Anyhoo, I probably wouldn't even be on here if it weren't for the fact that I had a "Wile-E-Coyote, Genius" moment, and figured I'd brag about it ever so slightly.
*Ahem*
Here we go.
As is the case with most anyone getting on in years, there are some things/tools/whatever, that one has had for some time. Take, for example, this impact driver:
It's air powered which, these days is a somewhat "old school", as now you can go cordless electric with just as much oomph as this thing. But, the strongest impact driver I have is 18 volts, and I suspect it wouldn't work when it came to removing lug nuts.
You'll notice however, that there's a gaping hole there where the trigger used to be? Um ya, damned thing broke a while back, rendering the tool useless. The "weak link", so to speak.
On top of that, the darned thing is so old, that there's no hint of trying to find the part on line, as I've had it since the early nineties. Plus, any replacement part is still going to be made out of plastic. That's not going to help.
Today was the day when I was either going to throw the thing in the metal bin, or possibly try and fix it. It's a great working gun when it works, so I've been reluctant to simply toss it.
Turns out, the little plunger thingy that opens the air valve seemed to work just fine, so all I had to do was come up with some way to make that work.
So...I made my own switch out of some maple I had lying around, and..."Bob's yer Uncle".
The shape isn't quite right, and one fine day I might mill down some hardwood and cut a new one. Meanwhile though, I just saved us a hunnert and fifty bucks.
Or at least that's my story.
Plus, I didn't put the split pin back in, as it wasn't going in without a fight, and I didn't want to split the wood.
That would be bad.
So I rummaged around in my junk and found a bolt. When the wood wears out or breaks, I've got buckets of scraps hanging around.
That's about it. Maybe I'll do a little "summer round-up" in the next little while.
And remember, keep your stick on the ice.
Thanks for stopping by.
Very cool McGuivering. You never know when you might need an impact driver. Well I've never needed one, but I still wish I had one.
ReplyDeleteAny time that you can save the Bucks is a good thing and it don't have to be pretty to work.
ReplyDeleteI recently had to use a Dewalt 20 Volt Lithum driver and was surprised that it lasted for hours cranking like the big boy toys. The Price is nearly Two Fifty though. Think I'll be sticking to the old Hand Wrenches for a while.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Hey I know what you need. Cousin of mine got a 3 D-printer. He can print himself....just about anything. Think about it. That might be your favorite future tool.
ReplyDeleteWell, I do get asked, "What do you want for Christmas?". That's a pretty good suggestion. No guarantees as to how it would play out however.
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