Recent content by CatSplat

Did you try hitting the top of the bolt with an air hammer for a few seconds? That made all the difference in removing Honda crank bolts for me.

I have the full sets (metric/SAE) of the black reversible spline-drive Protos and they're nothing short of excellent.

Those ratchets are excellent. Strong and very comfortable to use. Good to see the students getting their start with inexpensive tools, they can upgrade what calls for it later on instead of going into deep debt from day 1.

If you're sticking to a budget, the Tekton 72t low-profile ratchets are excellent for the price. My Mastercraft ratchets are now strictly backup duty as the Tektons are just so much nicer to use. Comfortable and far less backdrag.

Hah, same here. Now everybody that visits my shop knows the weight rating of my casters and that I have them newfangled ball bearings in my slides.

The Proto JSCV-20S is a very complete set, not cheap but a great set of wrenches. 7/32, 1/4, 9/32, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 1, 1-1/16, 1-1/8, 1-1/4, 1-1/2"

That's another plus for Ridgid. All of their 18V batteries are backwards-compatible - the newest fifth-gen LiIon 18V batteries work perfectly on every 18V ridgid tool, as far as I'm aware. I'm currently using fifth-gen batteries on second-gen tools.

Nothing you are doing sounds like something the Ridgid can't handle, you're pretty much exactly the market segment that tool lineup is aimed at. The lifetime warranty is nice, but I've never needed to use it for any of my Ridgid tools, they've been rock-solid.

I recently ordered a GW single long-pattern 21mm to fill in a gap, and while it has the open-end design you mentioned, it's definitely marked China COO. I'm really not sure which GW wrenches are Taiwan-made these days.

Pretty much! The fancy designs just let you get maximum strength using smaller amounts of time and thread. For structural webbing I use the lengthwise zigzag, but for attaching thinner webbing to fabrics I generally use a loose bar-tack, mainly because I like the look of it.

I use a 30K NG Reznor in my well-insulated southern Alberta 35x24, works great but obviously a bit slower to heat than a bigger unit. I got the heater for free, so no big deal. If NG installation isn't an option for you, I'd recommend getting a big honkin' propane tank (or two) and running...

Agreed, their sockets and low-profile ratchets are extremely good for the price.

I usually sew on a '51 Singer 301 shortbed I snagged at a thrift store, it's an amazing and smooth machine, although nowhere near some of the industrial units you guys are running. I've also got a Necchi BU Nova of about the same vintage for when I need a zigzag. I primarily make...

When doing a pinion seal in-car, it's common to check rotating torque at the pinion with the axles still in, wheels/rotors/drums off. They check it before they remove the pinion nut and then when they reinstall the nut they torque it until rotating force is a couple of inch-lb higher than the...

Stopped by a garage sale on the way home today because a friend of mine mentioned they were selling a drill press. The drill turned out to be a broken Chinese junk, but he did have some miscellaneous files for sale that I couldn't pass up. - 16" Black Diamond/Nicholson USA flat fine lathe...