Specialty Tools

[IMA SOL MAN]

We had a problem with the belt slipping, so got a spray can of belt dressing that took care of the problem.

 

[Poppy]

We used to just use wd40 to temporarily silence the bad bearing to know which one it was but a course now that seems like it may harm the belt

I'd use a mechanic's stethoscope to listen to the bearings.
Of Course, mine is in my son's toolbox.

I know that I could also use a long screwdriver, held to my ear, but I was too lazy to actually troubleshoot the sound.

 

[Poppy]

We had a problem with the belt slipping, so got a spray can of belt dressing that took care of the problem.

I have a can of that too. But in my old age, I figure that if the belt is worn enough to squeal, it is worn enough to be replaced. Besides at 289,000 miles, a little preventive maintenance is a good idea.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Having run into a situation with a broken key recently, I bought a key extractor set. They resemble lock picks but they're not. The metal is much thinner so they can reach into tiny crevices. I can see these coming in handy for other uses besides the rare broken key, when I need a really thin metal shim to pop a stuck latch on an ejector mechanism.

 

[yeoldoak]

Fitting new Shimano brake calipers to an 18yr old Trek bike, converting
IS mount to post mount fitting created some alignment issues, pads
rubbing on disc rotor and had maxed out the position setting, no option
but to remove some metal and re face the mounts to give me the adjustment
to position the caliper by about .45mm.

Was lucky to pick up this tool couple weeks back that made it possible
to accurately face the brake mount tabs.

 

[Voider of Warranties]

Living in the Portland weather with thousands of feet of rain gutters and probably 400-500 downspouts on the complex's 22 acres, I was still quite new on the job when I got tired of climbing ladders every time someone exclaimed "Waterfall!" to describe a clogged downspout. I quickly built this not-particularly-inspired contraption from a pool skimming net pole and 1.25" dowels.

It's taken a beating in 19 years of spiking leaves into downspouts, and it's been repaired many times, but it has saved what's left of my aching knees thousands of times by now. Building the triangle into the framework makes for a rigid structure and allows for two angles from which to attack the leaf clogs.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

This is a "comb" for straightening individual wires in a Cat-x cable, a necessary step prior to crimping a connector on it.

 

[Poppy]

Yesterday I replaced the struts on my daughter's Mazda CX5. There was a rubber stop that needed to be removed from the old one, and reused. It was held in place by the anti-sway bar end link. Dam they designed it such that the only way to get at the nut was with a socket. You had to hold the bolt from turning with an allen wrench.
The only way to do that was with a "pass through socket set"

That's a tool set that I do not own. Although I have been tempted to pick one up.

I ended up removing the end link at the other end, and removing it still attached to the strut. To remove the rubber bumper I used another specialty go to tool, a cut off saw. I cut half way through the bolt, and gave it a good whack with a hammer to snap it off.

 

[Dougmac]

I have one of those sets. Come in handy

 

[Voider of Warranties]

Have you guys seen these "Vampliers" before? I found them on AMZ a year or 2 ago. They also have a needle nose variant. Very versatile, but they are obviously designed primarily for removing broken or stripped screws from tight spaces wherein Vise Grips won't do the trick. Not German-made, but close enough!

 

[RA40]

I make some of my own like this drilling fixture for odd shaped material that has a flat side:

A clamp to hold bottles for pour shots:

 

[RA40]

This palm-finger ratchet for confined spaces. It was a struggle getting the 8mm bolts on a Toyota water pump out-in due to the fender and engine mount clearance. Wish I had shallow 10mm sockets. Could have ground some down but I didn't have any to sacrifice at the time on the daily driver. Found that out once in and the coolant drained out.

 

[RA40]

Have you guys seen these "Vampliers" before? I found them on AMZ a year or 2 ago. They also have a needle nose variant. Very versatile, but they are obviously designed primarily for removing broken or stripped screws from tight spaces wherein Vise Grips won't do the trick. Not German-made, but close enough!

View attachment 63289

The Japanese have some really nice tools and these are an example of them.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

There are Vamplier utility scissors in our truck for the purpose of game scissors. Never know when hunger drives one to snag a pigeon or three to sustain life in an emergency. Hopefully they will not be urban birds.

 

[bykfixer]

This palm-finger ratchet for confined spaces. It was a struggle getting the 8mm bolts on a Toyota water pump out-in due to the fender and engine mount clearance. Wish I had shallow 10mm sockets. Could have ground some down but I didn't have any to sacrifice at the time on the daily driver. Found that out once in and the coolant drained out.

View attachment 63299

These things are worth their weight in gold at times. If it's a low torque bolt like a water pump on an automobile engine they provide enough surface to not need a ratchet.

Some I have are non ratcheting and made to stick the ratchet into then remove it. Finger driver.
Very handy with tight engine bays. Once a long screw has been loosened you remove the ratchet and twist it out with one.

And Gear Wrench makes one that swivels 5 degrees.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/power-torque-tools/power-torque-3-8-inch-drive-swivel-palm-wrench/ptt0/gm6125

"All Power Torque Tools are manufactured to meet or exceed U.S. government and American National Standards Institute specifications."

 

[bykfixer]

This large plumbing tubing cutter made fairly quick work cutting a 10' section of 1-1/2" galvanized steel fence pipe to 8' this afternoon.