18v portable cordless drill converted to corded

Trying out the blog app.

used a pc power supply to power an old cordless drill with dead nicd batteries

PC power supplies generated 12V and apparently up to 20A.  More amperage if two of the 12V lines (and maybe two of the grounds) are tied together; the spec has a 20A limitation on each wire.

yellow is 12V

black is ground/common

green is the trigger to start.  atx power supplies don't start when switched on, but instead wait for an impulse.  jumper the green to black and it provides that impulse.  

next step is to buy a PC power wire that matches on on the supply and cut one end off, run it into the battery pack, and solder it to the original battery connector tabs.  Also might need to glue the tabs into place because they were originally fixed in place by sitting on top of the battery pack.

I first tried a laptop power supply at 18V, 2 Amps, which ran my cordless drill (no mechanical load) but would not run my cordless sander, which is about 8x the power draw according to the label. The PC power supply had enough power supply to run the sander, and then some.  

Grandfather Clock Repair

Today I fixed a grandfather clock movement, for the second time.  I thought this would be a good place to record it.

The first time I fixed the clock was 5 years ago- the clock had been in storage and was not functional.  The symptom was that the pendulum would slow to a stop some time after being started.  The solution was in the weights- there are two weights for chimes that are each 5 lbs, and a center weight that is 7 lbs.  Once the 7 lb. weight was in the correct position to drive the clock movement, the pendulum and clock began to work properly.

The second instance I fixed the clock had the same symptom: the pendulum would slow to a stop soon after being started (1-5 minutes).  In the second instance the fix was not as simple.  The problem was caused by the 'beat' of the clock.  The beat is the sound of the tic and the tock.  A proper clock should have a tick and a tock spaced equally apart in time.  If not, a 'beat' can be heard- the tick and the tock are too close together followed by a silence that is too long.

To diagnose the beat and repair it, I used these instructions:
http://ticktocktony.com/Clock-Repair-How-To-Articles/how-to-adjust-a-clock.html

In short: put tape behind the pendulum, move it left and put a line on the tape where the tic sound is heard.  then move the pendulum right and put a line where the tock sound is heard.  Finally mark the center hanging position of the pendulum.  The tick and tock marks should be equidistant from the center mark- if not, there is a beat.  This can be adjusted by bending the 'crutch'- the metal rod that runs down from the clock movement gear wheel to the pendulum itself.  However, in the case of this clock, I adjusted the beat by unscrewing a set screw on the escapement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapement)

I will try and post photos later as I acquire them.