"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:40:41 +1000, "Why are people so cruel"
wrote:


"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:43:40 +0100, David Billington
wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:
Ive been browsing Ebay.UK and noticed a fair amount of Whitworth
tooling.

Prices are all over the place..but not all that bad. Are "Silverline"
tools any good?

Im going to be needing an 8 or 9 piece "combination" wrench set and am
trying to find the best bang for the buck.

And what is involved in shipping those tools from the UK to the
States?

I would assume it would be the same as used motorcycle parts?

Gunner

--
Maxim 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath.
Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head.

As no one else has responded from the UK yet so I'll chip in, I have a
few Silverline tools and they seem to be standard commodity tools, not
total crap, but not the high end stuff like Snap-on, Proto, etc either.
Regarding shipping you'll have to take that up with the UK supplier as
we don't have that flat rate USPS international deals you guys have,
that can work quite well.

I have to ask with the equipment and contacts you have why not just
adjust some US spanners that are readily available to the task. There
will be ones that are close and need to be opened out slightly. For
sockets I've not met one yet that can't be machined so for the few
you're likely to require why not adapt and make do.

Because not a nut has been turned on this bike since before I got it, in
1971. And having box end wrenches would appear to me..to be rather
important while taking the old bitch apart ..at least..the first time.
No? Or should I take the chance of rounding everything stubborn..off?


You machine sockets? Really? How do you do this? Shaper? Hours with a
file?

I can understand that given enough time..and enough files..I could
probably open up box end wrenches...

In fact..I do have (1) Whitworth open end wrench. its a SK..and its
marked 1/4..and fits a larger bolt head on the RE. Which I proceeded to
start rounding off. I did bust it loose with the box end.

Hence my concern about the fasteners on the bike and open end wrenches.

Gunner

You may do better to have a mix of metric and Imperial sockets and try to
get the closest fit possible. The BSF sockets easily available are
generally
1/16 " smaller than the BSW equivalent thread size. Biggest problem is
that
its the thread form being measured and not the head size. God help you if
there is an Allen Bolt inside the engine (unlikely I know). I'd be
inclined
to
use a handheld impact wrench (hammer type not air) to loosen all those
bolts. If they dont come loose then I'd whip the head offs with a grinder
and use a stud extractor. BIG problem will be replacing BSW bolts anywhere
nowadays.

I'd only use a six facetted socket to stop the socket turning on the nut
as
with
the 12 facetted sockets.

Ive tried "mixing" metric and Imperial. Nothing fits worth a ****.

Rather than using a grinder...shouldnt I use the proper box end wrench
and then..as a last resort....use something besides a grinder?

Like a Whitworth socket and an impact gun?

Or am I just being goofy here......?

I know it didnt work very well for a buddy who tried this with US
sockets and metric fasteners. Only a couple worked.


I would imagine that available BSW box spanners would be worn to some
degree and likely have a similar amount of slop in them as do the near
fit mm and BSF. From memory are n't BSW bolts/nuts supposed to be
made from iron? and hence soft in comparison to the later steel mm/BSF
and the risk of rounding heads.

I have an old BSA Bantam with BSW (I think) bolts and nuts and I found
that using 1/4" drive sockets in both mm and BSF got a pretty close fit on
already worn heads. I used a 1/2" drive socket and rounded off a bolt head
- hence my advice about using the six facet sockets - and the small 1/4"
drives all have six facet sockets. Problem arises when you exceed 1/2"
or 13mm that are available in the 1/4" drive - maybe 3/8" drive sockets
would have a near fit?

I know that to make your own box spanners is not that difficult if you can
get hex bar to suit the head dimensions and steel tube to fit and a bit heat
and
hammering. I can see a commercial opportunity for a blacksmith here!! I
remember watching a blacksmith as a kid make box spanners to suit farm
machinery he was working on.