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Squankum

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Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,666
Location
Southeast
Completely agree - I've switched to Valvoline for my gear oil specifically because they started selling them in these pouches a few years ago. Those little pumps ****.

You may think those pumps (which I call "******** pumpers") ****, but yours probably screw to the plastic
bottle! I use Red Line gear oil and there is no pumper for those threads. One hand holds the pumper in the bottle opening, the other makes the pumping. That really *****!

But I've learned to turn my mind off. Eventually a quart goes away.
 
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Professor Gascan

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Joined
Dec 26, 2024
Messages
178
You may think those pumps (which I call "******** pumpers" ****, but yours probably screw to the plastic
bottle! I use Red Line gear oil and there is no pumper for those threads. One hand holds the pumper in the bottle opening, the other makes the pumping. That really *****!

But I've learned to turn my mind off. Eventually a quart goes away.
"But I've learned to turn my mind off" is somewhere I've finally been able to get to while doing annoying and/or repetitive tasks. Like shoveling 3 feet of snow off my driveway last week, I just tried to get zen about it and embrace the ****.
 

Jeffrey D

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
90
Location
Christiana, TN
Ares 20 piece socket accessories set. Part # 40003.

Having my new tool box, I'm trying to stock it with the things I need in the hangar without digging through my road box to find it. I travel a lot and mainly work out of a Pelican case and I would like to keep my road box just for that. When sent out, I can just toss in what additional tools I need for the job in my Pelican and go. It is slowly getting there.

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DGersic

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Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
6,281
Location
DeKalb, IL
Not new.

I’m cleaning out my parents‘ house. In a closet, I found some tools that must have come from my grandfather. His fishing hat was in the bag, along with some other stuff.

IMG_8714.jpegIMG_8715.jpeg

I think the chisel had a wood handle once. It’s clearly been used hard since then.

Dad had this classic in the garage.

IMG_8716.jpegIMG_8717.jpeg


And mom’s screwdriver that lived in the kitchen junk drawer.

IMG_8718.jpeg
 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,666
Location
Southeast
I tried the hole punch in bottom method too. It made a mess due to the positions of the fill holes.

Maybe it is just me. But whenever I work on cars I end up getting slimed. I sometimes think I can do something quick and clean without messing up clothes ... Ha! Don't even get me started on anti-seize. I live in the rust belt and use a lot of it. So I always end up part silver or copper smuged all over depending on what I do :(

a) There's a Peter Egan column about a clean mechanic he once knew but google's not finding it out there in pirated form. Maybe I'll dig for it tomorrow.

2) As for antiseize, I'll say the obvious:
i) don't use too much
ii) but how? Don't use the brush on the cap! Get a wide Testors-brand modeling brush and keep it nearby your bottle.

1772611826848.png

Someday I'm going to duct tape a small bit of tube to the side of my antiseize container to hold the brush, but for now, I just keep it near the bottle.
 

Squankum

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Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,666
Location
Southeast
I find these surforms really handy. Never had a Craftsman before. On sale for $7. Made in England if that’s important.


IMG_1182.jpegIMG_1181.jpeg

I grew up with a red Stanley Surform in my hand, starting in the early 70's! I like this handle:

1772613146735.png

Still have it.

Still out there, now yellow:

 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,666
Location
Southeast
I’m cleaning out my parents‘ house. In a closet, I found some tools that must have come from my grandfather. His fishing hat was in the bag, along with some other stuff.

IMG_8715.jpeg

I think the chisel had a wood handle once. It’s clearly been used hard since then.

You can't expect me to get off the couch and disturb this cat and go to another room to root around for the right Eric Sloane book, but from what I've seen on the internet looking for Sloane stuff there's no telling how old that chisel could be! Might even date back to mortise-and-tenon joints for building framing.

Here are some chisels from the first third of the 19th century that Sloane collected:

1772613462566.png
 

lund

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
765
Location
Michigan
Garden sprayers can be converter to fluid dispensers, too.

Good idea. They are also cheap enough where you could dedicate one for the fluid needed and avoid cleaning. I think it would work well for Transmission fluid (low enough viscosity). But typical weight differential gear oils might be too heavy for garden sprayer pumps.
 

lund

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
765
Location
Michigan
a) There's a Peter Egan column about a clean mechanic he once knew but google's not finding it out there in pirated form. Maybe I'll dig for it tomorrow.

2) As for antiseize, I'll say the obvious:
i) don't use too much
ii) but how? Don't use the brush on the cap! Get a wide Testors-brand modeling brush and keep it nearby your bottle.

1772611826848.png

Someday I'm going to duct tape a small bit of tube to the side of my antiseize container to hold the brush, but for now, I just keep it near the bottle.

I probably use too much anti-seize which may be the main problem. I am purposefully liberal with it since I live in Michigan with rapid and extreme temp oscillations, a lot of road salt, and very rough and gritty roads (potholes and spot repairs are the norm). So everything is vibration blasted with a salt slurry mixed in with many expansion and contraction cycles. Using a liberal (not crazy over pasted but everything covered lightly) helps. But anti-seize migrates everywhere for me once it gets on my hands ... which happens pretty quickly when coating bolt threads etc.

I learned quickly not to use the can brush attached to the cap. I cut that off. I use a brush similar to what you are with a longer handle. In my case (maybe a mistake) I often leave the bottle open and the brush sitting in it. So the brush handle gets coated and ends up on my gloves etc.

But in any event, I take some solace in being able to get things apart again after repairs. It really makes a difference in Michigan. I just have to resist working on the car without changing into something that is essentially a rag. It seems I am not able to even look at anything with anti-seize on it without it migrating all over me and everything near me. Maybe that is the lesser of evils. The price one pays for keeping cars 300k + miles in the upper northeast.
 
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msharley

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Joined
Sep 20, 2021
Messages
13,999
Location
Central Pennsylvania
I probably use too much anti-seize which may be the main problem. I am purposefully liberal with it since I live in Michigan with temp extremes, salt extreme, and very rough and gritty roads. So everything is vibration blasted with a salt slurry. I found using a liberal (not crazy over pasted but everything covered lightly) helps. But anti-seize migrates everywhere for me once it gets on my hands ... which happens pretty quickly when coating bolt threads etc.

I also learned quickly not to use the can brush attached to the cap. I cut that off. I use a brush similar to what you are with a long enough handle. In my case (maybe a mistake) I often leave the bottle open and the brush sitting in it. So the brush handle gets coated and ends up on my gloves etc.

But in any event, I take some solace in being able to get things apart again after repairs. It really makes a difference in Michigan. I just have to resist working on the car without changing into something that is essentially a rag.
Same as Central Pa...... If ya want to get it apart next time? Ya gonna put some Anti Seize on it...(else wise, cheater pipe, grinder and gas axxe come into play)

Most times? I use a tooth pick. Or a weld rod stub as applicator...

We all know...there was only one can of "Anti Seize" ever made....It has been doing its best to cover the Earth...ever since!
 

Pinne

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2024
Messages
335
a) There's a Peter Egan column about a clean mechanic he once knew but google's not finding it out there in pirated form. Maybe I'll dig for it tomorrow.

2) As for antiseize, I'll say the obvious:
i) don't use too much
ii) but how? Don't use the brush on the cap! Get a wide Testors-brand modeling brush and keep it nearby your bottle.


Someday I'm going to duct tape a small bit of tube to the side of my antiseize container to hold the brush, but for now, I just keep it near the bottle.
Agree with this 100%

As a habit of working on bikes with lots of small hardware I use brushes or applicators for almost everything. It’s much more accurate / cleaner. Acid brushes are pretty affordable so I just swap them out when they get ratty.

If you want to do it “fancy” I’ve bought a few things from these guys: https://radarlaboratories.com/

You can also 3d print any number of different type of brush holders - I have some for acid brushes like the ones you mentioned. But a good old fashioned piece of tubing and zip ties / duct tape work plenty well too for brush holding duty.
 
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DGersic

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
6,281
Location
DeKalb, IL
You can't expect me to get off the couch and disturb this cat and go to another room to root around for the right Eric Sloane book, but from what I've seen on the internet looking for Sloane stuff there's no telling how old that chisel could be! Might even date back to mortise-and-tenon joints for building framing.

Here are some chisels from the first third of the 19th century that Sloane collected:

1772613462566.png

It's possible. Grandfather was born in the 1920s, worked many jobs over the years, several of them in skilled trades, but was also an accomplished scrounger. There’s no telling how old these are, or where they came from.

It does look kinda like the ones pictured.
 

Squankum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
7,666
Location
Southeast
It's possible. Grandfather was born in the 1920s, worked many jobs over the years, several of them in skilled trades, but was also an accomplished scrounger. There’s no telling how old these are, or where they came from.

It does look kinda like the ones pictured.

Pretty sure it's pre-A-bomb steel!

 

Skyman

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 9, 2021
Messages
1,162
Location
Central Maryland
I bought a huge bag of cheap flux brushes that I use for anti-seize, among other things. I often trim the bristles much shorter to better control how much I apply and where I apply it. When done, it goes in the trash, as do the disposable gloves that I wear when using the silver slime. I hate looking like the tin woodsman.
 

OldCarGuy

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Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
1,984
Location
Ohio
Nice. I guess electronic micrometers are more convenient these days if you have some. But everything else should be useful.

I wonder why he is ditching his equipment. I bet because nobody will pay for anything rebuilt these days and may as well find a home and/or retiring ? It is amazing how much quality old machinist tools are generally available on the 2nd hand market around former industrial areas. I am in Michigan and often see stuff posted. My guess is stuff from the USA industrial age relatives who pass and relatives sell it on the cheap since they do not want to pitch it.
A friend gave me a dasqua 1"-2" digital micrometer for making some transmission parts for his 1911 Locomobile. They are made in Italy; but nowhere near being Begotti in quality. After using them I'd much rather use one of my old Mitutoyo Mics. But then again I'm from the old school.
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You guessed it. He's shutting down his shop and retiring. While his local competition quit over the past ten years. Plus so many service shops would rather purchase new Chinese starter than rebuild the old. So his main work was on heavy equipment and antique cars. An OEM Onan starter cost $600.00 for my 1992 Ingersoll tractor. While an import would be $61.00.. The rebuilding cost around $300.00. I would go the rebuild. While I was there he put the OEM test stand, Plus opened it up for inspection . And should last as long as a new import would.

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lund

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 2, 2019
Messages
765
Location
Michigan
You guessed it. He's shutting down his shop and retiring. While his local competition quit over the past ten years. Plus so many service shops would rather purchase new Chinese starter than rebuild the old. So his main work was on heavy equipment and antique cars. An OEM Onan starter cost $600.00 for my 1992 Ingersoll tractor. While an import would be $61.00.. The rebuilding cost around $300.00. I would go the rebuild. While I was there he put the OEM test stand, Plus opened it up for inspection . And should last as long as a new import would.

03bae400-b29a-46b5-b5c4-a9d1a5f35918.jpg

Part is made in Japan ;) But I would generally put Japanese in the higher quality rebuild pile too.

It is a shame people typically just chuck things in the scrap heap rather than repair and rebuild now. It seems so wasteful. But it is hard to justify the salary time to do the work when the components are generally cheaper than the time required to rebuild them with minimal materials etc. It seems only cases with restorations of systems with no longer attainable get rebuilt these days, and those are mostly rare special cases.

The sad parts is that motors etc are generally very rebuildable and the old components and windings were often higher quality that contemporary stuff.
 

Qualitytools

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Joined
Apr 30, 2014
Messages
2,850
Location
SOCAL
Some advice if you want: It sounds like you have what you need. But I have a Subaru Forester and filling the 2 differentials plus CVT was a royal pain. First I tried squeezing quart bottles with a hose cap etc (nighmare). So I also bought one of these pumps and found it very underwhelming. VERY slow transfers as you say. Plus the hose that comes with the cheap pump was stiff plastic and easily jostled out of the fill hole (while pumping forever) or slipped off the spout nub making a big mess periodically. Plus one pump broke in the middle of a transfer making a mess. It was exasperating over something that should be easy. To compound matters, the Subaru CVT also has VERY high fluid capacity to make use torture. Heavy gear oil for differentials also did not pump very well in the small plastic pump and the front differential had a fair volume of it too.

So I tried two things. First, I replaced the hose with a longer and very supple silicon hose. This helped a lot. But still ended up taking forever and messy. And when you have a zillion strokes to fill, things tend to go wrong.

So next, for lower differential volumes in awkward fill positions (front differential fill hole is awkward) I switched to a larger size Mityvac "extractor" syringe like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-MVA6852-Fluid-Extractor/dp/B0741G9P6R/?tag=atomicindus08-20

This worked much much better. I would take the plunger off the back of the syringe, then pour gear oil into it with the hose capped so it would not leak out, and then use the syringe to squirt the gear oil in. Then repeat cycle till the differentials were filled. This worked fine without too much mess -- even with heavy gear oil.

For the CVT (huge volume) this was not tennable unless you want to fill the syringe all afternoon and accumulate a big mess of spills and drips. So I used a larger size Mityvac floor extractor/dispenser pump that I sometimes use for brake & power fluid fluid extractions and lawnmower oil changes. I cleaned the extractor/dispenser out well from old oil and let the solvents dry, then filled it with new CVT fluid, and used it transfer pump into the CVT till filled. This was very quick and clean. If I had a shop, I would buy a few of these and leave one for transmission fluid types and another for gear oil to avoid much of the cleaning prep issues to get ready to use for dispensing new fluid rather than extraction of old fluid. This one Mityvac floor model is the same or very similar to what I used as a dispenser:


I think you can buy Mityvac clones for both of these at Harbor Freight. The Harbor Freight models might be ok enough and a bit cheaper than Mityvac models.
Thanks Lund, good information.
 

swsman

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Joined
May 5, 2021
Messages
545
Location
Earthbound
I bought a huge bag of cheap flux brushes that I use for anti-seize, among other things. I often trim the bristles much shorter to better control how much I apply and where I apply it. When done, it goes in the trash, as do the disposable gloves that I wear when using the silver slime. I hate looking like the tin woodsman.
I just drop by the nearby Green Tree store, grab a pack of brushes and use until gone. Rinse and repeat, then again a bottle of anti-sieze lasts me a long time, lucky I am not in the Rust Belt, think I would invest in a sprayer:)
 

javyLSU

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Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
1,542
Location
New Haven, CT
My Snap-on guy has been flaky for a while... Orders taking forever, which is important because he never seems to have anything I need on the truck. So I decided to try ordering from the Snap-on website to see how it goes. I was blown away. I placed my order just before noon on Monday morning (making sure to only order stuff that showed in-stock). UPS dropped off my package today, Wednesday. That's faster than I've been getting my Amazon Prime orders! In the package was:
  • 4 pc green soft grip mini pick set (SGASA204CG)
  • 90° tip green pocket prybar (PBMA5G)
  • 7mm Flank drive plus combination wrench (SOEXM7)
  • 1/4" Flank drive plus combination wrench (SOXRR8A)
  • 11/32" Flank drive plus combination wrench (SOEX11)
  • 5/16" Reversible ratcheting wrench (SOXRR10A)
  • 1/4" Reversible ratcheting wrench (SOXRR8A)
  • 8pc Torx/Hex folding key set (AWHD8K)
  • Ratchet rebuild kit for small-body 3/8" ratchets (RKRFC72)
IMG_6147.jpg

My Snap-on guy doesn't come around until Fridays, so the fact that I was able to place an order and receive it two days before he even comes again makes me quite satisfied. Bad news for him...

Before that arrived, this morning I stopped to pick up my new favorite tool, the Milwaukee 3/8 Fuel Subcompact impact wrench (3049-20). This thing is absolute ****. It's sooooo light, but it has enough power to remove 21mm SUV lug nuts. I also picked up my order from CAT, 3/8" 12pt metric sockets in shallow and deep (194-3574 and 199-9019), CAT is having a 20% off sale right now on hand tools & shop supplies.

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