Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 14, 2009 20:47:47 GMT
On the excuse of keeping 3 old cars roadworthy I've treated myself to some new toys this week and, so far, they seem to be worthwhile.
First one was, ignoring all sane advice to be found anywhere, a cheap (like £99) gasless MIG welder. On the basis that I've been using stick welders on cars for the past 20+ years I figured that it couldn't be that bad. It isn't! Don't imagine you could do pretty sculptural welds with it but for joining 1 mm plate it's fast and easy enough - took about 20 minutes to work out a decent wire speed and away it went! Haven't tried it on Betty yet but will be for her sill repair sometime this week and will be sure to post pics so you guys can judge for yourselves
The second one, which arrived today, is a replacement for my long-lost timing light. I must admit that personally I don't totally agree with the recommendation to not use a strobe on the aircooled. They can show up so many problems that you simply can't see any other way that I've always considered them worthwhile.
Besides, I needed one for Sheila and didn't expect it to work on Betty's 6v system anyway (at least, not without borrowing Sheila's battery to power it by). Again, I was very pleasantly surprised! It's a cheapy £16.50 light from RDG tools on EBay and it feels better made than my old Gunsons one, now available from Halfrauds at 3x the price. Unlike the Gunsons it also fires happily (if a little dimmer) when connected to a 6v battery instead of 12 - with my old one it would sometimes refuse to flash even on 12v if the battery was a little low
Now all I need is a workshop (could always use the storage container I guess) and a hypothetical car to put them to good use on ;D
First one was, ignoring all sane advice to be found anywhere, a cheap (like £99) gasless MIG welder. On the basis that I've been using stick welders on cars for the past 20+ years I figured that it couldn't be that bad. It isn't! Don't imagine you could do pretty sculptural welds with it but for joining 1 mm plate it's fast and easy enough - took about 20 minutes to work out a decent wire speed and away it went! Haven't tried it on Betty yet but will be for her sill repair sometime this week and will be sure to post pics so you guys can judge for yourselves
The second one, which arrived today, is a replacement for my long-lost timing light. I must admit that personally I don't totally agree with the recommendation to not use a strobe on the aircooled. They can show up so many problems that you simply can't see any other way that I've always considered them worthwhile.
Besides, I needed one for Sheila and didn't expect it to work on Betty's 6v system anyway (at least, not without borrowing Sheila's battery to power it by). Again, I was very pleasantly surprised! It's a cheapy £16.50 light from RDG tools on EBay and it feels better made than my old Gunsons one, now available from Halfrauds at 3x the price. Unlike the Gunsons it also fires happily (if a little dimmer) when connected to a 6v battery instead of 12 - with my old one it would sometimes refuse to flash even on 12v if the battery was a little low
Now all I need is a workshop (could always use the storage container I guess) and a hypothetical car to put them to good use on ;D