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I bought 4 different off-brand Makita batteries. 2 were junk within 5 charge cycles. The other 2 were junk within 50 charge cycles. I have some OEM Makita batteries that are 5+ years old with probably close to 1000 charge cycles. I'm a big believer in expensive high quality batteries. I'd...

Makita and Milwaukee are both solid choices. I personally think the Makita tools are more ergonomic, and so I went with them (10 years ago). It also seems to me Makita is somewhat more geared towards the carpentry type of tradesman, while Milwaukee has some pretty great offerings for the...

I have the Makita variable speed 6" grinder, and I love it. Fantastic tool, except I wish it had a paddle handle. Made in USA. You can find them for <$100 on ebay if you're patient enough, although new they're typically $~170. The "control board" which manages the variable speed and soft...

I usually get "store" brand tools for the stuff I don't use a lot, which is usually Husky. Kobalt hand tools are pretty decent for the price too. I've been buying more and more Tekton tools lately, and they've been good tools for the price.

You'd be surprised how many fasteners are available with Amazon Prime or even 1 day shipping. If I just need a box of some type of screw or something, its easier to order it on Amazon rather than making a special trip to the hardware store. Assuming, of course, that I don't need it right that...

Nice box! I like the motorcycle lift unload! hah! That's pretty clever.

Sometimes putting the drill on the highest clutch setting can work pretty well. Most newer rotary hammer drills have some sort of clutch mechanism which also prevents the drill twisting your hands up, but it can also be a PITA to get the drill bit "unstuck" when it bites, and the clutch gets...

Supposedly the new 18V brushless grinder is pretty decent. I have the older style 18V grinder, and its OK for occasional use, but doesn't have the balls to do any real grinding, and it goes through batteries really quickly. I agree the 18V x 2 grinder looks like a beast, but also really...

In the battle of the cordless tools, I think Makita will always win on compact size, lightweight, and great ergonomics. The red or yellow impacts might be just as powerful and well built, but to me a Makita impact will always be the most ergonomic. Of course, I might be biased :bounce:

Huh. Well that's very interesting. Pretty cool LED strip though. The issue you're having with some segments not lighting up definitely has to do with the "addressing" of the pixels and the signals being sent through the strip. That's an oddball setup, but I don't know why it wouldn't work...

So this LED strip can do "chase" patterns? Different segments can be lit differently at different times? Its 5 wire 24V? Do you have a link to the product you're using? The only LED strips I've seen related to what you're describing are either 24V 5 wire where each color has its own wire and...

Many dimmers work using PWM, pulsing the voltage, but LEDs will definitely dim in response to dropping true DC voltages. LEDs have a "cutoff" voltage where they will turn off, but its not an abrupt stop, especially with current limiting resistors that are 99% always present. For instance a...

How did you fix your issue? Powering it from both ends? I find it pretty hard to believe that a couple feet of 22AWG wire would cause the LEDs down the line to not work at all. I mean you're talking about adding less than .1ohms to the system. I've cut and spliced many 12V LED strips and...

I've owned several CB tools over the years. The CB handles feel nice, but I had issues with them coming loose off the handles under heavy use, which made them feel really cheap when I was using them. We all know how irritating it is to use cheapo pliers where the grips are sliding off all the...

Channellock is probably the closest thing to craftsman as far as US made at a decent price. I personally think their quality has slipped in the past 10 years or so, but all or most of their pliers are still US made to my knowledge, and more than durable enough for home use. Klein is probably...

There are still cases where a corded drill fits the bill, but just look up the specs, the Makita XP07 and Milwaukee FUEL M18 drills (and other top-tier cordless drills) have as much torque as a standard 8 amp corded drill. If you're getting an ~8amp corded drill over a cordless for the power...

IMO the newest line of high-power cordless tools eliminate the need for corded drills. The Milwaukee M18 FUEL drill or the Makita XPH07 drill are just as powerful as their corded counterparts, and I would argue easier to use, especially with the new brushless designs. They have heavy duty...

Sorry, still adjusting to a post-Photobucket world.

Personally, if the lights in 1 bay were arranged differently than the other 4(?) bays, the aesthetics would bug me even if it were functional. Are you replacing your lights with the same types of fixtures? Do you plan on moving any of the other lights?

I would partition the kitchen off and light it separately. You're going to want close to 2X the amount of light in the kitchen as the rest of the room. Maybe consider having a row of lights (~5) across the "peninsula", perhaps some hanging pendant lights, and then ~3 lights on the side with...