Recent content by thinmac

Vikings are great, as are Precision Twist drill bits. Drill bits labeled "cobalt" can be a lot of different things. While all cobalt bits do have cobalt in them, there's no way to know how much cobalt is actually in the alloy they use. As you would expect, you often get what you pay for...

Kinda depends. I've had some small spaces where the easiest thing to use ends up being a hacksaw - sometimes it's 15 minutes of sawing rather than an hour of trying to get in with a power tool. Probably I would have decided that the bottom inch of the mount is sacrificial. Then you can thrash...

The biggest pain with plasma cutters is sourcing consumables. Unlike welders, where there are only a couple of different threads on tips and wire's wire, each plasma manufacturer seems to make a different electrode for each machine. The plasma tips and electrodes at the welding supply near me...

Up front, the "Little Lincolns" have served me quite well. With a couple-three passes, maybe some preheat, I have been able to do anything with a Weldpak 180 that I would want to do with a big 250 (I also have a Millermatic 250). In my opinion, having used a bunch of machines from 140 to...

+1 on machine_punk. I have done a quicker and dirtier method along the same lines with great success. Find a table you can clamp to (I've used a welding table) that has a sharp corner and some thickness to it. Place your sheet metal with the line you want to bend on the edge and clamp a piece...

I go through a ton of these, generally Pherd or Sait. I pretty much go with whichever they've got in the thickness I need. I've also used wheels from Home Depot when I've got to grab some in a hurry, but in general I've been less than impressed with how long they last and the price isn't often...

For basic fabrication (generally meaning mild steel thinner than 1/4") it's more machine that you need. I won't harp on it, but there you are. If it was used in industry it was probably worked really hard but it was also probably maintained. I wouldn't stress about dirty - I've never seen a...

If it's just screwed up threads, I'd get in there with a file and clean them up. A small three-on-square (triangular) file would be ideal. Maybe hit it with a wire brush first to make sure it isn't just **** in the threads. You can figure out what the thread pitch is by measuring the diameter...

They make disposable p100 masks, which would be lighter. Sounds like they'd end up costing you a mint, though. What exactly are you trying to protect yourself from? If it's just particulates there are more options. I generally only use the p100s when there's toxic gas in the air (as when welding...

I put stickers all over mine. Don't see a reason not to - I don't plan on selling it in the foreseeable future, and if I get new ones these will get repurposed at home. Also, three other guys have the same boxes in my shop, so stickers help with confusion if they get rolled around. Anyway, my...

For grinding wheels, flap wheels, wire wheels, and so on in any diameter, I always go to a welding supply store. The stuff they have is usually no more expensive than the home improvement stores, and pretty much always lasts longer. This seems to be true even for grinding wheels of the same...

I think, based on a supplier's website, that the Ideal crimper uses the same dies as the Paladin. I don't know if that's a significant advantage, though - they carry pretty much the same dies. I looked at the Kanipex, and I'll look at the Rennsteig, but I would like to stay under $100. Of...

I've used a set of cheap ratcheting crimpers for wiring on my truck for the last few years, but after crimping a ton of spade connecters for the flame effects wiring on the Brain this summer it's clear I need to trade up. Right now my front runners are: Paladin CrimpAll 8000...

I've got a set of these in my shop, but I honestly never use them. I have found it much more useful to build a custom clamp using a pair of their regular clamps. I have made these for many purposes, including tacking sheet metal, and have found that a custom clamp always works better than...

On my current project we have been using a *ton* of air. Our air/hydraulic mandrel bender pretty much keeps the compressor going constantly. The compressor's up to it, but I decided to give it a break. I picked up an $11 clip on fan and clipped it onto the compressor so it blows over the...