New Tool Day

I ordered a ear wax vacuum to clean my hearing aids on 4/22. I ordered it from a local company 70 miles away same price as other venders, free shipping and a local bussiness. They sent it out the same day UPS. The next day UPS listed it as delivered but they just turned it over to USPS for final delivery. USPS tracking number showed no package received for 5 days then receiving it and it bounced between postal facilities before showing it being held in LA for postage due. After 2 weeks of this BS I called the vendor and they looked things up from their end. They acknowledged the problem and sent out a new shipment FedEx overnight that day. Now that’s customer service from a small business. I bet shipping FedEx really ate up any profit on my $260 order.
I just checked USPS tracking and it still shows the original shipment as being held up for postage due as of 4/28.

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I will never ship UPS smartpost for that reason. It really only saves $2 over just straight UPS ground.
 
I’m often amazed when I look at my USPS tracking for packages. They seem to ship them hundreds of miles in different directions. I’ve had more packages disappear in the FedEx system over the years than anyone else.
I've had more problems with FedEx than UPS and USPS combined. With that said, it still isn't a lot of problems, but I'll pay extra to ship something any way other than FedEx when I can.
 
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A couple years ago I ordered some sliders for my JL. FEDEX said they were delivered but nothing was here. The seller and FEDEX of course were simply pointing the finger at each other. FEDEX basically said "we delivered it, what else do you want?" After a few days a guy from around the corner called my number that was on the label. They had dropped it off at his house along with some patio furniture.
 
Amazon has upped everyone’s shipping game. I believe they were the first to require the delivery person to be within a geo-fenced area before being allowed to even make the delivery, and to require a picture of the delivered package. USPS, UPS, and FedEx are slowly adapting similar technology.

I had a package delivered by UPS yesterday, and when I tracked it, there was a waypoint where the package was delivered, and that’s exactly where I found it (they don’t deliver to my house, because I live on a rural property.) The waypoint was helpful because I never know where I’ll find a UPS or FedEx package.

I’ve become skeptical of technology over the decades, but in this case, I look forward to it improving things!
 
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I ordered some small jeep parts last week from a vendor one state over who shipped via USPS. At the same time I ordered SAVVY under armor which shipped UPS from California to Illannoy.


Guess which is arriving tomorrow.

The Savvy stuff LOL.

The USPS package is now three states away….
 
A few new tools, one old one. The Snap-On 1/2” drive ratchet, not sure how old it is. Anyone know how to oil them? Then 3/8” impact swivel sockets, new transmission jack, and neck light, which to my surprise works pretty well.

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They are not sealed, so just put a few drops on both sides and let it flow in
Snap-On 1/2” drive ratchet, not sure how old it is. Anyone know how to oil them?

A drop or two in the hole opposite the ball check will do as well. If needs be at some point, removing the two screws from the top face will release the ratchet head from the tool body, you can then re-grease and replace.
 
While we're on this subject, there used to be outfits that would repair/rebuild old ratchets. I have a very old Craftsman 1/2" that could use some attention, but I haven't been able to find anyone that advertises such a service. Anyone know of one?
 
While we're on this subject, there used to be outfits that would repair/rebuild old ratchets. I have a very old Craftsman 1/2" that could use some attention, but I haven't been able to find anyone that advertises such a service. Anyone know of one?

You can buy the heads for many ratchet brands and install them yourself. That's what I've always done.
 
That may well be, but the ratchet @Danarch posted dates back to WWII, and I would suspect you can still get a rebuild kit for it. Is your Craftsman older?

I honestly don't know, but I haven't been able to find one online. It was my dad's, he probably bought it in the very early 50s, but if it was new or old then, I don't know. I should probably take a picture of it and see if Google's image search can find it...
 
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The model number off the handle coupled with "rebuild kit" might get you there as well (not trying to be cheeky). I actually just found a kit for the posted GS-71 ratchet, btw.

You might want to pop it open and inspect the innards. Wear can occur to the "ring gear" in the ratchet body, the head components can be worn, or both. If the teeth in the body are worn, the ratchet's days are numbered, otherwise a rebuild kit will tighten things up.
 
The model number off the handle coupled with "rebuild kit" might get you there as well (not trying to be cheeky). I actually just found a kit for the posted GS-71 ratchet, btw.

You might want to pop it open and inspect the innards. Wear can occur to the "ring gear" in the ratchet body, the head components can be worn, or both. If the teeth in the body are worn, the ratchet's days are numbered, otherwise a rebuild kit will tighten things up.

The only real problem is that it tends to "slip out of gear" in one direction and locks up solid until I move the selector lever back to where it belongs. I'm not sure there even is a model number on the thing, I'll have to look at it again.
 
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