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Need a bench vice for my new workbench. I was thinking around 5" with an anvil. Any suggestions?

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  • Antidean
    Antidean

    My son searches river and creek beds for arrowheads, he's found several hundred. He's quite good at finding them. Built this for him to store and show off some of his better ones. Made it wi

  • Needed a table for our foyer.  Built this from soft maple.  

  • This is my first go at anything more substantial than cutting boards and construction lumber garage shelves. Simple storage for tools / miscellanea for the basement. The top 4 drawers have the div

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There’s a place in De Kalb called Phillips Forest Products. I’ve seen some pictures of their butcher blocks and stuff on Facebook. Looks good.


Every time we go that way I say I’m going to stop in.

i just have to say, its been a pleasure and an annoyance shopping for power tools to start afresh (replacing shit ass chinese throwaways). 

theres just so many brands which shouldve told me theyve got to be competitive as to be commoditized. 

ended up at metabo vs hitachi vs bosch.... none were made in germany or japan, atleast bosch was made in malaysia so ended up with  bosch professional 18v impact drill set, 18v rotary multifunction tool... wondering if i shouldve just gone for the full kit with reciprocating saw and hammer drill while i was at it

Edited by 52-80

If I'm ever in the market for any drill or power saw, I'm looking at who has the best return/replacement policy. I think tools are.made these days to outlast their warranty and not much after that.

4 hours ago, 52-80 said:

i just have to say, its been a pleasure and an annoyance shopping for power tools to start afresh (replacing shit ass chinese throwaways). 

theres just so many brands which shouldve told me theyve got to be competitive as to be commoditized. 

ended up at metabo vs hitachi vs bosch.... none were made in germany or japan, atleast bosch was made in malaysia so ended up with  bosch professional 18v impact drill set, 18v rotary multifunction tool... wondering if i shouldve just gone for the full kit with reciprocating saw and hammer drill while i was at it

Milwaukee has become the new leader for the contractors.   I'm in retail and over the last 10 years, we primarily switched from Dewalt to Milwaukee.   I personally have  either festool, or milwaukee in my collection.  Most of the dewalt, (old 18v nicad crap) has been pushed aside.  

i just have to say, its been a pleasure and an annoyance shopping for power tools to start afresh (replacing shit ass chinese throwaways). 
theres just so many brands which shouldve told me theyve got to be competitive as to be commoditized. 
ended up at metabo vs hitachi vs bosch.... none were made in germany or japan, atleast bosch was made in malaysia so ended up with  bosch professional 18v impact drill set, 18v rotary multifunction tool... wondering if i shouldve just gone for the full kit with reciprocating saw and hammer drill while i was at it

My stuff is all Milwaukee. I would have gotten the recip saw. I’d probably get a corded hammer drill.
20 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

I’d probably get a corded hammer drill.

obligatory:  You're mom begged for my cordless hammer drill last night

3 hours ago, Dewey said:

If I'm ever in the market for any drill or power saw, I'm looking at who has the best return/replacement policy. I think tools are.made these days to outlast their warranty and not much after that.

There was some house brand I saw that had 5 years warranty.  Probably very strict terms.  But the price was so low I'd figure it'd end up being shit, and getting a repair would be more hasslesome than at least the other ones churning through 3 years unscathed.

 

Bosch also has much wider net here in terms of ecosystem / tool compatibility / service centers / etc

What's the opinion on Ridgid? I've been buying their power tools for a while just because of the warranty. Seems great to me, haven't had any problems but I'm just a weekend fixer upper

Made in Asia.  It's fine, no worse or better than most.  Warranty is supposedly a good deal but realistically you're unlikely to use it.

If you're not going for the Festool or Feins of the world, I'd agree with those upthread that say Milwaukee.  I have the older Dewalt ecosystem and it's fine, but I can't wait for it to die so I can justify upgrading.  Nice tools just work better with less frustration and less time wasted.

Rigid makes a decent shop vac, the saw saw I own needs a new chuck, the router I bought and returned broke after the second pass. After that, never mind.

I was a Ridgid guy for the longest time, but switched to Makita starting about 2-3 years ago.  I've had good luck with their cordless and corded tools.  Their brushless stuff is really nice if you use it a ton.

The carpenters on my staff all prefer Makita, but my welders swear by Milwaukee.  That's pretty much all we buy as a company.  They're the two brands that we have as "approved" brands for power tools.  Also, I recommend buying them from a specialty tool place if you get a chance.  So much easier to handle warranty claims when compared to Home Depot or Lowes.  

obligatory:  You're mom begged for my cordless hammer drill last night

She said she was disappointed that the chuck was only 3/8” though.
4 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:


She said she was disappointed that the chuck was only 3/8” though.

D'oh !!!  

 

16 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

I feel like there should be cold beer behind there when you close it.

I was expecting a cow.

I was confused why you decided to frame your refrigerator.

I'm looking for a large butchers block for the kitchen to serve as chopping board, pastry kneading surface, whatever.
 
It needs not be a thick massive single plank, and not particular on the wood type, but needs to be dimensionally 80*60 in socialist units.  and of course food-grade.  type of wood doesn't matter - even bamboo is fine.
 
problem is retail blocks are typically 40*30 in size.  tried looking at home supplies store for raw construction wood but the planks aren't proper dimension. 
 
assuming I did find such a thing, and can plane or sand it myself...what should of treatment should I give it?  teak oil or something? and I don't have any equipment to join pieces together.  could I find some lumber mills or what?
 
Check out Ikea
I was confused why you decided to frame your refrigerator.


Was debating whether it needed a couple horizontal pieces to break up the silver.


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On 9/21/2018 at 9:21 PM, drt said:

Made in Asia.  It's fine, no worse or better than most.  Warranty is supposedly a good deal but realistically you're unlikely to use it.

If you're not going for the Festool or Feins of the world, I'd agree with those upthread that say Milwaukee.  I have the older Dewalt ecosystem and it's fine, but I can't wait for it to die so I can justify upgrading.  Nice tools just work better with less frustration and less time wasted.

milwaukee hard to find here.  the m12 fuel wouldve been nice.

 

i keep flip-flopping like a politician.  ordered a Fein corded multitool.  then realized I was going with Bosch 18v for drill, so got the Bosch 18v multitool as well.

 

and then realized i dont need the weight or the power, and found some stonking deal on Fein cordless Drill+Multitool combo.  Either gonna go with 12v or 18v cordless brushless fein set tonight.

Only Amazon Europe so it's all socialist grade tools

Festool is German, problem solved.

On 9/22/2018 at 5:03 PM, dark54555 said:


Barn door done


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been meaning to post my barn door for months. the reason i made them belongs in the wife thread. 

 

70_BBC44_A-7_EFA-4165-_B70_F-_C8290_BDF5

  • 3 weeks later...

Found my next project.  Want a light like this to help complete a rustic theme for the kitchen, it'll go above the island, but don't want to spend $250-300.  Lowes has old railroad ties for $20 and although I don't have much electrical experience everything seems really simple about this so we'll see.

62cff4db7f96a6d125bb54412a76a79a.jpg

 

Edited by NateHitch

4 minutes ago, NateHitch said:

Found my next project.  Want a light like this to help complete a rustic theme for the kitchen, it'll go above the island, but don't want to spend $250-300.  Lowes has old railroad ties for $20 and although I don't have much electrical experience everything seems really simple about this so we'll see.

62cff4db7f96a6d125bb54412a76a79a.jpg

 

Dig the look, the bulbs will set you back a bit more than the lumber.  

RR ties are heavy as shit.  Yer gonna need structural support in your ceiling to carry the weight probably.  I'd look at something without the weight issues first.

I think you're right, any suggestions on where to find a lighter wood? 

 

The bulbs actually aren't too bad. The fixture above our kitchen table uses the same ones and Home Depot wanted $10/bulb.  We need 8 of them so I said nope.  Found them on Amazon, 6 for $20

1 minute ago, NateHitch said:

I think you're right, any suggestions on where to find a lighter wood? 

 

The bulbs actually aren't too bad. The fixture above our kitchen table uses the same ones and Home Depot wanted $10/bulb.  We need 8 of them so I said nope.  Found them on Amazon, 6 for $20

I'd think about pecky cypress maybe, light and very figured in its look.  It's historically been a discard wood because of the multiple checks and voided pockets. I've designed cabinets with it, it looks like it's hundreds of years old.  That's one way to go, but there are many lighter woods out there than a creosote soaked RR tie probably.

You might also be able to hollow out the RR tie to reduce weight considerably.  For $20 it's worth a shot before looking at another route.

Some kind of iron strap hanger could be a cool addition to the rustic look as well. Just a suggestion.

 

Just get a 4x4 and stain it. You can mount the light to it.

 

You’d have to cut the back out of it and drill it for the bulbs to go through obviously.

Just now, Jkwellborn said:

Just get a 4x4 and stain it. You can mount the light to it.

I think the rustic, patina of the wood is a part of the design intent.

1 minute ago, NateHitch said:

Yeah rustic, distressed barnwood look is what I'm going for

You can also take barn wood 1 x -'s and create a faux beam. I've done that as well.

The trick is getting the corners to look real.  Good glue, and blocking along with a  wire Brush sander is helpful there.

1 minute ago, Jkwellborn said:

I understand that but you can weather and age it.

A 4 x 4 is only 3 1/ 2" x 3 1/2". The scale is kinda small. You need something approaching an 8 x 8 to make it bold.

Go to a lumber yard and get a rough cut one. Or a 6 x. That’s what I’d do anyway. Its would be easier to hang down.

IMG_5754_zpszxcejixy.jpg

IMG_5756_zpss25mthgk.jpg

 

Picked up (4 )1949 Oldsmobile tail light housings at a recent car show. Think I'm gonna design 2 pair of wall sconces.  Wall mounted, chrome torches with some kind of  shaped exotic wood mounting bases that play the warmth of the wood off the sleek, metallic cold of the chrome.

Starting to explore the actual bulb selection (Edison types maybe ??)  or standard bulbs with some kind of translucent shading device that play off the chrome somehow.  Maybe re purposing older clear or amber car light lenses, red lenses don't seem right.  

Really elegant, sculptural pieces of chrome.  I saw several other similar pieces from that era that would make uber cool light fixtures. Gonna start with these and see how they turn out first.

6 minutes ago, NateHitch said:

Looking forward to seeing how these turn out, very cool

Yeah, so am I.  

Building a floating dog bed for our great dane. Got some red oak for the siding and beat the shit out of it with a hatchet, chisel, chains and whatever else I could find. Need to do another coat or two of stain and it'll be done. 6e449579d1ab57b23a7f94ce6451983c.jpg7c342073c24fc22d63024a66a7d21ac2.jpg5dd7c52ef24ed21069f819793d764d5f.jpg

I have a feeling 1 human will sit on that and snap the entire thing off the wall

I think I would have put more braces under it than just the one, but it should work for what he’s gonna do.

Can anyone recommend a paint sprayer that does not have to be used with an air compressor? I'm a light hobbyist at a minimum and don't want to invest in an expensive compressor or sprayer, yet.

Can anyone recommend a paint sprayer that does not have to be used with an air compressor? I'm a light hobbyist at a minimum and don't want to invest in an expensive compressor or sprayer, yet.

I got the Wagner Flexio 890, or equivalent, from Lowe's. It has worked great for spraying my kitchen cabinets and a few pieces of furniture. Much easier than the previous gun I used with my undersized compressor.

 

I’ve been looking at getting a graco x5 but can make myself do it. I don’t have a ton of need for it, but it would be nice to have when I have to treat fence or something of that nature.

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