It is SO NICE ...

[theoldwizard1]

... to have the right tools for the job ! It makes it go faster and more enjoyable !

So I "garbage picked" a 2 wheel wheelbarrow for my daughter's house the other day. It was rough ! Four of the six carriage bolts holding the plastic pan to the frame had pulled through. It had 2 different sized wheels and the axle was about 2" too long ! The frame was good and the pan was in one piece except where the bolts pulled through.

A quick stop at Harbor Freight and I picked up a couple of wheels ($15/ea; I should have got larger ones, but I wasn't going to spend the money). Then I cruised by my local fastener store, got a bunch of fender washer and up-sized bolts.

Here are the tools I used.

• The 3/8" impact took the old fasteners off in a couple of seconds.
• The axle was quite rusty, so the die grinder and Roloc and Scotch Brite disc made it possible to remove the wheels. More Roloc and Scotch Brite and the new wheels slipped into the correct position.
• Now the die grinder and cut off wheel made shorten the axle shaft easy !
• Of course I need a new hole in the shortened axle shaft for the cotter pin. With just a hand drill it is next to impossible to drill into a round shaft, so die grinder and burr had a flat spot so I could drill a 1/8" hole.
• Re-assembling it with new, larger hardware, of course the holes and slot did not fit. The ball end burr fixed that in 2 seconds.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The 1/4" M12 die grinder was one of those Tools I want, but DON'T NEED THEM !

I can see where the M12 die grinder will be one of my "go to" portable power tools in the future !

 

[CoogarXR]

Yep, these smaller li-ion tools are great. I just did a little duct work in my basement today, and my little Hitachi 10.8v set made the job go so easy. Impact for the screws, drill for the pilot holes, and mini recip saw for cutting the ducts. Those three tools, plus a box of bits, hex bits and saw blades fit in a tiny little tool bag.

The only thing I need now is something like a two-pistol holster belt for my drill and impact so I don't have to keep looking for flat surfaces to set them.