New Tools and a Project

I’ll keep this short.  I picked up the Titanium Unlimited 140 welder a few days ago, along with a few accessories.  It’s been over 25 years since I last ran a bead, and I was never a welder in any sense of the word, so I’ll need to practice a little before I even attempt a serious project with it.  

The impetus that motivated me to buy the welder?  I finally got another Jeep.  Around 22 years ago, I bought a 1960 Willys DJ3A “Dispatcher” Jeep in Kentucky.  Most people my age are more familiar with the DJ5 postal Jeep, which is a far more common “Dispatcher” model.  My Jeep had the L134 “Go-Devil” engine and was originally a hardtop.  The top was long gone by the time I got it, but it still had the fixed windshield, and the body tub lacked the quarter door design of most Jeeps.  Take a turn and whatever wasn’t secured would just roll right out the side.  Anyway, I now own one of the original civilian Jeeps, a 1946 CJ2A.  It’s nearly identical to the WWII MB Jeep but has a tailgate and a few other minor changes they made post-war.  Naturally, it needs a fair amount of work, but the drivetrain is complete and everything is in pretty good condition for an 80-year-old vehicle.  It does have a CJ3A windshield which is fine for now but might eventually get swapped for a split CJ2A version.  

Otherwise, not much new here.  I’m off to Home Depot for some HVAC supplies and then it’s up in the attic for a bit to seal up my blower unit and repair and/or replace some ductwork.  

Okay, I just added a Gas Pony 3 oxy/acetylene setup.  Tractor Supply had one with a clearance sticker showing $329, down from over $1100.  The only one they had was missing the torch and oxygen gauges, but those can be bought for around $100, so it was still a good deal.  The best thing was, it rang up at 75% off the clearance price, so out the door I paid $91.  Next up is procuring the missing items from Amazon or Harbor Freight and getting the tanks filled.  

Loving the story. Keep it coming.

Nothing new on the Jeep front yet; I haven’t even unboxed the welder.  As I’m sure many of your\ know, Walmart is done with Hart tools, and my understanding is that TTI (the company that owns Milwaukee, Ryobi, Ridgid, Hart, and other tool brands and/or trademarks) is shelving the brand altogether for the foreseeable future.  They still have some decent deals on the Hart 20v and 40v tools and OPE, but if you buy into those, know that you’re essentially buying into a dead system.  It kind of sucks, as I’ve heard the Hart 20v system compared to Ryobi if they’d adopted slide-on batteries.  I know the latter brand has its detractors, but I’ve found Ryobi to be pretty decent overall.  I picked up a few hand tools for my sister, along with a couple for myself.

Anyway, my primary replacement for the days when I’d drive up to two hours to comb through various Lowe’s and Home Depot stores for deals is simply getting the “methed-up” tool deals at my local Walmart.  I’ve found that they tend to discount damaged or partial tools and packages at 50% off, so I’ve gotten a few decent deals, especially on Hart but on some Hyper Tough.  The best was probably a $120 tool set with a broken carry handle for $60.  Anyway, my local shoplifters had been slacking recently, but I found some 3/8″ impact sockets marked down today and decided to see which two were missing, so I bought them.  I wasn’t surprised to find that it’s the 10mm and 13mm that someone deemed necessary to steal.  Never mind the fact that these were already on clearance at about 66% of the original price ($16 instead of $24).

As for my methed-up reference, it’s sad but true that tweakers do weird stuff.  My estranged brother is a long-time meth user, which my ignorant self wasn’t aware of until a year or so before I retired from the Army.  We’d let him stay at a flipper home to do some work and before you know it, the weirdness compounded and his “friends” were storing every piece of stolen property they could there.  I lost more than a few tools thanks to those same people deciding that my property made for good collateral for perceived debts my brother and his acquaintances owed.  But that’s in the past.  A couple of years back, tweakers decided to behead every toy they could in multiple stores around here.  For a couple of months, Walmart’s clearance section was full of headless action figures and dolls.  Around the same time, they got to the pool ball sets and stole every cue ball out of them.  I got a third set of pool balls for the table I haven’t even set up since retiring, so I guess that clearance deal will be given away whenever I find someone to take the table.

Sweet.  Do you have pictures of the Jeep?  As you move along, would be cool to see the progress

Here are a few photos I took when I first dragged it home.  I need to get another truck, and a towbar for this Jeep as one I bought for the old DJ3A went with that Jeep.  Since it was only 3/4 miles from the house, I hooked a tow strap to the axle on my daily driver and pulled it.  I’ll get some more photos with the hood down.  

Engine cherry pickers aren’t given away anymore, if they ever were.  I guess I’ll go on Amazon to order one, unless Harbor Freight has an ITC deal on one soon.  They’re about $200, cheaper than what people on Facebook Marketplace.  I’m lucky everything stayed in place while I was moving it, as the previous owner had loosened the transmission (that’s what’s hanging down, with a ratchet strap keeping it somewhat in place).  When I got home, I jacked up the motor and the motor mounts are shot, so I’ve got a jackstand keep it from leaning against the firewall.  I figure I’m best off taking the L-134 Go-Devil out completely to give it a good looking over and to make it easier to work on the suspension.  I might even pull the body tub off the frame to give everything a good cleaning and to see what might need patching, repairing, and/or replacing.  Sites like thejeepsterman.com offer reproduction parts that seem pretty decent; a while back, they even had a CJ2A in a crate: 

I ordered a heavy-duty Victor-style torch and oxygen regulator for my oxy/acetylene setup from Amazon earlier today.  They had medium-duty torches starting at $33 or so, but the one I ordered for $67 has check valves included.  They should be here tomorrow morning, and i just confirmed that a Tractor Supply about 20 miles from me does oxy/acetylene tank exchanges.  Unfortunately, the two that are closer don’t offer the service.  

Back to the Jeep, you can barely see it in the top photo, but it only had three wheels on it, along with a new unmounted tire.  I have no idea what happened to the fourth wheel, but fortunately, the place I got it from is like a scrap yard.  I found that wheel that happens to have the same lug pattern and a hole large enough for the CJ’s hub.  The fact that all of the tires hold air is a small miracle.  I have no idea how I’d have gotten it otherwise, outside of renting a truck and trailer.  

Time to get off of here for now, though.  I had an appointment for a couple of new tires for the Kia but that got cancelled.  So, I’m off to take my daughter to work in a bit.  Speaking of which, she’ll be starting at LSU this year.  That got me motivated to look into resuming my education, so I might start some online graduate courses at LSU soon.  I’m looking at an MS in Leadership and HR Development and considering eventually looking into a law degree and/or shifting back to Criminal Justice or a related field for a PhD in 10-15 years.  I guess that being a disabled retired guy in my late-40s isn’t enough–I’ve just got to work 60+ hour weeks and still look into getting more pieces of paper saying I know things.  All while starting this Jeep project…

I got the gases I needed for the oxy/acetylene setup this morning.  Well, kind of.  I got home and realized they gave me shielding gas (Argon/CO2) instead of oxygen.  So, back to Tractor Supply I went.  They had a 50% off clearance sale, so I almost bought the Gaspony PowerFlame Pro propane burner this morning, but the extra 50% off didn’t apply.  They did tell me it applied to the Porter Cable tools, all of which are marked down and in racks near the checkouts at my local stores.  I decided against the burner and ignored the PC tools.  Well, that is until I had to make a second 40-mile round trip.  The three stores nearest to me don’t offer Thoroughbred gas exchanges, so when I made that drive a second time, I went ahead and bought the propane burner along with two tools I didn’t already own in Yellow, Red, Green, or another brand: a grease gun and cutoff tool.  The grease gun came as a kit, so I have exactly one PC 20v Max battery.  I figure that I’ll just order an adapter to use my DeWalt batteries, as the future of PC 20v Max doesn’t seem completely certain and I have little desire to invest heavily in that platform.  Total out the door was a hair over $350, or about what the burner alone costs at other stores (I visited another TS this morning hoping to find a similar Manager’s Special clearance deal).  

But enough rambling.  It’s sad–but not unexpected–to see these forums so sluggish these days, but I realize I’m part of the problem, having only logged in recently after a couple month hiatus.  I’ve got to open tomorrow, so for a brief period I’ll be in charge of who knows how many 100s of $Ms before my bosses get in.  The only impact that has on me is that I’ve got to be in bed in about six hours.  😊

fm2176 wrote:

Just now, fm2176 said:

I got the gases I needed for the oxy/acetylene setup this morning.  Well, kind of.  I got home and realized they gave me shielding gas (Argon/CO2) instead of oxygen.  So, back to Tractor Supply I went.  They had a 50% off clearance sale, so I almost bought the Gaspony PowerFlame Pro propane burner this morning, but the extra 50% off didn’t apply.  They did tell me it applied to the Porter Cable tools, all of which are marked down and in racks near the checkouts at my local stores.  I decided against the burner and ignored the PC tools.  Well, that is until I had to make a second 40-mile round trip.  The three stores nearest to me don’t offer Thoroughbred gas exchanges, so when I made that drive a second time, I went ahead and bought the propane burner along with two tools I didn’t already own in Yellow, Red, Green, or another brand: a grease gun and cutoff tool.  The grease gun came as a kit, so I have exactly one PC 20v Max battery.  I figure that I’ll just order an adapter to use my DeWalt batteries, as the future of PC 20v Max doesn’t seem completely certain and I have little desire to invest heavily in that platform.  Total out the door was a hair over $350, or about what the burner alone costs at other stores (I visited another TS this morning hoping to find a similar Manager’s Special clearance deal).  

 

But enough rambling.  It’s sad–but not unexpected–to see these forums so sluggish these days, but I realize I’m part of the problem, having only logged in recently after a couple month hiatus.  I’ve got to open tomorrow, so for a brief period I’ll be in charge of who knows how many 100s of $Ms before my bosses get in.  The only impact that has on me is that I’ve got to be in bed in about six hours.  😊

Oh, and I was tempted to keep the shielding gas for my HF welder.  The manual clearly states to use 100% argon, but I found a few YouTube videos where people much more knowledgeable than me were using the Titanium 140 with pure CO2 or Argon/CO2.  I got one heck of a deal on my Gaspony setup; I thought about simply buying an oxygen tank (the shielding gas is a bit more expensive), but that would have set me back over $400.  I guess I see where that $91 deal I got is worth every penny of the $1100+ it costs at most places.  Besides the price, I bought flux core wire and sticks for the welder, so there’s no need to more than double the cost with a shielding gas tank, for now at least.  

Oh man, that is going to be awesome.  Also congrats to your daughter at LSU.  

Eric – TIA wrote:

On 5/5/2026 at 9:05 AM, Eric – TIA said:

Oh man, that is going to be awesome.  Also congrats to your daughter at LSU.  

Thanks.  Today I splurged and bought some HyperTough.  The only tool I “needed” was the extended reach ratchet, on clearance for $27 down from $65.  I picked up the 40-piece homeowner’s drill kit for $18 (I bought one as a housewarming gift for my sister when they were still $27), then went to anther Walmart and got the impact driver for $13 and the 3-in-1 drill kit for $16.50.  Do I need any of it?  Besides the ratchet, I’ve got multiples of the drills and impact, including the M12 Fuel installation driver.  All of the tools came with 1.5Ah batteries and slow chargers, so I don’t think that $74 or so was too bad.  

I’m taking a quick break from cleaning out the van, and about to put the old DeWalt cordless wet/dry vac to work.  It was one of the first 20v Max tools I picked up, being on clearance for $50 at the Lexington, SC Home Depot when I was in Drill Sergeant School 10 years ago.  I got my 20v Max grinder the same day for $25.  

I say it all the time, but it’s past time to stop buying and start using up these tools.  For better or worse, it seems my DeWalt inflator no longer works.  It’ll turn on but the compressor won’t start.  I’ll disassemble it eventually but have Ryobi and M12 inflators to use if it ends up being trash.  I cringe when I see those things selling for as much as $169 now, and will buy another Ryobi if in the market for one again in the future.

Nice finds.  Always awesome when you can save some money.  I am the same way, if I can find a good deal, it’s hard to pass up.  I hear all the time about all the inflators.  Some go right away.  My Milwaukee has lasted a long time but something is wrong with it.  When I fill my tires and even try to get 2 lbs in, it takes about 5 minutes.

Eric – TIA wrote:

On 5/12/2026 at 8:52 AM, Eric – TIA said:

Nice finds.  Always awesome when you can save some money.  I am the same way, if I can find a good deal, it’s hard to pass up.  I hear all the time about all the inflators.  Some go right away.  My Milwaukee has lasted a long time but something is wrong with it.  When I fill my tires and even try to get 2 lbs in, it takes about 5 minutes.

My experience with the name brand cordless inflators is better than it’s been with generic cigarette lighter versions.  Most of the latter I’ve owned ended up only being good for one or two uses.  Almost inevitably, I’d pull it out after a few months in the trunk and find it stopped working altogether.

I splurged and bought the PC right-angle drill a few days ago.  The price was decent but not rock bottom ($69).  I’d been eyeing the power file so I went to my local Tractor Supply this morning.  They had an additional 70% off some clearance items, so I asked the cashier to scan the power file.  It rang up at the regular discounted price of $83 but she told me she’d give me the discount, so I grabbed the last PC jigsaw as well.  I figured that $43 for both wasn’t bad; my DeWalt battery adapter arrived a few days and works great.  The jigsaw is the first PC tool I picked up that I already had (DeWalt and Ryobi, plus a probably 50-year-old B&D corded one).

I used that Hyper Tough ratchet to swap out a car battery earlier.  It works pretty well and fits in an area where my regular cordless ratchets wouldn’t reach and using a standard ratchet would have been tedious.  

That’s an awesome pick up and for that price, can’t beat it.  It pays to just go ask, lol.  Nice

Well, after (let’s see, checked this thread and damn, it’s been that long?) six weeks of buying the Jeep, I’ve done nothing to it.  We’ve had typical South Louisiana weather these past two weekends, and while I’ll ideally pour a concrete pad behind the shed and build a lean-to, I think I might use one of my 14×14′ lighted canopies to cover it for now.  Walmart had the things marked down to $50 or so a few months back (originally $245), so I picked one up for the neighbor and two for me.

In about an hour, I’m headed to Harbor Freight for the 2-ton engine crane, a leveler, and the transmission jack.  The jack is on sale for $89 ($40 off) and I’ll use my 20% ITC coupon for the crane.  At the very least, I want to remove the engine and transmission so I can move the Jeep.  I have the transmission strapped up, but noticed the engine was laying against the firewall after I got it home.  When I jacked that up it lifted off the motor mounts, so it’s currently got a jack stand and my jack under it.  

Work’s been a constant grind.  I still enjoy the job and like getting the hours, but constant employee turnover and now a couple of injuries have us short-handed.  I took off last Monday for my daughter’s graduation and still got over 50 hours plus my vacation day.  Tuesday saw me driving one of the larger armored trucks for the first time in over a year; the ride in those things isn’t kind to my busted-up body.  Thursday I was on a 300+ mile route with nearly 40 stops (but only a few ATMs), and Friday saw me working until nearly 9pm filling 21 ATMs plus a few deposit pulls.  Naturally, weekends find me wanting to be lazy.  The plus side of working tomorrow is that I’ll get the holiday pay, time-and-a-half if I’m on a one-person route ($36.22/hr.) and have 10+ hours towards hitting overtime Thursday.  I try to explain to my coworkers how coming to work is the incentive.  Last Monday, I made $168 based on an eight-hour workday at my basic pay rate.  Had I actually worked for 10 hours, I’d have made over $240, plus another $120 in overtime premium at the end of the week.  But those guys and gals call off on a whim, show up late, and our routes have to be adjusted.  I don’t know how many times I was supposed to be on a light in-town route only to be moved to a heavy out-of-town ATM route.  I guess that’s one of the reasons I got promoted after only a year with the company, though.

But enough complaining/bragging about my job.  Time to make a pot of half-caff and get primed for the foray into Baton Rouge (me being me, I always bring a gun or two when going there–my daily driver has my Ruger EC9s and Security-380 stashed in it, and of course the Glock 17 is my work gun, but I generally take the wife’s vehicle on weekends).  I much prefer driving a little farther to a smaller city, but they only have the 1-ton crane in stock.  Hopefully everyone enjoys their Memorial Day holiday (if you have off).  Remember the symbolism behind it and take a moment to pay respects to those who didn’t come back.  

All sounds great. Loving the updates and your Jeep. Waaay cool!

My Northern Tool Strongway engine lift has sat idle since I used it to remove / replace the 5.2L engine / transmission in my ’94 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Imagine my surprise when it was impossible for me to pump the ram to the extended position to move around my new bronze fountain, grrr! I’m guessing the mass is just north of 200 lbs.

New hydraulic fluid and disassembly, inspection, cleaning and reassembly of the pump, releif valve and hold/drain valve had zero effect. It feels like it’s pumping, but still not raising. A brand-new ram cost $10 more than a rebuild O-ring / seal kit, so I went w/ new, FINALLY permitting progress on my fountain.

The fountain project is at the VERY early stages. I’m going to make a pond at the front door (decided against a moat w/ alligators and a drawbridge).

[External image (live.staticflickr.com), not copied]

[External image (live.staticflickr.com), not copied]

Cool with the job update.  I am looking for work, so I am going to see if that kind of work is by me.  That lift seems cool.