What tool out of everything you have do you regard as your best investment.

[95burban]

3/8 m18 fuel impact, used it daily. Couldn’t live without.

 

[Caman96]

3/8 m18 fuel impact, used it daily. Couldn’t live without.

Been using 3/8 M18 Fuel Impact that company supplies for years, but I recently bought the 1/2 impact that I’m loving. Overall, for a tool though, I’d have to say woodworking router.

 

[95burban]

Been using 3/8 M18 Fuel Impact that company supplies for years, but I recently bought the 1/2 impact that I’m loving. Overall, for a tool though, I’d have to say woodworking router.

I have 1/4 all the way to 1in impacts, so haven’t used air in years.

 

[Road Trip]

Hard to pick the best tool, I have accumulated a pretty good assortment over the years. But sitting here thinking about it, I'd have to say, the Craftsman ratchet and socket set, that I've had since I was a teenager(1980s) It was my first tool set, and still my go to. Of course, out of the 3 ratchets in the kit 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive. The 1/2 is the only original. I'm on my fourth 3/8 drive, and third 1/4. Each one having been replaced free through Sears, making use of that life time warranty.

I got my moneys worth out that set, a long time ago.

I have the same story to tell re: the Craftsman ratchets & socket sets bought
as a teenager from the late '70s. And since we were always stuffing the
biggest motors into the smallest engine bays possible during my misspent youth,
when I bought my first 3/8" fine-tooth articulating long handled ratchet, I thought
I had died & gone to heaven. :0)

****

But the biggest personal win was when I finally had it with
waiting for more compressed air:

No lines, No waiting -- The Gift of Time.

You must be registered for see images attach

V1.0 = 1 80 gallon Champion in circuit. (current)
V2.0 = 1 80 gallon Champion + 80 gallons additional storage by manifolding both tanks together.
V3.0 = 2 80 gallon Champion compressors, with outboard controller alternating which
compressor fills both tanks. (2 separate dedicated 30A 220V circuits are wired in, but
controller logic will ensure that 1 compressor on/off > then the other on/off > repeat
as needed -- but never both at the same time!) Motivation for doing this is heat
management via lowering duty cycle on any 1 compressor.

NOTE: Car dealership chain was going out of business, had several newish/spendy
compressors for sale. They also had these for cheap. ('cuz of tired compressors
+ 3-phase motors.) The price was right, so brought them both home. Invested in
a couple of new single-phase Baldor "Industrial" 220v 5-hp motors, and rebuilt
the 2-stage Champion compressors. (Fresh rings, cylinder hone, reed valves, gaskets, etc.)

The old 60-gallon twin cylinder consumer-grade compressor would wear you out with
it's 'I'm beating myself up' sonic signature. Adding insult to injury was always running
out of air & having to wait for it to catch up. But a Champion compressor has a nice
'I can do this all day without breaking a sweat' sound to it. And it just delivers on the promise.

To me, the 80-gallon Champion is the Turbo 400 of compressed air. :0)

 

[Hipster]

I have the same story to tell re: the Craftsman ratchets & socket sets bought
as a teenager from the late '70s. And since we were always stuffing the
biggest motors into the smallest engine bays possible during my misspent youth,
when I bought my first 3/8" fine-tooth articulating long handled ratchet, I thought
I had died & gone to heaven. :0)

****

But the biggest personal win was when I finally had it with
waiting for more compressed air:

No lines, no waiting -- The Gift of Time.

You must be registered for see images attach

V1.0 = 1 80 gallon Champion in circuit. (current)
V2.0 = 1 80 gallon Champion + 80 gallons additional storage by manifolding both tanks together.
V3.0 = 2 80 gallon Champion compressors, with outboard controller alternating which
compressor fills both tanks. (2 separate dedicated 30A 220V circuits, but logic will ensure that
1 compressor on/off, then the other on/off, repeat as needed -- but never both at the same time!)
Motivation for doing this is heat management via lowering duty cycle on any 1 compressor.

NOTE: Car dealership chain was going out of business, had several new spendy compressors for sale.
They also had these for cheap. ('cuz of tired compressors + 3-phase motors.) The price
was right, so brought them both home. Invested in a couple of new single-phase
Baldor "Industrial" 220v 5-hp motors, and rebuilt the 2-stage compressors.
(Fresh rings, reed valves, etc.)

The old 60-gallon twin cylinder consumer-grade compressor would wear you out with
it's 'I'm beating myself up' sonic signature. Adding insult to injury was always running
out of air & having to wait for it to catch up. But a Champion compressor has a nice
'I can do this all day without breaking a sweat' sound to it. And it just delivers on the promise.

To me, the 80-gallon Champion is the Turbo 400 of compressed air. :0)

Nice!

 

[South VA]

I’ve done some mostly DIY wrenching (and some for pay) off and on for decades, and like many here my tool collection has been accumulated over time. It consists of the usual stuff: various types of wrenches, torque wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, tap and die set, various specialty doo-dads, floor jacks, jack stands, ramps, a stacked set of rolling toolboxes, and other stuff I can’t think of offhand. Most of the wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers are US-made Craftsman, and some Snap-on.

I don’t own any air tools, and don’t have a garage/shed/lean-to to house a large compressor, so I may go cordless if I need to. In the meantime, my two farmer neighbors have complete shops and beaucoup air tools with up to 1” drive sockets, so if I can get a vehicle or implement to them, they can and do help me out.

Today the top contender for my best tool investment is the one I just purchased, and the most expensive single tool thus far: an XTool D8 scan tool. It set me back $525 including tax. Not the most expensive scan tool and not the most capable, but a pretty good fit for me.

I thought long and hard over whether to spend that kind of money, as I am retired and no longer drawing a salary. Even for someone that is still working, it’s not pocket change. But my time is valuable to me. I have multiple projects that keep me as busy as I care to be, and getting this Suburban into top form is just one of them. Realistically I’ll never finish them all in my lifetime. That coupled with the fact that I live in the sticks, some distance from parts shops and auto repair facilities, I decided a decent scan tool was worth having.

I‘ve had some transmission issues that were intermittent, and depending on who I talked to, caused by several possible factors. On its first day, the scan tool saved me a 120 mile round trip and probably 4 or 5 hours of time by allowing me to read codes that my basic code scanner couldn’t see. I was able to talk with a transmission guy (60 miles away) who was then able to tell me what was going on, over the phone. I didn’t like the answer, but instead of driving up there for a diagnosis, then having to return for the actual repair, I was able to simply book an appointment in September for the repair. A win, in my book.

Sure, I could have gone to O’Reillys or AutoZone for a scan, but the closest of those is 20 miles away. Plus there are four other vehicles (besides the ’96 Suburban) on this farm that this scan tool works with. I believe that it makes sense for me to have scanning capability in-house.

Prior to this I’d not used a scan tool, and clearly have a lot to learn. It won’t fix much by itself, as the Suburban is old enough that many bi-directional functions aren’t available.

However, even this early in my use of it, I consider it a game-changer in that it will give me most of the information I need - and quickly - to figure out what needs to be done with all of those other tools that I have. Or, as in the case of the transmission rebuild, when to have a pro do the work.

Hope this helps. Enjoy building your tool collection!

 

[DeCaff2007]

Hmm, this is a tough call as I really don't have any fancy tools. Yeah I have an air compressor, metric and SAE taps/dies, an OBDII scanner that I paid TOOO much money for, both 1/2" and 3/8" drive DeWalt torque wrenches (you all may say meh, but they are top quality and very easy to set and use). The usual stuff - a 120V mig welder, angle grinders, an HF engine hoist that I paid way too much money for, an acetylene torch, an assortment of cordless tools, and.. oh... most importantly - my DeWalt 4" bench vise that I BEAT THE HELL out of!

The one thing I am missing, however, is a decent cordless impact driver. I just can't justify the money for what you get vs how much I'll actually use it.

 

[dave s]

I, like a couple others, still have the complete Craftsman set I bought in October 1975 between tech school and my first assignment overseas. The 1/2" fine tooth is still original, the 3/8 they gave me a replacement gear set for at least twice, the 1/4" skips but over the years I've accumulated many other 1/4" ones but never another fine tooth.
However, that is not my favorite. My wife and grandson got me the 1/2" and 3/8" Fuel Milwaukee impacts. At my age they are now my favorite two tools. I had an Ingersol Rand air impact but these are just so convenient and the 3/8 is the short one that lets me get in to tight spots.

 

[GoToGuy]

My Mac tool box and a magnetic Champion spark plug socket. Drop one plug, it's $ 53.00 If it's a fine wire, you wouldn't believe me......

 

[89RCLB]

Definitely a tough call but I'd have to go with my 3/8 Milwaukee driver impact, I use it all the time. Next would be my Dale Earnhardt edition Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver that I got for Christmas way back in the mid 80's.