The Tool Box

Here is where I will be posting about the tools that it takes to complete this project as well as my philosophy about tools.

Things that will have to be done occasionally.  This my Ryobi AP-12 table top planer dismantled to replace the drive chains and perform a general cleaning and lube job.  This is not the first time or the second.  I have put this little guy through hell for the most part it's been good to me.  The parts are cheap.  Note: Delta knives fit and are cheaper than Ryobi. 

This is your run of the mill inexpensive Campbell Hausfeld compressors  probably bought at Home Depot or one of those big box stores.  

The 6.25 HP, in the image above, is of course a joke.  It's similar to how they measure HP in vacuum cleaners.  Actual HP of this motor is probably less than 1.0, nevertheless it was what I could afford at the time.  The first thing to go bad (several years ago) on this compressor was the one way valve under the piston cylinder.  This valve separates the pressurized air in the tank from the cylinder.  When the motor cycles off, another valve opens in the control box (square box lower right with red rotary switch) releasing the pressure to the cylinder so when the motor cycles back on it does not have to start by pushing against all that pressure.  When the valve fails, the motor can not restart when the tank has pressure.  This part is ~$20.  I could not find the one for my model so I bought one that looked right and modified the plumbing to make it work.  That was not an easy job.  Stock plumbing had to be modified to make everything work.  A few weeks ago, the compressor stopped developing pressure and I diagnosed the problem as a bad piston (See below).

This is the bad piston from the compressor.  Note the seal ring is torn around the piston.  This ring is hard plastic.  The piston and the connecting rod are rigid so the hard plastic seal must make up the difference as the piston goes from slightly oval to round to slightly oval again (when you rotate a disk around one axis it's projection onto a plane becomes oval).

When buying a compressor that you want to last make sure that it has an articulated connecting rod and metal rings (just like in your automobile).

I bought replacement parts for the compressor.  You could not buy just the piston, you had to buy the piston and the cylinder as a unit.  This makes no practical sense because they are easily separable and the cylinder is not going to wear out as long as there is some plastic left on the piston seal.  But I guess they can charge you more for the set.  I found the parts for around $40.  I also found them for around $60 so it's best to shop around.  These types of tools are not made to last so it's a toss up whether to repair or buy new.  I'm broke so I took a chance and bought the parts.

The old cylinder and piston which will be replaced.

Well, I put the compressor back together and it worker like new... for a short period of time.  The motor is not able to restart if there is pressure in the tank.  I'd normally blame that one way valve again but this is different.  I think that the motor has gotten weak over time and the old leaky piston was a much lighter load than the new one.  A shorter power run might help it draw additional current so I'm going to move it up to my other shop near the house and see if it will work there.  In the mean time, I'm using the neighbor's compressor which is only fair because he used mine for several months when his broke.  This is the same neighbor that owns the tool sharpening business.  He has one tool that has an air bearing that occasionally needs a compressor.

Dewalt corded drills.  Best drill I ever owned.  The only maintenance I do is occasionally replace the cord as in this image.  When I have the drill open I always redistribute the lubrication around the gears.  This will help keep the drill healthy.  One more thing,  when putting a new cord in (or just cutting the cord shorter which I do when the rest of the cord is in good shape), you should always tin the wires (heat them and add a little solder to the ends don't forget the flux).  Tinning the wires will make the connection to the drill last. 

Repaired drill ready to go.

After I put the planer back together it ran great so I though I was finished with this project.  When I actually put it to work on some wood stock, the chain sprocket to the feed rollers broke in two and shot out the side of the machine.  I ordered a new gear thinking that there must have been a hair line crack in the gear that I did not notice and it broke when I put it under stress.  When I replaced the chain sprocket, I noticed excessive slack in the chain.

Well here I am tearing the planer apart again.

Turns out that the casing that holds the shaft that powers the rollers was broken.  The bearing encasement was broken and there was a crack along the entire housing.  I will have to replace the housing ($50) and both bearings (2 X $10) holding the shaft in place because they were both to stiff to rotate by hand.  When the chain originally broke, it must have jammed the feed system and caused excessive stress on the housing causing it to fail.  The stiff bearings probably did not help things.

This is the housing that contains the shaft and gears that reduce the motors very fast speed to a walking pace for the feed rollers.  As you can see on the left bottom of the photo, the case is broken where in encases the output bearing.  There is an additional bearing on the other side of the case in the upper right (hidden).  Both bearings need to be replace.  The shaft can not be turned by hand and both bearings as well as the case will have to be replaced.  The broken sprocket can be seen on the right side of the figure.

Replacing the planner would cost $500 US.  I have ordered new parts for less than $80 US.  Actually I should update that.  I actually paid just over $80 US.

Well, here is the planer ready for rebuilding.  Notice the gear puller on the left.  I will need this to remove the bearings from the drive shaft.  The tools in the red box are made to remove the circlips that hold the sprockets on the shaft. 

The new gear casing with old shaft and new bearings on the left and the old casing on the right.  I was a little dismayed at how thin this aluminum housing was.  I'm now not surprised that it broke when the drive jammed.

Almost back together.  I have the drive system fully installed.

Yep, Runs like new... almost.  I believe I'm going to need new motor brushes in the next year.

It really is disappointing that parts cost so much for tools and machinery.  Actually for anything really.  It seems that companies price parts at ridiculous prices to encourage you to buy the latest new model.  If I had to pay for labor, this repair would make no sense because a new machine would be close to the same price as the repair.  I paid $80 for the parts but I estimate that the cost to the manufacturer them is more like $10.  I base this number on looking at the price of similar generic parts from suppliers.  The gear housing is custom of course but it was a simple sand cast of thin aluminum with minimal machining.  Mass produced it probably can be made for $5 with the two bushings installed.  This type of price gouging to encourage consumption is wasteful and makes me mad.  I wish companies had respect for my hard earned money.

Belt Sander

Well, I managed to jam an extension cord in my belt sander causing the drive belt to break.  I'll have to order a new one.  No chance of a local store carrying the part.  Our economy just doesn't work like that anymore.  $15.84 for a small belt.  I guess it could have been worse.

The belt sander with the broken belt show.

I always hate it when the cord on the drill starts to fail.  I usually do not hesitate to replace a cord because I hate it  when I press the trigger and nothing happens.  As it turns out, I've used up all my spare cords and had to resort to a temporary plug end.  I say temporary because these type of plugs rarely last and will need to be rewired after some use.  It is always better to replace the whole cord.  Actually, when ever I throw something away with a stout electrical cord, I cut the cord off  and keep it if it is good shape.  Electrical cords always come in handy.  

Jan. 1, 2016

Here is a tool I designed to help warm the epoxy on cold days to make it easier to dispense and apply.  Even on days where the temperature will stay above the minimum, the epoxy can be difficult to use.  So  I have made a wooden box for the epoxy with a warmer in the bottom.  The warmer is a simple 20 watt light bulb in a copper box.

A simple wooden box with a compartment in the bottom lined with copper.

Here is the copper compartment with the light bulb sitting on  the bottom.

A copper top to separate the light bulb compartment from the epoxy.  Probably not necessary but why not. 

The gallon of epoxy with pump sits right in the box.  A hole in the bottom front lets light out so I know if the bulb is working.

Okay, so it happens to the best of us. You have a vacuum hose and power cord to deal with.  Your hanging by your toenails on top of the overturned hull, sanding with all your might when suddenly the belt sander comes to an abrupt stop.  Damn, you got the cord and yes it's jammed good.

I took the cover off the side and gently turned back the cog wheel.  Luckily there is a good gear ratio between this big cog wheel and the actual drum turning the sanding belt.  This means I do not have to put much pressure on the cog wheel to unwind the belt because I have the gear ratio to my advantage.

It could be worse.  None of the inner insulation is broken and all I need is a bit of electrician's tape to fix the cord.  It can be difficult keeping the cord out of your way especially on the bottom of the hull where the cord tends to sweep across where you are working.  

The orbital sander just spins with no orbital motion.   I removed the center bearing and it was frozen solid.

Top pad and bearing assembly.  I've ordered a new bearing.  It costs around  $15. 

Home made long board.  Yep, that is just a handle from an old hand saw on the right.  

And time for something a little different.  I've got a great but difficult plan for the cabinetry which will require a bit of steam bending.  Actually, there will also be a lot of interior trim that I may use the laminated steam bending technique.  I have steam bent oak before.  I hooked up a 4" PVC schedule 40 pipe to a kettle and did it in my kitchen.  I'm married now so that is out.   Besides PVC kinda droops and melts over time so I wanted something a bit more durable.  My solution is to use 4" metal down spout that I have laying around.  I drilled holes in the side and placed short pieces of threaded rod below the centerline to keep the steamed wood in the center of the tube.  I make two wooden end caps, one tapered to be removed on the right the other with a hole in which I threaded some galvanized pipe I had laying around.  The pipe was attached to a chrome shower head pipe which was roughly threaded into the lid of a durable cooking pot.  Made a stand out of wood and bought a one eye burner from Walmart for $12.   That was the only item I purchased.  Put water in the kettle, oak strips in the tube and turned the burner on.  About 45 minutes later I had beautifully steamed oak strips.  There was just one issue.  Water was able to leak out the end but as the end cap soaked the steam up and swelled, the water became trapped and the wooden end cap was very difficult to remove.  So I'll drill a small weep hole in the bottom of the tube right before the end cap and I'll put the end cap in much looser than before.   

Completed steamer

This is the 1" (2.5 cm) drill bit I purchased at Home Depot ($28) after drilling one hole in the steel "H" beam.  It is probably impossible to avoid when trying to use a hand held drill with this size of bit.  I probably should have rigged my large drill press but it was in a different shop than the boat.  The chip occurs at the end of the hole where you should reduce pressure and speed.  You just can not get the control you need with a hand held.

Other side.

I ended up having to regrind the bit after each hole.  I need to take a little more off this one.  BTW, after 8 holes, I lost the grind pattern/angle and the drill bit became more cantankerous.  I'll have to remeasure the angles and regrind.  

So I have a knock-off Fine tool.  If you've ever used an actual Fine tool, you will understand why they cost a mint.  They are amazing but too rich for my toolbox.  So I bought a cheap knock-off and when I say cheap, I mean cheap.  I find that I rarely use it... maybe because it is so cheap or maybe because I like using a hand saw or Sawzall better.  The Sawzall takes a bit of skill to master delicate work.  Get the short stroke one.  It won't cut as fast but you have more control and you can use it in more confined spaces.  Oh, I think I digressed a bit.   The knock-off Fine tool comes with really cheap blades so throw those out an by good blades (yes they will fit).  They are expensive and require a trip to the store and we are in the middle of Covid and I was feeling lazy.  Besides I have a stack of old hand saws that have perfectly good teeth at the base where the blade fits the handle.  So what do I do?  I make my own blade.

Just cut a good section of an old wood saw out and weld it onto the old blade.