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Grex > Agora41 > #115: How to do embarrassingly simple, obvious things | |
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| 25 new of 129 responses total. |
rcurl
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response 100 of 129:
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May 4 03:56 UTC 2002 |
MoS2 is used IN greases. But it is a "slippery" black solid, like
graphite. It also comes just as the powder.
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other
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response 101 of 129:
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May 4 04:06 UTC 2002 |
Hmm. I'm either misinterpreting or misremembering the label on that
grease.
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keesan
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response 102 of 129:
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May 4 15:37 UTC 2002 |
We got a 4 oz container of black VCR lubricant for some outrageous price,
which Jim says is cheaper at auto supply places.
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janc
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response 103 of 129:
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May 17 13:11 UTC 2002 |
In reference to Jep's battle with his tire:
The proper application of force to mechanical objects is something I've
never mastered. I think it's an art-form, that can only be developed
by lots of practice. I've had the wheel-won't-come-off-the-hub problem
and ended up fixing it the same way JEP did - call AAA. But screws are
the more common problem. How hard to turn the screw that won't turn?
Too often I end up snapping off the head of the screw or (especially
with phillips) smoothing out the slot. Then we get the joy of drilling
it out and finding a suitable replacement. Bletch. I think a lot of
the "art" of repair is knowing how hard to hit things.
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gull
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response 104 of 129:
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May 17 13:24 UTC 2002 |
It's true that after a while you start to develop a 'calibrated elbow', and
know when you're on the verge of snapping something. (Sometimes you can
feel things start to flex before they break, and that helps.)
Part of it's just having the right tools, too. Phillips screwdrivers come
not only in different sizes, but also in different tapers. Having the right
one makes all the difference in getting a screw out without rounding the
head. I think the best way is to get two assortments of screwdrivers, one
good American set (like Sears Craftsman) and one cheap Japanese one. The
Japanese screwdrivers seem to use a different taper that works better on
some screws. The tricky thing about Phillips screws is that even a
screwdriver that doesn't *really* fit the head will seem to work, until you
run into a screw that's pretty tight. I've found that generally the
screwdriver I want is the biggest one that will grip the screw head.
Part of it is also knowing when to back off, apply some penetrating oil, and
come back later. For really tough stuff like exhaust nuts, I'll sometimes
douse them daily with penetrating oil for a week before trying to remove
them. Tapping them with a hammer helps, too. I think it breaks the rust
bonds, or maybe wakes up the sleeping Thread Demons. Patience is the key.
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jep
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response 105 of 129:
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May 17 16:00 UTC 2002 |
I made an appointment with Discount Tires for tomorrow at noon, when
I'll get my new truck tires. I called around different places in
Tecumseh and got prices; several of them said I could get by with "P"
tires instead of "LT" tires. The guy at Discount Tires sounded very
confident and authoritative in saying no, I need "LT" tires because I
have a big heavy truck, and so I went with him.
They'll be $98/tire, installed. Plus tax. I hope my son appreciates
the resources I pour into his entertainments, such as this truck, some
day.
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gull
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response 106 of 129:
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May 17 16:11 UTC 2002 |
Yeah, don't screw around with putting passenger car tires on a truck. You
won't like the results. You won't be able to inflate them to the truck
manufacturer's recommended pressures, for one thing. They also won't have
the load-carrying capacity, though that might not matter if you never put a
full load in your truck. And they'll have softer sidewalls, which will make
the truck squirm around more in crosswinds. Overall I just don't feel it's
a safe thing to do, and I'm disappointed (but not surprised) that shops are
trying to talk you into it.
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jep
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response 107 of 129:
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May 17 20:53 UTC 2002 |
Well, they could tell I didn't like the prices for the LT tires. The
one I would have liked to have gone to said they'd be $131 each. I
told them I don't drive the truck much, and they said maybe I could get
by with "P" tires instead. It wasn't like they tried to talk me into
doing that.
But anyway, with all of the recommendations here, and their
straightforward insistence that I needed "LT" tires, and when they were
around the same price as the tires the other places offered to me, I
decided to go with Discount Tires.
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jmsaul
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response 108 of 129:
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May 17 22:15 UTC 2002 |
Good call.
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jep
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response 109 of 129:
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May 17 22:55 UTC 2002 |
The truck will probably die the week after I get the new tires. Heh.
That's the chance I take.
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bdh3
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response 110 of 129:
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May 18 07:19 UTC 2002 |
Keeping the old f*ck running is still gonna probably be cheaper
than paying for a whole new one. Rule of Thumb: WHen the average
cost per month of paying for maintenance of old gets to 75% of
the cost of payments on new, think about getting rid of old.
Until then go with the known deal.
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jep
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response 111 of 129:
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May 18 21:32 UTC 2002 |
I don't need a truck. If this one dies, I'm not buying another any
time soon.
We went to Discount Tires on Washtenaw, near Arborland. John wanted to
watch them put on our tires, so I made sure it was okay; they assured
me it was.
Then they rolled out the red carpet for John. The bay manager gave him
a pair of safety glasses, his own pen, and his nametag, and told him he
was in charge. He got to wander around the bays (firmly attached to my
hand) and watch them do everything. The crew let him press the button
to lift a couple of the cars. When they were done with our truck, they
let him lower the pneumatic floor jacks used to raise it.
Everyone there was very nice to him, telling him what a fun job it is
and asking if he'd like to work there when he's older. (Today he was a
volunteer.) John had a *ball*. I'll definitely go there any time in
the future I need tires.
And yes, he wants to work there.
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void
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response 112 of 129:
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May 18 23:02 UTC 2002 |
re snapping off screw heads: Those must have been some really tight
screws. The only time I ever broke a threaded thing was when the very
rusty head snapped off a nut i needed to remove from the inside of a
car that was 10+ years old at the time. I was attempting to replace
the water pump. A neighbor had both a drill and experience in drilling
out screws, so everything worked out. Ever since then, when I've
gotten the impression that I may be about to break the thing I'm
working on, I douse it in Liquid Wrench, give it a medium-strength whap
with a hammer, and wander off for a minimum of forty-five minutes.
If I'm changing a tire and there's no Liquid Wrench handy but the lug
nuts aren't budging, I put the business end of the tire iron on the
lug nut and then stand on the handle, bouncing if need be. I've been
told that such a practice can break the lugs off the wheels, but it
has never happened to any of my cars.
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aruba
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response 113 of 129:
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May 19 00:43 UTC 2002 |
I've broken heads off of screws because they were substandard screws. Since
th last time that happened to me, I am wary about using screws that come as
part of a kit. It's not very expenive to buy screws you know are good
quality from the hardware store.
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jep
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response 114 of 129:
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May 19 03:14 UTC 2002 |
I took the truck out on US-23 to see if the wobble problem was
resolved. Yep, it's fine now at 70 mph. I don't see any reason to
ever drive that truck any faster than 70, so it's cured as far as I'm
concerned.
I have to keep a closer eye on the oil consumption, as it was down a
lot more than I expected. (Don't ask. I'm not telling how much.)
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jmsaul
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response 115 of 129:
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May 19 04:03 UTC 2002 |
Re #111: Wow. They're even cooler than I thought!
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janc
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response 116 of 129:
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May 19 04:40 UTC 2002 |
I don't know. I don't get along with screws. In the old house I'd
screwed a lot of bookshelves together to form a penisula of shelves that
was stable enough so the whole thing wouldn't collapse when a baby tried
climbing it. When taking this down, I found one screw that wouldn't
unscrew. This didn't surprise me. I'd put them all in with a power
drill, and it was one of the first times I'd used one. I overtightened
a couple screws, "striping" the wood that was holding the threads. Now
I assumed that such a screw wouldn't hold well, so I'd put in some extra
screws. But turns out it holds just fine. After removing all the other
screws I was able to yank the two shelves apart, but this left one shelf
with a half inch of pointy wood screw sticking out the back. Turning
the screw would just turn the screw. It wouldn't go in or out. So I
grabbed the head with some vise grips an turned it while pulling. No
movement. So I put the shelf flat on its back and stood on it, one foot
on either side of the screw so my full weight was pushing the screw
back, and turned it. No motion. So I'm stumped. If the screw turns
freely without moving in or out, then the threads aren't griping on
anything. So what's holding the fool thing in? I used a hacksaw to cut
the point of the screw off and left the rest there. There's a limit to
how much time I care to spend on one fool screw.
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gull
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response 117 of 129:
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May 20 01:21 UTC 2002 |
I've never snapped off a screw -- usually the head rounds off first -- but
I've snapped off bolts.
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bhelliom
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response 118 of 129:
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May 20 18:09 UTC 2002 |
John, if the truck goes, you can always keep the tires. Small
consolation, I know.
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jep
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response 119 of 129:
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May 20 18:19 UTC 2002 |
Heh. I'd have the best tire swings in the whole apartment complex!
(And the most.) (I'd have the only ones.) I sure hope the truck runs
for a year or so. It should; I don't use it all that much.
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bhelliom
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response 120 of 129:
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May 21 15:11 UTC 2002 |
I'm psyched because we programmed the cable remotes you get from
Comcast to work with our tv and vcr so we don't have to use so many
remote control devices. That certainly makes "convenience" mean what
it's supposed to mean.
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russ
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response 121 of 129:
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May 27 04:09 UTC 2002 |
I've never found that screws are all that difficult unless the
metal is substandard. (Good screws are harder and tougher than
the bits you use to drive them. The point is that you can
sharpen or replace a bit, but if you round out a screw you're
in deep doo-doo.)
One thing people don't realize is that Phillips screwdrivers have
different tips to fit the different pyramidal holes in the screws.
If you use a too-small screwdriver for the screw, the sharper tip
will bottom out on the flat hole before engaging the four slots
correctly; this can cause the screwdriver to "cam out" and round
out the slots on the screw. The best way to avoid this is to use
the correct screwdriver for the job.
I had a tough time doing this for a while, as a couple of my good
screwdrivers had gone missing. I just found them in my bicycle
rack bag. I have *no* idea what I was doing to put them there...
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bhelliom
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response 122 of 129:
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May 28 15:12 UTC 2002 |
Does anyone know the average life of a gas grill?
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orinoco
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response 123 of 129:
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May 28 15:23 UTC 2002 |
So is it better, would you say, to use a too-large screwdriver or a too-small
one?
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gull
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response 124 of 129:
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May 28 15:43 UTC 2002 |
Bigger seems to be better, as long as you can get it to grip the head.
A too-small one will invariably try to cam out and round off the head.
It's really tiring then, because you have to really lean on the
screwdriver to make it work.
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