Today I acquired...........

[Gragson]

Amazon mini belt sander for angle grinder attachement.

Good haul!, that mini belt sander type attachment things are seriously crap IME, really not even worth the hassle of setting up.
For a mini these are good & controlable belt and take bugger all space, find I use it a lot for quick little jobs.

Probably 5x cost of the attachment thing, but ended up binning the one I had as it was such a faff and rubbish.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Belt-Disc-Sander-Adjustable/dp/B08M65WPCZ/ref=asc_df_B08M65WPCZ?mcid=6cebeb7ca68c3f719985a3922cc27df8&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696510296837&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2420874842313291262&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006493&hvtargid=pla-1036030158160&psc=1&gad_source=1

 

[8ob]

Where'd you acquire that from @8ob ?

Battery tester

I say old chap thats on the posher end of the scale..

It is rather nice. Top tip, dont trawl the internet for treasures when bladdered

Bob

 

[MetalMonkey]

I've got the Topdon BT100, just the cheapy basic one without the printer - seems like a good bit of kit.
Their battery chargers seem decent too. Check out their store on ebay as they often run promo code discounts.

 

[Kram]

I've the same tester, it's one Husqvarna supply (note the 9 digit part number beginning with 5) which considering a fair few of their machines use a 10mm plug it's daft it doesn't come with an adapter!

Yes Im surpised theres no note in the listing. I cant see any adaptors for sale so will make one. The issue is I need to either set lathe for screw cutting or buy another tap.

Good haul!, that mini belt sander type attachment things are seriously crap IME, really not even worth the hassle of setting up.
For a mini these are good & controlable belt and take bugger all space, find I use it a lot for quick little jobs.

Probably 5x cost of the attachment thing, but ended up binning the one I had as it was such a faff and rubbish.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Belt-Disc-Sander-Adjustable/dp/B08M65WPCZ/ref=asc_df_B08M65WPCZ?mcid=6cebeb7ca68c3f719985a3922cc27df8&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696510296837&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2420874842313291262&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006493&hvtargid=pla-1036030158160&psc=1&gad_source=1

Hmm in what way? It appears reasonably well made with a good fit and finish to the parts.
What type did you have? I saw there are smaller things with a weak dc motor.

I can imagine not wanting the noise of an angle grinder as the main issue with it. I didnt try it today, I'll set it up tomorrow.

 

[JOEPRO]

I got myself a late Christmas present.
View attachment 479235
Not a bad little welder, some set up issues with the gas connection and no plug, lucky I'm a sparky!
Had a very quick play with it in mig mode .9mm wire 4mmx30mm strip of steel and it was spot on, got quite a lot of spatter to start with, I need to play with it more tomorrow and get use to the settings!
And if I can find my stash of rods try it in arc mode too!
Can't test the tig side as it doesn't come with a torch and I've never tried tig welding.
Something I must try!
Sy

This is my SIP AC DC Tig. An older model but a fantastic machine



Yes, definitely get onto Tig. Very useful process, very precise clean welding and zero spatter. I use TIG more than MIG now for alot of general tinkering. You will need a pure Argon bottle for Tig so bear that in mind cost wise.

 

[MetalMonkey]

I have a coolant refill coming up on a vehicle which is notorious for being somewhat of a pig to bleed manually.
So I thought I'd invest in one of these vacuum filler jobbies. I didn't want to punt for one of the expensive ones so thought I'd try an eBay special.

It seems they come in a million different flavours with some of the really cheap ones looking quite nasty with plastic bodies and gauges.
This one seems fairly solid, and looks to have a better ball valve and gauge, almost identical to the Sealey or Laser units, but 25% of the price.

A quick test shows it pulls and holds a vacuum, and does seem to fill a bottle, so presumably it will do the job.
I think I will modify it to include a ball valve in the fill tube so you can purge the air before filling.

I toyed with the idea of making one as they are pretty basic, but honestly struggled to find even the gauge and valve for the price.
Hard to beat this cheap chinese stuff sometimes.

 

[JOEPRO]

I have a coolant refill coming up on a vehicle which is notorious for being somewhat of a pig to bleed manually.
So I thought I'd invest in one of these vacuum filler jobbies. I didn't want to punt for one of the expensive ones so thought I'd try an eBay special.

It seems they come in a million different flavours with some of the really cheap ones looking quite nasty with plastic bodies and gauges.
This one seems fairly solid, and looks to have a better ball valve and gauge, almost identical to the Sealey or Laser units, but 25% of the price.

A quick test shows it pulls and holds a vacuum, and does seem to fill a bottle, so presumably it will do the job.
I think I will modify it to include a ball valve in the fill tube so you can purge the air before filling.

I toyed with the idea of making one as they are pretty basic, but honestly struggled to find even the gauge and valve for the price.
Hard to beat this cheap chinese stuff sometimes.

View attachment 479260

I have a similar Chinese kit and it's very good to be fair. I use it for any coolant refill including up to my V12 S600 and it works a treat.

The only cheap kit I have yet to have any luck on is a decent coolant pressure test kit. I have returned a couple of them before as the caps etc leaked out of the box. These were in the higher price bracket from amazon too. I am thinking of Sykes Picavant now if I can get the Mercedes cap adaptors OK.

 

[sparkysy]

Yes, definitely get onto Tig. Very useful process, very precise clean welding and zero spatter. I use TIG more than MIG now for alot of general tinkering

Nice set up you have there!
Yes it's on my to do list, I have a mate who keeps saying he will teach me, but have been too busy to take up his offer, this year I'll make some time for it!

 

[MetalMonkey]

The only cheap kit I have yet to have any luck on is a decent coolant pressure test kit. I have returned a couple of them before as the caps etc leaked out of the box. These were in the higher price bracket from amazon too. I am thinking of Syles Picavant now if I can get the Mercedes cap adaptors OK.

I did consider converting this to a pressure tester as well - Laser sell essentially just the body of this tool under the guise of a pressure tester with quick connect fittings instead of a gauge.
The idea being you then connect it up to a hand pump and test.

I can't see why one couldn't just modify this and connect it up to a 2 bar max regulator and swap the vacuum gauge over to a pressure one, or combined and have a dual purpose tool.
Obviously it wouldn't do the caps though.

The only reservation I would have is the chance of it popping out of the expansion tank, which presumably is eliminated with the screw on cap style ones or the kits with the clasps.

 

[Muzzer]

My garage clear out continues and whilst I have been good and re homed a good few things I ended up treating myself to one of these tonight. Will be ready to collect in Screwfix next week here in NI

View attachment 479107

Being the 1/2 impact version and the largest angle wrench Milwaukee do - it should have enough power for brake jobs etc which is what I'm looking this one for. That and torque converter & bell housing bolts should speed things up a little on my weekend Mercedes projects.

You could then trade up to one of these mothers

 

[DAPPH]

Great cheers for that , yeah i bet if it imploded would be a bugger to get into shape !

Check out high spec aluminium alloy cycle wheel rims less the spokes (A Freecycle win ) I waited ages till I eventually found one that fitted very nicely inside a cut down 310 litre blue food drum , With care and a bit of warmth I suspect you could get one or two as reinforcing ribs inside your clip lid drum
Hope your lid comes with the silicon rubber seal otherwise clingfilm the barrel rim and squirt a curable silicone inth rim of the lid then clamp and let set for a few weeks for a perfect seal . Put alignment marks on the lid & rim so it always get put back in the same place . My small garlic barrel didn't have a seal as the pulp was inside in a large sealed Mylar bag so I made my own seal as described .

 

[DAPPH]

I did consider converting this to a pressure tester as well - Laser sell essentially just the body of this tool under the guise of a pressure tester with quick connect fittings instead of a gauge.
The idea being you then connect it up to a hand pump and test.

I can't see why one couldn't just modify this and connect it up to a 2 bar max regulator and swap the vacuum gauge over to a pressure one, or combined and have a dual purpose tool.
Obviously it wouldn't do the caps though.

The only reservation I would have is the chance of it popping out of the expansion tank, which presumably is eliminated with the screw on cap style ones or the kits with the clasps.

What's the rad cap pressure these days ? Is it still 9 to 12 pounds without blowing your core plug seals ???

 

[DAPPH]

Yes Im surpised theres no note in the listing. I cant see any adaptors for sale so will make one. The issue is I need to either set lathe for screw cutting or buy another tap.


Hmm in what way? It appears reasonably well made with a good fit and finish to the parts.
What type did you have? I saw there are smaller things with a weak dc motor.

I can imagine not wanting the noise of an angle grinder as the main issue with it. I didnt try it today, I'll set it up tomorrow.

I guess you might need to make some rollers slightly bigger in the middle than at the outer edges so they tend to return the belt back to the correct running line when it's in use. Like my cheap small o Parkside linisher does .

 

[Kram]

Yes the supplied rollers are crowned so they should work well.

 

[brewdexta]

A 3D scanner fell into my basket while browsing on the sofa with the dogs this morning. In my defence I've been ill with almost fatal man flu for the last few days so this is to cheer me up

It's a creality ferret pro, last time I looked, half decent scanners were serious money, this doesn't seem bad for the money. Ended up being 280 quid with a code on Creality's Ebay store.

CR-Scan Ferret Pro

CR-Scan Ferret Pro offers smart anti-shake, 0.1mm precision, and wireless scanning—ideal for creators, hobbyists, and rapid prototyping.

www.creality.com

 

[MattF]

Let us know what it's like, when you've had a play with it.

 

[Gragson]

Hmm in what way? It appears reasonably well made with a good fit and finish to the parts.
What type did you have? I saw there are smaller things with a weak dc motor.

I can imagine not wanting the noise of an angle grinder as the main issue with it. I didnt try it today, I'll set it up tomorrow.

From memory... Like you say, the individual parts seemed ok, but I could not get the belt to run true enough for me, it's adjusted with the red knob but its all a bit micky mouse, add that to the setup faff of mounting a grinder to it then securing it all, I gave up on it pretty quick, yours looks the same to the one I had. the mini 250w belt sander relegated it to the metal parts bin. Hope yours works out better

 

[zzr1200]

Arrived from Vevor this morning a 7" x 5" angle table (£44.00), seems well built and solid. Doubleboost has done a review on the 10" version on You Tube if anyone's interested.

I purchased this primarily to regrind my brush/branch/wood chipper blades on the surface grinder, being as they're fairly expensive to just throw away without trying to sharpen them.

Can anyone recommend or known the grade of steel, used for wood chipper blades???

VEVOR VEVOR Tilting Milling Table 7x5inch Tilting Angle Milling Machine 0-90°Adjustable Swivel Angle Plate with 3 T-slots and an Adjustable Crank Handle Heavy Duty Tilting Milling Machine for Grinding | VEVOR UK

VEVOR Tilting Milling Table offers heavy-duty cast iron build, 0-90° adjustable angle, 3 T-slots, and precise measurements for versatile and durable milling tasks.

www.vevor.co.uk

 

[MattF]

Photo & link?

 

[MetalMonkey]

What's the rad cap pressure these days ? Is it still 9 to 12 pounds without blowing your core plug seals ???

Depends on the vehicle, most are around 15ps or so. This particular vehicle has a 22psi cap.
I believe you can get high pressure ones that go up to 30psi - I've never encountered one in the wild though.