tool recommendations Options

[timofly]

Call me crazy, but now that my first 914 is pretty much done, I am contemplating doing another one, maybe a six. With retirement looming, I want to (have to) do more of the work myself. Two questions to the group about tools:

1. what kind of impact wrench would you recommend, and
2. what kind of welder would you recommend?

I did some gas welding 30 years ago, and need to relearn a lot, but before buying anything I want to hear what others have used and liked.

How about it? Good, bad and ugly experiences?

[JoeSharp]

Hey Tim, I have a bunch of impact drivers but I don't use them. I take every thing apart by hand and reassemble them the same way. I use a torque wrench almost everything during reassembly. I want to know that what was wrong and that it is all correct when I reassemble it.

[ArtechnikA]

Hey Tim, I have a bunch of impact drivers but I don't use them. I take every thing apart by hand and reassemble them the same way. I use a torque wrench almost everything during reassembly. I want to know that what was wrong and that it is all correct when I reassemble it.

If we're talking about actual restoration/assembly/fabrication, I agree. Mostly. Here in the Land Of Salted Roads I've had to use my impact wrenches to loosen fasteners that "shouldn't" have needed it. Nowadays when I do anything with the Titan, I buy all new hardware because even if it's not damaged in the removal, I can't bear to reuse rusty cr&p...

Where they really shine is the semi-annual tire swap. Subie has 5-lug wheels, Titan has 6-lug. 1/2" impact gets them _off_painlessly. (They are re-installed by hand, individually, and torqued.) Been a long time since I autocrossed actively but doing 3 swaps a day (street / race / street ) for two days gets old come Sunday night. Wouldn't be a problem now...

Probably the only place on a Porsche where the impact wrench is the tool of choice is the rear stub axle nuts - and for removal only, of course.

My 1/2" impact is an ancient Rockwell I bought in 1980 and it is finally showing its age. I have been eyeing the titanium-cased extended-shank IR. There is no doubt the Snap-On stuff is a great value for the guys who use them all day long and make a living at it, but for occasional use I think you're paying for durability that you won't actually utilise.

Impact tools do like their air, but nothing uses air like rotary tools. My compressor recovers between wheels on lugnut removal, but it's gasping after just a couple of minutes with a die grinder. Must go bigger - again...