Tool Reviews [Master Thread]

[Prairie Schooner]

New favorite tool. Though I love my Dewalt cordless, the drill and bit seem not to fit in many of the tight spaces I've been working lately. Never fear.....

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The drill head rotates up to 120 degrees from the handle, and the handle has a second swivel joint for added contortions. It's a family hand-me down. The battery never dies. Sometimes older is better.

I was so enamored with this little guy, I went on eBay and bought one.


I got to use it the other day and it was just the ticket.

 

[Norwester]

Great tool thread... My addition, although it might be listed here before:

Turkey Baster
Used for moving diesel fuel.
Pushing Air
Sucking up small water pools
Hair drying
Thanksgiving decorations.

 

[bigd14]

Got a new tool that slots right behind my Makita impact driver on my favorite boat tool list. It’s a DeWalt flexible right angle driver extension that actually works. I’ve only had it for a few months but it’s a game changer. $40 at Home Depot and I would have paid twice as much. Paired with the impact driver and it’s pure gold!

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Great tool thread... My addition, although it might be listed here before:

Turkey Baster
Used for moving diesel fuel.
Pushing Air
Sucking up small water pools
Hair drying
Thanksgiving decorations.

Valuable tool, indeed. . . Okay, you've piqued my curiosity, - hair drying?

 

[Norwester]

Here's one that'll both dry your hair @Prairie Schooner and unclog your raw water intake, which might be hard to get to:

An Air Horn.

"Disconnect raw water hose from water pump, press pump horn to end of removed hose... and TOOT!

30K views · 2.6K reactions | One of the most common engine issues aboard is more easily solved than you think! Sharing to save you a swim | The Sailing Academy

One of the most common engine issues aboard is more easily solved than you think! Sharing to save you a swim

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[ky ed]

Recommendations for "hole saws", preferably one I could hook onto my current drill (is that a thing?)

Harbor freights complete set with blow moulded case with 2 arbors is less than a single name brand. I think it goes from 3/4 to 4 inches. Has a dozen or so sizes. Have drilled multiple holes with a few sizes, still going strong. Drill slow, steady presure and wobble while drilling to keep heat down and i even give a squirt of wd40 to cut down on friction heat when doing fiberglass.

 

[ky ed]

Got a pop-up ad for a tool that claims to de-burr the ends of munged-up bolts.

https://kangarooly.com/products/deb..._sr-PErtjb9KLBBI_usZGtvIR3tuci7uWenTm2lQU3kW0

Probably could have used something like this when doing my winches and clutches - I cut all the fasteners to length and then de-burred each one by hand with a dremel. Ugh.

Anyone used something like this? Worth the ~25 bucks?

Bruce

View attachment 25704

Thread a nut onto bolt, cut bolt then remove bolt and threads will be ready to go.

 

[ky ed]

Three cheers for the good ol' Sears Craftsman Pressure Washer! Just for starters, it cleans off bottom slime and old ablative paint without harming the barrier coat. Of course, if one is not careful, it can also take off decorative stripes, decals, and the skin off your toe. The potential for a Homer Simpson "D'Oh!" moment is high.
View attachment 27424

Last summer, I spent a week scrubbing the accumulated gunk out of the non-skid on the port side (facing the dock). Lichen, tar?, forest-fire residue... It was a lot of work and significantly eroded the non-skid in some areas. Today, I did the starboard side with the pressure washer in an hour with not much work. Significantly less damage to the non-skid. Even the areas I previously scrubbed came out a couple of shades lighter. I should have just wheeled this thing down to the dock last year!

But wait, there's more! Effortlessly blasts away the dingy gray layer on weathered hand-rails and hatch boards! Blasts that mysterious black gunk out of vinyl winch handle pockets! Finds gunk hidden underneath overhangs and tracks. Shoots bees out of the air! Well... this thing sits in the shed for months at a time, so you can't put it away with fuel in the tank or it will just gum up the carb. Gotta use it all!

Oh dear, I've gone full-Homer on this one, haven't I?

View attachment 27425

I use similar but its 110 volt plug in. Its nice and weak and i use it lots especially bilge area and that blackish sooty moldy dirt inside of lockers. Dirty fenders come clean. Why heck i have even washed my dirty clothes!

 

[Frank Langer]

I use similar but its 110 volt plug in. Its nice and weak and i use it lots especially bilge area and that blackish sooty moldy dirt inside of lockers. Dirty fenders come clean. Why heck i have even washed my dirty clothes!

But it does very bad things to caulking, leading to leaks. Also very bad for any lines on the boat unless you take great care.
Frank

 

[Prairie Schooner]

What, OCD? Me?


The tube of our trusty turkey baster started to crack so I decided to do some sleuthing for a replacement. It had always frustrated me that it took so many slurps to get the water level down. Turns out there was a bigger alternative available. I used it today and was mostly happy with the purchase. It's got an anti-dribble valve on the nozzle which slowed down squeezing out the water. I took it off for the initial removal. Then put it back on for the last little bits. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. I just wish the bulb had a little more spring back. It's kind of soft.



I really must get a life. This is much too much time to put into reviewing a bilge water sucker.

 

[N.A.]

Someone here (Loren?) suggested a baster a while back and I just got one and used it for the first time. Awesome; way easier than my prior approaches (a rag, or separately a crappy small pump -- the tubing had too much memory so curled and tangled, and the smaller tubing wouldn't stay int he water or in the fitting to the larger tubing... I suggest skipping the small hand pump.)

I got an extra-long one on Amazon (and 'Aquarium Baster'), and it is great for getting into the deeper corner under the sink, and has an attachment that looks like ti will even work for reaching down past the mast, though the mast sole boards are a pain to remove for me.) An earlier baster stolen from home could not reach far enough. Head bulb a bit slow at rebounding/sucking up the water, but c'est la vie.

Anyway, this just hit my "daily use" equipment list.

PS: https://www.amazon.com/Depeew-Aquarium-Changer-Cleaning-Remover/dp/B0F62R5HZ4