home made tools and equipment...

You could send a golf ball a mile with that!

 

Hole in one, "Nailed it".

 

Thanks. And miss out on the joy of finding just the right pieces to serve my needs? The thought of a lathe was on my mind every step of the way. The 3 little ones took a lot of "developmental prototyping" and 28 sample holes to get acceptable contours.

 

That reminded me of my Torque Hammer for installing knock off wheels.

 

I'll second that!

 

This tool is super simple, but it works very well, and is available at any hardware store. It is used to remove the pressed in bushing/seal for the oil filter in a GM automatic transmission. Use a few taps from a hammer on the vice grips to pull out the old bushing. Install the new bushing using a socket and that same hammer.

 

Anyone know what this tool is for? I use it for bending and tweeking metal. I suspect that is its intended purpose because jewelers pliers and such have the same sort of rounded jaws

 

Wire fence crimp.

 

I've seen similar looking tools used for bending hinges to align doors.

 

Looks like something a blacksmith would use to bend iron.

 

That looks like it. Called a scroll wrench

 

It looks like a tucking tool to me. For shrinking sheet metal edges.

 

Here is a tool I hope you never need!
I had a fuel pump pushrod stuck in a BBC. I mean really stuck! Engine in the truck.

No way to grab it with Vise-Grips etc. The hole for removal is sealed with a 3/8"NPT plug. With the pump removed, you can access the rod but no real room to work.

I decided that the rod was sacrificial at this point. If I couldn't get it out, I would have to install an electric pump and leave it there.

Thinking that if I could weld an extension on the rod, I might be able to somehow pry it out. Figured that it would be beneficial to pilot the extension piece to center it so that it could pass through the tapped hole.
So, I drilled a 3/8" hole through a solid pipe plug. The hope was to have the extension rod smaller in diameter than the offending pushrod. That way the weld gob could be kept to a minimum.



Next, a long 3/8" bolt gave up it's threaded portion and was squared up on the end.


Screwed the adapter plug in and pushed the rods together and put a tack weld on the joint. As soon as I tried to pull and twist the extension rod the weld broke.
Hmm.
The pump pushrod is hard. I tried to anneal it by heating with a torch and letting it cool slowly. Same result.
Finally in desperation I heated the pushrod end until it was just about to melt, jammed the extension bolt against it and hit it with the MIG. Let it cool and was able to turn it with a wrench on the hex of the bolt. Got it turned 180 degrees and did the heat and weld thing again. When it cooled I was able to turn it enough to loosen it so my air ratchet could spin it slowly while I pried against the bolt head.
Slowly but steadily it came out.



Here it is!

Sorry no action shots. I was a little busy at the time of extraction

 

That was one heck of a creative solution to the problem. Nice work.

 

A couple of half tire stops on front of a race car trailer...

Hello,


In early drag racing, towing race cars not built for daily driving created all sorts of situations. Some could be towed with tow bars and that worked out ok, if the trip was not a far away dragstrip. Most competition race cars had homemade trailers that were usually, single wheel versions with careful positioning of the single wheel for balance and handling. But other than ropes and straps holding down the race car, what was to keep it aligned/not moving on the narrow channels for the tires?

Gerry Card used a nice looking tire support and locked in place item for the narrow front wheels of his Competition Coupe.

Jnaki

Being a lightweight Competition Coupe, the extended trailer with the tires built in to the rear portion of the trailer did its intended job. The front narrow tires, now had a place to call home.

We saw this Competition Coupe in the 1960 Bakersfield Smokers March Meet and it was painted black, but the basics were there in the design.


Gerry Card Competition Coupe

 

Here's my compact shrinker / stretcher stand, built out of old bed frames, bicycle parts, suspension parts, and an old wheel. I can flip the foot pedals up out of the way when not in use. The fulcrum, chain arrangement gives it serious power.

 

I work mostly by myself and spend as much time figuring out "work arounds" to get stuff done as I do actual project work. At 74 I can't grab stuff and manhandle it anymore. I built this body fixture to take the roadster body on and off. It comes apart to store, plus the center of gravity is adjustable (tow strap and clamp) as the cg changes. It goes with a body dolly that allows the engine hoist to position it. takes minutes now as opposed to hours.

 

I'd pay for a set plans if you have them. That is the best homebuilt bead roller I've seen. Heck it is the best looking one I've ever seen period. Meaning the best precision.

 

^^^Dude...his post was from 2008!!!

 

My shop/1.5 car garage is a little short on space so I came up with this for multiple bolt down tools....Used an old receiver section welded to the work/welding bench...easy swap out for whatever I need at the time.

 

^^^I really like that and I'm gonna steal it.
Andy

 

I showed using this tool on another thread and it was suggested I post it on here. It is not homemade but I would think a person could duplicate it. It is a throttle rod and in my life we mainly used it to hold the rpm while spin balancing tires on the car or for AC working when charging the system. Also handy for one person brake bleeding. Here is the l ink https://www.toolsource.com/general-...rottle-pedal-depressor-universal-p-54386.html

 

I like that! It looks like you fab it up from an old caulking gun too.

 

Yeah, and for a lot less than $35.00!!

 

Gene Winfield built a metal working station with a post like yours. Chad Hiltz bought it, and you can see it in a few of his videos. I really like the idea and might copy it one day.

 

Here's an "allen wrench" to adjust the points in a Chevy distributer. You know; the ones with a window where you stick in the allen wrench to adjust the points. An old screwdriver, a length of rod the same diameter, and an allen wrench with the short leg cut off. Welded together. Made it a lot easier to make the adjustments. I haven't had one of those distributers for several years but came across this in the shop recently. Sorry for the fuzzy pic.

 

Not homemade, but this points tool reminds me of the flexible drive screwdriver I had to adjust idle mixture screws. Also, had a couple of bits for slot or hex head screws.

 

Have some of those, work good.

 

Dust cap installation tool. Pretty much self-explanatory. The PVC part won't scratch the dust cap and the steel (cast???) part doesn't break when you hit it with a hammer. This happens to be the right size for the dust caps on Clarence (avatar). I imagine you can find plumbing parts/pieces in whatever size you need.

 

Hello,

When we were little, one of our jobs was to help my mom clean our windows on our old Craftsman House. There were big panes and little ones on some bedroom/patio doors, called, these days as, "lites." There were multiple small windows. But, for the whole house, it was for both my brother and me, a chore that had to be done. Our mom was the house caretaker and we helped as much as possible.

1948-53 Westside of Long Beach location...
She had this mixture of ammonia and hot water to wipe the windows and then another clean water bucket with a different towel to rinse off the hot water/ammonia solution. When we finished with one window, it sparkled and squeaked when we ran our fingers across the surface.

Our mom knew of this solution from way back, for cleaning glass and mirrors. But, a bucket of hot ammonia and water was an eye opening, actually eye closing and nose scrunching experience…

We never knew it back then, but, ammonia was the cause of our bathroom mirror and my mom’s bedroom mirror set being milky and corroded. Why? It was later shown that ammonia mixed with water was the chosen solution for homeowners and professional window cleaners. But, the ammonia used seeped into the mirror surface layers and caused the rippling stains that would show up on the mirror surface.

Everyone thought it was just an old mirror that aged and a new one was necessary. Yes, if you did not mind seeing your reflection with stains and ripples running through the mirror reflection, then people did buy new mirrors.

During the early 40 Ford Sedan Delivery days, one passenger outside mirror had to be replaced. On the 327 powered Ford Sedan Delivery, both outside mirrors and the inside mirror (although it was virtually useless with the small rear door opening) were replaced. Then over the years, our daily drivers also fell victim to our usage of the ammonia solution of Windex.

This phenomenon went on during our hot rod days and those old rear view mirrors and small round mirrors were victims of the dreaded ammonia mixed commercial solutions. Windex is one of the most trusted name brands as it does clean windows and mirrors quite well.

But, the ammonia compound was found to cause the stains and ripples through the reflective surfaces of most mirrors. If the solution was not spread over the whole mirror and dripped into the sides, then it took longer to make the stains and blems on the surfaces on our Flathead/327 powered sedan deliveries.

Jnaki

We never knew that it was caused by ammonia. We always used Windex when it was available on all of our cars and house mirrors. Our hot rod windows/mirrors were super clean and consequently, some had to be replaced for a clearer vision. It wasn’t until people were tired of replacing the newer mirrors, that had a ton of extra features built in to the units, that warnings on forums and webpages started showing up. Regardless of how careful people had applied the Windex with ammonia, it still damaged the silver in the mirrors.

What to do these days? There are many name brands, like Glass Plus that have a great window/surface counters/mirrors cleaning compound that does not have ammonia in the ingredients. It still takes a clean rag to wipe and then wipe again for a streak free surface. But at least there is no silver mirror damage and the increase costs for those rear view mirrors.

Yes, due to the overwhelming usage of ammonia free glass/mirror cleaners that hit the market, now, Windex has the similar ammonia free solution. So, for those that are stuck on old, friendly used products from the way back time machine, there is help. For those that stick with a familiar friend from those good old days, help is at hand. YRMV