ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area what are your must have tools??

On Ya Ryan!

On the subject of movable storage, I once made up a mobile tools/parts wagon for my mate out of a sack barrow and a few Stanley tool holders, with the Pull out shelves on the bottom and smaller draws above.
I wish I could get a pic of it, but he won't let me near the thing these days.
I must have built the thing too well.
A lesson for the future, 12 holes, 4 rivets.

Code book, knife, fork, spoon, and can opener, (you gotta eat ) everything else is optional.

Roger

My Peak LED Solutions 3-LED, Ultra-high brightness, lug-style, 1-AAA Matterhorn flashlight that always lives on my keychain. Mine has a brass body, with a stainless steel head.

Loaded with a lithium AAA battery, that baby throws an amazing amount of light for something so small.

This picture is pretty close to mine, except mine has a stainless steel head: http://www.peakledsolutions.net/images/AAA3BLw.JPG

The light's at this page: http://www.peakledsolutions.net/aaa_3LEDBL.html

[This message has been edited by SolarPowered (edited 04-27-2006).]

"e57, what do you use the impact driver for?"

You are getting one for free, I want to know of this deal - a decent one is $200!

Screws! You can drive 1/4X3 lags all day, for 2 or 3 days on a single charge if you want. Or, #8-#10X1 1/4" for mounting boxes for better part of a week. Put the drill away, it is not a screw gun, an Impact driver is.... In a pinch for a quick hole toss a spade bit with a 1/4 hex in it. "Tacka, tacka, tacka," is the sound of work being done.

Bob, a guy I worked under years ago, had a policy that that the first guy on site picked the station - if he heard and fight over it he'd throw it off the site. One day he heard one, and in a rage, launched a boom box from the 4th floor. It took a wild bounce off the scaffold and flew out to the street, and hit the fender of a cop car going by. Oooo, that was a funny day....



[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 04-27-2006).]

My Klein Romex stippers that cut the cable jacket. Easily the best $20 I've ever spent on a non-essential tool (i.e.: not lineman's or screwdrivers or something).

e57,
The only impact driver I've ever used was an 18V cordless made by Rigid, but I was not at all impressed. I could get one heck of a lot more torque a whole lot faster with my regular ol' Dewalt cordless.

What brand do you use that's driving 3" lags?

-John

Saftey glasses zipper case mounted to the partition in the van. 2 reasons one is likely to not throw a pair on.

1. don't know where they are and don't feel like digging.

2. they are too scratched up.

This cures both.

All the torque is in the impact, unless you measure torque by wrist stress.
1/4 drive Dewalt 14.4 Impact
Max. Torque 1,150 in-lbs**1/2" drive has more on any voltage model.
Tool Weight 4.1 lbs
(I put in 14 Simpson hold-downs that have ~20 4" lags each - one charge, no problem)


Dewalt 18v Drill

Max. Torque 500 in-lbs
Tool Weight 5.9 lbs

Anyway, I got mine in a promotional deal a while back, and have not seen this price since. If I see it again, I'll snatch up a few.

Dewalt 14.4 Hammer-drill, 14.4 Impact, 2 batteries, charge, and bag for ~$220
(Each by itself is about that price....)
http://www.toolup.com/productinfo.asp?pid={52E6EB21-4939-4340-8496-A6FABCB4ED6E}

[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 04-29-2006).]

I especially like to have my 1/8 inch fiberglass rods for fishing attics, walls and t-bar ceilings, 12' and 20' length of steel ball chain and a rare earth magnet again for fishing walls and two sizes of Flex Bits for drilling into awkward locations.

Of course the usual cordless 18V tool kit with saw-z-all, Circ saw, Flashlight, and Cordless Drill and a couple extra batteries.

Klein 10-in-1 screwdriver.
Minimag flashlight (2AA)
Fluke volt-tick.

When snaking wires, I like to have a really long (12" or more) 1/8" twist drill. Handy for predrilling holes to check for location/obstacles before breaking out the big drill.

If it accidentally breaks through a plaster wall or something else, at does much less damage.