Remember last year some time I started a post about helpful hints that you have learned through years of hard knocks? I can't seem to find it in the archives. It might have been on the old HAMB. Let's start it again. Good refreshers for old guys and new guys alike. Maybe we can add it to the tech-o-matic. I'll go first. If you are planning on using a file on a soft compound such as aluminum, br*** etc. you can coat your file with bar soap and it won't load up the file.
a small, cheap touchup gun from Harbor Freight or similar is a handy tool for degreasing. fill it with lacquer thinner and use it instead of brake or carb cleaner. a big plus is that you can adjust the pressure and amount of cleaner, a feature no can of carb cleaner can claim.
Cutting the heads off of a couple of sorta long bolts and using them as "guide studs" when bolting an auto ****** or a manual bellhousing up to the back of your engine while working from under the car alone can be a BIG help in getting the two big and heavy ***emblies joined! Then, you snug up the other bolts, unscrew the two studs and replace them with the bellhousing bolts they just subbed for! I've had to do MANY jobs like this alone, and that trick is a real frustration saver!!!
[ QUOTE ] Chalk or Soapstone works good on Files too. [/ QUOTE ] Soapstone is high in asbestos, stick with the chalk, and stay away from talc, it's a carcinogen too! (and we used to put it on baby's bottoms...)
If you are trying to buff something that has oxidized such as aluminum, add flour to your polishing compound. It acts as a cutting agent or abrasive.
Gotta grind aluminum???? Run beeswax on your grinding wheel surface prior to use on aluminum to avoid loading it up. -Mike.
This is the coolest post ever! I already gave this one out, but here it is again. When painting rims with the tire already mounted, a good way to mask the tire from the overspray is to use Vasaline. Smear a good amount around the wall of the tire from the lip of the rim right on out to the tread. Spray the rim with paint, let dry for a few minutes and wipe the vasaline off of the tire along with all the overspray. It works every time. JT.
Grandpa taught me this, as I have no common sense! When rebuilding drum brakes, only do one side at a time, and as you take off every piece, re***emble it on the floor or a bench, so you remember how to put it together. I screwed one up, obviously Jason
Heres another one. This is just for the real dummies. When welding near gl***, ie: windshield, door gl***, etc etc., ALWAYS mask the gl*** off with some heavy cardboard (or something similar). Or remove the gl*** all together. Welding spatter WILL leave pock marks in the gl***. I know this one is elementary, but I have seen some ****py pockmarked gl***. Ask Ratster about it! Some dummy screwed up a back gl*** for him with the old welding near gl*** stunt. JT
Oh man! I love this post! RocketJ2, Take a digital "Before" picture. Print it off and keep it handy when diss***embling and re***embling! Works like a charm. With Digital cameras, you can also take as many pics as needed of the process. No worries any more. JT.
Need some oil drain pans? Don't buy the $12 16 inch pans from the oil store. Instead, take a trip to the building supply store and purchase a few mortar mixing pans. They are about 20x30 inches and only cost $3 each. Good for catching the oil, digging through the bucket of bolts, holding the tools in one place when you're under the car, etc...
Another one for painting wheel with the tires on. Take an old deck of cards and wedge them between the tire and rim overlapping each one. Spray away , take the cards out, done, no need for cleanup. Works with index cards too. Frank
[ QUOTE ] I wish I could. Our newest camera is coal powered! Jason [/ QUOTE ] HA HA HA....gotta LOVE that........ Use a "cherry picker" to lift those heavy loads. I could not get thru a single day without mine.They are also handy for pulling fence post's......... Antifreeze is poisonous to dogs,cats AND people...store it properly. Gasoline will burn and it will explode. USE SAFETY GL***ES A fan blade can and WILL fly off......stay outta the way,when you are revving the living **** outta your engine. Inspect your tools from time to time and get RID of the broken/worn out ones. It just ain't worth losing a finger over a cheap/broken tool. Use a couple of wraps of electrical tape,to "tighten up" a swivel adapter for your sockets. Always use jackstands. Never crawl under a car that is supported by a jack ONLY...... Got a test light? Add six foot of length to it for checking your brake light circuits. Ya know those bottle tops that come on dish washing detergent? The ones with the flip up lids? They fit PERFECTLY on one quart oil/trans fluid bottles instead of using a funnel,and are GREAT for storing an open container of the same. O.K.......I'll shut up now.......
when building anything "dry fit" first. before you paint, apply gasket compound or whatever make sure all the parts and pieces fit! Paul
When your finished,remove the chalk from your files with a stiff brush of file card.Otherwise the chalk can attract moisture,causing corrosion which will dull the cutting edges.
Liquid soap makes a good anti-spatter spray subs***ute for welding.Great for protecting threads,easy to remove when finished.
The original hints are included in kustm54's post of tech items complied by atch two or three days ago.
taking off window winders with those pesky clips behind them? don't buy the special tool, the best tool is an old rag. slip it behind the window winder and yank it back and forth. when you yank it, it pops the clip off, and stabs it through the rag so it doesn't fly across the shed, into the huge pile of **** you can never find anything in!
You know how your air hose ALWAYS hangs under the tires when trying to drag it around a car while spraying? Take an old brake shoe and wedge at the edge of the tire (on the floor). No more hanging lines...works for extension cords too. Vertically challenged and can't quite reach the center of the roof of the car you are spraying? Let the air out of the tires... I'll think of some more.... Brian
Need to replace the outer axle housing seals on a banjo rear end? Get a 12 inch length of all-thread, place a nut and 2 inch washer on one end, slip the seal down onto the washer. Then drop a string down the housing and tie it to the end of the all-thread, pull it up to where the seal "bottoms out". Next drop a 2 inch washer onto the all-thread (sticking out the end of the housing) and tighten a nut down. This will pull the seal up into place. JH
[ QUOTE ] a small, cheap touchup gun from Harbor Freight or similar is a handy tool for degreasing. fill it with lacquer thinner and use it instead of brake or carb cleaner. a big plus is that you can adjust the pressure and amount of cleaner, a feature no can of carb cleaner can claim. [/ QUOTE ] Spraying flammable liquids through a paint gun is not a good idea. Atomizing the thinner makes it more volatile. Thats why your carburetor does it.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] a small, cheap touchup gun from Harbor Freight or similar is a handy tool for degreasing. fill it with lacquer thinner and use it instead of brake or carb cleaner. a big plus is that you can adjust the pressure and amount of cleaner, a feature no can of carb cleaner can claim. [/ QUOTE ] Spraying flammable liquids through a paint gun is not a good idea. Atomizing the thinner makes it more volatile. Thats why your carburetor does it. [/ QUOTE ] what is carb cleaner, brake cleaner, and paint, if not a flammable liquid? hmmm? that's why it works....
Color code each end of your 4-way lug wrench with your old spray cans. Works great...you know exactly which one to use. Frank
I keep a couple of the old gallon antifreeze jugs around with the sides cut out and a small hole punched near the cutout on the bottom end.Have a bungee cord(the flat rubber kind with the removeable metal hooks)attached thru the hole and around the handle end.Makes a great drain bucket to hang around a brake ***embly while you're spraying it down with cleaner. I have a couple bigger ones(2-2 1/2 gallon)that some weed killer came in that I cut up the same way and use for extra drain pans and to wash small ***emblies.When you're finished draining(or washing down parts)simply unscrew the end to empty.Much easier than trying to pour out a regular drain pan. Also I bought a bunch of small alligator clips for a variety of uses(not holding joints).I use them to hold wires out of the way when disconnected and I also use them to hold my paint brushes in a rack(bristle side up)so the preservative can run down into the ferrule.I also have a couple attached to my palette so when I'm painting with several different brushes,I can leave paint in them without contaminating them.
Never use cement blocks to hold up a car........they can crumble-And never put jackstands under a car on the ground.....[use only on cement floor]-never tie up your muffler after it falls down with a nylon rope !!!![learned that one from my 5th grade teacher lady]!keep a small can of waste laquer-thinner[kept covered] as a way to clean up putty spreaders after applying bonduuuuuu.keep those old 4-1/2"grinder wheels that are now two inches or less in size-you can get in the corners of a chopped rear gl*** opening with them and also you can finish enlarging the dash/guage holes after your hole saw makes them too tight to install guage.On any chop top where the top is now narrower than the lower posts on the body[by 1" or less]tack one side securely-then slip a peice of sheetmetal in between the two that are "off"-Then take a "come-a-long" and wrap old seat belts around each post then hook the come-along to TOP of tackedwelded post and BOTTOM of lower post on opposite side and pull it over a click at a time-TILL ALIGNED!-pull out sheetmetal "slider" and then tack that one too![you also need to slip a peice of bar stock in the drip rail] where seatbelt is wrapped or it can crush the drip!HMMMMMMMMMM
[ QUOTE ] Use a "cherry picker" to lift those heavy loads. I could not get thru a single day without mine.They are also handy for pulling fence post's......... [/ QUOTE ] I thought that I was the only one who used my cherry picker for so many other tasks...it works great for tranplanting trees, lifts them straight up and sets em down real nice....
[ QUOTE ] You know how your air hose ALWAYS hangs under the tires when trying to drag it around a car while spraying? Take an old brake shoe and wedge at the edge of the tire (on the floor). No more hanging lines...works for extension cords too. Vertically challenged and can't quite reach the center of the roof of the car you are spraying? Let the air out of the tires... [/ QUOTE ] So do you let the air out of the tires BEFORE or AFTER you wedge the brake shoes in place? That is a good idea, but I don't think I own any brake shoes anymore...
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