Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

ditto on painting white...
I painted everything you don't see under the body white in case you need to see what you are doing with a breakdown...
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I was at a fellas shop while he was fixing an issue on a rear end of some car I was racing at the time and I needed to relieve myself. He pointed toward the inside rear corner of the metal building. I walked over there and there was a tranny funnel stuck through a hole in the wall, zip tied to a bolt or a nail or something. It worked. RIP Jamie!

 

I think he is thinking about muriatic acid. Vapors off of it will cause everything to rust.

 

Going off topic here, but when we were 12 or so, my buddy's folks had a large old 2 car garage, with a full size upstairs area. It used to be accessed by some rickety pull-down stairs, but his dad removed them, to keep them from falling on his new Malibu, and to keep us kids out of there. We tied a rope off to something, I can't remember what, hung the rope out of a window, and presto, instant clubhouse, complete with hose and funnel to pee in. After a couple of weeks, it started to smell pretty bad, his dad investigated, and removed our improvements, and then he had the gall to board it up so we couldn't get up there any more. I got to admit, I have a hose and funnel setup in my garage today, but I don't tell anyone else.

 

Cut a diagonal tip on a paper match to fill rock chips with touch up paint.

Keep old wrenches to bend, grind and cut for tight clearance bolts.

Use playing cards put between tire and rim to paint rim.

Bolt long stud to hole in bracket to hold while painting. Clamp in vice until dry.

Poke a hole in cap of empty plastic oil quart container. Insert vacuum tubing, use for fuel priming.

Cut the tip off large crescent wrench, grind to flat blade for emergency tool kit use.

 

A very handy tip when you have finished building hangers for all your tools is to photograph the tools sitting on them and save the photo into your computer. No matter how messy your work bench gets, you can clean it up in no time by using the image as a guide.

 

I always keep a spare driveshaft yoke to slip in when I pull the driveshaft to keep from leaking trans fluid. This also comes in very handy when trying to determine angles for setting pinion angles. I found that a 13/16" craftsman deep well socket fits right in the u joint bore of the 700r4 yoke. I have a 2"x2"x1" magic cube digital angle finder ($20, IIRC). Slip the yoke with the socket into the trans, place the angle finder on the socket. You now have a precise trans angle to start with. For the pinion angle. I use a 3/4" socket in the yoke of my 8" Ford rear. Just u bolt it into the pinion yoke and read with the angle finder. Takes all the guess work out of setting pinion angles

 

Yeah that was it, my mistake


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Wonder if he is thinking of pool acid (Muratic acid) The outgas from it will cause anything iron to rust.

 

I always take a cordless tool battery and some small wire jumpers with me to the wrecking yard. Works great to test stuff like window motors or ps motors etc before removing them to make sure they work.

 

'How did I know you wuz from Alabama'?!!! Use the outhouse in your back yard, right?! J/teas'in!
6sally6

 

Mount cabinets so the tops are all the same height. Long stock can be stored on them.

 

Go out there and get busy.

 

For cleaning up all the little bits of metal fillings and scraps on your welding/grinding table or area. Put a red angle magnet or similar in a plastic bag. Run it/ drag it all aver the surface of your work area. Reverse the bag and all that crap is bagged instead of stuck all over your magnets.

 

That is genius (to me ). So simple and yet.......................

 

Next time you are in the hospital,take the pee bottle they give you home for the shop,I have three of them in different areas,don't need to run to find one.
For hard to reach areas use one of those little extendable magnets for washers & nuts or bolts.
Those floor mats @ H F that snap together under your bench work area saves the feet from getting tired.

 

For cheap/easy floor mats/shop foot savers next time you go to a dirt sprint car race, at the end of the night go into the pits & ask for a couple of "used-up"/"discard" right rears(they will be happy to have you haul them away!! take a sharp knife & cut at the sidewall/tread line, make one cut across the remaining tread & you'll have a rubber mat 16" to 18" wide & 9' long to make into whatever you want(floor mats for the truck, door mats to remove mud at the shop & house back doors, foot cushioning in front of shop machines, etc) Note: a sprint car Right Rear is normally a106" roll-out, so that's where the 9' long comes from(or close enough for what we're going to use them for! LOL)

 

I kept one of those behind the seat of my truck for trips and camping. We were camping at Charlotte Autofair one year and I go out of the tent to pee, half asleep. My feet feel wet and I realize that the cheap plastic hospital urinal bottle has a hole in the end and I just pissed all over my feet. Glad I didn't try to use it inside the tent!

 

For removing oxidized paint, rust stains on painted surfaces, removing road grime on windshields, chrome Stainless trim, use Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend cleanser from the cleaning aisle of the grocery store. Feldspar based won't scratch. Do square foot size areas rinsing as you go after a good wash. Like a wet clay bar. To get into seams etc use a soft or worn out tooth brush. Try it, garauntee you will be surprised. If you don't like it, give it to your wife for sinks, tubs and shower glass.

 

Really enjoying reading the tips and tricks on this post,,,,

 

The Dollar Store also has spray on oven cleaner for heavily greased parts and Bar Keepers Friend is the only cleanser that contains oxalic acid.

 

LOL!! Now I KNOW you from Alabama! Do like me (and your brother) and just pee in the yard.

Most folks are so consumed by their phone(or something) they probably won't even notice. IF they do notice tell'em your a retired porn star so its OK for you to expose in public....thousands have already seen-it!
6sally6

 

I'm a "wierd-o" when it comes to coiling my drop cords. I coil and tie them in TWO places.
I have some shelves between the exposed wall studs(16" centers) with a couple of wooden strips above the shelves. I put my coiled up drop cords on the shelf and the strips hold them from falling out. Always handy and uncoil with zero hassle.

 

Yeah, but I lived in South Carolina for a couple of years. I think thats where I got all my bad habits..

 

I thought like that until my 5 year old grandson figured out what I was doing and started peeing everywhere including the sidewalk in from of the house, all I heard was "well Papa does".

 

Here’s a simple but effective one I’ve mentioned on this site before. Take a wire shelf from an old fridge or oven, lay it across your shop trash can and scrape and degrease until clean. all the debris and run off just goes in the trash can and your floor/bench stays clean.

 

While coiling any cord, hose, rope etc. always lay it out straight and pull it to you while twisting it between your fingers. They will lay flat and not try to spring around on you. You can actually train a item after a while!





Bones

 

For things I want to coil up and put away, I use a length of cord, tying a loop on each end then tie it loosely onto one end of whatever I'm coiling up. Tie it with one third of the length of the cord on one side leaving two thirds remaining on the other. Roll up the electrical cord/rope/ hose, whatever and slide the cord around to between the ends of whatever you rolled up. Pass the longer length of cord through the loop on the shorter end, wrap the cord around until you are left with a loop. Now you have an electrical cord, or whatever, that is secured and can be hung on a hook or nail.

 

I keep a scotch brite pad and liquid soap at the sink I wash my hands at. Seems to get the grease off quickly. I also keep a plastic Mayonnaise jar in my truck for emergencies. The large top is easy to hit!

 

Preen....not just for the garden