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Seems appropriate to the holiday...if you have a good story about your dad in a shop, or if your dad taught you something important about the shop, please share it.

I would like to purchase a 1" belt sander. I have my eye on these three. Would be for general shop use, both wood and metal, maybe even some tool restoration and sharpening. The 1/3 HP seems kinda wimpy, but that seems to be standard for this size machine. Any particular recommendations? Other...

Taking stock of my tools I realized I own nothing Matco. That's a shame. Being a proud graduate of Uncle Buck's school of toolostitution, I try to own a little of lots of different brands. So what's Matco best at? What are they known for, what Matco tool should I first own, to dip a toe into...

I searched the HF Pass/Fail thread and could find no mention of chippers or shredders. Anybody have experience with these low-cost chipper shredders? Electric 2.5 HP Gas 5.5 HP I am thinking about making some Gopher sausage and thought one of these chippers would help with the grinding...

I need an electrical "BFH" and am looking for the solution that will give me the broadest range of usefulness for a decent price. Sometimes I need to drill concrete, sometimes I need to tear up tile flooring (for which I'm currently using an air chisel, takes a long time!), sometimes I need to...

I am contemplating these Irwin Tap Adapters. Then I could use a quality ratchet to tap threads. They are 3/8 drive. Anybody had experience with them? Is a ratcheting T-handle tap wrench better? They cost about the same amount.

Packard V8 (Jack) was kind enough to send me a cross-hatch Duro Chrome socket (+ 2 other interesting sockets). All he asked for, was shipping, and for me to pay it forward. So now I am paying it forward. Here's the rules: 1) One item per person responding via PM please. 2) Please pay for...

I've been searching for USA Vice Grip pliers at the local flea markets recently, and am surprised at the prices they're fetching. Plain ones for $10, chain style for $20, rusted, welding globs, and with jaws that don't meet up. So I looked at Toptul's locking pliers and see they are going NEW...

Seems I am forever hand twisting an extension on my 3/8 drive to run a bolt down. None of my extensions have knurling, so I'm slipping all over the place. What are some options for good knurled extensions? I am already aware of Snap-on. Who else makes good ones? I like sharp knurling, not...

Is eBay going the way of the Big Ol' Retail Giants? Well that might be overstatement, but they ARE re-engineering eBay so it favors larger merchants of remaindered and off-season and refurbished items who sell at fixed prices. Consequently eBay is disadvantaging the traditional "unique item"...

I've been assembling a set of Pebble Field Proto Combination wrenches for the past couple months at flea markets & such...ya, they look rough, what do you expect, paid $1 to $2 each, but they work well. Still missing 3/4 13/16 15/16 If anybody can spare these sizes, give me a shout...

Has anyone cracked the code on how to sharpen drill bits with 1/4 hex ends (the kind you snap in and out of your hex bit holder) on a Drill Doctor? Maybe insert the bit into a round sleeve and sharpen, or...? AND while I'm asking: When you re-sharpen a Ti-Nitride bit, are you ruining the...

There are Proto combo wrenches aplenty at the flea markets that have markings something like this: <<<< 16MM . 1216M PROTO(R) U.S.A. . 16MM >>>> backside: <<<< 16MM . PROFESSIONAL . 16MM >>>> The shank is polished in the middle and satin toward either end. The heads are...

When I worked in a body shop, all we did was Bondo repair. We considered body leading a skill of specialists and perfectionists who were far above our pay grade. But I'm still curious about it. Particularly, is the stuff used as "lead" really lead? Or is there some politically-correct...

I don't have good technique for removing splinters that go completely under the skin, or go under the skin and break off. As long as a little is sticking out I can grab them with fine tweezers. Do you have any tricks for removing the ones that go under and stay under?

Anybody here recognize this vintage "X" wrench? It's got me puzzled. No name. Says "Nickel Molybdenum" on one side and a patent number on the other. (What's patentable about this wrench, anyway?) Nice design style, though.

Finally got a chance to give my new 4-piece double box end SAE Gearwrench set a workout, and (dad-blast-it!) just about every time I went to use it, I picked it up the wrong way around and was tightening when I wanted to loosen, and loosening when I wanted to tighten. Would it kill Gearwrench...

It's been decades since I worked in a shop with others, where it was easy to watch and learn good (and bad) tool use technique, just by observation. And it's been even longer since my shop classes from HS and college days. So...if I want a general book to read, to brush up on my overall shop...

Ebay seller advertised a vintage hinge handle (breaker bar) as fully operational and a good user. It arrived with BOTH detent balls stuck "in" so the head flops around and sockets fall off. Is there any fix for stuck detents on a breaker bar? Or just send it back to the seller?

I have some vintage tools where the chrome is peeling. The chrome peeling probably makes them of little or no value. I look at them and say to myself: "Self, if all the chrome were gone on this tool, and we were down to bare metal, this would be a good lookin' tool." How feasible is...