I've had good luck with Dewalt bi-metal reciprocating saw blades. There is a huge difference between a cheap blade and a good one in metal. Cheap ones are useless. I took down one clothesline post made of 1/8 wall steel about 3 inches in diameter. I tried a couple cheap HF blades on the first one and then one of the Dewalts. The cheap ones barely scrapped the post before becoming too dull to do anything. The Dewalt went right through the post (I was using my Ryobi 18V saw) and is ready for the next one.
I don't have a good pneumatic impact, I have one that was about $20 and works on small stuff. More useful is my Harbor Freight 18V my son gave me. One of the car magazines tested it at about 200 ft. lbs. That isn't huge but is enough for a lot of things. The Ni Cad batteries hold up surprisingly well but take 3 hours to charge. My Ryobi Ni Cads are near useless but the HF ones work, at least for now.
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I can tell you a LEO told me that they were using thieves are using the multitools to cut off the catalytic converters, because they are quieter.Leave a comment:
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I'm sure your neighbors are pleased you did the work, too.
The porch I painted this weekend faces the main street and seems to amplify every bad muffler that roars past.Leave a comment:
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Tailpipe expanders are tough. I don't know the differences in today's muffler pipe materials but I know that 1960/1970 muffler pipe was hard to expand. I learned to grease the tapers and threads of the tool and it was measurably easier.Leave a comment:
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Yeah, changing mufflers is no fun... FWIW, I have done it before with a recip saw and metal cutting blade.
Tailpipe expanders are no fun to use either... Yeah an impact wrench is really what you need for that job...Leave a comment:
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New car muffler
This isn't house related, but, car related. After living with a failing muffler for a couple of years, I finally decided to replace it. I drive a 1998 Ford Explorer. Its showing its age, but, its still a good vehicle. It was a much longer project than I thought. The muffler has two inlets, one has a flange and the other a common u bolt clamp. The single oulet was welded. After a combination of citting with the grinder and a hacksaw, removal was complete. Then I found out I needed to get a tailpipe expander. A word of advice, its much easier to use an impact wrench. I don't have one, so, I had to use a ratchet.
I had already hung the new muffler on the back hangers (pain in the behind), so, I had to expand the inlet on the muffler under the car. (Bigger pain in the behind) It was very difficult to get the inlet slid on enough to make the flanged connection seat. By the time I got done, my arms were shot. I found out when I started it up, the flanged connection still wasn't seated fully. Out came the bigger hammer (sledge) as I needed mass to get it seated.
Wow. Its much quieter now. It took way longer than it should have and my body is feeling it.
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