Recent content by altersaddle

It's been covered here before somewhere, but the radial arm saw is really only better at making cross cuts on very long stock, where the stock is heavier than the blade/motor. I prefer the table saw, hands down. Biggest difference is what happens when things go bad - if you lose control on the...

First off, I advise against writing a suicide pact with your circular saw. If you burn it out, don't give up, get another one! Looking at the exploded tool diagrams, the Makita uses ball bearings on both sides of the drive spindle. The Skil has a one-piece gear and housing assembly. I can't...

I have a 12" craftsman that I got in auction for something like $40. It's worth about that. For $100 make sure it has a motor and stand and maybe some new replacement blades. It was an upgrade from a benchtop 3-wheel 10" craftsman my Dad gave me. The 80" blades are a bit obscure, although...

From this list, my top three would be Proto, Gray, and Beach. Older Mastercraft and some Craftsman were made by Beach. Newer stuff is definitely not, Beach closed down a while back, were briefly reopened by GH metals and then closed again for good. I think Beach (or maybe GH Metals, for their...

Some are 50% off at my local store. This link might work for you, if you have your store selected in the browser: http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?q=channellock;x1=s.store-has-clearance;q1=T I'm grabbed a 15" adjustable (last one!), half price at $29.93. Sticker on the board...

A good building supply center will sell bitumen tape used for sealing foundations, building envelopes, and roofs. Inner tube rubber will crack and perish when exposed to the elements. Use a product that's designed to live outside and deal with rain. I bought this product when rebuilding my...

I'm attaching the picture in case the CL post gets taken down. Looks like we have: Left Door Hack Saw / Fret Saw / Coping Saw Chisels Triangular File & Screwdrivers Folding Rule Marking Gauge Center Brace & Bits Measuring Tape Hammer Eggbeater Drill Tin Snips Locking pliers #4 Smooth Plane...

I don't think all of them were - I've got a little crown top hand carry box labeled Made in USA. I suspect many were Canadian built, either by Beach (the curved stamped aluminum pulls are a telltale) or by SPG International. There may have been a few other companies too (Flaherty?) My...

Success! New front steps. It's nice to work with real wood, I was able to cut the risers around what few knots there were, and the treads came out nice too. They should last a lot longer than the ones we had before. Picked up a Milwaukee 0231-1 Hole Shooter today, $10 from the Re-Store. It...

I picked up a bunch more sockets and wrenches a while back, photos are from the ad. It was a mix of the Husky set, Craftsman ST and EE (Asia), no-name cheap stuff and good vintage tools. Came with a nice Beach hand carry box, so I did some sorting and gave away all the cheap stuff in an old...

I picked up a Penens-style Challenger Canada 1261 on the weekend. It needs a selector lever, anyone got brilliant ideas for a replacement? I tried making one out of brass but my skills are lacking. Pictured here with a 1/2" Challenger Canada 1649 (Proto 5449) and 1/4" Proto USA 4749.

I can't help you with the age of your tool, but Fleet, Penens, and Firestone branded ratchets are all made by Proto / Plomb, in various locations. I have a Challenger Canada branded 1261 which looks just like your Penens. According to twertsy's site: http://toolarchives.com/node/303, the...

I have a faint scar on my left hand from exactly this situation. I don't bother with gloves. I use clamps, vise-grips, a vise, a piece of wood, bolts, screws, anything except my hands now. Hands stay OUT of the cutting area. Let the tool do the work. If you must purchase something to wear...

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think the clamp meter and the Energizer work as a team. The Energizer lets you clamp the clamp meter onto only one leg of the AC wire circuit. That lets you use the clamp meter to detect how much power is flowing through. If you clamp the meter over a regular...

Did some more work on my chisel box this past week - the 1" and 1/4" chisel were both really short and I didn't like them. Found a nice vintage 1" chisel made by W K & C Peace in Sheffield, and a useable 1/4" made by "Oximex", who appear to be "Oxford Imports & Exports" out of Etobicoke...