Recent content by swduncan

Somewhere in a bar... "Nah, I ain't sold the tools yet...I gotta get them arranged into sets before I can price 'em. But, you remember that vice that smitty welded shut to fool the new guy? I sold it for twenny bucks!"

The more I read threads like this one, the more I scratch my head wondering why anyone who wasn't on a route, and working in a shop that did regular business with SO would ever pay the prices they ask. I think there are exactly two things that justify SO pricing: Financing without a credit...

And the truck brands are wondering why their market is shrinking? Looking at Snapon's pricing, if I should call with a bad product, they should be willing to send a dealer (presumably in my area already) over with a replacement. At 5 times the cost of a "consumer" alternative, there ought to be...

I think if I was a tool truck guy I'd set a policy that all non-route new customers could meet me at one of three places: Where I get my morning coffee, where I eat lunch, or where I live (assuming the truck is there) in the evening. I've got to believe that driving out to the 'burbs to serve...

So I get the email about how there's great deals at sears for father's day. I go to the site, and it's all 50% off this and that, so I pick a chest/roller cab combo that looks promising and the free intermediate cabinet offer doesn't come through. The previous page says the combination is...

Thanks - I'm not really worried about Craftsman quality. I've got a few of their bottom-end chests in my woodworking shop, and they are ok. I was just wondering if anyone else was offering better value/unique features/something else I should look at.

Has anyone seen memory foam for a drawer liner? If you could buy the stuff in inch thick sheets, preferably black, it would seem to be ideal. The tools would slowly sink in, form pockets, and not slide around.

Well, I left 500 in the subject, so I can't complain but the Kennedy seems to be more like $1000. I'd love to spend a grand on stool storage, but that's just too much for the use I would give it.

Suppose you were looking for rolling tool storage on a budget of $400. What would you look at for the best mix of quality and capacity. This would be in a garage with very moderate use - hobbyist stuff. I've looked over the Craftsman stuff, along with what Farm & Fleet and Northern Tool sell...

They used a tamper-proof fastener head for a drain plug? Does this strike anyone else as sort of, well, adversarial on the part of the manufacturer?

The advice the driver gave sounds like nicad or nimh advice. Nicads had memory, and I think nimh often got the same rap by association. I've read that lithium ion batteries require a lot of smarts in the charger because it's hard to check the charge state by votage drop or current (the deltas...

So lemme get this straight. You buy an expensive truck brand of tool because you're a pro who needs the very best tools. Tools that will withstand a little abuse in the name of getting the job done. Tools that will 'go to 11', as they say. You chose a truck brand that lives on its product...

You can certainly buy lists that connect numbers to addresses. But you can also refuse - I did at Toys R Us, and then my four year old decided to impress me by giving it to the lady ;-) When they ask for zip code, it's because they want to know where the traffic is coming from, and whether they...

Many years ago when I was going to college in Menomonie, WI, I applied for a job at Menards. They had an employment test, which asked a ton of questions like "Have you ever taken a pencil or pen home from work?" and "Do you enjoy watching fistfights?". I'd learned about these exams in school...

Cheaper to go set or separate if you don't really know where you're headed? An interesting question. I've often wished I'd gotten a set. But, I enjoy shopping. Really, I enjoy analyzing what the best choices could be. If only I could get paid to do that...actually, I sort of do. Anyway, I...