New tools you've bought recently?

[pjtoledo]

if it's constructed like a ratcheting wrench there is a wire C ring that compresses for insertion then expands
to fill grooves in both the stationary and rotating heads.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I keep hearing about "range extenders" and have been thinking about ways to incorporate something similar to my truck on long trips with friends.

This is what I came up with:

 

[97RangerXLT]

my son David went to Menards with his mom and bought an 8 lb sledge hammer on Friday. texts me that he bought a sledge hammer.

I am like ooo kkkayyy..

The Unbreakable Geode
So rewind the story to around 2019 or 2020 or so. David's grandma bought him a neat grapefruit sized geode that looks like it was spit out of a volcano. David has always liked rocks and geodes, so he wanted to break it open. I give him a set of safety glasses and he grabs his rock hammer and went at it. didn't break. gave him my Estwing 4 lb mini sledge. No luck. I took a few swings at it and short of breaking the concrete in the garage or porch, that geode wasn't breaking. looked cool unbroken anyways, so I told him sorry bud, does not look like this one is going to break. every year or so we would revisit the Unbreakable Geode. not gonna break..

Moved to the new house last year, the Unbreakable Geode ended up in my back yard on top of a mill stone and has sat there since last June. Friday evening, David is dropped off by his mom toting his new purchase with plans to go at the Geode again.

Ok, go for it, take it out to the road where it won't break my driveway or peices won't hit my car, Ranger or house. So he puts on the safety glasses and the fourth blow broke the Geode. didnt look all that impressive inside, but that itch was scratched, and David has added to his tool collection.

 

[Rick W]

I’ve got three or four or five golf ball or baseball size geodes, nice and round, that I’ve had for probably 20 years or more. I was thinking of putting them in a fabricated wood box to hold them, and cutting them with a grinding wheel/masonry blade on the chop saw. Of course I’ve been thinking about that for 20 years now, but the time may be upon us

 

[Curious Hound]

I keep hearing about "range extenders" and have been thinking about ways to incorporate something similar to my truck on long trips with friends.

This is what I came up with:

View attachment 124232

Is that a hose so you can pee outside the truck while driving? What are we looking at?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Is that a hose so you can pee outside the truck while driving? What are we looking at?

It's a siphon...

 

[Curious Hound]

It's a siphon...

Dual purpose.

 

[Rick W]

Dual purpose.

What a great idea! Especially for some of those northern trucks that already have access to the pavement through the floorboard

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dual purpose.

It has a check valve in it so a guy has to be careful...

 

[Rick W]

It has a check valve in it so a guy has to be careful...

Not really. That’s just so you don’t suck up anybody else’s pee on the road when you inhale.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Not that bodily fluids and such aren't interesting, I thought I'd show how I'm improving my new to me lift. It was quite awhile ago that I got it here, sometime last summer. I don't have concrete to mount it on so I'm welding together a skeleton frame that will (hopefully) hold it from collapsing or tilting when a vehicle is on it. Over the last couple weeks (months) I've been gathering material and cutting and grinding rust off, prepping for welding. Was hoping to have it done this past weekend....
Yeah, right!
I dug out my old Sears stick welder. It actually works after sitting for 35 years. And its probably about 70 years old...
Got everything temporarily mounted and tacked it together. Will finish welding when it warms up again.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I definitely need practice with my welds. Its been a few decades since I used stick.

The top weld half is 7014, the bottom 6011. The 7014 is easy to strike an arc and looks good. The 6011 is not so easy to strike an arc and is very aggressive and doesn't flow as nice. And of course the 6011 is what I have a lot of on hand...

 

[Shran]

I don't stick weld a lot but 7018 and 6011 are my go-to's. Those are way better for anything structural, 6013 and 7014 are very low penetration, good for buildup on flat surfaces and that's about all. They are way easier to learn though. But once you get the hang of 7018 you will not go back. There is sort of a scratching motion that makes it fairly easy to start, kind of like striking a match. Usually I run it on DC. 7018 and 6011 will work on either AC or DC but if you only have AC, the 6011 might work better.

Here is one of my last week scores, I have been looking for a bigger/better band saw for wood and the pawn shop had this one for $65 and tools were 25% off so I got it for $50 out the door. Also got a really good deal on some partial socket sets, a corded DeWalt sawzall, and a DeWalt 18ga air nailer - probably will use those for trading fodder.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I’ve got three or four or five golf ball or baseball size geodes, nice and round, that I’ve had for probably 20 years or more. I was thinking of putting them in a fabricated wood box to hold them, and cutting them with a grinding wheel/masonry blade on the chop saw. Of course I’ve been thinking about that for 20 years now, but the time may be upon us

David will help you break them. Even bring his new sledgehammer. a lot of things are looking like geodes to him now that he has that hammer...

AJ

 

[Shran]

David will help you break them. Even bring his new sledgehammer. a lot of things are looking like geodes to him now that he has that hammer...

AJ

I don't think that's a geode... it looks like a piece of quartz river rock. Geodes are hollow. Not that it matters, at least he knows what's inside it now!

We have a lot of jasper and quartz rock out here that looks very similar to that. It is pretty easy to find out near the Badlands and in a couple other areas. We go agate hunting from time to time out there and I brought a few chunks of jasper home to break open. I was kinda bummed that they look cooler unbroken. The insides are just kinda plain and boring... cool how they formed though, millions of years rolling around on the sea floor to make them smooth and then more millions of years hanging out in the dirt until I stumble across them.