<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Grand Hammer Extractor</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 2/24/05 6:22 PM, "Jeff Olson" <jlolson= @cal.net> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>I didn't think much of= the tool.  Not so much the design, but the fact that mine at least was= made of aluminum (or some soft metal), and the gears simply wore away. &nbs= p;If it had been constructed of steel, particularly tool-grade steel, I'd st= ill have it. </BLOCKQUOTE> Hmm. Mine is steel, but it’s pretty old. Maybe APSCO changed material= s later. I found it, like most APSCO tools, to lack finish: needed some fili= ng here or there to make it work right. The gear cogs were rather rough when= I first got it. And I’d like a couple changes to geometry to allow fo= r a wider range of upright shank lengths. I made two or three add-ons for sp= inets and what-not. And frankly I like it better for uprights than for grand= s, but it’s faster and more efficient than the screw type for both upr= ight and grand. Saves no end of time popping those loose heads. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico </BODY> </HTML>