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What did you do in your garage today?

MVI said:
Knot mine, its a side hussle to pay for the new pickup. All i need is about 2000 more 2 stroke repair jobs and the truck will be paid for.

Seriously, this thing is a 2011 model and is beat, high mileage if it were a bike.
The Echo is well made, easy to service, quality torx fasteners is a plus. in 2011 they made nice product. if i ever need one, I'd consider one
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I know it won't do any good, but tell him to only run pure gasoline in it and that should help. https://www.pure-gas.org/

Echo dealers in my area folded up several years ago due to poor corporate support. Stihl seems to have the upper hand today.

Battery powered stuff is getting good enough that I'd rather have one of those for most residential tasks, especially if my tool batteries will power it. I haven't used my Stihl line trimmer since I bought a DeWalt 20V model.
 
Cold saw...is a skill saw?...in the last year I cut 1500 mats at least 17 cuts per mat 2x8 oak..what 30k cuts...at neck level...sometimes a 14ft is a 10ft...so 3 cuts per board 17 boards per mat....Makita! A record day is 400 cuts we never let off the trigger..drills, saw or impact. Somehow I get stuck solo..my Dewalt drill needs the comutator dressed and brushes cleaned. 6 seconds a hole..99 holes per mat..the Dewalt has drilled about a 100k 9/16 holes through at least 4 in of oak..what is that about 6 miles of drilling and 4 miles of sawing in a year ha..makita Dewalt
 
Madmx said:
Cold saw...is a skill saw?...in the last year I cut 1500 mats at least 17 cuts per mat 2x8 oak..what 30k cuts...at neck level...sometimes a 14ft is a 10ft...so 3 cuts per board 17 boards per mat....Makita! A record day is 400 cuts we never let off the trigger..drills, saw or impact. Somehow I get stuck solo..my Dewalt drill needs the comutator dressed and brushes cleaned. 6 seconds a hole..99 holes per mat..the Dewalt has drilled about a 100k 9/16 holes through at least 4 in of oak..what is that about 6 miles of drilling and 4 miles of sawing in a year ha..makita Dewalt
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Makita and DeWalt have been 100% reliable for us over the past 20+ years. I don't think twice about buying one and dread when that changes. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Before Milwaukee was available in retail stores they tried to market them as pro grade tools and they were selling them only through supply companies, around here anyway. Had to be a licensed contractor to buy from those places. We bought a couple thousand dollars worth of drills and sawzalls and none of them made it through the summer. Drill chucks kept locking up and the sawzall snout bearings went out in a month or two. Went back to our supplier and they were like, "Yeah, that didn't work out. We don't carry those anymore" 😁 When they started popping up in hardware stores for sale I thought it was funny, but they've gathered quite a loyal following now. Apparently they're the bees knees now. Who knows
 
Shinyribs said:
Makita and DeWalt have been 100% reliable for us over the past 20+ years. I don't think twice about buying one and dread when that changes. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Before Milwaukee was available in retail stores they tried to market them as pro grade tools and they were selling them only through supply companies, around here anyway. Had to be a licensed contractor to buy from those places. We bought a couple thousand dollars worth of drills and sawzalls and none of them made it through the summer. Drill chucks kept locking up and the sawzall snout bearings went out in a month or two. Went back to our supplier and they were like, "Yeah, that didn't work out. We don't carry those anymore" 😁 When they started popping up in hardware stores for sale I thought it was funny, but they've gathered quite a loyal following now. Apparently they're the bees knees now. Who knows
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About 2 months ago the drill sounded funny then would not run without spinning the chuck by hand. Then it was fine. I have a back up waiting... I need to bring the bad one home to fix it. We race for fun and I have not won in weeks

Hey we got rid of that murder pile of blades. It was right over 2000lbs and $160 at scrap yard. Filled a big dump truck.
 
Shinyribs said:
Makita and DeWalt have been 100% reliable for us over the past 20+ years. I don't think twice about buying one and dread when that changes. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.
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The only major failing I know of in recent memory was DeWalt's crappy 18V batteries. Iirc, they weren't lithium based and they failed soon & often. The newer lithium batteries hold up fine, and their PowerStack batteries (pouch cells) are impressive. I've run a hammer drill off a 1.7Ah PowerStack that normally requires at least a 5Ah pack. The PS didn't have the endurance of a higher capacity pack, but it spun the drill just as fast. PS is also supposed to have a longer service life than their standard packs.

Makita doesn't seem to have kept up with DeWalt & Milwaukee battery tech. Good tools, though. The first cordless drill I used was a Makita.

Shinyribs said:
Before Milwaukee was available in retail stores they tried to market them as pro grade tools and they were selling them only through supply companies, around here anyway. Had to be a licensed contractor to buy from those places. We bought a couple thousand dollars worth of drills and sawzalls and none of them made it through the summer. Drill chucks kept locking up and the sawzall snout bearings went out in a month or two. Went back to our supplier and they were like, "Yeah, that didn't work out. We don't carry those anymore" 😁 When they started popping up in hardware stores for sale I thought it was funny, but they've gathered quite a loyal following now. Apparently they're the bees knees now. Who knows
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Corded Milwaukee tools have been solid choices for years, and their current battery tools are usually top tier today. Maybe yours were bought at a low point in their history. They used to run Jacobs chucks on everything, which are usually good ones. I don't know of another company making a recip saw on par with a counter balanced Super Sawzall.

Funny you mentioned failed Sawzall snout bearings because that's the only problem I've had with one, and it was my fault for running it hard with a dull blade for several minutes straight. I got it fixed under warranty and it's still in use today. Milwaukee released a new sub-model of their top tier 1/2" impact last year that earned a full recall after multiple reports of out-of-the-box failures when the "improved" impact mechanism tore itself apart. Bad designs happen, but it's surprising that something so bad was released.

For battery tools, I recommend people consider the array of other tools in a line before buying into a system. I bought DeWalt 20V because I work with someone that was already in that system and it made sense to share batteries. If I was a plumber, I'd be an 12V/18V Milwaukee owner. Mechanics have a better selection with Milwaukee, too. I use a 12V Milwaukee riveter and it's a great tool.

Ryobi is made by Milwaukee's parent company, TTI. I've seen tool teardowns that show some similarities. For the money, they're hard to beat.
 
I did this.
 

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ZoomerP said:
How bad is changing a front tire on a road bike like that? Is it much different from a tubed dirt bike?
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It's damn easy with one of these, and no tubes to pinch. I bought this well used for $600 pre Covid.


www.derekweaver.com

Weaver® W-M807X Assist Arm Combo Motorcycle Tire Changer

Buy the Combo Package and get both pieces at the best discount. Change the toughest low profile and stiff sidewall tires with ease.
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ZoomerP said:
The only major failing I know of in recent memory was DeWalt's crappy 18V batteries. Iirc, they weren't lithium based and they failed soon & often. The newer lithium batteries hold up fine, and their PowerStack batteries (pouch cells) are impressive. I've run a hammer drill off a 1.7Ah PowerStack that normally requires at least a 5Ah pack. The PS didn't have the endurance of a higher capacity pack, but it spun the drill just as fast. PS is also supposed to have a longer service life than their standard packs.

Makita doesn't seem to have kept up with DeWalt & Milwaukee battery tech. Good tools, though. The first cordless drill I used was a Makita.


Corded Milwaukee tools have been solid choices for years, and their current battery tools are usually top tier today. Maybe yours were bought at a low point in their history. They used to run Jacobs chucks on everything, which are usually good ones. I don't know of another company making a recip saw on par with a counter balanced Super Sawzall.

Funny you mentioned failed Sawzall snout bearings because that's the only problem I've had with one, and it was my fault for running it hard with a dull blade for several minutes straight. I got it fixed under warranty and it's still in use today. Milwaukee released a new sub-model of their top tier 1/2" impact last year that earned a full recall after multiple reports of out-of-the-box failures when the "improved" impact mechanism tore itself apart. Bad designs happen, but it's surprising that something so bad was released.

For battery tools, I recommend people consider the array of other tools in a line before buying into a system. I bought DeWalt 20V because I work with someone that was already in that system and it made sense to share batteries. If I was a plumber, I'd be an 12V/18V Milwaukee owner. Mechanics have a better selection with Milwaukee, too. I use a 12V Milwaukee riveter and it's a great tool.

Ryobi is made by Milwaukee's parent company, TTI. I've seen tool teardowns that show some similarities. For the money, they're hard to beat.
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I'm not sure how long our 18v Dewalts lasted. Ten plus years at the minimum. I really think it's closer to 15. Hated to retire them. Felt like they deserved to be bronzed and sat on display somewhere. 😁Drills and saws were fine, chargers gave up the ghost. We got down to one charger and it just couldn't keep up with two or three guys blasting through batteries. But they got run down and recharged every single day vs sitting idle in a diy'ers garage. I think lithium is definitely better in regards to periodic use.

We just recently changed over to Dewalts new lithium maybe two year ago. They say it's impossible, but I swear they lose charge sitting in the work truck over night in the winter. It's awesome how much lighter and slimmer they are, but they give no sign of getting weak. They run wide open until the moment they stop. Sucks when you think you've got a freshie and it dies 10 minutes later and you're crawling back out of an attic 😁 Slim enough to carry a spare in your back pocket though..
 
Shinyribs said:
I'm not sure how long our 18v Dewalts lasted. Ten plus years at the minimum. I really think it's closer to 15. Hated to retire them. Felt like they deserved to be bronzed and sat on display somewhere. 😁Drills and saws were fine, chargers gave up the ghost. We got down to one charger and it just couldn't keep up with two or three guys blasting through batteries. But they got run down and recharged every single day vs sitting idle in a diy'ers garage. I think lithium is definitely better in regards to periodic use.

We just recently changed over to Dewalts new lithium maybe two year ago. They say it's impossible, but I swear they lose charge sitting in the work truck over night in the winter. It's awesome how much lighter and slimmer they are, but they give no sign of getting weak. They run wide open until the moment they stop. Sucks when you think you've got a freshie and it dies 10 minutes later and you're crawling back out of an attic 😁 Slim enough to carry a spare in your back pocket though..
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Lithium based batteries typically begin to lose some endurance after three years. Due to their performance characteristics, they're able to sustain higher voltage to a much lower state of charge than older types of tool batteries, but they fall off a cliff at the end and the tool will shut down, just as you described.

Battery performance degrades after cold soaking them. These are new, and I've seen older batteries perform much worse after sitting in a cold truck for a few days.



Torque Test Channel has done more recent testing.

I've used DeWalt's 18V and 20V tools professionally. In my experience, the 18V tools may be well made, but their performance is weak compared to modern versions. If you want to use 18V DeWalt tools with 20V batteries, adapters are cheap. The amount of power available from such light & compact modern tools from any of the major brands is amazing.
 
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Shinyribs said:
Race harder! 😂

2,000lbs of old blades is crazy. That's almost 3 Harley's!
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One day I will show how much saw dust a hobby mill can make....it is insane. The blades are a little over a year. We had some big logs on the mill lately. We had a cypress double butt at 48" wide about 3 weeks ago. There was some rolling, trimming and chain saw trimming for the guides to clear. Alot of excitement and smiles chopping that log up. I can not believe the tractor picked up that 16ft beast. Figured maybe a 400-600yr old tree. I hear stories of the old trees. The mill owner got an order for a 60in log. He said sorry...if it is out there no one can get to it. I might have to take a ride to the black River and see the oldest cypress. They think a few might be over 3000 yrs old.
 
I learned that I hate milling pine trees recently. Dang sap gets everywhere. I'm not fond of daily baths using mineral spirits but the my neck of my guitar sticky and we can't have that 😁
 
Welded some anti swivel keystock onto my home brew atv multi hitch, 1-7/8 ball + clevis hitch. New gas regulator with the float-ey ball, oem was leaking & baby 20 cu ft tanks.:shog
 
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