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/diy/ - Do It Yourself


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1255513 No.1255513 [Reply] [Original]

How does one go about building a good tool kit? Do I just buy cheap harbor freight shit and then replace it with good stuff when it breaks?

>> No.1255517
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1255517

No, buy good shit (really mean most common) its not always expensive. Also dont get that drill, your money would be better spent on the DCD791

>> No.1255518

Craigslust for individual buys and promising garage sales. Estate sales. Lits of suppressing the urge to buy shit you don't need because it's cheap.

Took a few years but my wood shop is fully kitted.

Best buy of all my outings was my set of $360 jap chisels I got for $10. The average was between 50-70% discounted. Any higher and I'd just keep looking.

That's how I did it, anyway. Some stuff I buy new, but it's because I know exactly what I want and why and I'm using it to generate my income. But if a tool doesn't fit all three of those conditions, I almost never buy it new.

>> No.1255521

>>1255513
>Do I just buy cheap harbor freight shit and then replace it with good stuff when it breaks?

No because shit doesnt break all that often. Harbor Freight tools arent like they were in the 70s

Buy good shit in the first place

>> No.1255528

>>1255513
When I was first starting out I bought a bunch of cheap stuff. While it didn't break it was a pain in the ass to use. The cheaper stuff is almost always louder, slower, vibrates more, is less accurate, and just a pain to use. One day I picked up an old worm drive Skil circular saw, the type that has a gearbox that takes oil. $10 so I figured I couldn't lose. Heavy as a 4 door Buick but much less vibration and it never bogs down in a cut. It's a fucking dream compared to the Chinesium shit I was using before. I basically haven't looked back. Generally, If it's not at least 40 years old and made in a first world country I don't even bother.

That is not a 100% rule though. Some newer things are better. I'd never bother with an old cordless drill. Or a flashlight not made by Maglite. Or an old ass multimeter. There are other examples but I'd say the first rule holds for at least 85% of the stuff I own. The cheap shit all ended up betting flipped on CL.

>> No.1255529

>>1255513
>>1255528
>a pain in the ass to use.

This. Cheaper tools are more aggravation with some exceptions.

>> No.1255535

Borrow other peoples tools until you know what you need. Then buy the good shit. Which varies depending on what you're working on.

As an electronics tech I've got got Knipex pliers and Wiha/Wera screwdrivers, no regrets forking out for top shit straight up since i use it everyday.

>> No.1255537
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1255537

>>1255528
>old ass multimeter
Phft, nothing wrong with 30 year old meters and scopes if you know the limits what you're looking for.

>> No.1255569

>>1255521
So if they don't break why even bother with expensive tools?

>> No.1255613
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1255613

>>1255513
it depends on the tool, the best tool is the one that gets the job done.

I sometimes buy really cheap tools that I need to grind down and customize.

Sometimes the cheap tools is better than or the same as an expansive one. I have a super cheap dollar store wrench that I ground down to a specific size and shape because it is the only thing that can reach a specific nut when removing the inboard flaps on a 737-300. I sure would not do that to a snap on wrench.

why buy a $200 dollar air tool when a $20 one does the same job and even if it breaks and you buy another one (which none of mine have in 25 years) you still have not spent $200.

>> No.1255618

>>1255569
for prestige and the appearance of being a professional. To support the manufacturer that is in your country. I worked in aviation for 7 years, there were tool fags that mocked people unmercifully for not having snapon, or mack, or whatever.

Generally I bought inexpensive tools and only bought the expensive ones when there was a reason to do so, like I needed a wrench of a certain size but very thin, or there just was not an inexpensive alternative.

Most of the guys I knew with all super expensive tools bought them as a tax write off.

The only time I have had any of my cheap air tools fail was because I dickered them up doing something stupid, which would have dickered the expensive ones as well.

Don't get me wrong if you buy all expensive tools you can't go wrong, but you just don't need to.

>> No.1255619

>>1255618
Because they work better and are more ergonomic you jew faggit. I dont want you working on airplanes.

>> No.1255634
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1255634

>>1255619
oh noes you got me. what a tard.

>> No.1255635

>>1255619
no they are not, and do not. try again.

>> No.1255636

>>1255619
you do realize the irony of your post, either I'm a "jew faggit" trying to get you to buy cheap tools, or a "jew faggit" trying to get you to buy expensive ones? which is it?

wouldn't it have been more appropriate to call me a "chink shill" because the last time I checked most cheap tools are made in china, not israel? oh wait aren't many expensive tools made in china?

dear me this is a quandary.

>> No.1255700

>>1255517
Why the 791 over the 771?

>> No.1255705
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1255705

Inherit some of it from older relatives. Buy some of it from garage sales, thrift stores/consignment shops, or ebay. Make some of it - it's good practice.

Tools are for making certain tasks easier, more efficient, or done better. IE you could use your hands to install a fastener but it will be lose.

You need to do the following in any DIY craft:
- Protect yourself - this means safety equipment
- Have your work held, so you have both hands free and out of the path of any tools or other dangerous bits
- Measure accurately whatever it is you need to measure.
- Make cuts or holes accurate to the measures you made
- Make smaller adjustments whatever it is you are working on to make it functional and not a janky mess
- Install and remove fasteners

Unless I forgot something, most tools are just variations on these simple tasks for different sizes, materials, levels of accuracy, speed, or combining stages of a bigger process into a single motion. IE a mortice machine does what a drill and chisel would do in a fraction of the time, and a very fine PCB drill makes the tiny holes needed for electrical components that would be a hassle to do with a standard drill.

>> No.1255715

Get tools with good warranties. Klein hand tools, greenlee, Sonic tools, Lenox, Ideal, Milwaukee, gear wrench, and Craftsman are all sure bets for tools.

Of course that also doesn't include your luxury macs and snapons. Ingersoll isn't as good as it used to be, but I've got some older Central Pneumatic airtools that are still going strong.

Get tools based on need, not want. Don't buy more than you'll need. If it's a one off thing, the cheap one is generally okay.

>> No.1255779

>>1255513
Buy whatever can be warrantied locally and conveniently.

>> No.1255817

I started my life as a hastools with a cheap ass private label brushcutter. The fucking steel snapped on first use, revealing the impurities in the delicious Chinesium it was made of.

After that I learned - bought a Husqvarna brushcutter - 5 years on these has been zero issue of any kind. It just runs.

Thus I'd learned my lesson in cheap shit. Now I refuse to buy anything not worth buying - that is in part dictated by the nonexistent return policy in my country - with the shitty brushcutter I had to go to a fucking tribunal to get my monies back.

Thus, when getting into woodworking more seriously, I upgraded from a Soviet table saw (the Handripper 3000 as I liked to call it) to a blue Bosch. Zero issues, incredibly happy with it.

Then I went with a blue Bosch random orbit sander - again, have used it for several projects with considerable surface area - pure joy to use.

I then acquired a Makita circular saw. Went corded, which I now regret, as the cordless seemed expensive, with the batteries- this brings me to my point.

I later upgraded from my weak ass 5 year old Bosch 14,4V drill to a Makita 18V combi with 3x3ah batteries and fast charger - pinched it on sale. Did some reserach, turned out the Makita 18V family is pretty impressive, so I bought in. Later, as I already had the batteries, got an impact driver and a jigsaw. Love them to death, the impact driver has to be my favourite tool.

The way I see it, buy decent brand, quality usually follows - and buy into a cordless family with decent range. Bite the bullet, it's worth it.

>> No.1255820

Im doing exactly what youre doing for all my home /diy/.

Started off with a cheap Walmart general toolbox and drill, slowly been upgrading as tools have been insufficient for a job, havent had any breaks besides cheap drill bits.

Think ahead about what could go wrong depending on how important the job is and youll be fine. For instance, when I planned on mounting my 60" tv to the wall, I finally upgraded my drill because I didnt want to be caught halfway into the job and not able to get a bolt into a stud with a tiny wireless drill. I still use the cheap ass drill when I dont need power though.

>> No.1255867

>>1255700
More compact with better chuck and more torque and better gearbox. Better in everyway pretty much. If youre asking for more then maybe its worth gettingna power drill instead.

>> No.1255878

I just buy tools at Canadian Tire. They are nothing special but also not cheap chink shit and it's a lifetime warranty, just walk in and trade the tool. Their regular prices are insane but sales are generally pretty cheap

>> No.1255942

>>1255513
Recently I bought some metric wrenches at Harbor Freight and was surprised when they told me they had a life time guarantee same like craftsman tools. The same for some of their clamps. I have noticed the quality of the tools offered there has been increasing like with their new earthquake and bauer cordless tools, and recently AVE gave their earthquake XT cordless impact driver a good review, with his only complaint being the forward and reverse switch.

>> No.1255968

>>1255942
Some of their pittsburgh pro stuff is pretty nice too. I like a lot of their jacks and automotive tools. I haven't bought anything specialty from them since they started carrying that Maddox brand so I can't comment on the quality of that stuff. They still have some crap. I'm interested in seeing a legit review for that new Vulcan multi process welder. All the reviews on the website are good....which is impossible. Especially with HF attracting burned out craftsmen and retards who will shit on a tool because they can. And a lot of the reviews have like 30 thumbs down. Seems like shilling is occuring. I think they haven't released the TIG gun for it yet because the machine is shit at it and they want to add up as many good reviews as they can to balance out the incoming 1 stars.

>> No.1255973

>>1255942
Harbor Freight is in a weird position right now

They used to sell shit that was a fraction of the price, but were completely worthless. Like talking a 5$ pot metal 25 piece ratchet and socket. Everything was like that, they earned their reputation for garbage.

As every big company outsourced to china through the years, the demand for at least somewhat decent tools grew. And those factories started making higher price point tools that werent so shit.

There is a reason that half of the shit in Harbor Freight isnt actually cheap, the same price or more than other hardware stores. Their taiwanese made stuff is good.

>> No.1255984

>>1255942
AVE's review of their lithium Hercules drill was absolutely brutal though. With Hazard Fraught, it takes a lot of research to see if what they're selling is shit or not.

>> No.1255989

one of my hobbies is tube radios, growing up I heard about how cheap japanese stuff was, and mostly that was correct for their cheap dime store stuff, but I found something interesting when I got a hold of some of the tube radios they flooded the market with in the late 60's.

For tube radios that were made as cheap as possible these had some surprising quality features where you would not expect them:
Anodized or galvanized steel chassis when American radios were just plain steel.
All wire wound resistors (which don't drift as much over time).
Mostly Ceramic capacitors with no paper caps and very few oil filled caps.
Electrolytic capacitors that still work perfectly 57 years later.
Tube hold downs to keep the tubes securely in their sockets.

What's my point? I think Japanese companies were using up old tech and selling radios for as cheap as they could to raise money to fund manufacturing of new technology products.

I think China was doing the same. Flooding the market with cheap crap to make capital so they could get more business, and now they are starting to compete with other companies with improved quality and reliability.

I buy chinesium electronics off of ebay and am often surprised with the good quality of some things and yet the prices or so ridiculously low.

I am really seeing the same with harbor freight. Don't get me wrong they still sell a lot of crap and don't get me started on how you have to rifle through their pliers and cutters to find a good pair, but it is getting better, and some of the older companies had better watch out.

>> No.1255996

>>1255984
I agree, his review seemed to concentrate on the price versus the quality, but since the initial release of those tools they have cut the prices on some of them by quite a bit. their 20 volt lion 1/2 inch hercules drill debuted at $179, but is now $99.

I am still a Makita man myself and recently bought the Makita XDT13Z brushless 1/4 inch impact driver for $56 with "free" shipping" they are currently on ebay for $50, granted it was the driver only (no battery), oh and it shipped in a tyvek bag, no padding no box.

>> No.1256001

>>1255517

To add to this

You should always buy high quality tools, but there are diminishing returns with everything.

Unless you need a sacrificial tool, then never buy HF power tools.

The most important thing to remember when buying power tools is that you're buying into a platform. The batteries are the most expensive.

I chose Milwaukee 18v because their lights were way better than Dewalt and Makita at the time. Both of those have good light options right now.

You have to decide where you need higher and low tiers of tools

Are you an electrician, welder, or plumber? Then you don't need to put a ton of money into a table saw and miter saw for your wood working tool set

Ryobi is a great option for people who only very rarely use certain tools. You can usually find them in great condition on craigslist.

>> No.1256021

>>1255942
shit like wrenches are generally pretty good even when made cheap. they are usually more brittle yes but as long as you're actually using it as intended it's unlikely to fail. ratchets are just asking for trouble tho, never owned a chink ratchet that didn't fail within a month or worse is fucked right out of the box

>> No.1256030

>>1255528
>or a flashlight [...]
you could just make your own flashlight
It's super customizable. If you wanted to, you could buy the PCB for the controller and buy the components from whatever autismo supplier you want.

>> No.1256035

Don't build a kit. Just buy things when you need em. Odds are, if you needed it once, you'll need it again.

>> No.1256080

If I'm an EE who just wants to build some front panels and enclosures for the circuits I design what kind of tools will I generally need? I have virtually no tools now outside of screw drivers. I spent all my money on electronics test equipment. I'll probably be working with mostly plastic, acrylic, and metals like aluminum.

I know for one project I will need a drill press. I need to bore holes in a thick piece of acrylic to slide some nixie bar tubes inside. Also it'd be nice to have for drilling holes in homemade PCBs.

Worth noting I have almost no experience with machining anything. I did take a shop class way back in middle school but don't really remember much.

>> No.1256290
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1256290

>>1255528
>>1255537
my grandpa still uses 60yo meters.

i hope i get them one day altought they are not convenient to use as modern ones
there easy to kill them if you use them wrong way.
you need one meter for ampere and one for volts.

but they are just beautifull to look at
nice black colour, brass numbers, real glass.

>> No.1256328

>>1255513
Don't buy harbor freight or Ryobi anything.
And don't buy top of the line Hilti or Metabo power tools.

When buying power tools compare in class performance vs cost. Then go from there. DO NOT SHOOT FROM THE HIP. Do your research/homework and you will be happy with your purchase.

>> No.1256372

Think about what you need most and buy the best you can afford. Budget whatever you can each pay period for tools and buy the best of whatever is in your price range. Cheap tools break or are useless to begin with so youll be buying twice. Buy decent and buy it once. After not too long youll have a decent set of the basics.
Please dont buy tools out of the trunk of a car from some junkie asshole. The market for stolen tools is supported by tradesmen and homeowner types who will buy stolen shit.

>> No.1256601

>>1255989

For a while china was just buying up all the US recyclables - any town that didn't have quick access to its own recycling center sold its stuff to a company that sold it off to china. A few years ago the chinks clamped down on what they accept or not - I imagine this correlates with not needing as many pot metal and cheese plastic exports when their production quality became more able to utilize good materials.

The shitty chinese products on ebay seem to mostly be either knockoffs of better-quality (branded) chinese products, or of normal japanese/american products. Some I also suspect are what some manufacturers here affectionately call "factory seconds" - shit that got bungled when made and has defects which would normally make it unsalable, but is up for a cheaper price. They don't list them as such, but probably are banking on the hope you won't go through the hassle to return it.

>>1256021
Differences in wrenches are generally weight, how it feels in the hand, how thin of a profile it has, and how accurately it fits to a bolt or nut. Sometimes shitty brands will have chewy metal but that's like bottom barrel dollar store - it's mostly things that matter if you have to work in awkward places or swing the thing for many hours at a time.

>> No.1256602

>>1256001
>The most important thing to remember when buying power tools is that you're buying into a platform. The batteries are the most expensive.

The best platform is corded because then you only need reliable and long extension cords.

>> No.1256608

>>1256601
To add to this, some chinese products are simply built using old expired patents or older variations of products that certain companies used to make. Helps to also know what's "export only" (usually cheaper/lighter to save on freight costs for cross-pacific). It's like that old rule of chinese restaurants - if you see actual chinese people eating there, it's probably better.

>> No.1256610

>>1256602
Modern cordless have made corded obsolete. Really only corded shit that's still better is grinders but they are closing the gap

>> No.1256613

>>1256610
>Modern cordless have made corded obsolete.

lol

>> No.1256618

>>1255569
>>1255968

I've been slowly filling my toolbox almost exclusively with harbor freight stuff just due to how inexpensive it is. When I need a new tool, I just buy it from HF and my plan is that if I find it doesn't do what i need it to do or it breaks (which I don't think will happen), I'll replace with a better set. My biggest complaint so far is their wrench sets will skip sizes. I want to get a ratcheting set of box end wrenches but their missing a handful of sizes so I'll most likely spring for the GearWrench set on Amazon.

For amateurs, these cheap tools are an absolute godsend. I needed a huge snap ring pliers last weekend and get a set of interior and exterior snap ring pliers for 10 bucks. It was cheap and flexed a bit more than I liked but that tool may be used 1-2 more times in my lifetime.

I bought a Pittsburgh car jack and they offered the 1 year warranty for $5 so I added that and the cashier said that what most people will do with these warranties is that after a year, people will just bring in the jack to get a new one under warranty even if something isn't wrong with it no questions asked. Pretty cool.

Sure, I'd like to buy American and support local stores and all that but I estimate I have spent about $300 on basic car tools like sockets, wrenches, car jacks, torque wrench and all that stuff at harbor freight but that would have easily spent 4 times that for marginal quality improvement by buying "nicer" tools to begin with.

>> No.1256720

>>1256618
I'm the 2nd guy you responded too. Love their jacks. Pretty much the only thing I consistently don't get from harbor freight are pipe wrenches, measuring tools(aside from the digital caliper), tools that need to maintain a sharp edge, and cordless tools.

As for skipping sizes, some sizes just arent that common. What's bull is that one of their socket sets I keep in my mobile mechanic kit has 14mm and 16mm but no 15mm. 15mm is very common. I think it also skips 13mm, another common one. I always keep another set and some loose sockets with me, but I main the HF one because if I lose sockets in the dark, snow, whatever or they get destroyed by the elements I don't feel bad.

Their ratcheting combos are pretty nice, I don't think I've encountered a situation with the metric set where I didn't have a size I needed(aside from large sizes like 22mm and 25mm, which I end up using a hammer with normally so I prefer a standard box end). The only thing that might bug some people is they're not recersible, you have to flip the wrench over to go the other way. I like that more though, less moving parts means less points of failure.

>> No.1257282

>>1255817
>the impact driver has to be my favourite tool.
They're magical fucking things, my Hitachi one is the only tool I love more than the beast of a cordless drill they make.

>>1256602
Cords are a meme now. Tried that shit with a drill and a lawnmower and my cordless ones are better in every way (but corded shit is cheap as fuck, if that's all you care about)

>> No.1257312

>>1257282
>Cords are a meme now.

Not for heavy work like angle grinding or large Hole Hawg sized drills. Otherwise cordless is nice if you have plenty of batteries and a convenient way to charge them. I use an inverter when working out of my truck.

>> No.1258594
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1258594

>>1257282
This shit took impact drivers to the next level. Only problem is i need a bigger one since this only gets up to 3/8"

>> No.1258614

>>1255618

> "Generally I bought inexpensive tools and only bought the expensive ones when there was a reason to do so"

This pretty much sums it all up re: tooling.

a lot of people enjoy certain tooling for a myriad of reasons but at the end of the day throughout my apprenticeship and into my trade years ive heard the same line: "Only buy good shit when you know you will be using it"

Midrange stuff like Kingcrome/JBS is a good choice, a full tool kit can be pretty comprehensive while being decently priced. High/top end stuff like Snapon and Sidchrome tooling is awesome, but you will pay a shitload more for it and if you're not doing work that requires that tooling, i wouldn't bother about it too much.

Personally as a mechanic i just have standard JBS tooling for ~80% of my toolbox. Exceptions are things like ratchet spanners, my hand ratchet & power tools (drill/rattlegun/grinder) where i spent decent money because i use them daily and i prefer that level of quality, whereas my large spanner roll (28mm - 50mm) are just Supatool (nothing very fancy, does the job) because they arent used too often.

hope i helped, OP.

>> No.1258622

Start with buying some decent priced sets. A socket set will run you around $100 then you can find decent wrench sets for $50 or so. Screw driver sets can be found for $20. You’ll also need some individual things like hammers, vice grips, pliers etc. Once you have the basics you can buy other stuff as needed.

Cheap places like harbour freight and princess auto are great for speciality tools you won’t be using very often

If you end up wanting something high end like say a snap-on ratchet Craig’s list works good for finding used. High end ratchets can be easily rebuilt so even a broken ratchet is fine as long as the handle is in good shape. Actually kinda funny how many people will sell broken ratchets for next to nothing when they have a lifetime warranty. Every high end tool I own I bought broken and just had a dealer warrenty it

>> No.1258639

Plan A: buy all snap-on tools.

If you can't afford plan A

Plan B: rob a snap-on truck.

>> No.1258665

>>1255867
What makes certain chucks/gearboxes better than others? Brainlet here pls no bully

>> No.1258675

>>1258639
>rob a snap-on truck
I’d rather not get theft over $5000 just for a fucking wrench

Check out Grey tools. High quality at about half the price of snap-on and made in Canada. Also proper ratchets not 10 gorillions tooth meme ratchets

>> No.1259704

>>1255513
You do some work.

Once you've actually completed something, you'll begin to understand the strengths and limitations of individual tools.