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... my shop storage! When I cleaned out the shop, I had a small box of small tools that were dups or just not needed. I thought I'd go through them and see what, if anything, was interesting, and if there were any tools to fill holes in a couple of sets. Here are the picks: ABCO and...

What is it with electrical cables and the dirt and filth that are always on them? I've been running a bunch of CAT6 cable the last few weeks. Even in the sealed box, it's every bit as filthy as any cable I've pulled! Is there a machine in the factory that adds the dirt? Do they have standards...

I found one thread on this from back in '15, but it wasn't a No 33 and I have different ways of doing things. So, here's my take on it. I have two Jacobs #33s, neither in terrible shape but neither in perfect running shape, either. The one that's on my DP is the better of the two, but catches...

This showed up in the shop while I was out to lunch yesterday. I do mean I was out having lunch. It's long--15 1/4" on the tray. It's 5 1/4" wide inside, but only 3 1/4" high. I know it was a card file, but what can I re-purpose it as in the shop? The badge belongs on a high-end car from the...

Yesteday, @Outlawmws put an idea in my head about using copper pipe scraps to make vise jaw pads or caps. Sounds easy enough! I could have them done by bedtime. I'll start with my Roughneck vise. Scraps of copper pipe are something I have no shortage of, so I went out to the scrap copper...

This was in an old KennedyKits 520 I traded a member here for this winter: That is how I found it. Just an old scribe--cool pocket clip, 'though. I did clean it up quite a bit. Then I dropped it the other day and got this: Cool, I thought, it works like an old Bic! I spent an hour trying...

I stumbled on this trick while restoring an old Estwing Camp Axe a couple of years ago. I'd gone as far with electrolysis as I could without destroying the original paint on the steel handle but still had some rust to remove, so I moved on to phos acid. The resulting black finish was so nice I...

I don't know what these multi-end wrenches are properly called, so there's probably a thread for them, but here it is: Looks like a 6 7 either side of the first lightening hole and a stylized HP in a broken circle. Nothing on the other side. Most or all of these style wrenches I recall...

I own some torque wrenches--not as many as y'all, but as many as I need. They're calibrated in Foot-Pounds: I don't see no Pound-Feet there, and that's about eighty years of tools. Pound-Feet sounds like what I do when caught with another man's wife--and he's armed. Seems I just...

I brought one of my oldies in to the shop today to get a battery and bulb transplant: Ray-O-Vac "cloud". I've forgotten just what the vintage is on this--'50s? The barrel is mostly copper-plated steel with some of the original rose gold plating left. These gold-plated (yellow or rose gold)...

Yeah, just try that and see how I react! I see so many ads for tool casters that show how well their casters roll over hoses and cords. Why? Do you like sparks and explosive releases of air pressure? Do you like a crazed Hippie chasing you with a ball-pein hammer? [/rant]

You know those tools that you pick up and think "Damn, this is a NICE tool!" It fits your hand well, is very well designed and of obvious high quality. This is one of those: It's also one of those tools that you then stop for a minute and think "But how the hell did it end up in my kit?" I...

I mean, I know everything 3M is a premium price, but I thought this was ridiculous. I've been having increasing trouble seeing when welding lately. I bought a new 3M helm about a year ago as my old one died, but damn, were my eyes getting that bad? After arranging and carefully following a...

From what little I can gleam about this chuck, it's the MSC branded budget llambricht from Spain. Has anyone used one for a drill press? Whadda' ya' think?

I'm in the final stages of my drill press restomod project. I've eliminated about 70% of the vibration with the various changes I've made. It seems that the V belt is responsible for a large portions of the rest as it takes a set that takes a lot of running before it warms up and settles down...

I'm looking into what options I might have for a DP with a 1 5/8" column, in case the title didn't get that through. At least a crank and rack to raise it. Maybe even a tilt-table. Drill press has a 6" swing, measuring from the front of the column. Any suggestions, anyone? Trying to shop for...

If you use a machinist's tool chest much, you've probably experienced the same frustration I have: If it has the lid open--and most have to to open a drawer--and you want to close the top drawer, those latches have always fallen down to frustrate you. One small RE magnet here: Fixed...

I did some pretty thorough searching and was unable to find a thread for anything related to optical devices, so here we go! Optics are tools that expand our vision. We can make tiny things large, distant things close, increase precision of measurement, etc. I'll start with a few tools I have...

It's always a question of "Does this rule go with this set?" This has been used in my shop for as long as I've been using my shop. I very rarely use anything but the square head. Every part is steel or cast-iron, and nicely machined. Nothing in this set has any markings but the rule...

I've been hand-tapping holes in steel, cast iron, stainless steel, aluminum, brass... the list goes on... for many years. I've always used "standard" plug taps. I'm sure you all know how that goes--half a turn, back off a half turn to "break the chip", make another half-turn, repeat until the...