come on,fess up.nobody makes candy around here anymore,so why shouldn't i swipe the thermometer to check coolant temps? more accurate than the meat thermometer.yes,i use a spaghetti strainer to clean parts.that serrated bread knife is perfect for cutting old heater and radiator hoses.yes,i've heated up triumph and bsa pistons in the oven so the pins will slide in easy.here's a good one,when you need to get the pins out of your triumph or bsa pistons lay the engine on it's side,wrap the pistons with anb old towel,then pour boiling water over it from the tea kettle.they practically fall out after that.i have my own collection of cookie sheets too,handy when you wanna rebuild a carb and don't want those little parts rolling off the bench.anybody else have some good ones?
Those thin metal spatulas are pretty good for scraping gasket surfaces off after you find the last owner went apeshit with the RTV instead of buying a new gasket. Muffin tins are great for sorting nuts and bolts.
STAINLESS STEEL pot scrubbers are the go for getting paint off panels in conjuntion with liberal amounts of paint stripper. Cleans the panel right back to bare metal DADsEH
Olive Oil when I'm too lazy to go buy more 3-in-1. I have an oil can full of it. Probably has more to do with me being Italian. Boiled water in a tea kettle and poured it over thermostats being held in BBQ tongs as a test of the thermos. The freezer comes in useful when you have to put a bearing over a shaft, like a rear end pinion. Pinion goes in the freezer, bearing gets heated.
I siphon gas out of my truck for the lawn mower jug. I use a piece of 3/8" Tygon plastic tubing and instead of firing up the compressor and hitting across the end of the tube with the air nozzle to start the siphon I use an empty Heinz Ketchup bottle*. Just squeeze the bottle sorta flat, hold the spout up to the end of the tube and release some on the squeeze and the bottle returns to shape sucking the gas up the tube. Works clean, no gas sprayed across the driveway, none on the hands if you're careful and none on the palate... *(Republicans should find a squeeze condiment bottle that doesn't say Heinz on it... Your on your own on that one!)
[ QUOTE ] A good one not to do is clean aluminum carbs in the dishwasher, you get barnicles. [/ QUOTE ] It work great!
[ QUOTE ] I swipe tools from the garage to cook with... [/ QUOTE ] welding gloves make great oven mits. Especially since they have individual fingers instead of that stupid mitten thing. an old cookie sheet filled with litter to put under the car that is leaking, er, marking its territory... especially now that I have the air insulated cookie sheets for the rare times I do bake.
I use the mixer things to stir primer.I put it in the electric drill. BAM!!!! Supercharged paint mixer!
The kitchen tool I use stays in the kitchen. I use the oven to bake freshly painted parts. It makes the paint hard and glossy.
Do not expose aluminum to chlorinated cleaners such as the typical dishwashing stuff. Cl will eat up Al. But you already knew that.
I know a guy that used the stainless ring that is found on electric ovens under the burners as a headlight trim ring!!! Went down to the local hardware store, found a new ring and cut out the center and BAM, brand new trim ring for under 3 bucks!!! So simple yet so brilliant of an idea!
SOS scrubber pads: self-lubricating while you're cleaning. Plastic pitcher formerly used for orange juice. Always pouring liquids. Metal pie tins--parts catchers, parts cleaner trays. BIG cookie sheets from a restaraunt supply store. Aluminum, heavy duty, nice rolled one-inch tall lip all the way around, stack wonderfully. $3 each for the used ones, $8 each for brand new when making shop carts. Stainless strainer pans, etc. from the restaraunt supply store. Toilet bowl brush for degreasing chassis and steering gear (don't know why she got mad at that one--I mean, look what SHE was cleaning with it!) Bottle brushes, assorted scrubbing brushes. Rubber dish washing gloves--Purple Stuff and other stuff will eat your skin. Plastic cutting board to back up my gasket hole punch set. Found a free oven to put in the shop for baking paint and powder coating. The dishwasher works very nicely for cleaning tools freshly scored from the swap meet and garage sales. "Dawn" dishwashing soap--gets grease out of your way. Off the hands and out of the clothes, too. Wire kitchen drawer organizer to organize the traveling tool box. Cut to fit. -Brad
mazdaslam, be CAREFUL with that mixer! I have a friend who burned down his garage as well as the customer's car they were about to paint. Electric motor sparked the thinner and KA-BOOM. Barely got his 34 Pont and 32 Ford sedan out with blistered paint. Same for him and his wife. Tommy Mc
[ QUOTE ] mazdaslam, be CAREFUL with that mixer! I have a friend who burned down his garage as well as the customer's car they were about to paint. Electric motor sparked the thinner and KA-BOOM. Barely got his 34 Pont and 32 Ford sedan out with blistered paint. Same for him and his wife. Tommy Mc [/ QUOTE ] I did not think of that!!! Ill use the AIR DRILL from now on! Thanks.
Turkey baster- 1. Use it as a squirt bottle to top off the tranny with 90-weight. 2. After degreasing the engine, use it to suck up dirty water puddles from the valleys in the intake manifold.
I took and cut the end off a stainless butter knife the sharpened it makes one hell of a good gasket scraper.
Believe it or not, I took a set of soup ladels out of a pile of silverware that my recently deceased grandmother gave me, and made a set of rear-view mirrors for my coupe. Spoons
[ QUOTE ] The kitchen tool I use stays in the kitchen. I use the oven to bake freshly painted parts. It makes the paint hard and glossy. [/ QUOTE ] Doh! My wife still doesn't laugh with me and my friends on this one. Turns out it makes the food taste a bit - strange!
Use saranwrap to seal off the Carb and engine holes for storage........ You know the large plastic liquid [laundry soap] bottles that have the"vent" in the spout so it wont go-GLURK GLURK GLURK when you pour it????ALSO works great for filling up a radiator too![after its rinsed out]
I stole the dark green popcorn bowl, got yelled at and now have to use the only other popcorn bowl...a white one with flowers all over it. -Jason
The Jalopy Journal
