Show Us a Tool

[PedalUma]

Well, I did it. I just made a bike with a torque sensor and a throttle. Throttles are very rare for me. I was also able to reset that bike to show bars on the display that match the battery. In the Summer around here we get high winds in the afternoon. The Ocean temp is 65 and inland it is 110. That hot air rises and it sucks in the cold air through the Petaluma Gap. Then it flows down valleys. That is why that guy had 30 mph headwinds. He had a habit of running batteries into the ground and wrecked them. I helped him put in a warranty claim. But really, you can't do that to batteries. We have a place called Sonoma Mountain. In the Summer you can catch tailwinds in two directions if you do a lap of the mountain counter clockwise.

 

[spokewrench]

I don’t know how old these axe heads are. I think similar ones have been produced since the 1600’s. The 3-pounder is pitted 6mm deep. The 4-pounder is also badly pitted. Six years ago, I put edges on them, knowing they'd never be fit to use.

The handles were a mystery. They showed no deterioraton, so somebody had put new handles on decrepit heads.

It made no sense to make handles when manufactured ones were so cheap. If a handle doesn't fit tightly, movement will destroy it. These handles wiggled and weren't at all ergonomic. It appeared that they’d never been used. My grandfather had made them. He knew more than I will ever know about woodworking and construction.

It made no sense until I made the connection with his grandfather’s house, where he’d lived from the age of 12, when he was orphaned and went to work as a railroad carpenter. I finally realized what these tools were.

Any guesses?

 

[PedalUma]

The 4-pounder

I took one like the four-pounder and cleaned it all up and painted it. I used a California framing hammer handle for it. It took an edge that could cut paper. That hatchet was great for making oak kindling.

Oh it might sound weird catching tailwinds from two directions. Here is the explanation and it has to due with wine AVAs: The Petaluma Gap vinicultural area first blows east from the sea, cooling grapes in the afternoon, then it splits mostly north and south. It is know for its Pino. The Carneros AVA gets it cooling wind off the north bay, blowing north to that auto parts store, Napa. Both AVAs touch Sonoma Mountain. Los Carneros is known for its Chardonnet. So, that is how you get tail winds in two directions while cycling through vineyards.

 

[spokewrench]

Oh it might sound weird catching tailwinds from two directions. Here is the explanation and it has to due with wine AVAs: The Petaluma Gap vinicultural area first blows east from the sea, cooling grapes in the afternoon, then it splits mostly north and south. It is know for its Pino. The Carneros AVA gets it cooling wind off the north bay, blowing north to that auto parts store, Napa. Both AVAs touch Sonoma Mountain. Los Carneros is known for its Chardonnet. So, that is how you get tail winds in two directions while cycling through vineyards.

 

[PedalUma]

 

[PCeBiker]

Feed stores sell large incandescent heat lamps for chicks and ducklings.

Here we go,..

You use it on low to incubate the chicks, then when they're big enough you turn it up to roast them ,..

It should take at least 1500 Watts to cook a chicken, so that will drain down your batteries Real Fast.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Here we go,..

View attachment 194361


You use it on low to incubate the chicks, then when they're big enough you turn it up to roast them ,..


View attachment 194362View attachment 194363



It should take at least 1500 Watts to cook a chicken, so that will drain down your batteries Real Fast.

That’s a better idea than running a hair dryer for hours.

 

[spokewrench]

I took one like the four-pounder and cleaned it all up and painted it. I used a California framing hammer handle for it. It took an edge that could cut paper. That hatchet was great for making oak kindling.

We used to heat 2500 square feet by wood. My favorite maul was like this. They call it 12 pounds but it weighs 15. For kindling I used a smaller maul and a 2-pound hatchet.

The back view shows how decrepit the old axe heads were. I wondered why my grandfather hadn't discarded them.

in the house where he grew up, the 12 x 12 oak sills surprised me because they were hewn. By 1856, when it was built, steam power made mobile sawmills possible. Weight would explain why the sills weren't sawn. Dry, each 30-foot sill would weigh about a ton and come from a log weighing about 2 tons dry. To reduce cracking, the sills would have been cut green, from a 3-ton log. If sap wood was unacceptable, they would have needed to start with a much more massive log.

How would you saw such a massive log with a mobile sawmill? You'd split and hew the log where it fell. Splitting a fat 30-foot log takes several wedges.

In the 1950s, my uncle powered his mobile sawmill by a leather belt from his tractor. My grandfather still depended on a pair of mules. A pair can plow 16 acres a day and are in some ways better than tractors. There were no mule-powered sawmills. To make timber or rails, he would have used those ancient axe heads as wedges. The makeshift handles were to hold them for the first hammer blow and to lever them loose if they had to be moved.

 

[6zfshdb]

Not a tool, but I find them to be a very handy addition to my bikes:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ2LT53H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I use them to replace most of the Allen head screws holding brake levers, displays, throttles and any other handlebar accessories. That way, I can adjust their position on the fly without having to stop and get out an Allen wrench. I often make these adjustments to increase comfort, or eliminate screen glare on long rides.

It also makes it easy to remove the throttle for class 1 only locations.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Not a tool, but I find them to be a very handy addition to my bikes:

View attachment 194368

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ2LT53H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I use them to replace most of the Allen head screws holding brake levers, displays, throttles and any other handlebar accessories. That way, I can adjust their position on the fly without having to stop and get out an Allen wrench. I often make these adjustments to increase comfort, or eliminate screen glare on long rides.

It also makes it easy to remove the throttle for class 1 only locations.
View attachment 194374

Never thought of that.... is the T_Wing tool easier to use than an Allen wrench?

These will totally screw up Mr. Spokewrench...a real proper torque conundrum.

 

[6zfshdb]

I suppose the torque rating on these small accessory screws is to prevent overtightening. I simply tighten until the handlebar accessory is firm and doesn't move easily. No sense tightening to the specified torque if it isn't necessary. Also, leaving these screws slightly under tightened can prevent damage during a spill. The accessory will simply shift position on impact instead of breaking.

However, this is NOT the case for machined parts where torque IS critical.

 

[Gionnirocket]

I suppose the torque rating on these small accessory screws is to prevent overtightening. I simply tighten until the handlebar accessory is firm and doesn't move easily. No sense tightening to the specified torque if it isn't necessary. Also, leaving these screws slightly under tightened can prevent damage during a spill. The accessory will simply shift position on impact instead of breaking.

However, this is NOT the case for machined parts where torque IS critical.

A few things on my bars aren't overly tight just for these reasons... like the display, aux light. They won't move unless forced so they're secure but will when bumped or if I want to tweak adjustment. They are torqued to 3 finger pounds

 

[PedalUma]

The all electric bike shop where I worked for the past year required that everything be over-tightened. All you do is tighten until the threads come out like a little spring and then back it out 1/16th.

 

[stompandgo]

Ugh.

 

[PedalUma]

Working inside sales support for a large bike company someone called asking how to get the little spring back into the crank arm at the pedal.

 

[Base]

Working inside sales support for a large bike company someone called asking how to get the little spring back into the crank arm at the pedal.

Helicoil

 

[Base]

Ones had a dealer who rang if we could ship more batteries.... The internal fuses were blown when he put them in a certain bike....

 

[PedalUma]

The internal fuses were blown

That's great. I once took a car into the shop with a blown fuse. I asked them to trace the source. When I picked it up and asked what was wrong they said, 'Blown fuse.' I knew that! But what shorted to blow the fuse? On that bike I will bet a power wire was crimped or crushed and it would short batteries all day long. On mid-drive kits people will try to run power between the motor and BB. Then the motor shifts forward and up against the down tube and it welds a hole in the frame and or motor housing. Darwin Awards.

When they wanted to know how to get the little spring back in I said that it sometimes happens with left side pedals and sent them a left crank with the pedal pre-attached and an 8mm Allen key and said that an LBS will have the puller tool for the faulty crank arm spring.
Late this afternoon I was called to assemble an eTrike. It was in a box 10in wide and 48in long, all just detached parts, like the bare frame, chain, and derailleur. I had it working in an hour-and-half. I will return tomorrow as a house call to do final details such as the fenders, rack, and lights. There is no way Joe consumer could ever assemble it. They wouldn't even know where to begin. Maybe these days Darwin would have forehead reduction cosmetic surgery, so he could fit in better socially with his peers. And then show dance moves on Tic-Tock.

 

[spokewrench]

That's great. I once took a car into the shop with a blown fuse. I asked them to trace the source. When I picked it up and asked what was wrong they said, 'Blown fuse.' I knew that! But what shorted to blow the fuse?

Did you find the cause? Fatigue can blow fuses. It can get a no-name fuse sooner and a reputable brand later. If the replacement fuse blows soon, then there's probably a circuit problem.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Ones had a dealer who rang if we could ship more batteries.... The internal fuses were blown when he put them in a certain bike....

That’s one hell of a way to troubleshoot. Expensive too!