sandt38

Congrats! I got a promotion 2 weeks ago myself. Better pay, more bonus opportunity, etc. Since my promotion I met the shop productivity goal the first week, and hammered it by 17% last week. Being that my overall bonus is compounded by productivity, 17% is huge. The average shop in the US has a productivity of ~40%. As shocking as that number is, it is easy to believe if you understand how much goes on behind the scenes. My figure for bonus is 80%. The week before I got the promotion we were at 61%. My first week we went to 82%. Last week, 97%. I make a specific dollar amount per hour turned at my shop by every mechanic (including myself). At 80% productivity I get an increase of that bonus of 50%, and it is increased 50% for every 5% we climb. So I got bonus +150% last week. The bad thing is, I have a mechanic who is pissed at me for pulling work from him, but he is limited in knowledge, ability, and drive. I pulled a head job from him this week, because I didn't want to see a 10 hour job take 18-20 hours... talk about destroying productivity! So I gave it to another tech who got it done in 7 or 8 hands on hours. While the guy who lost the job was pissed, he got work more suited to his skill set and wound up turning 17 hours in the 2 days that 10 hour head job would have taken him.

I suggest better sockets, unless you tend to use open end wrenches. Most people tend to reach for sockets first, so they will see more wear. Cheap sockets tend to stretch over time and will round off bolts. I like flank drive sockets as they grab the center of the fastener's facets not the sharp ends. By loading a thicker, better reinforced portion of the fastener, it is less likely to damage it. With that said, if you tend to use open end wrenches, a flank drive is imperative for the same reasons. If you consider the fact that loading an open end wrench leads to spreading of the wrench, you can see why a flank drive wrench is even more important.

I see my SnapOn man on the first thursday of every month. I am going to order the Fluke Ti95 then.

Come on down. I'll hook you up with some hands on with cool tools and take you out to some shitty local restaurants.

Sean, It's hard for me to give advice about most off the shelf tools. I have used many tools, obviously, in my career, and understand why we pay a premium for professional level tools. Everything I possess and purchase is a professional grade tool. The majority of my hand tool lineup is Mac, but I do prefer Snap-On ratchets. Mac has a more affordable line of ratchets that is solid right now (I have bought a few versions of their ratchet sets) that are made in Italy. While not as strong as the Snap-Ons, they have smaller heads which makes them desirable in some situations. FWIW I have roughly 10 different versions of most ratchets available in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2"... roughly $5-6K in ratchets alone. I find myself typically reaching for my Snappy double 80s, 12" flex head 3/8 and my stubby 3/8. I like my Italian 16" 1/2" flex head from mac. I use a 6" 1/4" ratchet (again, the Itallian built) and my old school 4"1/4" Snap on round head. I like Mac's sockets. All my deep, super deep and short sockets are Mac flank drives, but I prefer my Snap on semi-deeps for intermediate duties. I like the Snap-ons for this purpose because it fits nicely between the Mac deeps and standards. FWIW I do tend to crack my chrome Snappys more frequently than the Macs, but the Macs will tend to flare out over time and Snap-Ons just break. As far as wrenches, I like the older MAC wrenches as their handles are fatter and somewhat squared. The Snap-Ons are rounded and tend to dig into my hands. However, Mac is now putting out rounded I-Beam wrenches that I am not a big fan of. Ratcheting wrenches are difficult. Again, I like my older MACs as they fit my hand well, but I just broke a pin on my flex head 6 point 12MM MAC ratchet wrench and had to replace it. The new version is the I-beam, and my swivel pin is smaller in comparison. Plus it is shorter, and a 12 point. I am extremely disappointed. I do have some extra long gear wrench ratcheting wrenches with a 0 degree box end. Great wrenches, with tons of uses, but the gear sets are weak, and they are thin and uncomfortable with heavy pulling. So for me to give real advice to suit your needs is nearly impossible. I have a ton of tools many of which are duplicate examples with a different manufacturer, and I vary what I use based on the job at hand, and the requirements of a specific job. I may bring 5 different 3/8 ratchets to a single intake manifold job, and I will bring them based on comfort first, then necessity. I have roughly $250,000 worth of tools, and easily $150,000 of it is hand and specialty hand tools... and very, very little of it is stuff you will grab from a shelf in a store. I buy tools like you buy cooking utensils, searching for what is comfortable and what suits the job best, and tossing the initial investment price to the wind. While I wish I could provide insight for you, I am afraid that my suggestions will make you cringe when you see the price of what I suggest. I'll pay $300 for a set of 8-19MM 3/8 deep impact sockets without even blinking...

I don't know how soon you need it, but having used a myriad of tools and working at Sears, I will never again buy Craftsman. Better can be had for your money, and what I buy now is all Gearwrench/KD tools. To give you an idea, I recently re-purchased a set after mine was stolen. http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/216-pc-SAEMetric-6-12-Pt-Mechanics-Tool-Set-Multi-Drive-P160848.aspx Try the Craftsman shit, then try these. I guarantee you'll never touch Craftsman again. To further that, I have purchased their (Gearwrench) new 120 tooth ratchets and they, IMO, are better than my Snap-On Dual 80s, and those are some of the best ratchets ever made. I love Snap-On tools. I purchase hand tools as you do knives, and I think you'll find much better quality and value in the Gearwrench? KD Tool stuff. Gearwrench are decent, better than Crapsman, but IMO not nearly as nice as Snap-On, Mac, or Matco. Other inexpensive notables are Kobalt and Husky.

Not running rich, bud. I see a little oil consumption. The fluffy material on the second plug, it is hard to tell how it is situated on the plug. If you see it on one side of the side electrode you have a valve stem seal problem. If it encapsulated the plug is it most likely rings.

Yeah, FUCK Nationwide. I was with them for 15 years. I carried home, rental property, auto, life, and identity theft with them. My well pump got struck by lightning and they denied my claim. Cost me over $4K. Fuck them. I'm with state farm now, I saved almost 50% on auto, pay about $50 more annually for home, free identity theft with home, but had to carry my life elsewhere. They wouldn't touch me because of my cancer having been so bad for 8 years after being cancer free. But the wife is insured with them for $20 less per month.

I've had the opposite experience so far. I get LTE that's faster than my home internet in my little town and don't have to deal with dropping to god awful Verizon 3G while on the road. No matter where I've lived Verizon was unable to stream Pandora consistently when I would travel. I haven't thought about it on AT&T. You are in shit, I mean sprint country. Only place in the states I know that is like that.Verizon in general has been way better than anyone elses I've been with....but the international rate for Tmobile and the international coverage for Tmobile is FAR superior so I am teased by it. AT&T rocks out here too. I get zero Verizon coverage in my house. My friends have to stand on the back deck to talk on Verizon phones.

Depends on the goal. I personally like 40 tooth blades, but I use Forrest Woodworker IIs. It is a solid combination blade. A Diablo is sweet enough with it's silencing to get away with a 40 tooth for everything from fine work to quick rips. Based on the ability of the blade with 40 teeth being used for just about anything you throw at it, where the 60 tooth will limit you, I suggest the 40 tooth and save the money. I am assuming a 10 inch blade.

The standard Freud Diablo from home depot will do just fine. Give it a little WD-40 as a cutting fluid or some of the saw blade wax lube and it'll go like butter. I cut wood, foam, aluminum, copper, plexiglas, acrylic, etc on my table saw and the blade was new in Sept of '13 and is now looking like it'll need replaced. Agreed. The Diablo is a damn nice blade for 2X the money

You need to check the plugs. Pull them, take a pic, and post them.

boil the water, and use the warmest setting possible in your freezer.

Vision Quest? You need some more of that spirit molecule bro. I have some. Just waiting until I need to reset again.

Vision Quest?

I'd say ISIS has too many... I don't think they should exist. Agreed all the way around. Bills just trump more firearms right now. Hopefully one of the two interviews I have scheduled for this week help change that. J Speaking of Bills... GO BILLS!!! and good luck with the interviews, brother.

P1. End of conversation.

I'd say ISIS has too many...

Thank you sir.

Super high resolution. Not sure that Fluke makes a 640X680 res sensor. Kick ass, for sure, but way above my price point . It would take me a decade to make the $16-20K these imagers would cost me. But I do see a lot of Flir love. I'll have to chew on this quite a bit. I was set on the Fluke.

I already have a Raytec IR.

Thanks. I figured you might know a bit about them. I will push the Fluke brand. Just because when it comes to taking readings, for me Fluke has been second to none. J Like I said, I know and trust Fluke myself. My meter lives in a rough environment and has arrived at a chunk of concrete at terminal velocity more than once... it still works perfectly. I have been through half a dozen sets of leads over the course of it's life... A meter outlasting it's leads is nearly unheard of. Many thanks, Neal. The FLIR is a nice unit (I actually got some quick hands on with one Monday, and I will get one in the shop to mess with next week), and I do like the price better than the Fluke, but I know the Fluke name and have nothing but excellent personal experience with their devices. I saw that FLIR One. Cool idea, but it just doesn't have the range I need. FWIW, I am a bit worried that I might want more range. I went through a few IR thermometers before I wound up with one capable of everything I throw at it. I fail to see a real reason for anything more than 500F, but worry about the measurement I may encounter at 750F...

Does anybody know much about reasonably priced thermal imagers? I need a decent, portable, handheld, rechargable imager with decent resolution. It much be able to read roughly 500 F. I must have image storage onboard, and would like removable storage. I am want some form of bluetooth communication to transfer images/video to tablets, cell phones, and laptops (I want this so I can store images/video on my scanner where applicable, and to our tablets, shop computers, and my personal laptop). I want to keep them under $2000 if possible, but will go up to $2500 for an exceptional unit. Uses? The initial idea was for the battery builds on the hybrids. I can hook up the batteries and hammer them with a fast charge. Heat signatures will let me know if there are shorted cells or exceptionally weak cells in the module to determine if it is worth using these modules or replacing them. I can also use it for misfire diagnosis (I can see the heat signatures of ignition in cylinders, opens in ignition wires, shorts in ignition wires, arcing in caps or coils, exhaust temperatures, etc), air conditioning issues (blockages, leaks, compressor/condenser/expansion valve/orifice function), vacuum leaks, exhaust leaks, catalitic converter function/blockages... and literally hundreds of other uses. It will be an invaluable tool for me. The 2 units I have more or less gotten stuck on are the Flir E5 and the Fluke Ti95. I am not opposed to the Fluke Ti90 or the Flir E4, but feel like the slight upgrades are worth the extra $500. The Ti95 meets all my requirements easily. It has onboard storage and SD storage. It is definitely built for a more rugged environment, and just feels more significant in your hand. Finally, it's a Fluke... I have a Fluke 87 meter that is 25 years old and still functions like new and outperforms most modern meters. But it only has a 2 year warranty. The E5 meets most of my requirements, but it is $500 cheaper. The requirement it lacks is the SD storage. It seems to be built more for security professionals, and contractors, as it is not built with the same attention to rugged in shop use. Biggest bonus? 4 year battery warranty, and 10 year warranty on the unit itself. Information, input or advice? http://www.flir.com/instruments/display/?id=61194 http://en-us.fluke.com/products/infrared-cameras/fluke-ti95-infrared-camera.html#techspecs

SnapOn Verus and Autel MaxiSYS Pro MY908P

I got my wife some B&W in ears 2 years ago. Really nice for ~$200, and still working... she is rough on her head phones.