Technical WHO was the Einstein that came up with this 'great'idea ?...

The only clamps I've seen that fit the description Sally is talking about are the fuel injection clamps, I bought a box of them by mistake one time

 

I had a customer request I plumb his fuel system with AN fittings. After getting the quote for that he asked for these.

 

Before they invented the Phillips head screw driver they used this stuff.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...745496dc33e8b424099e55e6d296cf83&action=click

 

No one means, 6.3, 9.5 and 12.7 of anything...


-rick

 

Most of us always dreamed of having large tool boxes with every tool size lined up perfectly . Reality and life have shown me that (as you mentioned) kits often skip some sizes or don't cover the full range. If you hunt through tool catalogs you can find larger wrenches individually at premium prices. Personally, I gave up trying to make sure my tool box was fully complimented with matching name brand tools. Could care less. I have a couple of additional tool boxes in "specialty areas" like where I assemble an engine that have a good range of tools stored in nicely aligned (not perfect) drawers. I have several different brands by "set" and they cover most needs. As you begin to get into the larger wrenches, they can get pretty expensive. I lucked out and got a bunch of large (assorted name) wrenches that were being thrown away. I picked up some more off Facebook and Ebay. To me its more important to have lots of wrenches of all shapes and sizes than incomplete sets with matching names. My shop is a working shop, not a palace or museum or a Nascar garage. I seldom ever find a bolt or nut that I can't find a wrench or socket that works, and if its a really difficult location, the "smoke wrench" will let me reform an existing tool to fit my needs. I have a drawer that reserved just for these "specialty wrenches". Can't do that with expensive wrenches and perfect sets. I can reheat and rebend these on demand.............

 

Aw... you poor 'muricans.
Your money is metric.
Remember 14mm spark plugs on Model A's?

 

NEVER!

 

The hardware store near me sells stainless steel hose clamps made in Tennessee. It’s like 25 bucks for a bag of 20 clamps.

Years ago I learned to hoard old American hardware. Whenever I go to a yard sale or the swap meet I got my head on a swivel. I think I have enough good quality hardware to last a lifetime.

 

I worked in a body shop at a Pontiac dealer in the 70s when the torx screws both female and male came out a new GMs. Mechanic you should’ve heard the conspiracy theories from the older techs who thought the tool companies were working with the auto companies to sell more tools. It was hilarious.

 

I luv torq screws...........they almost never strip the head when installing them in anything. Can't say that about slotted and Phillips. I think they should outlaw them. *%#@&%

 

so how did this happen, must be a story or explanation to this ?
Does anyone know ?

 

I seem to fuck up torx screws like nobody's business. I hate them.

 

Yes, but even Canadian golf courses are laid out in yards, not meters.

 

Yeah, but we're only on page 4 and there's a lot to learn about hose clamps.

 

LOL! There is THAT.

Ben

 

Probably because of Albert Champion, who founded the company. He was British and was a cofounder of a company that imported French electrical parts into England. When he started his own company he was making spark plugs for WC Durant, the founder of GM. I think that was in the 1900s, so before the Model A. Now I’m just guessing here, but with the connection to French electrical components, maybe spark plugs as well, I’m betting that was how spark plugs ended up with metric threads.

Well, that’s my WAG, and I’m sticking to it!

 

Use wire clamps and you don't have to worry very much about exact dimensions.

 

Oh I flipping hate those wannabe pieces of crap and the nylon(?) weave cover that goes with them. poser crap.

 

How do you mess up a Torx screw ?

 

How many Americans recognize the Robertson screw?

The inventor and patent holder didn't like Henry Ford's terms for exclusive licensing, so they've more or less stayed in Canada. My Canadian 28 model A has Robertson screws throughout. It's a significantly better design that the Phillips or flathead.

It's not quite as good as a torx, but it's really good and what the vast majority of our machine, wood, and metal screws use in Canada.

To the discussion about Torx, the best way to strip them is to use too small of a bit.

 

Something I vow never to use!

 

I have a set of Torx tools, as some homeowner stuff I own uses them. I recently bought an ATI damper from the US. It has warnings on it that the machine screws are Torx-Plus, and that if standard Torx bits are used the fasteners will strip their heads. Had to buy a T42 Torx-Plus bit just to assemble it

cheers,
Harv

 

The ultimate driver tool is Spax. It is a proprietary design and I believe they only make wood screws, unfortunately.

It has a pilot that holds the torx-style driver straight and true. Because of this they can handle a ton of torque without skipping a beat, relatively speaking.

 

Don't forget clutchhead fasteners

 

I like American standard and British standard hardware not because it's better or more superior or any of that (let's be real metric American or British it's all pretty much the same thing)... It's the fact that we all used to actually manufacture our own stuff. When you buy an MG MGA you are getting a legitimately British car. When you buy a 1960 Dodge D series pick up you are legitimately getting an American a vehicle. I think it is a shame that we have all succumbed to globalization And now a company such as Ford can sell off some goofy European van (as an example) in north America and we just deal with it Even though the van it replaced was probably the better fit for the North American roadway but I digress. It's not like Ford was the only one to do this they've all done it and at this point I don't want nothing to do with a car newer than probably the late '90s or early 2000s... Modern vehicles or garbage in my opinion and the metricization of the vehicles just reinforces what I already believe.
From a professional mechanic standpoint, I guess standardization was probably a good thing as I cut my teeth during the transitional period where you could have a small block Chevy with metric accessories and those were some of the worst things to deal with.
What's funny is I don't turn a wrench for a living and I don't ever want to. My SAE wrenches get used a lot I only use the metric stuff when I work on the '90s junk or the modern junk (and I mean it is absolute junk) when it comes out of China.
The plus side is I do like having a really full toolbox and having pretty much every tool you could possibly imagine for home repair and automotive... I never get mad at buying a new tool either and I get really excited when I get to buy a new to me previously enjoyed good quality used tool. But I'm getting off subject.

On the note of hose clamps there is a channel on YouTube called project farm He actually reviews hose clamps for which ones were actually worth a damn I highly recommend the watch.

 

Here is an excellent comparison of hose clamps granted it's 2 years old every day it becomes a little less relevant

 

We gotta do what we gotta do, but holy-kiss my-fuck off, I hate gear clamps in general. Recognition of a problem is the 1st step to recovery, I admit it, and it's my inner snob developed thru decades in restoration. I hate to see a supposed 100pt car that has fuckin gear clamps. And how about the cars you see where the builder used one too big and left that long ugly tail hanging out? And long gone are the nice ones that only had enough slots in the band for the appropriate size. At least you could flip em over, then it didn't look like a nerd wearing his jock on the outside

Solutions. Remember a cpl weeks ago I said I'm not always a dick so I've picked up a couple quick fixes. Many of the 30s OEMs used a clamp very similar to what I call "tower clamps" like you'd find on a muscle car restoration, especially GMs. Replace that ugly screw and nut with a slotted fillister head screw and a ¼-20 square nut. For our smalls, they sell fuel injection clamps at all the parts chains. Again, change the screw to an appropriate round head or small fillister and all of a sudden you have an elegant solution even suitable for a 7 figure car. And finally you can buy proper vintage clamps from many of our favorite suppliers or in the back page classifieds of club publications. Van Pelt sells the double band style for early Ford, others offer the double wire type some brands used, and you can never go wrong with proper sized Sherman clamps. See, I'm not always a dick. But yeah, gear clamps suck, in appearance AND practice.

 

@ Harbor Freight. Bin next to the left-handed pipe wrenches.

 

https://products.wera.de/en/screwdrivers_kraftform_plus__series_900_932_a.html
7mm screwdriver for slotted screws
Dan