... to do what I just did?
This is an old 1970's vintage Sears moisture trap, and while working on the car the other day, the bottom end blew out with a loud bang.
Turns out that the plastic drain fitting had deteriorated and cracked wide open, thereby blowing the NPT moisture drain valve right out of the bottom.
To some this would be a time to say "got my money's worth, let's buy a replacement!". You can get these things for about $30-$40. Well in my case, this little unit has a special place in my heart. Every car I've painted in my life (and there's been a few), I've used this trap to attach my paint gun air hoses. For close to 50 years it's done the job; hence I was loathe to part with it.
No big deal I thought. I can make a new fitting out of aluminum, then thread for the lock nut and tap a new 1/8" NPT hole in no time.
-- I thought!!
It was quick work to machine the overall dimensions of the fitting, but when I needed to thread the 5/8"-18 lock nut/collar threads, I realized that I was missing a 24 tooth change gear for my manual lathe. So I spent all of yesterday afternoon machining a new 24 tooth change gear for the sole purpose of threading that stupid fitting. This morning I used that gear to make the 5/8"-18 threads and then tapped the fitting for 1/8" NPT for the drain valve. If I figure my time on a low-end $$ basis, this thing cost me close to $600.
Back in working order and ready for another 50 years -- of course I replaced all the bowl seals as well.
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Retirement does have its upside, but I pray doing crazy crap like this won't become a habit. --- LOL