"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote in message
eb.com...


"Electric Comet" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Apr 2015 09:34:33 -0400
"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote:

I got a couple of those 12" bar clamps yesterday. I have bought a
lot of them. Cheap at three bucks and do the job. I always check
them first before buying them. The quality varies between them.

i need to look at these but if i buy online it sounds like i might
get a lemon

how much does the quality vary and is it the entire clamp or just one
aspect of it

The big thing with the bar clamps is how freely they move up and down the
bar. Each clamp is different. I try several and get the ones that move
most freely. I have destroyed a number of these clamps just because they
were in the way of an angle grinder of got welded to something. Even lost
one in a blackberry patch while working on a fence. But that is OK. The
same thing would have happened to a bar clamp that cost a lot more. And I
keep finding uses for the short ones. So I keep buying them.

that I needed to cut up some wire fencing to install on the back of
some bean planters. I always had problems getting my diagonal
cutters to cut through the fairly solid wire fencing. HF had some
"extended reach" cutters. Basically regular cutters with extra long
handles. Thereby providing some extra leverage for the cutting
action.

somewhere and sometime i got a piar of mini bolt cutters work great
for nails and wire mesh, etc.

they are a one-handed bolt cutter but icannot remember the brand
not from HG

I have a big bolt cutter and tin snips. The long handled diagonal cutter
just worked extremely well for this application. They were small and
light weight. It made the job easy and faster. Also, if I need to cut
some wire for a wiring job, these will be handy as well.

I've found two different tools that seem to work well for heavier wire. One
is a set of linesman style pliers I bought at Wal-Mart many years ago. They
notches in the side that line up when you open the pliers. They will cut
right through a piece of stainless spring wire even.

The other is a Master Mechanic brand fence tool I bought at my dad's
hardware store back when Master Mechanic was still US made. It looks like a
combination between a rock hammer and a pair of pliers.