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Cordless iron

James

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We once stayed at the Hideaway near Sugarbush/Mad River in the spring. Fortunately it was warm enough to wax outside, laying the skis across their large 1/2 wine cask that’s a fountain in summer. That’s why it had a convenient plug right next to it.

The motel got it’s revenge that night. Our room was directly over the bar, and less than an inch of pine boards with gaps separated us.

You wouldn't use a corded electric screwdriver.
Have a few. Still used.
 

KingGrump

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Our room was directly over the bar, and less than an inch of pine boards with gaps separated us

A little more than an inch.
Standard construction for New England is 6/4 T&G as floor board and also functions as exposed ceiling for the lower floor.
 

James

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A little more than an inch.
Standard construction for New England is 6/4 T&G as floor board and also functions as exposed ceiling for the lower floor.
Dude, nothing standard about that place. It was not t&g either.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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I still rotobrush with a 30 years old corded Bosch 3/8" drill. I have about 30 cordless drills but that one is still my favorite. Best for the job. Especially when I have a ton of skis to do.

Not every tool needs to be cordless.
Like this guy cutting a concrete slab with a Makita 36v/9" cut off aw.

View attachment 174352

If he had worked for me, I would have fired him on the spot.
Why not just plug in the corded 14" cut off saw and be done on quarter of the time. There is an electrical receptacle right there.

View attachment 174353

Like they termed it in the NFL. It's just unnecessary roughness.
Don't mess around with toys when you got a job to do.

I see sh*t like this on the FB power tool groups. Guys with impossibly clean and immaculate looking tools collections in color coordinated displays.

View attachment 174354

View attachment 174355


They don't really do any work with them. They buy them to augment their body part deficiencies.
Most of them will follow up with a post how happy their wives with their new purchase.

View attachment 174357

Thanks for this reply KingGrump. This reply of yours actually piqued my curiosity and made me watch a few YouTube videos to know what the fuck's going on with these yellow and red tool rooms.

What I learned is that these are not colour coordinated, but brand coordinated. The yellow ones are of the brand DeWalt. The red ones are of the brand Milwaukee.

Now why would these tool enthusiasts only stick with one brand for all their tools? Well, it appears the tool industry have splintered their brands by the battery connection.

So if a guy buys a cordless battery operated Milwaukee drill, he can use the same battery on a Milwaukee driver, Milwaukee sander, Milwaukee jig, Milwaukee cutter and so on and so forth.

But he cannot use the same battery on a DeWalt tool or any of the other tools.

There also appears to be a consortium of brands that agreed on a common battery connection. But the highest quality brands still keep a proprietary battery connection.

I've watched contractors on YouTube with teams of people in a job site and what they do to mitigate the power loss problem of batteries is to have many batteries and charging stations. Having just one brand for all their tools means they don't have to worry about swapping out a battery and ponder if it will connect and charge to a charging station (if they have mixed brands).

I think in the future, when I buy my first power tool, I will research the best one out there and stick to that one brand. That way, if I have to add more tools, the battery will work with all the other tools.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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I wonder what brand @Philpug went with? Or if he's a one brand guy or not?

1659763094952.png
 
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Andy Mink

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KingGrump

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Now I wonder what brand @Philpug went with? Or if he's a one brand guy or not?

View attachment 174736

Phil is a Milwaukee guy.

Thanks for this reply KingGrump. This reply of yours actually piqued my curiosity and made me watch a few YouTube videos to know what the fuck's going on with these yellow and red tool rooms.

What I learned is that these are not colour coordinated, but brand coordinated. The yellow ones are of the brand DeWalt. The red ones are of the brand Milwaukee.

Not why would these tool enthusiasts only stick with one brand for all their tools? Well, it appears the tool industry have splintered their brands by the battery connection.

So if a guy buys a cordless battery operated Milwaukee drill, he can use the same battery on a Milwaukee driver, Milwaukee sander, Milwaukee jig, Milwaukee cutter and so on and so forth.

But he cannot use the same battery on a DeWalt tool or any of the other tools.

There also appears to be a consortium of brands that agreed on a common battery connection. But the highest quality brands still keep a proprietary battery connection.

I've watched contractors on YouTube with teams of people in a job site and what they do to mitigate the power loss problem of batteries is to have many batteries and charging stations. Having just one brand for all their tools means they don't have to worry about swapping out a battery and ponder if it will connect and charge to a charging station (if they have mixed brands).

I think in the future, when I buy my first power tool, I will research the best one out there and stick to that one brand. That way, if I have to add more tools, the battery will work with all the other tools.

The three major manufacturer in the top tier everyday cordless tools are Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita. Metabo/Hitachi runs a very distant Fourth. Then there are the second and third tier brands. Won't go into them.

Prior to retirement, I used to run a construction company that performs mostly public sector work for NYC & NYS. Decent size projects.
Tool cost is the least of our concerns in terms of job cost. Labor cost is the killer. The crews can request and get any tool they want provided the tool they requested will help them get it done better, faster and cheaper.
We had lots of different brands. The crews that performed the heavier work generally prefer Milwaukee (red). The finish guys like Makita (teal). We also have lots of Dewalt (yellow) stuff flowing around for some reason. Concrete work - Hilti or Bosch.

battery compatibility was never an issue across brand. The crews do not share tools, battery or changers.

Battery compatibility between various tools is nice. What is even more important is ergonomic. The tools have fit the person that uses them so they can get more done with less effort.

Now, I am retired. I only own what I use. I am primary a Makita guy with a whole bunch of Milwaukee mixed in. Chop saw & table saw - Dewalt. Rotary Hammers & chippers - Hilti & Bosch. A few Festool and Fein in the mix also. I have lots of tool and they all get use. That's what I do in the summer to stay in shape so I can ski 100+ days season without hurting.

My objection to most of those FB posts with tools is the tools are almost never used. The tools are too clean. Go do some work with them, Get them dirty, Bang them up a bit. They buy the tools to dream rather than to do.

Same principal applies to ski related stuff. All the tuning stuff. All the hard goods. All the soft goods. All the planning, travel, lodging & lift ticket. Braving the cold and the elements. What is it all for? What is the end game?
For some, it's the gram-able go-pro clip. For some, so they can talk about it at the office water cooler. For some adrenaline junkies (I know several), they want to hear the voice in their head screaming "Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, I'm gonna die !!!"

Me? To put a smile on my face. For the sensation of flowing down the hill. And to do it again and again without hurting. That is all I needed. I am a simple guy with simple needs.

Goof to see you broadening your horizons.
Enjoy the journey.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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Phil is a Milwaukee guy.



The three major manufacturer in the top tier everyday cordless tools are Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita. Metabo/Hitachi runs a very distant Fourth. Then there are the second and third tier brands. Won't go into them.

Prior to retirement, I used to run a construction company that performs mostly public sector work for NYC & NYS. Decent size projects.
Tool cost is the least of our concerns in terms of job cost. Labor cost is the killer. The crews can request and get any tool they want provided the tool they requested will help them get it done better, faster and cheaper.
We had lots of different brands. The crews that performed the heavier work generally prefer Milwaukee (red). The finish guys like Makita (teal). We also have lots of Dewalt (yellow) stuff flowing around for some reason. Concrete work - Hilti or Bosch.

battery compatibility was never an issue across brand. The crews do not share tools, battery or changers.

Battery compatibility between various tools is nice. What is even more important is ergonomic. The tools have fit the person that uses them so they can get more done with less effort.

Now, I am retired. I only own what I use. I am primary a Makita guy with a whole bunch of Milwaukee mixed in. Chop saw & table saw - Dewalt. Rotary Hammers & chippers - Hilti & Bosch. A few Festool and Fein in the mix also. I have lots of tool and they all get use. That's what I do in the summer to stay in shape so I can ski 100+ days season without hurting.

My objection to most of those FB posts with tools is the tools are almost never used. The tools are too clean. Go do some work with them, Get them dirty, Bang them up a bit. They buy the tools to dream rather than to do.

Same principal applies to ski related stuff. All the tuning stuff. All the hard goods. All the soft goods. All the planning, travel, lodging & lift ticket. Braving the cold and the elements. What is it all for? What is the end game?
For some, it's the gram-able go-pro clip. For some, so they can talk about it at the office water cooler. For some adrenaline junkies (I know several), they want to hear the voice in their head screaming "Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, I'm gonna die !!!"

Me? To put a smile on my face. For the sensation of flowing down the hill. And to do it again and again without hurting. That is all I needed. I am a simple guy with simple needs.

Goof to see you broadening your horizons.
Enjoy the journey.
The best of tool for the job is the one you got, it is said.

I don't have a problem with these facebook folks with their walls of top of the line tools that are used once or a few times a year. Whatever makes them happy.

If they have to force themselves to use the tools just to fully utilise the tools to their max capacity, then they are just slaves to the tools.

An enthusiast will never max out a top of the line tool. People in the trades who use tools for a living can extract 1 year, 3, years, 5 years out of a tool if used everyday. An enthusiast can probably extract 25-50 years out of a tool if used once or a few times a year.

Which begs the question, should an enthusiast just but a cheap $30 China-made tool or a more expensive Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita equivalent?

And that further begs the question: should an average skier, who skis 1-2 weeks a year, buy top of the line skis, clothing, tuning equipment, boots, and other gear?

Or should they just rent? Or buy cheap ones (the $30 drill equivalent of ski gear)?

I don't have a problem with whatever strategy they take.

Some people would argue buy the cheap gear and use the money saved up to get more ski days.

But that doesn't take into account that some people may not have time to spend 100 days on the slopes. Maybe because of family commitments or maybe because their job only grants them the privilege of taking 1 month off a year, 2 weeks of which they use for skiing (just as an example of course). There are many variations of days that people can spend on the slopes per year depending on their circumstance.

I say whatever makes them happy. We don't have a right to say they are "wasting" their gear, because we don't know their circumstance. Maybe they are old and have physical conditions that prevent them from spending more than a few days on the slope per year. Maybe they have other hobbies apart from skiing. Maybe a few days on the ski hill making and uploading insta and tiktok videos is what brings them happiness and improves their mental health.

There are so many variations and possibilities that I don't think there is no ever one right answer or "truth". There never is.

For myself, I use the best gear I can get because that eliminates the variable of what causes me to not improve. If I have the best gear, or at least the ones that I think are best, and I'm not improving, then I cannot blame the gear. I can only blame myself for not improving.

Each to his own.
 
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jt10000

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I don't have a problem with these facebook folks with their walls of top of the line tools that are used once or a few times a year. Whatever makes them happy.
The problem is taking anything they do as informative, since they don't have the depth of use a person who uses the tools a lot does.

There was a time when I was hot waxing skis are bit - probably averaging 3 to 5 applications a week almost every weekend. Often with time pressure. The cords on irons were not an issues for me. Rarely I might have wanted that since I was "competing" with other skiers for a limited number of outlets. But that was rare.

I guess if I had massive confidence in the batteries and they were not heavier, then cordless would be nice. But how it feels in my hand and stability at holding temperature are key.

Picture a modular battery design shaped to the palm of your hand that can click out of and into the 4 tool (side edge sharpener, plexi sharpener, iron, rotary).

1. Click battery into side edge sharpener and sharpen your edges.
2. Click battery out of side edge sharpener and click into iron and drip and slather wax.
3. Click battery out of iron and click into plexi sharpener and sharpen plexi.
4. Click battery out of plexi sharpener and click into rotary tool and brush skis.

I think that workflow can convince some power users who hate having to route and hold the cord around the bench and skis.
Why? I just don't see the point. And if my tools at home were cordless, I am certain I would not be swapping batteries unless I had to. I'd have a battery with each device so I would not worry about running out of juice. Each one topped up, and if I made a mistake in planning and ran out with one, only then would I swap.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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The problem is taking anything they do as informative, since they don't have the depth of use a person who uses the tools a lot does.
You know JT, this brings to mind the peak of the pandemic when N95 respirators were hard to come by.

People in the trades like painters cannot get them.

And then there were people who were buying them for fear of the 'rona. This was around mid-2020.

The 'rona fearing people were wearing them incorrectly anyway, with full face beards and all for example. They were hoarding them as well. I have to admit, I bought a few myself and worn them during that time, to the detriment I guess of the trades and medical people.

The people who really needed them for their trade, like painters and trades people who use them for protection from asbestos or sawing and grinding, and medical people like nurses and emergency doctors and dentists, were begging the government to do something.

I think the power tool market is safe for now and can provide for everybody, from enthusiasts to trades people.

It just sucks that we have to worry about this shit nowadays. Before, American style consumerism was taken as a given, at least for us in the Western world. Now, it's starting to affect us day to day like we're a bunch of third world people.

In ski terms, I hear rumblings of people not able to get new skis because many skis are produced in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

I don't know. It just sucks that things have changed for the worse that people, I think, are subconsciously thinking "why does this fucker get to hoard power tools/N95 masks/skis when he only uses them a few times a year or is a total noob or idiot who doesn't know how to use them or need them (compared to trades people)"? I think that's the underlying subtext to all this given our current situation.
 
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Rich_Ease_3051

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Why? I just don't see the point. And if my tools at home were cordless, I am certain I would not be swapping batteries unless I had to. I'd have a battery with each device so I would not worry about running out of juice. Each one topped up, and if I made a mistake in planning and ran out with one, only then would I swap.

Yeah the scenario I posted with the swapping of the batteries for my unicorn product is with overseas ski holiday. You're right if it's for use at home, a battery with each device is no issue. But with overseas travel, carrying a single battery would save weight or comply with airline restrictions on how much battery can be carried per person in the airplane.
 

Ogg

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Phil is a Milwaukee guy.



The three major manufacturer in the top tier everyday cordless tools are Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita. Metabo/Hitachi runs a very distant Fourth. Then there are the second and third tier brands. Won't go into them.

Prior to retirement, I used to run a construction company that performs mostly public sector work for NYC & NYS. Decent size projects.
Tool cost is the least of our concerns in terms of job cost. Labor cost is the killer. The crews can request and get any tool they want provided the tool they requested will help them get it done better, faster and cheaper.
We had lots of different brands. The crews that performed the heavier work generally prefer Milwaukee (red). The finish guys like Makita (teal). We also have lots of Dewalt (yellow) stuff flowing around for some reason. Concrete work - Hilti or Bosch.

battery compatibility was never an issue across brand. The crews do not share tools, battery or changers.

Battery compatibility between various tools is nice. What is even more important is ergonomic. The tools have fit the person that uses them so they can get more done with less effort.

Now, I am retired. I only own what I use. I am primary a Makita guy with a whole bunch of Milwaukee mixed in. Chop saw & table saw - Dewalt. Rotary Hammers & chippers - Hilti & Bosch. A few Festool and Fein in the mix also. I have lots of tool and they all get use. That's what I do in the summer to stay in shape so I can ski 100+ days season without hurting.

My objection to most of those FB posts with tools is the tools are almost never used. The tools are too clean. Go do some work with them, Get them dirty, Bang them up a bit. They buy the tools to dream rather than to do.

Same principal applies to ski related stuff. All the tuning stuff. All the hard goods. All the soft goods. All the planning, travel, lodging & lift ticket. Braving the cold and the elements. What is it all for? What is the end game?
For some, it's the gram-able go-pro clip. For some, so they can talk about it at the office water cooler. For some adrenaline junkies (I know several), they want to hear the voice in their head screaming "Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, I'm gonna die !!!"

Me? To put a smile on my face. For the sensation of flowing down the hill. And to do it again and again without hurting. That is all I needed. I am a simple guy with simple needs.

Goof to see you broadening your horizons.
Enjoy the journey.
From my experience plumbers and electricians almost always use Milwaukee and most other trades it's probably 80% DeWalt. DeWalt is popular because they are readily available at Home Depot and a bit cheaper than Milwaukee. That's pretty much how I ended up team yellow. In retrospect I probably should have bit the bullet and gone red. My stuff gets pretty heavy daily use/abuse and I will reach for a cordless tool 9 times out of 10. IMO, they are all getting a bit out of hand with the cordless stuff. Miter saws, table saws, compressors and power stations to plug your corded tools into(!?), etc. all with huge or multiple batteries. I just don't see these things as very practical for any real use. :huh:
 

crgildart

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I occasionally hear someone brag about the ingenuity of rubbing on wax then using a hotel hair dryer to smooth it out. I just use a cork..
 

Andy Mink

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This is only part of my yellow collection. Yes, it's a bunch of $$ in batteries but usually a tool will go on sale with a battery at or just above the cost of a battery alone. For around the house I've found these tools to be more than adequate. The only one I've had crap out on me was a small blower and I used that A LOT. I also have a 12" chain saw, hedge trimmers, and pole saw all of which have their place and get used around my house, neighbors' houses, and at my FiL's place in Washington. They get you with that first drill: it's the gateway tool! And BTW, the ½" impact is great for changing tires and has a place of honor in our 5th wheel!

20200417_154206.jpg
 

Ogg

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This is only part of my yellow collection. Yes, it's a bunch of $$ in batteries but usually a tool will go on sale with a battery at or just above the cost of a battery alone. For around the house I've found these tools to be more than adequate. The only one I've had crap out on me was a small blower and I used that A LOT. I also have a 12" chain saw, hedge trimmers, and pole saw all of which have their place and get used around my house, neighbors' houses, and at my FiL's place in Washington. They get you with that first drill: it's the gateway tool! And BTW, the ½" impact is great for changing tires and has a place of honor in our 5th wheel!

View attachment 174739
I've burnt up a few drills, impacts and sawzalls but only from heavy use. What I have a problem with is batteries, getting flaky or crapping out. From what I've seen and heard Milwaukee is a bit better about that.
 

Andy Mink

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I've burnt up a few drills, impacts and sawzalls but only from heavy use. What I have a problem with is batteries, getting flaky or crapping out. From what I've seen and heard Milwaukee is a bit better about that.
I did have Dewalt send me a new one when one went bad on me. It showed full but died quick. They do make the money on batteries.
 

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