[lesmore49]

I am currently an aircraft structures mechanic. We have them in our tool boxes, but I still haven’t figured out why. In the six and a half years I’ve been working in aviation, not once have I used one to do my work.

There are some hacks that use them though.

As a hammer.

Which confuses me.

Because in the same toolbox there are usually three different types of hammer, a dead blow, ball peen, and talen.

Why misuse a tool, when one has three choices of the correct one?

I have a an old Sears Craftsman Ball Peen hammer, that has helped me 'persuade' recalcitrant metal.

I'm probably misusing it, but it still seems undamaged and is my go to hammer for rough metal work, like 'fixing' my garage door lock's box and strike plate, specifically the strike plate ,
which built up an edge or small metal 'wall' through frost/heat expansion and contraction shifting of door frame.

A few hammers using judicious amount of force and well placed accuracy of hammer blows...soon flattened the strike plate allowing the door to close smoothly again, as the build up metal on the strike plate was creating a metal barrier that stuck the door in place. No damage.

Glad my Ball Peen hammer did the job, as it's the only ball peen hammer I have...I don't have a larger hammer, which would of been the next step.

[MarkJerling]

When I was a kid, reading Hot Rod magazine (1960's) I used to read about Hot Rodders using Dzus fasteners. I was always fascinated by this method.


Dzus fastener - Wikipedia

Breaking news...now on the weather front. In Winterpeg, the current temperature is -27 C, tonight's low is -35 .

Just came back from plugging the engine block heater in , on our Chevy's 3.6 liter V6 engine. Geez is it cold. Too bad there isn't a frozen icon.

So, what you're saying is that it's warmer inside your freezer than outside!

[MarkJerling]

When I was a kid, reading Hot Rod magazine (1960's) I used to read about Hot Rodders using Dzus fasteners. I was always fascinated by this method.


Dzus fastener - Wikipedia

Breaking news...now on the weather front. In Winterpeg, the current temperature is -27 C, tonight's low is -35 .

Just came back from plugging the engine block heater in , on our Chevy's 3.6 liter V6 engine. Geez is it cold. Too bad there isn't a frozen icon.

Never seen that. A bit like a larger version of a Camlock fitting.

[lesmore49]

So, what you're saying is that it's warmer inside your freezer than outside!

Geez, probably is, never thought of it, that way. Well if the furnace breaks down, I'll know where to head for warmth...the freezer.

[rod_grant]

So, what you're saying is that it's warmer inside your freezer than outside!

Mark, the Canucks probably turn off their freezers in winter - just pile up the cold stuff in the shed.

[lesmore49]

Never seen that. A bit like a larger version of a Camlock fitting.

Wonder which came first ?

[normhead]

Geez, probably is, never thought of it, that way. Well if the furnace breaks down, I'll know where to head for warmth...the freezer.

The freezer in the basement gives off heat when it cools it's contents. It (and the water heater) keep the basement at a balmy 10º C even when no other heat is on.

---

Last edited by normhead; 02-12-2021 at 06:36 AM.

[lesmore49]

Mark, the Canucks probably turn off their freezers in winter - just pile up the cold stuff in the shed.

We have done that, pile our frozen articles in plastic coolers , then stick them in our unheated, uninsulated garage, if we needed to defrost the freezer, which is in our house basement. Defrost the freezer, get the frozen groceries out of the garage and put them back in the defrosted freezer.

[tim60]

So, what you're saying is that it's warmer inside your freezer than outside!

I see a market for reverse cycle fridges, warm the stuff when outside is colder and cool the stuff when it is hotter outside.

[lesmore49]

I have a small selection of Whitworth tools. Interestingly, 1/4 Inch Whitworth is the size used for all camera tripod mounts.

Just to confuse things further, Morris and MG engines from 1923 to 1955 were built using metric threads (rather than standard Whitworth threads) but with Whitworth sized bolt heads and nuts.
Whitworth is the oldest fastener standard in the world.

Back in the late '60's, 1968-'69 ....my boss at the time had a '67 MGB. When I first started working there, I still had my first car, a '61 VW Beetle. Deluxe model.

Anyways, his MGB was off limits to me. That is till I traded my '61 V-Dub in on a '67 Camaro RS Coupe with a 327 cube V8, 4 speed Muncie transmission. Also had those wide, red line tires that were popular on muscle cars of the era.

Things changed. Within a couple of days he wanted to try my , as he called it, my red hot Camaro and I could take his MGB for a spin.

The MGB was actually quite a nice car, not a powerhouse with it's 1.8 liter, 4 banger, twin SU carbs, but it could get out of it's own way, if you gave it the whip. I was surprised at how much legroom it had. I'm 6' 3" + and could actually stretch my legs out fully, with the seat all the way back. It handled well, sounded sporty, braked well and accelerated reasonably well . Everything about the car, was well balanced as a true sports car should be, in my humble opinion.

It was the convertible, or as the English said back then, a drophead. At least I think that is what they called it. Quite a beautiful car, every line was perfect. This was an MGB that was made before those huge, 5 mph bumpers were attached...which looked terrible.

The '67 with small bumpers, looked very sharp. Always thought that on the narrow, winding lanes of England this would be a wonderful car to drive in a sporting fashion.

[savoche]

Here we say "31st May".

Same here.

Well, not quite. We say "31rste mai" - yes, with a minuscule m

[savoche]

Interesting that as an American, you are familiar with two systems of weights and measurement . I am too, but only because I learned the Imperial system (inch/feet/pound/ounce, etc.) at school when I was young and then I had to learn the metric system on my own as it came to be the weights and measure system, after my schooling.

I'm familiar with both, too, but only because of a certain country stuck in its archaic ways

[savoche]

People learn differently.
Some learn by listening.
Some learn by reading.
Some learn by watching.
There are some, though, that just have to pee on the electric fence to see for themselves.

I think you're putting it better than old Ben

[savoche]

And I, by failing. Let's see what happens if I had an extra 20 grams of water to the bread dough....oh my, what a soupy mess. I guess I won't do that again.

The bread baking equivalent of peeing on an electric fence

[savoche]

33, how old is that in metric?

Lemme see... (33-32)*5/9=6 months, 20 days, and 16 hours?

For Bob, that's 20 days, 16 hours, and 6 months