Specialty Tools

[bykfixer]

A specialty tool for storing masonry twine.

Beats using a stick.

And an old school underground utility locator

Swivel antenna inside a bicycle grip.

And in the flashlight world.....

A rechargeable light that plugs into the 12v accessory port.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

A specialty tool for storing masonry twine.
View attachment 51300
Beats using a stick.

And an old school underground utility locator
View attachment 51301

View attachment 51302
Swivel antenna inside a bicycle grip.

And in the flashlight world.....
View attachment 51303
A rechargeable light that plugs into the 12v accessory port.

How does the utility locator work?

 

[bykfixer]

You hold the handle vertically and when it works (because it doesn't work for everyone) the antenna points forward away from your body. When you get near an interuption in the earth's something or other, be it magnetic field, protons and neutrons or whatever it is, the antenna turns to a right angle. You can use a pair of copper coat hangers bent to an L shape, (one in each hand) to do the same thing.

 

[SCEMan]

These babies almost make me look forward to fly season

Didn't really have one this year so I had to hunt'em down...

 

[Poppy]

You hold the handle vertically and when it works (because it doesn't work for everyone) the antenna points forward away from your body. When you get near an interuption in the earth's something or other, be it magnetic field, protons and neutrons or whatever it is, the antenna turns to a right angle. You can use a pair of copper coat hangers bent to an L shape, (one in each hand) to do the same thing.

I wondered if it was like a divining rod.

 

[bigburly912]

This is a reel thing/spinner/lifter/****. They are used with slings or a lifting eye to pick up reels of cable/wire safely.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

You hold the handle vertically and when it works (because it doesn't work for everyone) the antenna points forward away from your body. When you get near an interuption in the earth's something or other, be it magnetic field, protons and neutrons or whatever it is, the antenna turns to a right angle. You can use a pair of copper coat hangers bent to an L shape, (one in each hand) to do the same thing.

Standing with fixer on this one because he is willing to inform at the expense of some criticism.

If you believe it does not work, you are very likely right that it will not work for you.

A retired electrical engineer from Sandia Labs let me use his brass brazing rods bent to make a short handle. Index finger under the right angle part and dorsal side of little finger near the bottom of the handle area.

He (and I subsequently) used it to find where buried water lines needed to be crossed with some other buried line (electrical or septic for instance). I did use it to dowse a location to drill a well and did get consistent results but of course can't say whether it truly made a difference.

I also found a buried wellhead once but also got a couple false positives at that time. For me the brazing rods cross each other when walking over where the underground pipe is, uncrossing after passing. I always repeat the process because some times you'll get a false reading if your hands are not kept plumb.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=dozing+rods&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=616863135267&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14479390023607522539&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030437&hvtargid=kwd-535488999597&ref=pd_sl_bxdyhnqlo_e&hydadcr=24664_13611849

 

[bykfixer]

Now I'm going to say something even more hard to believe. I didn't until I saw it for myself.

When it crosses you stomp the ground until it straightens out. The numbers of stomps tells you within a few inches how deep it is. Seriously.

A guy showed a bunch of us at work day that trick then got everybody to try it. For some the rods would cross each other, some spread away from each other. Some it would be both turned left or right. He said after we were done "if the cross each other you make boy babies. Spread away from each other, girls. Both turn same direction you make both..... thing is each person where they crossed other has sons, spread apart daughters and turned same way had both sons and daughters.

Of course for a couple of folks they didn't do anything. But when he stomped the ground 4 times and the waterline was 4' deep..... holy smokes. And btw they cross over each other for me and I have 2 sons.

 

[Poppy]

Sorry bro, sounds like witchcraft to me.

 

[Poppy]

A pickle fork is a tool to separate tie rod ends, and or ball joints.

 

[bykfixer]

Staple gun. Self powered with forward trigger.

Needed a T50 stapler to nail down some astro turf on a doggy handicap ramp. This US made tool works great at putting down staples..... at least for a few minutes anyway. Then it stopped "cocking". No jamming, just wouldn't re-lock the trigger for the next staple. It seems as though they are hit or miss badly. Like 1 out of 10 are a dud according to reviews. Most loved them. Enough said they stop working to cause me to think there's a design or build issue with the newer version. I got the dud.

I finished the job with my 1980's Arrow T50

Much more recoil than the Powershot and requires more effort to push the trigger but it's reliable as sunshine.


I took back the Powershot and traded for...

The Craftsman push fire.
It's a plastic body number with more recoil than the Arrow brand but it keeps firing staple after staple. I shot a reel of staples with it and no issues. And the mechanism to fill it up is a super easy to use set up.

The front fire staple gun is way easier to use. The little window lets you know you have some staples left and the arrow on the side makes for precision stapling as well. The Arrow one is way more user friendly than the Craftsman but hey, if it doesn't staple who cares how easy it is to handle, right?

 

[Poppy]

Great tool!
I had one that would fire either flat crown staples, or rounded crown staples. I think it was an arrow, but it may not have been.

Amazon.com

The rounded crown option is great when running land line phone wiring, or hard wired internet cabling.

 

[Poppy]

I just picked these up today, to aid in blowing out my garden hoses so that they don't freeze and burst this winter.

 

[bykfixer]

I saw how the fire department used to drain their hoses after a fire and just do that. Lay the hose out flat in a straight line, lift up one end and let gravity take it from there. But the air hose fitting is a good idea. Much faster than the fire department method.

 

[orbital]

+

Yea, I just lift the hose over my head, one hand after another.
but we are guys, so the air hose adapter is how we think.

Gotta have a tool for it

 

[ilikeguns40]

+

Yea, I just lift the hose over my head, one hand after another.
but we are guys, so the air hose adapter is how we think.

Gotta have a tool for it

Haha literally just did this

 

[BVH]

It's more fun to do it with special tools! Occasionally I make work just to use my tools.

 

[Lips]

.
Some guys just need to be blown!

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

MORE POWER! UH UH UH! 🦍

 

[KITROBASKIN]

The Poppy situation involves pipes going up to, then across the attic, then down (I think). Using air compressed solves the matter of trapped water in his pipes (hoses?)