Sliding-Tee Ter-Totter
- Thread starter jeejay
- Start date
Correction, I didn't quite have it lined up with the center of the level there, and wouldn't you know, the table was only level in that exact spot (a vise I clamped on there might have warped it). Whatever the case may be, I double checked and they're both balanceable from that center mark (the other one I'd adjusted in line with the first, so it was manually leveled).
This wasn't really the point though, I was going for a simple way to keep the thing from sliding while spinning, and it works pretty well with magnets added, whether or not I balance it perfectly either. It practically flies off the handle without those, or a detent like the other, which would be the sliding teeter-totter effect.
This wasn't really the point though, I was going for a simple way to keep the thing from sliding while spinning, and it works pretty well with magnets added, whether or not I balance it perfectly either. It practically flies off the handle without those, or a detent like the other, which would be the sliding teeter-totter effect.
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454ragtop
Well-known member
No idea what you're trying to do or show here, weird.
Those are sliding T handles, which I'd like to make dual purpose, also as a spinning T bar (when a rotating extension is added).
Here's a spinning T:
Here's a spinning extension:
If you try spinning a sliding T without a detent, it tends to slide to one side, and stop spinning or hit something, whichever comes first.
Here's a spinning T:
Here's a spinning extension:
If you try spinning a sliding T without a detent, it tends to slide to one side, and stop spinning or hit something, whichever comes first.
Sounds like a plan. I'm setting them up to be most useful this way. They can be hard to find in various drive sizes with detents. The tee and extension set at HF has a detented half-inch handle at least, and this is where I found the magnets (on another isle).
That 1/2" one pictured is somewhat detented on the sides as well, for a larger extension handle, where those points lock into it, and the drive piece uses the detent at the other end. It came in a different set though ("bust-a-bolt" by KT pro), and the T was an odd piece out, made to fit the same extension handle (which was not included with the tee, and is also sold separately from the set, but with a slightly different grip).
I have another Urrea smooth handled T in 3/8" where this magnetic detent works (probably even stronger, because it's smaller diameter). A ratchet adapter makes it more versatile, and is easier to adjust off the handle than at the end of a one-piece T-bar. I can put shorter spinning extensions on the sliding tee, to be able to hold onto more than one part, stabilizing another as I grasp the spinner with a couple fingers (I was just improvising one for another kind of stubby T-handle). Apparently the spinning extensions were most popular as hand tools way back when, and now they're most often impact accessories, but can spin well enough by hand, and with more momentum based on handle weight (another tee called a "billy club" is pretty hefty, and then there's the "bull bar", watch out).
That 1/2" one pictured is somewhat detented on the sides as well, for a larger extension handle, where those points lock into it, and the drive piece uses the detent at the other end. It came in a different set though ("bust-a-bolt" by KT pro), and the T was an odd piece out, made to fit the same extension handle (which was not included with the tee, and is also sold separately from the set, but with a slightly different grip).
I have another Urrea smooth handled T in 3/8" where this magnetic detent works (probably even stronger, because it's smaller diameter). A ratchet adapter makes it more versatile, and is easier to adjust off the handle than at the end of a one-piece T-bar. I can put shorter spinning extensions on the sliding tee, to be able to hold onto more than one part, stabilizing another as I grasp the spinner with a couple fingers (I was just improvising one for another kind of stubby T-handle). Apparently the spinning extensions were most popular as hand tools way back when, and now they're most often impact accessories, but can spin well enough by hand, and with more momentum based on handle weight (another tee called a "billy club" is pretty hefty, and then there's the "bull bar", watch out).
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lakeroadster
Well-known member
I thought you were building a "Sliding-Tee Ter-Totter" for your kids... which would be awesome.
As for the spinning extension.. I used some old garden hose..
As for the spinning extension.. I used some old garden hose..
A simple piece of old garden hose, slipped over a ratchet extension.
You can grip the hose, yet still turn the ratchet.
Think budget speed ratchet.
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Even better if a sliding tee was used to build it. Nice extension (I was thinking about gutting a dry erase marker the other day).
The old style drive tools still work for sure. I found some quarter drive T bars cheap and got two of them. New production stuff, well made too.
And then the quarter drive stuff got left home in a job move and never got to the new shop.
I like it too for low torque stuff when a ratchet is overkill. In halfer drive I have a war time SO T bar and a later ratchet adaptor that could be used but probably never by me. There are too many other drive tools laying about of the vintage steel versions. All work perfectly.
And then the quarter drive stuff got left home in a job move and never got to the new shop.
I like it too for low torque stuff when a ratchet is overkill. In halfer drive I have a war time SO T bar and a later ratchet adaptor that could be used but probably never by me. There are too many other drive tools laying about of the vintage steel versions. All work perfectly.
lakeroadster
Well-known member
Even better if a sliding tee was used to build it. Nice extension (I was thinking about gutting a dry erase marker the other day).
Whatever works... that sounds messy
. recycle, reduce, reuse.This works...
A bit more compact than the other. I slipped a 3/8" drive x 1/2" ID x 2-1/2" long socket over a 1/4" x 3" extension and put a 5/16" spring clip in front of it, then cut a thin strip of electrical tape to wrap in front of the spring clip (that keeps the socket from touching the tape, and the clip from being pulled off—edit: actually it doesn't, so I tried 3 spring clips instead, and this seems to hold). Also wrapped sports tape around the socket for a grip. Maybe I could do something more precise with some 5/16" bearings, but this is a pretty good fit for a lightweight handle.
The 1/4" sliding T doesn't really need a detent, because the bar isn't heavy enough to slide on its own. A swivel on that is best for following the bar around with one finger, from the middle position (no pun intended). Well it works okay extended too.
Both ways that is (I'm not that ambidextrous though). What else could I say? It looks like a finger ratchet too (and at least I wasn't the one who jumped off a teeterboard with someone else in mid air)! Never mind the flying fish...
A bit more compact than the other. I slipped a 3/8" drive x 1/2" ID x 2-1/2" long socket over a 1/4" x 3" extension and put a 5/16" spring clip in front of it, then cut a thin strip of electrical tape to wrap in front of the spring clip (that keeps the socket from touching the tape, and the clip from being pulled off—edit: actually it doesn't, so I tried 3 spring clips instead, and this seems to hold). Also wrapped sports tape around the socket for a grip. Maybe I could do something more precise with some 5/16" bearings, but this is a pretty good fit for a lightweight handle.
The 1/4" sliding T doesn't really need a detent, because the bar isn't heavy enough to slide on its own. A swivel on that is best for following the bar around with one finger, from the middle position (no pun intended). Well it works okay extended too.
Both ways that is (I'm not that ambidextrous though). What else could I say? It looks like a finger ratchet too (and at least I wasn't the one who jumped off a teeterboard with someone else in mid air)! Never mind the flying fish...
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Actually it was 3/8" bore bearings that were large enough to fit the 1/4" drive piece, which has a little over 8mm thick shaft, and I made up the difference with tape around the extension underneath those bearings. 1/2" bore would fit over the average 3/8" extension, but I got away with 12mm over one layer of electrical tape on that particular one (it's old, and I don't know the brand, but another brand was more than 12mm). Then I put as many spring clips as would fit to the end of each extension (had an assortment that I rarely used), and wouldn't want to stack the bearings up much farther than those on 2 & 3" extensions, or they'd get pretty heavy.
The other kind, with a hollow anodized aluminum grip, has only two thinner bearings inside, with a groove for the spring clip in front, and the extension shaft is slightly thicker where the bores fit on there. I was approximating that with the tape for these shorter ones, and couldn't find this kind for 1/4" drive anyway. Ball bearings don't necessarily free spin faster than a bushing or plain bearing (like the socket I have on the other), because their casings give them some resistance (which is noticeably overcome by heavier handles or powered drives). They're fine for spinning smoothly by hand, just not like a top. I like that they have a larger diameter to grip, and don't wobble at all on there (I've wrapped sports tape around them since).
You can see some marking on the 3/8" extension end, where I tried using an impact socket as a bushing initially (because the inner bore was large enough, which varies between sizes), so obviously those aren't the best for this. Chrome sockets are better, but I'll have to keep an eye on that one too. Maybe I'll find something hollow to fit over two bearings without getting into machining such parts myself. As it is, I like this one fitting over the whole extension and matching the ratchet diameter, for an optimized grip length, so I might get away with leaving it at that, for occasional use (or at least until I wear one extension down to be sure, it feels pretty smooth for the time being, and the tiny handle probably helps to reduce friction). Ball bearings, on the other hand, don't rotate in contact with the other part, so I guess they'd last much longer with heavier handles.
What's cool about the little handle (as I was getting at before) is that when fully extended to the side, it is the same length as the 1/2" drive tee that is spun from the middle, while this lighter one feels just as balanced either way. Also, the sliding 3/8" handle can be positioned somewhat off center with the magnets on there, without feeling lopsided and falling on its own, so they're all equivalent in leverage that way, besides the non-sliding one (which is otherwise easier to follow around with its ball-shaped ends). Well, when I got the micro handle, at first I was thinking it was like a keychain tool charm type thing. Now it's more like Mighty Mouse, methinks (not that I'd stand on it, or an ant either, if I could help it, just that those are said to be much more powerful than their own weight).
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I put a few more sizes of these together, for the sake of balancing tool weights, T-wise on smaller fasteners. Except for the 1/4" size, it doesn't seem to have an ultra short extension by convention, like the others (relative to their single bearing shaft length), although it's a lighter weight tool on the handle end, so I might as well fit more on the extra part. The 1/2" drive impact extension was a perfect fit for a 16mm bore there, perhaps a hair larger around, but I'd looked at this topic before hand: Do you heat your bearings b4 installation? Not this time, I just stuck the extension in a freezer for a while, and then warmed up the bearing in my hands, instead of toasting it (yeah, I can't believe it's not butter). Half-baked though, it went on a bit further than before, yet I had to tap it the rest of the way with a hand sledge (over an open vise, using a wide chisel laid flat on the extension inlet). At least I didn't burn my hand. Who knows, I couldn't be sure if that was even necessary, for how close to going on there it had seemed (and I still didn't scratch the surface after all of that, maybe condensation helped). So now I find that a single bearing free spins twice as long as two bearings with that handle (and the other 1/2" extension was slightly under sized; it's also black, but not an impact). Kind of trivial I guess, since I wouldn't free spin it so much on a smaller fastener. More bearings are usually a better grip, but one of them works with enough spacing as well. Ideally I'd go for a 4-inch handle (or stick with the aluminum kind instead of configuring more), except that gravity gives me other preferences.
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Tried adding rare earth magnets to the one I didn't like, now I like.
Or...
Oh yeah, an O-Ring works better for heavier handles especially, there's more resistance that way (which can be varied somewhat by its thickness). I also tried putting several little spherical magnets on a small handle, for a better fit than disc magnets, but even when it was lightweight they had too little surface area to bind the two pieces. The size of openings on the back of the head varies between different T handles, so there isn't necessarily an ideal sized magnet use. That, and nothing will inadvertently stick to the handle with an o-ring on there. It stays in position around the head when the bar is slid side to side, acting as a full length detent, which is also stronger than a recessed one, which is sometimes ground into a heavy bar (as pictured above).
By the way, I was sent this poor quality T handle with a sloppy square drive, thinking I was ordering something else. But that was at least useful as a prop, because it led me to experiment with other ways of doing the Sliding-Tee Ter-Totter trick (or a balancing act of potential forces in motion here). Maybe I can put something around the drive to make that part stick better too, or attach an additional drive adapter permanently (the rest of it worked pretty well to begin with, other than being flakey). I removed more of the substandard plating from other parts, as an excuse to try out a die grinder. Yet the o-ring provided enough extra slip resistance there, for spinning or holding it off center, regardless of plating on the bar (and wouldn't wear on it like magnets could).
So, to make lemonade with such lemons, I bound the two-bearing black extension (pictured prior) to this T-bar, with some electrical tape stretched tightly over them. Now it's like a solid piece there (or I could glue that if necessary... okay, five minutes later it was necessary, so I've clamped those with construction adhesive to set for a couple days—supposedly that can flex with torque, and might not work itself loose—I'd rather not get into welding)! Those two pieces suited each other anyway, since the odd extension (from a Billy Club) was wobbly on the other end. These things spin better without the wobble, of course. I'm not sure how they manage to make the rest of a tool perfectly round, yet can't seem to form a simple square on the end.
Yeah that might take time, but I hope this will be a long term experiment (if it lasts, or just a prop for another one, welding or whatever).
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