Tool Review Time

[Noobz347]

The trouble is that the bolts that come with it are too long, and they want you to install a jamb nut with them. This is just a dumb design, in my opinion, because the bolt heads stick so far out of the back that when you attempt to adjust the beam as high as it'll go, the bolts are pointed downwards and they hit the mounting surface before the beams are level.

I'll have to take pictures of my install of the shorter bar. The jamb nuts make the entire thing a breeze to adjust up or down. The only side effect is that you have roughly, one-half inch gap between the light bar and the supplied brackets. To adjust tilt: I loosen the jamb nuts maybe 1/8 turn, rotate the bar, tighten the jamb nuts finger tight to hold the whole thing in place. Tightening a hair more with whatever pair of pliers or wrench I have on hand.

 

[Noobz347]

@FastDriver

20191004_173239.jpg

• Noobz347
• Oct 4, 2019

You can see the supplied bolts and nuts here. (note that they are not stainless )

20191004_173300.jpg

• Noobz347
• Oct 4, 2019

With bolt just finger tight tight and the jamb-nuts snugged.

20191004_173304.jpg

• Noobz347
• Oct 4, 2019

I posted this image because it shows how the light bar snugs up against the brackets when the jamb-nuts are tightened.

 

[FastDriver]

Got it... You've mounted it on a vertical surface. I've mounted it on my bumper's horizontal surface. Your top side of your bracket is my forward side. So, I have the light bar mounted reversed from the way you mounted yours. I'll snap a couple pics in a minute and update this post with them.

3 way switch on-off-HighBeamTriggered.

 

[Noobz347]

Got it... You've mounted it on a vertical surface. I've mounted it on my bumper's horizontal surface. Your top side of your bracket is my forward side. So, I have the light bar mounted reversed from the way you mounted yours. I'll snap a couple pics in a minute and update this post with them.

Yes and surprisingly, my head blocks only a fraction of the light

 

[Noobz347]

@FastDriver Yeah... I don't think you'll have to worry too much about having to move it. LoL

Have you turned it on at night yet?

 

[General karthief]

You use those things at night?

 

[FastDriver]

I took it for a spin around the block. Definitely a big difference in total light output. I wanted to see how far my lateral and vertical angles were off. Honestly, it looked pretty good to me.
@General karthief, well I didn't buy them to use during the day, lol.

I don't really have a reason other than I wanted it, but my best excuse for use that I've come up with so far is use on barren roads at night when I'm worried about deer/wildlife. This will make them a hell of a lot easier to spot.

I imagine this will probably be more persuasive when I flash someone to turn their high beams down. You know the type... they sometimes won't even turn them down even when you flash them as a reminder. I may not use them as retribution though, because I honestly suspect this amount of light is actually dangerously blinding. Put it this way, google told me that the average low beam is 700 lums. The average high beam is 1200. The ad on amazon said this bar is 78k lums.

 

[General karthief]

I need some of those,
i'm afraid of the dark

 

[FastDriver]

Welp, because it was so close to level and I'm brilliant, I decided I could just bend the brackets a tiny bit. They were stubborn at first, but I finally got them to move. ... All 4 snapped..... Good! Frackin' hated those damn things anyways. Now, I've got some properly designed swivel mounts on the way. Hopefully they'll work with the bolts I already have or what comes with them.

 

[Noobz347]

I honestly suspect this amount of light is actually dangerously blinding

You saw my off/on pics. That was with a shorter bar. LoL When it's pitch black outside, that's when it's nice to have. I can even brush-hog at night.

I temporarily mounted a rear-facing, rechargeable LED work light on the same tractor. I think I'm going to get a smaller bar to face that direction. The tractor alternator is only 35 amps but it's a diesel so... That's [my] 35 amps to use for lights, inverters, etc...

 

[Noobz347]

All 4 snapped

I guess it's too late to mention that they are pot-metal.

 

[FastDriver]

Much better! Got the angle right right away, and yes, it was worth replacing the crappy brackets for it:

 

[Adieu]

HYPER-STEP HIGH-SPEED STEEL DRILL BIT SET, 29 PIECE DB29HSG | Matco Tools

www.matcotools.com

I'm going to start off by saying that these are insanely expensive.

They're stupidly expensive.

They're holy levels of expensive.

They're also... incredible.

I reviewed those Hyper Tough bits from WalMart earlier in the thread, and I stand by my review of them, they're phenomenal for the price point, and I don't think you can find a better bit set in the under $50 range right now. I still have them at the shop, and they're still being used on a regular basis.

But sometimes, you just need more. Sometimes something so much better comes along that you just have to have it.

That's the new "hyper step" bits from Matco.

These bits combine the speed and cutting ability of a step-drill with the length, uniform size, and flutes of a traditional spiral drill to make short and easy work of just about any metal-drilling job you've got on your hands.

I've used them to drill the holes in my steel rolling table to mount my impact wrench holster on. I've played with them at the end of a shift, drilling holes in random discarded parts for giggles just to see what they're capable of. I've been impressed every single time.

Watch this and be amazed:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Vmx4JsWj4


I still kinda feel like I wasted my money because "holy ! $300+ for drill bits?" but then again... they're pretty damned awesome drill bits.

 

[Adieu]

I review a lot of wrenches...

This will be another one.

https://www.mactools.com/en-us/Wrenches/Combination-Wrenches/0c0ca9b0-26ad-4233-a8d2-a4aa00e83a75/Precision-Torque-Metric-Combination-Wrenches-12-PT-

I only own one of these wrenches. To be honest, if GM hadn't chosen such an oddball size for the caliper pin on their trucks, and my Mac Tools dealer at the time hadn't literally just walked into the shop, I'd probably never have bought any of these, much less the 20mm that I have.

Thing is, it's a fantastic wrench.

Both ends have unique angles to them compared to the majority of other wrenches in the market, and somehow, Mac's not wrong in spite of being the outlier. Both ends work great. Granted, the only things that it gets used on are the brakes on S550 Mustangs and GM trucks, but there's something about the angles on this wrench that makes those things easier.

Aside from those positives, I don't know if the differences were worth the price, and the damned thing doesn't fit in wrench racks with other brands well. If I was shopping for a professional-quality set of wrenches and these were on sale, I might do it, but I've had my Bluepoint set (8-19mm) and feel no need to upgrade to the Mac set, even as nice as these wrenches are.

 

[Noobz347]

HYPER-STEP HIGH-SPEED STEEL DRILL BIT SET, 29 PIECE DB29HSG | Matco Tools

www.matcotools.com

I'm going to start off by saying that these are insanely expensive.

They're stupidly expensive.

They're holy levels of expensive.

They're also... incredible.

I reviewed those Hyper Tough bits from WalMart earlier in the thread, and I stand by my review of them, they're phenomenal for the price point, and I don't think you can find a better bit set in the under $50 range right now. I still have them at the shop, and they're still being used on a regular basis.

But sometimes, you just need more. Sometimes something so much better comes along that you just have to have it.

That's the new "hyper step" bits from Matco.

These bits combine the speed and cutting ability of a step-drill with the length, uniform size, and flutes of a traditional spiral drill to make short and easy work of just about any metal-drilling job you've got on your hands.

I've used them to drill the holes in my steel rolling table to mount my impact wrench holster on. I've played with them at the end of a shift, drilling holes in random discarded parts for giggles just to see what they're capable of. I've been impressed every single time.

Watch this and be amazed:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Vmx4JsWj4


I still kinda feel like I wasted my money because "holy ! $300+ for drill bits?" but then again... they're pretty damned awesome drill bits.

Lemme know in a year if they were worth $300.

I bought a set of diagonal cutters off of the Snap-On the truck some time ago. Maybe 3 or so years ago. It worked out to be a little over $100 for each of the 3 snips ($300+ for all three). I could have punched myself in the face afterward. I still have them and they're all perfect. If they weren't perfect, I'd trade that one in for a perfect one at no cost. I think I came out ahead this time.

The Snap-On guy visits on Fridays

He even has a text number that accepts part numbers so that, 'that thing' will be on the truck when it arrives.

I do not know if these are good things or not

 

[Adieu]

Lemme know in a year if they were worth $300.

I bought a set of diagonal cutters off of the Snap-On the truck some time ago. Maybe 3 or so years ago. It worked out to be a little over $100 for each of the 3 snips ($300+ for all three). I could have punched myself in the face afterward. I still have them and they're all perfect. If they weren't perfect, I'd trade that one in for a perfect one at no cost. I think I came out ahead this time.

The Snap-On guy visits on Fridays

He even has a text number that accepts part numbers so that, 'that thing' will be on the truck when it arrives.

I do not know if these are good things or not

Well... I did drill 3/8" steel like it was nothing with a crappy Ryobi drill with the 1/2" bit the other day. Was removing a gun safe from a Subaru and had to drill 4 holes in the bastard. No pilot holes necessary, just center-punch and go.

 

[krazedstang]

Ok, so this isn't a tool review but a question, what fittings are you using for your compressors/hoses/tools. I have some cheap Harbor Freight ones and they leak pretty bad with any sort of movement of the hose.

 

[trebor3170]

I've found that the ones sold in the "big box" home centers, Lowes, Home Depot, work just fine.

 

[Adieu]

Ok, so this isn't a tool review but a question, what fittings are you using for your compressors/hoses/tools. I have some cheap Harbor Freight ones and they leak pretty bad with any sort of movement of the hose.

Anything but the Harbor Freight ones. I've got the fancy 1-touch couplers at work, and a Wurth push-pull coupler on my hose at the house. I think all of the nipples on my tools at the house are Husky from Home Depot, most of them at work are whatever the parts department or the tool truck gave me.

 

[General karthief]

I have a set of 'go jacks', they are just like those only they are not hydraulic. Great for moving vehicles around you just have to make sure the surface is clean and flat.
Amazon product ASIN B00P00YLUAView: https://www.amazon.com/GoJak-Model-G4520/dp/B00P00YLUA