Cables

[Stephen FollowsParticipant @stephenfollows82099]

Why is it that when one buys a power tool that comes with a new box that you cannot get the cable back in the box when you put it away?

[Stephen FollowsParticipant @stephenfollows82099]

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

When you plug it in the extra electrons makes the cable swell.

[VicParticipant @vic]

It’s really irritating isn’t it.
luckily I do manage to get both the cable and the hose in on my cars air pump.

[george baker 1Participant @georgebaker1]

Hi Vic

I cant

George

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

I never have a problem with the cable, it always seems to be the mains plug that has magically expanded to 2x it's original size

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

It is subject Newton's Fourth Law; The eternal cussedness of things.

Sometimes attrributed to Sod

Edited By Howard Lewis on 14/05/2023 19:28:39

[Stephen FollowsParticipant @stephenfollows82099]

Ah yes…the plug. There’s a moulded space for everything but.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

When my old Black & Decker professional SDS drill broke, the only thing worth saving was the cable, which was immediately transfered to my Bosch 2 speed drill. The cable is soft and so easy to get into the case, the Bosch cable got binned.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Having spent 25years as a plant mechanic from small electrical tools up to larger plant. I now have no trouble getting everything back in the box there is just that little knack to accomplish this simple task.

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

Jests aside I always assumed it was a UK problem with our plug being bigger than everyone else’s and the cable.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Just as annoying is the need to dismantle the working bits to have any chance of the tool fitting its slot.

The only blow moulded cases I keep are the ones that contain lots of small fittings, like a pipe flaring tool or the pressure testers. Otherwise the cases take up too much room – as part of my recent clear up, I managed to get two both circular saws, jigsaw and the router on the same shelf that the jigsaw case used most of.

Edited By Nick Wheeler on 14/05/2023 21:04:05

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by Stephen Follows on 14/05/2023 17:44:58:

Why is it that when one buys a power tool that comes with a new box that you cannot get the cable back in the box when you put it away?

The packers have to serve a 2 year apprenticeship

[PeroParticipant @pero]

HowardT – It's not not just a UK thing. They are just as cantankerous here in Australia.

The other problem I can't understand is why the smaller and lighter the tool the more inflexible the cable supplied. I had assumed that his was in an effort to make it more difficult to manipulate the tool but it may also be part of the designed difficulty in getting it back into the box

Nick – I agree with you re blow molded cases. Not only do they take up far to much room but they have a habit of failing at the hinges ( and other places over time ). Attempted repairs are generally unacceptable bordering on impossible, There are some good cases – heavier duty and with real hinges – but these tend to take up even more space. Still they do keep the dust out which is a positive!

Pero

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

I generally don’t care about the box, after unpacking. What annoys me is that very few tools have any means of storing the tool neatly – like somewhere to affix the plug or some means supplied to wrap the power lead around the tool, for mains-powered tools.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

I find generally that cables are too short or not flexible when cold . Antex soldering irons obviously know that their standard cables are stiff when cold and sell the same iron with a more flexible cable with an uplift in price.

Bob

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Never had a problem with Hilti tool cables, best type I ever came across.

Also, plenty of room in the box for everything.

As for the others ???????????.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Apart from the cable and plug being tricky to get back in the case, power tool cases are usually shaped with sexy artistic curves that make them difficult to store. My latest purchase, an angle grinder, has to sit on the floor, because the case won't quite fit on the shelf. Plenty of room on the shelf if I bespoke six or seven rectangular wooden boxes, and it rankles that working tools come in cases that won't stack.

Dave

[Anthony KnightsParticipant @anthonyknights16741]

I buy suitably sized tool boxes for storing portable tools which don't come with their own storage case. I can then store the tools with their various blades, belts or other attachments in one place together with the power cable, charger etc. The boxes can be stacked and I label the case with the contents so I can instantly select the tool required. Just a matter of being organised.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Speedy Builder5 on 15/05/2023 06:43:39:

I find generally that cables are too short or not flexible when cold .

I think that's one of the signs of a better quality tool: you don't need to prop an extension cable close enough to the job that you knock it off every time you breathe out. Although I've often wondered why a euro torch for a mig welder is 3metres long, yet the earth lead barely sticks out of the machine.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Nick Wheeler on 15/05/2023 09:28:08:

Posted by Speedy Builder5 on 15/05/2023 06:43:39:

I find generally that cables are too short or not flexible when cold .

I think that's one of the signs of a better quality tool: you don't need to prop an extension cable close enough to the job that you knock it off every time you breathe out. Although I've often wondered why a euro torch for a mig welder is 3metres long, yet the earth lead barely sticks out of the machine.

You don’t normally want, or need, to move the welder. But you do need to move the welding torch from one end of the job to the other. That is why they are different lengths, with the torch being the longer by quite a degree.

Welding torch and lead is much lighter than the welder.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

I rarely weld at a bench where I don't need to move the welder.

I do weld on cars, where I'd like to have more options for where I can place the welder and not just where I can attach the earth lead.

When I next make battery cables, I'll buy extra and lengthen the lead. Although I've meant to do that for some time…

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Do you hand out welding glasses to passer's by?

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Posted by Joseph Noci 1 on 15/05/2023 14:53:35:

Do you hand out welding glasses to passer's by?

What about a screen as well

H

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

You're on thin ice there. I once did an outside welding job on the railway and a chap stood well away for a short time got arc eye. Thankfully he recovered, and wasn't the kind to run to his solicitor.

Another time they were making a film about the railway and insisted on filming me welding. I made sure that I had witnesses of me telling them it wasn't a good idea to point the camera directly at the arc.

Edited By duncan webster on 16/05/2023 00:18:45

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