ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Favorite Tools

gunther,
What a subject you bring up!.
I've got 100's of tools, but most of all, I like my N series Duspol tester the most, just makes work all that much safer.
I've had the thing since I first got into the Electrical game and it has never failed me once, although you have to be careful not to stretch the cable between the probes.
Second to that, I like my Utilux Crimping Tool, it crimps from 10mm2 up to 350mm2!, good for all sizes of lugs, crimp sleeves that I use in my normal day at work.
People just can't get over the size of the thing when I am carrying it into a place to use it.
One guy in a new accountancy firm here in town, asked me "And just do you think you're going to do with that thing?!"
I replied "I'm going to crimp your lugs with it, Sir", my humour was lost on a guy like this!.

I just have to chime in after using my new ground rod driving attachment for the first time today. I drove 2 ground rods (5/8) in less than ten minutes. And I'm talking old slab construction (no backfill) in the Arizona desert where the ground has been likened to a poor grade of concrete! It was sweet! This job could take over an hour with a sledge hammer plus leaving you with mushroomed ends. I'm using a Bosch demolition hammer and the attachment was $69.00 and worth every penny! (It actually took longer to scoop out the 3 inch deep recesses than it took to drive the rods). If any of you have ever worked in desert terrain you will know what I am talking about.
Brian

Gunther's post about the nut twister (hey, keep it clean ) reminded me of my Ideal cabinet - tip screwdriver with a twister built into the handle. Great for those of us with Pre-Carpal tunnel! (Keeps the wrist happy... happy is good!)

I also love my Ideal BurMaster conduit fitting screwdriver/ EMT reamer. 1/2", 3/4" & 1", just like the Klien version, but much shorter, and carries a spare blade inside the handle.

We do alot of commercial work but mostly the lowly residential work I see many of you look down upon.
I CANNOT live without my Rotozip! The has to be the best tool invented since the cordless drill. I almost never break out my Bosch jig saw anymore.

Someone said a few posts back that Fluke was from Taiwan. I went into the supply house today and saw one of the Fluke voltage sensors on display and on the back it said "made in USA." According to their website, www.fluke.com , they are a multinational company, headquartered in the Washington state area, founded in 1948. They have manufacturing facilities in the US, the UK and Netherlands. I have always heard good things about the quality of their products and according to the website they are consistently the number one or two manufacturer in whatever they produce.

Fluke HQ is in Everett, WA north of Seattle in a Boeing high-bay neighborhood—with lots of evergreen trees.

They do make excellent meters. [Thier i-200 current probe is my new favorite.]




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 11-03-2003).]

I will 2nd the Roto Zip.
I can cut old works in wood lathe plaster like drywall. Same goes for installing an old work in a tile bathroom.

Ditto the mighty Roto Zip. Now hear this. Put on your safety goggles and dust mask first. Then try the tile bit on cement block walls for knocking out switch and receptacle openings. Don't go all the way in on the first pass. Remove the guard to finish going all the way thru the 1-1/2" deep to the inner hollow core. Works great.

My new favorite tool is a pair of Klien Journeyman 2000 Series Side-Cutting pliers that I bought a few weeks ago to replace my old ones. I can't believe how much nicer they are! The cutting knives are hardened more than my old ones. I was just munching through some #2 Al Triplex like it was butter! And I'll second/third/fourth the cordless hammer drill... I'm using a Milwaukee 18v Lok-Tor and love it.

My personal favorites are these:

1. Ideal EMT stretcher. This comes in handy when I need to use a piece of EMT that's too short. Hint: never exceed 25% stretch, the EMT gets too thin.

2. Greenlee MC bender. No matter what the angle, I get nice effortless bends in MC of any gauge. It works best on 12/2 though.

3. Klein coupling splitter. When I just can't connect two pipes with a coupling, splitting the coupling lengthwise can get a guy through the hard times. One whack and the coupling is split 60/40. This hides the cut line from the inspectors. The front half snaps on, making the joint line of the split coupling hard to see unless you get your head in there at the right angle.

4. Fluke wire shrinker. When a box is overstuffed with a rat's nest of wires, nothing makes more room than a wire shrinker. Set it at 50% and it shrinks all wires in the box by 50%. Don't go 100%, I'll warn you - you'll never see them again.

I love my Klein needlenose for bending wire.

Fluke hot stick - it discerns different hot wires really well and doesn't give a bunch of bad readings.

Fluke AC/DC amp clamp 336 is awesome, zeroes out much faster than the Greenlee.

When it comes to pulling fish tape, my Klein fish tape pulling lineman's are the bomb.

[This message has been edited by Spark Master Flash (edited 11-04-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Spark Master Flash (edited 11-04-2003).]