For the BMW yeah. It has been useful for some BMW-specific things for sure. I don't like that it's a $60-70 annual subscription on top of the cost of the data link dongle.
For other cars I either use my $20 basic wired reader for fast code-getting, or if I want live data I use one of the cheap wireless dongles (this one) and the Torque app (free). No issues so far with it though I don't use it often.
Now that I've had them for a while, I have to recommend the HF 5-drawer tool cart. I bought one for the garage and one for the basement, both under $200 with sales and coupons, and both are comically overloaded. They aren't breaking a sweat though, which is more than I can say for the second-hand craftsman box I used to have. The one in the garage is a temporary measure until Project Garage is finished and I can get a proper tool chest out there, but I'm still going to keep it for small parts storage, and as a rolling work surface, which it's great for.
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(meme stickers courtesy of my sister)
Last edited by Yeti; February 9th, 2023 at 08:21 AM.
I've never ever been to Harbor Freight stores prior to RVing. They really do sell some cheap and good stuffs! From inverter generator to weight distribution hitch... I don't really like their short warranties, but at least their cheap products endured for 2~3 years now!
I don't really have a lot of tools and my RV is pretty much my tool box right. My garage is also currently a mess still half filled with moving boxes from CA and the other half converted into a fake green house with artificial lights to keep wife's succulents alive... Anyway, once I have my garage sorted out, I think I will definitely buy this tool box you recommended. Of course, will wait for it to go on sale too!
Did you make use of it?Originally Posted by Cam
acket.
Not a garage tool per se, but I will be using it in the garage for a time:
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Hopefully I can get the garage cleaned out this weekend and set it up, check angles, etc.
^ Ooh, that looks really nice.
Tell us more after you've used it.
I like that nice long guide on the right. And wheels! I'd have to find stuff to cut just to enjoy wheeling that thing out of the garage instead of carrying it.
My father gave me his old table saw years ago when my parents downsized and it was just taking up room in his garage. It has been taking up space in mine ever since, under a drop cloth. It works, but the guide isn't as good as it could be for long, straight (parallel) cuts.
I've thought of getting rid of it many times. I can always rent one at Home Depot a few miles away. But, then I wouldn't have it when thezombieclimate change apocalypse comes.
Last edited by George; March 9th, 2023 at 06:25 AM.
[Spongebob Squarepants Announcer Voice]Seven yea-ahs late-air...[/SSAV]
I dropped it off at a thrift store recently. It was too old and wobbly to try to sell on craigslist and I didn't want to just put in out on the sidewalk. I could just imagine a bunch of teenage boys carting it away and then someone getting hurt (yeah, that Johnny Cash movie scene really stuck with me). I wrapped all the attachments and taped them to the table-top with a bunch of clear packing tape to keep it all together. Hopefully someone will use it. I don't think I touched it in ten years or more.
If I can't do it with a Skil-Saw from now on, I guess I'll have to do without. Or rent one. It's worth it for the extra space in the garage. Heck, I have room for another Tower o' Tires now.
Now that I have a studio again, I got several new tools. First things were a couple of battery-operated saws, a jig saw and a circular saw. Then, I added a battery-operatrd mitre saw. All of them are the same brand as my hand drill, so I can use the same batteries in all of them. I also bought a battery operated, hand-held band saw, but returned it when I realized I could not use it in the manner I was hoping. Subsequently, I bought a 9” plug-in band saw. Just last week, I got a new 18x36 lathe, similar to my other one, but a different brand.
I am making stuff again.
Glad to hear this! Idle hands are the devil's tools. I'm glad you're back to being an artist.
In other Tools news, I bought a new stud finder that is really good. The last one I bought was nearly twenty years ago and it seems to find studs where there aren't any sometimes, even with a fresh battery. That was a problem for me trying to hang shelves in my garage. I'm not a stockholder or corporate shill or even the guy who brings in the shopping carts from the Home Depot parking lot, but this is a good product! It even comes with a pencil.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Franklin...12HD/317740851
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