I am building my tool box and my primary source is Scuba Tools. My question is, "Are there any other good sources for regulator service tools?" I cannot travel or wait for DEMA so my only choice is on-line.
Regulator Service Tools
- Thread starter Oldbear
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I make a few, drop me a PM with your email address and I will send you a list.
Pao
Contributor
Amazon. If you know what you are looking for.
R
redacted
Guest
You can often find necessary tools on eBay. But my favorite source is home-made and work-arounds.
docmartin
Contributor
scuba-clinic-tools.com based in Thailand. They also sell on ebay but direct is a little cheaper. Shipping is reasonable but can take a couple of weeks. The Apkes tools I have bought are top notch.
Some specialty tools are worth paying more. Peter Built Co sells everything you need. Recommend buying hand tools someplace else, however they a great source for specialty tools, like the inline adjustment tool.
Custom Scuba Tools | Custom Regulator Tools
Custom Scuba Tools | Custom Regulator Tools
I get quite a few at sears. I also make my own. Nice when you have a waterjet and a Bridgeport mill to work with. As well as nice hard brass and bronze to make them out of.
walkonmars
Contributor
The only tool I do not recommend purchasing is a "hook pin spanner wrench".
It often slips and you end up ruining the hole it is suppose to mate with. I prefer a "captive" type tool that can possibly be purchased or custom made by a fellow machinist. It does not need to be steel as aluminum will be fine as long as the pin/fastener is steel. some of the tools can easily be made at home (although I have a hobby mill and have an easier time). The two tools on the very right are for turning regulator hoses and second stages. Often times two adjustable wrenches are good enough but sometimes the jam nuts and flats on the second stages are so short in height (axial height) that you cannot get the jaws of a wrench around them without impinging on another hex flat adjacent to it. I made them out of aluminum and are only .13" -.20" thick at the ends. You can make them easily using aluminum strip and hack saw out the rough shape then finish with a file and sandpaper. I recommend making two sets because some hex flats are slightly different depending upon manufacturer (imperial to metric differences?).
The tool in the middle is the tool to remove the environmental and/or diaphragm chamber or cap on the first stages. It uses a captive body so the pin entering from the side will never slip out. You can make one by just cutting a rectangle out of an aluminum strip wide and long enough to accommodate the first stage cap. You can also use a "C" shaped opening as long as the the portion 180 degrees opposite to the pin is supported. Then thread a fastener to the far end (or file a channel and use a nut) and grind/file the tip to a cylinder to fit the first stage hole. Remember to torque it like a "monkey wrench" by pushing or pulling the handle in the direction the mouth opening faces to not let the "jaw" try to deflect and open up. The tool on the left is for removing the environmental cap from a Hollis DC3 first stage that has a group of six torquing holes on the top. That can be made using a drill press (careful locating the holes) and tapping holes to accept the fasteners. That tool could have been made just using two holes but I put six in case there is slipping.
One draw back from my tools you see here are they make no accommodation to measure torque values. I can someday incorporate a 3/8" or 1/4" square hole to allow a torque wrench to mate with it and use "extended lever arm" calculations to get exact torque applied but I only work on my regulators.
Sorry for the long reply.
It often slips and you end up ruining the hole it is suppose to mate with. I prefer a "captive" type tool that can possibly be purchased or custom made by a fellow machinist. It does not need to be steel as aluminum will be fine as long as the pin/fastener is steel. some of the tools can easily be made at home (although I have a hobby mill and have an easier time). The two tools on the very right are for turning regulator hoses and second stages. Often times two adjustable wrenches are good enough but sometimes the jam nuts and flats on the second stages are so short in height (axial height) that you cannot get the jaws of a wrench around them without impinging on another hex flat adjacent to it. I made them out of aluminum and are only .13" -.20" thick at the ends. You can make them easily using aluminum strip and hack saw out the rough shape then finish with a file and sandpaper. I recommend making two sets because some hex flats are slightly different depending upon manufacturer (imperial to metric differences?).
The tool in the middle is the tool to remove the environmental and/or diaphragm chamber or cap on the first stages. It uses a captive body so the pin entering from the side will never slip out. You can make one by just cutting a rectangle out of an aluminum strip wide and long enough to accommodate the first stage cap. You can also use a "C" shaped opening as long as the the portion 180 degrees opposite to the pin is supported. Then thread a fastener to the far end (or file a channel and use a nut) and grind/file the tip to a cylinder to fit the first stage hole. Remember to torque it like a "monkey wrench" by pushing or pulling the handle in the direction the mouth opening faces to not let the "jaw" try to deflect and open up. The tool on the left is for removing the environmental cap from a Hollis DC3 first stage that has a group of six torquing holes on the top. That can be made using a drill press (careful locating the holes) and tapping holes to accept the fasteners. That tool could have been made just using two holes but I put six in case there is slipping.
One draw back from my tools you see here are they make no accommodation to measure torque values. I can someday incorporate a 3/8" or 1/4" square hole to allow a torque wrench to mate with it and use "extended lever arm" calculations to get exact torque applied but I only work on my regulators.
Sorry for the long reply.
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