Who doesn't like tools? This is the thread to tell everyone what you bought recently, or have, or use. It helps us all. It doesn't have to be long, just a quick update. I'll start.

I bought a craftsman USA made 10mm 1/4inch Socket.....

 

Recently purchased a 90 AMP Mig/Flux wire welder for body and sub chassis repairs, Never was very good with a stick ARC welder, Looking into a Powder Coating system now.

 

Before contemplating buying a XJS I visited the XJS section. I began reading the 700 and somewhat page write up on buying and caring for that model. First of all to the gentleman that wrote it . What a job he did. Anyway I'm through about 68 pages, while reading through the tools section I learned about the pozidriver. You should read it, it will surprise you. Having a couple 90 XJ6's I have to figure the screws that look like Phillips head screws in my car must be the pozi screw heads on the XJS. Well I bought some. On sale for $2.99, readily available as well, lifetime guarantee. This is what they look like. Even If my cars don't have those screw heads, I added a new tool to the box

 

This really is not about a specific tool purchase, but my better half has discovered that when I read about or see a new type of tool, for some strange reason I seem to find a need for that particular tool in the near future. Henceforth the powder coat system. The front grill frame on our XJ40 was damaged and the crome is peeling off at that area, I'm in the process of straightening it our and with the crome powder coat and a high gloss coat - saves 200.00 on the purchase of a new replacement, even though the powder coat system will cost abit more than that.

 

haha jl, I can relate to that.

I bought it about 3 months ago, I should have done 10 years ago. A porter cable polisher/sander. The more I use it the more I like it. Surely I would recommend.

 

Probably my oddest tool is for Welding Plastics. It does ABS, PVC and Nylon plastics. It has paid for itself so many times over, I could not begin to figure the savings. I have repaired broken interior mouldings, exterior body parts such as spoilers, fairings, most all plastic body filler parts. A little bit of sanding after the repair and a thin coat of Bondo, and it looks as good as a new part. I just used it to repair a plastic brake light housing that mounts in the trunk that had its mounting tabs broken off, while the part was not really expensive, 30 minutes including getting part taken off, out and set up, the job was done. I took pictures of the repair,but do not know how to insert them in a post, there are videos on youtube about this. some use a large size soldering iron, but the one I use required a compressor to blow the heated air to melt the rod into the plastic.

Another special tool I use, but really would not be realistic for the normal DIY'er is a Stud Welding gun, instead of drilling a hole in a fender or etc.. to pull a dent, I just sand off the surface paint and weld copper studs in the area needing to be pulled. Using a slide hammer, I pull out the dents, grind off the studs and apply a thin coat of Bondo to the repaired area, sand and ready for painting. This does not allow moisture to seep in behind the bondo as it eventually will with the Old style dent pullers (hole and sheet metal screw).