Terra Nova
Well-known member
Link? I looked up the channel, but didn't see a video with a title like that. I'm curious.
So am I curious about this method. I couldn't find it either.
Found it! It was on his second channel "my mechanics insights"
Link? I looked up the channel, but didn't see a video with a title like that. I'm curious.
So am I curious about this method. I couldn't find it either.
I make coin type screwdriver tips and split nut drivers as needed out of spare spade bits. It's easier to find a blade wide enough to fully engage the often larger sized fasteners that way. After making the correct curve or shape I thin the blade thickness down until it's a perfect fit.Most of my driver mods are a notch in the middle of the blade for those odd split nuts often on Binoculars. Common on the but end of hunting knives as well.
Clever! Thanks for the idea.I make coin type screwdriver tips and split nut drivers as needed out of spare spade bits. It's easier to find a blade wide enough to fully engage the often larger sized fasteners that way. After making the correct curve or shape I thin the blade thickness down until it's a perfect fit.
That looks almost factory made. well done.
That looks almost factory made. well done.



Haha cheers! And no plans for the bender, the size of the dies was determined by the radius I could get out of those bits of timber, then I just slapped it all together with some bolts and pins I had lying around. The die is mounted on 2 pins set into the desk to stop it from rotating... I'll admit that the die broke just as it finished the last bend in that set of tubesVery nice, love the bead smasher.
tubing bender from gingery plans?
Zinc is a really good lubricant. So good it is included in a number of greases and at one time was even used in automotive oil.There was a metal roofing supplier in Hawaii that used Koa for a lot of their rollformer tooling. Some of it was over 20 years old. They did use 4150 tool steel for some of the critical bends, but for low-stress forming the wood dies worked really well. Interesting fact was that the wood lasted quite a while on galvanized steel, but degraded quickly as they began rolling more pre- painted material.



That is so cool!Not sure if it counts as a tool, but here is a tractor that I built for rebuilding my detached garage, in particular, for tearing out and pouring a new concrete floor. Concrete buggies are not available here in Alaska. I primarily built it to haul concrete from the concrete truck into the garage because a wheelbarrow seemed less fun. It has a payload of approximately 3200 lb or 2/3 of a cubic yard. It has been a real time saver and is a real hoot to use. Being 35" wide, it will fit through the chain-link gate just fine. My property is only 7,500 SF, but I have excavated some 40 CY of soil and brought in 140 tons of aggregate and riprap to build a sunken patio. It isn't finished, but it has hauled tons and tons of material including, aggregate, soil, fresh concrete, busted out concrete, firewood. Power steering is accomplished with a linear actuator. This was my first project that incorporated a gasoline engine, gears, and a transaxle, so was pretty excited to get everything working successfully. I'd love to build a smaller version with a tighter turning radius.
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A wobble stubby? Dang, now I'll have to make one!
Very cool! It deserves a build thread!Not sure if it counts as a tool, but here is a tractor that I built for rebuilding my detached garage, in particular, for tearing out and pouring a new concrete floor. Concrete buggies are not available here in Alaska. I primarily built it to haul concrete from the concrete truck into the garage because a wheelbarrow seemed less fun. It has a payload of approximately 3200 lb or 2/3 of a cubic yard. It has been a real time saver and is a real hoot to use. Being 35" wide, it will fit through the chain-link gate just fine. My property is only 7,500 SF, but I have excavated some 40 CY of soil and brought in 140 tons of aggregate and riprap to build a sunken patio. It isn't finished, but it has hauled tons and tons of material including, aggregate, soil, fresh concrete, busted out concrete, firewood. Power steering is accomplished with a linear actuator. This was my first project that incorporated a gasoline engine, gears, and a transaxle, so was pretty excited to get everything working successfully. I'd love to build a smaller version with a tighter turning radius.
I'll try and get a build thread started this weekend and will try and figure out how to link it here. I sometimes walk beside it and sometimes squat between the engine and the dump bed. I'll elaborate more in the build thread. I also need to put one together for the garage rebuild. Without getting too far off topic, here are some before and current pictures of the garage. They both show the same face of the building and were taken about 5 years apart. The realtor thought I was crazy when I got so excited about the detached garage...all I knew was there was a footprint of a building on the property survey!Very cool! It deserves a build thread!
Do you ride it or walk behind it with a remote controller?


I love purpose-built one-off tools. Many years ago, when I was young and poor I welded two railroad spikes side by side to use as a tie rod separator, it worked great for the job at hand.
We made those mallets in 8th grade shop class on the lathe, back when there was a shop class in school.
They are rare, but they're out there!I've done a lot of wrenching but I can't say that I have ever come across a J size fastener.
Me either but a bit of snooping came up with this Grainger link which equates the J size to 27/64" which looks wrong.I've done a lot of wrenching but I can't say that I have ever come across a J size fastener.
I'm guessing the J is for Jim.Me either but a bit of snooping came up with this Grainger link which equates the J size to 27/64" which looks wrong.
J Size
Then I found this reference to trailer Hitch J-Pin nut sizes and it looks like it (close to 1")
J-Pin Blurb
Correct me if it's wrong Radio Flyer and those are a nice looking set of stubbies! Nice work!
Outstanding!!!I picked up a used Klein 3239 adjustable spud wrench at a garage sale several years ago for $1. It was only a dollar, because someone had cut off most of the original tapered handle at some point in the past. The remaining handle was too short to do much with it but I could never get myself to sell it off or recycle it, so it just sat in one of my tool drawers until yesterday. I was recently doing some mechanical work in a tight area and I was thinking how much easier the job would be if I had a set of larger sized 1/2" drive crowfoot wrenches. I have full sets in 3/8" drive, but I have never purchased any of the larger 1/2" drive sizes, because they are so expensive when weighed against how often I would use them.
After thinking a bit, I realized I could do a bit of reshaping and also add a 1/2" female square drive to my stubby spare Klein adjustable and make a pretty good working solution for any future fasteners or compression fittings I encounter in the 7/8" to 1-1/2" size range.
A couple relaxing hours in the shop later, I had the following tool. I used common home shop tools to make it. A 1/2" drill press to drill the initial hole, then I turned the hole into a rough square by using some small carbide burrs in a Foredom tool (a Dremel alternative). Then I finished the shaping with metal files and diamond grit files by hand. I used a small carbide ball burr to make the inside ball detent indentations. Lastly, I did some touch up sanding and shaping of the outside with my angle grinder and a flap wheel. Everything was done with hand tools or handheld power tools except the initial drill press hole. I don't have a metal lathe or a mill. I now have a tool I can put on the end of a 1/2" drive socket extension or use with any number of breaker bars or other adapters I have to make a handle that sticks out at multiple different angles depending on my needs when working in tight areas. I don't know if there's a company out there that makes a tool like this or not. I've seen the Bahco and Snap-on 3/8" drive adjustable crowfoot wrenches, but I've never seen anything this size and in 1/2" drive before.
Correct me if it's wrong Radio Flyer and those are a nice looking set of stubbies! Nice work!