Something I always like to do once in a while is go shopping, and one of my favorite types of retail therapy is tool shopping, because well, what gearhead doesn’t have enough tools on their workbench? Since the weather has been pretty crappy lately — 8 1/2 inches of rain the past week or so — and I haven’t been able to head out and work on the cars as a result, I figured I would share four tools I’ve bought recently.
(Just a note that this is not a sponsored post or anything; I’m just sharing tools. That being said, some links may be affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission if you purchase a product at no extra cost to you.)
Braun 845 Lumen Rechargeable LED Underhood Light
This is perhaps one of my most favorite things I’ve purchased for using in the garage — and outside of it, such as during a power outage. This LED underhood light has magnets on both ends that allow you to prop it in between two metal surfaces, such as a car’s radiator core support and hood, as well as hooks on each end that let you hang it from the hood or something else. The hooks make storage a bit easier, too, as you can just hang the light out of the way.
The light has two brightness settings, and it recharges fairly quickly via a regular 120-volt outlet power cable or a 12-volt cigarette lighter cable. It stays illuminated for quite a while, too, for up to about seven hours — useful for a midnight oil change.
Interestingly, this is also the only thing on this list that I’ve actually had the chance to really use so far.
Hercules 3/8-inch Cordless Extended-Reach Ratchet
When you’re working in a tight space with no room to swing a ratchet wrench handle, it can be super frustrating. I think I still have PTSD from when I had zero room to work in while replacing Diamond’s engine mounts and could only move the wrench handle like a quarter-inch at a time.
I have no idea why I haven’t bought one of these before, but I feel as though this cordless ratchet will solve some frustrations and may become one of my favorite tools. It has an extended reach, too, which will probably come in handy for those extra-hard-to-reach places, as well as up to 40 foot-pounds of torque to help loosen up stubborn rusty bolts. Unfortunately if you don’t already have a 12-volt battery and a charger, you’ll have to be like me and spend a bit more money to buy them separately.
Titanium Easy-Flux 125-Amp Flux Core Welder
Since I want to become a bit more self-sufficient in getting things done on the cars, I need to learn how to fabricate things — which means teaching myself how to weld. I haven’t welded since I was in a materials and processes class in college for the mechanical engineering part of my degree, and that was only for a lab class in which I just tacked a couple of welds onto two pieces of metal to hold them together.
Last year around the holidays, Harbor Freight had a sale for the Easy-Flux 125-amp flux core welder, and so I picked it up for about $100, along with a pair of welding gloves and a Chicago Electric auto-dimming welding helmet. The welder is portable and fairly lightweight — only about 15 pounds — and it doesn’t require any shielding gas, which is something I don’t feel like dealing with anyway. Though I’ve read that flux core welding can be a bit of a hot process (more so than MIG welding), I think it’ll work just fine for my needs.
Eastwood PCS-250 Powder Coating Gun and Benchtop Oven
Sometimes advertisements get the best of me, and that’s what happened when I bought this powder coating setup from Eastwood. I saw their PCS-250 powder coating gun and benchtop oven were on sale through a social media ad and made an impulse purchase, so I guess their ad targeting was dead-on.
The powder coating gun uses a 120-volt household outlet and has dual-voltage settings; the lower setting can be used for regular projects and the higher setting for larger projects. While the oven isn’t big enough to stick a wheel inside, it has plenty of room, which is fine since I will probably only be powder coating smaller things like brackets anyway. It also can be set for up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and has a timer for up to 60 minutes.
I do need to grab some paint powder (so if anyone knows where I can find a nice pink or rose gold, let me know), but other than that and finding a spot in the garage for the oven, I should be good to go. I can’t wait to pair this with the welder and my sandblasters.
If anyone has any tips and tricks for using a flux core welder or a powder coating gun, feel free to share them.