Cool tool ideas, things you dont need but actually do

Lets hear some little tips and tools that make our lives easier. Here are a couple I found recently.

1. My in-laws gave me on of those little LED flashlight thingies that is the size of a guitar pick. I keep it on my key chain and use it almost nightly. This little light has saved the day several times in the last month. I see them at the checkout of the QuickieMarts for less than $10. I am going to add one of these in my RoadBox for emergencies as well.

2. Working in my pal Randy's shop I am getting exposed to different methods of fabrication. He uses a Milwaukee Porta-Band handheld bandsaw all the time. I have found that this tool is more versatile than a floor type bandsaw. It cuts like a laser! You can do serious damage until you master this saw, it feels cumbersome at first. I would consider this a good first major item purchase after your welder.I have seen them on sale for around $200?

Thats a couple of mine, one cheap one not so cheap, what is in your garage?

 

I get pretty far with a couple hammers, a hacksaw, tin snips, a file, a worn out drill, my bench vise, basic hand tools and a couple of prybars...but I do have a few special faves that make life easier...

1. A cheap, stubby 3/8 drive ratchet. We sold 'em for like three bucks at an auto parts store I worked at years ago...handle "feels" right and it works perfect...GREAT for tight spots!

2. An old Ford Ranger antenna with the little "ball" cut off of the top and the tip bent into a small hook...with a rubber cap over the threaded bottom for comfort! Something I made while working at the Ford dealer to fetch parts and stuff that drop way down into the engine compartment without hitting the floor!

3. Two "header wrenches" that USED to be ONE Craftsman 7/16 combination wrench! Cut it neatly in falf and ground the ends smooth...providing me with two very short 7/16 wrenches to use in tight quarters on typical header bolts!

4. My "wheelie" as I call it! No idea what it's REAL name is, but I think you'd just call it an air-powered angle grinder! Put some disposable 3M pads on it and your days of scraping old gaskets off are OVER!!!

5. Bench grinder with a wire wheel on one side and the grindstone on the other. Bought it when I was 17 years old and it's still going strong...use it constantly for grinding and for cleaning up rusty parts...especially bolt threads!

6. Stand fetcher....an old broom handle with a crude hook attatched to one end...great for dragging jack stands out from way underneath a car...so you don't have to crawl under there to get them with the jack holding up the car!

7. Two stools. Bought 'em as a set about 15 years ago. The low one is good for sitting on...and the tall one makes a handy stand for painting stuff and for a portable small table when needed!

8. Long, telescoping magnetic pick-up tool. No garage should be without one!

9. Cheap test light with a spliced-on longer wire. The original one was too short for my liking...so I spliced on a nice, long wire with an alligator clip on the end. I can clip it to a good ground and use the light end with the tip anywhere under the hood or dash now without constantly moving the clip around!

10. Big Ol Snap On breaker bar. A wise investment I made years ago!! Pops lug nuts loose with ease...and breaks off most other rusty bolts!!

 

I can't believe I've actually worked on cars in my garage without aid of a bench grinder...ever! I've been doing this shit since I was 15 and never owned a bench grinder until I scored my dad's from his shop...brought it home and used it 2 days before it made mucho smoke! Now, I need a bench grinder....again.
Oh, Santa?

 

A good long length of 2.5 - 3 inch glavanized drain pipe to use as a pry bar or breaker bar extension.

Cheap set of basic handtools that you can afford to loose.

Various pieces of 2x4 blocks of different length for holding parts up

A Fire Extiguisher

A bookshelf full of manuals and parts catalogs.

Dorm sized or larger fridge

A PC in the corner permanently hooked up to the HAMB

 

any compact florescent drop light...
incandescent is for chumps!


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46114


and something / some place used to hide your diagonal cutters from your wife / girlfriend / kids...
i haven't found a good enough one yet.

 

A bench grinder, large vice and angle grinder are important tools in almost any shop. I have been needing a Sawzall a lot lately and finally got one as a birthday gift.

Buy a good drill and have good bits. I have a Milwalkee drill that's heavy duty and DeWalt actually makes a very good quality bit set for $20.

As for homemade tools I have a few sockets with ground down edges to you can put an open end wrench on them. I think I used one of them to remove an alternator pulley that a wrench wouldn't fit on. You should always have a double set of generic tools so you won't feel bad if you loose or modify them to serve thier purpose.
Cutting a wrench in half to shorten it, done that also - works very well. I modified a gear puller so it would adjust out more so you can remove a steering wheel or power steering pulley.

A magnetic tray is a must if you don't like to loose stuff, they work great and hold your fender cover in place.

 

Like Hack said- an old solid antenna ,can be arched and bend a 90 degree tip. it is a super break in tool[for late drivers]-slide it in at mid of rear doorpost and flip up the lock button or knob

 

i got a brass rod that i beat everything with...a cool old brass hammer too

 

If you can't afford a set of cutting torches, get a sawzall. How the hell I endured cutting off old rusty exhaust sytems and mufflers for years with a hacksaw and hammer/chisel is beyond me. And when you do get a sawzall, don't be cheap with the blades. When they start to get dull, throw them away and put a new one in. They don't cost that much at the big box type stores.

 

Definately a pencil and a marker,I always start out with them and lose them in about half an hour, so backups are good.Oh Yah, a pouch on the wall(in close reach), you can put the small shit in there that u lose all the time,probably not a problem if you have a clean shop.Speaking of tools and stuff, does anyone else have a problem when using a really strong drill and sharp drill bit and drilling through thick metal, mine always seems to get stuck just when it goes through and I could swear I've broken my wrist a few times and been cracked in the nuts after the drill swings around...anyone got a solution for that.

 

i found that i was spending way too much time cutting out my sheet metal patches and panels. so i bought a $20 air nibbler at harbour frieght. it's a pistol grip deal. makes cutting out your panels almost effortless.

 

yeah i've been hit by the drill a few times... in the marines we'd either just drill in spurts (so that it didn't get hot and bind) or lube it (bit and pilot hole / center punch mark) with , well with anything petroleum

 

i use cookie sheets on top of the workbench so the little bits and pieces don't roll off onto the floor.very handy for rebuilding carburetors,those little check balls and linkage clips always seemed to get away from me before sometimes when i'm dismantling something that's likely to have little springs and things inside that will fly away,i stick the thing into a big clear plastic bag so it'll catch the parts when they fly out a candy thermometer stolen from the kitchen is great for checking cooling systems,don't forget to wash it before you put it back in the drawer

 

I have a huge pair of scissors, not sure if they are called snips or not, but they are great for cutting just about anything, wiring, thin sheet metal, cables, rubber hose, etc.

A box fan is great for cooling or getting smoke/smells out of your garage.

 

At work we have a lead hammer for beating cranks out of lawnmowers when rebuilding them, it's got a lot of weight to it and it doesn't damage the thread.
At dads we have a saw which is like a beltsaw, (i don't know what its called) it's a long, flexible belt style hacksaw blade that has a stand with a clamp which you can set the angle on, you don't have to stand there and pushh on it because it uses the weight of the electric motor to cut. It's the best thing ever! It can cut just about anything you throw at it, and if it's thick you can walk off and do something else, when it cuts threw a switch turns it off.

 

I bought Drill Doctor, kinda leery at first, didnt think it might be good... turns out one of the best investments ever, sharpened over 500 bits so far and still can bring a dull bit to like new, especially in the 3/8 and up them pups are not cheap

 

I got a cam tool made from a discarded timming gear (small block cheby) and a piece of 3/4 round stock.

Knurled the grip end of the round and brazed it to the gear.Use it all the time. really save the wrist (and the cam). You can do single bolt cams (Ford/MOPAR) with a long piece of all thread or a piece of round stock with a stud in the end.

 

I used a Uni-bit for the first time last month. It's the most cool tool I have found in the last ten years. It's a cone shaped drill bit with steps to larger sizes, so you don't need to keep working up to a larger size bit. Drilled a 3/4" hole through frame rail like butter. Get one!

alchemy

 

Plierwrench - got this from a neighbor's estate sale. This is a jewel with the adjustable jaws and wire cutters, works like a cresent wrench with out the hassle of keeping the thumb screw tight.

This is the first link that i found on these. Never have seen another one. plierwrench

 

This may sound silly, but my truck is the most handy tool I have. I have lot's of specialty tools that I couldn't do shit without them, but my truck beats all. I never was much for wanting one until I bought it two years ago. An old beater 86 chevy longbed. I did lots of car stuff before then, but I either called my dad or just made do.

Gawd I sher do luv ma truk!

Reverend Jake

 

On the borken wrist thing. You ever use a Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooter? Fricken most powerfulll drill EVER!

Anyway, the largers hole sizes tend to catch more. What I do, if you get to both sides of the metal is drill a small pilot first, then on the back side take you finish drill size, say 1/2" and just drill into the metal about halfway through. Then go back to the other size and use progressively larger bits til you get to the 1/2 again. Works great on 3/16th and thicker metal.

Like someone else said, UNIBIT for sheetmetal. We buy em in bulk but I found that Mearnds is the cheapest. $17 vs $25 at the welding shop.

 

alchemy is right,the uni-bit is the most handiest thing ever made,the guy who invented it should be nominated for sainthood. i use them all the time. another thing i couildn't build a car without is a Sharpie

 

Just used my trusty old bench grinder this morning to shave down the box end of a cheap 9/16 wrench to get it onto a manifold bolt on my 49 Chevy!

(I laugh everytime I think of wimpy exhaust shop "mechanics" who are afraid to remove manifolds...54 years old and not a single bolt broke on me!!)

Bought that bench grinder with my very first paycheck and it was probably one of the best $40 I ever spent!!! I was 17 years old...and just KNEW I needed it!!!

 

#1 The biggest channel lock pliers you can find.
Great for removing oil filters that were tightened too much,and a million other things.
After my kid sister wrecked my Dads car,I used them to bend the fan blades back away from the rad so I could drive it home.
#2 Thin cutoff wheels for a 4" angle grinder.Not everyone has a compressor big enough for an airpowered die grinder,but just about everyone has an angle grinder.
#3 Big magnets,from trashed speakers etc.Great for holding small screws that get knocked on the floor.

 

Found 2 Unibits at Lowes for less than $30 best price yet

 

Aggressor by Blu-Mol Cobalt blades are the best reciprocating saw blades ever. They are cheeper than Milwaukee blades too.

 

I have a big fabricated anvil...actually it was a bearing mount for a wire spool unit mounted in a Light and Power Line truck! 1" thick steel, easy to clamp to and tough as nails. I've bent everything over it...except my wife!
I welded 4 heavy casters on the bottom to make it easy to move and I use it all the time!

Uni-bits RULE!

Bill

 

6 point sockets... I hate... HATE... 12 point anythings.

Leatherman multi tool... prolly stripped more then one car with it. 25 year waranty an cheap as all get out on ebay. Get a super tool.

 

I couldn't live without my magnet on a stick. Extendable with a flexable head of course. Mirror on a stick is a handy tool too.

 

i love my mini angle grinder with rolock pads on it for gaskets , it rules.

i have a little snap-on ratcheting attachment for breaker bars , that lets you use your breaker bar like a giant ratchet.

my dad brought me a bunch of taps and a t handle that ive used the hell out of.

ive been wanting to get one of those drill bit sharpeners for along time.glad to hear they really work!

also i found a couple sheets of what i think is white polyethelene really thick plastic.super durable that i covered my work bench with and you can really see what your working on better.