Make your own yoke socket... redux

[acteg]

I know this was AWAP's idea originally, but I did it tonight and I thought I'd pass on a few lessons learned.

1. Not many places carry a 3/8 drive 1" socket. Of the 5 Sears in town, only 2 had them in stock, and they were both 20 minutes away. Lowes / Home Depot do not carry it. Cost for a craftsman 3/8 drive 1" socket is $4 including tax in my area.

2. You can use a dremel if you want to spend an hour doing this, but your better off (IMO) using an angle grinder / cut off wheel and spending about 10 minutes. I got my angle grinder / cut off wheel from harbor freight for $10. They are so cheap I keep a spare on hand just in case.

3. I recommend attaching the socket to a long 3/8 extension and securing the extension in a vise. Put on all your PPE (eyes, ears, mask), and make sure you are wearing clothes that you don't mind messing up (lot of metal dust flying around).

4. Cut the socket to the desired length, then trim the sides to clear the yoke and bevel the top of the socket. You may or may not need to completely remove the sides as AWAP did (I did not for my Oceanic SP4/Aeris A1). I think for most regulators you don't, but YMMV.

5. Make sure you have a 3/8 extension that will fit through the hole in the yoke. Out of the 5 3/8 extensions I have, only 1 fit.

Here we go with the pics:

Cut it to the desired length. Remember measure twice cut once... I cut it a little deeper than I wanted but there was still enough clearance.


Next, trim one set of opposite sides. You do not have to cut them off completely. Just enough to give you the clearance you need.



Next, bevel the top above the two opposite sides that you just trimmed. You may or may not need to do this depending on your regulator.



Now get to work

 

[Peter_C]

I have tons of hacked up and modified sockets and wrenches in my toolbox, but never bothered to make one for removing yokes. Instead I just clamp one of these into my vise and twist the nut on and off with my hands. Can't torque it, but I have a pretty good idea of torque specs by feel.

 

[herman]

Or just contact me and I will make you one.

 

[acteg]

Herman I'm sure you could make it nice and pretty with a lathe. Wish I had a lathe so the end result looked better, although it is 100% functional. I also have a crescent wrench I could use, but I wanted to be able to torque it down to spec. My internal torque meter is probably not as well calibrated as some.

 

[oldschoolto]

You did a super job on making the socket.... NOW GET THE FIRST STAGE OUT OF THE VISE...... Never put a machined body in a vise... You always mount the part to a holder and then put the holder in the vise... The best way with a First stage is to screw a bar/pipe in to the hp port and the put the bar in the vise..

Now get to work building a holder for it....
Jim...

please don't take this post the wrong way.... It's one of my pet peeve's... Holding a part to work on is sometimes the different between fixing it and breaking it... I really love it when the finish is marked with vise-grips.... And I did see you use rubber covers on the jaws..

 

[redacted]

You did a super job on making the socket.... NOW GET THE FIRST STAGE OUT OF THE VISE...... Never put a machined body in a vise...

the rubber jaws should provide enough protection as long as you don't over-tighten it. i usually just instal an old hp hose on a flow-by piston and put the hose end in the bare jaws of the vise.

 

[Peter_C]

Herman I'm sure you could make it nice and pretty with a lathe. Wish I had a lathe so the end result looked better, although it is 100% functional.

Even though I own a lathe, I would probably just turn on the pump and cut it with the horizontal bandsaw (It is setup to cut stainless right now anyhow). Then use the belt sander where needed. It would take less time, then just chucking it up in the lathe. Function, not form, for something you use once or maybe twice a year, plus it is not a high torque setting. You did fine! Crapsman work perfect for hacking up.

I also have a crescent wrench I could use, but I wanted to be able to torque it down to spec. My internal torque meter is probably not as well calibrated as some.

In order to learn, you have to use a torque wrench, so your muscles learn what each torque setting feels like. Most people over tighten stuff. It is never a bad thing to use a torque wrench.

 

[acteg]

Thanks guys. Vise warning Noted. In the manual it says in big bold letters... Do not overtighten in the VISE, as this can irreparably damage the regulator. I had it in there just to hold it in place (the service manual actually shows it in a vise). The empty CO2 can I had screwed in the HP port was leveraged against the vise per the manuals instructions.