This is tech fer model cars and small parts- and it will work- I dunnit this weekend. So we can't afford a fancy-dan spray booth. What to do? Since I have a couple of dogs, and dust is prevalent in the area I typically spray in (outside) I had a smashing Idea! Build yer own. Pretty simple, actually. Find an old cardboard box- I used a Jim Beam type box, and no, I don't drink- and a small (or large, but small works better) vacuum cleaner w/a hose attatchment and measure the diameter of the hose nozzle. Then, trace a circle to cut for this vacuum hose in the side of the box. Then, tape a piece of trashbag to the open end of the box to act as a flap to secure the parts from dust and debris after painting. Plug the vacuum nozzle into the side of the box (and wrap the nozzle w/ extra trashbag to keep the nozzle clean) and set up coathanger painting stands inside yer box. Place the parts and/or model to be painted inside the box and turn on the vacuum. Spray yer parts, then turn off vacuum and stretch aforementioned plastic over box opening, and tape down. Remove parts later. It works! It really does! -Crew
Cheap locking nut: Run monofilament fishing line through the nut, then thread it onto the bolt: instant locking nut! An old fan belt and a set of locking pliers makes a strap wrench. Grind a groove in both halves of an old set of pliers and you have a tool to get those pesky spring hose clamps on and off. When doing your own driveshafts, after cutting the sahft and putting the ends into it, put it into the car where you can rotate it to check for out-of-round. To tack and final weld, put a large 'C' clamp on the middle of the shaft, and clamp the ground there. Have a friend rotate a tyre, while you weld (after at least four tacks, and a re-check of out-of-round). This will keep the current away from the 'U' joints, and is a ready fixture for both truing and welding. Cosmo
i'll go out tomorrow night and dig up something in the shop to add here. but in the meantime i've got some comments/questoins: 1. roadstar - what about all the horror stories i've heard about silicone (contained in WD-40) causing fisheyes when painting anything? will the WD-40 be all gone by the time you want to repaint your car, or will this cause problems even years down the road? 2. yo baby - if a radiator will cool on the highway but not while idling, then you don't have a radiator problem; you have an air movement problem. the solution isn't a bigger radiator but larger fan, fan with more severe angle to the blades, install shroud, etc. 3. nimrod - very cool stool. would it be a good idea to remove the starter rings? maybe easier on the hands when moving? more comfortable to sit on?
sick of door blowing shut in workshop? take 1 rotor from rotary engine put in front of door da da!! (only worthwhile use for them)
Atch, WD40 does not contain silicone but you still dont want to be spraying it around a car BEFORE you paint it.
More drill press tech: I got a wooden file handle and drove the key into the end of the handle: much better leverage for tightening the chuck, and it's a lot harder to lose that way. Loss-proof it by putting a small eye bolt in the end and tethering it to the drill with the retractable key ring as stated earlier. Get a couple of 6x6 timbers and put them under the drill press to raise it six inches. You frequently bend over to closely observe what you're drilling: raising the whole machine six inches is easier on your back and shoulders. Make the timbers much wider than the base of the machine and it will be more stable. Get a two-or-three drawer tool box (mine is the red Craftsman 2-drawer with the deep storage compartment under the lid) and set it permanently on the base of the drill press: keep bits, hole saws, counter sinks, reamers, a C-clamp, and everything else you only use at the drill press in it. Pull the locking bar out of the tool box so you can open the drawers with the lid closed. NEXT Tapping holes: When cutting threads, turn the tap 1/2-turn forward, then 1/4-turn backwards to clean the shavings, then 1/2-turn, 1/4 back, etc. I haven't broken a tap since doing it this way, and I never seem to have cutting oil on hand so they're always cut dry. -Brad
Always buy tapered or starting taps. When they get dull use your cutoff wheel to make them bottoming taps. Buy a garage sale drill index box and purchase the right drill for each tap size and keep them together so you won't spend so much time sorting for the right size.
[ QUOTE ] To discourage folks from "borrowing" my 8-foot air hose and nozzle that I use on the porting bench, in a shop that will have a half dozen folks working at the same time, I changed the female end of the hose and the male ends of my die grinders and air nozzle to a different type than the type that's used throughout the rest of the shop. I wasn't a dick about it; I fitted a shop-common male end to my hose so that the hose bib on the wall is still useable by others when I'm not there. Haven't had to chase a hose since the changeover, and mine sits right on top of my tool caddy in plain view when I'm not there. [/ QUOTE ] This also works to keep specific hoses and equipment dedicated to paint work so you don't get oil, etc in your paint lines!
[ QUOTE ] Yet another.. If we didn't spend so much time on the HAMB we'd get more done on our cars!! [/ QUOTE ] Well .. if your computer is setup in the shop; saves time running back and forth!
Whodaky,You're a man after my own heart with that digger hangin' in the rafters. That's where I keep em when they are disarmed.Yo
When you are assembling you're shiny new motor and making those critical valve adjustments ,do it with the intake off so you can see and feel the 0 on the pushrods before preloading then when you finish nailing it together you don't make an oily mess adjusting those hydraulics with the engine running.
As for ghetto creepers-- those kiddie pools that come rolled up, with the plastic sides and soft bottom-- when they leak, cut the sides of, makes a nice slippery creeper.
To keep my por-15 from setting up in the can, I fill the can with argon from my mig welder just before closing it up. Seems to work pretty well.
Two more I keep a spool of thread in my tool box it is great for tying gaskets on pans then install the pan and cut the tread and pull lose before tightening I also have kept some old drive shaft yokes to slide into the tail housing on transmissions when yanking them. Keeps the tranny fluid in the tranny not on the floor
Old fan belts make great lifting devices for picking up heavy stuff by hand or with a hoist,especially things you dont want scratched or dinged.Another thing is how manny times have you gone to change a cashaft and those pesky lifters are slightly mushroomed or have so much gack on 'em they wont come out of the hole,don't worry just pull those lifters up until they stick in the bore then pull cam out.After cam is removed take a piece of cardboard or appropriatley sized thin wall pvc pipe and make U shaped tray and slide into cam bore allthe way to the end then just push the lifters into the tray and recover with a magnet. I say use magnet because if you pull out the tray with lifters in it you might spill one in the C-case and that would make a good deal go bad fast.
Another quick paint tip:The catalyst used in most urethane paints will gel pretty quickly after it is opened if you don't use it up right away.This can get REALLY expensive in a hurry.Got this one from Frank Manning just before he left 1-Shotut the container in the refrigerator.As long as the temperature of the catalyst is below 50 degrees F it will not start to set up. I had thought about this and had called him to confirm it.I remembered when Eastman had first come out with their 910 adhesive(the ORIGINAL super glue)it had an extremely short shelf life but could be prolonged by refrigerating it.As it is a cyanoacrylate base(as is urethane paints)it follows that cooling it would aid in the shelf life.
I had it here while ago. But since we have so many newbys lately, here again. Wrench extension made from 4 different nuts and a piece of iron bar. Better than the usual pipe and you can attach it at an angle on tight places. I have that thing left over from my time as an farmequipment mechanic some 20 years ago. Next is a cam bearing puller for the flathead. Turned on a lathe and polished over. Its easier and safer to have the bearings "pulled" onstead of the pipe and hammer deal. Last is a puller that we build to get the stubborn timing gears off of the flathead crank. No heating, no more hammer and shisel. Have fun, Mike.
Storing camshafts; use heavy wall mailing tubes trimed to length, then with a felt marker, MARK on the outside of the tube what is in the tube. Storing side trim pieces; stop by a store that sells drapery rods and "scrounge" a couple of shipping tubes, (they have a REAL thick wall and they throw them away most of the time) and place the trim inside and hang from the rafters of your shop. Storing crankshafts; stop by a carpet store and "scrounge" a couple of roll "cores", cut to length and mark the outside. I seal the ends with a couple of plywood "plugs" held in place with screws. Think that's going to too much trouble? Bought a flathead Merc 4" crank lately? A coat of "Fluid Film" before storing cams and cranks, keeps the rust away.
[ QUOTE ] I know i have a ton of 'quick tips' i've picked up from friends, books etc..but can't remember anything but what i was just doing.. I'm finishing up block sanding my 53, and a friend gave me an idea he uses in the body shop he works at. Take a piece of lexan, about an 1/8 inch thick. Cut it the size of your long board paper. On one side i have 36 grit, and on the other i have 80 grit. I'm using the 80 right now, so the 36 acts as a grip. The lexan is VERY flexable, allowing you to follow compound curves very well which many of our cars have.. Very cheep (mine was cut from an old race car window) and from what i've seen on mine, works really good. I'll see what else i can remember.. Tony. [/ QUOTE ] I have shit loads of the stuff. (I work in a plastics shop) If you are local and need a chunk, feel free to PM me. I'll set you up. Slick mofo
When you adjusting the rockers on a SBC, and you have the motor running, get a set of old valve covers and cut them in half length-wise. Bold them on (side closest to the plugs) and it will keep the oil in the motor and not in yer face or floor.
I use these poly bushing for just about anything. I get them from one of the stainless exhaust guys at the bigger shows. They are intended for exhaust hangers. I have used them for exhaust, gas tanks and radiators. Here's what they look like when you get them. Clark
Here's one on the bottom of a Model A radiator bracket. By the way a quick count makes this 100 tech tips. One more will make 101 but I'm sure we can come up with plenty more. Clark
I have lost small wrenches,working by feel ,in almost inaccessable places. When this situation arises again, I tie a length of 25lb. fishing line to them. When they drop,you can "reel" them back in.
Old fan belts make great tacking strips when the old tar paper is missing or worn out.I used belts for the '36 tack strips,worked great.
(Obvious shit)... - Magnetize screwdrivers... It helps when you're removing screws from hard-to-reach places... It also helps to hold the screw on when you're trying to get it back into it's hole... - The hollow handle extention on your jack can be used to get leverage on over-tightened bolts by putting it over your wrench's handle - Skateboards make great creepers... - "Junk Stores" that buy shitloads of warehouse over-stocks have all sorts of useful stuff... I've seen assorted colors of nice car carpet for next to nothing... Carpet, as stated, makes great creepers, especially on gravel and dirt floors... Or, if you're "crazy", you could put it on you car's floor or something... - If you treat your tools like shit and they get rusty, throw them in a bucket of sand and used motor oil for a few days... Shaken, not stirred... (This idea stolen from the last time we did one of these)... - If you actually recycle/PROPERLY dispose of your motor oil, go to a local restaurant and get one of those 5 Gallon fryer grease containers... It will look like a cardboard box with a big white screw-off lid on it... Dumpster-dive that thing, and store your oil in it until you take it to Sears... - Uniform rental stores throw a LOT of clothing away... Dickies, Red Cap, and the like... Coveralls, work jackets, shirts, pants, and ALL SIZES... They're ripe for the picking and you can unload them onto your friends... Ask the SoWhat crew, FatABone, and the Rumblers about this... hahaha... You'd be amazed what kinds of neat shit you can find in a dumpster or on the curb...
For MIG or Arc welding, if you don't have any Anti-Spatter Spray, you can use liquid Soap. Works great,especially on threads, and cleans up with water.
another use for duct tape. It removes warts, no BS. A wart needs air to survive. Wrap the tape on the wart for about 4 weeks, wha-la, it dies. You'll have to change the tape from time to time. This info came from my Dr.
that's crazy about the warts....take your air hose and a blow gun in one hand and your mig in the other....weld and then wait a half second and blow....helps keep it cool
For por-15 storage I like to use old rubbing compound bottles. When you need some, just pore it into a cup or a rattle-can top. No more fighting stuck paint cans. Always wipe the top and you should not have any problem. If the top should break off, plug the hole with a golf tee.
[ QUOTE ] i'll go out tomorrow night and dig up something in the shop to add here. but in the meantime i've got some comments/questoins: 1. roadstar - what about all the horror stories i've heard about silicone (contained in WD-40) causing fisheyes when painting anything? will the WD-40 be all gone by the time you want to repaint your car, or will this cause problems even years down the road? 2. yo baby - if a radiator will cool on the highway but not while idling, then you don't have a radiator problem; you have an air movement problem. the solution isn't a bigger radiator but larger fan, fan with more severe angle to the blades, install shroud, etc. 3. nimrod - very cool stool. would it be a good idea to remove the starter rings? maybe easier on the hands when moving? more comfortable to sit on? [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't that be "pitch" on the blade??
The Jalopy Journal
