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AnomalousBoners
Dec 22, 2007

by Ozma

Doctor Grape Ape posted:

Oh man, I picked up the 8" variety of this a few weeks ago and I have been measuring everything in sight. Kind of like after I got one of those infrared temperature devices (also from HF).


Yea I have the 6" and the one I just bought is an 8". How much was yours

Coupon link:
8" Digital Caliper Print Out Coupon

AnomalousBoners fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Apr 20, 2008

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Pissingintowind
Jul 27, 2006
Better than shitting into a fan.

RealKyleH posted:

Get the harbor freight racing jack mentioned in this thread. (And read the god drat thread.) Mine was like $140 or $125 and is awesome because its not that heavy (aluminum) and raises stuff quickly.

As for tools, I just picked up this baby for $18. I have been very happy with my 6" and have used it enough to be on the second battery (which was included.) It has proven to be quite accurate and repeatable.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47260

It seems that the HF jack goes up to only 14-15" and it more expensive than this jack that goes up to 19": here.

I did read the thread.. I'm just looking for more opinions.

Doctor Grape Ape
Aug 26, 2005

Dammit Doc, I just bought this for you 3 months ago. Try and keep it around for a bit longer this time.

RealKyleH posted:

Yea I have the 6" and the one I just bought is an 8". How much was yours

I want to say more than $20 but less than $25. I stop in there every week, so I can never remember. I was kind of pissed to see it at $17.99 in the newest ad. Oh well.

hippynerd
Nov 5, 2004

by Ozma

Pissingintowind posted:

It seems that the HF jack goes up to only 14-15" and it more expensive than this jack that goes up to 19": here.

I did read the thread.. I'm just looking for more opinions.

I'd get the Aluminum HF one over that one any day. The HF one is light, has a long bar (makes it a lot easier to drag a car on the jack, and to jack up). and has a nice big flat rubber covered lift pad.

I got one of these Pocket Thermometers a couple weeks ago, and its great fun!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93983

Its also good for checking your brakes w/out burning your fingers.

Big K of Justice
Nov 27, 2005

Anyone seen my ball joints?

hippynerd posted:


Its also good for checking your brakes w/out burning your fingers.

It's a handy tool for troubleshooting bad bearings as well, especially on heavy trucks, you can shoot the hubs and check for excessive temperature on moving parts and enclosures. I caught one hub running almost 40 degrees hotter then the others and 1 of the bearings was shot, so that saved some dough by catching the problem early.

As for jack stands, what's your life worth to you? Buy the best jack stands you can afford, personally I suggest a non Chinese one.

Many of the jacks you see in HF or Pepboys wholesale from Chinese OEM to US Distributors for 2-20$ per set. I don't trust crawling under 4000-8000 lbs on a 20$ cheap metal jack. Theres quality control problems, and the larger brands [ie. Torin] have to keep US staff on site in china 24/7 to ensure the suppliers don't swap in cheaper materials in the middle of a production run.

I've seen some of the cheap HF poo poo snap, and I have family involved with lawsuits with another tool brand after a jack stand gave way causing a semi trailer to turn a guys hand into hamburger.

I'd hunt down a quality non-Chinese stand from a automotive supply store, usually that means you have to order it through Grainger or another industrial supply source. It may cost twice as much but at least you won't have to worry about stands being made out of chocolate.

I'll use most HF stuff in a pinch, no problem. Getting under a truck with HF jackstands. No thanks.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





Pissingintowind posted:

Seems like Sears/Craftsman is better, unless someone has had a bad experience with them:

Jack
Pair of stands

Total = $45 and has Craftsman 1 year warranty vs. HF's 90 days. Any comments?

You're trusting your life to this equipment, do not cheap out on your jack and stands. I had one of those little ones - yes they do lift the weight but their small size and short handle means you're getting uncomfortably close to the vehicle while you're jacking it, and it's a bit fiddly too. Really, it's marginally better than a scissor or screw jack, at best (and I hate those things).

It looks like, at least according to the Sears site, they don't sell the Craftsman jack I have - it's a black / yellow 3.5 ton with quick lift. I got it on sale a while back with a pair of stands (I can't remember if they're 3 or 4 ton stands) and I've been reasonably happy with it. The quick lift really is quick - granted, none of my vehicles are 'tall' but it means that the first pump is literally all I need to get the saddle to the vehicle.

However, I do suspect mine needs a good bleeding since if I'm really cranking the truck up there it seems to start running out of steam.

It's worth noting that once it 'switches' to the standard lift mode from quick-lift, it requires more pumps to get to a certain height than my dad's ancient Craftsman (probably older than me) does.

That said, Harbor Freight is awesome for getting super cheap versions of tools you will use rarely, at best. I just finished up the new A/C system for my truck today and needed to pull a vacuum on it prior to charging - this $10 'pump' from HF performed flawlessly, especially given the low price tag. It does suck down a good bit of air to do it's job so I'm glad I was doing this with a relatively large compressor (compared to 5-gal ones like mine). No matter how you do it, you should have a valve in-line between the vacuum pump and the A/C system - this would be especially important if your compressor will have to play catch-up.

poisoned pie
Jan 15, 2005

Can you feel the colors?
can anyone recommend me what sort of compressor I should be looking at for painting a car? I'm going to start with laying some killrust down, so any info on different spray guns and stuff would be useful also. Later on Ill be painting the car body from primer to base coat to top coat to clear coat.

I know I probably want at least 2hp, electric and a good size tank - would 40L be sufficient?

To make the most of the purchase i'll probably get some airtools also, so it will need to be able to run most generic tools as well.

What other gear will I need? moisture traps and stuff? What kind of spray guns are best? Gravity feed?

Assume I have nothing and know nothing :downs:. A list of stuff I should shop for to paint my car would be awesome :)

Chauncey
Sep 16, 2007

Gibbering
Fathead


Went to Sears today and bought a 3-ton jack, creeper, and jackstands all for $90.

I really wanted to get the aluminum racing jack, but it was $160 and my jackstands are old and scare me so I needed a new set of those anyway. I think the sale ends after this weekend, not sure.

Pissingintowind
Jul 27, 2006
Better than shitting into a fan.

Chauncey posted:

Went to Sears today and bought a 3-ton jack, creeper, and jackstands all for $90.

I really wanted to get the aluminum racing jack, but it was $160 and my jackstands are old and scare me so I needed a new set of those anyway. I think the sale ends after this weekend, not sure.

Are you talking about THIS set? Are the stands flimsy? Also, is the jack small and short-handled like IOwnCalculus is saying?

If not, I'll probably pick this up even though the creeper looks a little :gay:

Chauncey
Sep 16, 2007

Gibbering
Fathead


Pissingintowind posted:

Are you talking about THIS set? Are the stands flimsy? Also, is the jack small and short-handled like IOwnCalculus is saying?

If not, I'll probably pick this up even though the creeper looks a little :gay:


Yeah, the jack has a short handle and is pretty heavy but I only need to roll it around my garage so it's no big deal. The stands seem o.k. but they definitely aren't super beefy.

If I didn't care about pissing away money (yeah , I know buy cheap poo poo and have it fail on you and die, then what's the point of saving money), I would have gotten the aluminum jack and a set of stands that looked like they could support a mack truck, but I couldn't pass this deal up.

Also, as it stands, I don't do much to my car other than brakes/oil changes. Same goes for the rest of my family. Until I get more involved with modding the miata I just don't use the equipment enough to justify laying out ~$250 on an awesome racing jack and bad rear end stands.

EDIT: I also bought the GearRatchet set at Sears a few months ago and I must say it has saved my rear end a few times already while working on my cars suspension.

Chauncey fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Apr 21, 2008

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





That looks considerably bigger than the chintzy one I was talking about, though the handle is oddly short. Most proper full size jacks have a two-part handle roughly twice the size.

honkykong
Sep 20, 2005


That's the same set I bought about a year ago. The picture they have on the site cuts the top half of the handle off, it is a 2 piece bolt together one. So far it's worked great for me, and everyone that borrows it off of me. The jackstands are pretty decent. I have 3 sets of stands, one old set from my dad, one Ampro, and one Craftsman. They all look/feel about the same. Also, I kinda like that creeper becuase the last one I had was crap, I ruined all 6 wheels after using it a dozen times, while this one has 8 solid rubber wheels.

Pissingintowind
Jul 27, 2006
Better than shitting into a fan.
I went ahead and bought that set for $100. I'll let you guys know how it is when I get home from school. It is heavy as gently caress, though (or maybe I'm a pussy).

Drunk Pledge Driver
Nov 10, 2004
I bought the $85 HF jack a month or so ago, only used it a few times but it's been great. In my experience the Craftsman ones always end up leaking hydraulic fluid.

Aeka 2.0
Nov 16, 2000

:ohdear: Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.




Dinosaur Gum
The Ultimate MIG welder

Panasonic Gunslinger 261

It took Miller many years to catch up to what this thing can do. Can be had for around 1600 dollars while the Miller equivalent costs poo poo tons more. What people forget is Panasonic makes robotic welders to build cars, this is child's play for them. If you need to burn down something thick, and like to pulse weld (not lovely bead line crap) this is for you.

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



Why go with air tools over electric ones? From what I can tell the air ones have more torque, and it seems like if you need a variety of powered tools air ones are much cheaper because all the energy comes from your compressor, so each tool is cheaper. The electric ones seem a little wimpier and have a smaller initial investment (also don't have to worry about running out of air), but if you need multiple tools could be more expensive in the long run. Is this pretty much it?

It seems like if the only powered tool I really need is an impact wrench I'd be better off buying a $35 HF electric impact wrench rather than buying a compressor and air impact wrench, unless I needed the additional torque that the air tools have. Anything I'm missing?

CatBus
May 12, 2001

Who wants a mustache ride?

devnull420 posted:

Why go with air tools over electric ones? From what I can tell the air ones have more torque, and it seems like if you need a variety of powered tools air ones are much cheaper because all the energy comes from your compressor, so each tool is cheaper. The electric ones seem a little wimpier and have a smaller initial investment (also don't have to worry about running out of air), but if you need multiple tools could be more expensive in the long run. Is this pretty much it?

It seems like if the only powered tool I really need is an impact wrench I'd be better off buying a $35 HF electric impact wrench rather than buying a compressor and air impact wrench, unless I needed the additional torque that the air tools have. Anything I'm missing?

Aside from the torque issue, pneumatic tools have a longer service life, and are smaller/lighter for their power. Electric motors generate a ton of heat, especially under load. Pneumatic tools stay cold (literally). Imagine an electric die grinder or cutoff, running 22k RPM at 1/4HP or whatever.

Aeka 2.0
Nov 16, 2000

:ohdear: Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.




Dinosaur Gum
We have a few Snap-On electric drills at work. They are expensive and eat batteries. I think the drills were 400 dollars. They throw tons of torque, more than a pneumatic, but they have already gone in for repairs after a year of use.

There is no electric impact that I have seen that can come close to a pneumatic.

CatBus
May 12, 2001

Who wants a mustache ride?

poisoned pie posted:

can anyone recommend me what sort of compressor I should be looking at for painting a car? I'm going to start with laying some killrust down, so any info on different spray guns and stuff would be useful also. Later on Ill be painting the car body from primer to base coat to top coat to clear coat.

I know I probably want at least 2hp, electric and a good size tank - would 40L be sufficient?

To make the most of the purchase i'll probably get some airtools also, so it will need to be able to run most generic tools as well.

What other gear will I need? moisture traps and stuff? What kind of spray guns are best? Gravity feed?

Assume I have nothing and know nothing :downs:. A list of stuff I should shop for to paint my car would be awesome :)


Heh, this is a pretty big question. Painting a vehicle is a massive pain, especially if you have any desire to make it look good.

In general, you want a minimum 5hp (real hp, not peak) compressor that puts out at least 15cfm @135psi. The bigger the tank, the better. I don't know what comes standard on that size compressor, but I'm guessing 40 gallon. That would be OK, but 60 or 80 gallon would be ideal. With my 80 gallon tank, pumped up to 175psi, I think it only cycled once for every three guns (~1.5-2L) of material I shot.

As for guns, DeVilbiss currently has a three-gun starter setup for like $150 that is a pretty good investment. It comes with a small regulator too, which is nice.

As for a filter, something like this DeVilbiss unit will do a good job overall.

At that point, you're looking at a little over $1k in hardware (plus whatever it costs to run 220V service for your compressor, if your garage isn't wired for it already). Figure at least $500 in materials after that for paint/primer/sandpaper. That is a low estimate, because a quality clear may run $350/gallon or more, and expensive colors aren't far behind that.

You'll also need a bunch of sandpaper, with grits varying based on how much body work you are planning to do. 400 wetsand will be OK for prep before your color coat, depending on what is underneath.

Are you going to take the vehicle to bare metal? Are you going to do a one or two stage paint (single stage is color only, two stage is a color basecoat and a clear topcoat)? Buy a decent, high quality basecoat. Just like house paints, the cheap color coats don't cover as well, and require more coats. They end up not looking as good, and you spend just as much because you have to use so many coats. Then you're out considerable time as well. For clearcoats, it isn't as much of an issue. I have had very good luck with PPG's cheaper Omni clearcoat.

The quality of a paintjob is 99% dependent on the prep work. Can someone get good results with with a 2hp 40L compressor and a Harbor Freight gun? Sure, people probably do it all the time. Would I bother? Not a chance, but that's me. Aeka may have some input for you on painting with a smaller compressor.

The actual spraying, while very messy, isn't terribly difficult. Really, it all depends on how good you want it to look. If you're starting with a clean vehicle with good paint already, and you don't need to do any body work, it isn't a huge deal. Add in bad old paint, or any body work, and things get very tedious, very quickly.

CatBus fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Apr 26, 2008

Aeka 2.0
Nov 16, 2000

:ohdear: Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.




Dinosaur Gum

poisoned pie posted:

can anyone recommend me what sort of compressor I should be looking at for painting a car? I'm going to start with laying some killrust down, so any info on different spray guns and stuff would be useful also. Later on Ill be painting the car body from primer to base coat to top coat to clear coat.

I know I probably want at least 2hp, electric and a good size tank - would 40L be sufficient?

To make the most of the purchase i'll probably get some airtools also, so it will need to be able to run most generic tools as well.

What other gear will I need? moisture traps and stuff? What kind of spray guns are best? Gravity feed?

Assume I have nothing and know nothing :downs:. A list of stuff I should shop for to paint my car would be awesome :)



I painted with a red Craftsman 110v 30 gal compressor. It was a 100% duty cycle, more specially the manual stated it could run for 45mins straight. The key to running a small compressor is to have a good gun. I was using an Aiwata LPH 400 for my base coat and clear coat, hell i even shot primer through it (the tip wasn't the right size for primer, but it worked). The gun was able to keep a nice flow even when the compressor was sweatin' away with the PSI dipping into the 50's.

I have to re body work some sections as the over fenders have shifted slightly. I'm a bit pissed about that, but overall I'm happy since it is a track car... that has yet to see the track.

Here it is, man I feel like I'm whoring this thing out too much lately. The white lines are not paint, it is from wet sanding and polishing.

edit: ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. This is drat important. Along with keeping things clean. My garage became a paint booth. The day before I painted I swept the floor clean, I didn't bother dusting off anything else. I covered everything with drop cloths, and coated the floor with them.
I kept the garage door only open enough so that I could close it on top of a box fan at one side, I also cracked open the side door of the garage. The wind had to be perfectly still to do this.
Use a new hose and flush it out with brake cleaner.
I had two hoses. One connected to the compressor, coiled upright. The end of that was connected to a water and oil seperator, then the 2nd hose was connected to that. followed by my gun with a filter and regulator attached to it.
I really would want to stay away from an oil compressor unless you are using crazy quality filters and spent tons on the compressor, the craftsman was great because I didn't have to worry about oil contamination.
Keep silicate products AWAY from your booth.

check autobody101.com for your needs. a bunch of old timers on there that know their poo poo.

edit2: on clears, I used two types. The PPG clear is about 260 a gallon with the hardener. I ran out because I messed up and needed only a quart more, PPG only came in gallons so I got some Dupont. From looking at two dried "spills" of both, the Dupont was more clear than the PPG, and in my amature opinion it laid out easier. I don't know what the Dupont costs, but I would recommend it.

Aeka 2.0 fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Apr 26, 2008

CatBus
May 12, 2001

Who wants a mustache ride?

Aeka 2.0 posted:

I kept the garage door only open enough so that I could close it on top of a box fan at one side, I also cracked open the side door of the garage. The wind had to be perfectly still to do this.

On that note, I ran four box fans, with the garage door sitting on them. The rest of the garage opening was covered with cardboard. Make sure you have a way for air to get IN with a system like that. I put those big, blue, cheap HVAC filters over the back of the fans to keep the blades from loading up with overspray. I also wet the floor with a hose to keep dust down.

One other filter note. I also used a disposable water/oil filter at the gun. I don't know how much it did, but I never had a single fisheye or water issue. Which reminds me, clarifying somethings Aeka said about silicone lubricants. If you've sprayed WD40 or used Armorall in your garage in the last month or so, don't bother trying to paint.

Here's another tip: Avoid painting after 4:00pm, and never paint at dusk. That is when the bugs *really* start to come out. Paint in the early morning, if you can.

CatBus fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Apr 26, 2008

pr0craztinazn
Feb 24, 2006
Are there any cordless impact wrenches worth a drat under $100-$150? I don't have the space to keep a 30 gallon air compressor around.

oxbrain
Aug 18, 2005

Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip and come on up to the mothership.

pr0craztinazn posted:

Are there any cordless impact wrenches worth a drat under $100-$150? I don't have the space to keep a 30 gallon air compressor around.

http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Hammer-Company-Hammers-117/dp/B000V7QZEW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1211226060&sr=8-1

DrPeepers
Apr 11, 2004

hippynerd posted:

I'd get the Aluminum HF one over that one any day. The HF one is light, has a long bar (makes it a lot easier to drag a car on the jack, and to jack up). and has a nice big flat rubber covered lift pad.

Costco sells the same jack as HF, the aluminum one pictured in the OP. Think it's about the same price, I got that one due to the costco warranty since I've heard some people say that they die after a year or so of use. I really like it though and would recommend it. It's height is a lot lower then some of the larger capacity ones and it fits under my s2000 and miata, although doesn't reach far enough into the engine to jack it up from the front so I just use a ramp. Works really well since it's a lighter weight and can be transported easily if you need to change tires out. I also bought those craftsmen jack stands and would not recommend them, I'm looking to replace them asap. Would HF be the way to go for replacing jack stands or are they something I'd have to order online to get a decent pair?

hippynerd
Nov 5, 2004

by Ozma
I dont know about decent, but certainly inexpensive. I got some 3 ton jacks for $13/pair. They had larger ones, and some other neet things for lifting heavy stuff.

Hypnolobster
Apr 12, 2007

What this sausage party needs is a big dollop of ketchup! Too bad I didn't make any. :(

I just got a Ingersoll Rand 2135TI impact from Sears. It was red tagged and I got it for $160. It'll compliment my older beat to poo poo IR impact quite nicely.

PBCrunch
Jun 17, 2002

Lawrence Phillips Always #1 to Me
I broke the #3 phillips bit that came in my Craftsman Impact driver set. They did not replace it under warranty. They charged me $2 for a new bit. To me, an impact driver is a hand tool, but Sears disagrees.

I bought a Matco cutoff wheel and Mac Tools normal and deep well metric socket sets for my impact gun at the pawn shop. Pawn shops have good tools for cheap sometimes.

Is there much difference between cheap and expensive air saws or should I use good blades in a cheap saw? What about palm sanders? Is it worth my while to seek out a good brand unit? Where can I get some good drill bits? I find myself breaking a lot of small diameter drill bits drilling mounting holes for speakers in car doors and such.

hippynerd
Nov 5, 2004

by Ozma

PBCrunch posted:

Pawn shops have stolen tools for cheap sometimes.

There, thats better.

AnomalousBoners
Dec 22, 2007

by Ozma

PBCrunch posted:

I broke the #3 phillips bit that came in my Craftsman Impact driver set. They did not replace it under warranty. They charged me $2 for a new bit. To me, an impact driver is a hand tool, but Sears disagrees.

I bought a Matco cutoff wheel and Mac Tools normal and deep well metric socket sets for my impact gun at the pawn shop. Pawn shops have good tools for cheap sometimes.

Is there much difference between cheap and expensive air saws or should I use good blades in a cheap saw? What about palm sanders? Is it worth my while to seek out a good brand unit? Where can I get some good drill bits? I find myself breaking a lot of small diameter drill bits drilling mounting holes for speakers in car doors and such.

You could step up to Cobalt bits from HSS bits if you're breaking them.

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



I'm not sure if this is the best spot for this post (maybe DIY forum?), but what tool would you guys use to get a broken bolt out of a concrete wall? I have a wooden gate that is bolted to a concrete wall with 2 big rear end bolts, but it's a very narrow squeeze for my car + my wife's car. When I first moved in I managed to hit the gate with my wife's car, and apparently lovely old rusty bolts are no match for toyota's amazing 325 lb-ft of torque. The bolt sheared off with part of the bolt stuck in the wooden gate (which I removed easily) and the rest firmly stuck in the wall (and now bent at an angle).

I tried using a big screwdriver and a hammer to chisel it out but that was definitely not going to work (at least not in a reasonable amount of time). I bought a diamond point bit for the dremel

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-7144-Diamond-Taper-Point/dp/B00068OUMU

but haven't tried it out yet. It looks like it's meant for fine engraving but I'll see tomorrow.

Also, is there a good way to get a new bolt to stick back in? My ghetto fabulous plan is to get the bolt out, stick a new bolt through the gate into the hole left in the concrete wall, and then fill it in with pieces of broken concrete (have a bunch of it lying around) and concrete cement. I don't really have a great selection of tools (just the minimum I need to work on my car and various assorted others) so I'm trying to make do with what I got, no way to stick a new bolt into concrete (that I know of at least).

HFX
Nov 29, 2004

devnull420 posted:

I'm not sure if this is the best spot for this post (maybe DIY forum?), but what tool would you guys use to get a broken bolt out of a concrete wall? I have a wooden gate that is bolted to a concrete wall with 2 big rear end bolts, but it's a very narrow squeeze for my car + my wife's car. When I first moved in I managed to hit the gate with my wife's car, and apparently lovely old rusty bolts are no match for toyota's amazing 325 lb-ft of torque. The bolt sheared off with part of the bolt stuck in the wooden gate (which I removed easily) and the rest firmly stuck in the wall (and now bent at an angle).

I tried using a big screwdriver and a hammer to chisel it out but that was definitely not going to work (at least not in a reasonable amount of time). I bought a diamond point bit for the dremel

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-7144-Diamond-Taper-Point/dp/B00068OUMU

but haven't tried it out yet. It looks like it's meant for fine engraving but I'll see tomorrow.

Also, is there a good way to get a new bolt to stick back in? My ghetto fabulous plan is to get the bolt out, stick a new bolt through the gate into the hole left in the concrete wall, and then fill it in with pieces of broken concrete (have a bunch of it lying around) and concrete cement. I don't really have a great selection of tools (just the minimum I need to work on my car and various assorted others) so I'm trying to make do with what I got, no way to stick a new bolt into concrete (that I know of at least).

A bit, an extractor, and some rust breaker oil will often get them out. On the otherhand it is concrete, drill it out and fill it back in.

hippynerd
Nov 5, 2004

by Ozma

devnull420 posted:

I'm not sure if this is the best spot for this post (maybe DIY forum?), but what tool would you guys use to get a broken bolt out of a concrete wall? I have a wooden gate that is bolted to a concrete wall with 2 big rear end bolts, but it's a very narrow squeeze for my car + my wife's car. When I first moved in I managed to hit the gate with my wife's car, and apparently lovely old rusty bolts are no match for toyota's amazing 325 lb-ft of torque. The bolt sheared off with part of the bolt stuck in the wooden gate (which I removed easily) and the rest firmly stuck in the wall (and now bent at an angle).

I tried using a big screwdriver and a hammer to chisel it out but that was definitely not going to work (at least not in a reasonable amount of time). I bought a diamond point bit for the dremel

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-7144-Diamond-Taper-Point/dp/B00068OUMU

but haven't tried it out yet. It looks like it's meant for fine engraving but I'll see tomorrow.

Also, is there a good way to get a new bolt to stick back in? My ghetto fabulous plan is to get the bolt out, stick a new bolt through the gate into the hole left in the concrete wall, and then fill it in with pieces of broken concrete (have a bunch of it lying around) and concrete cement. I don't really have a great selection of tools (just the minimum I need to work on my car and various assorted others) so I'm trying to make do with what I got, no way to stick a new bolt into concrete (that I know of at least).

ugh... sounds pretty sucky. I think you will have better luck drilling a new hole for a new bolt with a masonary bit, and cutting that bolt flush with a saw, or angle grinder.
You might be able to weld anoher bolt onto it, but I think may be too weak in your case. You could also straighten the bolt, thread it, and put a long nut thing half way on, and put some threaded rod on the long nut thing, but that may be too weak too.

PBCrunch
Jun 17, 2002

Lawrence Phillips Always #1 to Me
OK so I have this 33 gallon Craftsman air compressor. It is very loud and annoying when it is filling itself. I have a fitting on it so I can remove the hose when I am done using it. It seems to me that it should be able to hold its pressure, but every time I come back to use the compressor it is empty again. Is this normal or should there be a valve I can close or something?

Tindjin
Aug 4, 2006

Do not seek death.
Death will find you.
But seek the road
which makes death a fulfillment.

PBCrunch posted:

OK so I have this 33 gallon Craftsman air compressor. It is very loud and annoying when it is filling itself. I have a fitting on it so I can remove the hose when I am done using it. It seems to me that it should be able to hold its pressure, but every time I come back to use the compressor it is empty again. Is this normal or should there be a valve I can close or something?

You would need full closure valves on intake and output to have it hold pressure longer. Quick connects and such will still allow air to bleed out over time. Nothing wrong with it.

RandomG
Mar 7, 2004
I LUV HONDA <3 ~<3 ~ <3 ~<3 ~ <3 ~<3 ~
Finally chose to get an expensive tiny crowbar:

http://www.e30m3performance.com/maintenance/valve_adjustment/jpegs/pict01.jpg

I ignored step one of the valve adjustment procedure which is make sure the car is cold, I dealt with the slight pain of heat as I took off the valve cover, only to realize I couldn't get the shims out with the tools that were supposed to work... I think you're suppose to have the car cool off so everything contracts a little bit.

sharkytm
Oct 9, 2003

Ba

By

Sharkytm doot doo do doot do doo


Fallen Rib

Tindjin posted:

You would need full closure valves on intake and output to have it hold pressure longer. Quick connects and such will still allow air to bleed out over time. Nothing wrong with it.

This is not true. My 33G Craftsman compressor holds pressure perfectly. Try opening and closing the bottom drain valve a few times, and then set the compressor in its side, and spray soapy water on the drain valve. If it bubbles, its leaking, a new one is about $13. You QD should seal perfectly, unless its worn out. You could also try taking it off, and re-applying teflon tape to seal the threads. Try the soapy water trick there too.

And since not too many people answered my thread, does anyone have any really cool toolbenches/workbenches they'd like to share? I'm going to be building about 25' of them in my new garage, and I'd like some ideas.

AnomalousBoners
Dec 22, 2007

by Ozma
I use stainless steel tables I bought from a catering business that shut down. I think they ran me like $100 and work awesome. They don't burn, tarnish, anything.

Big K of Justice
Nov 27, 2005

Anyone seen my ball joints?
Cross posted from the Hi Lift jacks will kill you thread.

Anyone looking for a decent US made jackstand that aren't made of chocolate should check out US Jack.

I use them for working under humvees and poo poo, the 3-5 tons should be ok for most car use.



http://www.jackxchange.com/products/D-41608.cfm

I use the cheap poo poo jacks for when I'm lifting but soon as I get under it, the quality stuff goes on. They make good service jacks but they're pricey.

60-80$ over the 20-40$ chain store special. It's worth getting IMO.

rope kid
Feb 3, 2001

Warte nur! Balde
Ruhest du auch.

I just read about this place in ReadyMade magazine and my mind was blown. It's basically a shop club.

http://techshop.ws/

You pay a fee and get access to a shitload of space and extremely expensive tools that normally only King Fancies would have. It looks like they are opening a bunch across the country.

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Big K of Justice
Nov 27, 2005

Anyone seen my ball joints?
Can't wait for their LA location to open up.

I'd like to be able to park my truck some place and be able to spend 12 hours, pull the wheels off, put everything on jack stands and work on seals or the cooling system all day without getting dirty looks from my neighbors or something :)

Holy crap? Injection molding? Paint booths? Rapid prototyping machines? Oh my.

Big K of Justice fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Jun 1, 2008

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