Torque Wrench

When we cleaned up my grandparents' duplex, we found some old tools. My grandpa had moved them twice before that, but then couldn't take them with him to assisted living. At that point, he wanted us to store the tools for him in case he moved back to a house again later.

What I noticed first about the torque wrench was that it was still in the box. Some of his tools were in toolboxes, and well used. Others were rusty or mixed up in the bottom of a plastic bin. There was even a screwdriver that appeared to be melted by a solvent. The torque wrench, on the other hand, was in pristine condition.

At the time, I didn't need a torque wrench. I kept it because I knew it might be useful. Last weekend, I finally got a chance to use it. I replaced the differential fluid in our pickup truck. The fluid hadn't been changed more than once in 100,000 miles. I used my impact wrench with a new 3/8 drive 1/2 inch impact socket to remove the differential cover. Then I drained the old fluid into a drain pan. It didn't look too bad, but was definitely time to change it. I used a premade gasket to seal it. I used the torque wrench with a 1/2in drive 1/2in socket to tighten the bolts in a star pattern to 30 ft-lbs of torque. Then I refilled with the recommended fluid and put the fill plug back in.

Making a Knife from Scratch- Second Attempt

This is my second attempt at making a knife. This time, I used part of a dishwasher door bracket for the metal blade. I beveled the correct side for right-hand away cutting use. I also made the bevel angle more acute. It’s still the same basic square shape as the last one, but like a mirror image. Just like the previous version, I used scrap cedar that I picked up at either Lowe's or Home Depot. I used my angle grinder to cut the blank and to rough grind the bevel. Then I used my strip sander to sharpen the blade and round over the handle. It’s not the sharpest knife because I am still honing my honing skills. It’s good enough for opening boxes and carving balsa.

More Teabot Upgrades

I have made a lot of changes since my last post about 6 months ago. I replaced the servo motor with a waterproof one. I added a start button with a "breathing" light effect programmed through the Arduino. Then I upgraded the heat sink to make room for the button's MOSFET. I descaled the coffee maker part, and it made such a difference that I had to reduce the heater time so the cup wouldn't overflow, without reducing the cycle time. I replaced the switch cover with a waterproof one that has a sideways lever.

New blue servo motor

Green flashing start button

New main power switch

After all those changes, I used it for awhile. And then changed it even more! I salvaged parts from a neighbor's broken Keurig. I added the 90 ounce water tank which means I don't have to refill very often. From the Keurig parts, I also used a pump, output check valve, and the water level sensing pins from the heater tank. I have a MOSFET to turn the pump on when the sensing pins are above water. I attached an MDF base so it's easier to move the whole thing. And last, I added labels to make it easier for my mom to understand the purpose of all the switches.

pump, valve, and tank

Programming port