Tech: Low tech shop hints

here is some stuff you guys probably already know, but i figured might as well give my 2 cents worth:

metal files get dull when they hit each other in your drawers, a wood 2x2 and a few slices on the chop saw made them a nice resting place.

 

when the end of your tape measure gets taken off by a saw or whatever. Don't chuck it, take it apart and cut into 1 foot sections, some sections will make sense to cut into 2 foot legnths. i reach for these daily



also check out he pens, sharpies run out of ink if they aren;t left tip down a bit of s**** tube make a good holder.

 

rags are a good place for spontanous combustion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_combustion

my dad and mom both burned down their parents barns as kids with oily rags...

i guess it was drilled into me as a kid, so i always hang my used rags off these plasic clips i got at HD.

 

speaking of home depot i got one of these retractable pen holders because i kept misplacing my drill chuck key, a bit of glue and a few knots later i haven't lost it again.

 

i got sick of always having to clean up after i used my drill press, cutting oil dripped eveywhere and all those metal shavings, so i got an old baking pan form a garage sale it fit uinder the table with a few modifications and setscrews. Now i just sweep the shaving into it and empty it when it starts gettting full.


also pick up a few of these squirt oil cans and keep them next to any tool that needs cutting oil.

 

to keep my grinder handy i bent some bar stock in a u shape and screwed it in the wall.

 

a bit of bent sheet stock holds my tape measures up out of the way but always handy.

 

some times you need to remind your self of the obvious. here my stomp shear needed a note.


i reads: stop! clear area under shear
i left a welding cable under it once and here is the result

 

Very organized, unlike myself. I have probably 10 tape measures and 3 grinders..but can find only one at a time after digging for a few minutes..

I see by your labels on the drawers that you probably have a very neat garage. Theres no hope for me except more buildings to put stuff in. I have no wall space to hang anything on..they are covered with toolboxes, shelves and cabinets.

I'm going to the kitchen right now to steal a pan to put under my drill press. That is great.

 

thanks, i do my best i come from a long line of slobs...



save your broken band saw baldes, you never know when you need to cut somnthing in close quarters
i also punched a hole in one and used it in my hacksaw, it is a better blade than they sell at hardawe store!

 

Ditto on the pan! Good post

 

i made a muffler for my air compressor out of a few soda cans cut in 1/2 and nested together (they are smaller on one end) i punched a hole in the bottoms, put a pipe fitting in the far end with some glue and stuffed a piece of cloth in the open end to work as a filter, it cut the noise in 1/2 at least.

 

curtian rod hangers flipped upside down work great for holding welding masks, ear muffs, etc. make your own, or pick them up a bed bath+beyond or HD.

 

i robbed a new air filter from our central heater, to test out an idea. (shhh dont tell the wife)
some tie wire stuck it to the back of a fan i use to circulate the air in the shop, that gunk in the 1/2 circle shape is from one day of use. it did not restrict the air flow any noticable ammount .

next time i'm at HD i'll pick up a few more, for the other box fans in the shop

 

i like old things as much as any guy on here, so i couldn't resist making this stubby hammer out of a garage sale find of an old fire iron handle and hammer head. i polished up the ends so i doensn't marr the work . i think i got the pair for $.025

 

Great hints! I especially like the retractable chuck key holder. They always seem to come up missing. Thanks for sharing.

 

here is my portable plasma / torch cutting table . just some s**** l stock and some 1"x1/8" ribs
the 1/4 plate is removable, i can set it top the grid so if i need to wook over wood or some thing flamable it will insulate it. in plasma cutting mode it sits in the bottom and catches all the slag.

 

when i'm grinding, no matter what the saftey gear i have on, i always seem to get somthing in my eyes. i wear contacts so i is extra painfull...
so, i have a pair of swimming goggles, ohhh these things are nice, no more red hot slag in my eyes! plus i get to feel like an old WWI ace when i put them on, (not Greg Lougayness)

 

Wow these are simple yet very cool!!!

 

welding fumes are really bad for you, plus Argon g*** will extract the oxegen from your brain and could kill you in your sleep.

i weld a lot, so not to take any chances, especially as i keep the garage door down in the winter, i rigged up a fume extractor over my welding table.
some semi rigid dryer tube can be positioned where you need it pretty well,
i hooked it up to a HF dust collector (hidden above the garage)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94029
and then vented it outside through some white 4" pvc drain tube.

i removed the switch and added some extra cable so i could turn it off from inside the garage.




works as good as the $2600 units

 

the problem with welding is you gotta see what your doing. this usually means sticking your head right in the weld plume. whenever i can't weld at the bench using the fume extractor, i use this plume diverter i rigged up. just a $10 muffin fan, a canabalised lamp cord and some left over rigid dryer tube and some packing tape. it doesn't pull the shielding gas away but gets the smoke out of my face.
i added some tabs so i can hook it up to a magnet and stick it to the work piece when i cant rest it anywhere

oh yeah, it ****s though the tube end and blows form the fan end

 

i'm sure everyone has one of these by now, not a new idea. holds your round stock fo drilling.

 

Wow mr. Collins keep em going... you've got my attention.

 

i get stuck trying to figure out where to store materials
so long pieces go on these racks on the wall.
middle sized ones get stored upright in these buckets, (still not happy on this one)
shorts pieces go in a rack i whipped up out of some s**** wood

 

These are what "TECH WEEK" is all about,thank you.

 

Seth,

Great tips. my score is 4 out of your 21.

Thanks,

N B R

 

Man, you're like McGyver!
Feel Free to share more good ideas.

Old file cabinets work well for holding s**** metal too; and pretty much anything else.

 

i bought a HF combo slip roll, shear, break, and break it did.

the rolls seemed to slip out whenever i tightened them down, so i driled a littel hole and put a machine screw in the hole. problem solved!

 

thanks for the compliments guys.

so my three HF tools get some air time here. (so **** i had to modify them all)

the HF band saw was made in china by china specs. i thik they were planning on selling them to the elves at the north pole.

my roller supports were too tall to use with it.

so some quick leg extensions were whipped up, i added some wheels so i could rotate it inplace for miter cuts.

one less trip to the chiropractor for me...

 

i have a proper compact bender, but i find i need lost of little things bend in all sorts of shapes and varying radii so i make a lots of dies, here they are: (they all go in the vice)

this one make tight (3/4") spirals out of 3/8 rod. i slip a .5" sq tube over the end to the priece to be bent for lverage, these can then be cut and make round chain links or whatever


this one make round shapes, like j bends in rod or flat stock. the bolt holds the end in place


same idea as the last one for 3/8" rod


i'm showing these not because ithink you will rush out to build each one but to give the general idea of making somthing to form your metal around