I’m a gear head and am always working on a car or tractor it would seem. Like many, I have a concrete drive way and it seems like no matter how hard I try, I get engine oil, grease, gas or whatever other crud on the cement.
I’ve seen guys post asking about how to get oil and what not out of a cement drive way and I have a simple answer – I use a degreaser called “Purple Power”. I know it is a crazy name but it works. I’ve been using it for probably 10 or more years and buy it by the gallon jug at Autozone. I can’t recall who recommended to me or just when – but I’ve used it for a long time and vouch for it.
My approach is simple:
If you have standing oil, pour clay cat litter or oil absorbing pellets and let it sit for a few hours to a day and then brush it up and save it to be used again. We don’t have cats so I usually just keep a big bag of the oil absorbent stuff from Autozone and use it over and over until it gets real oily. I just keep it in an old pail.
Pour on the Purple Power full strength and let it sit 15-30 minutes. I would recommend doing it in the morning or evening because you do not want it to dry out.
Use a hose with a pressure nozzle (just something to focus the spray coming out of the hose) and rinse the stuff off.
Let it dry and see how it looks. If there is still some dark spots in the cement, you may need to do it a couple more times. For me, it usually does the job in two passes but sometimes I need a third.
Okay, here’s a photo of my drive way after working on a car and a tractor. The big “blotch” is a combination of gas and oil. I changed the fuel pump on my tractor and then cleaned the engine up with brake cleaner and it went on the drive way. The four smaller blotches to the right of the Purple Power jug are soaked in oil from working on the car.
This photo is after three passes with Purple Power and letting it sit 15-30 minutes each time. If I had done it a fourth time it would be even brighter but I literally ran out of cleaner. You can see the big blotch is entirely gone. Really, just a bit is left. At some point this weekend, I’ll run up to Autozone and get another gallon and finish the job.
If I didn’t use Purple Power, my driveway would be an absolute mess. I go through about a gallon per year sometimes two – it just depends on what all I am working on and how often I clean up my driveway.
I hope this helps you out!
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Because I make and sell a variety of AK furniture, I often get asked about where to find parts and accessories for a given type of firearm. One brand that comes up quite a bit is Norinco.
Norinco, or China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (中国北方工业集团有限公司), is a huge defense conglomerate and makes everything from small arms to big weapons systems such as tanks and missle systems (click here if you want to visit their site). They were established in 1980 and began selling small arms to the US domestic market not long after that.
Unfortunately, they ran into a number of legal problems. In 1993, importation of most of their firearms and ammunition was blocked other than sporting shotguns and shotgun ammo. In 1994 US Customrs conducted a sting on the importer and in August 2003, sanctions were imposted that effectively blocked their remaining lines of firearms and ammunition not already banned. In short, Norinco is very much still in business in China and exporting to clients elsewhere – just not in the US.
This unfortunate series of events leaves US owners of Norinco firearms such as their Type 56 SKS carbine, Type 56 assault rifle (and specifically the civilian MAK-90 and NHM-90 rifles), the NDM-86 Dragunov clone DMR, their various other rifles, pistols and shotguns wondering where to find parts. As for myself, I wish I could afford an NDM-86!
There are two reputable businesses I have dealt with who carry Chinese firearm parts – one is Numrich and the other is PolyTechParts. Of course, there is Gunbroker and the many sellers who use it as well.
There is another surprising source – eBay. Below is a live feed of Norinco parts for you to peruse plus they have much more:
Just to be clear, I am not a Chinese firearms expert. I get asked questions and have done some searching to try and help clients but that’s it. I created this blog post to have a quick link to email people when they have questions about where to find parts and I hope this helps you out.
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Photo of the Type 56 is by Dhalikar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25006497
Well, my wife sure surprised me this year — she bought me a Hogue X5 pocket knife (SKU 34569) at Smoky Mountain Knife Works when we stopped at the store on Father’s Day. I carried it every day until we returned home on Wednesday. For some reason I did not get more photos of the knife new out of the box. The photos I am showing are all after 2-3 days of being in my pocket with keys walking all over the place.
I must say that I am disappointed that the finish on the frame scratched in a few places but this knife was always intended to be a working blade and not a shelf queen. Standing up to keys is the least of my worries really. It is interesting to note that the top of the blade that was exposed to the keys also shows zero wear relative to the frame. We’ll see how the finish holds up over time.
I’ve been a fan of Hogue knives for a while – especially after a good friend bought one of their fixed blade models. I had a chance to look it over carefully when it was brand new about three years ago and it was very well made. He took it to Alaska and California used it a ton camping and climbing. As for me, I’ve wanted a Hogue but the right opportunity never seemed to pop up until now.
So this is a almost new out of the box review 🙂 Let me start by saying that the X5 family of blades are very well made. I was trying to decide on whether to get another Zero Tolerance (ZT), a Benchmade or the Hogue and finally settled on the Hogue that you see.
The 3.5″ blade is 0.15″ thick and is made from CPM154. This is the CPM manufactured version of Crucible’s 154CM that folks into knives like – it’s relatively easy to sharpen, tough and corrosion resistant. In short, the business end of the knife is made of excellent steel that is 57-59 on the Rockwell scale hard. The blade was cryogenically treated and then finished in a black Cerakote. By the way cryo treatments are fascinating. Click here to read a great write up about them.
The profile is a stunning looking wharncliffe style. Wharncliffe profiles have always caught my eye and there is a bit of history to them. The Viking Seax blades are the first knives I have seen with this profile that is the reverse of most knives. In terms of the name we often use today, the first Lord of Wharncliffe came up with the design in the 1800s and had Joseph Rodgers & Son him some pocket knives.
The blade is a spring-assisted flipper and it opens very smoothly. You can see the round blade release button and a sliding lock behind it. When the lock is engaged, the button can’t be pushed and blade is securely locked open. I like spring-assisted blades by the way as I am always in some weird position trying to open boxes, working on machines, etc. where I can only get one hand free.
The frame of the handle is aluminum with a black G-mascus G10 insert. When closed, the knife is 4.75″ overall yet weighs only 4.66 oz. I really liked the combination of size and light weight. Plus, the frame is remarkably thin so it fits in your pocket nicely and doesn’t feel like a boat anchor.
Now this knife is pretty new to me right now. I haven’t cut anything yet but definitely will be as I have quite a list of stuff to get done and I’ll be cutting open boxes, plastic tubs, etc. I’ll post updates plus I want to compare it to my ZT 350, my favorite EDC blade but I want more mileage on the X5 before I do that.
6/28/2018 Update: Used it to cut 4″ diameter corrugated drain tube and a bunch of boxes. It is very sharp – I didn’t touch the blade up. Still going strong. Like all flippers, when I got dirt in the action it wouldn’t flip until I blew it out. Last comment – it has a real nice feel when I am using it – not awkward at all. I wear XL sized gloves just for reference.
10/6/2018 Update: This blade rocks. It has really held an edge and the finish on the blade has held up remarkably well. Only the handle shows evidence of scuffing so far.
If you are interested in how I lubricate my flipper knives, please click here.
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I’m to the point with rifles that when I want to maintain accuracy, I know I need an accurate torquing driver. For years I used the Wheeler Firearms Accurizing Torque (FAT) Wrench and it was good enough. For about $40 I got the base unit that included a few bits and a case. The FAT wrench had a range from 10-65 in/lbs and good enough accuracy (+/- 2 in/lbs up to 40 pounds and +/- 5% over 40 in/lbs). My only beef with it was that the mechanical scale that shows you the torque settings was in 5 pound increments. To get close to 18 in/lbs, for example, required going close to the middle between 15 and 20 in/lbs and calling it even.
I used the FAT wrench pretty much exclusively from October 2014 to May 2018. It was good enough at the time – way better than going for ballpark feel “farmer tight” settings but in the back of my head though, I wanted better.
By the way, in case you are wondering why a person would get one of these torque wrenches or drivers, it’s because many torque wrenches aren’t calibrated in inch/pounds (they are often foot pounds in the US) and they may not go down as low as 10 inch/pounds (in/lbs).
My interests span many types of firearms from AKs to precision rifles. With the latter, I own a number of sub-MOA rifles and they demand precision tools if you want repeatability and reliability. These rifles also have very good Vortex scopes and rings as well. If you want consistency and the rings to not shoot loose, the value of a torque wrench becomes apparent fast.
I’m a Vortex fan – there’s no two ways about. Their optics are superb and they have an absolute “we will stand behind it no matter what with no nonsense” warranty. Once in a while I will see guys troll the brand on Facebook but I honestly question whether they have ever actually even owned one.
Folks, I’ve owned probably 7-8 superb Vortex scopes and a ton of red dots. I really don’t know how many red dots of various types – probably approaching a dozen. The glass is good, the scopes are durable and do you know how many times I have used the warranty? — None. In talking with guys that have, Vortex took care of them.
When it arrived, the first thing I noticed was the heft. This is a solidly built metal tool that screams quality. It comes with a few bits. You pull the copper colored locking ring down and turn the handle to get the torque you want. I did find that you have to push the bits in very firmly. There is a detent ball that holds the driver bits in and it is surprisingly stout.
A nice touch is that the end of the handle has a 1/4″ socket if you want to use a ratchet wrench for higher torque applications. For example, Vortex precision rings can go up to 50 in/lbs. I can do that by hand most of the time but a ratchet makes it much easier.
On the topic of bits, it is a standard 1/4″ drive so you can get a large collection of bits and pair it up with this unit. For example, I had a Home Depot Husky brand driver with a ton of bits that I picked up on sale at some point and just had sitting on the shelf. I put it with the Vortex and its few included driver bits. Additionally, when I am working on a firearm, I typically have my Weaver deluxe toolkit open as well. It contains a great selection of bits that you tend to find on firearms.
There is one thing I changed though – the Vortex unit comes in a round plastic case that is nice and strong but I don’t have the patience to try and put it all back together for storage. So, I hopped down to Ace hardware and bought a case to hold the Vortex torque driver, the Husky driver and all the bits plus I have room for more storage. I also used some of my spare pluckable foam left over from cases to pad the bottom of the case.
In case you are wondering, here are photos of my FAT and Vortex torque drivers side by side:
In this next photo, you can see what I mean about precisely setting the torque on the wrenches. My Vortex Precision Scope Rings specify a torque of 18 in/lbs. With the Vortex wrench, you can precisely set it for 18 pounds. With the FAT, it’s somewhere around 17-19 pounds plus we already know the wrench’s accuracy is limited to +/- 2 in/lbs as well.
On the topic of accuracy, the Vortex driver comes with a certificate of calibration to testing standard DIN-ISO-6789 by a gentleman named Tom on Feb 27, 2018. You can see my specific wrench nails the accuracy – no more guesswork and no more ballpark torque setting.
3/28/24 Update: I use this for any small screw or nut with a torque spec in its range. I use it for rings, handguards, you name it and always reset it to zero afterwards to keep it accurate. Beware of knock-offs that look like it – you’ll get what you pay for.
9/21/23 Update: This is still my go-to tool for scope rings. It’s still working great – just remember to reset it to zero before you put it away.
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It’s funny how a person’s views can change over time. When my dad I first started going to gun shows back in the early 1980s, my idea of a gun case was a naugahyde bag that was long enough with straps that I could close on the rifle. Then again, my budget was about $10-20 for the case and usually about $100-150 for the firearm. Times change.
I’ve heard it said that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys and that just may be true. Now when I buy and tune a rifle and put a big optic on it, I want it protected – well protected. When I first started buying hard cases I would get the kind with the egg crate style foam that could generically hold anything with no modification. The downside with the egg crate cases is that they don’t hold things very securely – if you drop the case hard enough, the contents will move including the weapon and any accessories or ammo you have stored in the main compartment As a result, I shifted away from these cases some years ago for my bigger and heavier rifles.
To make a hard case that is tailored to what you want to store in it, you have two routes. The best in my opinion are cases with hard foam that you cut to exactly fit what you want. These cases hold your contents very securely. The con is taking the time to cut out the foam. It’s not a huge overhead but they also tend to cost a bit more for a good case such as a Pelican.
Option two is to still use a hardcase but one with pluckable foam. This means the the foam has been pre-cut into little vertical rectangular columns that are partially connected to one another but can be pulled apart or “plucked” out.
Now the pros are that these cases can be affordable and are easy to work with. The con is that the foam is very flimsy an I stay away from really fine details a single piece tends to break way from the other pieces very easily. In short, I can’t fit the foam more closely to the contents *but* it still works and protects the contents better than an all eggshell hard case.
So, let me tell you about a Plano case I bought recently from Amazon. I have used a lot of these tough Plano hard cases with pluckable foam over the last few years but now they have a model out that I really like due to the construction. It’s the Plano “All Weather Series” and I bought the 52″ model to hold a Savage Stealth Evolution in .338 Lapua that is 48″ overall.
To get this case, make sure your item description contains “AW2” – I assume this means it is the second generation of the All Weather case and I like the handles way better than the previous version.
When you open the lid, you see the usual placard and keys but if you zoom in you can faintly see the border of non-scored foam that runs around the perimeter.
In the next photo, note that the middle pluckable portion pulls right out.
In the next photo, note that the latches are now four in the front and none on the ends. Some models have a latch inside the end handle and I find myself fumbling with it to get it to open. I’m happy to see them just on the front.
My preferred way of mounting a scoped rifle is to have the scope “up” towards the carry handle on the side and the muzzle towards the carry handle on the end which means the butt stock is down by the wheels. The reason for this is to protect the muzzle and the scope as much as possible. A jarring force when someone drops the case – especially when carrying it with the side handle and dropping it – will be absorbed by a non-critical end … in theory. You can never plan for everything and these cases are strong but not impenetrable. For example, I received a case once where a fork truck tine had skewered it. Amazon, as always, gave great customer service and shipped a replacement immediately.
Take the firearm and any accessories and lay them out on the back / the mirror side of the case. You are going to mark with permanent marker where stuff goes and you don’t want that showing up later. Now some folks will use chalk and blow it off. Others will pin paper outlines – whatever works for you. I use a Sharpie and try to remember that I need to flip the foam while keeping in mind the orientation of the weapon so you will note I have the rifle in the case scope down because I will just flip the foam afterwards.
Out comes the old Sharpie marker and I trace everything. I traced the magazine in the rifle as well as a slot for the spare. Not I have the ammo boxes sitting on their side edge. I may trim the bottom foam out as it is a tight fit but I decided to run with that layout for now as the cartridges are very long and use a lot of real estate. I wound up turning the Atlas bipod on its side also after the above photo was taken so the profile changed.
In the next photo, note how the big recoil pad is coming right down to the wheel housing. The .338 Lapua Stealth Evolution is 48″ long so it is a tight fit in this case. I figured the rubber recoil pad would protect the rifle and literally have it right by the housing. The top of the scope and the bottom of the grip are right to the border of the pluckable area.
Now it is time to pluck! I stay within the lines and figure I can always remove more later. I do try to balance too close and will come apart later vs. too far away to protect the rifle. I pluck and test, pluck and test until I get it the way I want. Note how I have now reversed the foam – you don’t see any marker lines and the rifle is now oriented the way I want.
The next step is to take the insert outside and spray and adhesive on it to glue it in place. You need to do this and apply it relatively heavily or it will pull out of position and flop around. I use the 3M Super 77 spray adhesive and only spray the pluckable insert.
The end result is stronger if you apply the adhesive to both surfaces but it is very messy to deal with. If you really want to do this, one trick is to save the foam you plucked out, cut it in half lengthwise and glue it in to the bottom. Some guys like this as the firearm and accessories aren’t as deep in the foam. In this case, I am just doing the one side so I applied it thick. Make sure you do the right side … yeah, I’ve made that mistake too.
Let it sit for about 5 minutes so it gets tacky and then put it back on the lower piece. Move quickly before it sets up and make sure everything is straight. If you get the adhesive on stuff you don’t mean to, it can be readily cleaned up with turpentine while still wet. I always have stuff I have to clean up.
Once you have the insert glued in place, be sure to let it dry for 6-8 hours. I’ve had problems in the past if stuff sticking to firearms so I let it sit a good long time just to play it safe. The warmer it is, the faster it will dry and cure.
Here’s the finished case. You can see how the rifle completely fills it. I wish I had a bit more buffer for protection but it is pretty good. I will definitely do some more tuning on the ammo section.
I really like the case and think it’s going to do a good enough job for me. I don’t plan on using it for anything incredibly rough – mainly range trips and it’ll handle those just fine. I’d definitely recommend this case to someone who wants a very good mix of affordability and quality.
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So I was surfing one day and stumbled across these cool souvenir personal liquor flasks from Russia that hark back to the Soviet era. They looked really cool in the photos and were brand new so I figured why not get one and check it out. Thus, out came the credit card and I got one from worldgifts1 on eBay. I should point out that a number of vendors are selling these and they all look the same.
The below are photos of my exact flask. I actually bought two – one for myself and one for my buddy Scott. They really are nicely done – the chrome plate is good and what really caught my eye is the coat of arms – the CCCP is the abbreviation of the Cyrllic words “Союз Советских Социалистических Республик” that translate as the Union of Soviety Socialist Republics. The КГБ is the Cyrllic abbreviation for Комите́т госуда́рственной безопа́сности which translates as the Committee for State Security, which we better know as the KGB.
I bought this strictly as a novelty plus as a place to keep either vodka or, gasp, my beloved tequila. I think I am in big trouble for the tequila comment 🙂 It’s definitely a cool conversation starter and you could put whatever drink you want in there of course.
At any rate, it arrived as you see above and is water tight. I sloshed some soapy water around inside, rinsed it out several times and then let it dry and it was good to go.
In my opinion it is a good deal – sure you can get cheaper generic flasks but they scream “boozer” vs. being a conversation starter. I’d recommend these and they do make flasks with other insignia too – I opted for the KGB one due to growing up during the Cold War and tons of spy movies.
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In short, Harbor Freight quick couplers look like a cheap way to go. The problem is that they are really soft. I can’t even guess how many female fittings I have thrown away as they deformed and started to leak air.
The same goes for the soft male fittings. You will find they abrade easily and leak air plus they bend and break easily. The latest example is this male plug on my IR 117 air hammer where the smaller nipple is tearing away from the relatively thicker base:
My solution is simple – I only use Milton air fittings now and you can get them from Amazon at an affordable price. Every time one of my many Harbor Freight units fails, I replace it. By the way, I’m to the point that I don’t recommend any of the cheap import fittings regardless of maker. Milton isn’t much more and they will last.
By the way, when you look purely at the purchase cost that doesn’t tell the whole story. This fitting failed right at the start of the job and set me back about 10-15 minutes while I was rummaging around for my Milton spares, my teflon tape, the wrench, setting the tool in the vise to do the work, etc. All of a sudden the supposed purchase savings doesn’t seem like a big deal. By the way, I was swearing the whole time too 🙂
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Recently I got out my Ingersoll Rand model 117 air hammer to use and found out its action had gotten all gummed up. It’s been probably a year since I last used it even then probably didn’t use it a ton. I always drip air tool oil into a tool before use because my air lines run driers and particulate filters for my plastics work. Thus, I have to manually apply the oil before I use a tool.
When I went to use 117 the piston would not actuate and when I shook the tool, it didn’t sound like it normally did. My first thought was to check the air pressure and it was at 90 PSI and the regulator was wide open so my next guess was lubrication. Adding more air tool oil didn’t make any difference. I then remembered a tip a guy told me years ago with gummy air tools – spray a ton of PB Blaster down the quick connect fitting and let it sit with the quick connect fitting up in the air trapping the penetrating oil in the tool for 5 minutes and try again.
So, I did that, reconnected the air line and it worked! The tool worked like a champ and it blew PB Blaster everywhere! I did it one more time just to make sure stuff was clear and ran the tool for a maybe 30 seconds to blow the PB Blaster out, wiped it down with a rag and then put in four drops of air tool oil. Problem solved.
This was a huge win because I was in the middle of working on AK and wanted to use this tool plus I didn’t have time to take it all apart, I’m writing this post a few weeks later after completing the AK build and the IR 117 is still working like a champ.
By the way, PB Blaster can be found at tons of automotive stores. The packing looks gimmicky but it is actually one of the best penetraing oils that is out there along with Kroil. If I didn’t have access to either of those, I would have made up some Ed’s Red or at least used some form of transmission fluid. Tranny fluid works great but take a while to penetrate gunk.
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