Recent content by Mc817

I have an extech ex623. It's great for me, because it has an IR thermometer built in, plus dual type k temp probes. Does 400A ac/dc. I prefer fluke meters, but this thing is like my Swiss army knife of troubleshooting

I bought a few sets of proto sockets, 3/8 deep and shallow 6pt SAE, and a set of proto crows foot wrenches. Can confirm that all mine say made in USA, and they're all fine tools. The chrome is good quality, and I don't expect them to break anytime soon, if ever. Edit: meant to mention, I bought...

Looks nice! I don't do much welding, but a guy I work with got a little stick welder from Amazon, and likes it for small jobs. Its 110v, and the duty cycle isn't suitable for big jobs, but it's better than dragging the big *** lincoln out to do a ten minute job. Enjoy the new welder!

I love my digital snap on tech angle. I need to do alot of torque-turn stuff, usually upside down, so its nice to set it and not have to keep looking under the engine to check paint pen marks. When its loud and I cant hear it beeping, it also vibrates, and if all else fails you can just look at...

I've been in a jam like that before. I have some super heavy, tacky grease, and I put a glob of that on the end of something (extension, welding rod, whatever works) and it usually picks up whatever I'm trying to grab

The high torque impacts are great. It took the main bearing caps off a k19 Cummins, and that's good enough for me from a battery gun. The m12 right angle die grinder is awesome too, I use it for cleaning gaskets with 2" discs. Not great for burrs or cutting wheels, lacks the torque for those...

I hear you there. I wrestled with the idea of getting something cheaper, but I was afraid I'd end up shopping for what I really wanted in another 5 years. Instead, I just bought the setup I really wanted today, so I can enjoy it longer. And the process of moving my tools over was...

I've done it both ways. I mainly do overhauls on marine diesel engines, and a guy that I learned alot from would throw all the bolts in a five gallon pail. But I noticed he wasted alot of time looking for bolts too. When I do it, i use paint buckets and label them. I don't go crazy specific, for...

I wouldn't worry about going too big, unless floor space is an issue in your shop/garage. I had a 42" top bottom combo with a side locker that "fit" all my tools, but many of them were piled on top of each other, like my pliers and hammers. Now they're all laid out neatly, and it's really a...

Yes! Forgot about that one. Saves alot of time at the end of the day. Especially for paint, it comes right off.

Finally took a few pics of the box in its spot, loaded up with tools, so I figured I'd share. It's only been a couple weeks, but I'm still happy with the purchase. I still "shop" for toolboxes, and haven't seen anything out there for the price of 5k that makes me think twice about buying this setup.

^ This trick works great for JIC hydraulic hoses, especially large ones, 1" and up. If you have a large hydraulic hose you cant break loose, try hitting the flats of the swivel with a hard faced hammer before putting the wrench on it. Works like a charm. And as long as I'm going over hammer...

I understand the desire to repair what you can before jumping into replacing a part, but there is a reason this is more and more common. First, the abundance of competition has driven the price down on many parts. Used to be just your local parts store, now the internet guys are keeping those...

The hutch is going to be for my hand box. I work mostly on commercial boats, so I have to lug all my tools down the dock. For that, i have a 24" hand box with all the basic sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, and whatever else I can stuff in it. I used to leave that on my bench, unlocked. But my...

Best tip I can give you is one that I was told by a very good tech when I first started out. Be thorough. It's simple, and obvious, but those words have come back to me many times in my career, and always served me well. People may whine if the job takes longer, but they will be furious if...