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Post by GTCGreg on Apr 11, 2015 20:53:29 GMT
MOD NOTE:This thread is to let each other know about favorite or least favorite tools we've used. If you want to talk software tools...okay, but we'll start another thread if it overtakes this thread, as the original intent was describing hand and power DIY/Contractor tools. Moved from "World News". END MOD NOTE
===================================================================================================not to detract from his heroism, but I find myself wondering if these are what he meant by "nail clippers"  I can see a dog walker carrying them, and they will work much better than the ones popular with people who don't hijack airplanes. Or maybe one of these. Goes right through nails. 
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Post by the light works on Apr 11, 2015 23:33:38 GMT
not to detract from his heroism, but I find myself wondering if these are what he meant by "nail clippers" I can see a dog walker carrying them, and they will work much better than the ones popular with people who don't hijack airplanes. Or maybe one of these. Goes right through nails. mine doesn't have that extended guard above the blade, and I've torn open fingers twice getting them caught behind the blade chuck. |
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Post by silverdragon on Apr 12, 2015 8:03:20 GMT
This is the type of nail clippers I use on our dog.....  He has got rather thick claws, usually kept in check by him walking a lot. This beast, which we call reciprocating saw, is somewhere in my tools. I aint used it much, 'cos its a bit of a swine, and has a tendency to shake things apart more than it cuts?... You have to secure what you are cutting very securely in a vice before you start.  |
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Post by Lokifan on Apr 12, 2015 8:22:45 GMT
Folks I know tend to call it by the brand name "Sawzall" or even call it a "demo saw"--short for "demolition". It's mostly used to tear huge holes in things and take out walls, wiring, plumbing--all in one stroke without changing blades. I used one a week ago to cut a steel plate flat to the concrete in which the plate was embedded. Using it to cut something in a vise sounds strange--that's way too delicate for a demo saw. The "Sawzall" are made by the Milwaukee Tool Company, and look like this:  |
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Post by silverdragon on Apr 12, 2015 8:43:50 GMT
Demolition.... yep, can be used for that. I tend to use mine for "Difficult" cuts where you cant just blat it with a jigsaw?.... Deep, more than 3inch cuts, and try finding a blade for that on a normal jigsaw... And yes I have got some 4inch long ones, tricky to find... just dont burn out the jigsaw using them. Some cuts you cant either see through the base of a jigsaw or cant physically get a circular saw to cut, the Reciprocating cuts more like a normal hand saw, just quicker. Its also good for trimming trees when you cant be bothered with a huge chainsaw.... Again you may note I dont cut much more than wood.... And I tend to de-nail most stuff before I even try to cut it?... Demo work that need a good ripping up,  Yes that is a mini-chainsaw in the front of that....  First bought to us by Bosch, I have a set from that first launch, and it nearly replaced my Chainsaw completely, until I found a decent "Rip" blade replacement chain that makes my chainsaw, well, scary is about the best I can put it. Six inch diameter wet wood trunk and it went through that like cr@p off a well greased shovel. My gaitor went through a 4inch diameter so fast if it wasnt for flying woodchips from the exhaust vent, I would have thought it was broke.... Taking wall out?...  I have a 4ft long shaft with a heavy head "sledge" for that. I also have a Kid with a love for demo..... hand him the sledge, and give him a target. |
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Post by the light works on Apr 12, 2015 14:13:37 GMT
each successive generation of them gets more brutal. during my apprenticeship, the one we used was precise enough that I used it instead of a jigsaw for cutting receptacles into cabinets.
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Post by the light works on Apr 12, 2015 14:17:00 GMT
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Post by GTCGreg on Apr 12, 2015 14:31:52 GMT
I really don't see any advantage to those gator type saws over a conventional chainsaw. In fact, I would think they would be more awkward to use. Maybe they were just invented for people who are afraid to use a chainsaw.
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Post by GTCGreg on Apr 12, 2015 14:49:30 GMT
Folks I know tend to call it by the brand name "Sawzall" or even call it a "demo saw"--short for "demolition". It's mostly used to tear huge holes in things and take out walls, wiring, plumbing--all in one stroke without changing blades. I used one a week ago to cut a steel plate flat to the concrete in which the plate was embedded. Using it to cut something in a vise sounds strange--that's way too delicate for a demo saw. The "Sawzall" are made by the Milwaukee Tool Company, and look like this: Right. Sawzall is a registered trademark of Milwaukee tool. I think the generic term for them is reciprocating saw. Milwaukee makes a very small hand held one about the size of a small electric drill. My son has one and it's one of the handiest saws I've ever used. It can take small blades for more precision cutting or the large standard sawzall blades for demolition work. The only drawback is that when doing heavy cutting, the battery run time is somewhat limited. But for occasional use, it will do pretty much anything it's big brother can do plus it can get into a lot tighter spaces.  |
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Post by the light works on Apr 12, 2015 15:15:53 GMT
I really don't see any advantage to those gator type saws over a conventional chainsaw. In fact, I would think they would be more awkward to use. Maybe they were just invented for people who are afraid to use a chainsaw. precisely. with the jaws, it is much harder to accidentally cut your leg off. think of it as a pruner with a bigger jaw capacity. |
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Post by kharnynb on Apr 12, 2015 15:33:52 GMT
Treeclimbers use em a lot for near houses and such, easy to carry up the tree and no where near as troublesome to handle as a open chainsaw up close
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Post by Lokifan on Apr 12, 2015 16:38:30 GMT
I hired a professional to drop a huge branch from a tree in my backyard. He used an open chainsaw with a clutch.
Basically, he started the engine once, and let it dangle from his belt while he climbed around the tree, engaging the saw where needed.
He'd been doing it for 20 years, so I guess he knew what he was doing, but it looked fantastically dangerous to me.
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Post by Lokifan on Apr 12, 2015 16:44:53 GMT
Folks I know tend to call it by the brand name "Sawzall" or even call it a "demo saw"--short for "demolition". It's mostly used to tear huge holes in things and take out walls, wiring, plumbing--all in one stroke without changing blades. I used one a week ago to cut a steel plate flat to the concrete in which the plate was embedded. Using it to cut something in a vise sounds strange--that's way too delicate for a demo saw. The "Sawzall" are made by the Milwaukee Tool Company, and look like this: Right. Sawzall is a registered trademark of Milwaukee tool. I think the generic term for them is reciprocating saw. Milwaukee makes a very small hand held one about the size of a small electric drill. My son has one and it's one of the handiest saws I've ever used. It can take small blades for more precision cutting or the large standard sawzall blades for demolition work. The only drawback is that when doing heavy cutting, the battery run time is somewhat limited. But for occasional use, it will do pretty much anything it's big brother can do plus it can get into a lot tighter spaces. I used to have a small reciprocating saw like that (a Makita) but got rid of it once I discovered the "Multitool". This is Dremel's version:  This has tied with my drill for favorite/most used tool. It's especially great for cleanly cutting holes in drywall for things like outlet boxes. I've seen it cut tubing in a car, trim door edges without removing the door from the frame, and even cutting a large hole through a 2x12. It scrapes up old linoleum and also works as a detail sander. Fein originally had the patent with their "Multimaster", but it expired and now there are many manufacturers making them. It's a small, high speed vibrating blade that gets into tight spaces really well. Highly recommended. I gave them out as Christmas presents a few years ago. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Apr 12, 2015 17:00:03 GMT
I used to have a small reciprocating saw like that (a Makita) but got rid of it once I discovered the "Multitool". This is Dremel's version: This has tied with my drill for favorite/most used tool. It's especially great for cleanly cutting holes in drywall for things like outlet boxes. I've seen it cut tubing in a car, trim door edges without removing the door from the frame, and even cutting a large hole through a 2x12. It scrapes up old linoleum and also works as a detail sander. Fein originally had the patent with their "Multimaster", but it expired and now there are many manufacturers making them. It's a small, high speed vibrating blade that gets into tight spaces really well. Highly recommended. I gave them out as Christmas presents a few years ago. I have one of those Dremel's. It will do things no other saw can but it's still no replacement for a sawzall for anything heavy. The problem is that the blades are so ridiculously priced. Harbor Freight carries some cheaper replacement blades that fit it but even those are too expensive. And none of them, even genuine Dremel blades, stay sharp very long. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Apr 12, 2015 17:04:58 GMT
I hired a professional to drop a huge branch from a tree in my backyard. He used an open chainsaw with a clutch. Basically, he started the engine once, and let it dangle from his belt while he climbed around the tree, engaging the saw where needed. He'd been doing it for 20 years, so I guess he knew what he was doing, but it looked fantastically dangerous to me. Everything those tree trimmers do looks fantastically dangerous. Not a job I would want. |
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Post by wvengineer on Apr 12, 2015 18:21:01 GMT
I really don't see any advantage to those gator type saws over a conventional chainsaw. In fact, I would think they would be more awkward to use. Maybe they were just invented for people who are afraid to use a chainsaw. precisely. with the jaws, it is much harder to accidentally cut your leg off. think of it as a pruner with a bigger jaw capacity. I was given one of those a couple years ago for Christmas. Basically a pruner for large branches. Works great to cut up stuff up to 3-4 inches, but bigger stuff gets to be a problem. I've used it to strip brachs off a larger tree that was falled. It's electric, so you don't have to worry about gas. Good to sit on the shelf of my basement for months. For my small yard, It is a great tool. For bigger stuff, I'll dig out my gas chain saw. For comparison, I use the Alligator 4-6 times a year. I have yet to use my chainsaw that I got 2 years ago. My gripe with that alligator is the way it handles oiling the blade.it does not have a blade oil tank or an oiler in any form. YOu squirt a few drops of bar oil in a small covered hole and it is suposed to be good for 15 minutes of use. The only way to check the blade oil is if the blade is running dry. Silver, If you were having trouble with a sawsall, my guess is that either the blade you were using was dull or the wrong type for what you were trying to cut. With the proper blade I have used those thins to speed though all sorts of things from timber to metal pipes. I used mine to trim trees before I got the alligator tool above. |
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Post by Lokifan on Apr 12, 2015 21:36:03 GMT
My neighbor used his Sawzall for all his trimming this year, including removing a 8 inch thick stump.
Should we open a "Tools" thread? Sounds like there's enough interest.
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Post by the light works on Apr 12, 2015 21:56:42 GMT
My neighbor used his Sawzall for all his trimming this year, including removing a 8 inch thick stump. Should we open a "Tools" thread? Sounds like there's enough interest. not a bad idea. I have a carpenter friend with an original Fein detail sander - before it became the multimaster. |
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Post by the light works on Apr 13, 2015 1:08:23 GMT
for those who listened to Paul Harvey plugging the Drill Doctor, it actually does do what they claim it does. sharpen twist bits.
for the acid test, I took a bit someone had overheated - as in blasted the tip off by drilling into a hot wire. and actually sharpened it to be a functional bit, again. it uses a bit holder that rides on a shaped guide to get the right angles. I was so impressed with it I actually paid money for one.
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Post by wvengineer on Apr 13, 2015 2:02:23 GMT
Is it just me or has Hitachi power tools gone cheap? I have a drill of their that is 8 years old and still going strong. My dad got one to replace a 13 year old Hitachi Drill that finally died. The new Hitachi drill worked great for about a week before the plastic outer ring on the keyless check striped out, making it uses. Took it back and got replacement. Two months later, broke the same way. Returned and got a 3rd. It ALSO failed. This time he took the store credit and got a DeWalt. So far the chuck still works.
Moral of the story: For power tools, avoid plastic chucks.
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A Canadian man is being called a "hero" for saving a kidnap victim using only a pair of nail clippers.not to detract from his heroism, but I find myself wondering if these are what he meant by "nail clippers" 
