Time has been a little compressed of late because I started building a new "house over shop" home. More on that later but its going well. Yesterday under the facade of doing a good deed, I managed a little down time. My son in law called and said his 2018 Ford Exploder was struggling to start. Upon further explanation he came clean and said that he had been milking a weak battery for a couple weeks until it finally would not jump start. After putting in a new battery he discovered that it was still starting poorly. We have all done it, buying batteries is a pain in the tailpipe. I presumed that by pushing the weak battery they started drawing too many amps through their modern starter. Amazing how small and underwhelming starters have become. They used to weigh 20 pounds, now barely 2. Both he and his bride work very hard and have two young boys of their own. I like helping when I can. It was an easy repair, took all of 30 minutes. While doing it, I couldn't help but notice that it was quiet in the shop. Beer and a nap? Nope. A plan. I pushed the Exploder out where everyone could see the hood up and left it there. Save my son, nobody comes around to help when a hood is up. Its like walking around with a shovel. I might as well been with the ordinance disposal crew, everyone in sight scatters like quail. SOOOOO, it gave me a chance to finish my little die holder project.
Most die holders I have owned or have used seemed rinky dink. They all worked OK but they lacked luster, probably for a reason. I made these out of 316 stainless. The set covers up to 2" diameter dies. The top holder is a double (because I didn't have enough drop laying around to make two separate ones), 1.75" on one side, 2" on the other. I guess soon enough I will find out why they aren't offered that way in the market place.
In the end, everyone was so grateful that I was willing to take on such a daunting task. After all, 5 hours under the hood, must have been a very involved starter replacement right?
Most die holders I have owned or have used seemed rinky dink. They all worked OK but they lacked luster, probably for a reason. I made these out of 316 stainless. The set covers up to 2" diameter dies. The top holder is a double (because I didn't have enough drop laying around to make two separate ones), 1.75" on one side, 2" on the other. I guess soon enough I will find out why they aren't offered that way in the market place.
In the end, everyone was so grateful that I was willing to take on such a daunting task. After all, 5 hours under the hood, must have been a very involved starter replacement right?