Quarantine Projects!

[Weldo]

Looks like a nice space. You can never have too many bins! I recently added similar bins to my workshop for all my random bolts and hardware. It took a few days to sort it all but it was a game changer! Now when I need a 3/8-16 bolt I don't root around through a show box full of crap, I go over to the bin labeled "3/8 bolts"! It's amazing!

On another note I just got done with some late night ebay trolling. I picked up some belts for my sander and a spotting drill. I'm trying to control my spending until lock down is over but the belts were a great deal. They're the Norton Blaze belts, been curious how they work.

I also decided to buy just a single spotting drill instead of a set. I figured 3/8" is a pretty good general purpose size. I'm tired of carefully laying out and center punching holes only to have the completed hole migrate off my scribe lines. I'm hoping a proper 120 degree spotting drill will help out with more accurate hole drilling.

 

[DavidR8]

As a guy that used to run a small engine shop I can tell you what probably happened. Everyone knows to check for compression but two-strokes need a good lower end seal to draw the fuel/air charge into the engine. More often than you would think the crank seals go bad while sitting, might be ethanol in the gas, might just be crappy seals but regardless the result is you can do whatever you like to the carb or spark plug but no amount of pulling will get them to start.

Since I had to quickly diagnose these things I developed a protocol.

1. pull the starter rope to make sure there's compression and the cylinder isn't stuck.
2. drain the old fuel
3. check for spark, install new plug since I bought them by the gross.
4. remove air cleaner and shoot a little carb cleaner in.
5. give it another pull and see if it fires.
6. if it fires put fresh mix gas in and see if it will run
7. if it only runs on choke clean the carb and maybe put a kit in
8. if none of the above works scrap it out unless it's a high end unit that is worth fixing

The problem with these things is the only way to check crank seals is pulling it apart and fitting blanks to seal off intake and exhaust ports then pressure check. Unless it's a high end unit and you already have the sealing blanks this is about two hours more labor than a replacement tool will cost. if you can get it running you can shoot a little carb cleaner at the ends of the crank to see if it makes it run better but that's really hit or miss. Honestly, if you get to step 6 and you're not trimming the chance of it ever working is pretty small. Sometimes replacing the primer bulb or fuel lines will do the trick but you can see that problem.

Reality is I've already spent more time typing this up than it takes me to troubleshoot a cheap weedwhipper

My honest suggestion is when one of these things doesn't start you really have two options. If you have a huge yard and need to trim every week invest in a good straight shaft trimmer and only use ethanol free gas + drain it whenever you won't need it for a month. Or, if you're smart like me get an electric one. The corded units are super cheap and the battery powered ones are good enough now to replace gas powered for most homeowners. Bonus points for getting the one that takes the same batteries as your drills and impacts.

Cheers,

John

Thanks for that great info John, I have an old chainsaw that just decided not to start one spring even though I drained the gas, fogged the cylinder. I put in fresh gas and a new plug in the spring but no love.


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[DavidR8]

You can never have too many bins!

I recently scored 90 brand new 4”x5” Uline bins for $90.
I’m waiting to get my disaster of a shop sorted out before I commit to how to store them.


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[C-Bag]

Every place I've ever worked in has had bins and they were a mess. But with 50 knuckleheads rummaging through them and never putting anything back where they got it. And they seem to collect a lot of dirt and dust. So it just soured me on the idea of open bins. Not that closed bins are any better since you can't see into them. Now probably if it was just me using them it would have a chance. Maybe.

I have several older metal framed with plastic tray bins with some organization to them with all kinds of random but necessary hardware I've accumulated over the years like in estate sales. But my main go to is the top drawer of my old toolbox workstation that has at least 40yrs of accumulated nuts, washers, bolts and screws. The bolts and screws are divided into metric and standard with the nuts and washers in their own area. I've never had enough bins to properly sort all the tons of different hardware I have. So I have 8 ( ! never counted before ) different drawered places for different hardware. Not bragging, just kinda evolved and I'm now afraid to tamper with it. I am in awe of you guys who can be so disciplined and organized. If it wasn't so overwhelming and had a good organizer to transfer to just do that big drawer in my toolbox workstation is a huge project. Too many projects and not enough time.

 

[jwmelvin]

...never putting anything back where they got it. And they seem to collect a lot of dirt and dust.

I’m hoping that by putting them just outside my shop, they will at least avoid grinding dust; I imagine you are right though so it’s a bit of an experiment. And I have only myself to blame for entropy...

 

[C-Bag]

The one system of bins I'd love to find were what my FIL had some of and I was able to snag 6 of. They seem ex military and he didn't have a lot of them. But they were all different sizes and made to hang off angle iron. There were narrower ones and much wider ones. Never seen any since.

 

[Weldo]

The one system of bins I'd love to find were what my FIL had some of and I was able to snag 6 of

Check ese out! They're similar.

ebay

 

[middle.road]

and then....
Went to put away the whackers in the tractor shed. And the shed had acquired a sky-light. how wonderful.
A couple of shingles had blown off last storm. Shed really needs a new roof...
Spent a couple of hours sliding in replacements.

 

[C-Bag]

LOL I was just looking at those, close but no cigar. The ones I have are different sizes which saves space ultimately which is a big deal. I have this old card unit that is very deep I picked up for $5 that would be great for commonly used bolts. It's on the extended "to get organized" list. The other is full of all kinds of random hardware that I got at the same estate sale. It was also $5. It was the same sale where I got my Atlas 7b shaper for $125. That was a once in a lifetime sale.

 

[Weldo]

Whoa! $125 for the shaper is indeed a once in a lifetime deal!

I found these bins at Home Depot a while back. Two stack together just right on the shelf I have.




The left one is metric and random stuff like rivets etc.




The right one is common bolts and washers in Imperial sizes.




It was a pain to sort it all out but now it's super awesome!