Diary

• April 14, 2012
  
  • Tool Cart
    I created labels to stick to the cards that identify the contents of my most recent Festool T-Loc Systainers. I printed them on adhesive matte paper, applied them to the cards, then sprayed them with satin spar urethane to protect the inkjet ink from moisture and UV exposure.

• April 13, 2012
  
  • Tool Cart
    The Festool 492388 mobile carts arrived from Amazon. I loaded my daily detailing Systainers and my oil change Systainers on them. The casters are very nice quality. I'm not terribly thrilled with the rubber latches that hold the Systainers to the cart; they're not firm, and they will likely eventually break. The carts came with 4 extrap straps each, presumably because Tanos/Festool anticipates them breaking. I might build my next cart(s) instead of buying more of these. Sad that a very nice platform and casters can be compromised by a small but important part. I think Tanos would have been wise to integrate the latches from the original Systainers instead of using these rubber latches. In my use, time will tell the full story.

    I also received the 100-pack of blank CR80 30 mil cards from Amazon. These are credit-card sized, which fit exactly in the label slots of the Systainer T-Loc containers. Each Systainer T-Loc has 4 locations for these cards, so it didn't make sense to me to buy the Festool clear label covers. The Festool 497855 label covers are $8 for a pack of 10. The cards I bought were $23.50 for 100. I need 20 right now, and I will need more in the future.

• April 11, 2012
  
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    Systainer World has no Tanos mobile carts in stock and is no longer carrying them. It would've been nice for them to have removed them from their website. And not taken 5 days to inform me after I placed my order.

    I ordered a pair of the Festool 492388 mobile carts from Amazon. They were more expensive, and are black (which I didn't want), but otherwise exactly the same as the Tanos. Hopefully they'll arrive before the weekend (Amazon Prime 2-day shipping).

• April 6, 2012
  
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    I ordered two more Festool Systainer V T-Loc storage units and two Festool Systainer IV T-Loc storage units from Amazon. I ordered two Tanos Systainer mobile bases from Systainer World. One of the Systainer V T-Loc containers is for my daily detailing towels; it will go atop a Systainer V T-Loc I already have for daily detailing chemicals and one of the mobile bases. The other Systainer V T-Loc will hold air and oil filters for my cars, and will go atop one Systainer IV T-Loc with 0W40, another Systainer IV T-Loc with 10W60, all atop the second mobile base. The idea here is to make my regular car maintenance a little easier.

• February 25, 2012
  
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    I ordered a Maglite XL200 from Amazon. I also ordered a Terralux LED replacement bulb for the Mini Maglite 2AA flashlight (I have a few old ones kicking around), a Terralux LED replacement bulb for my 4D Maglite (the original incendescent burned out), and a Terralux LED replacement bulb for Julie's 3D Maglite.

• February 16, 2012
  
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    The Flambeau T7000 containers arrived from flambeaucases.com. They fit fairly well into the drawers of the Whalen cart I will be using as my detailing cart. I now have a means of keeping my various compounding, polishing and waxing pads separate but dust-free. I was previously using Zip-Loc bags, which worked but wasn't very organized or robust.

• February 14, 2012
  
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    I ordered six Flambeau T7000 containers from flambeaucases.com. I need these for my various detailing pads for the random orbital, microfiber cloths, etc.

• February 4, 2012
  
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    I finally ordered the Channellock RT-3 retaining ring plier set. While I don't need retaining ring pliers very often, there is no substitue when I need them. My old Craftsman ones don't cover much range and over the years I've misplaced some of the tips due to the lack of good storage. The RT-3 set comes with a case, so I can keep all the tips in it. There will still be jobs where the RT-3 will not work due to space constraints, but I'll buy individual pliers (likely Knipex) as needed for those jobs.

• January 29, 2012
  
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    I bought the Dasco Pro 88 12-piece punch and chisel set from Home Depot. It wasn't on my wish list, but I need some pin punches to remove the broken linch pin that's stuck in my tractor's mowing deck.

    I also bought a Whalen cart that was on sale for $99. It's light duty, but has large casters, three drawers and a thin butcher block top. It will likely work nicely as a detailing cart, and it's long enough that it will be useful to have as a rolling worktop in the garage.

• January 25, 2012
  
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    The FHLF80 ratchet arrived from Snap-On. The Bondhus 20499 ProHold ball-end hex keys and Wiha 36267 SoftFinish Torx set arrived from Amazon.

    I boiled some water and dropped one of my FH936-12O in the boiling water to expand it a bit, then dipped the grip of the FHLF80 in the pot for about 90 seconds. I then pulled off the original grip of the FHLF80 with gloved hands, and installed the FH936-12O handle. Piece of cake, and no damage whatsoever to the old or new grip or the ratchet itself. This is the best way change these handles IMHO, since there's no chance of scarring the chrome on the ratchet or trashing the grip.

• January 21, 2012
  
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    I ordered an FHLF80 ratchet from Snap-On. I think I'll need it for the valve clearance maintenance on the roadster, and I've been needing a long 3/8" flex-head ratchet for other things for quite a while. I'll put one of my orange soft-grip handles on it when it arrives.

    I almost ordered the FHX80 locking version, but from what I've seen the lock sometimes sticks and it's not really worth the extra cost to me.

    I put a coat of EEZOX on some of my older BMW tools: valve depressor, valve shim pliers, clutch bleeder, fan clutch wrench and mirror switch removal pliers. None of them had much rust on them, but the mirror switch removal pliers had a little.

• January 5, 2012
  
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    The stubby combination wrenches from Northern Tool should arrive.

• January 4, 2012
  
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    The Sunex stubby combination wrenches, VIM stubby hex bits, GearWrench ratcheting wrenches and Magrail TL arrived from Tooltopia.

• December 29, 2011
  
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    I ordered metric stubby combination wrenches from Northern Tool, sizes 7mm to 22mm. I was originally going to order Toptul, but they don't have the size range of the Northern offerings and they cost more. Realistically, I don't need anything fancy for stubbies; they're not long enough to put significant torque on them and I only need them in space-constricted areas.

    I ordered Sunex SAE stubby combination wrenches from Tooltopia. It's an 11-piece set covering 3/8" to 1". I also ordered VIM VM600 metric stubby impact hex bit set (6mm - 19mm), VIM SHM400 stubby hex bit set (2mm - 10mm), GearWrench 9911 (1mm flex-head ratcheting combination), GearWrench 9909 (9mm flex-head ratcheting combination), GearWrench 9519 (19mm stubby ratcheting combination), GearWrench 9511 (11mm stubby ratcheting combination), VIM MR16R25A (16" Magrail TL with 25 1/4" studs) and VIM MRSB (10-pack of 3/8" studs for Magrail TL).

• December 27, 2011
  
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    I ordered KD 41740 from Tooltopia. The MINI needs new spark plugs, and I'd like to try magnetic plug sockets instead of the old foam rubber type. I also ordered KD 41720 from Tooltopia, since the MINI is having trouble with an oxygen sensor. Finally, I ordered GearWrench 9916 (16mm flex-head ratcheting combination), GearWrench 9908 (8mm flex-head ratcheting combination) and GearWrench 9516 (16mm stubby ratcheting combination) to fill out some of the missing sizes in my GearWrench sets.

• December 7, 2011
  
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    I received five Wiha 533 Series heavy duty MicroFinish screwdrivers from carbideprocessors.com. They're nice. Pictures can be found here.

    I ordered some Pratt-Read orange high-visibility screwdrivers from McMaster-Carr thanks to a tip on The Garage Journal. These are simple hard-handle screwdrivers. Once these arrive, I can put them in my tool cart and put my Wera Rockos back into the basement tool cabinet. They match the orange theme of my Snap-On ratcheting drivers. I wish Snap-On would bring back their original hardhandle screwdrivers, but alas they only make the Instinct handles nowadays.

• November 15, 2011
  
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    I received the Wiha 533 Series heavy duty black MicroFinish Philips screwdrivers from wihatools.com. They're certainly heavy-duty, but I wish the tips had better anti-camout treatment. Pictures can be found here.

• November 10, 2011
  
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    I ordered Wiha heavy duty black series MicroFinish Philips screwdrivers from wihatools.com. They were on sale for 50% off. They should arrive on 11/14/2011.

• October 30, 2011
  
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    Thanks to mom, I now have the Mayhew 61354 3-piece straight-blade pry bar set. It was a birthday present.

• October 10, 2011
  
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    The Wright D978 combination wrench set arrived from JD Industrial Supply. It was actually shipped directly from Wright. I mounted it next to the D980 set on my pegboard, and applied the McMaster-Carr 73115K73 heatshrink on the pegs.

    The Gearwrench 9312 SAE ratcheting combination set, the VIM TMS34PF Torx master socket set and the VIM MT1 arrived from Tooltopia.

• Shop Tools
  A McMaster-Carr 5002K1 drip leg drain valve arrived. It's actually a Norgren 17-016-107 and appears to be a very nice piece. I may buy a second one, seeing as I am thinking of adding another loop of black iron for water removal.

  I also received all of the fittings to connect my second hose reel, but the 5' hose is still en route.

• October 6, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Wright D978 combination wrench set from JD Industrial Supply. I ordered the GearWrench 9312 SAE ratcheting combination set, the VIM TMS34PF Torx master socket set and a VIM MT1 from Tooltopia. I ordered a T&E Tools 1882 pneumatic dent puller from Amazon. I ordered some heatshrink (McMaster-Carr 73115K73) to cover the pegs on the D978.

• Shop Tools
  I ordered the couplings and hose to connect my other hose reel to my manifold. They will arrive on Monday.

• Consumables
  I ordered another Stoko Vario dispenser from JD Industrial Supply for the basement bathroom, and a bottle of Cupran to put in it. Cupran is good for removing oil-based paints, lacquers, stains, adhesives, tar and asphalt. I also ordered a white Stoko Vario dispenser and a bottle of Kresto for the kitchen.

• October 1, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I mounted my other hose reel by the garage door, using the pieces I cut last night. I still need to decide on fittings. Initially I was going to use 1/2" ID hose and coupler, but now I'm thinking I should just use 3/8"; the reel is only a few feet from my manifold. However, there's nothing wrong with using 3/8" couplers here. Say McMaster-Carr 9585K15 in the manifold, McMaster-Carr 1077T22 on the manifold end of the hose, McMaster-Carr 1077T21 in the hose reel, McMaster-Carr 6534K85 on the reel end of the hose, and 5' of McMaster-Carr 5268K627 hose.

    I removed the original beat-up pegboard closest to the garage door, and replaced it with the last 2'x4' piece of pegboard I framed.

• September 30, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I cut some scrap plywood to mount my other hose reel near the garage door. I drilled the holes, then put 2 coats of Minwax Polycrlic on them.

• September 25, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I framed the two pieces of pegboard I bought yesterday, and mounted one of them on the attached farage wall near the central vacuum. I then mounted 4 of the Racor PCR-6R can racks on it. It's a good use of space that would otherwise be difficult to utilize. I'm debating where to hang the second one: near the garage door or replacing the one the previous residents have near the firehose.

    I'm about to mount the Stoko Vario dispenser in the basement bathroom, leaving room for a paper towel holder. To mount things, I'm attaching a 3/4" thick piece of birch plywood to the cinder block wall. The plywood is cut and has the first and second coats of polyurethane on it. I'll sand it tomorrow and put a second coat on it.

    I treated the butcher block top on the Lista SC0600 cabinet with lemon oil. I could not find mineral oil at Home Depot or Lowe's.

    I started thinking about mounting my other hose reel in the garage. I seem to have misplaced the coupling I bought for it, so I'll need to buy another McMaster-Carr 1077T21.

• September 24, 2011
  
  • Consumables
    I ordered some Hold-It straw holders from Hold-It.

    I picked up some nylon rivets at Home Depot (in the panelling aisle) to hold my Racor PCR-6R spraycan racks to pegboard. I also picked up two more pieces of 2'x4' pegboard and some #12x1" wood screws. Lowe's is a better place to get wood screws; Home Depot had no boxes of the #12x1", only 8-packs in bags. If I had been smart, I would have added some to my last McMaster-Carr order.

• September 23, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I mounted another piece of 2'x4' pegboard on the cinder block wall in the attached garage. I need to buy 2 more pieces; one for the wall between the garage and the basement, and one to replace the 2'x2' one the previous residents mounted by the firehose.

    I ordered pegboard hooks and adhesive-lined heatshrink from McMaster-Carr. The heatshrink is to protect the finish on tools I hang on the pegboard, and to provide a little bit of grip on the pegboard hooks. I bought red for most things, and white for the Wright D980 merchandiser.

• Consumables
  I played with mounting the Racor PCR-6R can racks on pegboard. It'll work. At the moment I have some of them hanging on hooks, and some mounted with blind expansion rivets (BMW part for the heat shields on my battery box). I ordered some blind expansion rivets from McMaster-Carr, since it puts the racks flush with the pegboard (the J-hooks don't).

  I ordered 2 cans of WD-40 from McMaster-Carr.

• September 22, 2011
  
  • Consumables
    The Racor PCR-6R can racks arrived. I like them and I can certainly use them.

• September 21, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I mounted the framed pegboard on the plaster wall, between the door to the foyer and the door to the utility room.

• September 20, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I framed a 2'x4' piece of pegboard to mount to the plaster wall in the attached garage.

• September 18, 2011
  
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    I mounted some pieces of wood to the Wright D980 merchandiser so I could hang it on pegboard. It's now hanging on the pegboard nearest the door to the stairwell.

• Shop Tools
  I bought three 2'x4' pieces of pegboard at Home Depot, and some poplar and hardware to mount them in the attached garage. I wanted to get metal pegboard from Diamond Life, but I'd then want to remove it when I move. The hardboard stuff is cheap, I won't feel any remorse in leaving it behind. I still intend to buy some custom-sized pieces from Diamond Life for the sides of my carts.

  I mounted one of the pegboards, on the brick wall using tap-in anchors. I will be mounting another one in the same manner. The third will probably be mounted on the back wall, which is drywall and blocked somewhat by the central vaccum. Putting a pegboard there is efficient use of space. I'm tempted to mount a fourth, but I'm going to wait; I'm thinking of building a custom cabinet for my Wright combination wrench merchandisers, and I haven't decided where I'm going to hang it. This custom cabinet would open up to reveal the combination wrenches.

• September 17, 2011
  
  • Consumables
    I ordered 6 Racor PCR-6R spray can racks from wayfair.com. They were $4.99 each, much cheaper than anywhere else. I need these for brake parts cleaner, carb cleaner, degreaser, Rust Encapsulator, Rust Converter, Chassis Black, lithium grease, WD-40, EEZOX, etc. I'll mount them on pegboard.

• September 15, 2011
  
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    The Toptul GPAW2601 26-piece SuperTorque metric combination wrench set arrived from thetoolchest.ca. I've not had time to really look at it or take pictures, but my initial impression is that they're very nice for the price (I paid $140).

• September 9, 2011
  
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    I finally made up my mind on new combination wrenches, and ordered them. I bought the Toptul GPAW2601 26-piece SuperTorque set from thetoolchest.ca to put in my metric chest. They were previously $170, but were on sale for $140. These are on the short side, but very strong and I like Toptul's satin finish. For wrenches with more leverage to use most of the time I need a combination wrench, I bought Wright D980 from JD Industrial Supply. These are full polish, very comfortable, very strong industrial wrenches that will retain their resale value. The merchandiser is perfect for hanging on pegboard and keeping them organized.

• Consumables
  I ordered a Stoko Vario SVP dispenser and a 2 liter bottle of Kresto to put in it from JD Industrial Supply. This will go in the bathroom in the basement. I also ordered some Sprayon RTV Silicone Sealant to try to seal the leak in the skylights of my current residence.

• September 6, 2011
  
  • Rolling Tool Trays
    I finished the second rolling tool tray by installing the rubber floor tile and the handle for hanging it on the pegboard.

• September 5, 2011
  
  • Rolling Tool Trays
    I lightly sanded the second rolling tool tray, and installed the casters. I then put a light coat of primer on it and the first coat of paint. I didn't fuss over the finish on this one as much as the first; it's a rolling tool tray, it's going to get dirty and beat up. When the paint is dry to the touch, I'll install the rubber floor tile.

• September 4, 2011
  
  • Rolling Tool Trays
    I finished my first rolling tool tray to use under the car and whenever I'm working on the floor. It has a 12" x 24" piece of birch plywood trimmed with pine and poplar, and covered with Raised-Disc Antislip Rubber Floor Tiles (6292T274) from McMaster-Carr. It has a very slight lip to help precent things from rolling off, though it's probably not needed since things don't generally roll on the raised disc floor tile. It has an inexpensive handle I bought from Home Depot, so I can carry it easily and hang it on hooks in pegboard. I also finished the wood assembly of the second one, and will prime and paint it tomorrow and then install the casters and the rubber floor tile.

• August 26, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I ordered a pair of Raised-Disc Antislip Rubber Floor Tiles (6292T274) from McMaster-Carr. One is for the top of my air and electric reel cart, the other is for the rolling tool trays I'm building. I also ordered a 2' x 10' High-Traffic Smooth Traction Mat (6821T714) to cover the exposed concrete under one of my pegboards. Finally, I ordered some 2" Scotch-Brite Roloc pads to replenish some of my supplies. Once I finish the work on the Lista cabinet, I'll take a real count and order complete boxes of Scotch--Brite Roloc discs, along with some organizer boxes to put in the Lista cabinet.

• August 18, 2011
  
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    The Grey Pneumatic 82629M and Grey Pneumatic 82622 sets from toolbarn.com. I cleaned off the original rust protection goop and applied EEZOX on the drive end of all of the sockets. I'll do the fastener end tomorrow.

    This finishes my 6-point metric socket collection for now, and I only need the 82622D to complete my 6-point SAE collection. After that, I'll move to combination wrenches.

• August 17, 2011
  
  • Shop Tools
    I finished assembling the first rolling tool tray for working under the car and on/near the floor. It's 1/2" thick birch with furniture-grade pine trim, on small el-cheapo casters from Lowe's. The birch piece is 24" long by 12" wide. The idea here is simple; keep my tools and small parts with me as I move around. There are creepers that have small tool pockets, but I don't like any of them and when I'm not under the car, a creeper makes no sense. I'll probably make a second one of these for the detached garage, it'll be handy when working on the tractor in there. I put a 1/4" lip around the edge to prevent things from easily rolling off. I intend to cover it with McMaster-Carr 6292T28.

    I ordered a Yost 205 from www.waltcotoolsinc.com for $170. This is a VERY low price for this vise; Amazon wants $712.

• August 14, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Grey Pneumatic 82629M and Grey Pneumatic 82622 sets from toolbarn.com.

• July 21, 2011
  
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    I bought a new Frigidaire LAD704DUL dehumidifer from Lowe's. Brought it home and fired it up in the attached garage bay. It generates a decent amount of heat, but it seems to work well. I like the fact that it came with a spare filter, so I have one to use while I'm cleaning the other one. Unlike many others in this price range, it also remembers the setting and starts again after a power interruption. It also has a continuous operation mode as well as humidity settings.

• July 18, 2011
  
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    I finished putting paint on the Wilton 450S. I'll assemble it tomorrow.

• July 17, 2011
  
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    I started refurbishing my newly acquired Wilton 450S vise. I cleaned up the main part and put primer, paint and clearcoat on it (rattle-can). Yesterday I painted the mounting base.

    I picked up a 78" x 34" work table via craigslist. It was advertised as having a butcher block top, but it's not; it's laminated MDF. Not a big deal, the frame is very nice (welded metal tubing) and the casters are good quality. It also came with a heavy overbridge that's also made of welded tubular metal. I haven't decides how I'm going to use this table. Originally it was going to be a workbench, but the top isn't really beefy enough for that purpose. I may use it to replace my old electronics bench (a repurposed desk). Or I'll beef up the top by attaching a 3/4" piece of hardwood plywood to the existing top, trim the edges with oak or poplar, and cover with vinyl floor mat (McMaster 70035T82).

• June 21, 2011
  
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    The Grey Pneumatic 89623RD and 82629MD Duo-Socket sets arrived from toolbarn.com. The 82629MD is a monster, it will be handy when I need it.

    I removed the original rust protection goop from both sets, and applied EEZOX to them.

• June 16, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Grey Pneumatic 89623RD and 82629MD from toolbarn.com.

• June 14, 2011
  
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    I received the Grey Pneumatic 81627RD from Advance Auto Parts.

• June 11, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Grey Pneumatic 81627RD from Advance Auto Parts.

    I ordered a Wera BDC Bit-Check set from Sears, using my Shop-Your-Way Rewards points.

• May 21, 2011
  
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    My old Bosch cordless drill is sort of limping. The Ni-Cad batteries aren't holding much of a charge anymore, and they are no longer available. Since I had the Bosch PS21 and PS41 on my wish list for automotive and small project work, I bumped them up on the priority list and bought the CLPK27-120 combo kit. It has both the PS21 and PS41, a BC430 charger, two BAT412 lithium-ion batteries and a carrying bag. It was on sale at Lowe's for $149, which is quite reasonable. I really like them, they're small and comfortable while still generating quite a bit of torque. In fact I think they have more oomph than my old Bosch 14.4V Ni-Cad cordless.

• May 12, 2011
  
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    I've long had a need for more pliers. I've been getting by with a single pair of slip joint pliers, a single pair of tongue-and-groove, some worn-out needlenose, and a couple of miscellaneous low-quality pliers. Today I ordered the Channellock PC-1 4-piece set of tongue-and-groove pliers, the Channellock PC-2 4-piece set, the Channellock 526 slip joint pliers and the Channellock 718 long-reach flat nose pliers. The PC-1 and PC-2 sets come in foam trays with cutouts, and I'll be adding cutouts to the PC-2 foam to fit the 526 and 718 pliers. These should fill my need for general pliers for machanical work for a long time to come. I don't use general purpose pliers very often, but when I need them, there's really no substitute.

• May 9, 2011
  
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    The Grey Pneumatic 81635MRD Duo-Socket set and the VIM MRBB36 arrived from ToolTopia. The EEZOX arrived from Warren Custom Outdoor. I removed the original rust protection goop from the Duo-Socket set and applied the EEZOX.

• May 5, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Grey Pneumatic 81635MRD Duo-Socket set from ToolTopia. I also ordered the VIM MRBB36 bit set.

• April 27, 2011
  
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    The GearWrench 9416 16-piece metric master ratcheting wrench set arrived from Amazon.

• April 25, 2011
  
  • Tool Cart
    I ordered the GearWrench 9416 16-piece metric master ratcheting wrench set from Amazon.

• April 20, 2011
  
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    I ordered Wera ChiselDrivers, Wera Zyklop ratchets, the Wera Koloss kit and a few Zyklop extensions from chadstoolbox.com.

• April 2, 2011
  
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    I ordered the Link Tools 38007 set from seller gandltool on eBay.

• January 27, 2011
  
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    I ordered the SSDMR8AO, SGDMRC44BO, SGDMRC44BO, SGDMRC11AO, SGDMRC4-80, SGDMRC4-TMF4 and TMBS8A from Snap-On.