Kit / tools / bits loan thread?

Hi all,

Having just bought 300ft of WF100, an F-type compression kit and a few other bits n bobs for my rebuild, I was thinking how many of us on here must have tools etc that we only use occasionally, or spare off-cuts of cable etc, or even older parts we’ve upgraded away from…

What do we think to the idea of a “kit loan” thread - people could loan out / request items from other users in the local area?

(“User proximity” table in the fA stats shows we’ve all got other users nearby!).

May be a PITA logistically - just a thought?

(I know some of us “blokes” arent too keen on lending tools out… :wink: ).

I have a ton of leftover masonry anchors from getting an antenna bracket onto the side of my brick building. (if the landlord asks, it was like that when I got here).

If you want some, they’re yours. (N.B. Drilling into brick - way more of a PITA than anticipated)

Bugger, I just bought some on Saturday.
:slight_smile:

Piece of cake - even with engineering brick - with an SDS drill … excellent for drilling and chiselling masonry (since you can seperate hammer and rotation) , but poor for general purpose work.

See, @JohnHawkes2030 - if only we’d had this a few days ago! :wink:

My F-connectors (x50), compression tool (cheap - probably made of cheese :wink: ) and double-bladed cutters (slice everything to the right length / depth in one fell swoop!) have turned up today…

Give me a week or so (!) to get mine sorted, than anyone in the Yorks area of UK is free to borrow them.

@Admins - suggest making this thread a sticky, if you agree with the concept?

[quote=“PeterHR”]

Well, this was with a rubbish $30 ryobi whatever drill and the bit that came with the anchors, and the work was performed while leaning out of a window, so - in retrospect I don’t know why I expected it to be less of a PITA :smiley:.

Well, lets keep this on topic: AVAILABLE FOR LOAN IN NYC - 1 $30 ryobi rubbish drill. useful for drilling into rubbish wood and stripping the heads of rubbish screws.

Well, my F-connection compression tool and plugs turned up…

Plugs are the FoxConn type - look really nice quality.

The compression tool is, er… OK.

The “jaws” that the cable fits into (and also act as a stop for the compression “piston”) seem to rely on the tensile strength of the metal to “open” the jaws.

Hence, It’s rather brutal getting the cable in and out!

Did a connection last night (havent actually used it yet) and the process seemed ok - certainly makes a nice, tidy connection!

Elesewhere, I usually dismiss Maplin as “somewhere to go and pay 10x as much for when you cant be arsed to wait” (they sell those inline Sat Amps ’ £15 - same one as I paid for £4 on ebay!).

However , I managed to find a couple of “f-type to BNC” converters (£3.49 each), and a rather nice, ratcheted compression tool for a fiver!

Maplin Comp Tool…
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ratchet-crimper-for-waterproof-connections-n45hf

Comp Tool I actually bought…
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-F-Type-Pocket-Compression-Tool-for-Satellite-Coax-Cables-006990-/191140224318?hash=item2c80d85d3e:g:O2wAAOSwk5FUvKhp

Of course, I didnt see that before I bought mine on fleaBay, and they’ve now sold out of those (discontinued).

+1 for Maplins!