Technical Simple tech tips to make building easier

In a similar vein, if you are using a socket to start a nut or bolt in a hard to get to place, either electricians vinyl tape or a piece of paper can be used to lightly wedge the nut in the socket so it won't fall out the first time you let it point down. I have cut a small slit in the tape, slipped the bolt through the hole, then stuck the tape to the sides of the socket too. After the bolt is started, you can pull the socket back and the bolt head will pull through the tape. Be forewarned though, if the extension is a sloppy fit in the socket, you can pull it out of the socket, leaving the socket on the bolt. In those cases, I'll tape the extension to the socket first with the same black electricians vinyl tape. That will keep them together unless the tape won't let the socket come off the bolt.

I've also wrapped the same tape around wiggle joints that were too loose, keeps them from moving as much. When all you have is cheap tools, you sometimes have to improvise....

 

This is so simple it’s stupid. When I scrape/degrease parts I use an oven rack (wire shelf) on top of the garage garbage can. Just lay it on top, put your part on it and scrape away, everything fall through into the can, degreaser gets absorbed into the rest of the trash.

A Refrigerator shelf works as well.

 

another simple one probably everyone knows is to wrap tape around a swivel the keep the socket from flopping around when you cant guide it with your hand, also tape socket to extensions to keep from loosing them.

 

Where were you guys when I was on my honeymoon I could have really used some tech tips then!!

 

Interesting idea.

Has anyone on here actually done this? From a purely educational standpoint I'd like to know the results. Not something I will ever do, but now my interest is up.

 

atch : That zerk idea isn't bad, but in any car that's required to have a catalytic converter & be tested regularly, I'd suggest installation "downstream" from the converter as I'm pretty sure the grease would at least cause emissions test failure, if not damage the converter.

 

A slightly different approach to yours, called "slip sticks". To measure inside-to-inside accurately, grab a couple of sticks maybe 3/4"X 3/4" that are a little shorter than your inside dimension you want to measure. Hold the sticks together with one hand and slide them apart until the ends hit the thing you need to measure. With the other hand throw a couple of spring clamps on the sticks and there's your length. Use the clamped-together sticks to mark the correct length on whatever you need to cut. No tape measure required. I've used this method on crown molding when working by myself. One long piece and one short piece was easier to manage for long lengths to be measured.

 

When you are wiring up pieces for painting use mig welder wire it is perfectly clean and you just have to power up the welder push the trigger an the amount you need is dispensed. I double it up or use 4 strands at a time depending how heavy the pieces are.

 

needed a huge socket to remove the drain plug on my flathead. Didn't want to gouge it all up with a pipe wrench. I looked in my stash and found a piece of exhaust tubing and reshaped the end to a hexagon that fit the plug, drilled a hole through the other end ( about 4" long) to fit a screwdriver through for a handle. 15 minutes was all it took.

 

As someone who's worked for exhaust companies for about 30 years now, I'd agree injecting grease upstream of a converter is a bad idea and would suggest it's not needed to begin with.

OEMs started using stainless steel for exhaust systems about 25 years ago. It's probably 409ss so it's not going to look shiny but it won't rust through in a year like back in the good old days. Anything 25+ years old that's still running the original converter is decent proof you don't need to do this, and any replacement converter will likely be stainless so you don't need to do this.

 

I don’t think this is a good idea to use on any car - I originally posted it because I always found it to be a interesting idea that I think would have worked in a different time. Many old timers had novel ways of getting things done or making things last in a cheap but effective way. Obviously it should never be used on a car with a converter!

 

Instead of using a big wrench for the drain plug on my flathead oil pan, I welded a cheap socket to the middle of the plug with the drive end exposed. Now I just slip a ratchet into the square drive hole and loosen and tighten as needed.

 

Here is a little trick to get your tubing bends exactly where you want them. Make a little jig and put a mark on it.
Then hold it against the surface you want the bent tubing to attach to. Transfer the mark to your tubing and the bend will be in the correct place. No more "about here" guessing.

 

I used to travel a lot with my job and also with the wife. I always save the plastic door keys. You can use them to make small templates that hold up well, make a radius gage and also use them for scrapers to remove gunk, gaskets and gasket residue that won’t scratch the surface. Have also used them to remove frost from the windshield on trips to the great white and cold north. When done just throw them away or use a magic marker to write on them if it’s something you need to save.

 

I've made a lot of parts 1" too long forgetting about that inch! I make it easy on myself by pulling 10" when laying out a part. It's easy to forget the 1" but the 10" makes for simple math and is hard to forget.

 

X2 on using the 10" mark instead of the 1" mark.

 

Had lots of name brand tape measures over the years and they seem to bind up and quit working. Still have a few sitting around, but I get a free one almost every time I go to Harbor Freight and they seem to work great. I must have a dozen of them and I gave my son four or five . Personally I don't plan to ever buy another tape measure....these work just fine.

 

When bracing the body for a chop or channel, you won't find any cheaper material than EMT pipe. It's thin enough that it cuts easy, too.

To add curve to those flat patch panels, roll them to shape over a 1 pound propane bottle.

Use Nicopp brake and fuel line. It's a little more costly but does not corrode like steel line and it's way easier to bend and flare.

 

make two lists, one for things you need and one for things you want.

 

Great stuff guys

 

^^^^^ My Husband agrees with this ^^^^^
He said make 2 lists and write down the costs of each item on the lists [and work your goals towards the "want" list]
Then he added........... "NEVER! EVER! SHOW YOUR WIFE ANY OF THE LISTS"

In this case the wife is me [I wonder what he is hiding sometimes ]

 

My better half is able to read minds, I find that trying to hide things from her is a waste of time and just
prolongs the fight. Better to be up front and get it over with. When I put a mini split in the garage it was
a question about how much I spent, where the money came from, two days later she was proudly telling her friend that I put heat and A/C in the garage.

 

Before we got married I had already set up a seperate bank account that gets a small percentage of every paycheck as a direct deposit. As long as my toys get paid for out of that account there is no discussion on how much something cost. Been married 21 years and it's worked out great so far. I never show her lists but mainly because she has no interest in this stuff. If she asks what it cost I tell her. She rarely asks. Guitars, cars, motorcycles, whatever. If I'm not taking money from the joint account she has no issue with it.

 

I find it best to just lie!

Actually I have a great wife. Sometimes when I buy things she gives me "the look"
But when I sell something I usually give her half the money...then I get a smile, but we share money on most things. Sometimes I give her all the money from a sale, but other times I tell her I need to keep it all for another purchase. It all works out in the long run.

 

Ok , here's an old trick but you would be surprised how many guys are amazed by it...Your hot rod engine has a miss? Take a squirt bottle full of water and spray each header tube one by one, You will find the dead one pretty quick.

 

For this job, I use a pyrometer that you can buy at a lot of discount stores for about $20.00 (the last one I bought, was on sale at Canadian Tire, for $12.00). Just point the red beam on each header tube, and you can immediately eliminate the dead cylinder. It is also useful for other jobs, such as tire temperature.
Bob

 

A good tip !
Years ago tape measures used to have the dimension of the casing written on them to help in these situations. They don’t seem to do that so much anymore. Maybe something to do with where they come from !

 

Adding to the list of old days home remedies . .

My grandfather worked for Timken Bearing for 35 years. His commute was 65 miles each way. From about WWII onward he bought a new car every other year until 1971. He never waxed one of them.

He had a drain in his basement garage, and washed his car twice a week as some of his commute was dirt roads, and he didn’t want to promote rust from packed in mud, and from salt on winter paved roads.

After he washed the car he would fill his bucket with clean water, and a cup of kerosene, and float it over the entire car. He believed it would prevent rust. It seemed to work, but gave his car an odd sheen.

 

The first time I ever saw this , it was a sprint car team and they were spitting on their fingers and playing patty-cake with the headers in a motel parking lot, in Orlando Florida.