Chopped! The GJ User Modified Tools Thread

[jeffmoss26]

finally remembered to get a pic...

 

[Outlawmws]

A Planet Jr #3 farm implement wrench some PO saw a need to twist it

Maybe it was an early attempt at those twisted "high torque" wrenches Sears was pushing just before the end?

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's an old wrench of mine which is 'double chopped'! About 20 years ago it became the handle for my home made special tool to hold a crankshaft pulley still whilst undoing and re fitting the bolt.
Originally a good quality fairly large 1"BSF/Whitworth DBE wrench it eventually lost both it's ends in the cause of maintaining farm machinery. It must be fairly old, made by 'Matador', possibly before Germany was partitioned into East and West?

 

[Leviton]

Argggh.

A previous owner modified my beautiful, convex handled, Barcalo. Sacrilege!

.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I need to take a few pics cause I might have some good mods, but as I look at some of yours I know i've seen or have some abortions too.

in fact I bought a steel bench for the 3/4 inch steel plate top and the user put on top of the 1/4 inch existing one he beat to heck and when I removed the shim it was a good portion of a PLVMB chisel or maybe it was a wrench.

i'm here to watch and learn and hopefully i'll have a few to show off too.

RUBI: thanks for starting this and not sure how long it's been going on, but glad you did!

 

[bonneyman]

I love the old BetR Grip Proto screwdriver handle design. I've taken to making drivers that Proto didn't make with spare handles from too-bad-to-save screwdrivers.

 

[RubiconJK]

I love the old BetR Grip Proto screwdriver handle design. I've taken to making drivers that Proto didn't make with spare handles from too-bad-to-save screwdrivers.

Those look great. I like those Proto handles also.

 

[Rick B.]

View media item 98656

From L to R:

Home made crows foot wrench to tighten a footpeg nut in a tight spot.

Modified socket for adjusting driving lamps on my Harley Heritage Classic.

Home made drag link socket for removing oil screen caps on Harley Shovelhead and Evo cone motors.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I grabbed an old valve off something big (maybe a big dozer) that had a point ground on one end the prior owner used it to stab his oil filters on his tractors to remove them with it.

sorry I can't find pictures or the valve at the moment so i'll post them later. anybody else use that method?

 

[harley jim]

I worked as a diesel mechanic for the first half of my working life. I have many modified tools for specific apps. For draining oil filters I took a ball peen hammer and welded a point onto it, well it was a point after grinding and applying more weld a few times. I could put the drain cart under a rig and punch the filters and pull the drain plug. While everything was draining I would grease and inspect the rest of the rig, never got an oil bath doing it that way.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[MattT]

anybody else use that method?

Back in the day I used a #2 Phillips for removing oil filters. Didn't even know they made filter removal tools.

 

[harley jim]

Back in the day I used a #2 Phillips for removing oil filters. Didn't even know they made filter removal tools.

Yep.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[TonyJ]

View media item 98656




From L to R:



Home made crows foot wrench to tighten a footpeg nut in a tight spot.



Modified socket for adjusting driving lamps on my Harley Heritage Classic.



Home made drag link socket for removing oil screen caps on Harley Shovelhead and Evo cone motors.

I used a cman socket like yours with the red on it and made slots on both sides to tighten and torc down the valves in my Quincy compressor


Tony

 

[RTM]

Here's one I dug up a while back. Looks like someone chopped a right angle flat head driver by cutting in half, and cutting the tip off the opposite end, and welding onto the first end. Stuffed it into a hand made (and not round or even) handle, and use an old Blue Point ferrule to hold it in place. I have a bunch of the normal double ended RA screwdrivers, but this one is special. After all it is a Blue Point.

 

[lilredex]

Another version of an extra deep socket (9/16"). Was made up to reach the nuts on gas tank bolts.

On reassembly, I add a spacer to keep the nut closer to the end of that "J" bolt. Also grease it up well and slip a length of tubing over it to keep it clean.

On the initial take down, I run a modified nut up there to clean out the threads.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I forgot about this one until today. I don't even keep this one with the others on the Island of Misfit Tools. This one goes with all my treasures in a locked cabinet. Picked it up a little while ago while looking for something else..

At a quick glance, it sort of looks like a factory dwarfie double offset combination box end and flare nut wrench.

That's because the mod is well done on the top side - and because it has that instantly recognizable NOS yellow US Army Ordnance Dept re-pack (long-term storage) label and tape strip wrapped so nicely around the shank.

Upon further inspection of the flip side, though, it becomes evident that someone not only cut an opening into the larger box end, but they ground down the ring underneath, except for two little areas they shaped into "pins" - turning it into a pin spanner! (Or perhaps some kind of strange valve lapper?!)

Then, upon further inspection of the label, you realize in some horror and dismay that it used to be a NOS 41-W-625 (5/8" x 3/4") dwarfie double offset double box end GMTK spec wrench!

The real question becomes - did someone actually convert the one end into a combination box end/flare nut/pin spanner after it was re-packed, without even bothering to take the re-pack label off?!

Or, did someone modify it before it was re-packed, erroneously, as a 41-W-625 despite the modified end!?

I'm not sure which one is harder to believe!

 

[Outlawmws]

Picked this one up last weekend: DBE to SBE:

Did I really do that? Fixed...

 

[Provincial]

DBE to SBE.

 

[bonneyman]

Cheapo modern car scissor jack turned into a small LD second set of hands.
I've used it on evap coolers, and just the other day on a garbage disposal unit. Just couldn't get in under the sink, and needed to hold the unit up while I connected the outlet pipe. Worked like a charm!

 

[Bigblockyeti]

^ Those little scissor jacks are great for a number of things, especially since they're small and relatively powerful for their size. The only thing I found they don't do too well is jacking up the car they came with.

 

[Outlawmws]

I use them for my trailer for leveling. I like the idea of giving them a decent drive type. that and a battery impact makes life easy...

 

[mustangSR70]

Lugz referred me to this thread from the Plomb thread. I just picked up this Plomb 5249 3/8" drive ratchet that has been turned into a stubby. Whoever did it did a great job, kind of reminds me of some of the Snap On stubbies.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That is a goodie! And I think you're right about the inspiration.

 

[drivesitfar]

Mustang: great find. any idea how the person modified it like that? is it threaded or welded or epoxied or ...?

 

[mustangSR70]

Drives, it is welded, then whoever did it ground and finished it, so it appears one piece. I'm guessing since so much care was taken to get it to look the way it does, this must have been something the guy held onto and used for quite a while and cared about. This certainly wasnt a one time use hack job type modification.

 

[harley jim]

I use them for my trailer for leveling. I like the idea of giving them a decent drive type. that and a battery impact makes life easy...

I agree, I have several of them with different attachments on top

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[RubiconJK]

Lugz referred me to this thread from the Plomb thread. I just picked up this Plomb 5249 3/8" drive ratchet that has been turned into a stubby. Whoever did it did a great job, kind of reminds me of some of the Snap On stubbies.

That is awesome and a fitting addition to this thread.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

The destructive method of removing oil filters should ONLY be used when you are Certain the new filter is the right one![emoji85]


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[leg17]

The destructive method of removing oil filters should ONLY be used when you are Certain the new filter is the right one![emoji85]Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

How did you figure that out?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Somebody needed a 4" extension badly enough to braze a Bonney CV socket onto the end of a cut-down hex key and machine the other end into a 1/2-inch square plug.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

I ground down the blade of an estate sale screwdriver to fit into the slots of saws screws made between 1876 and the mid 1950s. Keeps the brass screws from getting torn up like the one on the bottom left.

Stock screwdrivers are either wide enough but too thick, or thin enough but too narrow.

I took an old linoleum knife and cut down the blade to proper width, used the side of a fine grinding whee to mill the width and thickness down until I got a perfect fit for my saw screws. It can also be used for cleaning the slots.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

I shed a tear for expensive tools that have been modified, but acknowledge LG's comments about the need to keep a production line moving. Thankfully, I have a mountain of less valued tools that willingly submit to modification rather than remain in the pile unused and forgotten.

Viewing this thread has changed my opinion completely. So many fine examples of ingenuity and resourcefulness. The original value of the unmodified tool pales in comparison to the modified tool and its ability to undertake a previously impossible job.

 

[mikeinri]

I'm 51 (today), have been working with tools since I was a kid. Embarrassed to admit that I'd never considered modifying a tool, can think of SO many vehicle repairs that would have gone very differently (much faster and easier) with some small tool changes!

Some really great ideas here, guys!

BTW, using a screwdriver to remove an oil filter should only be a last resort with the cheaply made filters of today. Even then, don't expect it to work, it may just tear the filter apart without removing the core. Been there, done that...

Mike

 

[LesserSon]

So this shows how little I know about Plomb empire tools. I did not recognize at first that this offset screwdriver was originally a crossbar - number 5485 Proto Los Angeles.

 

[Outlawmws]

BTW, using a screwdriver to remove an oil filter should only be a last resort with the cheaply made filters of today. Even then, don't expect it to work, it may just tear the filter apart without removing the core. Been there, done that...

Mike

Oil filter pliers is my go to for that these days!

If that doesn't work I use a screw driver on the edge of the lip to knock it to get it started...

 

[damon18]

I've been cleaning and organizing tools from a toolbox that belonged to my Grandfather (who was a 30's to 50's mechanic).

He worked at at time when you did what you needed to do to get the job done. I'm assuming that is the reason for these "field modifications".

 

[Provincial]

Most of these "chopped" wrenches were used where there was a lack of space for access with a full-length wrench. The cut-off wrench was often hit with a hammer to apply the torque, or levered with a pry bar.

Many hydraulic line applications involve tight spaces, and the nuts do not have to be as tight as a bolt/nut, so a shorter wrench can apply enough torque by itself.

Sometimes, the wrench you see is the "drop" from the end that was actually used. In other words, it was not intended for any particular use, but was the discarded end.

 

[Old Radar]

Looks like you have both ends of the Lectrolite 2216.

 

[damon18]

Looks like you have both ends of the Lectrolite 2216.

I hadn't spotted that I think you are right, the MAC 15/16 also.

Now I'm wondering if Granddad cut these on purpose or kept them to use after breaking them accidentally.

I'm guessing on purpose but it must have been an important job that needed doing to sacrifice a good wrench.

Sent from my SM-G973U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[damon18]

Found another modified Lectrolite in same box.

I'll call it a Shop Made Crowsfoot. LOL

Sent from my SM-G973U using The Garage Journal mobile app