Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Pub Talk). This thread is read-only.
A few weeks ago Readers may have remembered we found some submerged Dewalt tools in a flooded property which had been left for several months and possibly up to 3 years on a job.
These were going to be thrown away,so just for fun I have had a go at drying them out and seeing what it took to get them going again.
The old 14.4v drill we found still has a chuck that is solidly clamped around a bit holder and will not undo, and the batteries which although they were above the water line are nicad so are also nackerd really so that ends that part of the story.
But here is the astonishing part. The 110v site voltage planer was solid and nothing moved on it at all,it looked like an impossible task to get it running again but being a big daft building type and also a Brit ( we never give up lol) I blasted it in every place for a week in WD40 and slowly bits started to move and over the days it got looser and looser until now I have been able to pull the case off and oil all the bits.
Tomorrow is D day for this planer as I will be plugging it into the power and firing it up.
If as I think it will, this tool bursts into life and gets used on a job, I will be amazed but also Very Very impressed.
I will post tomorrow after work and let you folks know how it goes. 🙂
Did you document this revival with pictures? This would make a great article.
No Pal but I will take some before I do the final clean up as you will see the water staining and surface corrosion on the base e.t.c.
I must admit too that there was a lot of oil about and my hands were full so forgot to take some earlier but will also photograph the guide e.t.c and the rusted metal Dewalt tool box this may also yet be saved 🙂
It’s always fun trying to bring stuff back from the dead.
Good luck Wayne! Remember, I know the electrical stuff in the UK is backwards from the US, but…if you hear a loud buzzing sound, run. Unless you like the ubiquitous afro!!!
I plugged the 110v drill into the site transformer I have and I am so amazed it burst into life a bit noisy but having said that planers are noisy little things.
But big respect to Dewalt because this has to be number one in the Tools in action Captain Scarlet awards.
( Captain scarlet was a children’s program in the U.K. ) 🙂
Awesome. What all did you find down there?
Frogs,Newts, water, and lots of badly smelling stuff LOL.
The cellar has been stripped back and refurbished now so it no longer a stinking rotting mess 🙂
Nice job Wayne! No afro?
What’s a “newt” ?
A Newt?!? Ever watch Monty Pythons Search for the Holy Grail?? “she turned me into a newt!” “A newt!?” “Yes… A newt”. God Bless Monty Python!!!?!
A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae. 🙂
Great Monty Python link there ChrisK 🙂
Hahahaha that’s funny! I love the definition! Oh and Month Python too!
🙂
Wow
No curly hair and OMG it works fine.
A bit noisy but I think I might be being a tadd picky there considering it had been basically submerged for a couple of years. 🙂
Wow, that’s pretty impressive.
It took a week of patience and a lot of light spray oil but the bottom line is it will plane a door after all it has been through so that is some tough tool guys. 🙂
Wow, I’m not much for yellow but anyway you cut it, maybe I should try em out! Awesome job!
ChrisK wrote:
Wow, I’m not much for yellow but anyway you cut it, maybe I should try em out! Awesome job!
How much cooler would Dewalt be if they came in black?
I am not a big Dewalt fan but this has been a revelation.
My manufacturers of choice are normally Metabo and Bosch, but the phrase ” Real world tough” is lived up to with this one. 🙂
If they were only “real world tough” in some color other than yellow.
LOL Being yellow you would think they would start to shake like a shitting dog at the sight of a big job. 🙂
I’m all for black, Conductor. You know what the ladies say…once you go black, there ain’t no going’ back!
Besides. Did you guys see the Makita line when they had their anniversary black. Those tools looked cool!
Bit hard to find in the dark though eh? 🙂
True on that one! The nice thing about Makita is the glow ring on the end of their impactor. Of course my Milwaukee has that Huge while Milwaukee logo on the side. I never saw that kit for sale over here, just online over eBay. But they did look awful sweet!
They do look cool 🙂
I don’t care for the Makita impact drivers. The selector switch is located lower than I like often causing me to hit it inadvertently. It would be fine for someone with really small hands, but I don’t care for it personally.
The black Makita stuff looked awesome. I like the looks of the white stuff, but it shows dirt to bad for my OCD ass.
Yeah. I actually like the looks of the white tools too. I just sold some I bought on eBay. Winded takes the grease right off. The blue green, I know they come with the high cap batteries but the color is weird. My Milwaukee Fuel impact is sweet looking and the controls are easy to manipulate. I know Hitachi isn’t popular but that brush less hammer tool is really cool looking, not to mention awesome! Eight power levels! 8! That allows incredible control! Plus files alien green awesome!
Hitachi is a fine tool and grossly under appreciated. I can’t help but feel they’d gain a lot of ground with proper advertising. Putting tools out to blog sites like TIA wouldn’t hurt either. You see the occasional review, but not as frequently as the others. I can’t help but feel that like Panasonic, we’re a secondary market for them.
I think your right Conductor! We have a local store here called Brocks. They do sell some Hitachi cordless and USED to sell Panasonic. The Hitachi stuff is a lot of the pod style lithium. I wish they could expand the line and put the Panny’s back on but they share a parking lot with HD. You never see advertisement for Hitachi though Lowes seems to sell some but not a lot. I have to admit that Hitachi is a great all around hammer drill kit and although I don’t need any more tools in the 18v category, I will continue to look!
I bought a set of Hitachi 18v lithium tools when they first came outbover here and my Son uses them to this day and they must be 7 years old now.
Great tools. 🙂
I agree. I used my new hammer yesterday for some light assembly and it is just a “nice” feeling tool. I registered the tool for the lifetime warranty which made me smile. I don’t think I’ll leave it in a flooded basement though! Seriously though, awesome job with the planer. When my Dad moved down to Florida (flat swampy alligators snakes scorpions poisonous spiders and annoying people) he left me his old Craftsman American made circular saw. I spent some time cleaning it up and replaced the cord and the tool works great. In the condition it wasprevious to that I could not use it. I was happy to save it cause it was Dad’s PLUS the feeling of fixing an old tool really was rewarding. Not NEARLY what you did Wayne, but I bet that rewarding feeling feels wicked nice!
My dad was never much on maintenance either.
It’s just that YAY moment when something is working that otherwise would have been thrown away. 🙂
Usually when I have those moments it ends with something catching on fire.
LOL I hope not Pal. 🙂
Hahaha. Yup. My Yayyy moment normally involves a visit to the lieutenant 🙁
My brother’s a cop too. It always blows my mind some of the awful shit people do. You guys are the most under paid people in this country.
ChrisK wrote:
Hahaha. Yup. My Yayyy moment normally involves a visit to the lieutenant 🙁
LOL 🙂
The way I look at it…when I go to a gathering or something like that I am always the Adam Sandler of the group! I dont mean to be funny but hey when people give me something to talk about…. 🙂 My stories always start the same way… “Guys! You can’t make this $hi% up but..” And then there is my compunctual statement… “Sir, I can’t fix stupid”