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2023 had me spending more time in the garage than any recent year in memory, and that gave me some additional insights as well as drove home some previously gained insights. Here, in no particular order or relationship, are my main takeaways from all that time in the garage this last year...

A friend has a 2018 Buick Enclave his wife drives. She hit a curb at a dark intersection and bent the LCA to where the vehicle couldn't be driven. Along with another friend from church, we decided to tackle the replacement in the parking lot where the disabled vehicle was. Well, 90 minutes...

The end of the era. Early 2000s MI USA Milwaukee tools.

One of my total geek-out things is electronics soldering. I actually LOVE the challenge of making the perfect joint. So here's the thread for talking about all things related to electronics soldering. I'll start us off by sharing a couple of my best tips and suggestions. If you haven't...

I'd like to order a couple and get a place in line so I'm not SOL when they get back in stock. Where to go to place a backorder at reasonable cost?

No kidding, Tekton was serious. This is my first Tekton ratchet and I’m pretty sure I will have a couple more. They are just so good for the price. Anyway, I had a couple pictures, but none of the formatting options above are working, so I’ll try to reply to this with the pics.

You know what would really be *incredibly* useful? Some stubby double box ends with a square drive hole in the middle. Basically like a pair of 2” torque adapters sharing a common square drive. There are several times in my automotive work where a tool like this is about the only thing that...

Imagine my surprise to learn that there is no such thing as a "set" of Wright Metric box ends. Yes, all the tools are made --from 8mm to 24mm-- and that's a great size range, but no sets. Really? Is metric not popular enough yet to justify a set? Are they waiting to see if this metric fad passes...

Dumb question perhaps, but I’ve found so many instances where I can’t get two adjustables on (too wide) nor a flare nut wrench (won’t fit over hose/crimp and is also too wide. I’m talking especially in 1/8”-3/4” NPT size range and having to use lots of step ups and downs within them. Seems to...

I can't much complain about it otherwise, but my CH "ironforce" is measuring 97dB sound level standing near at about a yard away. How loud is it? Well, it sounds exactly like this oil free Craftsman compared to this Quincy: So it's much louder than even a traditional oil lube compressor...

Yes, I know the thought of any tool leaving vs entering is potentially sacrilege around here, but the reality is that I only have so much space and I have a lot of tools that just don't earn their keep anymore. On the one hand, these tools are perfectly functional. On the other hand, I can't...

Much of the current I'd like to measure is inrush current to a DC motor. Think starter motors running off battery. I've not had any luck find a current clamp meter that can measure that. Google is of course useless. Any suggestions?

The angle grinder thread got me thinking about one of the most startling learnings I've had about tools-- right up there with air compressors being rated by suction flow;). Namely, what is the actual difference between an angle grinder rated 6 amps vs 9 amps vs 12amps or 15 amps? If you plug...

Thank you to Moldex for inspiring this thread with their complete **** of an earband hearing protection. The soft plugs on it are great, but the band breaking in a couple days? NOT COOL. Pro tip: the moldex plugs will work with the superior Howard Leight headband. (The HL plugs are hard and not...

Yes, the obvious answer is wall piping. The TLDR version of this is: get a rapidaire setup and be done with it. But short of that, what can one do? A lot, as it turns out, but first, a digression on how I ended up where I'm at now... Like a lot of casual home gamers, I had a compressor with...

I know this has been covered rather exhaustively, so I'm not hoping to re-hash the previous threads, which I'll summarize as: -- Lots of Milton V fanboys, even though more exotic, costly, and arguably better fittings exist. -- High flow fittings may be a solution looking for a problem in some...