G'Day,
The Signal, a worthy MT for me, but it is a little sparse on tools. We have seen some really cool mods for this tool so far, it is nice that it shares a lot of tools with the Wave / Charge making modding it reasonably easy.
I have only replaced the saw with a file as I rarely, probably never, will use one at work. My Signal is my EDC for most of the time. It is paired with a SAK so I have most of the tools I need during any working day.
One thing that I found lacking is is ability to carry additional bits. I rarely carry a full bit-kit, other than on my motorcycle. Having an additional small flat or another bit that get used more than just the flat/philips combo will be nice to have. I was originally going to try and mod the whistle to add a number of bits in there, but one will sacrifice the fire rod and the whistle. They are not cheap here is Oz, so I was not overly keen to go down that path. Then the other day I was sharpening my MUT and had a good look at the extra bit driver it has on the outside. I did some measurements and started thinking that just maybe it can be modified to fit in the Signal somewhere. I ordered on from our resident parts provider. It arrived last week, but I could only work on it this weekend.
I think there are two good areas to add it: where the whiste is, or on the other side where the "nail" file is. As I already have the file in there I decided to make it fit where the "nail" file is.
First was to measure, measure and measure. I used a fine metal saw to remove the bit that screws to the MUT, that will not be needed. The next step was to get the two holes' sizes correct and to see where they need to go. The MUT bit has some gaps and I did not want to get the holes to far apart. I wanted to make sure they fit into a single plastic "block" for strength. The MUT bit is a softish plastic thus I had to be careful where the two holes had to go. I got to work on the small one first and then the bigger one. A bit of filing after the drilling and the holes were done. I then discovered that the bit is thicker that the file. This made the holes to high and they would not lock into place at all. Next was to sand the bottom of the plastic bit down by about 1.2mm. This was enough to let the bit slide in perfectly. As a bonus it was also lower on the chassis and the same height as the blade. It followed a similar profile to the blade too. The last bit was to add a gap for the locking or lining notch that keeps the bit in place and not slide side to side. This is where I sort of stuffed it up a bit. I drilled a hole through it thinking that it will be sufficient. No, it was not, sadly. I painstakingly had to file a groove in the plastic towards the hole and square it up. This probably took the longest. I did not want to stuff it again. These bits don't come cheap... It aligns well now and sits as if it was made for it. This hole is not needed, just the groove.
There is one problem though. The retaining hole in the plastic bit is not recessed. The metal "spike" that holds the bit into place is slightly raised into the inside of the plastic bit. That pushes the LM metal bit to high and starts distorting the plastic retaining area. My solution is to now just push the metal bit in about half way. It is pretty tight and I don't think that it will come out. I will see later this week if I can fix that. I also need to dye it black and possible shape the rear to round itself off towards the lock release.
I tests fine. The blade still holds comfortably and it does not interfere with the opening and closing of the pliers. If LM is watching, please make us an OEM interchangeable one with the file.
The other option is to try and stick it to the whistle once the ferro rod bit has been sanded off. This will be a permanent mod though.
And now for the pics,
Cheers,
Pete
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