What Did You Buy Today?

[dkemppai]

Looking to buy the ones that the drawers are made from the more flexible plastic kind (less likely to shatter).

The soft plastic ones can take a 'set' and droop over time if you fill them with steel hardware. Look for ones that support the bottom edge of the drawer the whole length. I think most do now, but for a while some had no, or very little rail down the length. At least that's what I remember.

I started transitioning to Plano 3700 series StowAway storage boxes. Having everything in 'grab and go' containers has been really handy. I've been using the plano boxes for endmills for years in the toolbox. Really like them there.

 

[wachuko]

The soft plastic ones can take a 'set' and droop over time if you fill them with steel hardware. Look for ones that support the bottom edge of the drawer the whole length. I think most do now, but for a while some had no, or very little rail down the length. At least that's what I remember.

I started transitioning to Plano 3700 series StowAway storage boxes. Having everything in 'grab and go' containers has been really handy. I've been using the plano boxes for endmills for years in the toolbox. Really like them there.

Fellow forum member reached out after my posting, with the same suggestion. I had forgotten that I had purchased 10 similar storage boxes with the intention of building a storage rack/cart for them. These were from Lowes when they were getting rid of them. They are at the house in Orlando. Next time I am there, I will bring them over and start building the cart.

Might do a few more with the ones that HF sells...

Likes this one (but Lowes brand)



And make something like this:

And the ones that HF sells:

20-Bin Medium Portable Parts Storage Case

Amazing deals on this 20-Bin Medium Portable Storage Case at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[pontiac428]

IS MEK outlawed? I have been looking for it in NJ and CT. I use it to weld plastics. I also used it to clean paint stuff. Naptha is becoming hard to find as well.

MEK is the starting point for VOCs, because it has one carbon more than acetone, which breaks down cleanly to CO2 and is thus exempt. Acetone is the best substitute for most MEK uses now, and it goes to alcohols from there. For use as a general purpose solvent for cleaning and degreasing, alcohols are fine, but in paint and for working with plastics, they are not.

TCE is of little concern to health as we use it in the shop. Yes, welding while generating TCE vapor can generate phosgene gas, but who does that? TCE is a persistent groundwater pollutant, and if your water source is groundwater, you drink it every day thanks to the dry cleaners and auto shops that could legally dump it on the ground out back before the EPA existed. TCE in the air breaks down via photolysis from sunlight. It is not as bad as freon, it just ends up as HCL and CO2, both components of acid rain, that have devastating effects on wetlands and ecosystems in general.

TCE is a vapor degreaser, that's its big advantage, and it doesn't hurt other materials, hence its use as an electronics cleaner and dry cleaning solvent for your fine livery. For that, it is a very unique solvent for the shop without substitute.

 

[woodchucker]

MEK is the starting point for VOCs, because it has one carbon more than acetone, which breaks down cleanly to CO2 and is thus exempt. Acetone is the best substitute for most MEK uses now, and it goes to alcohols from there. For use as a general purpose solvent for cleaning and degreasing, alcohols are fine, but in paint and for working with plastics, they are not.

TCE is of little concern to health as we use it in the shop. Yes, welding while generating TCE vapor can generate phosgene gas, but who does that? TCE is a persistent groundwater pollutant, and if your water source is groundwater, you drink it every day thanks to the dry cleaners and auto shops that could legally dump it on the ground out back before the EPA existed. TCE in the air breaks down via photolysis from sunlight. It is not as bad as freon, it just ends up as HCL and CO2, both components of acid rain, that have devastating effects on wetlands and ecosystems in general.

TCE is a vapor degreaser, that's its big advantage, and it doesn't hurt other materials, hence its use as an electronics cleaner and dry cleaning solvent for your fine livery. For that, it is a very unique solvent for the shop without substitute.

so you didn't say, is it now illegal, is that why I can't find it?

 

[pontiac428]

so you didn't say, is it now illegal, is that why I can't find it?

It is banned in New Jersey.

 

[woodchucker]

It is banned in New Jersey.

so not nationally? I was at my son's in CT this weekend, and went to a few places, paint places, big box stores... not there either.

edit: https://ecolink.com/info/has-mek-been-banned/ I guess not, but it's hard to find.

 

[Compressorguy1]

FYI: 1/2 bits should be the norm for this router. Don't bother with 1/4 unless you need small bits. I have 2 of these. 1 is permanently mounted in a table.. The only time I wish for more power is when doing door panels and such. They are great routers. The new style is too heavy by comparison in my opinion. BTW if you make a table do not enclose it , do not put suction in the cabinet. I did and learned you should not do that. The switch had to be replaced. Also the motor was full of saw dust. You are fighting the air current, the motor normally draws through the motor and exhausts at the bit, so putting suction in a cabinet reverses it and kills the switch and motor. I made a shroud to remove the dust at the bit in the cabinet. That way it breathes normally.

Thank You woodchucker, that’s good to know

 

[projectnut]

so you didn't say, is it now illegal, is that why I can't find it?

It's a state-by-state thing. It's still sold in Wisconsin at the Home Depot, Menards, and almost any farm, paint, or hardware store. Home Depot and Menards sell it as laquear thinner.

 

[pontiac428]

so not nationally? I was at my son's in CT this weekend, and went to a few places, paint places, big box stores... not there either.

edit: https://ecolink.com/info/has-mek-been-banned/ I guess not, but it's hard to find.

Now I can't find it again, but NJ is similar to CA with aggressively regulating consumer uses of chemicals. A federal push for a renewed list of air pollutants was happening around June of this year that included the TCE, but I don't expect federal regulation on MEK anytime soon due to its usefulness and relative ease of control. Consumer law and environmental/occupational use laws are different, they can ban consumer use easily at any level. For example, TCE is only being banned as a brake and electronics cleaner, so it will disappear from the shelves soon for us consumers, but industry will still be able to use it for its other needs.

I'm not finding MEK here in Washington, either. What's crazy is I can buy gallon cans of toluene, way nastier stuff. The MEK substitute is methyl acetate, quite a bit different but less hazardous to inhale or release. We have seen acetate solvents replace just about everything that comes in a rattle can and hardly noticed a difference, but your Krylon is a lot safer today than it's ever been.

 

[matthewsx]

Sold my big Rockwell sander with the Michigan shop. I have a 2x72 almost ready to go but it's so big....

When this one popped up on Craigslist I watched it for a while before reaching out. Paid $350 which is more than I would have liked but I absolutely love the Rockwell stuff and it'll fit much better with my shop space.











Has the big 10" wheel on one side and a 2.5" x 48" belt on the other. I'll get the 2x72 going and offer it for sale if anyone is interested.

John