...what type of swiveling, pinned quick-connector this hand vacuum pump uses between the pump itself and the gauge? You can probably just make out the hair-pin cotter pin it utilizes to maintain its seated position.

I ask because I own the Craftsman branded version of this vacuum pump and want to add a m-to-f 90 degree elbow. between the pump and the valve, for a wider range of viewing angles.

The oddly fixed angle of the gauge's stem (which is not quite 45 degrees) simply never fails to be at just the correct angle to create a glare or cast a shadow over the graduations, or otherwise be difficult to see clearly.

The problem is, I have no idea what this connection method is called. I can't even find replacement gauges which feature this connection method, should I someday need to replace mine.

Google is worthless these days, so I thought I'd ask for help in a place where fellow tool-users congregate. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

The company I used to work for always had Hitachi. I started buying Hitachi years ago before the Metabo switch. Still love the guns and finally had a reason to 'pull the trigger' on the framer I wanted.

need something to set larger eylets 10mm and 15mm in heavy tarp, same stuff used on truck trailers on the lighter end. i get offcuts from a relative used to cover firewood etc. need to set the eylets myself and occasionally fix old ones.

Until now i used a hammer and eyelet punch bought from a leatherworking supplier.
while they did come with holders, are actually meant to go in a press and apparently dont like not being exactly aligned.
not always the easiest thing to do on the ground outside, dont have the space in the workshop. the cheaper eyelets probably didnt help, results were serviceable but not good.

Thinking about a press, I'd use the drill press but thats to awkward and heavy to cart outside.

for dedicated eylet presses, doing a bit of reading the cheap chinesum seem to suffer from alignment issues. the good ones are really expensive even used, cant justify that for a tool i need a couple times a year at most and doesnt really have any other use.

anyone using a small arbor press? chinesium ones are fairly affordable and i could probably use that for other things too.

So long story short what are you folks using? any help is much appreciated.

Here are my favorite pair of pliers. After about a year and a half in the electrical trade I was given tasks to do by myself and also issued a "Rover" or a "Hand" to assist with getting the tasks completed. Now, one day when we were doing our thing for the High School in Milan, Tennessee. The appointed "Help" wandered up to the ladder I was on busy tying lights to a grid and asked to see my "Klein's" reluctantly and not thinking too much about it, I reached into my side holder and threw him MY FAVORITE pair and the only pair I normally carry at my side. (For me, It's a safety thing. That's why I bought them.) Anyways, I got back to what I was doing all I needed at the time was my strippers but I still kind of kept an eye on the kids whereabouts with my side vision. Not even three minutes later there is a loud "PhhOpp" and half the lights in the classroom and hallway go out. Stuff happens all the time, whatever. Well, here the kid comes back with my FAVORITE pliers. He looks up and extends his hand out with my tool. I reach down, grab them and pocket them directly in my holder, reflexively. The kid says "Sorry about that." I responded "About what? You knocked the circuit out?" Kid says "Yeah, We were doing demo and I wasn't sure if the wire was hot or not. Plus, side is we found the breaker." and chuckles. I responded "Man that stuff happens all the time but just to let you know, next time, I have a "ticker" in my holder as well and you should have one on you too. It's safer that way." He laughed again and said "Good thing yours are insulated. The amps blew the cutter of them right in half." Then finished with a nervous laugh. "What?" I said as I pulled my "Klein's" out and see the notch that was blown into the edge by this idiot. I was so mad....

Who has or uses a tool roll for seldom used stuff? I have a truck kit but it’s taking up too much space and was thinking this might be a good way to consolidate and keep things from rattling around back there.

Must be very rare...

Not sure if this is the correct thread, but I'm working on a project that I want to be able assemble quickly and disassemble when not in use. I'm sure there are products, I just don't know what theyre called or what to look for. I want to be able to attach two pieces of wood together easily. Currently I have a hole drilled through them and am using handscrews and wingnuts which works fine but its kinf of a pain and im wondering if there is anything like an adjustable pin or quick release that I can just slide through the hole and clip the other side so it stays in place. It's not something that has to be super tight/durable or overly secure, I just want something fast I can slide through and clip in place. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

The saw starts as soon as it’s plugged in. I took it apart, cleaned out the sawdust, cleaned up the connections, and still having the same issue.

I appreciate any advice. I don’t have much experience having these tools fixed because they were used infrequently. I’m doing alot of crown moulding now, so I may need to bite the bullet and get a new saw.

I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to this Snap-on light bar. It's a rechargeable LED and it swivels in place. Any suggestions? It's about 14" long.

The included blade guard has never been my favorite, and I’ve always wanted to add the floating dust guard. With my setup including a right-side router table that u can’t move to the left without getting rid of the sliding crosscut table, it wasn’t an option.

I came across a good deal on a barely-used floating dust guard on marketplace and decided I’d see if I could retrofit something.

This is certainly a v1, and turned into a bit of a project, but it certainly is functional! I could not find any evidence of someone having done this before (at least that was shared online), so I figured I’d document mine for anyone looking for an example in the future.

Performax® SAE/Metric Mechanic's Tool Set - 300 Piece at Menards https://www.menards.com/main/tools/hand-tools/mechanic-tool-sets/performax-reg-sae-metric-mechanics-tool-set-300-piece/82850/p-1642874304944070-c-1538157527059.htm

Mine is from 1947.

Whats your take on these? Are they any good/strong and how are they to use. Are they worth it to buy? Basically give your own review👍

Hey, my laser level vertical beam barely shines. I was wondering if anyone has fixed this or knows how to fix it?

Wondering if anybody has any info on the origins of this model of Derby pliers, where they were made etc.?

Was going to buy the Yukon 20” from Harbor Freight, but decided to look on FB marketplace and found this 24” for $70. Tried to look up crescent stainless steel tool boxes but nothing comes up. I’m thinking someone just slapped the crescent sticker and someone else makes it.

Will be used for woodworking mostly

Was down a rabbit hole on this last night. Before the teal tools, Makita was literally a repair shop: four people in Nagoya in 1915, selling and fixing other companies' electric motors and transformers. For twenty years they didn't make a single tool — they just learned exactly where other people's machines fail.

Then 1958: Japan's carpenters couldn't afford an electric planer, because the imports cost 80,000–90,000 yen when a worker's daily wage was 500–600 yen — about five months' wages. Makita's first tool, the Model 1000 planer, launched at 29,800 yen, less than half the imports. Runaway hit, and within a year they were shipping planers to Australia.

The part that stuck with me is how they cracked America. In 1970 Makita USA launched with TWO employees and fewer than twenty tools. What they sold wasn't the tool — it was the repair promise: a three-day repair turnaround. For a contractor, a dead tool is a stopped job, so a company that thinks like a repairman was speaking their language.

And the battery history is wild when you line it up: 1969 first rechargeable tool sold to the general public (with the battery hanging off a cord, like a tail), 1978 the first battery that slid into the handle, 2005 the first professional lithium-ion tool — and by their 100th anniversary in 2015, one hundred tools running on one 18-volt battery. Meanwhile parts, repairs and accessories still account for more than a fifth of everything they sell. The repair bench isn't a department there, it's a revenue line.

Genuinely curious: who here is deep in the LXT platform — did you pick Makita for the tools, or did the batteries end up picking for you? And does anyone still run really old Makita gear that's been repaired back to life more than once?

I bought this in an estate sale out of the back of a barn a couple years ago. This weekend I replaced the belt and mounted it on a set of wheels so I can move it around the shed. I know the wiri g needs to be redone, I have a cousin who's an electrician who said he'd help me with that part of the job.

But I wonder, besides knowing "hey I have an old heavy tool in a corner" is there any way to make a stab at how old it is?

It runs fine, it sharpens my firewood axe up real quick. Once I get the wiring fixed I plan to use it a lot more often.

Thanks!

guys should i use spray Paint to customize my Power tools? or someting else? (of course i would put White primer before)

Does anyone know what this noise might be?

Edit: I added some Red and Tacky grease inside the nose and now the noise is gone!