In fact, I went and did it right after I posted. Took about 45 minutes, and at least 20 of that was spent looking for my cordless Dremel tool. I gave up, and brought down the plug-in Dremel tool, which had an flexible shaft attachment with a flap whell in it, so I started there.
Cracked/split fitting:
Buffed with the flap wheel:
The legendary "TIX Solder" and flux:
And for a source of Thermal Energy, I have my trusty Weller SP-80, 80-Watt Soldering IRON:
This ain't yer Daddy's wimpy Temperature Controlled Soldering Station! No siree, this here's a gen-you-eine Soldering IRON, and it has a SOLID COPPER tip about the size of a 50 cal slug:
It's 2" long, and a half-inch in diameter. In the battlespace of "Heat The Connection As Rapidly As Possible", it wins handily in this application.
Applied the flux after cleaning the brass again with an alcohol wipe, plugged in the iron, and went for a cold soda from the fridge. Applied the iron to heat the metal, and then flowed in the solder. After cooling, I cleaned all the flux reside off, and carefully re-tinned the tip of the iron with plenty of rosin-cored solder to get any of the other flux off. It has chloride compounds in it, and they're very corrosive if not cleaned off.
Ready to return to service:
Hey, I broke it, so I get to fix it!
There is much satisfaction in a good repair.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's nice to be able to fix things.
DeleteWhat caused the split in the splitter?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to take it off the front outside faucet over the winter. I also didn't open the valves to purge the any water that was in it. The water froze and split the casting.
DeleteTools. Treat them well and they last forever. Seems I need to get a new battery for my 25 year old cordless drill.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the third set of batteries for my 25 year old Makita drill.
DeleteWSF beat me to it. I have tools from my grandfather that are still serviceable (and will break your wrist if you're not paying attention!!! (Milwaukee drill).
ReplyDeleteI had my Dad's 3/8" Craftsman electric drill that he bought about 60 years ago. Somehow it got lost in the shuffle, and I haven't seen it in years.
DeleteI like and use old tools but the new cordless LIion 20v tools ROCK. And there are adapters available to use the new 20v batteries in your old 18v tools. As my NiMH battery packs have died over the years for my otherwise lightly used deWalt mega set, I've replaced them with new lithium packs and adapters.
ReplyDeleteThe newer motors are more efficient and have better power, so if you have something like an impact driver that you have beat up with hard use, you might be better served with a new one, but if, like me, you have circular saws, jig saws, and angle grinders that never got much use, the new lithium batteries will bring them back to life. And in the case of my sawzall and grinder, a new 4Ahr or 5Ahr liion will finally make the tool useful.
Ebay also has some chinese adapters that let you pull 5v or 12v off your 20v liion packs, and getting one of those might be just what the Dr ordered for a portable radio or other appliance.
And ebay or amazon has some chinese or 3D printed adapters that let you cross brands, and use your dewalt batteries with your makita or milwalkee tools or various other combinations.
Check it out, I found it very handy to standardize on the DeWalt 20v liion batteries for everything.
nick
WELL DONE!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't bear with throwing it away because of an owner-caused failure caused by the owner's failure to RTFM.
DeleteAnd apply common sense, too....