Cool, I'll have a look around. i'll find my thread I have here somehwere about this stuff and post there rather than over-run the tool thread
Tool Talk
- Thread starter jo proffi
- Start date
HAve the basics ( conventional spanners and socket set ), but am approaching second restoration / unstoration of ‚27 Austin seven , so am wanting to enlarge collection of the oddball stuff which comes in handy when in a bind ( short handles, angled heads etc ), whether by getting it off shelf/market or by buying a conventional spanner which I can bastardise. Ratcheting head spanners would be nice, as would 1/4“ inch drive whitworth sockets but this is probably a pipe dream
My comment was a) in agreement with initial one and b) with intention of flushing out potential sites/sources/shops. Am beginning to cruise markets/car boot sales. ONe of the recent stalls also had quite a bit of good machining stuff - cutters, gauges etc etc - some of which I am slowly beginning to understand. THere is usually a very good one at the Winton Historics but I have to miss it this year.
ANdrew
I'm with you there: the more weird shapes and designs of spanners you can have, the better. Unlike you, I need large sizes as well as small (I go up to 1-1/4W in spanners and 1-1/8W in sockets).
Try the larger English online tool shops for new, or eBay UK for second hand. You will likely do best looking for quality British brands like Britool, King Dick and Bedford. I see King Dick does ratchet combination spanners in Whitworth, might try and hunt up a set.
I doubt you would find much in 1/4" drive Whitworth sockets, but you will find 1/4" drive sockets in BA (British Association, the little brother of Whitworth), These are often used in electrical fittings. I have a Britool 1/4" drive BA socket set. You will also find small spanners in BA sizes. I have Bedford BA sets in ring spanners and open end spanners, and a set of Melco BA tube spanners.
Roger
INteresting about Bedford - I have a few Bedford spanners inherited from Dad. Very good quality.
Also interesting that a few of them are metric, despite his tastes being determinedly British
SHall chase up the ratchet combination spanners. Many thanks for the tip
Andrew
if its plastic housing, I ground the "recess" of the head of the socket so it would fully engage the filter housing. You can buy individual sockets on ebay often quite cheaply (I think the last one I purchased was in poland!).I had a win last week. I needed a 27mm socket for the oil filter on my Hyundai i30. My biggest socket is a 19mm, so I 3D printed my own 19mm to 27mm adaptor.
This is not realy automotive based, but for the last few years I've been frustrated with pencils, or more specificly, sharpening them.
All the sharpeners I buy at office works seem to just snap the leads off, and I end up with a very short pencil before i get one that doesn't break.
I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher had a hand cranked sharpener on their desk. Our pencils always came out top notch. And if we wanted to be assholes we'd grind someones pencil down to a few cm or so.
So, after finding out the brand, I ened up buying a NOS boston ranger 55 off ebay, all the way from the states.
Not especially cheap, but absolutely fantastic. To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement.
I had to mount it on a bit of scrap hardwood, as without mounting it is totaly unusable.
It takes two hands, one to crank and one to hold pencil.
Now all my pencils have a much more acute angle than a cut from a regular blade sharpener, are ridiculously sharp, and the satisfaction of grinding away by hand is just priceless.
All the sharpeners I buy at office works seem to just snap the leads off, and I end up with a very short pencil before i get one that doesn't break.
I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher had a hand cranked sharpener on their desk. Our pencils always came out top notch. And if we wanted to be assholes we'd grind someones pencil down to a few cm or so.
So, after finding out the brand, I ened up buying a NOS boston ranger 55 off ebay, all the way from the states.
Not especially cheap, but absolutely fantastic. To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement.
I had to mount it on a bit of scrap hardwood, as without mounting it is totaly unusable.
It takes two hands, one to crank and one to hold pencil.
Now all my pencils have a much more acute angle than a cut from a regular blade sharpener, are ridiculously sharp, and the satisfaction of grinding away by hand is just priceless.
Attachments
This stuff makes cleanup easier right? (yeah i didn't up end an oil drain pan all over the floor today). I might have to make myself an oil drain drum/pan to use under a hoist I think
Does this stuff stick to previously painted floors that have had lots of oil soaked into them ... and is known for being damp in winter 
Now that is seriously cool!!This is not realy automotive based, but for the last few years I've been frustrated with pencils, or more specificly, sharpening them.
All the sharpeners I buy at office works seem to just snap the leads off, and I end up with a very short pencil before i get one that doesn't break.
I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher had a hand cranked sharpener on their desk. Our pencils always came out top notch. And if we wanted to be assholes we'd grind someones pencil down to a few cm or so.
So, after finding out the brand, I ened up buying a NOS boston ranger 55 off ebay, all the way from the states.
Not especially cheap, but absolutely fantastic. To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement.
I had to mount it on a bit of scrap hardwood, as without mounting it is totaly unusable.
It takes two hands, one to crank and one to hold pencil.
Now all my pencils have a much more acute angle than a cut from a regular blade sharpener, are ridiculously sharp, and the satisfaction of grinding away by hand is just priceless.
View attachment 239953View attachment 239954
I remember those!This is not realy automotive based, but for the last few years I've been frustrated with pencils, or more specificly, sharpening them.
All the sharpeners I buy at office works seem to just snap the leads off, and I end up with a very short pencil before i get one that doesn't break.
I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher had a hand cranked sharpener on their desk. Our pencils always came out top notch. And if we wanted to be assholes we'd grind someones pencil down to a few cm or so.
So, after finding out the brand, I ened up buying a NOS boston ranger 55 off ebay, all the way from the states.
Not especially cheap, but absolutely fantastic. To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement.
I had to mount it on a bit of scrap hardwood, as without mounting it is totaly unusable.
It takes two hands, one to crank and one to hold pencil.
Now all my pencils have a much more acute angle than a cut from a regular blade sharpener, are ridiculously sharp, and the satisfaction of grinding away by hand is just priceless.
View attachment 239953View attachment 239954
I hate to show my age, but, (even though we didn't use them) the desks in primary school still had the holes for the ink pots in them.
There's a Staedtler hand cranked sharpener on my desk right now. Unlike Jo Proffi's, the pencil holder is spring loaded, so it's a one hand job.
Pencil stubs are no problem if you have a stub holder. I'm not sure they are still sold, but used to be a drawing office thing. The pencil gets its length back.
The Staedtler is alright for most clerical type sharpening jobs, but as anyone who was in an old school drawing office knows, the best pencil sharpener is a very sharp knife.
Mr Greenpeace, the desks in my school not only had inkwell holes, they also had working inkwells! Every kid had inky fingers. In my desk drawer, somewhere up the back, is a pen and a collection of steel post office nibs.
Pencil stubs are no problem if you have a stub holder. I'm not sure they are still sold, but used to be a drawing office thing. The pencil gets its length back.
The Staedtler is alright for most clerical type sharpening jobs, but as anyone who was in an old school drawing office knows, the best pencil sharpener is a very sharp knife.
Mr Greenpeace, the desks in my school not only had inkwell holes, they also had working inkwells! Every kid had inky fingers. In my desk drawer, somewhere up the back, is a pen and a collection of steel post office nibs.
Not me, Laszlo Biro saved the day.
In secondary school we graduated to fountain pens. I have three still, that haven't been used since school - I wonder if the bladders are perished?
In my youth a ballpoint was a punishable offence. You can't do proper copperplate with one.
In my youth a ballpoint was a punishable offence. You can't do proper copperplate with one.
The kids at the local primary school get issued a "pen licence" in grade 6.
I remember my kids getting pen licences.
I remember finding an accounts ledger dating back to the early 20th century with magnificent copperplate writing.
I wonder if the ability to write beautifully was a requirement on your job appliaction.
I remember finding an accounts ledger dating back to the early 20th century with magnificent copperplate writing.
I wonder if the ability to write beautifully was a requirement on your job appliaction.
The best compliment my writing ever got was, "it's legible".
