Recent content by Dirtbag

I think there is a collective consciousness memory going back to the 1880s when boiler explosions were common and worker safety wasn't worth a can of beans. That explains the internet fascination with exploding air tanks to some degree for me. Exploding air compressors get millions of YouTube...

@DrFeelGood, thanks for bearing with me. Not trying to hijack the thread but it seemed like a decent opportunity to post some details since I'm right in the middle of it. Air tanks use a straight pipe thread plug (NPSM) with an o-ring. One of the tanks had some anaerobic style sealant making the...

I'm also way down this exact rabbit hole messing about with a couple $50 CH compressors for sake of science. One is a General Air unit sold for fire suppression systems and the other is a Speedaire from Grainger. They are about the same basic setup, horizontal 20 gallon ASME tank with an...

You’re correct about the casting change for the 33C, the new one I have matches your photos for the updated casting. This one is 91 lbs on the scale. Overall it is pretty tight and certainly much better than the HF stuff I’ve used. For the price this Yost 33C is hard to beat. It’s not at the...

I already have one too many vises, well heck maybe that isn’t possible because I bought another one. Eastwood is blowing out the Yost 33C at $135 plus shipping fee. Eastwood also has it listed on eBay for $199 and free shipping, so one deal or the other might be better for folks. This is one...

With regard to the aluminum harbor freight jack failure that leads us into the difference between “reliability engineering” and “structural safety margins”. It’s certainly possible to design something with beefy safety margins for structural loads and then absolutely screw the pooch on...

Best read ever, thank you GJ for the entertainment. Lots of good common sense answers here, and a whole bunch of FUD. I’m an actual aerospace engineer who has designed and flown hardware to space. Half the people on this thread would need a change of pants if they knew what type of flaws are...

Apologies for bringing this one back from the dead, after searching it seems to have the best relevant info for home torque checks. I’ve been looking at buying one of those electric torque adapters. In all of this it is worth considering what other sources of variation might be present. Even...

Perhaps some folks are still looking for Matco 88 heads. An eBay seller store named Jennifer’s Used Parts has them in stock for good price right now. They also have the 1/4 to 3/8 conversion kits, 3/8 repair kits. All three head sizes in black and chrome. I couldn’t help buying a few things…...

After reading up on evaporust the darker colored areas correspond to higher carbon content. The body of the ATHA head is much lighter colored. Here is the larger group in progress for comparison. The Snap On cross peen hammer is fully dark and has a date code to 1986. The ATHA appears to be old...

GJ Team, I’m hoping someone here might know how to identify when this hammer head was made. I bought a job lot of old and crusty vintage body hammers and discovered this beautiful specimen in the group. I’ve seen similar designs from many makers, some marked Bonney look very similar but I...