Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

Eight of my solar panels are at least 40 years old. They don't put out a 1/4 of what they did when new. hey will be replaced in the next day when it is warm enough to be out there. That said they may be used to power 12v lights & a small water heater in the chicken house. They do work and so far sunlight is free.

 

This is a great thread. I have one to offer. I've never had the right clutch alignment tools for any of my clutch jobs. I used to use a couple of sockets, one to fit the pilot bearing and the other for the clutch disc splines. On the last three jobs I tried using a few strips of good paper masking tape on the edge of the disc and the pressure plate.

I don't have any photos but the illustration should be enough to use as a visual. The disc and pressure plate are usually the same size. So if you place the disc on pressure plate exactly to line up the edges of both and then put a few strips of tape on their edges, it should line up perfectly. The tape is strong enough to hold the disc to the plate long enough to install the cover to the flywheel. The tape won't damage anything even if you leave the tape on them after installing the transmission. The first time you use the clutch, the tape will fly off away from the clutch. It has worked each time I put in a new clutch.
No need for any special tools.

 

About the Boiled Linseed Oil . I have been using that on my Gun stocks for years. Go figure !

 

Yep, I bought it by the gallon on the department for ax, pike pole, etc handles!






Bones

 

I never heard about that. Maybe I should move mine somewhere else? A good fire might simplify my shop cleaning and organizing.

 

Not knocking those who do use it, but be careful with that stuff.[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard of it and was aware of this phenomenon. I used boiled linseed oil a lot early in my career, then the composite handles came around and I almost quit using it. I was somewhat careful and never had a problem with the rags catching fire. That would have been a little embarrassing….the Fire Dept shop burning down!



Bones

 

Yep, a rag that has been soaked in linseed oil will catch fire all on its own. Didn't happen to me, but a friend had a fire in his garage at 2 AM that by sheer luck he caught before it spread too much. If you use it, you need a fireproof container to store anything used to apply it. Something like this.... Justrite Just Rite 6 Gallon Oily Waste Can, Red, 15.9/: Hazardous Storage Cans: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

 

If I'm remembering correctly didn't this happen in Ryan's garage?

 

An old input shaft always did the clutch alignment for me. Tighten the pressure bolts, install the bellhousing and pull the old input shaft. Then I would lay the transmission on my chest, lift it up and it usually slid right in. Of course I was much younger back then. Probably could not do that today.

 

I didn't even know there was an alignment tool until I was in my 30s. I bought a clutch kit and there was one in it. It looked enough like an input shat that I figured out what it was.

 

Yep, it did...

 

So it's just the soaked rags? One of those special fireproof cans would contain it?

 

Yes or if you hang them up to dry they won't go into spontaneous combustion, I hang them over the edge of my garbage can to dry overnight and never have had a problem. They're like fresh cut grass, if you pile it up it will build up a lot heat at the bottom of the pile!

 

Cloth rags, sponges, any paper used for masking or drop cloths, even some brushes if not cleaned. The special cans aren't a total fail-safe but will keep open flames from getting out. But if the can gets hot enough, it can start a fire too. The cans are labeled 'empty daily', if using linseed oil they mean it...

My friend that had it happen disposed of his stuff into a plastic garbage can. Some exploding spray cans in the garbage can are what woke him up, he was able to push the burning can outside and put out the fire with a garden hose. It had just started one end of his workbench on fire, melted a bunch of stuff on the bench and smoke damaged the entire inside of his garage. The stuff had been in the can for about 9 hours when it combusted.

I don't use linseed oil but do have one of these cans for storing dirty shop rags before washing them.

 

I can remember when those were wood... LOLOL. I never had much luck with those or the plastic ones either, I finally got a dead input shaft from a trans that I use now. Works much better...

 

These wood ones are marked:
Lyner Mfg.
Chicago, Ill.
Patent Pending

I've had them since the early seventies.

 

I’ve only gotten a clutch alignment tool once in a clutch kit. Not only did I get sent the wrong tool, the clutch was for the wrong car. I’ve never had any spare input shafts.
I think most of the clutch jobs I’ve done were mostly OT shitboxes and imports.
The Fords were really easy if the bell housing was separate from the transmission.

 

Here should be a link to the article that Ryan wrote about his fire. I had something like this happen myself and I try to be careful. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=34205

 

I personally wouldn’t take that risk in my garage (which is also part of my house).
Easy to throw the rags outside on the lawn or put them in the can outside until you are ready to dispose of them !

 

Thanks guys. This is really good information. I've had some experience with things I hadn't expected to decide to burn all by themselves themselves, bales of hay & manure piles, but had missed this about linseed oil. I guess like Ryan I didn't read the label. All the fires in our shops should wait for us the start them.

 

If I use any suspect oils the rags go straight into the pot belly stove in the shed for peace of mind.

As far as clutch aligning, I've always snugged up the pressure plate then aligned the two OD's of the disc and plate with my fingers then tighten the bolts.

 

Found this on the interweb,an expensive way to have all sizes

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Takes all kinds

 

One of these takes up less space...

 

I have one of those, only it's metric and SAE on the same end. I got ripped off!

 

My problem is that it's ALWAYS too loose for one and too tight for the other

 

When I worked at Kragen I was surprised to see one marked for both systems, even marked at all. Really, who ever looks unless you are using it for a caliper? Metric crescent wrenches were always a joke.

 

Ratchet straps are great, but how do you release one gently? No trick, they all can do it, you just need to know how.

Ok, I guess plenty of people do know how, but I suspect there are many that don't. I certainly didn't the first time I used one. A bit of fun Ratchet Strap tomfoolery from Mart's Garage.

 

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Thanks for that Mart. Many times I've struggled trying to release one of these straps. Great tip!