Tools Archives - BangShift.com

Centurial Tools Debuts New Open Source DIY Welding Fixture Table: Buy The Plans For Cheap, Have Them Cut, And Weld Them Together Yourself!

Chad Reynolds — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 15:13:54 +0000

If you haven’t heard of Centurial in the last couple of years, you must be living under a rock or you are NOT a DIY fabricator. These guys have been featured on Finnegan’s Garage and several other YouTube channels, and make really cool, simple, but VERY effective tools for the at home fabricator or professional alike. What makes them different is that many of their products are CNC Printed, and some of them are available as just a CNC file so you can print them at home yourself if you don’t want to buy them directly from Centurial. But they keep taking it one step further.

After making many small tools, they have started up with bigger stuff as well, including tubing notchers and such that utilize readily available and affordable drills, etc. If you check out their website, we promise you will be impressed and will want to make a purchase. When I have the new shop done and ready for more fab tools, I’ll definitely be ordering up some of their tools, or maybe go all in on a Pro Fabricator Kit. What you get is amazing for the money.

But what got me really excited, and made me want to share their latest and greatest, is their new Open Source Welding Fixture Table. Let me explain.

If you are familiar with Certiflat, or other weld it yourself, table kits then you know that these come flat packed and are laser cut with tabs, slots, and notches so that the parts align properly and are ready for welding. They are great products for the average fabricator, and are considerably cheaper than a big blanchard ground table would be. But they still aren’t cheap. Shipping is expensive, there is markup on materials, etc, etc. It is what it is. That’s no dig on any of the brands out there.

But what if you had the option to buy a kit that is ready to weld, OR you could just buy the plans and have the parts cut out locally? That would save you on shipping, might save you on material, and would mean you’d have the parts quicker and more conveniently than waiting on truck shipping. Well that’s exactly what Centurial is offering.

For $1600 you can buy the kit that is ready to assemble and weld once it arrives at your house. Or for just $25 you can buy the plans and have those cut out at your local CNC laser cutter. Dude, that could be a real cost savings.

Check out the video below.

(Chad Note: I don’t know the dudes at Centurial. I don’t get anything from posting this. I just want to share good stuff from good people and help our viewers build cool stuff.)

CLICK HERE TO VISIT CENTURIALINC.COM TO CHECK OUT THE TABLES, TOOLS, AND MORE!

Video Description:

This open source fixture table is perfect for the garage or shop. You can buy the kit and assemble it or get the download files and have your local laser company make the parts for you. Welding fixture tables are very useful for a wide range of work holding and setup. This kit makes it even more accessible then ever to have your very own welding fixture table. We tried very hard to make this kit every bit as capable as FireBall tools table or Certiflat weld tables. What makes our table different is welded nuts on the back side of the table. We prefer this for a few reasons. Most importantly is that it is inexpensive. All other designs use the jam technique and offer very expensive custom hardware for attachment. Our design is repairable. If he threads fail just remove the nut and put a new one on. Lastly the strength. Its very hard to beat a simple bolt and nut for cost and strength. Our accessories are held down very firmly and with jam nut our clamps are held in place just as well. This means more consistent performance from you setups and clamps compared to the other designs.

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Tool Time: Is American-Made A Requirement? An Option? All Or Nothing? If Not, What Determines Your Buying Choice?

Chad Reynolds — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:47:10 +0000

I’ve talked a lot about American Made products here on BANGshift for years, but have become pretty vocal in the last two years about crap being crap and quality being quality, regardless of where it is made. I’ve bought American Made products and materials that were excellent quality, and products and materials made in other countries that were also excellent quality. But conversely, I have bought crap products and materials from both the United States and other countries. But for the sake of this blog item, and the video below, let’s say that we’re only talking about good tools. That doesn’t mean equal, because some are going to be better than others, but still good. Not crappy products.

In that case, is American-Made a requirement for your tool purchases? Or is it just an option you like to have available? If it is an option, what makes you want to choose that option? And is there a price point or something that is the breaking point? In other words, do you have a price that you are willing to spend and if something Made in the USA is available at that you’ll go for it, but if there isn’t something available at the price you’ll buy an import?

And does the country am imported tool is made in matter to you? Or do you consider all imports the same? Does Taiwan rank higher than China? Or are European companies ahead of anything Asian?

We want to hear from you. So let us know in the comments below and we’ll follow up.

And join us tomorrow, Thursday June 6th for PowerShift where this is going to be one of the topics for our LIVE Podcast at 7:30 central time.

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Metal Shaping? Linear Stretching A Transmission Tunnel Transition. Math, Measuring, And Shaping Explained

Chad Reynolds — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:16:08 +0000

There are several ways to shrink and stretch sheet metal but regardless of the methods the principles are the same with regards to what you need to do in order to get the metal to move in the direction you want. What confuses people sometimes is knowing how to measure and plan the shaping so that you get a predictable shape when done. This isn’t always super important, but for this project the transition from the transmission tunnel to the foot well requires a certain shape to match the two together.

When we study metal shaping the layout is often one of the more overlooked or misunderstood parts of the job. This video from the Motley Metal channel on YouTube is going to cover that.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

The post Metal Shaping? Linear Stretching A Transmission Tunnel Transition. Math, Measuring, And Shaping Explained appeared first on BangShift.com.

Snap On vs Icon: 7″ Diagonal Cutters. Harbor Freight 1/3 the price and 99% the same. But will they last?

Chad Reynolds — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 15:43:28 +0000

Cheap tools used to suck, but with the incredible advances in manufacturing over the years it is much easier to build quality tools than it used to be. In addition, name brands aren’t always manufacturing their own tools in house and have outside contracts with manufacturing facilities. This means that there are a lot of places that can be manufacturing tools for multiple brand names and the quality manufacturing plants will create high quality tools regardless of which brand name is on them. With Harbor Freight becoming the largest tool seller in the country, in large part due to their incredible increase in quality and variety in recent years, combined with their always good pricing, it’s no wonder they have tools that are now competing with the very best brands. Their Icon brand has really stepped up, with lifetime warranties and premium quality, in an effort to provide the DIY automotive enthusiast with the best tools but at a price they can afford.

So how good are they?

In this video you are going to see the Last Best Tool channel do some testing and review of these Icon diagonal cutters against the Snap-On variety. You’ll notice they look incredibly similar. But they are NOT made in the same factory.

Check them out and let us know what you think.

Video Description:

Snap On vs Icon: 7″ Diagonal Cutters. Harbor Freight 1/3 the price and 99% the same. Will they last? USA vs Taiwan seems to be the biggest difference.

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Is Milwaukee’s Latest Impact Driver The The Least Reliable On The Market? Here’s The Fix Though… Would You Buy One?

Chad Reynolds — Fri, 31 May 2024 18:17:54 +0000

I’ve been building a new shop for the last couple of years, and we’ve done 99% of the work ourselves. Without a couple of good impact drivers I could not have gotten this project going at all. Milwaukee is considered to be one of the premier cordless tool brands and makes awesome tools that do the job, but in this video you are going to see a Milwaukee impact driver that has some serious durability issues. Can it be fixed? Should you? Check it out.

If you haven’t used an impact driver, vs a drill, for installing screws then you may be missing out. In the last couple of years, cordless tool companies have been increasing power levels in drills to allow them to drive big long fasteners into material, but in many cases they just don’t have enough power to get the job done and that’s where an impact driver comes into play. Think of them like an impact gun for removing and installing lug nuts, just on a smaller scale.

Here’s the video from the Torque Test Channel.

Video Description:

Follow along with the saga via our weekly updated rankings: https://torquetestchannel.etsy.com/li… Today we take a look at the durability of the Milwaukee 2953 Gen 4 Impact driver and our unfortunate luck when it comes to keeping on these around the shop in working order compared to the long list of impact drivers we have around here.

The post Is Milwaukee’s Latest Impact Driver The The Least Reliable On The Market? Here’s The Fix Though… Would You Buy One? appeared first on BangShift.com.

Tool Testing: $60 vs $4,000 Torque Multiplier: Can You Hand Turn 5,000 lb ft? Putting Them To The Test!

Chad Reynolds — Thu, 30 May 2024 10:27:14 +0000

The Torque Test Channel is back at it, and this time they are testing something a little different. If you haven’t heard of a torque multiplier before, or you have but have never seen one in action, then this is the video for you. What they do is pretty self explanatory, but if you don’t know how they work you will by the end of this video and you’ll see if those low buck version can really hold a candle to the ones that cost real money. And by real money, I mean $4000! Yeah, these things vary wildly in price but do they vary wildly in performance or are they all pretty much the same.

Let’s watch the video and find out together.

Video Description:

Our lifetime worth of TOOL RANKINGS are updated weekly: https://torquetestchannel.etsy.com/li… Extendo Ratchet: https://amzn.to/3K5B2vw HOMCOM: https://amzn.to/3UHlD9L Neiko: https://amzn.to/3UHlOlr X-4: https://amzn.to/3KclINU Best multiplier: https://amzn.to/4bS2vwu

Are the hand operated torque multipliers we see from time to time ACTUALLY multiplying torque like they say. Sure you might have to spin it 64 times in one end to get 1 turn out, but does that mean it’s really multiplying things 64 times? What about tools with an advertised torque ratio, is it useful to use a torque wrench in to get a certain value out using that figure? Are the crazy prices at the top justified? Today we aim to find out by testing an Amazon option like NEIKO PRO 03715B vs the likes of USA Snap-On, Wright Tools and more.

The post Tool Testing: $60 vs $4,000 Torque Multiplier: Can You Hand Turn 5,000 lb ft? Putting Them To The Test! appeared first on BangShift.com.

Which Ratchet Head Type Is Best? If You Can Only Have One In Your Car’s Tool Kit, Which One Should You Choose

Chad Reynolds — Wed, 29 May 2024 11:36:33 +0000

If you are like me then you have several styles of ratchets in your toolbox. And if you are like me then you have a couple of them that you almost never use, or that when you do use them you find them to be annoying. This is my life. Why? Because I looked at different styles for years and always wanted them, only to find them super expensive from Mac or Snap-On, etc. But then here came Russ The Tool Guy at the Pomona and Long Beach Swap Meets, and Harbor Freight. Both of which sold tools I could afford, either used name brand stuff from Russ, or whatever Harbor Freight sold. It was then that I found out some of these other ratchet head styles just aren’t that good. Or at least not for the work I do.

In this video from Last Best Tool, he’s going to talk about ratchet styles and decide which one is the best for you to carry with you if you have a took kit in the car. Say you are going on a drag and drive and are trying to save some space. Which one is the right ratchet to bring? Will we all agree with him or think he’s nuts?

Watch and see.

Video Description:

Best Ratchet Head Type? Only one in your vehicle kit: Which one & why? Snap On offerings cover bases. Drive size and length are fair game topics as well.

The post Which Ratchet Head Type Is Best? If You Can Only Have One In Your Car’s Tool Kit, Which One Should You Choose appeared first on BangShift.com.

Who Makes The Best OBD 2 Code Scanner? Are They All The Same? If Spending More Money Makes It Better, The Test Should Show That.

Chad Reynolds — Mon, 27 May 2024 10:05:59 +0000

OBD 2 Scanners are no different than anything else we are going to buy, and if there is a cheap option we’re always going to wonder if it will do the job and how well. I know there are people out there that only buy the expensive things, but we aren’t those people. But if you need an OBDII scan tool so that you can see what codes your car has thrown, or use the diagnostic tools to find some underlying problem with your car, then you might find yourself in a position to need to scan your car. Lucky for us, the Project Farm channel is testing several brands, at several price points, so we can see how they really stack up against each other.

Video Description:

Brands: Foxwell, Autophix, Autel, Ancel, Motopower, Launch Creader, LeeKooLuu. Code readers/scanners compared for overall capability, efficiency at retrieving codes, efficiency at progressing through menus, ability to locate and clear trouble codes, etc.

The post Who Makes The Best OBD 2 Code Scanner? Are They All The Same? If Spending More Money Makes It Better, The Test Should Show That. appeared first on BangShift.com.

Halfass Kustoms 1949 GMC Roadster Pickup Custom: Removing The Bed To Laser Clean The Chassis. Do These Really Work?

Chad Reynolds — Tue, 21 May 2024 16:21:44 +0000

In the last video, Brent modified the rear fenders to make them fit the overall look of the bed much better. In this one he’s working on the rear of the chassis, to get it ready for some paint and other work. It’s getting the laser treatment as he’s going to blast rust off of it with a trick laser he bought online. This is one cool project and you are going to dig it. There is so much more to come, but we hope this video inspires you to get out in the shop to work on your stuff too. Check it out and let us know what you think.

This project is one that Brent has had sitting around for some time and has just been waiting to get back onto it. It isn’t your average 1949 GMC, as it is mounted on a modified Caprice chassis and has had the top chopped off of it. The plan is for it to have a removable Carson style top, lots of custom metal work, and more. It’s going to be a full custom style ride but that means it needs A LOT of work. One thing I find funny is that while in most circumstances you want to start a project with the cleanest and straightest ride you can, but when you are building a custom that is going to get a lot of custom metal work anyway, then why not start with something rough? This truck certainly qualifies.

In previous videos, Brent pancaked the hood on this thing, modified the fenders, planned out the bumper, shortened the chassis, shaved stuff, built a one off custom bed and more. There is a lot going on with this project and a lot planned for this thing, although to say that might make you think there is a whole list of what is going to happen to it. But that isn’t exactly Brent’s speed. He works as he goes, tries stuff to see how it looks, and will cut and weld and remove and replace, until it has the look he wants. We love it and it is inspiring.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE PREVIOUS VIDEOS

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New Tool Testing: Shootout Between New Worx NITRO And Amazon’s Best Impact Wrench vs Milwaukee

Chad Reynolds — Fri, 17 May 2024 15:52:46 +0000

It’s time for another tool test from our friends at the Torque Test Channel. These are some of the best tool tests you are going to see on the internet, and they really put them through their paces. In addition, they keep complete records of all the tool rankings in all the categories so you can make real buying decisions. If you want to see what is going on in the world of cordless impacts, there is no better comparison channel which is why we dig them so much. In this video here we’re going to see testing between the new Worx Nitro, Amazon’s best, and the gold standard Milwaukee. Check it out and let us know which one you would choose in the comments below.

Video Description:

Our lifetime worth of TOOL RANKINGS are updated weekly: https://torquetestchannel.etsy.com/li… Avid Power: https://amzn.to/3JVM72i Worx: https://amzn.to/3JUBgpe Today we check out the latest from Worx, their Nitro High Torque ‎WX276L up against the Milwaukee 2767 it matches in the specs as well as the Avid Power ‎ACIW338 – the latest impact from the top selling brand on Amazon.

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