February 2018
I was reading (on a Facebook group) a discussion about not being able to buy reasonable quality tools for the DIY mechanic. And this is something I do have sympathy with. Because, yes, the lower end of the market is flooded with cheap Chinese made tools. Search on Ebay or Amazon for the harmonic balancer puller that I used recently and you’ll be inundated with cheap unbranded versions. But the real problem for me is not this influx of cheap tools, but the fact that the mid-priced tool ranges (the ones typically that your DIY mechanic might have bought) now just consist of ‘branded’ versions of these same oriental manufactured tools. They’re little better than the cheap versions - you’ve just paid a bit extra to have that brand name attached. If you read reviews of tools, you often find that, nowadays, more expensive doesn’t always translate into better. The old adage of you get what you pay for no longer seems to apply - unless you’re prepared to go high end, and mostly that’s at a cost that I can’t justify.
And that’s just where the problem lies, where are the quality DIY brands? The Clarke range (Machine Mart etc) are usually OK, but again their lower priced ranges look suspiciously like the cheaper unbranded versions. Laser / Kamasa always used to be a reasonable price/ quality compromise, but I fairly recently bought a Laser chain breaking/ riveting kit which I have been less than impressed with (and that wasn’t cheap). Silverline tools are a little hit and miss, some of their hand tools are perfectly acceptable, some just annoying rubbish. Halfords professional ranges have a good reputation (although I personally have no experience of them) and they only really seem to concentrate on basic hand tools (spanners/ torque wrenches/ socket sets). If you start needing pullers or more specialist tools, then you have to look at other makes and you’re once again back in the price/ quality conundrum. So come on then, what tool brands do you recommend for the home mechanic?
A couple of side notes. I get annoyed by the ‘everything made in China is shit’ opinion. Yes, there’s a lot of cheap Chinese rubbish being imported into the country, but only to satisfy a demand. Yep, we in the UK like to buy a lot of cheap Chinese shit, so they keep making it. They could (if they so wished) make excellent quality items – they are quite capable of doing so – but the market isn’t there for them - yet.
The second side note? Well, my 20 year old Black and Decker angle grinder finally gave up the ghost. I knew the brushes were on their last legs, but now they’d had it. In their day, Black and Decker were the DIY man’s tools. They were a known quantity. You knew that they weren’t quite up to tradesman quality, but for DIY they’d be fine. I don’t know what they’re like now; I haven’t bought any modern B&D stuff. But here’s the thing that really surprised me, it’s something I didn’t expect and it saved me from trying to decide where to spend my money replacing it - I managed to buy spares!
NOTE: When this article was posted on Facebook, the Halfords Professional Range got a big thumbs up from group members, so if you're in the Uk, they may be worth a look.
I’m sure Barry Scott and Cillit Bang won’t mind me borrowing their catchphrase, because today’s article is all about re-purposing household chemicals for use in the garage. This crankcase was covered in a snotty two-stroke oil / carbon mix caused by a serious case of blow by past the piston. The inside of the cylinder’s transfer ports were also coated in a similar manner. None of my usual cleaning chemicals were able to shift it and the narrowness of the transfer ports was making access difficult.
After some time on the internet, I came across Carbon-Off. This is designed to clean baked on carbon off your cooking grills and utensils. Crucially, unlike many other similar products, this one was also safe for use on aluminium. It’s available in two forms, a spray version and a liquid (actually, more gel than liquid). The disadvantage is that it’s quite expensive.
But, let’s cut to the chase. Does it work? Yes, it works very well. I had some problem with the spray nozzle clogging (although I think that may have been temperature related - it’s freezing cold in the garage at the moment) so I mainly used the liquid version. Although the instructions say to just leave the gunk to do its job and then wash off. I found that a bit of scrubbing with an old toothbrush helped to speed things up. While I was at it, I also used the stuff to de-coke the exhaust system as well.
But, let’s cut to the chase. Does it work? Yes, it works very well. I had some problem with the spray nozzle clogging (although I think that may have been temperature related - it’s freezing cold in the garage at the moment) so I mainly used the liquid version. Although the instructions say to just leave the gunk to do its job and then wash off. I found that a bit of scrubbing with an old toothbrush helped to speed things up. While I was at it, I also used the stuff to de-coke the exhaust system as well.
I was really pleased at how good a job the stuff did, especially with getting all the crud out of difficult to reach areas. So, that’s my tip for a house-hold chemical finding a much better use in the garage. What’s yours?
Disclaimer: You use this stuff at your own risk. I’ve been perfectly happy with the results I’ve got and it has done no visible damage to aluminium, cylinder plating etc. You should, however, test it first before spraying it over everything. The manufacturer won’t entertain claims for damages if you use it for other than its intended purpose.
Disclaimer: You use this stuff at your own risk. I’ve been perfectly happy with the results I’ve got and it has done no visible damage to aluminium, cylinder plating etc. You should, however, test it first before spraying it over everything. The manufacturer won’t entertain claims for damages if you use it for other than its intended purpose.
I know we often term our bikes as ‘Shed Built’, but let’s face it, we don’t all build our bikes in the shed. Some of us are lucky enough to have garages (rumour has it that some of these establishments are even heated for use during the winter months). Some of us are even able to sneak the latest project into the house to work on, but many have to make do with whatever free space they can find. If you have the room in the garden, but not the budget for a permanent building, then one of Clarke’s Heavy Duty Instant Garages maybe useful.
I put this one up in the summer of 2017. I’ve been pleased with it so far, and it has survived the gale force winds, rain and snow we’ve been subjected to this winter in the UK. This particular version is 15ft x 10ft x 8ft and is the smallest of Clarke’s garages. They do also do smaller versions of a similar construction, but these are marketed as sheds rather than garages.
Overall I am pleased with the quality of the frame and the cover material. It went up easily enough, but you do have to remember that it is basically just a tent! Security obviously isn’t great, but no worse than keeping a bike outside under a cover.
I put this one up in the summer of 2017. I’ve been pleased with it so far, and it has survived the gale force winds, rain and snow we’ve been subjected to this winter in the UK. This particular version is 15ft x 10ft x 8ft and is the smallest of Clarke’s garages. They do also do smaller versions of a similar construction, but these are marketed as sheds rather than garages.
Overall I am pleased with the quality of the frame and the cover material. It went up easily enough, but you do have to remember that it is basically just a tent! Security obviously isn’t great, but no worse than keeping a bike outside under a cover.
Although you don’t need to have a base to site this on, after you’ve lost a few nuts and bolts in the grass, you’ll probably come to the conclusion that some kind of flooring would be useful, so budget for that before purchase.
Only time for a quick overview here, for a more in depth review of this garage, see issue 6 of Offbeat Bikes Magazine.
Only time for a quick overview here, for a more in depth review of this garage, see issue 6 of Offbeat Bikes Magazine.
Updated and expanded review of the Clarke garage can be found in Issue 6, or in the resources section of the website.