Archive for May, 2016

If you’re sick of seeing those super cheap tire sale ads in the paper and then finding out after all the install, balancing and shop fees the price doubles well this video might be for you. I have been changing my own car tires for over 10 years using some cheap and simple to use Harbor Freight tools (see links to tools below). Larger truck tires can be a bear but if you’re a big guy you can do those too, I do. In this video I show all the tricks and tips you need to know so the job can go smoothly and you too can buy those tires on sale for $35 to $50 and avoid the shop scam. Well, it is a sales scam but not really a shop scam as you will learn it is a crap ton of hard work and very time consuming so don’t jump into this unless you’re a heavy DIY person.

Links to Tools:
Manual Tire Changer
Portable Wheel Balancer
Wheel Weight Plier Hammer
Valve Stem Puller/Installer
Valve Tool with 4 Valve Cores
1/4 Oz P type wheel weights Bx/50
3/4 Oz P type wheel weights Bx/50
1 Oz P type wheel weights Bx/50
Adhesive Car Truck Tire Wheel Balancing Weights

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Quick video on the teardown of one of the keys from my 1970’s scientific engineering nixie tube calculator.

The keys turn out to be magnetically activated reed switches good for millions of actuations.

Key teardown:

Calculator teardown:

Calculator review:

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I have lots of store categories and I own most items or similar items that you’ll find in my store.
http://astore.amazon.com/tod0f5-20

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In this video I review the Circuit Specialists CSI8900 portable desoldering gun. Below the video are lots of still shots from the video showing higher resolution of the product.

At the time of this blog posting the tool costs $159 US.

This desoldering gun did perform quite well and came with all the accessories needed at no extra cost which was not under appreciated as most such tools cost quite a bit more and you still need to purchase the extras. This unit even comes with many spare parts, good cleaning tools, a stand and a carry case.

I was able to salvage significant amounts of electronic components from televisions and VCRs in less than an hour using this tool. All the parts I salvaged were very valuable and come in handy all the time when working on electronics. However the real value in such a tool is in servicing equipment. It’s very handy to be able to quickly remove through-hole ICs, capacitors, transistors and other components in order to more accurately diagnose problem electronics.

I found this tool to have really good heat transfer and its ability to remove lead free solder was also quite impressive. Using a little flux did help desoldering but wasn’t necessary.

I will be keeping this quite handy at my bench. For its pricing and construction I was very satisfied with this desoldering gun.

Link: My fast board salvage video

Link: MIG nozzle gel on my Amazon store

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