lol... our Matco guy doesn't even stop by the dealership anymore... he wasn't making enough money so he pretty much said 'screw it'. The Snap-On guy is there every Friday at about 8:30AM like clockwork, but I have a feeling a lot of that has to do with the co-worker I mentioned.

And I did some math; I think I'm going to be adding my current 2-drawer intermediate chest to the "at home" collection... with the 41" roll-away, 41" intermediate, the 26" intermediate, and the 26" chest I'd be looking at a box about 8" taller than me which would render the top two or three drawers useless. Now I just need to figure out what's going where

 

Bringin it back up.

Got a nice box of goodies from Matco today



I bought:
-Stethoscope
-Battery lifter (sick of borrowing other peoples)
-6" 5/8" spark plug socket... best thing evarrrr. It is perfect for doing plugs on V6 Acura's, the height of it is perfect (the back plugs aren't the greatest getting to them). Recommend this to anyone working on Honda V6, or basicaly any 5/8" spark plug. Don't need extensionon the normal socket then... I've ggot some Snap On universal jointed spark plug sockets too.
-SE355 .33 hp die grinder (Silver Eagle)... slling this to a coworker this week. I found a guy on craigslist selling the Matco .5 hp 90 and straight die grinder BRAND NEW for $150... they are $160 each, so scooping those up Wednesday.

 

Moar tools. I picked up the straight and angle grinder combo today. $150 for both, brand new in box. The guy selling them is a Matco dealer who just retired and is selling all his stock, so for $150 I got two grinders which total $335. The guy had a bunch of other stuff but nothing I didn't already have. So my Silver Eagle .33 hp die grinder I just got in the mail Monday is going to be sold to a coworker. The .5 hp grinder is a lot better than the Silver Eagle. Feels better, even with the bigger hp it seems like it is more efficient on my 20 gallon air compressor, and you can tell the difference in torque. The only downside is obviously the overall size. But it was $150 well spent!

 

I've had good luck with alot of princess auto stuff. Some has been crap but the majority has been good.

 

Went to Sears to replace a few missing tools (aka "tools that used car salesmen 'borrowed' and never returned) and a few extras followed me home.

-(replacement) stubby 1/4" straight screwdriver
-(replacement) 12mm reversible GearWrench (I wasn't happy about this one going missing. I raised hell with one of the service writers and kept my box locked at all times for about three days afterward lol
-(replacement) 13/64" drill bit... the original belonged to our head tech and I may have broken it clean in half drilling out a bolt
-Torx socket set. Like T5 to T60.
-Another magnetic tool tray. Can't have too many tool trays.
-(2x) Air tool swivel couplers. So much better than the standard 1/4" NPT male couplers I have now... I can't wait until Monday to try them out


And I really can't wait until I get my tax refund. It'll be going towards a new 41" 11-drawer roll-away chest, a 41" single-drawer middle chest, two new impacts (a 3/8" and a 1/2" with over 700ft*lbs of breakaway torque), and 56 separate impact sockets. If I have spending money left over, I'll be buying more wrenches and probably expand my 1/2" drive collection.


*edit: Just did the math and I only have about 40% of my planned investment right now. Realistically, that's more like 25% of my real-world investment as I'm sure I'll add a lot more tools to my to-buy list before I make it all the way through the list. Kind of depressing, really. (And as a professional mechanic, I'm fully justified in using the term 'investment' to describe tools lol)

 

I hope you are getting at least an ingersol impact. The matco one is awesome, going to buy one so I can take my snap on impact home.

And my plan for tools, well let's just say by the time I am done with school I'll be 20 and have the same if not more tools than techs who have been working for 20 years. I'm a total tool ***** and I believe in the right tool for the job and I despise asking for other peoples tools to use.

By the way never buy snap ons wobble plus extensions. I am going to sell all mine, I hate them so much I am grabbing my craftsman *gasp* normal extensions before I grab those. So they are going bye bye.

By swivel inlets do you mean these: http://matcotools.com/Catalog/toolca...55296;�
MT14

I've heard the Craftsman ones leak a lot, I've got a Matco one on my die grinder, makes it a lot easier to grind down rims and such. The Blue Point ones are nice too.

Here's my next order from Snap On
Wrench, Metric, Hi-Performance, Box, 0° Offset, 10-12 mm, 12 pt XDHFM1012
$40.50
Wrench, Metric, Hi-Performance, Box, 0° Offset, 14-17 mm, 12-Point XDHFM1417

Set, Twist Socket, External Hex Drive, Hex Head, 10 pcs 110STSY

Set, Extension, Friction Ball (6 pcs.) (1 1/2" to 11") 206AFX

Set, Extension, Knurled (6 pcs.) (1 1/4" to 11") 106BTMX

Set, Pliers and Cutters, Miniature, Blue-Point, 10 pcs BMPL1000

Set, Air Hammer, Super Duty PH3050ACH4

Ratchet, Dual 80 Technology, Long Flex-Head, Comfort Grip, 3/8" drive FHLF80

Ratchet, Dual 80, Locking Flex Head, Standard Handle, 1/2" drive, 24 13/16" SLX80

Set, Socket, Metric, Impact, Twist, Shallow (9 pcs.) (10 to 19 mm) 209TFSMYA ********MUST HAVE, THESE THINGS ARE AMAZING******

 

Nope, Craftsman impacts. The one I have right now weighs about half what my buddy's Snap-On weighs and is just as powerful; my only complaint is the lack of availability of mufflers, but to be honest I've never looked for Craftsman mufflers.

And yeah, Matco's MT14. I'm trying out the Craftsman ones for a few months (mostly because they were cheap) to see if they leak; if they do, I'll be getting Blue-Point ones (the Matco truck almost never stops by here). If not, I'll buy Craftsman for all my air tools.


And next up will be my new roll-away chest and intermediate chest, followed by my impact and air tool stoofs

 

My Matco 3/8" electric impact stopped working on me a while back. After recently looking up the gun on their website, it seems as if they do not sell it any more... I loved that gun, used it for absolutely everything. 100ft lbs of tq was perfect. But, since they don't sell the gun itself anymore and even if they did it would probably be about $150 just for the gun itself, I decided to go with something else.

I picked up a Craftsman 1/2" electric impact that came with 2 Ni-Cad batteries, 1-hr charger, impact extension, and a nice carrying case. All for $180. Since I don't work at a dealer/shop anymore, I didn't need a super high quality gun. Main reason I bought it is because this year I'll be swapping wheels at race events so I needed a good portable gun. I used it the first time this weekend and it worked great. This gun has a bit more bite to it with 200ft lbs of tq, and because of that it seems the batteries don't last quite as long as the Matco but no biggie. Not sure how much I trust the durability of it. Don't get me wrong it seems well built and all, but I tossed around my Matco gun quite a bit and it really stood up to it. I just wouldn't abuse this gun as much.

For the price, seems like a good buy to me. I highly recommened this gun to any home mechanic. If you don't have an air compressor/air tools, this is a GREAT alternative. Also, it's a little easier to work without a hose following you around and it's pretty light weight. Not to mention taking it anywhere you go...

 

200 ft lbs? That's pretty good. I have a Milwaukee set, 18v li ion, impact, drill, and light and I love it. I work at a dealership and they work really well, almost everyone else at work has the Makita set. Mine was over $100 less and to me is on par with the Makita set, only difference is the charging time (mines 1 hour, Makita is 15 minutes). But if you keep they charged at the end of the day you won't have a problem instead of letting them run dead. What I do like about the Milwaukee batteries are that it will show you the battery level as well. I also like the quick change better than a just 3/8 for an impact. The impact, drill, 2 batteries, and charger, cost me $200 on eBay. And the light was $30 with no battery. Was cheaper than what are Snap On/Matco/Mac trucks wanted.

 

Just remembered about this thread. So far I haven't had any leaks with the Craftsman swivel inlets. However, I did pick up one of Matco's MT14s. Irony? The MT14 actually leaks a little if you hold it at just the right angle whereas the Craftsman does not. That being said, the Craftsman is tighter (as in it doesn't swivel as easily) and much bulkier than the MT14. Overall, I'd recommend spending the extra $12-$15 for Matco. However, I can't honestly say I'll be spending $25 on a swivel for a $20 angle die grinder; basically, my impacts will be the only ones with Matco/Blue Point swivels as they're the only tools with high enough costs to justify a $25 inlet).

My latest purchase was Matco's (I've been on a Matco thing lately) MUC108SKIT, a 10.8v screwdriver. All I have to say is "ballin". Next up will be their MUC108IWKIT which is essentially the same deal only a 1/4"dr impact instead of a screwdriver.

I also now own (well, "now" as in about a month ago) Matco's DBPS260 double brake pad spreader and Matco's SFF2A spill-free coolant fill funnel. Also, I highly recommend everyone on Earth to do this: upgrade any air couplers to Matco's IRC061201S or a similar push-button coupler. We had them at the dealership I used to work at and I didn't realize how much I missed them until I upgraded mine last week. I'll also be upgrading my male plugs to Matco's 73440R... some of mine are wearing out and losing air and the ones I have my eye on being red really doesn't hurt

I also seriously need to upgrade my box to a 41"w box... I'm running out of room and the casters can't take much more weight (my bottom drawer alone probably has close to 80lbs worth of crap in it). Every time I close a drawer I can actually see the box flex where the casters bolt to it. That's what I get for telling myself I won't outgrow a box when I buy it. Actually, I'm already planning for my next next box. It'll be a Craftsman 52". For now, however, I'm thinking a 41" 11-drawer rollaway (one full-length drawer) with a 1-drawer intermediate chest and a 7-drawer top chest (again, one full-length drawer) and a 2-drawer shop cart should suffice.