six-point socket's tidbits of Home Improvement, small projects and other stuff.

[shanegrilah]

Oliver,

I'm curious about the keyed locking interior window latches. Are they for security reasons? Here in the US interior/exterior keyed door locks are not allowed in some places for emergency egress purposes. I'm not sure about windows but I would guess it would be similar. How is this handled in your location?

Thanks,
Shane

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi Shane,

yes they are for added security. This allows me to keep a window tilted while the handle/latch is secured and can't be pulled with a sling (to fully open the window). It's not high-end security stuff, just another obstacle for someone looking for an easy entry.

In my place I can do what I want in this regard. [big grin]

Different story if it was a federal/communal/public building or an apartment building. Then designated rescue doors and windows would have to be unlocked at all times so they can be opened from the inside, no matter what.

Then again, inside their personal apartments renters can put lockable handles/latches on windows and doors as they wish (or the landlords permit ...)

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Cheese]

I'd say right now, at the peak of tire change season, and especially at the tire shops/ tire exchange places there is not much, mostly no, hand torque-ing. They just rattle away and over torque. Not necessarily up to the point of damage/ probable damage, but way beyond specification. They think they "feel it". And obviously don't want to spend the extra time ... It's sad. Time is money when they have to meet certain numbers to break even/make profit on their town's cheapest tire change flat rate offer ...

Well Oliver, this was an interesting discussion and brought up some questions, so this morning I went to The Garage Journal forum to see if they had any discussion on hand torquing compared to using torque sticks.
Within a few posts on "Torque Wrench vs Torque Stick" this post came up:
      "putting wheels on for 40 years and iv never used either. just gun it up and walk away time is money"

That pretty much sums up your observation.  [big grin]

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

I have a little project coming up where I need to solder ... Last time I soldered was in high school ... So I took some time today to re-teach myself how to do it ... I definitely need some more practice.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[sancho57]

Oliver,

I really enjoy reading your post and your projects. Please Keep them coming

 

[six-point socket II]

Thank you!  [smile]

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

I'd say right now, at the peak of tire change season, and especially at the tire shops/ tire exchange places there is not much, mostly no, hand torque-ing. They just rattle away and over torque. Not necessarily up to the point of damage/ probable damage, but way beyond specification. They think they "feel it". And obviously don't want to spend the extra time ... It's sad. Time is money when they have to meet certain numbers to break even/make profit on their town's cheapest tire change flat rate offer ...

Well Oliver, this was an interesting discussion and brought up some questions, so this morning I went to The Garage Journal forum to see if they had any discussion on hand torquing compared to using torque sticks.
Within a few posts on "Torque Wrench vs Torque Stick" this post came up:
      "putting wheels on for 40 years and iv never used either. just gun it up and walk away time is money"

That pretty much sums up your observation.  [big grin]

No surprise, I've seen this so many times ... The shop my Dad brought our family van to, back in the day had a waiting area for tire change/ small jobs with a really big window which would allow everyone to look right into that area of the shop/garage. Getting sentimental when thinking of that van, it was a Toyota Model F (I think it's better known as Toyota TownAce II)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_LiteAce

This is pretty much like the one we had, down to the color. But ours had some stripes ... And it was an automatic. My Dad always says he never had a car he liked better ...

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[mike_aa]

[member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]  Oliver, Nice looking Snap On soldering iron.  What powers it and how do you like it?

Mike A.

 

[Peter_C]

[member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]  Oliver, Nice looking Snap On soldering iron.  What powers it and how do you like it?

Mike A.

Similar to what I have which is butane powered. Snap-on most likely upgraded from the units I have, as they are so so, but decades old. I have a small torch that I use for heat shrink and to heat the iron faster. Been looking at the Milwaukee M12 soldering iron, and when I finally get frustrated enough or find one for an awesome price I will buy one. 

 

[Tinker]

Today, the soldering tools are so tiny in comparison to when i learned in high school. The torch was a big blow torch that blew a gigantic flame at least a half inch in diameter. The iron was mabe 3/4 inch square coming to a pointed tip. The head was at least 1-1/2 inch in length. The first project I soldered was a little copper cigaret box for my mom. I filed the corners to a 45º angle the same as I would bevel the corners on a wooden box. To get a neat solder joint was very very tricky with such a huge iron and the huge flame from the torch.

Later, when I flashed some of my chimneys, I used the same sized torch and iron to do on much larger flat surfaces. That was easy after learning on such small projects in school.
Tinker 

 

[six-point socket II]

[member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]  Oliver, Nice looking Snap On soldering iron.  What powers it and how do you like it?

Mike A.

Hi Mike,

Thanks! As Peter already said, it's butane powered.

I bought this with two things in mind: I wanted to be able to heat shrink in- as well as out-doors, and I wanted to be able to solder stuff like what I pictured above. Not on circuit boards, nothing too small ...

For heat shrinking, I love it. Works amazing, get's hot super fast (even on a windy and rainy day outdoors) and the deflector has a good size. Problem: With the deflector put on, you can't use the safety cap to stash the "hot" tool away.

For soldering, I was under the impression yesterday that the tip was way to hot. The solder literally evaporated upon contact - so I still need to find the "sweet spot". The solder I used, I inherited it from my Grandpa ... So I also ordered some new solder, maybe that works better (and is a little healthier, no lead...).

And like I said, it's been a very long time since I soldered anything. Thinking of it, I realized I made a little mistake, the last time doing it wasn't in high school but during an internship with Germany's largest telecommunications company. They used and still use the same type of butane soldering iron on the road, that's how I later found/remembered this on the Snap-On truck ...

I honestly don't feel like I could give you an educated opinion on using it to solder.

What I don't like, and I found that out only yesterday. When it's hot, you can't change between soldering tip and blower. That's why I would suggest you also look into the brand new Snap-On YAKS42 ->https://store.snapon.com/Butane-Sol...Soldering-Iron-Kit-25-130-Watts--P927913.aspx On this one, you can change from soldering tip to blower while it's still hot.

I'm pretty sure Snap-On buys these from Portasolhttp://www.portasol.com

Personally, all in all I'm pretty happy with the soldering iron. Ask me about it again when I soldered those 20 to 25 connections on my upcoming project.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Jimdude]

Am I missing an in-joke coz you just shorted that lightbulb socket?

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi.

Not a joke at all, just "training"/practice.

I need to shorten string lights for my upcoming project. So I used the broken string lights (that I removed from the piece of Christmas decoration I plan to rescue)  to practice: 1. tinning the flex wire, 2. connecting two of them.

This is going to waste anyway.  [smile]

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Jimdude]

Ah, then it suddenly makes sense  [big grin]

 

[mike_aa]

Hello Oliver,  Thanks for your answers and useful insights!

Wow, that newer Snap On iron does it all!  From the description - "Includes attachments for soldering, hot air, hot knife and plastic welding."  Having the portability and the hot air for heat shrink wrap would be very useful.  Being able to repair a broken plastic piece now and then would also be helpful.

With the exception of a bit of copper plumbing work, the majority of my soldering has been with electronics and wiring, I use rosin core 60-40 solder with a small iron for electronics and the newer lead-free solder and an acid brush-on flux with a torch for plumbing work (I also use the same torch for caramelizing the top of Creme Brulee).  What type of solder/flux did you use when you had the internship with the telecommunications company?

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[Cheese]

Hey Oliver, I'm assuming that straw colored stuff in a tin is flux. If so, have you ever used resin core solder instead? Rosin core is made specifically for electronics use, while acid core is for plumbing. The flux is self contained in the middle of the solder.

I purchased a 1# roll of Kester about 20 years ago and it's now almost gone. I do a lot of electronics assembly and it's super easy to work with.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hello Oliver,  Thanks for your answers and useful insights!

Wow, that newer Snap On iron does it all!  From the description - "Includes attachments for soldering, hot air, hot knife and plastic welding."  Having the portability and the hot air for heat shrink wrap would be very useful.  Being able to repair a broken plastic piece now and then would also be helpful.

With the exception of a bit of copper plumbing work, the majority of my soldering has been with electronics and wiring, I use rosin core 60-40 solder with a small iron for electronics and the newer lead-free solder and an acid brush-on flux with a torch for plumbing work (I also use the same torch for caramelizing the top of Creme Brulee).  What type of solder/flux did you use when you had the internship with the telecommunications company?

Thanks, Mike A.

Hi Mike,

The honest answer: I used the solder that was given to me by the professional I was driving/working with. Really, no Idea what "we" used. I mean, it really was a simple task, nothing fancy.

This is what a main distribution frame in Germany looks like:

( It's from this article:https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauptverteiler )

So I simply heated the connector from beneath, add solder, push in the wire. One after an other.

What I bought now, is this:https://www.conrad.de/de/stannol-hs...leifrei-spule-sn99cu1-100-g-1-mm-1666025.html

Hey Oliver, I'm assuming that straw colored stuff in a tin is flux. If so, have you ever used resin core solder instead? Rosin core is made specifically for electronics use, while acid core is for plumbing. The flux is self contained in the middle of the solder.

I purchased a 1# roll of Kester about 20 years ago and it's now almost gone. I do a lot of electronics assembly and it's super easy to work with.

Hi Cheese,

that is a (wet) sponge to clean the tip. Even the old solder had a "flux core".

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

[scared] [blink] [eek]  [crying]  [eek]  [wink]

I now know that this bit holder is build from 2 bit holders glued together. Although, I wish I hadn't found out.  [censored] lol.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

Had a great phone conversation with someone from Wera a couple of minutes ago. They were actually quite surprised when they found my E-Mail with the pictures.

Needless to say, they're sending a new one, and would like to have the old one for analyzing. Promised to keep me in the loop as to what went wrong/ why this one broke.

Great customer service and communication.  [big grin]

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Before I start writing on my overall project report, here's a little something that still has me facepalming ...

First of all, my DIY radiator install was a huge success - worked out fantastic. I had one small leakage (a couple of drips...), because I didn't use enough hemp on one connection, but that was easily fixed. In the end all I lost was a bit of time and a bit of water, because I had to empty the circuit once more and re-fill it.

Now for the facepalm.

As you know I had a radiator replaced by a professional some weeks ago. All good, basically. Since I do have windowsills on the inside, I needed brackets for them, and he brought and installed them. I didn't think any of it, even when he said to me smiling: "Oh, I have two metal plates left, I don't know where these belong, probably for another/different radiator"

This is what it looks like on those he installed:

Please pay attention to the small metal plate/foot resting directly on the radiators ribs/lamella. When looking through the grille.

I found it a little odd he had to cut the grille back then, but again - I didn't think any of it - he is a professional. Because these brackets went in so deep, we also joked that there finally was a task to use those extra long hex keys on.

Fast forward I'm ready to install the brackets to the radiator I just had installed, and for good measure I decide to read the instructions that came with the brackets. Then I facepalmed multiple times ...

So here's how these are installed correctly - and it also explains why you need the larger metal plates underneath -> weight distribution.

Kind regards,
Oliver

Remember this? Originally I was supposed to get little plates from a local metal workshop, sadly that never worked out. I was just about to order a new set of brackets which would include new plates, when a small, white, aluminum plate fell into my hands.

So I took my Carvex, PDC and a file ... to make this (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures when I made the inner cut out ...) Even with the holes, that the scrap piece had, it absolutely looks like it has to be this way - other side looks exactly the same.

Kind regards,
Oliver