What - non Festool - tool / workshop related gizmo/stuff did you buy today?

[Cheese]

How many of those little $6 bits to the pound?

Thanks for the tooling lesson!

Probably a couple of hundred...but compare 1# of anything in 1950's dollars to the same pound of anything in 2020 dollars and you'll probably go blind...or wish you would have purchased the futures.  [smile]

I've always been surprised at how slowly the non-industrial groups move forward and it seems like forever for them to fully embrace new ideas...I've never understood the recalcitrance on their part. If it's better and a bit more expensive then embrace it...if it's better and somewhat more expensive then embrace it...if it's better and really more expensive, then understand the technology, reduce the cost and then embrace it.

I've never considered myself to be a history buff but if we don't learn from the past...we're doomed to repeat our failures of the past, and that's depressing.

The Carboloy material was actually invented in Germany and arm wrestled to a standoff in the US by GE during the 30's. It's an interesting story and has a lot of intrigue including a federal court case. Hey...that's what we're good at.  [smile]

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nice collection of QCTP's there Cheese!

My first lathe came with the old style square post but I had them change it to a QCTP, makes life so much easier!

I will add that metal working on the lathe is a real joy, I love it!

 

[Cheese]

Nice collection of QCTP's there Cheese!

My first lathe came with the old style square post but I had them change it to a QCTP, makes life so much easier!

I will add that metal working on the lathe is a real joy, I love it!

Thanks... [smile] ...when I replaced the lantern style tool post with the square style tool post, I thought I died and went to heaven. What an insane difference it made for tool changes and it really reduced the fabrication time and made me want to spend time at the lathe. I fully expect that the addition of the new QCTP will further enhance the lathe turning experience by a factor of 2X-3X.

I wanted to purchase a few additional Alvin Draft/Matic mechanical pencils. When I went to the local art supply store, they informed me that Alvin, after being family owned for 70 years, had sold out to a "management" firm in 2020 located in Utah. [sad]  Worse yet, they've had Alvin pencils on back order since that time and have yet to receive any.  [eek]
They suggested I look at the Koh-I-Noor offering. The Alvin Draft/Matics were made in Germany while the Rapidomatics are made in Japan. Here's a comparison, tough to tell the difference.

[attachimg=1]

I also picked up a Rotring 2 mm lead holder that I use for making very precise lines. Here's a comparison of a Rotring .5 mm pencil and the Rotring 2 mm pencil. The new Rotring 2 mm pencil is also made in Japan as opposed to Germany.

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Here's a comparison of lead point sizes after the 2 mm pencil has been sharpened. That 2 mm point is down to .15 mm compared to the .5 mm lead.

[attachimg=3]

Another nice touch is that in an emergency, the end cap of the Rotring comes off and it contains an internal lead pointer. It's emergency only because it is messy. For normal 2 mm lead sharpening, I prefer this Faber Castell sharpener for its enclosed lead containment. It sharpens both 2 mm & 3 mm leads.

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[attachimg=5]

 

[Muttley000]

Those are some sweet looking marking devices Cheese, I may give some of those a shot!

 

[Packard]

I just got Garrett Wade’s self-centering dowel jig. 

I already have a self-centering dowel jig, but it has one hole each for 1/2” (which I often use), 7/16” , 3/8” (which I often use), 5/16”, 1/4” and 3/16”. 

So if I want to put three dowels in a miter of a 2-1/2” x 3/4” stock, I have to make three separate index marks and move the jig 3 times.

This G-W jig has four tapped holes and comes with four each of the following bushings:  1/4”, 5/16” (which I think will work with 8mm dowels) and 3/8”.

The jig came adjusted and the holes are nicely in the center. 

There are two sets of two holes, divided in the middle by the clamping screw. 

I bought a while back a similarly spec’ed and designed jig from Harbor Freight.  But the holes were not centered.  Centering was a tedious (and undocumented) process.  But even after adjusting for center, the jaws were not parallel, so the stock was never securely held in position.  I tried it, but never used it.

With the G-W jig, I can make 4 holes with one index mark and one clamping.  But if I want three equally spaced holes (what I usually use for 3” wide stock) I have to drill two holes, use a dowel to index for a third hole. 

So this is an improvement, but still not ideal.  I would like for all 4 holes to be equally spaced.  I cannot figure out how to do that.

I do have a dowel jig that will make 8 equally spaced holes, but it is not self-centering, so I have to keep the jig facing the correct direction all the time.  It seems I become dyslexic when faced with this and I prefer not to use it. 
https://garrettwade.com/product/improved-self-centering-jig

 

[kmickey]

Thanks to a recent post by Ron [member=3192]rvieceli[/member] , I was made aware that KC Tool had a sale on Wera products this week.

I purchased this Wera Zyklop Mini 1 ratchet. Instead of having a 1/4" male square drive on the end, it has a 1/4" female hex drive so that it will accept hex bits directly without needing an adapter. This thing is absolutely tiny and will fit in very small spaces, exactly what I needed. Another really nice feature is the black thumb wheel at the top of the ratchet for the rapid insertion of longer screws.

I’ve got one of those, love how the ratchet lever is shipped like a wera handle. Small detail, but indicative of the care they put into their products. 

 

[jeffinsgf]

I’ve got one of those, love how the ratchet lever is shipped like a wera handle. Small detail, but indicative of the care they put into their products.

I've had one of these:https://products.wera.de/en/zyklop_...yklop_mini_zyklop_mini_1_tool-check_plus.html

for several years. It has the mini-ratchet, a screwdriver handle, a nice set of small sockets and a gaggle of driver bits in a clever little case that keeps it all together. That little ratchet is the handiest thing ever for working in tight quarters.

 

[rmwarren]

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...

[attachimg=1]

I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

 

[ChuckM]

I just got Garrett Wade’s self-centering dowel jig. 

I already have a self-centering dowel jig, but it has one hole each for 1/2” (which I often use), 7/16” , 3/8” (which I often use), 5/16”, 1/4” and 3/16”. 

Snip.
https://garrettwade.com/product/improved-self-centering-jig

At that price, it's a steal! I paid about $55 US many many years ago.

 

[Cheese]

I've been using this small Atlas metal lathe for the last 15 years or there about. A sweet little lathe that's very precise and accurate but some of the features are cumbersome which makes sense as it was originally released almost 80 years ago when life was simple.  [smile]  One of the major annoyances is the supplied Atlas wrench that's used on the adjustment of the tail stock. It's short but it's an open end wrench which means if you place it on the hex nut, it falls off. The alternative option is to use a box end wrench but that is a long wrench and is constantly in the way, which means the wrench also needs to be removed after each adjustment because it interferes with the adjustments & functioning of the lathe. 

I finally found a solution to this conundrum. Snap-on "midget" combination wrenches.

I originally started looking at the Wera wrenches when they were recently on sale. The price was reasonable but they were the long style as is usual, had a funky bad chrome finish and were made in Taiwan...and they were asking $20 each for the wrenches.
So... I needed to spend $20 per wrench for something that didn't really fit my needs? I put them in my cart but then decided to revaluate the situation.
After a couple of days of evaluation and visiting many websites, I returned once again to Snap-on. I didn't want to spend the $$ but it soon became obvious that they offered the solution I wanted and for a reasonable price, all things considered.

Bottom line, I couldn't be happier, these are some extremely nice tools, you get what you pay for. Buy once...cry once, I'd spend the $$ again in a heart beat.

Here are the 3 Snap-on midgets I purchased, all dedicated for use on the Atlas lathe. These small lathes don't need a lot of torque to lock down the features, and too much torque applied can become an issue because they can damage the gibs and the mating surfaces.

[attachimg=1]

Here's the original Atlas tail stock wrench. The square end is for adjusting the original lantern style tool holder bolt.

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Interestingly enough, way back when, this lathe wrench was manufactured for Atlas in the 50's/60's by Armstrong Tools which is now owned by...wait for it...Snap-on.  [smile]

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And here's how it fits on the lathe, really sweet, short and out of the way and it no longer needs to be removed to perform basic lathe functions.

[attachimg=4]

 

[Michael Kellough]

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...

[attachimg=1]

I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

Have you tried them? According to Bessey the clamping force is only 100 pounds.

 

[Packard]

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...

[attachimg=1]

I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

Have you tried them? According to Bessey the clamping force is only 100 pounds.

I have a pair of the Harbor Freight knock offs.  The holding power has to be substantially less than the 100 pounds of the competition.  I only use it to. Hold pieces down for sanding or routing.  But very cheap. 

 

[rmwarren]

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...

[attachimg=1]

I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

Have you tried them? According to Bessey the clamping force is only 100 pounds.

Nope, not yet. By "beefier" I was referring to the feel/construction only. I'll give them a go this weekend. They are also limited to

 

[guybo]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] welcome to the poor house  [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] welcome to the poor house  [big grin]

Nice selection [member=58842]guybo[/member]... [big grin] ...those look like all short pattern wrenches?  Snap-on has always been expensive, heck they were expensive when I first started to purchase them over 50 years ago. I always hate writing the check but once that painful experience is over, they're just a pure pleasure to use.

Not unlike the feeling of using a Lie Nielsen hand plane or a Starrett combination square. [smile] [smile]

 

[rst]

Just received Stabila's short elevator tripod.  I have a regular builders elevator tripod and a couple light duty camera tris but they are pretty light duty and wanted a heavier one for the Milwaukee 12v green laser I have.  The Stabilas as beastial as the builders.

 

[six-point socket II]

Knipex non-conductive long-nose pliers.

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Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[semenza]

Knipex non-conductive long-nose pliers.

Kind regards,
Oliver

Hmmmm, I've been thinking about getting those.

Seth

 

[six-point socket II]

If you have questions, fire at will.

I will say that these are build with a very particular task in mind (hooking up meters and manipulating live wires without risk of creating a short) and are not exactly thin (jaws) or very versatile in that regard.

But they are way ahead of the Cimco ones, quality wise.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[rst]

Milwaukee's 18v 1/2 x 18 band filer (sander).  I've  keep a corded one in van for years.  It's great for commercial locksmithing repair and modifying on aluminum or steel doors using 3m Cubitron and Trizact belts.  I also use the file sanders for glass notching using silicon carbide belts.  I also have the Makita 1x 21" for glass and wood applications.  Anyone looking for a corded one should let me know as I have three.