Boot dryers

If you ski every day a boot dryer is a must.  Even if your ski boot is totally waterproof, the inside will get damp from foot sweat alone.  If you do not ski everyday, but some consecutive days, a boot dryer is needed as it typically take at least 24 hours to dry out a boot. 

Recently I was asked my thoughts on boot dryers.  Having owned a few; here they are. 

Upside Down Dryers-USD dryers are typically what people think to be the best dryers.  These blow hot or warm air into your boot.  Some have fancy timers and additional slots for gloves.  The Dry Guy Wide dryer is one of the most popular models.  Four drying slots allow for both gloves and boots to be dried at the same time.  An optional boot extender is available too.  This dryer only gets pulled out when we have a bunch of guest and it has been really wet out.  For personal use, this unit is a bit much.  But nice.   

Another popular USD dryer is what I call the "outdoors man" dryer.  These come in many colors and brands, but are all of the same construction.  Found at outdoors outfitters such as Cabelas and Northern Tool, these dryers have been around for a while.  I have even seen them being sold at the local drug store in the winter.  I have heard many good things about these dryers but do not have any first hand experience. 

Though USD, do the job well, they are not my preferd dryer.  One reason is that warm moist air rises.  In the USD position, forced air is required to dry the boot.  If I am drying my boots overnight, I typically give them a blast of warm air and let nature do the rest.  The next reason is that ski boots are heavy.  Getting the boots to stay on the dryer often requires a Jenga winning balancing act.  And fianlly, USD dryers take up floor space.  Unless you have a dedicated spot for your dryer, this is a appliance that will need to be put away when not in use; the smaller the better and these things are not always small. 

In Boot Dryers-These little gems are the foundation of the boot drying world.  From small electric resistance heating units to simple forced air units, these dryers do their job and take up little space. 

Boot heaters/dryers work simply by heating up the wet boot and allowing the moist air to escape out the top.  These dryers will take overnight to dry one pair of boots.  They are cheap, durable and  take up little room in your ski bag.  These are perfect for traveling ski vacations where consecutive ski days will naturally occur. 

I would not use this unit for daily home use as I think it is waste a decent amount of electricity.  A timer can be used so that heating/drying occurs only half the night for less wet boots. 

Saving the best for last are the forced air in the boot dryer.  The two piece version I have is no longer available but are essentially the same as the pictured unit.  Heated air is forced into the boot and circulated out.  The key to this type of dryer is the tube which directs the air all the way to the tip of the boot, or at least down into the boot a way.  Without such a tube, the air would not properly circulated.  This type of dryer also has extra drying ports for gloves.  Though the one I have uses spent air from the boot drying process to dryer the gloves.  This sometimes results in smelly hands.  With the two unit version I am able to leave my ski boots in the boot bag and give them a quick shot of warm air after my ski day (ne hour).  Pull the heaters out of the boot and left them dry naturally through the night.  Somethings I would also give them a shot of warm air in the morning to make sure my boots are nice and toasty.

On non-consecutive days of skiing I do not dry out my boot. 

Regardless of which device you use or how many days you ski; dry boots at the beginning of the day and wet boots at the end of the day typically makes for a GOOD day!

Tungsten Carbide Mens Wedding Rings

Today was the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Ahhhh I love weddings.  Thus the inspiration for this post about men's wedding rings. 

Recently it is popular for mens to get wedding rings made from industrial metals.  Many hi-tech metals, namely Titanium, has been the awe of many tech weenies.  As a kid, I would save my lunch money so that I could buy Ti bolts for my mountain bike.  It is only natural that when the time came to select a metal for a wedding ring many of my generation chose metals that were more personally precious and meaningful than gold/silver, or platinum. 

Diamonds are forever; or so they say.  That is why engagement rings are traditionally a metal band that houses a diamond.  The hardness of the precious stone represents the everlasting love between couples.  We won't go into the material value of such a stone and the ideas behind that.  This idea of everlasting was one thing that I considered when selecting a material for a wedding rings.  Titanium as some of you might know is known for being light, tough, used extensively in fighter aircraft, and found only on Russian soil.  Not quite a symbol of love.  In fact if you have ever seen a titanium ring which has been worn, you will notice that they do not appear to be everlasting and shiny at all.  Since Ti is relatively soft it is easily scratched and beat up.  Though this might be a more accurate representation of love and marriage, it is not the ideals that one thinks of when embarrassing the institute of everlasting love. 

If you have spent any amount of time in a machine shop you know that hardness is king.  Steel is used to cut aluminum.  High speed steel can cut regular steel.  But the boss of metals is tungsten carbide.  Not only is tungsten hard and heavy, it does not wear out under daily use.  A tungsten carbide ring will look just as shiny 10 year later as it did the day you said, "I do": forever. 

When selecting a ring, I wanted a two tone ring.  Tungsten rings are silver in color.  Dark grey tungsten is achieved by a anodizing process.  This process only colors the metal a few atoms deep.  Though hard, tungsten can still get micro scratches.  These small scratches typically do not show up and do not degrade the overall shininess of the metal.  However, when a layer of anodized tungsten is scratched off, the silver base metal will show through.  This results in a scratched looking surface. 

A solution to this two tone anodized problem is to inlay a darker material.  A common inlay material for tungsten carbide rings is ceramic.  Unlike your office coffee cup, hold on as I take another sip from mine, the ceramic used for rings is a much harder industrial ceramic.  This type of ceramic is commonly used in bullet prof vests as a ballistic plate.  Some claim that since ceramic is so hard, ones need to be careful with it, so as not to shatter the ring or inlay material.  This is false.  I have never been gentle with my ring and have not one blemish on it.   The ring in the picture above is the one that I wear.   It was purchased by my wife at a local jeweler.  A basic Tungsten carbide rings can be purchased for under $50.  Fancy ones can run up to $300.  The low cost of these rings is a welcoming figure in the high dollar world of weddings.  After all isn't love free. 

So now I wonder:  what type of wedding ring did Prince William get?

Harken Camper Shell Hoist

Those with pickup trucks usually fall into two categories; the ones that run a camper shell and the ones that don't.  Both have their benefits, both have their draw backs.  For many years I had a pickup truck with an open bed.  The ability to simply toss large items in the bed was one of the major draws of owning a truck.  But once you have a shell , it is hard to go back. The secure storage, shelter from the elements, and the ability to over load the bed without worrying about things flying out is nice.  However the shell does get in the way when you really need to transport large items in the bed.  Such a dilemma.

Camper shells however are not permanent installations.  They can be removed when you need to carry something that is too large for the capacity of the cap.  Though typically not to heavy, 100lbs or so, the large dimensions of the shell make it nearly impossible to remove and install by yourself.  Even with two people it can be awkward. 

A friend suggested that I buy a hoist system for my camper shell so that it would be easy to take on and off.  Taking the shell on and off was happening more often, now that transporting motorcycles became a regular thing.  Me, being the "do-it-yourselfer" of course looked into a homemade hoist system.  However once I found the Harken Hoister I knew that this was one of those things best left to the professionals.  From my years of sail boat racing the brand name Harken was synonymous to quality.  At a price of under $150 dollars, I knew that there was no way I could put together a system as good or as cheap as the one Harken made.  So I bought it.  At the heart of the system is the 8 to 1 block and tackle pulley.  This mechanical advantage device not only has all of the pulley nestled within itself, it also has a line lock, similar to that found on your mini blinds.  Of the many hoist systems Harken makes, the 200lb rated version was designated as the "camper shell" hoist. 

Prior to getting the hoist it is key to find a place where the hoist can pull the camper shell out of the way.  Carefully measure out the location as some spots which might look like it will work simply won't  As seen in the first picture my camper shell fits snugly between the back wall of the garage and the garage door opener.  It also sits high enough so that the back door of the garage can be opened without interference. 

The installation was pretty straight forward.  Though upon initial unpacking, the parts and lines are a bit over whelming.  The detailed instructions clearly lays out the steps required.  In addition to the parts included, you need to provide some 2x6s and some lag bolts.  It is recommend that two people do installation.   The most tricky part was to insure that cross member was bolted to the joist.  This isn't one of those things that will hold if bolted to the dry wall alone; you must sink ALL the lags into solid joist. 

Once installed the system perform flawlessly.  If you plan on leaving the shell in its hoisted position for any amount of time, it is a good idea to provide a safety back up.  Two fixed length of rope under the shell in case the buckles let go, and to securely tie off the primary hoist line in case the line lock gives.  Though I write this precaution, I have yet to add such safety back ups and had not had an issue. 

With this hoist I can now go from camper shell to open bed in less than 15 minuets.  A great addition to any truck owner debating a shell.  Now you can have the best of both worlds; thanks Harken.

The Solo Traveler Plus Coffee Cup Lid

Not all coffee cup lids are created equal.  In an earlier post I reviewed the three most popular types of "to-go" coffee cup lids.  For some time now I have noticed another coffee cup lid that seems to be very popular.  It is a variation of the "gapping hole, slosh all over yourself" type of lid.  However this lid has a rotating hole closure.  There seems to be a growing trend towards spill proofing lids, following the Starbucks "hole plug".  I guess it makes sense, it is a to-GO cup, and it is easy to spill when you are going.  But this seems like a bit excessive.  I don't really need this feature, don't need to waste that extra bit of natural resource, manufacturing energy, transportation...

    This spill lock does not make it any better of a lid, as drinking from it as a cup is still its primary function.  Thus the Dart slip lid is still the best coffee cup lid.

Drill Pump - flood solution

During the wet winter months it is common for flooding to occur. A ruptured pipe, melted snow, leaking water tank. I have spent alot of time bailing water out of flooded areas. That was till I fond this little device. It is a water pump that is powered by a common electric hand drill. These drill pumps can be found at your local hardware store for about $10. Often times they are packed with a bunch of hose attachments and ball valves and sell for close to $50. No Thanks. Just look for the drill pump by it self.

How does it work. Simply attach the quarter inch arbor to the chuck of your hand drill. Attach garden hoses to the two ends and hit the trigger. The pump is self priming, however I found that the self priming is very limited. It is helpful to keep the intake side hose short and close to the water. Make sure that there are no leaks in the hose as the pump will draw air and not water. The discharge side is less sensitive to hose length and condition. The pump is capable of pumping water at the rate of about a gallon a minute. Of course this all depends on the speed of the drill.

I found that the pump required a bit of torque and quickly ran down the batteries of my cordless drill. Even with a large corded drill, be weary of continuously running the drill and burning it out. Be extremely careful when using a corded drill, as the extension cord connection can easily fall into the water which you are pumping. This often times is the same water which you are standing in. Getting zapped with household 120 can kill!

A drill pump is not a long term solution for any large volume of water which needs to be transferred often. However before I was able to clear my garage drain, this was how I cleared out my flooded garage. I now keep this little gem handy, and is another tool in my proverbial box of tricks.

The Honda Snowblower- oil change - 2 of 2

It is Saturday morning after a huge snow storm. All the good people of Tahoe are out digging, shoveling, and snow blowing. The symphony of chugging snow blowers goes "budddddda" in my ears. A quick drive down any street will reveal that the majority of the instruments in this orchestra are made by Honda. In a previous post I mentioned that I once owned a Craftsman , but it wouldn't cut it for primary snow removing duties. Thus now I own a Honda.

Honda makes 3 two-stag snow blowers: the HS724, 928, and 1132. 7, 9, and 11 horsepower; and 24, 28, and 32 inch clearing path. Each model has the four variations: track drive or wheel drive; Electric start or pull start only. It is rare to find a wheel driven Honda snowblower. Though wheels are easier to steer, the traction provided by a tracks greatly aide in clearing power of the blower. The electric start, which sounds like a necessary luxury, is not. Typical starting of the blower is accomplished by the pull starter. The electric starter needs to be plugged into a 120 volt wall outlet for power, and is only used when the machine is having trouble starting. From my experience with Honda blowers, one pull is all that is ever needed to get it started. The electric starters are a useless feature, unless the engine is in bad condition.

There are other models of Honda snow blowers. I have seen a 5 and an 8 series, but those are no longer produced anymore. I ended up buying a 5 year old 928 track, with no electric start for $1500. I was looking for a 1132, but those are hard to find and expensive. The MSRP of the 928 is about $2750, but I have heard that dealers often charge more than the MSRP due to the high demand, delivery cost, and certain accessories that might be included. Even at 5 years of age, the 928 sold for more than half its original MSRP. These things hold their value well. I believe that when I eventually sell it I could still get $1500 for it.

The reason that Honda blowers are popular is because they can throw wet snow, guaranteed. Other blowers seem to have a hard time throwing wet snow any distance. This is a necessity with my 20 foot wide driveway. It isn't necessarily power that makes the machine throw the distance it does; since the previous Craftsman had the same HP rated motor (which actually seemed stronger). I think the distance is a result of auger speed. The engine on this machine runs like you would expect a Honda to run: Flawless. It starts every time with one pull of the start cord. No matter how cold or how long I have let it sit, it never fails to start right up.

The second feature that makes Honda work is the Hydrostatic Drive system, which has finite speed adjustments between 0 and max speed. The drive system is hydraulic, and allows the machine to drive forward as slow as you desire. This is important when chewing through a thick heavy berm. Go slow and allow the machine to work. Snow blowers with indexed speed controllers often do not go slow enough. I guess this could be modified by adjusting the amount of slack in the control cable (I just thought of that, and never tried it when I owned the Craftsman blower).

Other features that are unique to the Honda is the on the fly depth control. A foot pedal adjust the scraper to Low, Med and High. Typically I run the blower at Med. If I am trying to scrape up some snow which has been compacted I will use the low setting. High is reserved for driving the machine a long distance, where I do not want to scraper to catch on the pavement, when I want the machine to climb a snow pile, or if I am backing up and the auger housing is dragging a bunch of snow.

Recently I changed the oil on my snowblower. At first it is a little confusing. The case appears to be symmetrical right and left, and it is not exactly clear which is the drain and which the fill. What appears is that there are two drain plugs and two fill plugs. The draining and filling can be done by the holes on the left side of the machine. The picture on the right shows the fill hole (blue arrow), the drain plug (yellow arrow) sits above a small drain chute. Even with the drain chute, I had to fabricate a drain catch so that the used oil did not spill all over the snowblower's track and then onto the ground. On the right side of the machine, matching drain and fill plugs can be found (same blue and yellow arrow). Though both fill holes can be used to fill and check the oil level, the right side drain hole is not a drain hole. First there is not a drain catch, and second the plug/bolt is blocked by the chassis and not allowed to back out all the way. In one of the fill holes is a dip stick, in the other a plug. Checking the oil level from either fill holes yields the same results. The 928 take a tad more than a quart of oil to fill. I filled my machine with mobile1 synthetic, 5-30w.

While changing the oil, I performed some other maintenance. Checked the track tension. Adjusted the skidder height. Tried to clean out the air filter, only to find that there was none to clean. I guess snow environments do not have much dust to contaminate the carburetors.

This miracle of a machine does have its flaws. The handle bars are a little weak. Alot of torquing goes on when snow blowing. On many units I have seen tweaked handle bars. On one I have even seen a bar snapped off. The chute direction controller is known to freeze, and needs some persuasion to free, some grease in the track will hopefully prevent water from seeping in and freezing. All the controllers are cable actuated. Each cable has a bellowed seal at the end. These are critical for proper operation. If the cable/housing seal is compromised, water will enter between the cable and the housing. This will rust the cable and cause it to bind. Before the rust occurs, the water will most likely freeze and cause the control cables to bind. Finally a note on the shear pins. Unlike the craftsman, the shear pins on the Honda break very easily. Instead of an actual pin, the shear pin is a bolt and nut (10mm head). These appear to be special (weak) bolts. I have heard of people replacing the shear pin with a regular bolt in a pinch, and ruin the auger when they hit something solid. I am convinced that a grade 2 bolt (or slightly cut)would work, but have been reluctant to try after hearing such shear pin failure to fail stories.

Well there you go, a tale of two snowblower; and now I only have one!

Eneloop - Rechargable batteries

Nickle Cadmium really gave rechargeable batteries a bad rap. So much so, that many people think of rechargeable and do not want anything to do with them. These last 5 years or so has seen rechargeable batteries develop to a state where they rival standard alkaline batteries. These days most rechargeable batteries are made from nickel metal hydride, like cell phone batteries (not including the lithium type). These type of batteries claim three times the life in digital cameras.

Recently I have discovered the Eneloop battery made by Sanyon. Their claim to fame? They are ready to use right out of the package. This is cause they retain their charge longer than any other type of rechargeable battery, and thus no need to pre charge prior to using. They can hold something like 85% of their charge after one year. They come in AAA and AA sizes. For the larger C and D's they have sleeves which convert a AA to fit a C/D slot. Sure there is not as much life as a D but hey they are rechargeable. It is weird to heft a four D cell mag light with these little guys in them.

I have replaced all of my heavy use items with Eneloop batteries. I still however keep a stock pile of regular AA and AAA's for those items that rarely need a battery change.

Transfer and Auotmatic Punches

Prior to drilling a hole in a hard surface, it is common practice to mark the center of the hole with a dimple. This dimple is usually made with a center punch and a hammer. Having a dimple to start the drill on prevents the drill bit from wandering, and making a hole not where you want. This is not such a big deal when making large holes in soft material like most woods. But it is much needed when drilling holes in metals and other hard materials, including the top sheet of a pair of skis.

When it comes to making punch marks I relay on two types of punches. If I layout my hole locations and need to mark the starting point I will use an automatic punch. An automatic punch looks like a regular center punch. The only difference is that you do not strike the back end of it with a hammer. Instead you push down on the back end till the punch "automatically" punches the material. How? As you compress the punch you load up a spring. At the end of the stroke the stored energy is suddenly released against the punching ram and it strikes the object. Though the strength of the punch is adjustable, I find that these punch marks are on the light side. Some of the reasons to use such a punch is less tools required, better accuracy placing the punch, and single handed operation. Once established, a light dimple can be made deeper with more hits from the automatic or with a regular punch and hammer.

Sometimes a situation arise and you need to transfer a series of holes from a part onto the surface to another. Examples are ski bindings that need mounting or a bracket that you need to pre-drill holes for. The tricky part here is the the center punch is too wide to fit in the hole to make the transfer, or that it will be difficult to determine the center of the hole to be transfer with a standard punch. The solution is a transfer punch set.

Transfer Punches come in a set with many varying diameters of punches. You find the punch that fits the hole best and use it to mark your work piece. Since drill bits come in many different series of sizes (letters, numbers, fractional, metric), a typical hole can be of any size. Transfer punch typically only come in fractional sizes (fraction of an inch). The fit is never perfect but good enough. Transfer punches are not of the automatic variety and thus a hammer is needed to deliver the dimple making blow.

When creating a set of holes never transfer all the holes at once. What I mean by this is do not lay the part down on the work piece, dimple mark all the holes then drill them all out. Instead I typically transfer one hole. Bolt the part down with the one hole, then transfer the next. If the part has more than two hole, I will do the first two holes individually then do the rest at once. Once two of the holes are fixed, there is no chance of that part rotating, and you have a equal chance all the rest of the holes will then line up. I find that this is a much more accurate method of transferring a set of holes.

And there you have it, another chapter in the life of drilling holes. (said with a southern draw, like an instructor I once had did, makes that last sentence funnier)

A Tale of Two Snow Blowers - The Craftsman - 1 of 2

I was told once that a Tahoe local has owned two snow blowers. And their second one is a Honda! I guess that makes me a local.

On the third place rental house I lived in, snow removal was the renters responsibility. The local plow company had several different tiers of service they provided. Basically it was going to cost $1000 for the season for snow removal. The year prior I lived in a house down a 1/4 mile dirt road and no plow service available at all. The owners of the house left an old, but operational, Honda snowblower for us to use. Since the current place required 1/10th the snow removal, I figured I could do it myself.

After the first large series of storms I attempted to shovel out my driveway. After hours of toil, I had successfully shoveled out the driveway and one of the three parking spots. This was not going to work, I needed mechanical help and decided to buy a snow blower. It was late fall: the worst time to buy a used snow blower. I knew that in general Honda made the best blowers. But I was sure that some of the top models of Craftsmans, Arnies, MTD, or Snapper performed well. But none of the other brands are known to throw snow like a Honda. The only draw back is that a new Honda was going to set me back $3k. Since I have always trusted Sears tools, I looked into getting a Craftsman.

Since I was not getting a top of the line blower, I made sure to get one that was slightly larger and more powerful. Snowblowers are often classified into two catagories. Single and dual stage machines. All larger blowers are two stage, with a auger to bring in the snow and a second one to throw the snow. I found a Craftsman blower with a 9 hp Tecumseh Snow King engine, a 28 inch clearing path, 6 speeds, and tire drive. The whole deal cost me $1000. I ordered it and it was shipped to the Sears store in South Lake Tahoe (Zephyr Cove). Picked it up and within an hour of getting it home, had it put together and fired up. Went outside and rammed it into the snowbank and watched it shoot snow in the air. What a great feeling.

The engine fired up on the first pull or two of the cord. There is also a electric starter. Unlike a car there is no battery and the electric starter needs to be plugged in. This is only needed if the engine becomes hard to start; after it has been sitting for the summer for example. On some reviews, there were complaints that the plastic chute was weak and broke. But over the three years I used this blower I never had an issue with it. I assume most problems arise when the chute is frozen and forced to turn. The 6 forward, and 2 reverse speeds are ok but can be improved with lower gear ratios. 1/4 speed, 1/2 speed, 1,2 and fast would be a more usable spread. 3,4, and 5 are too fast for snow blowing. Only one reverse speed is really necessary.

Snowblowers come equipped with shear pins. These are pins that are designed to break if it encounters a solid object, like a large rock. Instead to destroying the gear box or the auger, a shear pin will snap and the disconnect the auger blades from the drive shaft. I ordered a five pack of shear pins when I got the snowblower, not knowing that it came with two extra pins. The craftsman pins are very strong and I only ever broke one. In fact I think that the pin is too strong. When I attempted to throw a large rock once it broken the pin. But before the pin broke, it slightly bent the auger housing and jammed the unbroken portion of the pin within the hole. I needed to use a small punch to drive out the remaining part of the broken pin, then gently tap the new pin in the slightly deformed hole. A shear pin that was designed to break easier should have been specified.This particular blower was equiped with drive tires/wheels instead of tracks. Tires made steering the blower easy. Traction was adequate for most applications. I was tempted to add a set of tire chains to improve the traction but never did.

The "West" is known for its heavy wet snow. And Tahoe snow is a perfect example of that. Winter storms often blow in warm, with rain instead of snow. It is common for the snow that does fall to be on the verge of rain: wet and slushy. You can squeeze water out of this type of snow. It is a snow blowers worst nightmare. This was the Craftsman shortcoming, and the reason that it made it into the tale of two, as the lesser of the two. When the snow is wet and slushy, no snowblower can blow it, not even a Honda. This type of snow would jam the chute. When the snow was a little dryer but still heavy, it would be able to throw the snow only about 5 feet from the blower. Five feet is not enough range to clear the width of the driveway. Once you throw the snow once, you were not able to scoop up it up a second time to throw further. Thus on heavy wet snow days the snowblower was almost useless. On average days the snowblower was ok, and on dry snow days the snowblower was a champ.

I assume that the designers and testers of these snowblowers lived in the mid West, where the cold temperatures usually resulted in very light snow. And therefor did not design the blower for "western" or coastal snow. This was short sighted on the part of the eningeers. I assume that a faster spinning aguer of the second stage thrower, was all that was required to make the snowblower work in the heavy wet stuff.

Other than shear pins and gas, there is one more consumable item. It was one that I had not replaced yet: the friction wheel. This is basically the clutch. For the three years of regular use, I never wore mine out. On occasion the drive wheels did not engage when the lever was. Releasing the lever and re-engaging it always did the trick. There was is an adjustment of the control cable that could have solved the issue, but I never needed to examine it in more detail.

The Techuseh Snow King Engine was the best part of the snowblower. It started up on the first full pull. It ran strong and never bogged down. Over the summer prior to storage I ran it out of gas, and poured a table spoon of oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole. When fall came, I filled it with gas, and it started on the first pull.

The craftsman blower was very basic. It did not have a lever to control chute discharge height. It was ususualy on the highest. It did not have scraper depth adjustments. But it was a bargin and would have worked for smaller driveways.

A guide to Tire Chains

Growing up in Southern California, it is hard to imagine that winter means snow for over 50% of the country. I however was not totally oblivious to the idea of snow, for the surrounding mountains are high enough to receive their share of the cold white stuff. Since almost no Southern California vehicle is 4wd, a visit to the snow almost always meant chains. As a child, my father was smart enough to avoid snow country during a snow storm. However as I grew up and visited the mountains in the winter, I did not share his good sense. Owning a 2wd truck, I soon became an expert on tire chains.

Like most things in life, it is better to be prepared. Have some chains with you and know how to put them on. However if you don't feel like being prepared, don't worry this is America, with a little bit of money you'll be taken care of. Most chain control areas have people that will install chains, cost is between $20 and $30. Many chain control areas are located near stores or gas stations that will also sell you chains, cost between $30-$150. Do not however bank on this. Many of the smaller chain control check points do not have such luxuries. Often times you need chains simple because you are stuck on an icy hill where there is no one around to help you out.

So you are going to the mountains this weekend to ski. There is a snow forcasted. What chains should I get? The term "chains" is generic. It refers to a traction deceive mounted on the drive tires of an automobile. In fact chains can either be comprised of chain links, or cables. The general rule of thumb is that you run cables for vehicles with limited clearance between the tires and wheel wells or smaller cars. You run chains when there is a decent amount of clearance or for larger vehicles. Basic tire chains have a ladder type constructions. Two long length of chain which wrap around the tire make up the uprights of the ladder. The cross links which go across the tread of the tire are the ones that are driven on, make up the rungs of the ladder. These types of chains are the most common, cost the least, and when they are made of actual chain material are the most serviceable/repairable.

If you are trying to decide between basic chains or cables, my preference is chains. They provide much better grip, and last longer. The downside is that they require a little more wheel well clearance. Might cost a slight bit more. Might not be as user friendly because they can get twisted up. And if you happen to break a cross link, and decide not to stop to fix it, can do more damage to the inside fender liner.

My biggest fault with cable type "chains" are the rollers. If you look closely at the pictures cable type chains, you will notice that the cross links have small rollers fished through the cable. Sometimes these rollers are not solid and made of a spring like cylinder. Why rollers, two reasons. One-increased diameter. The diameter of the cables are very small, and do not provide much grip. Adding the rollers increase the amount of bite into the snow. The second reason is to actually decrease traction. Cables are easy to break. If you drove on something that gave you solid contact such as a bumpy dry road, and hit the gas; the cross link of the cables can easily snap.

Basic ladder type chains are often the only thing available for purchase when you need them. They work, but are not without their problems. Three main problems exist with this type of chains that will make you consider buying a fancier set of chains. 1-installation. They are difficult to install. Most will need you to drive over a section of the cross link, and you also need to get behind the tire. 2-rough ride. Since you will only be on one chain cross link at a time and intermittently, ladder style chains yield a bumpy and loud ride. 3-poor traction. Again, since you are on the chains only for a fraction of the time, and your tires the rest of the time, you do not get the full benefit of running chains.

Z Cables and Alpine/Euro Chains If any product is titled "basic", you as the reader surely knew that a "fancy" was coming up next. These two types of chains have the benefit of easy installation and better contact patch. The contact patch improves both smoothness and traction.

In my opinion the Alpine Sport chains are the best on the market. They go by many different names, including: Alpine Premium, and Euro Chains. They have a split design which allows you to install the chains without needing to drive over them. The chains do not use standard ladder type cross links, but are diamond patterned. The diamond pattern insure that most of the time you have a section of chain between your tire and the ground. This also give a very smooth ride. The chain links are a square profile, and give good grip. They are also low profile, and should work for most vehicles, even those with limited wheel well clearance. As a bonus most of of these type of chains have a built in tensioner. These chains do cost more and is not always available at your corner store or gas station. If I was to recommend a set of tire chains these would be the one.

Finally there are the Z chains. I sometimes refer to these as the Highway Patrol chains, since these are the ones that the cops run on their cruisers. Z chains are in fact cables. I am not a huge fan of these chains, but they are a step above regular ladder style cables and are worth mentioning. These chains are available more often then the alpine sport ones. These chains have two major advantages. One is the diagonal contact which increases the duration of contact between the tire and the ground. The diagonal orientations also provides some lateral traction for cornering. Most Z chains also have a split design which makes installing a breeze. The split refers to the fact the cross link array have a break. Therefor you can attach the rear hoop, then pull the two "halves" around the tire and connect the two attachment points. Z chains also use spring coils instead of solid rollers which provides a bit more traction. My greatest fault with the Z chains is that they rely heavily on the rubber tensioner to keep the chains tight. There is limited static adjusted. Though these are slightly lower profile than the Alpine sport chains, due to the fact that they are held on by elastic tensioners, they tend to fling out at higher speeds and negate their low profile advantage.

This article barely scratches the surface of the topic of chains. More can be discussed on installation, tensioning, chain link variation... However this is enough to get most people started. Good luck and enjoy the mountains!

The Tale of Two

It is very common for me to have two of an item. For example, say I need a tool, buy a cheap one, find its short comings then buy the better version. There are also slight variations to this. Such as I buy a basic tool, love it so much that I decided to buy the version with all the bells and whistles. Then only to find out that the basic version is all I needed.

Looking around my house I discovered that this happens all the time and I often have two items that serves the same purpose. If I was a full blown gear reviewer, I would like to test at least five of each item. However my pockets are not that deep, nor do I get dumped a bunch of gear on my door step begging to be tested and written about.

Combining the two situations mentioned above, I bring you a new series in my blog: The Tale of Two. The tale of two WHAT? Well you'll just have to wait and see. I promise I won't compare two cities out of respect for Mr. Dickens.

Save Your Sole!!

At some point in our lives we feel that hope might be lost forever. That the path we have chosen, might have left our sole in poor shape. Well not to worry, it can be repaired. No I am not a priest, nor will I direct you to your local place or worship. Instead, simply head out to the garage with your damaged sole and let's get to work.

The sole in question today is from a pair of The North Face approach/bowling/hipster shoes (not mine, I would never wear faux bowling hipster shoes). The heel area began to peel away from the foam shortly after they were new. Though not terminal, it was annoying for the owner.

The secret to shoe repair is choosing the correct type of adhesive. After all the only thing that is really keeping your sole in place is the glue! Ok, some boot soles are glued, stitched, and sewn in place. I have attempted to repair this sole one epoxy night, however epoxy is not the right type of glue. It is too stiff and does not flex with the rubber and foam. Without the ability to conform is breaks its bond between the two surfaces. Instead Barge Cement should be used when making sole repairs.

First thing to do is to remove as much of the old glue as possible. Next wash the two surfaces that you are planning to glue. Apply the glue to both sides, allow to dry and "tack" up, 10-15 minutes depending on air temperature. My garage was close to freezing and required about 25 minutes before the glue would tack up. Press the two surfaces firmly against each other, wiping off any excess glue which might ozzzes out.

Here is the trickiest part. Since the two halves do not want to stay together on their own, you need to apply pressure till the cement is fully cured. Holding the soles of these shoes together for 12 hours was not an options. With this type of thing, I usually use clamps or weights. However in this application neither of those options would have worked out. The curves surface needed varying degrees of force applied at different angles. The solution: TAPE. I used electrical tape and "tape the hell out of" the sole. Seemed to work out pretty good. I left the shoes in this state for two days before removing the tape and returning them to their owner. I do not think that this was nessary, just happened that way.

And there you have it, another sole saved!!

Moto Stand

There comes a time in every motorcycle riders life when you need to lift your bike off the ground. This can be accomplished in many different ways. Built in center stands, rear wheel lifts, motorcycle specific lifts, milk crates, paint buckets, lift slings, moto-jack stands http://mrpulldown.blogspot.com/search/label/DR350.

Tired of all the make shift methods, I finally got myself a real moto stand. It helped that I did not have to drop big dollars on one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66552 $29.99

The lift mechanism requires me to stand on the lift pedal to lift my 300lb ish DR 350. The bike is still more or less balanced on the stand, so beware of the bike shifting and falling off it you remove a large amount of weight suddenly; like removing a wheel. Before buying check that the height of the stand will work for your bike. With mine, it was a little tall. I need to rock the bike slightly up on its kick stand in order to get the lift stand to slide under.

Another method that works well is a floor jack and a piece of 2x6".

Leaking Air Compressor - Check Valve Repair

This last summer I rebuilt my deck. A friend of mine came over to help install some seismic reinforcements. This included a bracket which tied the deck to the house. The bracket was held in place with many Simpson SDS screws. Since the bracket was located between a set of joists, space was limited when selecting which tool was to be used to drive the screws. Cranking each of the screws by hand with a ratchet was too labor intensive. The solution was a pneumatic ratchet. Pneumatic ratchets however use alot of air. While driving all the screws in, my air compressor must have continuously ran for 30-45 minutes. After this particular job my air compressor developed a slow air leak. Though not terminal, this leak was annoying. Not only was there a constant high pitched hiss, but the compressor would fire up often, even when not in constant use as it would keep the pressure in the holding tank to level.


What I suspect had happened was the prolong running of the compressor overheated a component, most likely one of the valves. So I decided to investigate. At first pass it appears that the unloader valve was leaking. This is a mechanical valve located in the electrical switch area. The valve is a pneumatic/mechanical valve that triggers the electrical switch to turn on, when it senses low pressure. Though leaking, this valve what not the culprit.

Pressurized air is supply to the storage tank through a feed line. This feed line enters a check valve prior to the storage tank. Though it looks like air from the compressor enters the check valve, from the thick brass line, then goes out through the smaller line; the check valve is actually a three way valve with air entering the storage tank at the base of the valve. The thin brass line goes to the unloader valve mentioned earlier.



By removing the cap on the end of the check valve the inside working can be removed. Check valves are relatively simple; consisting of a spring and rubber cap, or seal. The picture of the check valve spring is not the same type as the one I took apart. It is simply there to show the basic make up of such a valve. The overheating of the check valve, over heated the spring. Like taking a torch to your cars suspension coil springs to lower your ride. The heating of the spring weakened it to the point that it no longer sealed the pressurized air from the tank. The air would leak back through the check valve and would enter both the compressor and the unloader valve. That is why at initial inspection it appeared that the unloader valve was leaking.

The proper repair for this job would have been to order a new spring and possible a new sealing cap. However I simply pulled the existing spring apart and stretched it out. This increase in spring tension was enough to return the check valve to full functionality. Though this type of cold working of the spring metal is not recommended, this is a low risk part. If it fails again, I might consider a new spring.


As my friend's grandpa once put it, "Good enough for the girls we go with!"

Silvretta Easy Go 500 - User Guide

After reading my last post about the Silvretta AT binding it http://mrpulldown.blogspot.com/2010/03/silvretta-easy-go-500-mountaineers-ski.html, it occurred to me that I never discussed about the "how-to's" of the binding. If you recently acquired such a binding, how do you adjust it for your boot? How do you set the DINs? I borrowed some pictures from Lou Dawson at wildsnow.com, and am off to share some info.

-Boot length. At the rear of the heel lever apparatus is a screw. Turning this screw translates the heel section along the rails. This adjusts the binding to fit various lengths of boots. From Wildsnow, it appears that newer models of the 500 come equipped with a lever, which when activated allows the heel portion to slide along the rails. Adequate forward boot pressure is indicated by the same adjustment screw, or from a small "button" at the end of release latch. With the boot snapped into the binding, the adjustment screw or indicator button, sits flush with the housing. Forward boot pressure is not a selectable setting. Do not adjust this setting for more or less forward boot pressure.

-Boot catch DIN.Though there is no toe release mechanism, the 500's comes equipped with two rear DIN settings. The first is the heel lever DIN. This setting controls the amount of force required to flip the heel lever onto your boot. It acts as release in the vertical direction. This DIN is adjusted by flipping open an access port and inserting a screwdriver as indicated by the red arrow. If you are using leather mountaineering boots, it is easy to adjust this setting to much so that the heel lever catch presses into the boot so hard that it deforms the heel cup.

-Lateral release DIN. This is the most obvious DIN setting with the adjustment screw in plan view. What is not obvious and most likely the most mysterious aspect of this binding, is how to reset the binding once you have tripped the lateral release. Notice the indicator arrow and the locator dot pictured in the red circle. When the lateral release has been trigger the dot and the indicator arrow will no longer be aligned, and the binding needs to be reset. To reset the lateral release, flip the heel lever forward and strike the heel lever in the forward direction with the palm of your hand. The internal mechanism will POP, and the indicators will once again line up. Without resetting your binding, there is no way for the boot to be reattached to the binding.

-Rear Heel Latch. The previously mentioned heel lever, attaches the boot to the binding. The rear heel latch, latches the front pivoting platform of the binding to the ski for downhill mode. It also incorporates various levels of heel lifters. The pictured latch is the original latch. As praised in my previous post, the old style heel latch is very well thought out and easy to use. All functions can be performed with a ski pole. On a bench top it is easy to flip the latch from one mode to another with your hand. In the field, doing so with a ski pole, can save alot of effort, however it does take some practice. From Ski mode, on can enter tour mode by depressing the blue button, indicated by the red arrow. Once out of ski mode, one can manipulate the lifters by either inserting the ski pole tip in the direction of the black arrow and torquing the lifter in the desired direction, or hooking the ski pole basket into the notch where the yellow arrow is, and pulling. You will need to lift the boot and binding in conjunction with lifter manipulation so as to either clear the lifter or to prevent from over positioning the lifter. The square patch indicated by the blue arrow is used to set and lock the binding back into ski mode. After a long tour session, the heel catch area might have ice accumulation on it and prevent the binding from sitting down all the way on its base. A quick jab with a pole tip is usually sufficient in releasing the ice build up. Running the binding in the first elevator also prevents the accumulating snow from compacting into ice, as well a preventing wear at the ski mode latch interface as mentioned in the previous post.

So now that you have figured out how to use this binding, go out and get some turns on the most versatile binding every made!!

UPDATE- If you are looking for a pair of these bindings here is a deal.

Silvretta Easy Go 500 - A Mountaineers Ski Binding

Eight years ago, my buddy and I were coming off of a mountain we climbed on the East Side of the Sierra Nevada's. I think it was Mt Bladwin. This was before I had my blog to document these types of adventures. After receiving a thorough ass kicking by the mountain, we trudged back to the trailhead. Knee deep snow, snow shoes, full packs, 5 miles, 25 degree downhill slope. There has to be an better way I thought. A few weeks later I bought my first piece of ski gear: The Silvretta Easy Go 500 Alpine Touring Binding.

Granted my knowledge of skiing then was limited to what I had learned from the movie Aspen Extreme. I had REI mount my 500's on a pair of Kneissl Magic Cruise (170), I bought from Play it Again Sports for 30 bucks. This was back when I thought mounting bindings was a black art, left only to ski shop sorcerers. Next I purchased a set of skinny skins with tips and tails from an old cross country racer; one inch wide. Finishing off my "kit" were my trekking poles and La Sportiva K3 Mountaineering Boots. I then headed out to the mountains in my 2wd truck to cut my teeth on this skiing business, pulling over next to any group of parked cars, and hitting any snow mobile track I could find. Boy was I clueless.

I learned alot from those early days of skiing. Though EVERYTHING in my original set up has been replaced, those Silvretta 500's were the only thing that I had gotten right. The 500 is a basic rail or platform type AT binding. The boot clips into a platform which is hinged at the toe for touring. The rear of the platform in locked down with a latching heel piece for downhill alpine skiing. My 500's have seen over 200 days of use and performed flawlessly. Back country, resorts, cross country, these bindings did them all. I have even taken them into the park to stomp on a box or two. I used these binding while participating in Diamond Peaks Vertical Challenge (Chinese downhill) where I place fifth, skiing over 50,000 vertical feet in 6 hours.

Several features make the 500's unique. The pivot is set further back to optimize the pivot location, requiring less lifting of the boot with every stride. The Carbon fiber rails create a relatively lightweight binding. But the feature that makes the the 500 a much sought after binding even today is the fact that it will accept a mountaineering boot. In fact it will take any boot that can accept automatic crampons (clip on); AT boots, Alpine Boots, leather mountaineering boots, and even telemark boots. I soon learned that though possible it is no good to ski down hill in leather mountaineering boots. The 500 also features a rear DIN release, three level heel elevators that you can actuate with your ski pole. One can expand on to the feature list by adding ski brakes and ski crampons. The ski crampons are well designed and are able to be attached with the ski is still attached to the boot. This is especially important if you find yourself in a step icy spot and need to install your crampons immediately. Published material show the crampons to be constructed from Titanal, which is not titanium. It is in fact a age hardened aluminum with no amount of titanium in it at all.

There are however some faults with this do-it-all binding system. The primary issue I had was that it was not step in. One has to toe in, then reach down and flip the heel lever into place. This heel lever was designed to be able to adjust to all types and heights of heel notched, and not for convenience. Not a big deal, but coupled with the fact that I did not have ski brakes and required leashes, made these ski difficult to work in as a snow maker. The constant in and out of your skis at every snow making gun was tiresome. Lateral binding flex was another thing the 500's suffered from. Since the binding is only attached to the ski at the toe and by the heel, the long rails between the attachment points were able to flex. This is common of all platform type AT bindings, the 500's might have been slightly more susceptible due to the lightweight rail material. However this was only an issue when viewed on a bench top, they reportedly skied like a normal pair of bindings by much better skiers than I, who borrowed them. Don't blame the gear when it is the skier's lack of skill is really at fault. Unlike a modern alpine downhill binding, the 500's do not have a front release. I have never found this to be an issue in any of the falls I have taken on them; even slow twisting forward falls. However this could be a concern for those with injury prone knees.

To address some of these mentioned shortfalls, Silvretta made two variations to the 500; the 505 and 555. The 505 had a step in heel lever. This however made the binding less versatile as it could not longer accept ANY boot heel. Most boot heels however were still accommodated by this binding. The 555 was the most downhill oriented of the three variation. Built with the 505 step in heel lever and a plastic shrouded toe piece. The toe's wire bail was still there, but the plastic shroud keep the bail from flipping and made for an idiot proof step in AT binding. Because the 500's true calling is a mountaineering boot compatible binding, the 505 and the 555 were short lived and are not longer in production, and the 500 still live on.

Because of the fact that you can ski bindings in mountaineering boots, it make them very desired even today. Climbers looking for approach skis can now do so in their climbing boot, without having to lug around a second pair of boots. Though the 500 is still in production today some slight changes have been made to the latching heel pieces. This is denoted as the 500 LSV. The LSV used the same latching heel piece found on the Silvretta's Pure line of AT binding. Though this is a claimed beefier heel piece, I found the older heel piece easier to manipulate with a ski pole.

Though adjustable, platform type AT bindings are offered in several sizes to match boot sizes. Typical adjustment on span a range of couple of boot sizes. Silvrettas are offered in three sizes: SML. However I have seen kids size as well. This makes looking for used bindings more difficult. However there is a ray of hope. The Carbon rails of all Silvretta bindings can be easily cut shorter to accommodate a smaller boot size. Drive out the roll pins, cut rails down, drill new roll pin holes and voila, bindings that are shorter. Sorry no way to make the rails grow. Though this write up is for the Silvretta Pure, the 500's are very similar. http://www.wildsnow.com/969/how-to-shorten-the-silvretta-pure/

A tip for users. When touring with these bindings always use the heel elevators. If the terrain is level, use the lower of the two elevator settings. The two carbon rails are held together in the rear of the binding by a steel "U" shaped connector. The seat of the heel piece is aluminum. After a million steps, the steel "U" wears into the aluminum heel piece. This increases the amount of play when the binding is in ski mode. If your binding already has this area worn, and little bit of tape can be placed at the contact zone to take up the sloop. I used a 3m type clear film with much success. There is not adverse effect if you wear down the seat of your evelvators, they will still function fine.

If you are DIY ski mounter, Sir Lou Dawson at Wildsnow.com has provided a mounting template. The 500's did come with a paper template.

http://www.wildsnow.com/backcountry-ski-museum/silvretta-easy-go/easygo-template.pdf

As a parting shot I included this photo of a joint collection of Silvretta bindings between my friend and I. From right to left. 404, 500, 555, 3rd gen Pure Performance, 4th gen (current) Pure Performance.

As a North American Skier this might be the first time you have heard of Silvretta bindings, or heard of them mentioned in a positive light. Light, well engineered, reasonably price, durable, what is there not to like.

A second article has been written in case you want to know the nitty grittys of the binding, such as adjustment and the every so mysterious Lateral DIN release reset.

http://mrpulldown.blogspot.com/2010/03/silvretta-easy-go-500-user-guide.html

UPDATE-If you are looking to buy some 500's here is are some deals .

That's Not a Knife - The Swiss Army Giant

Which boy did not dream of getting his first folding pocket knife. How many hours have I ogled in front of the glass Swiss Army Knife display, comparing the functions of one model over the other. Recently I have found the grand daddy of all Swiss army knives the "Swiss Army Giant". This 85 tool "pocket knife" claims that it is not for use but as a collector or display model. And with a MSRP of $1400, I am sure no one but a collector would be buying these up. A list of the 85 functions can be found below.

This particular knife is made by Wenger, the "Genuine Swiss Army Knife". However many might remember the name Victorinox as the "Original Swiss Army Knife". Well what would a good blog post be without a little story or a history lesson. So here you go the history of the Swiss army knife, an exert from Wikipedia.

In 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment, discovered to his dismay that the Modell 1890 pocket knives supplied to the Swiss army were in fact made in Solingen (Germany). In that age of nationalism, Elsener set out to manufacture the knives in Switzerland itself. At the end of 1891 Elsener took over production of the Model 1890 knives, but Elsener was not satisfied with its first incarnation. In 1896, after five years of hard work, Elsener managed to put the blades on both sides of the handle using a special spring mechanism, allowing him to use the same spring to hold them in place, an innovation at the time. This allowed Elsener to put twice as many features on the knife; he added a second cutting blade and a corkscrew.

Karl Elsener used the cross and shield to identify his knives, the symbol still used today on Victorinox-branded versions. When his mother died in 1909, Elsener decided to name his company "Victoria" in her memory. In 1921 the company started using stainless steel to make the Swiss Army Knife. Stainless steel is also known as "inox", short for the French term acier inoxydable. "Victoria" and "inox" were then combined to create the company name "Victorinox". Victorinox's headquarters and show room are located in the Swiss town of Ibach.

According to Carl Elsener, head of Victorinox in 2009, U.S. soldiers bought Swiss Army knives in huge numbers at PX stores on military bases. As "Schweizer Offiziers-Messer" was too difficult for them to say, they called it the "Swiss army knife", and that is the name it is now known by all over the world.

Elsener, through his company Victorinox, managed to corner the market until 1893, when the second industrial cutler of Switzerland, Paul Boéchat & Cie, headquartered in Delémont in the French-speaking region of Jura, started selling a similar product. This company was later acquired by its then General Manager, Theodore Wenger, and renamed the Wenger Company. In 1908 the Swiss government, wanting to prevent an issue over regional favouritism, but perhaps wanting a bit of competition in hopes of lowering prices, split the contract with Victorinox and Wenger, each getting half of the orders placed. By mutual agreement, Wenger advertises as the Genuine Swiss Army Knife and Victorinox uses the slogan the Original Swiss Army Knife.

On April 26, 2005 Victorinox acquired Wenger, becoming once again the sole supplier of knives to the Swiss Army. Victorinox has stated that it intends to keep both consumer brands intact.

1. 2.5-inch 60% serrated locking blade 2. Nail file, nail cleaner 3. Corkscrew 4. Adjustable pliers with wire crimper and cutter 5. Removable screwdriver bit adapter 6. 2.5-inch blade for Official World Scout Knife 7. Spring-loaded, locking needlenose pliers with wire cutter 8. Removable screwdriver bit holder 9. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0 10. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1 11. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2 12. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm 13. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6 mm x 4.0 mm 14. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0 mm x 6.5 mm 15. Magnetised recessed bit holder 16. Double-cut wood saw with ruler (inch/cm)17. Bike chain rivet setter, removable 5-mm allen wrench, screwdriver for slotted and Phillips head screws 18. Removable tool for adjusting bike spokes, 10-mm hexagonal key for nuts 19. Removable 4-mm curved allen wrench with Phillips head screwdriver20. Removable 10-mm hexagonal key 21. Patented locking Phillips head screwdriver 22. Universal wrench 23. Laser pointer with 300 ft range 24. 1.65-inch clip point utility blade 25. Metal saw, metal file 26. 4-mm allen wrench 27. 2.5-inch blade 28. Fine metal file with precision screwdriver 29. Double-cut wood saw 30. Cupped cigar cutter with double-honed edges 31. 12/20-gauge choke tube tool 32. Watch caseback opening tool 33. Snap shackle 34. Telescopic pointer 35. Compass, straight edge, ruler (in/cm) 36. Mineral crystal magnifier with precision screwdriver 37. 2.4-inch springless scissors with serrated, self-sharpening design 38. Shortix key 39. Flashlight 40. Fish scaler, hook disgorger, line guide 41. Micro tool holder 42. Micro tool adapter 43. Micro scraper straight 44. Reamer 45. Fine fork for watch spring bars 46. Pin punch 1.2 mm 47. Pin punch .8 mm 48. Round needle file 49. Removable tool holder with expandable receptacle 50. Removable tool holder 51. Multi-purpose screwdriver 52. Flat Phillips head screwdriver 53. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm 54. Spring-loaded, locking flat nose pliers with wire cutter 55. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0 56. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1 57. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2 58. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm 59. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6 mm x 4.0 mm 60. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0 mm x 6.5 mm 61. Can opener 62. Phillips head screwdriver 63. 2.5-inch clip point blade 64. Golf club face cleaner 65. 2.4-inch round tip blade 66. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, can opener 67. Golf shoe spike wrench 68. Golf divot repair tool 69. Micro straight/curved 70. Special tool holder 71. Phillips head screwdriver 1.5 mm 72. Screwdriver 1.2 mm 73. Screwdriver 0.8 mm 74. Mineral crystal magnifier, fork for watch spring bars, small ruler 75. Removable screwdriver bit holder 76. Magnetised recessed bit holder 77. Tyre tread gauge 78. Reamer/awl 79. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, wire stripper 80. Special key 81. Toothpick 82. Tweezers 83. Adapter 84. Keyring 85. Second keyring