Can a person have too many tools?

a reply to: mamabeth

Happend to me too but they only found the old shed where i kept the old tools i wanted to get rid off, so they actually made me a favor...

Having the right tools at hand (also remembering that you have them) can save so much time and hassle.

Choosing the right tool for the job is key, too.

Material science is a complete new field for me and it's so interesting. There are so many shortcuts to do things if you just know how to apply the knowledge and physics.

Speaking of tool building, I recently built my own heavy material dispenser for the shop vac. The trick behind is simple air flow physics I applied from (self)studying , it's just a 5" PVC Pipe with two "2 outlets. Pipe is vertical mounted, one end is sealed, the bottom end can be opened. It's about 7 feet high. One outlet goes to the shop vac, the other one goes to a funnel that is mounted under the workbench and ends there for sticking in the tools funnel.

The heavy material is sucked into the long pipe but there the air has more room to fill, expanding and the chunks and bits and stuffs can't be carried in the airstream anymore. All that reaches the shop vac is air and fine dust, filtering it better than those blow up filter funnels. The pipe is vertically mounted with pipe cuffs and theres a canister under it so the material can fall into it, I close the bottom again.

Because of the pipe, the sucking power is very constant until the pipe is completely filled. There are similar concepts from other cheapskates like me.

Material cost 30€ in the homeworkers department and about 30 minutes of real work, glueing the parts together and mounting the pipe.

No, you can't have too many tools!

A mechanic buddy has this poster in his garage:

a reply to: ColeYounger
Lol that's good.

I inherited some bigger machines and.. The hydraulic lift is a Huawei Certified Technician, the TIG has a network IP label. The big 3 phase mains drilling machine table always needs to be kept charged and it's DC connections opened, waiting for discharge and then some confusing chinese letters on a yellow triangle with a lightning bolt. That one really made me unsure lol.

It was just his type of humor, I still keep finding them. Last I remember was a "toast Hawaii" sticker on the electric arc welder handle. The simple one with the melting arc rods. Not the TIG. Don't know the english name.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

A person can't, a conspiracy forum can

I recently had the need to put 6" anchors into existing concrete, which of course required a new hammer drill

Still a lot cheaper than having someone else do it.

a reply to: ColeYounger

LOL!! That's GREAT, I love that!!

a reply to: ThatDamnDuckAgain

That's good. My mechanic friend was a smartass. He had a smarmy neighbor woman who once suggested that her boyfriend was more sophisticated than my buddy, because the boyfriend was into art and literature.
My friend said something like "Then your boyfriend has probably read some of novels and seen some of the plays that have been written about mechanics."

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: ColeYounger

LOL!! That's GREAT, I love that!!

Me too. I've seen it many times, but still laugh whenever I see it again!

a reply to: ThatDamnDuckAgain

Definitely consider earth-grounding your assembly. You'd be shocked to learn how much static electricity builds up in these systems! I've seen more than one fire get started this way. And, the really scary part is these kinds of fires don't ignite right away, they smolder for hours inside the vaccum canister where you can't see them and then ignite into flames much later. I know a guy who burned down his garage this way (dang near burned his whole house down too!).

a reply to: ColeYounger

The only thing missing from that chart is a 4' foot long piece of 1-1/4" galvanized rigid pipe for a cheater over the end of that breaker bar. (inserted between the breaker bar and the angle grinder) The caption could read..."Told you I wasn't kidding!
And you didn't really need the cap on that bolt anyway!"

a reply to: M5xaz

... and all stores close ...

Definitely need a BIGGER hammer then!

originally posted by: mamabeth
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I believe that you can never have too many tools.Someone
sneaked onto my son's property in the middle of the night
and took his tools.

Hence the need for gunz, to deter people from stealing said tools!

But alas, they were all lost in a terrible boating accident.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Thank you, I will reconsider it and ground it with a copper wire. Small gauge should be okay? It's just the potential difference I want to eliminate right?

Add: Do I need to put copper painting on it or something? Is it enough to do a normal grounding screw with the ratchet and teeth pins and lock nut? On the PVC pipe?

a reply to: ThatDamnDuckAgain

There are several ways to do it. I'd have to see your install to say for sure, but if it has a lot of PVC, one of the best ways is to run a copper braided wire inside the PVC and then exit the PVC at a non-moving location and seal it with silicone caulk. Take one end of the wire and bond it to either a ground bar, the ground on an electrical outlet (not the neutral, mind you!), or to a another grounded appliance (shop tool, lathe, table saw, etc.).

It's usually pretty simple. Just remember, the static charge builds up where there is friction, and where there is suction there is friction. Additionally, the highest electrical potential is at the furthest point from where material is picked up in the hose. In other words, near the canister. Also, remember PVC is an insulator, so just grounding the exterior of the hose won't cut it because the particles inside the hose will be insulated from the grounding.

There are other ways to do it also, like inserting a copper collar at points inside the hose or connections and connect this to a ground source. Also remember to use the same ground for everything you're grounding. You don't want different ground potentials along the way. Also remember, static will continue to build up anywhere there is air moving, even after a ground point.

And just to give others who may read this an idea of how much electrical potential we're talking about here... You know how much static electricity builds up if you rub a balloon on your hair? Now imagine a balloon as big as your vacuum hose is long, rubbing on a patch of hair the same size! Couple this with a highly flammable dust cloud (even metal dust) and you've got the ingredients for a real fire or even in some cases a big KA-BOOM! And unless your vacuum has a NEMA 9 rated motor (i.e. explosion proof) (which most aren't) then you've got a ground source to arc to right at the motor.

originally posted by: mamabeth
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

My house is a wee bit unorganized,how would that affect
your OCD?

Side story I stayed with my ex-girlfriend who had OCD for a month extra cause she cleaned the apartment so well.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
My wife is constantly telling me, "We just don't need any more tools!"

What "we" need to do is ask if "we need any more shoes."

a reply to: TrulyColorBlind

Sadly, I have to tell my wife to buy new shoes, cos she wears them out to nubs.

I'm like, it's okay...buy whatever shoes you want! Get the best shoes you can buy!

Shoes are not something to skimp on!!!

ETA - Shoes are a long story with me; I have really big feet. It's hard for me to find good shoes and boots.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: TrulyColorBlind
I have really big feet. It's hard for me to find good shoes and boots.

I have really wide feet and it's near impossible to find EE widths anywhere. Seems in this age of technology, we're losing our choices instead of gaining more that technology promised.

I have a small shop, and from time to time, an old machinist will stop by and ask if I'm interested in buying his tools. They never ask for much, I can't say I ever thought it was about the money. Most often I get the impression they'd take whatever was offered.

Going through a box like that is really something. It's full of the tools they collected over the years, some they bought, some they were given and some they made. They drew from that collection of tools every day they worked, some of them for decades. They're attached to those tools, so why virtually give them away?

I've come to understand that they're looking for a home for them. They want them to go somewhere where they'll be used and appreciated. The thought of any other disposition is painful for them to contemplate. They feel obligated to those tools, almost as if they're friends.

Some of us are a sentimental lot when it comes to tools.

a reply to: Kocag

Oh that’s cool, I’m in the process of getting set up with a gas forge soon myself maybe I’ll hit you up on u2u or start a thread about it.