I know, and I'm not happy about that.
I didn't even put "high quality" in my search criteria.
I don't want to bog down this thread with further details of my recent interactions with AI, so I'll stop here.
Mike
Show your new tool arrivals
- Thread starter sarel.wagner
- Start date
I know, and I'm not happy about that.
I didn't even put "high quality" in my search criteria.
I don't want to bog down this thread with further details of my recent interactions with AI, so I'll stop here.
Mike
shoggoth80
Well-known member
Nice!!I wanted a cordless bandfile for work.
Found people who had done it with the Milwaukee and dewalt before they officially made them.
So you take the 3" cutoff and the pneumatic belt sander and combine them
+
=
I haven’t ever seen a thin jaw adjustable that is made in USA.
If you go to garage/estate sales, you can find nice made in USA adjustable wrenches for cheap. In a pretty short time frame, you could have absurd amounts.
YesIHaveAHammer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2025
- Messages
- 774
Stahlwille 12500N nut drivers 5.5-7-8-10mm
I'd not been especially pleased with the smallish handles of my Felo ones, especially in some sizes, so I tried one of these and soon added the other useful sizes. The handles are well sized for my hand and the specific socket sizes, and they're all the same shaft length. No hex bolster or bar hole in the handle for additional torque though. Size markings on the sockets, and also the end of the handles but quite faint.
Beta 941 T handle nut/socket drivers 8 & 10mm
Partly just an excuse to have classic orange Ts. The bottom socket is 6pt and plenty deep, and the side one 12pt. They're not as ergonomic to spin as hex Ts as that socket is bulkier and protrudes further. The range is no-skip from 7mm to 13mm, but I can't see any need for the torque in 7mm, and they might be a bit unwieldy in the larger sizes (longer, wider, big sockets). The orange colour photographs oddly - on screen it looks quite deep and classy, but to the eye it's brighter, pastel, and flat.
Beta 900T/44 T handle driver 1/4"
Pretty heavily built for 1/4". Typical Beta fit on sockets so a bit of play.
I'd not been especially pleased with the smallish handles of my Felo ones, especially in some sizes, so I tried one of these and soon added the other useful sizes. The handles are well sized for my hand and the specific socket sizes, and they're all the same shaft length. No hex bolster or bar hole in the handle for additional torque though. Size markings on the sockets, and also the end of the handles but quite faint.
Beta 941 T handle nut/socket drivers 8 & 10mm
Partly just an excuse to have classic orange Ts. The bottom socket is 6pt and plenty deep, and the side one 12pt. They're not as ergonomic to spin as hex Ts as that socket is bulkier and protrudes further. The range is no-skip from 7mm to 13mm, but I can't see any need for the torque in 7mm, and they might be a bit unwieldy in the larger sizes (longer, wider, big sockets). The orange colour photographs oddly - on screen it looks quite deep and classy, but to the eye it's brighter, pastel, and flat.
Beta 900T/44 T handle driver 1/4"
Pretty heavily built for 1/4". Typical Beta fit on sockets so a bit of play.
Last edited:
What he needs is to do is go to enough garage sales to find a small milling machine!
Last edited:
Stahlwille 12500N nut drivers 5.5-7-8-10mm
I'd not been especially pleased with the smallish handles of my Felo ones, especially in some sizes, so I tried one of these and soon added the other useful sizes. The handles are well sized for my hand and the specific socket sizes, and they're all the same shaft length. No hex bolster or bar hole in the handle for additional torque though. Size markings on the sockets, and also the end of the handles but quite faint.
That Felo nutdriver remind me of the time I tried to talk a friend of mine out of a pass-through socket set, when he didn't have a good normal socket set in the first place. He's a worrier, so he thought this was saving him from the day he had a nut that had to be run down a very long threaded shaft or bolt, and I told him, a) that's exceedingly rare 2) a design flaw III) a temptation for the hacksaw and finally, you can always use a wrench.
Last edited:
I'm about to make my stab, well, tug at paintless dent removal. A stripey board, which is reflected in shiny paint and shows how distorted the spot still is or isn't. And a suction holder.
Maybe next fall I'll drill a hole in the center and mount it on my DeWalt cordless and take it to Yellowstone and hypnotize a moose.
Maybe next fall I'll drill a hole in the center and mount it on my DeWalt cordless and take it to Yellowstone and hypnotize a moose.
Of course, but I was trying to hit ALL of the search criteria, including being able to buy one to support HJE Day.
I still have the Jet JMD-18 (freebie from a prior work clean-out). It still needs reassembly, but more importantly, arbors and tooling. I should bring Dad (retired machinist and toolmaker) to some garage sales to find tooling for it!
Mike
Felo Ergonic M-Tec nut driver set, 6pc 5.5-13mm (428 106 36)
I was only looking for a single flexible one, but came across these at a good price. My first Ergonic handles, I think I prefer them to Wera - softer and more edges for more grip, and you can squeeze them a bit. Better anti rollaway too. But no size markings on the ends of the handles. The 7mm might have been better with the bigger handle of the 8/10mm. The unusual design has a sprung loaded magnet inside the shaft, making them as far as I know unique in being both hollow and magnetic. However it turns out the maximum thread depths are only 40-50mm despite the long fat shafts, this shouldn't matter for me. The hex flats on the handles are 18.3, 16.3, 14.3mm - i.e. doesn't match the nut sizes, nor any fixed wrench for that matter.
Qinbineng 4140 pry tool / skin wedge
Seems good, just the finish is a little rough. The number refers to the (claimed) grade of steel.
Hultafors 108 Mini wrecking bars, 190mm (7.5")
These won't be wrecking anything, the name is taken from the larger 108s which I also have. The shaft is 18mm wide and 3mm thick.
Stahlwille 12500N nut drivers 5.5-7-8-10mm
I'd not been especially pleased with the smallish handles of my Felo ones, especially in some sizes, so I tried one of these and soon added the other useful sizes. The handles are well sized for my hand and the specific socket sizes, and they're all the same shaft length. No hex bolster or bar hole in the handle for additional torque though. Size markings on the sockets, and also the end of the handles but quite faint.
Felo must be VERY confident in their plastic if they built the bolsters into the handles! I never thought of those holes as a place to put a bar for more torque, always just thought those were for hanging on a peg / rack.
Mike
YesIHaveAHammer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2025
- Messages
- 774
The hex shape at the front of the handle are just decorative. They don't match the driver size (or even any mm size wrench), are thin, and soft.
Yes they are meant for hanging or perhaps tethering. I used a bar on the 10mm to undo a nut that was down a narrow recess that none of my sockets would fit. I have since ordered thin wall sockets so shouldn't need to again.
Diameter of 1/4" 10mm sockets:
14.6mm Facom
14.3mm Stahlwille
13.8mm Felo nut driver
13.5mm Koken Zeal
In the past couple of years I've noticed how much of a focus the Europeans are putting on tethering. Not sure if it's regulations or lawsuits, but the implication is that if you're in the USA, look up! Or don't look up! Just don't walk underneath workmen, you could get brained by some falling tool! Some Spanish Crescent wrench with only millimeter markings on one side, OUCH!
Now, we live in a world of 3-D printing "Maker" people doing all sorts of projects... do any "makers" out there have a laser etching tool? Find that guy and you're very close to creating what you need out of an American tool.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
The hex bolster is to discourage the tool from rolling away when placed on a sloping surface. Good feature.
YesIHaveAHammer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2025
- Messages
- 774
Maybe it's just more readily available and somehow became standard practice?
Looks like Facom came up with SLS tethering about 10 years ago, soon followed by Knipex. It was probably a thing way before but perhaps not productised or readily available.
I expect dropping tools on people and into machines are considered just as bad things to do in the US and can get you into just as much trouble with insurers and the authorities. Nor will they be any less annoyed having to go down to get what they dropped, or buy another one because it can't be found or reached.
If something happens, you weren't using tethered tools, while everyone in your industry tends to, then fingers will end up pointing at you for not taking common and reasonable precautions.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
We used to have tethers on almost all of our jobsite tools. They were called "cords".
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
freudianfloyd
Well-known member
I have been needing one of these for a while and finally pulled the trigger on it after struggling with a part on my son's girlfriends car where this would've come in real handy.
I also picked up this electric grinder for my backhoe adapter assembly.
And also picked this chamfering tool for my backhoe adapter Build. I forgot to take a picture but here it is.
I also picked up this electric grinder for my backhoe adapter assembly.
And also picked this chamfering tool for my backhoe adapter Build. I forgot to take a picture but here it is.
neophyte
Well-known member
I thought the point of adjustable wrenches, was that you open the jaws up, and put the jaws around the fastener, and then you screw the jaws closed till the jaws fit snuggly, and then you use the wrench at that setting.Right... So what I want is a set of adjustable wrenches, with thin and narrow jaws, with dual (SAE and metric) engraved / stamped scales, also Made in USA and available at HJE...
I hope AI is wrong...
Mike
The Felos linked above look like the bolsters are smaller than the handles, so that wouldn't prevent roll-aways. There are some flats molded into the handles for that purpose.
Mike
Yes, and most tools can be quickly modified to attach a cord...
(Avert your eyes if you're squeamish about mixing red and yellow...)
I was working in a boom lift, needed to be able to tether the pruners (as well as two chainsaws), mostly to avoid damaging them or the fiberglass hood of the (rented) boom lift. The 1/4-inch cord is overkill, but it was a scrap piece of line that I had laying around, after replacing running rigging on a sailboat.
Mike
Beerhippie
Well-known member
With more experience, you'll look at the fastener and know what size it is... and have the sizes either side of what you think it is in your pocket.
I can recall maybe one or two times I've used an adjustable wrench to measure anything.
NightSky
Well-known member
I took advantage of the Memorial Day weekend free shipping from KC Tool to order a Knipex Orbis angled jaw plier 90 21-150. Excellent quality but a plier with more angle to the jaws might be useful. This jaws on this are angled 25 deg to the grips. Made in Germany.
I took advantage of the Memorial Day weekend free shipping from KC Tool to order a Knipex Orbis angled jaw plier 90 21-150. Excellent quality but a plier with more angle to the jaws might be useful. This jaws on this are angled 25 deg to the grips. Made in Germany.
For some reason, I thought they had a bigger angle, too! Maybe that's NWS. Definitely E-Z Red Kiwis. Or the HF ICON things which I suspect are larger.
Last edited:
Not going to lie, when I was wrenching I would of bought those 1/2 size sockets (at least individually) if they would of been available.
I still have the CTA flip-sockets, but they always did the job.
captain14
Well-known member
There were on Lowe’s deal of the day last weekend. Picked up a tool pouch and 2 pliers holders.
Skyman
Well-known member
Yeah, I had that down cold when I was wrenching for my daily bread back in the '70s. Everything was either SAE or metric, and you knew which it would be before you even got started. Now, three of my four vehicles were assembled with a confounding mixture of metric and SAE fasteners, and some of them are so buried that I can't even see them. It doesn't help that my eyes don't perform as well as they did back then, either.
Prospecter
Well-known member
What are the 16.5 and the 20.5 for? I have all the other sizes.
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
Not sure, I was wondering myself why they included those, especially the 16?
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
I have those also, they will be heading to the school/work box.
I like the idea of solid one piece sockets for getting those crappy lugs off because the alternative is no fun.
I was assuming trailers or side by sides or motorcycles or something like that…
cody1325
Well-known member
There were on Lowe’s deal of the day last weekend. Picked up a tool pouch and 2 pliers holders.
The leather they use in these items is pretty nice, too. A couple years ago, I had a pair of pants that refused to stay up, and just so happened to be in Lowe's first. The belt loops were wide enough to fit a wide tool-style belt, so I bought it. It's not stiff at all (as were most of the feed store belts I've bought over the years), and was actually cheaper. It's now my favorite belt--I know Rustlers and some Ridgecut/TSC pants can take them, but I am really curious about trying them with cheap Rural King jeans.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
I feel your pain. We have brewery and packaging equipment that can be a nightmare for mixed metric/SAE. I hate it. After a few years (decade) of working on them, I now know which parts use which, but still... two full tool sets to work on one piece of equipment is ridiculous.
I also recall when American car manufacturers started putting Japanese engines under the hood. That threw all of us for a loop.
a6hux
Well-known member
Agree. Never been a huge fan of flip-sockets either to be honest.
If I were buying them today, I would buy the offering from Astro as a budget "equivalent" to the Snap On.
Twisted Sid
Well-known member
A small adapter is needed.
I used an aluminum spacer I had laying around that happened to be around the correct OD. I took the original cutoff backing plate and used it as a pattern for the 4 screws layout. Drilled out the center to fit the pulley.
I had to bore out the sander drive pulley ID to fit the cutoff shaft. The shaft had flats on 2 sides so I drilled the pulley for a grub screw. Probably wasn't needed because the original Allen bolt still holds the pulley on and there isnt much force on the pulley.
I am by no means a machinist and used a drill press, cordless drill, and my 2x72 belt sander to make the adapter.
I also just added a thumb screw to be able to adjust the belt angle without needing the Allen wrench.
