Falling under that category of "an embarrassment of riches," I recently came into the possession of an extra copy of Vance Harlow's 1999 Scuba Regulator Maintenance and Repair, which I would like give away to some lucky SB "DIYer" who will not immediately post it to eBay or gouge someone else for it, say, on this site.
For those unfamiliar with this now out-of-print book, it was basically a scuba version of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot, with grassroots advice and instructions on making a few necessary tools, such as the construction of an IP gauge; cobbling together drifts and valve seat removers from dowels; and dirt-simple instructions on testing cracking effort in a tub of water or even a sink.
It also covers regulators by brand, along with their interesting peccadillos -- even a brief section on so-called "possessed regulators." Sure, some of that information may be a bit out of date, in the age of 2.5K titanium regs; but considering that the technology itself hasn't appreciably changed since the 1950s, there is still plenty of value to be had.
It does lack much of the exhaustive theory and polish of Wolfinger's Regulator Savvy, of which I am also fond; but is far more approachable, in my opinion, to DIY newcomers, especially those for whom Physics 101 is an all-too dim memory; and for whom the prospect of purchasing expensive tools may be unlikely or cost-prohibitive.
For those interested, just pick a number between one and one-hundred, in response to this post; and I will use a "random number generator" (random.org) to choose a winner -- and if anyone on SB (and you know who you are) wishes to get into some semantic argument over the "true" nature of random numbers and why they cannot be chosen; or have interminable arguments on the shore hardness of HP seat o-rings, well . . .
The spiral-bound paperback book is in decent shape (certainly better off than my dogeared copy) and the offer is open to anyone, worldwide, and I will cover USPS shipping within the States. Foreign winners will have to cover that cost -- but it can be legitimately sent as a "gift."
I will keep this offer open until 7 January, to no particular time of day -- that is, whenever I can get around to it.
Here's a shot of the book (no longer possessed regulator not included) . . .
For those unfamiliar with this now out-of-print book, it was basically a scuba version of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot, with grassroots advice and instructions on making a few necessary tools, such as the construction of an IP gauge; cobbling together drifts and valve seat removers from dowels; and dirt-simple instructions on testing cracking effort in a tub of water or even a sink.
It also covers regulators by brand, along with their interesting peccadillos -- even a brief section on so-called "possessed regulators." Sure, some of that information may be a bit out of date, in the age of 2.5K titanium regs; but considering that the technology itself hasn't appreciably changed since the 1950s, there is still plenty of value to be had.
It does lack much of the exhaustive theory and polish of Wolfinger's Regulator Savvy, of which I am also fond; but is far more approachable, in my opinion, to DIY newcomers, especially those for whom Physics 101 is an all-too dim memory; and for whom the prospect of purchasing expensive tools may be unlikely or cost-prohibitive.
For those interested, just pick a number between one and one-hundred, in response to this post; and I will use a "random number generator" (random.org) to choose a winner -- and if anyone on SB (and you know who you are) wishes to get into some semantic argument over the "true" nature of random numbers and why they cannot be chosen; or have interminable arguments on the shore hardness of HP seat o-rings, well . . .
The spiral-bound paperback book is in decent shape (certainly better off than my dogeared copy) and the offer is open to anyone, worldwide, and I will cover USPS shipping within the States. Foreign winners will have to cover that cost -- but it can be legitimately sent as a "gift."
I will keep this offer open until 7 January, to no particular time of day -- that is, whenever I can get around to it.
Here's a shot of the book (no longer possessed regulator not included) . . .
