Tools of choice

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macmikeman

Senior Member
Even the one man shops ought to have at least a chicago bender for the 1-1/4 thru 2" emt. You can get used ones on ebay for around a grand and half. I am a one man shop with a 555 and a 777 but I used to have men working for me so that is no fair, but even if I never did I would most likely have a chicago.
 

e57

Senior Member
Two words you need to consider-Impact Driver, baby. Pick a brand. I'm partial to Makita and Millwalkee. Use a spade bit or chuck adapter for the occasional hole drilling. You'll spend the next week after your purchase looking for places to drive screws.
Yes impacts are the bees - I have a dewalt 14.4 - and only because they came in a combo with a drill and really cheap - so cheap I bought two... That - and I had more batteries for them.... Why change systems????

As of late I have noticed guys with the little bosch drivers - really super light and just the right speed and torque for screws. I might get one of those - but have little need to replace my dewalt collection - even if they are old - out of date to some extent - but still work and I have spares...

That said - I do the spade bit in impact thing too - but a sharp spade... ;) And I do like to use tools for what the intended purpose is... A drill - really does not have a place driving screws - way over powered and doing 100 of them you might as well do them by hand with the wieght of a drill. And even then most screws dont need 1,330 in-lbs of torque with an 18v battery... (It will still drive screws just as fast and as long with 12v or even less - because it never needed that much power in the first place...) Nor is it great idea to rough a house with a cordless drill either... You're an electrician - make some power happen.... :roll:
 

PetrosA

Senior Member
I'll add my Milwaukee stubby spade bit set to the list. They are the shortest of any of the stubbies I've seen and will allow you to drill up into a wall from under a floor with a board removed (old work) or through a joist from a 4" hole using an impact driver as long as yours will fit through the hole.
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Even the one man shops ought to have at least a chicago bender for the 1-1/4 thru 2" emt. You can get used ones on ebay for around a grand and half. I am a one man shop with a 555 and a 777 but I used to have men working for me so that is no fair, but even if I never did I would most likely have a chicago.

They aren't that expensive. I have 150 bux into my small one and 350 into the larger one.

I think they are 700 - 800 new.

http://www.chicagobender.com/
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
Guilty as charged. Finding those tools that fit your hand, that do just what you need them to do, that feel just right. Makes the job at hand less like work and more like your passion.

My tools are worth more than my house and property combined. I have about 25 grand just in car tools. I used to have about a 300 dollar a month tool payment.

It's fun to be able to complain that you have better tools in your vehicle than your EC has on the site and not be fibbin'. :D

I just moved and still have tools at two other properties. I have a gang box full of tools at one of them and not much room here to put them.

I built the gang box myself. I was on a job and saw a box I thought would be perfect for what I would do with it and copied the outside dimensions and built a heavier duty version. The stinking wheels cost me almost a hundred and fifty bux. (It has six)
 

satcom

Senior Member
My tools are worth more than my house and property combined. I have about 25 grand just in car tools. I used to have about a 300 dollar a month tool payment.

It's fun to be able to complain that you have better tools in your vehicle than your EC has on the site and not be fibbin'. :D

I just moved and still have tools at two other properties. I have a gang box full of tools at one of them and not much room here to put them.

I built the gang box myself. I was on a job and saw a box I thought would be perfect for what I would do with it and copied the outside dimensions and built a heavier duty version. The stinking wheels cost me almost a hundred and fifty bux. (It has six)

I hope you built a heavy gauge steel box, the wood butcher on one of the jobs had a wood box he built and they cut it in half and cleaned it out, even heavy gauge boxes get stolen, we never leave hand tools or expensive power tools in a gang box.
 

e57

Senior Member
I hope you built a heavy gauge steel box, the wood butcher on one of the jobs had a wood box he built and they cut it in half and cleaned it out, even heavy gauge boxes get stolen, we never leave hand tools or expensive power tools in a gang box.
Best gang box I have seen had pour concrete formed up inside a regular cabinet style box - and the guy would bolt it to the floor from inside to the foundation. All of the hinges were beefed up and all the hockey puck locks had extra steel on them. It was more like a safe... You could see where attempts were made but gave up, once they saw the concrete under the steel...
139_328_alt.jpg


I don't leave tools at jobs - Mine is inside my van - a 4' laying on its side so you have to open the van doors the the box door (Like a shelf...) to get into it - to do that you need to get past 2 alarms - one with GPS location - video taped in front of my house which is lit like the sun, an angry former Marine in a bath robe and whatever handy 12ga I might reach for. :D Since this has been set up this way - there have been attempts but no theft.
 

76nemo

Senior Member
Location
Ogdensburg, NY
Best gang box I have seen had pour concrete formed up inside a regular cabinet style box - and the guy would bolt it to the floor from inside to the foundation. All of the hinges were beefed up and all the hockey puck locks had extra steel on them. It was more like a safe... You could see where attempts were made but gave up, once they saw the concrete under the steel...
139_328_alt.jpg


I don't leave tools at jobs - Mine is inside my van - a 4' laying on its side so you have to open the van doors the the box door (Like a shelf...) to get into it - to do that you need to get past 2 alarms - one with GPS location - video taped in front of my house which is lit like the sun, an angry former Marine in a bath robe and whatever handy 12ga I might reach for. :D Since this has been set up this way - there have been attempts but no theft.


I can't imagine the price tag on THAT sucker!!!! That's nice.
 

e57

Senior Member
Any maiming or deaths? :cool:
No - but I got an informative talk by the SFPD on the in's and out's of the use of deadly force and unlawfull detention. And in doing so - I'm pretty sure that everyone under the age of 18 in my neighborhood knows exactly who I am... some kids were trying for my van - and one of them ended up face down in the gutter with my foot on his neck. And there is another guy who got a bender handle very close to his face as he was driving away... There is also a guy I saw on tape and had the chance to have a conversation with up near the super market a week later - he lives around here somewhere - but he also will not come on my side of the street after the conversation. Since all of these - there has been very little activity out by my van in the last two years - thankfully.
 

fondini

Senior Member
Location
nw ohio
No - but I got an informative talk by the SFPD on the in's and out's of the use of deadly force and unlawfull detention. And in doing so - I'm pretty sure that everyone under the age of 18 in my neighborhood knows exactly who I am... some kids were trying for my van - and one of them ended up face down in the gutter with my foot on his neck. And there is another guy who got a bender handle very close to his face as he was driving away... There is also a guy I saw on tape and had the chance to have a conversation with up near the super market a week later - he lives around here somewhere - but he also will not come on my side of the street after the conversation. Since all of these - there has been very little activity out by my van in the last two years - thankfully.

LOL! You and I would be great neighbors! Keep up the watch there I'll do my part here, ever see Gran Torino? LOL
 

e57

Senior Member
LOL! You and I would be great neighbors! Keep up the watch there I'll do my part here, ever see Gran Torino? LOL
Yes - and I got a talking to from the wife about availability of ammo, the visabilty of firearms escalating conflict & the fact that I'm a Daddy now... :roll: As well as the cops who informed me of where my real property line is, and what can and can not be done on both sides of it - for my own legal protection... That said there have been no attempts on my van in the last few years...
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
Yes - and I got a talking to from the wife about availability of ammo, the visabilty of firearms escalating conflict & the fact that I'm a Daddy now... :roll: As well as the cops who informed me of where my real property line is, and what can and can not be done on both sides of it - for my own legal protection... That said there have been no attempts on my van in the last few years...

"It was an attitued adjustment, now he understands just fine." Hank Williams Jr

Had the kid up the street getting loud and obnoxious late one night, I fnially yelled out my window for him to quiet down. he grabbed a baseball bat and headed up my walk and I grabbed a 9mm and headed down my walk, the look on his face was priceless. Never bring a bat to a gun fight. He came back later the next day and apologized and they moved no to long after that.
 

e57

Senior Member
"It was an attitued adjustment, now he understands just fine." Hank Williams Jr

Had the kid up the street getting loud and obnoxious late one night, I fnially yelled out my window for him to quiet down. he grabbed a baseball bat and headed up my walk and I grabbed a 9mm and headed down my walk, the look on his face was priceless. Never bring a bat to a gun fight. He came back later the next day and apologized and they moved no to long after that.
I've been told - by the cops... Not to bring a gun to a knife fight in so many words... Appropriate use of force can back-fire on you... My van is on a puplic street in front of my house - 15' away from the curb is my property line on my front walk... If I see someone out there - I have to warn them.... (This is where I got in trouble before...) :mad: If they flee - it's a cop problem... If they turn and extend a threat across my property line where I am - I can defend with appropriate use of force. If they cross my property line with a bat or pipe - I can beat them to death with a bat or pipe (see thats equal... ;))- or some type of non-lethal round like bean bags or rubber balls.... ;) Which at 20' may or may not kill you... Then if the person is still on your way to cause eminant harm I can escallate to buck-shot or a deer slug... The next shot in the slide... (One cop said it doesn't matter which rounds come first... They can't tell - and won't care... But helps provide prove of escalation.)

But he - the person turns with a gun from the street - which would extend a threat across my property line putting my person - not my property - in eminant harm - I can put a deer slug in them...
 

fondini

Senior Member
Location
nw ohio
I've been told - by the cops... Not to bring a gun to a knife fight in so many words... Appropriate use of force can back-fire on you... My van is on a public street in front of my house - 15' away from the curb is my property line on my front walk... If I see someone out there - I have to warn them.... (This is where I got in trouble before...) :mad: If they flee - it's a cop problem... If they turn and extend a threat across my property line where I am - I can defend with appropriate use of force. If they cross my property line with a bat or pipe - I can beat them to death with a bat or pipe (see that's equal... ;))- or some type of non-lethal round like bean bags or rubber balls.... ;) Which at 20' may or may not kill you... Then if the person is still on your way to cause imminent harm I can escalate to buck-shot or a deer slug... The next shot in the slide... (One cop said it doesn't matter which rounds come first... They can't tell - and won't care... But helps provide prove of escalation.)

But he - the person turns with a gun from the street - which would extend a threat across my property line putting my person - not my property - in eminant harm - I can put a deer slug in them...

I got same advice here from the local Sheriff. My wife has her ccl also, which leads to the great argument "who's turn to get the new gun"!![loving life here] my kids,boy and a girl, enjoy hunting together and yes he is a 17 year old jr sparky.New tools to buy all the time!!!!!
 
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