I used to clog my shop vac filter every 20 minutes when sawing drywall or sanding down old paint. After building a cyclone separator from a Home Depot bucket and a 3D printed lid, I barely touch the filter now. Has anyone else found a simple add-on that changed their cleanup routine?
I was grabbing some 2x4s last month and this guy maybe 70 years old points at my 16 oz straight claw and says "that's a trimmer's hammer, you're gonna kill your elbow swinging that all day for framing." He walked me over to the rack and handed me a 22 oz milled face with a curved handle. I laughed it off but after one weekend of building a shed (about 14 hours total) my arm was shot. Swapped to the heavier hammer and honestly the weight does most of the work now. Has anyone else had a tool recommendation from a stranger that actually panned out? I'm curious what other old school tips I might be missing.
That little revelation made me realize I've been eyeballing level for years and probably have a bunch of crooked shelves and cabinets that I never noticed.
I was grabbing some 2x4s yesterday and this guy in his 60s told me I was wasting money on high torque drills for cabinet work. He said he still uses a 12v brushed Makita for most stuff and it lasts him years. Has anyone else gone back to a smaller drill for fine work and found it actually works better?
Turns out the set screw on the pulley was barely a quarter turn loose, took me all afternoon to find it. Has anyone else wasted a ridiculous amount of time on something this simple?
For years I was buying those $2 packs of brushes at the hardware store thinking I was saving money. Then I had a big trim job on a 1920s house in Denver where every window had like 8 layers of old paint. I spent $18 on one good angled sash brush from Purdy and it cut my time in half because I wasn't fighting with bristles coming loose. Has anyone else noticed a big difference moving up to nicer brushes or am I just getting picky?
It was 3 years ago in a basement in Nashville, I was framing a wall and hit a knot in some pressure-treated lumber, and the saw jumped so bad I still can't bend that finger all the way - anyone else had a close call they think about every time they grab a saw?
Watched him drive a flathead screwdriver with it to chip away at old mortar. The chuck was glowing red after 10 minutes. I asked if he had a rotary hammer and he said this was faster. Is that actually a common hack or just a good way to wreck your drill motor?
I was trying to cut into a plaster wall in my 1920s house in Buffalo last month and going through blades like crazy. My neighbor, who's been fixing up old houses forever, told me to just use a cheap Diablo blade from Home Depot instead of the expensive Fein ones. I figured he was wrong but gave it a shot, and that blade lasted through three cuts without dulling. Now I'm wondering if I've been overpaying for fancy blades this whole time, anyone else find a brand that punches above its price?
Ngl I thought I was upgrading my game by getting a cheap variable speed grinder from a big box store. Used it once to clean up some welds on a trailer hitch and the speed control board fried after 10 minutes. Called the store and they said no returns on electrical tools after 30 days. Has anyone else had luck fixing one of these boards yourself or is it just a paperweight now?
I was trying to change a flat tire on my buddy's truck at 9pm in a Shell lot off I-35 and the bit twisted clean in half, so I ended up using a breaker bar and a pipe for leverage to get it loose, has anyone else had cheap bits fail at the worst time?
Picked up one of those fancy fat max tape measures with the rubber casing at Home Depot. Thought it'd last forever. By week 8 the hook started slipping, by week 12 the spring just gave up and it won't retract. Stick with the $15 Stanley's from here, anyone else had a premium tool totally flop on em?