Doing Your Own 2-Cycle Carburetor Tune-up

 If you've ever owned a piece of lawn equipment with a 2-cycle gasoline engine – a blower, weed-whacker, or chain saw, for instance – you probably already know that the things are finicky about their fuel. Sometimes getting them started can turn even the mildest-mannered suburban dad into a raving maniac. Trust me; I know: I've been known to say on more than one occasion that I will never buy a gasoline-powered weed-whacker again. That was, however, before I bought my own Carburetor Adjustment Tool Kit.

In my experience, the two most common fuel problems with 2-cycle carbs are varnish in the fuel and a carb that is out of adjustment. If you're lucky, you can clean out the varnish with additives, but the adjustment? That almost always requires a special tool, and the tool differs from carburetor brand to brand (Zama, Walbro, etc.). You almost always have two little pegs sticking up from the carburetor housing (see image, above left), but the shape of the tool can be one of nine or ten different configurations. This kit contains nine of them, fitting (almost) all carbs – apparently some Walbro carbs have a 22-tooth spline instead of 21-tooth. Go figure.

You can find instructions on YouTube for tuning a carburetor; in short you adjust the mixture (ratio of fuel to air) and then adjust the idle speed to keep the engine from dying at idle. Without these little tools, however, you're at the mercy of your local small-engine repair guy.

If you, like me; have cleaned the carb and air filter, added fresh fuel, and changed the spark plug but the cussed thing still won't start and keep running, a ten-dollar investment may be just the thing you need. All these kits are pretty much the same (nine different configurations), so don't get hung up on the brand. I actually bought mine at the local BigBox store (Menard's), and it's precisely the same.

copyright © 2021 scmrak

Get Old Pipe Out in a Hurry with a PVC Cable Saw

King Innovation PVC Cable Saw

I picked up one of these years ago when rebuilding the piping around a swimming pool valve and filter system, and I've since used it while replacing and repairing irrigation pipe out in the yard. There's not much that's more annoying than being forced to dig a giant, oversized hole in your yard so there's enough room to wield a hacksaw; so why not simplify cutting out that section of leaky PVC by using a King Innovation PVC Cable Saw instead? The same thing holds true if you're unlucky enough to have PVC pipe in the walls of your house instead of good ol' copper.

I get High With a Little Help from Werner

Werner Fiberglass Extension Ladder D6224-2

If you have a set of stairs (or two [or three]) in your house, one day you'll realize that trusty six-foot stepladder just doesn't hack it for outside work. Even standing on the top step – which, by the way, is a definite safety no-no – your hands wave several feet short of second-story gutters. Nope, the only way to go is with an extension ladder, and the longest one you can fit in the garage is probably a good start. I already had a sixteen-foot aluminum ladder when I got my first two-story house, but a mere sixteen feet wouldn't cut it there: so I schlepped on down to the local orange hell (they call it "Home Depot," but that's their story) and went ladder shopping. They carry a pretty full line of Werner Ladders: wow: what a wealth of choices!

Now Why Didn't I think of This?

Craftsman Magnetic Steel Bowl

A symptom of my being a geologist is that I tend to look down more than up. As a side effect of that habit, I tend to find an awful lot of things that people have lost: two birth control pill holders, an orthodontic retainer, a Lexmark printer, bunches of flash drives, and a Starbucks card are some of my recent treasures.

It's pretty rare that I go more than a few days without finding a tool of some kind lying in the street, and the most common tool is a socket. As an occasional shadetree mechanic myself, I have a pretty good idea where a lot of them came from. They're the ones mechanics dropped while working on their cars and just couldn't find to get them out. Trust me: I've lost some myself, not to mention the occasional bolt, lots of washers, several gross of screws, and more nuts than I'd care to think about. I don't lose 'em anywhere near as often these days, however; I now have the cure for common "dropsy": a Craftsman Magnetic Steel Bowl.

Simplify Door Replacement with a Lock Installation Kit

Irwin Tools Wooden Door Lock Installation Kit

As the owner of a large, somewhat nervous Lab (see note†), from time to time I find it necessary to replace doors she’s damaged. In truth, finding a replacement door is not usually very difficult because the sizes of door slabs are fairly standard. What is difficult is moving the hardware from one door to the other. I’ve picked up a couple of simple tools along the way to make it possible. One is a butt template, the other is my Door Lock Installation Kit, made by Irwin Tools (their catalog number 3111001). When it comes time to install the lockset, this tool makes life a lot easier.

Now This is a Hot One!

BernzOmatic 2 Piece Brass Utility Torch Kit UL100

There’s something seductive about using a propane torch for soldering: the scent of hot metal, the sizzle of solder flux beneath the flame, the nearly invisible blue flame, and that faint tang of incompletely burnt light hydrocarbons tickling the cilia at the back of your nose. Yeah, sweating pipe – it’s my latest addiction: no namby-pamby soldering irons and little globs of solder on wires for me, gimme that graceful cone of blue fire any time.

OK, buy me that graceful cone of blue fire… my tool of choice is an everyday ordinary brass torch from the people who brought propane torches to the masses: BernzOmatic. My Dad had one of these puppies at least forty years ago (hmmm, wonder where that one disappeared to?), so it's made by a venerable company. I picked up one of their UL100 kits when I started sweating pipe myself this past spring, and here’s what I got:

How to Make Putting Up Fence a G-Rated Task

Cooper Tools Heavy-Duty Fence Pliers BMC-3276

My dad was a quiet man, a man not much given to “blue” language;neither of which traits I confess I didn’t fully inherit. However, there were a couple of incidents that could usually make my dad loose his cool and mutter an oath or two (and not always under his breath, either). One of those things – for both of us, in fact – is a good shot on the thumb with your hammer.