Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

I've saved enough Summit boxes that I can move out of state with the junk I've collected! Never get rid of anything... or the boxes they came in!

 

I rotate my boxes.

 

Not saying you didn't do it, I believe you did, just saying its hard to believe.

 

It works great! I watch them do it a few years back! I learned a new trick that day.





Bones

 

A good sturdy box can't just be tossed aside

 

Mart, I'd love to see it!

 

Yeah, I have all the old boxes but they are filled with other stuff.

 

When I worked for Ditch Witch, we had a vacuum generator that would replace the filler cap on the hydraulic tank of their machines, so you could replace hoses, motors, cylinders and valves without losing fluid , you would connect an air line to it, adjust air pressure, then remove the parts, plug or cap the lines do the repairs or replacement of parts , turn the generator back on and reinstall the hoses. I replaced valves in the field that had 10 or more hoses going to it on a directional drill without contaminating the job site. The inspectors were very strict about contamination, and would shout down the job for any spillage.

 

Lookup vacuum coolant re-filler on the net, you’ll get YouTube videos and also links to many different levels of features and costs. I sold 100’s of them as a tool dealer to mechanics and they would tell me how it wasn’t just for putting in coolant. What they do really well is to eliminate entrapped air in your engines cooling system. Watch the videos, and then get one, you’ll like it a lot!

 

Anybody have one of those battery powered tire inflators? I'd like to top up my tire pressures without filling and dragging the hose or air tank around. Do they work fast enough?

 

My daughter had a tire go down while parked at work.
She called and I took the battery powered inflator. The tire was pretty low, took about ten minutes to fill, as I recall.
For topping off pressure, it would probably be similar to small plug in compressors, which require AC power.
I carry the battery powered inflator in my rod with a can of tire repair spray, as I have no room for a spare.

 

There are some pretty good ones that jus plug into the lighter. Good enough for topping off. Don't get the cheapest one. I have a battery powered one that is a compressor & battery booster but it needs a new battery.

 

I'm thinking of the ones that look like a hand drill. I used a Milwaukee 18v compressor to fill a tire the other day, it was very fast. I just don't need the air tank part of it.

 

I've got one that is kept in my wife's daily. (I'm retired but she still goes to work, plus does most of the shopping.) It's good 'insurance'. Don't leave home without it. It plugs into the car battery system, though.
It comes in a soft pouch with a coiled, extendable hose and a built-in pressure gauge, etc.
We also use it to inflate our "toobs" when we float the river with a few of our closest friends.........

 

If Milwaukee made on like that I'd buy one. I'm not going back to a half dozen different batteries.

 

I know what you mean. The local fire dept. I volunteer for got a big Milwaukee grant (that's where I tried the 18v compressor). They seem to be cornering the market just out of the shear amount of 18v tools they have, not to mention excellent quality. Wish they'd give me one of those grants..

I see they do have an M18 inflator, looks good.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Specialty-Tools/2848-20

 

I guess this is the appropriate place for this little piece of handy information. @Tman turned me on to Quick Glow metal polish and it works great. I was cleaning up the NOS W&H DuCoil distributor that I plan to use in the Olds Rocket in my roadster and although the distributor has never been installed and run, it has been sitting unprotected on a shelf in my friends barn for over 30 years. The cap was dusty, faded, and scratched up. As usual, when I got the distributor cleaned up, the cap looked even worse. I cleaned and wiped it but it still looked old and faded. Being a little lazy I looked around to see what was lying within arm’s reach. WD40, no it doesn’t last, carb cleaner, won’t help with the faded look. Quick Glow. PhilA commented that it seemed aggressive, but maybe that’s what the scratches need. So I put some on a rag and smeared it around on half of the cap. I didn’t rub much, just enough to be sure it got into the hard to reach corners. When I wiped it off it looks great. The color is back, scratches are hardly noticeable. It pretty much looks new.
In the photos you can see one half looks a shinier, darker color while the other still looks a little faded after normal cleaning. You’ll also see two spiffy new condensers, those are Tubman’s handy work. Beautiful.
We’ll have to wait and see how long it stays looking good but for now I’m pleased that it looks like new. I’m sure there are other products and other methods but this worked for me so I thought I’d share it.

 

@bchctybob another win for Quick Glow!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no stake in this stuff but just want to stay on the market. It vanished for a few years.

 

@Tman & @bchctybob,

I see that there is "Fine", "Ultra Fine", and "Original" Quick-Glo.

Does it make any difference which you use? Why would you use one over the other?

 

I have only ever used original. The new stuff is not exactly the same but is still awesome

 

Thanx Trent. I'll be ordering "original".

 

I didn’t know that there was a choice, I just ordered the first one that popped up on the search. So far it has worked well on everything I tried it on.

 

bttt

 

I was refitting a heavy wheel and tyre on my pickup and used a garden spade as a lever to lift the wheel. Without realising it I went one stage further and was able to rotate the spade to then get the wheel onto the bottom studs. It worked so well I made a top tip video:

 

Thanks for that one! I'm doing some of that today!

 

Thank you !
Works well on large diesel truck wheels and tires also .

 

I'd heard Dawn dish washing liquid was the best, so I bought some for general cleaning. Does seem to work well. Agree? Apparently it has a 'secret ingredient'.

 

Excellent pictures Mart.

 

From the 'Ratchets I thought were neat but have never used' dept.. The top and bottom ones have been dormant in the drawer for years, the middle one I got off the O'Reilly's mark downs shelf on Saturday. Will I ever learn?

 

No you will not!