From my Red Toolbox, one old but good Crafstman hacksaw. To be honest, I pretty much hate having to hacksaw through some metal this or that. If I can, I’ll use a sawzall or grinder or jigsaw or anything with a motor before reaching for a hacksaw.

Experience:

Here is the first tool from my Red Toolbox which I carry in my truck to every job. My red toolbox has tools I don’t use everyday but need for many carpentry tasks. One tool from that box that sees a lot of use through the years is the hacksaw.

The Craftsman saw I’ve been using is an old one. The one in my shop is an even older antique. Here’s a link to the highest rated hacksaw on Amazon.com today; The DEWALT DW3970 12-Inch High Tension Hack Saw Frame

My Crafstman Bench Grinder is model No. 319.190400. That’s a mighty long model number but this has been a long lasting tool. I don’t rely on this Bench Grinder for much more than random grinding projects; shaping a blade, rounding a shortened bolt or smoothing a jagged edge.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

[View with PicLens]

What can I say, buying tools in the city… I often went to Sear’s. I have no idea when I bought this grinder but it was between ’91 and ’95, that’s means we can include this motor on the “15 years in my shop and still spinning” list. (I’m sure someone can use that long product ID to learn the manufacture date.) Who cares? It’s a cheap Sears Bench Grinder and it’s mine.

Comments:

I took off one of the wheel covers. This isn’t the kind of grinder I wanted. I put a wider wheel than your supposed to on it. I made a jig to replace the tool rests. I use this grinder about once a month.

Links:

A search on Sears website results in the 6″ and 8″ Jet Grinders first:
JET 577102 JBG-8A 8-Inch Bench Grinder

Here is a Dewalt that is rated well:
DEWALT DW756 Heavy Duty 4 Amp 6-Inch Bench Grinder

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars because it still works.

Experience:

I had a great Bosch belt sander when I picked this one up so I put this Craftsman Belt Sander to work on the worst tasks. 40-grit belts to remove huge amounts of material, anything dirty, tough or likely to hurt my super-nice Bosch I saved for this crappy unit.

But crappy this Craftsman is not and I soon realized that with a fine grit belt I could get the perfect concave on chisel and plane blades before moving to a sharpening stone. There is something about the metal wheel and the access to the belt that allows me to grind blades by hand with impressive results on this machine that I cannot do with other belt sanders.

Comments:

Like I said, This belt sander was well-used by 1990. I had a Bosch sander which, after getting this Craftsman, I reserved for woodwork, relegating the Craftsman to heavy sanding.. and you know what? The Bosch died, my Porter-Cable died and this ugly used Craftsman tool is still sanding.

I use a screwdriver to wedge the wheel open to change belts but it still adjusts perfectly, runs smoothly, and sands like a good belt sander should.

Links:

Belt Sanders at Sears.com – see a modern Craftsman sander!

Most popular belt sander on Amazon.com, the Bosch 1274DVS ironically the same model this Craftsman long outlasted.