Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

I feel your pain but I still had a good laugh. In mid 90s I was in a tri-five club in Seattle. One member told me the high investment he had in his car cuz for every dollar he spent on his car his wife got a matching dollar to spend. I threatened him not to ever introduced my wife to his!

1 more car I promise, Rex Winter
Dry n windy Lubbock TX

 

I was just doing some cleaning, and came across a home made tool that is really handy for welding. I have a 5 leg bottom from an old office chair to set on my table when I want to turn something while I am welding it.
It has been a life saver for me sometimes.
Bob

 

To keep welding rods from getting damp, I use a length of 2" threaded end polypropylene tube, with matching screw caps. Bake the rods in the oven first, then put them in the tube while still warm.

 

Mount an old mirror on the inside of the over head garage door and on the wall in front of the car in the garage. Works great for one person checking brake lights and turn signals etc while sitting in the car.

 

I have a counter top oven that I bought at a Goodwill type store that I use for drying small painted items, and also for heating welding rod. I haven't been doing much stick welding since the MIG and TIG welders entered my life, but there are still jobs when a stick welder fills the bill.
I just thought of this now, and haven't tried this yet, but I am going to look into it. If your wife has one of those vacuum machines for preserving food, it might work great for sealing up packets, containing the number of rods you would normally use for a job, This way, you can store your rods, knowing that you won't have to cook the moisture out of them.
There is nothing worse than welding with crappy rod.
Bob

 

I use masking tape all the time when working on my car


Ideal for holding chrome or stainless trim in place,or around parts so not to scratch the paint, or for making lines on the car,like a centre line so you have a reference point each time your fitting a trial part or for the electrical wiring to remind your self what wires go through certain holes, or when you chip paint while assembling stuff, so you can go around and touch up all the chips in one go,

Or to remind yourself to adjust the brakes,with tape round the adjuster slot

If your installing say suspension parts ,I use tape an wrap it quickly around any bolts or fasteners that may need tightening later once the entire assembly has been assembled

These are just a few things that tape can be handy with

 

I do the same thing

 

I was in maintenance at a large factory years ago.I got a lot of heavy black grease on my hands.As good as gojo & scrubbing soaps were rubbing a light oil on my hands cut that really heavy stuff.Then used soap to clean the oil off.Worked

 

To start a screw in a hard to get at place, poke the screw through the sticky side of a small piece of masking tape. Put the screw on the tip of the driver and wrap the tape around the shaft of the screwdriver. Screw it in and just pull the screwdriver and tape off and done.

 

great to read your discoveries will continue to enrich my gray matter. thanks again

 

Thanks....thats why i’m here as well.... the answer to purt near any question can be found on this site


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very true, still learning to move around here. like to know how to post a photo of my 46 any help would be great and add to my profile

 

I didn't read through all of the thread, but, put a dry erase board up somewhere in your garage! I did this 2 years ago and it has been a huge help in my build.

I have a section for the next 5 or so things to work on, a section for what to paint next, a section for what I need to buy or order, and then I have a small section for tools I need. As I work on things, I realize what tool I need that is missing from my toolbox so I write it down right away

 

This is not really a trick, but it is a way to beat the system.

I had an old Mac tool box that was the cheap version without roller bearing drawers. It was a pain to use when full so I wanted to upgrade. Sticker shock set in when I priced new tool boxes and I believed that there had to be a better way. I stumbled across "Stanley Vidmar" industrial cabinets. Super heavy duty with roller bearings and all. They show up on auctions when large industrial plants are closing down, but I found one on a Craig's list search for $550. I sold my old Mac box for - you guessed it - $550. So I got a huge upgrade with no cash out of pocket. You would be surprised what you can find if you know what to look for.

 

great score, still using my old ones but upgraded the roller sidles with kitchen cabinet roller slides from a garage sale find

 

When I bought my Mac boxes back in the previous century, I was really disappointed with the way the drawer slid or actually didn’t slide, the kinda “ scratched their way in and out. After a few days I began to see shavings of paint on the slides!
I took each slide out and filed the end of the slide. They were obviously sliced off and left huge burr on it. After careful filing and greasing...... they have been working perfectly for forty years! ( for non roller slides)

Might work on any new tool box!





Bones

 

My car would disappear in a pile of small strips of masking tape.
I use a piece of cardboard, that is cut into a 12 inch or so strip, and a black sharpie, to note all the things that require attention. I just leave the list in a highly visable place, normally on the windshield.
I will have to try the tape, but I am pretty happy with my present system.
Bob

 

We have those at the U.S. Postal Circus

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@superbowl01 check your "conversations"

 

I don't have much experience, but here's a few tricks I've taught myself recently.

-add 25% to the price of parts I need when talking to my wife. That way, when I show her how much money I "saved", she is a little less violent (She's Scottish)

-add 3 days to any planned completion

-you can never have too many latex gloves in the shop

- cardboard is your friend, it catches most small spills and is easily thrown in the hazardous waste bin.

Mike

 

Latex gloves?? Hazardous waste bin?

Ben

 

Bore a small hole in the back of your garage and stick one of those long transmission funnels in it ....Pee away !!!!

 

I thought latex gloves were for prostate checking! I have never used them.

 

Mike, don't keep any plastic sheeting in your garage. If your wife gets too angry, she might pull a Dexter Morgan on you. Gloves and plastic apparently help get rid of the evidence.

Cardboard also helps you find the stuff you drop a little easier.

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You guys with your pee methods tickle me! I just step outside the garage/ house/ car/ truck/ tractor/ whatever and let her rip! Some folks are offended, some folks are envious, some folks laugh..... but bottom line ..... I’m relived .... and back at work! But that’s here in the out back!





Bones

 

..
Try to keep a section of a bench clear so you don't have to work on the floor. - IMPOSSIBLE!

 

Love that light shade.




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I've used idle engine stands as a rotisserie to make it easier to weld, grind, clean up and paint a chassis. makes life a lot easier and old engine stands are easy to come by and normally cheap.

I use a little butane torch on rusted bolts and parts to make removal easier. I also use citric acid for rust removal in our wheelie bin which is a good size for parts and the citric acid is low odour compared with molasses. The bin lid tied shut also helps stop evaporation.

Home made sheet metal clamps made from 1" tubing have been very handy and also cheap to make and don't take long per clamp when you make a batch of them. A little hard to explain the clamps, I'll need a photo.

Fire extinguishers I have in my shed are from my workplace, when the fella comes around to replace the out of date extinguishers I ask to have them, which I get for free. They work fine and I have half a dozen in the shed for those "ah shit" occasions.

I think we all like a bargain, but what's better than a bargain...? Finding parts for free! I have an enormous amount of fun scouring bush land finding parts and cars from the 20's, 30's and 40's. Old forgotten rubbish dumps, and pits of sheet metal that were never filled in. I've also found a few porcelain signs. The key I have found is to look for low spots, ditches, signs of old earth moving, rusty tin in the distance and thick trees and shrubs. Getting out of the car and looking on foot has been by far the best method, if the good stuff can be seen from your car, it was likely picked up along time ago. Good exersize too! All the stuff I find is on public land and I have found it to be invaluable in getting my project to the stage it is in now. Saving and selling found parts to purchase the parts I need or occasionally finding the right part for my roadster. Hopefully you'll be surprised with what you find, when you really have look!

 

I’m a junky for stuff like that! What else do you do with a flawed single cool valve cover?

 

Going on from what " drylakespeedshop " said about engine stands.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/tech-features/doesnt-have-just-engine-stand-44497