Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

Need a complicated mold for a fiberglass part? Use Duct tape. Resin doesn't stick to the tape. Here are 'tape molds I used for Mysterion interior panels. Worked like a champ.


Finished panels.

 

I like this and need to build a tailgate. I think this tool would be perfect for the top and maybe bottom flanges. I have plenty of pipe laying around just not a large one. Not my truck just a tailgate image showing the area I'm thinking.

 

Cut up an old telescopic hydraulic cylinder to get the different tube sizes for a pipe anvil long ago. Wonder if it is still laying around at my kid's house; probably hit the scrap yard by now.

 

I'm looking at my argon tank on my tig right now, but probably shouldn't cut that up.

 

If you live somewhere rural or suburban enough to have a town dump you can just drop things off at they've probably got a cylinder pile somewhere you could grab a few of if someone wasn't looking.

 

From the Iweb,,

 

I'm pissed I didn't think of that.

 

Good gravy!! So simple! So obvious, as though they were MADE for that.

Ben

 

Now I know what to do with those old rakes I've been saving; the ones I've been intending to put new handles in...

 

Didn't go through every page, so just thought I'd share this if it hasn't already been here. I'm on a few forums and there's a similar thread to this one, so this is just a copy and paste I posted about braiding wiring:

I know most of you know how to do this, but for the guys that don't here's the shortcut to braid wiring. Normally this would be two different colored wires going to one place like a positive and negative, but these are both grounds to the battery that will split off further down the harness so they're both black. So first route your wires from where they start to where they need to go. Leave yourself a few extra inches of each color. If you're not sure leave more than you think. The longer the wires, the more extra you need. This will be about 5 feet so I gave myself half a foot or so, it's better to waste a couple inches than two five foot chunks because you cut them too short. Next, squeeze one end of the wires in a vise. Pull them tight and put the other side into your favorite drill and tighten them up in the chuck. Pull back with a little force to keep the wires straight but you don't need to get crazy. Next pull the trigger on the LOWEST speed. Twist until you've got the weave you want. Reroute and connect the wires to their places, then cover with loom. Wrap the ends of the loom in electric tape to keep it from letting the wires out. Voila.

 

So what do we do with the shovels & hoes? Not those hoes.

 

I step on mine.

 

I sure hope you did not end up with a black eye my friend.

 

This is how I offset air cleaner bases when a clearance issue occurs, but could be used to offset any hole easily. Basically you get a template for a hole that is slightly larger than the hole that you'll be "moving" in the material, and place it over the hole, and draw a line around it. Then figure out the center of where you'd like the hole to be, and draw another circle with the template around that. Connect the two template circles you drew with straight lines, and cut on the lines and outside the template lines. Turn the material you just cut out 180 degrees, then weld/braze/glue/stick together with gum or whatever you need to do, and you're done. Kind of confusing in words, but here's a demonstration on paper (it's easier if you start with the hole centered, not like I've got in these pics, but when I made the original post and these pics on another forum I was showing a guy what needed to be done for his specific air cleaner base):

 

I worked for an electronics manufacturer at one time. The first time I saw them doing that it was like magic.

 

Mmmmmm,...awesome back scratcher.

 

Shortening bolts:

I hate threads hanging out of open end nuts, especially anywhere that can be seen on the exterior of a car. If you've never shortened bolts before, it's pretty easy. Measure how short you want the bolt, run your thread chaser up it the proper length (or a nut if you don't have a chaser set, but chasers will make it at least 89.7% easier, especially on stainless), cut it to length with your cutoff wheel, grind the end off at a bit of an angle for easy starting, then run your chaser or nut off the end of the bolt about half way and back on a few times to square up the threads, and done....cap it off with an acorn nut and no more nasty threads hanging out the end of an open nut like some derelict from the hardware store. Nice and finished looking...

 

I too enjoy the look of proper length fasteners. However, there is a rule of thumb that the free end of the bolt past the tightened nut should be the minor diameter of the bolt (basic hardware rule) or three threads (show car rule).
And then I looked it up. 4 different rules, depending on application of course.
https://www.portlandbolt.com/technical/faqs/recommendation-on-thread-engagement/

 

Just to add to the confusion (and my $.02 worth) There is no strength to be gained by having the bolt extend beyond the nut if all the threads are full diameter. This would be @2devilles example of cutting the end of the bolt off flush with the nut. This leaves no lead or taper to ease starting.

As he showed the the acorn nut in his example, I would suggest that the bolt extend into the nut the same depth as the equivalent open nut plus 2 threads.

Let the arguments begin!

 

Then there's the ol' What's It Holding Factor.
If the nut is clamping on a rod, crank main, cylinder head, or a on a wheel stud, I'd want every thread sharing part of the work and some left over.
But capping a lake pipe or holding on a license plate? A few less threads aren't going to keep me up at night.

 

I'll stick with Industrial Fasteners Institute guide, we aren't fastening traffic signs or building high rise steel structures, we are building hot rods!

1. Industrial Fasteners Institute, Joe Greenslade, Director of Engineering Technology.
   • “How Many Threads Should Be Beyond The Nut?. The answer is: A minimum of two thread pitches should extend beyond the top surface of the nut.”

 

Hey, if it makes ya'll feel better, I ran that stainless cap nut onto the chrome bolt and galled the fuck out of it....it ain't coming off no matter what.......

 

Filed under “Now why didnt I think of this” View attachment 6056374

I tried that with my hairbrush; didn't end well. But now I save on shampoo!

 

My understanding is that spec exists so a fastener can be visually inspected.

Threads past the nut add no strength. I quess in theory they could give a little extra time before the nut falls off if it vibrates loose.

On my race car bolt's are long enough if they fully engage the nylon on a nyloc or barely come past the top of a top lock. I never have anything come loose.

I run a lot of 1/2"-20 nyloc jam nuts on suspension pieces on my race car. Just for giggles a couple years ago I decided to see at what torque the threads pulled. The ones I tested were in the 125-150 ft. lb. range or close to double the correct torque on those bolts. Not sure if that's pertinent to this discussion, but I thought it was interesting.

 

Working in the automotive field I was always told 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 threads past the nut on everything, especially suspension parts, I.E. 4 links, ladder bars, tube arms etc.

I was told this was done incase the threads start to stretch it would help support the last threads of the bolt that was in the nut.

Old wives tale or truth ? Don't know but always did it that way.


.....

 

hoo boy, looks like I started something!

 

Pure hypothetical: What if you had a 1/4" fine thread bolt holding two 16 gauge pieces of steel together and its threaded into a 2" long nut that is threaded the whole 2"? Still gotta have two threads or 1/4" past the end?

 

Ridiculous question!

 

Simple 3rd hand

 

When I hear something like this it makes me suspect there's a kernel of truth that's been blown out of proportion over the years for "marketing" reasons.

The extra strength in the case of stretch can't be what, more than a couple percent? And the overwhelming majority of bolts in most things are so much stronger than the thing they go into so that's not really the weak link anyway.

It wouldn't be hard for someone with a hollow hydraulic jack, a porta-power and a pressure gauge to test this.