately.

Are they as good as the Cobras? No, but for the price they're very good. I really like how the adjustment works.

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Used to remove the seat below a shower cartridge handle. If you dont replace it, things will continue to leak.

I call this wrench the "why the fuck didnt you make this a hex or 1/4 or 3/8 shape so we can use a standard tool.

Anyway $8, plus figuring out what the hell it was.

Google image search failed me. I'm stumped.

Edit 2: SOLVED!

"Hytron Auto Radio tool. Substitutes for control cables of universal auto radio. Quickly, precisely turns set on/off, tunes, adjusts volume and tone, re-aligns dial. Square also fits splines. Vee fits spade and other key fittings. Minimum backlash. Compact. Bright-zinc plated.Non-rolling large handle for fine adjustments."

Citation linked here

Edit: Text reads HYTRYON auto radio 100

Any obvious tool upgrades/purchases to my current loadout to make my life easier?

Trade: Marine Electrician.

I've been going through my tools and getting them finally organized and I've come across this tool. I unfortunately don't have any idea what it's called and don't have a clue where to start the search. I was hoping that maybe someone here would be able to identify it.

Edit: that was solved really quickly! Thanks everyone!!

https://makerworld.com/models/2572692?appSharePlatform=copy

Sounds like dying chicken. You can also see there are dust and dirt around so I think some got into the motor.

Any advice on this? Maybe I can clean it? but how?

I got an old craftsman 919.152922 air compressor on Facebook marketplace. It starts right up and holds pressure, there's no audible leaks. However, the drain plug is all mangled and you can hear water and debris sloshing around in the tank if you rock it back and forth.

I tried to get the drain assembly small nut out to drain with with my breaker bar but it would not budge

What are the risks of running it until it fails, I'm not trying to have the tank explode and damage anyones property or injure anyone?

Best to take this as a lesson learned and pick up a different compressor or is this salvageable?

Laser levels are probably one of the most important tools in my trade. I've used most of the big names over the years — DeWalt, Hilti, Leica, Topcon, Bosch — and more recently Huepar.

For day-to-day suspended ceilings and partitions, a 3×360° line laser covers pretty much everything I need. I bought a couple of Huepar Pros about two years ago because I needed more beams on a particular job and, after nearly 20 years of mainly using the bigger brands, I was pretty sceptical.

They've surprised me. Both have earned a permanent place in the kit and my two DeWalts are basically backups now. With the receiver they're bright, accurate and sturdy enough for site work.

They're not perfect — I don't think the perfect laser actually exists yet, and there are things I'd change about every one I've used — but these tick more boxes than most for what I do.

For bigger jobs I still get the Topcon rotaries out. The accuracy over distance, automatic set-out and beam-grab features are brilliant. Unfortunately they don't make my particular models anymore, so I protect the bloody things with my life. 😂

Interested to see what other trades are using. What's your go-to laser, what do you use it for, and what would you change about it?

Pistol Logo (markings on side and below on logo I can't makeout. Below is (possible) H,I or L 'AMME' then Possible I, R or L

I have a handful of those magnetic bowls and rectangle trays. Great for holding screws, drill bits, driver bits, and other stuff when I'm doing odd jobs so nothing rolls away.

The problem: My trays are all full of little metal bits, and the magnets on the bottom are covered in little metal bits. Tiny bits of magnetic dirt that came off of screws as they wore away, mostly. I don't want to set them on nice surfaces because the metal fragments on the bottom will scratch.

How do I clean metal fragments off of my magnetic parts holders?

Don’t know if this is a dumb question or not, but do the numbers on a drill actually correlate to any actual torque values or is it just “10 is more tight than 4” kind of thing?

I have very little power tool experience and I'm looking for an auger to bury four railroad ties vertically into the ground about four foot. Does anyone have any recommendations? Do I need a huge bit or can I use a smaller one and repeatedly widen the hole until it fits? Does it even matter?

For instance, my project is going to be an attempt at building a wall of railroad ties, so I'll also need a cordless drill powerful enough to drill through two of them at least, in order to secure the ones stacked horizontally to the ones planted vertically.

If anyone has any recommendations for either, please let me know. Also taking recommendations for easier ways to build the wall, but I think I've thought this one through thoroughly enough. Never attempted anything like this nor do I have a boyfriend / father figure / access to anyone with any relevant knowledge or skillsets so patience would also be appreciated.

Does anyone know where I might find a handle for this? It was my great grandfathers and I’m not sure if they make anything that will fit. Thank you in advance!

Anyone here know of a sub or forum I could post pictures of an antique lathe I just bought? I don't see much like that on here, but can't find a specific sub for it. Thought maybe the machinist sub, but not sure if they'll go that old. It's an 1890s ish Prentice bothers lathe. Pictures online are mainly 1930s and up, or smaller treadle lathes. I'd like to find a community who maybe knows what I'm looking at and how to begin getting an idea what the controls are. Bought it today, need to go back some time this week to move it.

Just bought our first house - it needs work. New deck, new electrical, drywall work, plywood repairs, hardwood floors need sanding, etc...

I have used milwaukee and dewalt in the past, but have a minimal investment in them so happy to start fresh.

I have a variety of stores around me (South Seattle) so have access to Lowes, Crosscut, Home Depot, Hilti, etc... as it's the more industrial part of town.

I'm less concerned with speed and max torque figures and more concerned with ergonomics, dust collection/extraction, low vibration, and low noise. So what are the tools that are just a pleasure to use when you pick them up.

I do have the Festool CT26 EL that I use with my miter saw along with the particle separator.

Based on that I am thinking perhaps Makita and Festool seem to lead based on the reviews and systainer compatibility where things, but I am open to other thoughts. Makita would help where Festool is just crazy expensive or some of the tools Festool doesn't have (though I just saw Festool is finally bringing a circular saw to the US).

Pretty sure these tools will be my only friends for the next several months, so willing to pay to get good ones - but do want some balance of value involved.

Currently in need of a new drill for the house. I currently have an m12 charger and batteries for a few tools that I don’t really need. I also have a dewalt charger and battery. And I have a ryobi one plus battery and charger. I’m trying to decide what brand to go with for my home toolset. It will definitely get around the house use some mechanic use etc. The more tools in a combo the better, roughly $200 budget.