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Old 07-18-2014, 03:18 PM
Maxwelhse Maxwelhse is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Posts: 728
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-I would like to see a part number for the spiral pins somewhere in here.

-Spare belt for your implement of choice (IH belts are too expensive for me... I buy off brand Kevlar belts of the Oregon brand)

Other essential TOOLS (cub or not):

-MAPP GAS TORCH!!! or Oxy-Acetaline. MAPP gas is plenty to get any fastener on a cub, or a car, red hot if you're on a budget. $40 basically anywhere. I like my Craftsman that has a 360 degree swivel head.

-A flat out decent 3/8 ratchet with a good reach. This is my favorite tool of the many I own (I'm not a pro, but I'm sure the pro grade from where ever has the same valid points). Craftsman 3/8" flex head ratchet w/ergo grip... It basically makes its own speed bar once the fastener is broke free and it feels really nice in your hand.. I'd be lost without it. And, yes, its Craftsman so you'll be replacing it once a every 5 years as an aggressive hobbyist. I've given 5 of these as gifts and everyone loves them. I'm a very small fish compared to many but I do have about $10k in hand tools. This is my favorite of all of them and it's $27.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-3...&blockType=G30

If the link doesn't work, it's Sears item #00944836000

-Favorite tool #2 - A nice dead blow hammer. I've used them all, Snap-on, Mac tools, Matco, Craftsman, etc... They are all exactly the same as my Harbor Freight hammer in performance and carry the same life time warranty (Snap-on actually refused warranty on one broken dead blow... That's one reason I don't own much Snap-on... truck guys... HF? no problem)...

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-ne...mer-41799.html

$10...

I actually have somewhere around 20-30 hammers and I'd guess 1/2 of them are HF for other China hammers. It's a weight on the end of a stick. No need to get complicated about it. That goes double for brass hammers... HF is somewhere around $30, Snap on??? Hold on to your paycheck! Difference in quality is 0....

-GOOD wire strippers, moving on to favorite tool #3... I adore my Ideal strippers "Grip n' strip" strippers.. I've had the "strip master" style blow apart into many pieces two times already... I said "forget that" and went with this design. NO problems unless you're into tiny or giant gauge wire. (FWIW I *DO* own a set of Ideal "Crimpmaster" pliers and several sets of jaws (both Ideal and generic)... They're a totally excellent set of tools and rank high on my list, but are not Cub related per say.

http://www.idealindustries.com/prodD...wire_strippers

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I've said this many times before, but I'll say it again here, if I wrenched for my meals I might spend a bit more money for a few higher quality core tools (my perception is actually based on convenience since that guy is showing up 1-2x a week to warranty your broken stuff with his truck vs. a drive to the store) but 9/10 times I would STILL buy value priced tools with good warranties (Ideal being the exception... They're expensive but I've literally never needed the warranty after lots of automotive and CATV use (I'm talking about 15 years of use in the case of my strippers and I wrench way more on cars and houses than cubs)... Ideal = win for electrical tools as far as I'm concerned... Kent isn't bad either) and simply have 2 sets of the critical tools. For instance, I have around 10 ratchets, ALL Craftsman... Never have I not completed a job due to my tools.

I realize I'm flirting with "off-topic" pretty hard here, but I DID just recommend a bunch of HF and China Craftsman so I know the pros will be offended. Everything I said is just dandy for a guy at home and I'd even venture most pros if not for ...
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