Modern Spin on an Age Old Shop Tool by Hib Halverson Mechanic’s creepers have been around for decades. Back when I was working as a service technician, I remember the shop which employed me had two of those wooden creepers with the funny, metal, swiveling wheels. Once I was out of the service trade, I got used to working on ...

Best DIY Brake Bleeder by Hib Halverson I’ve owned my ATS-V for two and a half years and almost 22,000 miles so, this week, it was time to flush the brakes. For over 20 years, when I’ve done brake work in my little DIY shop, I’ve used a small, hand-pumped, pressure bleeder, but recently, it malfunctioned so I replaced it. ...

You’d think “Big Ass Solutions” would be a clever name for a weight-loss plan or a cosmetic surgery clinic. Actually, it’s an engineering and manufacturing company whose flagship product lines are very large, energy efficient ceiling fans and LED lighting fixtures for the commercial and industrial markets. It was founded in 1999 as the “HVLS Fan Company” (“HLVS” meaning “high-volume, ...

For most DIYs, a ratchet and socket set was probably one of the first tools ever acquired. When I started doing a little historical research on ratchets, I was surprised to learn that the ratcheting socket wrench and interchangeable sockets were invented in 1863. It was weird thinking that what many consider a core tool in their rollaway being a ...

Ah, the Internet… We tool freaks love it because there’s no end to the nifty stuff you can find. I had a brake hose project to do and was looking around in the web for some offset flare nut wrenches. I already have some non-offset flare nut wrenches and I have some crow foot flare nut wrenches but, for this ...