Reunited With Old Tools

[Accumulator]

This thread is more fun than a trip to the antique mall!

That Snap-on ratchet adaptor is a lot cooler than my Facom one, and I'm really digging those 1/2" units.

That Weller soldering gun looks SOO familiar, I grew up with one of those but it got lost (i.e., probably stolen) at some point when clearing out my dad's estate.

 

[Billy Jack]

That Snap-on ratchet adaptor is a lot cooler than my Facom one, and I'm really digging those 1/2" units.

I also have the same adapter in 1/2" from my Dad, a 1960 dated version. He never had a ratchet longer than 12". He was always skeptical of long ratchets, especially when a "cheater pipe" was needed, so he'd break the nut or bolt loose with a longer breaker bar, then slip on the adapter if it was still too tough for a shorter ratchet. Must have worked for him. I was too young to remember much from when he was a full-time mechanic, but nary a weekend passed that there wasn't someone's broke car parked in our driveway for work.

Swanicyouth,
I hope you don't mind me posting in your thread. Seeing your old stuff just got the juices flowing, especially considering February marks 20 years that my teacher, mentor & Father passed on.

Bill

 

[Swanicyouth]

^Billy Jack, I don't mind at all keep 'em coming.

Today, I rescued my old Snap On Act 5600 refrigerant detector. I bought this thing sometime around 1991. It was expensive at the time - maybe $300.

The thing is, I remember being told by the Snap On guy when everything switched to R-134a, that this leak detector wouldn't pick it up.

But, now I'm not sure. The manual says it will pick up chlorine, fluorine, and bromine - halogen gases. I'm trying to research if this covers R-134a

Anyone know??

I was surprise to turn it on and it still worked with 20 year old + batteries.

 

[Billy Jack]

Here's a couple specialty wrenches, one generation apart:

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The two at bottom are what my Dad called "pear-shaped" wrenches from the 50's. Like a proper flare-nut wrench, they had thicker jaws and because of the tapered jaws they grabbed a nut securely when you couldn't get a straight shot at it. They also worked great on soft fittings or tubing fittings because of the thicker jaws. When I wanted my own set, they were no longer available. The closest I could find were Mac's "thick head" wrenches (top two). I had originally intended to grind the jaws with a taper like the old man's Snap-Ons, but couldn't bear to put that nice new chrome to a grinding wheel. They were the only open-end wrenches I knew of that would handle serious torque safely. They're also out of production, otherwise I'd have a 10 to 18mm Metric set in my box today.

Bill