Garage Shop: Tools

Nice drahthaar, I have two and they don’t fair well with cats.

 

They won’t let me buy or warranty stuff from them because I don’t work at one of there route stop places. I guess it pays to have mechanic friends.

 

this count?


oh and i picked up some offset snappy metric wrenches. which of course i forgot to grab a pic of

 

how do you purchase these brand of tools?

 

First time using NPT taps so I practiced on some scrap 1/2" aluminum. Now I can tap my intake manifold.

 

Bought this on Amazon. Packaging makes it look a bit gimmicky lol. Had good reviews though. I'm tired of rolling up my extension cord by hand. Hopefully this thing works. If you guys have any recommendations for an affordable extension cord reel let me know.

 

I have one of these (a similar design, but different brand) for work around the shop and I like it a lot.
I like that I can drag around 4 outlets with me as I move around.


Designers Edge E230 Extension Cord Storage Reel, Multi-Outlet Adapter, Black/Yellow

$27 Southwire Cord-Reel; 4-Outlet Adapter; Black/Yellow; E230

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005I19IUY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AbJqEbZVZZXVB

 

Nice! I added it to my Amazon shopping list. If this one that I bought is trash I'll try this one out.

 

It is kinda like everything else The cheaper ones hold up ok at home seeing use a few times a month.

The better ones even don`t hold up with lots of metallic dirt wiping off the cord every time you retract it at least to me defeats the purpose . Off the top of my head the last one I tried was around $150.00 from McMaster -Carr

Myself it seems all the cables get braided together after sometime at that point easier to just wrap things up

 

I have that same one. Works decently for what it is. Just dont pull out the whole cord as it likes a good 3-4 "coils" in it to work well in my experience.

 

Good to know! Thanks for the tip.

 

Awesome.
Can't tell from your picture, but I always make sure to use plenty of light oil with my taps and dies. Gun oil or 3in1 oil seems to work well for me. Light turns in and out will help remove debris and help give you nice clean thread cuts. I've taken care of mine and they have lasted a long time.

 

Thanks for the tips! I used a bit of tap magic cutting fluid. I probably went in a few too many turns before pulling it back out to clear the chips from what everyone is telling me. I'll make sure I clear them more often.

 

I have learned by snapping off some taps before when I am starting to hit too much tension with the tap. Now I try to be very patient and let the tap tell me how far I can go. And sometimes I will still break a tap off.

 

Tap magic works well. They a formula for Aluminum that Ive found works a bit better for tapping aluminum (but the regular stuff works great too).

It should never feel "hard" to turn. If it is its either chips or the wrong size hole drilled. Especially on smaller stuff it often needs a letter or numbered drill size but most people just use a fractional and call it good enough.

Sharp taps and the right size tap wrench are the key

But for me its generally one rotation then back off 1/8-1/4 turn.

 

Really appreciate the tips guys!

 

Removing a broken bolt can be its own special Hell sometimes. But drilling & removing a snapped tap, that's a real fun job.

 

Manly man skill by ave! Lol

https://youtu.be/1uwz7BhAWZE

 

Tap extractors are one of the best purchases I’ve made

 

Gotta get those small vacuum line zip ties tight lol