Pictures
So, in the text above, these are the extensions that I mentioned. Each is twelve inches in length by itself.
By way of amplification, this is closeup of the type of chuck these extensions come with. For lack of a better description they are a spring loaded pozi-lock mechanism. It uses a spring loaded sliding sleeve to lock and release a ball that indexes against the notch in the hex sided mandrels of the accessories. Shown just above the upper extension is the wire wheel that I ended up using for cleaning out the tube bores. Both the hex shape of the mandrel and the locking notch are visible in the shot.
And how it all looks when assembled. As to where/when I sourced them, it would have probably been back when I was doing drywall repairs in the accessway to the basement. They would be either an Irwin or ROK made product. FYI, Irwin is the same producer that offers Vice Grip Brand clamping pliers. Not plugging either Manufacturer here, or the local supplier/store that carried them for that matter; credit where credit is due, they had the tool, they get the 👍.
Although coupling the extensions and the wheel together does use up some length, when done it actually still works out to 24 inches overall. In the full length shot you can see the turns of green masking tape that I placed on the lower shaft. This was done to mark my go/no-go point for when I was making passes up and down the bore of the tube. Going any deeper than the tape line would allow the wire wheel to pop out the bottom end of the tube and require that I either disassemble the extensions or pull the complete unit out from the bottom as it would not suck back into the tube once it had popped out.
Lousy light but you can see to a certain degree what all my work and time earned me. I was going to include a couple of shots of the bore patches, that I had made from blue shop towel to show what I was removing from the inside walls of the tubes, but since most of you probably are already well acquainted with rusty brown colored crud and nasty goo that used to be hydraulic oil but now more closely resembles decomposed sludge, I left them out.
So at this point they are still oily inside but it is clean and fresh and protecting the inner surfaces, which was the immediate goal of cleaning them out. The plan, once I tear down the current assembly, is to revisit the tubes a few more times with blue bore patches and both Deep Creep and WD40, and then probably rinse them out with CFC free brake cleaner. Then I can transfer the guts out of the old tubes into the new ones, add a spring spacer if/as needed, and close them up. (I might not need shorter spacers but jic I do have schedule 80 PVC tube down in the basement shop that I can cut and face to length in the lathe.)
I also took the photo opportunity to pull one of the saddle bag covers and measure the width between the flanges on it versus the one that is on the bench due to being run over by an idiot in a cage! Its first version of reconstruction has made it too wide in the body from side to side so it has to be sectioned lengthwise, again, and then the sides pulled in so the seam can be filled using two part adhesive. This is a long term project that is perfect for the cold and misery that is outside. Only thing here is that I had to bring in the 'glass resin as the ambient heat in the shop wasn't high enough and it apparently goes to jelly when cold. Once back to room temperature it should be okay.
Nick
So, in the text above, these are the extensions that I mentioned. Each is twelve inches in length by itself.
By way of amplification, this is closeup of the type of chuck these extensions come with. For lack of a better description they are a spring loaded pozi-lock mechanism. It uses a spring loaded sliding sleeve to lock and release a ball that indexes against the notch in the hex sided mandrels of the accessories. Shown just above the upper extension is the wire wheel that I ended up using for cleaning out the tube bores. Both the hex shape of the mandrel and the locking notch are visible in the shot.
And how it all looks when assembled. As to where/when I sourced them, it would have probably been back when I was doing drywall repairs in the accessway to the basement. They would be either an Irwin or ROK made product. FYI, Irwin is the same producer that offers Vice Grip Brand clamping pliers. Not plugging either Manufacturer here, or the local supplier/store that carried them for that matter; credit where credit is due, they had the tool, they get the 👍.
Although coupling the extensions and the wheel together does use up some length, when done it actually still works out to 24 inches overall. In the full length shot you can see the turns of green masking tape that I placed on the lower shaft. This was done to mark my go/no-go point for when I was making passes up and down the bore of the tube. Going any deeper than the tape line would allow the wire wheel to pop out the bottom end of the tube and require that I either disassemble the extensions or pull the complete unit out from the bottom as it would not suck back into the tube once it had popped out.
Lousy light but you can see to a certain degree what all my work and time earned me. I was going to include a couple of shots of the bore patches, that I had made from blue shop towel to show what I was removing from the inside walls of the tubes, but since most of you probably are already well acquainted with rusty brown colored crud and nasty goo that used to be hydraulic oil but now more closely resembles decomposed sludge, I left them out.
So at this point they are still oily inside but it is clean and fresh and protecting the inner surfaces, which was the immediate goal of cleaning them out. The plan, once I tear down the current assembly, is to revisit the tubes a few more times with blue bore patches and both Deep Creep and WD40, and then probably rinse them out with CFC free brake cleaner. Then I can transfer the guts out of the old tubes into the new ones, add a spring spacer if/as needed, and close them up. (I might not need shorter spacers but jic I do have schedule 80 PVC tube down in the basement shop that I can cut and face to length in the lathe.)
I also took the photo opportunity to pull one of the saddle bag covers and measure the width between the flanges on it versus the one that is on the bench due to being run over by an idiot in a cage! Its first version of reconstruction has made it too wide in the body from side to side so it has to be sectioned lengthwise, again, and then the sides pulled in so the seam can be filled using two part adhesive. This is a long term project that is perfect for the cold and misery that is outside. Only thing here is that I had to bring in the 'glass resin as the ambient heat in the shop wasn't high enough and it apparently goes to jelly when cold. Once back to room temperature it should be okay.
Nick
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