[Shop-talk] Favorite tools

[old dirtbeard]

Hi guys,

Since the COVID era started, I like many others have been spending more
time at home and in the garage (my shop).

It has given me some time to think about things that perhaps I would not
have thought about, but one is how much I enjoy a good, useful tool.

I thought I would start posting my favorite tool of the day or week just to
share what I thought were good acquisitions.

I do mostly motorcycle and automobile work on my own vehicles. I try to do
everything myself that I can.

I have been riding motorcycles since I was a kid and have been changing my
own tires all those years on the garage floor with a couple 4x4's and some
good tire irons. It worked, but it always involved a lot of sweating and
swearing and busted knuckles and sometimes hours to break the beads and
remove and install the tires. It also required a lot of bending over as
everything was on the floor.

Last year I bought a US-made No Mar Classic HD tire changer and used it for
the first time time the last two weekends.

What a life enhancing experience that was! I should have bought one 20 or
30 years ago. I am attaching links to a couple photos of it:

The first one is breaking the bead on a Harley front tire--it is at waist
height and literally can be done with one hand:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=446D39C8B1E43758&id=446D39C8B1E43758%21166808&parId=446D39C8B1E43758%21166807&o=OneUp


The second one is just finishing mounting the rear tire:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=446D39C8B1E43758&id=446D39C8B1E43758%21166809&parId=446D39C8B1E43758%21166807&o=OneUp


Once you mount them you should balance them, so here is a picture of a
US-made static balancer that I just use on jack stands. I have had this for
a very long time and it works great:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=446D39C8B1E43758&id=446D39C8B1E43758%21166812&parId=446D39C8B1E43758%21166807&o=OneUp


Both the tire changer and the balancer are joys to use.

I will post a few more in the next few days and would encourage all of you
to do so to share the knowledge/experience that this group possesses.

best,

doug
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