Projects Home made single use tools?

I'm getting ready to put my ride back together after taring it apart to get the 727 out and repaired. (I pulled the engine and trans and much more as you may know.) Last night and this morning I got busy gasket scraping gasket residue, (block and headers) buffing out the ceramic headers with steel wool. Installed the new gasket from Summit and positioned the headers back on the block.
Whoa, what a pain in the pa tutty. The last time I put the headers on the heads they were on my work bench and then installed to the block along with the heads. That was no problem at all, easy peasee compared to installing this time. Problem was of course reaching the nuts on the back side of the headers with common tools. So I once again fabricated my own from a hoard of wenches I have from the years past. That now resides with many others that have been modified through the years. It got me to thinking how many other rod builders, shade tree mechanics etc. have had to do the same. So in HAMBER , HRP question style: How many single use modified tools of all kinds to you have?

 

I have several, I always save them and occasionally use them again.

 

I don't know about single use, but I've made or modified several which occasionally get used again. Some of them that I can remember:

1. Allen wrench with short leg cut off welded to a rod about the same diameter and about a foot long welded to a screwdriver with the blade cut off. Fits the adjustment inside Chevy points distributers. Much easier to use than a "normal" Allen wrench. Not used very often.
2. Many punches made for a specific use and thrown into the tool box drawer full of other punches. Made from rebar, socket extensions, steel rod, etc. Most used one time.
3. Threaded PVC coupler fitted to an iron plumbing cap for installing dust caps on front wheel spindles. Made to fit the spindles on Clarence; would probably fit many other applications. You hit the cap with your hammer and never mar the dust cap. Probably used once or twice. Saw it in the hammer drawer in one of the roll-arounds yesterday and wondered when I would need it again.
4. A tiny saw blade welded to a large nail with a bend in it. Blade is similar to a hacksaw blade but nearly as thin as a coping saw blade. Might have been a (very thin) metal cutting jig saw blade but I don't remember. Probably not, though, as it cuts in the opposite direction of jig saw blades. Can get into VERY small/tight spaces. Probably only used once. Saw it in a drawer this week and tried to remember what I made it for; couldn't remember though.
5. Made a wooden cradle to hold a 4"x24" belt sander belt side up before I acquired a floor mounted sander.
6. Not necessarily a tool, but have several threaded holes in the table of one of my drill presses. Bolts with the heads cut off and rounded off screw into these holes and keep pieces being drilled from spinning. Sometimes it's better to use a drill press vise and sometimes better to use these bolts.
7. Another one that's not really a tool, but is quite handy is the piece of 3/8" rod about 3" long welded to one of the legs on my welding table. The welder ground clamp is easier to put there than to try to find a place on the piece being welded. Nearly everything I weld is either clamped to the table or is held in one of the two vises bolted to the table.

Next time I go to the shop I'll probably see other things to add to this list.

 

Here are my latest wrench butchery. Done about an hour ago. Went through the wrench pile and selected the ones I would miss the least. Most of these wrenches are "found objects" which didn't cost anything and I don't have a clue where they came from. Hate doing this to a "new" tool. The last one with the big offset was the winner on this job.

 

Bent wrenches, shortened wrenches, modified sockets, modified Allen wrenches and shortened sledge hammers among fixture to hold objects like heads and pipes .

 

I piece of 1 in schedule 80 fits over my breaker bar like it was made for it . My breaker bar isn’t the normal looking bar , it is a piece of 1/2 square bar stock headed and bent 90* then sent to be hardened . It really works well on rusty Ford junk . You can have fun with a Buddy that is a prankster , by tightening his lug nuts a bit past the required torque also , just one on each wheel will stop the pranks .

 

Here's the homemade tool to remove and install the torque tube center bearing in a 1932-48 Ford. Only used it one time.

Here's tire lever tool made from old garden tool that you slide under a tire to
easily install or remove a wheel without straining your back. View attachment 4343983

 

I just use a shovel to position the tire. Works for my 5 ton as well.
I have a bunch of tools that I have modified, but because I never labelled them, I have forgotten the original purpose of the tool.
The most common mod I have made, is to weld a 6 point or 12 point socket onto a wrench, to achieve a special angle.
I have also made leg extensions, and adaptors for my gear pullers, to pull all manner of odd ball stuff.
The most commonly used adaptation is, when I am installing new disk brake pads, I use a gear puller screw and my impact hammer, to push back the disk brake cylinders enough to mount the new pads. It takes much less effort than cranking on a poorly positioned C clamp.
Bob

 

On the pre 88', SBC engines, usually with an aftermarket high rise intake manifold, the two center bolts on each side of the intake manifold, can be really hard to get any wrench on (wrench is too "thick"), let alone a socket. Took an old offset 9/16 closed end wrench, and ground the outside radius for clearance in order to slip down and "fit" onto those two center bolts. It's actually a multiple use use tool, but one that should be commercially available. That's my only contribution. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Just made a spark plug tool for my Windsor powered Morris Minor

 

I've cut a slot in different washers, then welded that to a piece of flat bar, to use as a skinny wrench. The slot is cut to the width of the nut or bolt, I'm trying to hold, in some deep dark recess.

 

Pretty inventive guys, these Hamber guys. Keep 'em coming..

 

Here's a few I've made / modified over the years. These I figured I might use again some day, so I tossed them into a box. The vast majority have never gotten out of the box until today. There were many others that just wound up in the scrap pile....
Tools1 by TagMan, on Flickr
Tools2 by TagMan, on Flickr

 

Hello,
A homemade, single use tool for my 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery was designed and created in our HS metal shop. I needed a long, thin, flat blade tool that could pop off the small center hubcaps on my 40 Sedan Delivery. After I purchased some Ford beauty rings, the only way to pop off the small hubcap was with a long screwdriver, but that made knuckle bruises on the rims when the hubcap came off.

The flat head end of a tire iron was too fat to get behind the hubcap. It could have done the job, but the lever arm was too long. So, something had to be decided.

In our HS metal shop, we had already made a standard chisel as a class and individual project. It was about 8 inches and had flat sides. The project involved shaping the head and flat end, polishing, and heat treating the chisel tip end.


The tools all looked the same, but some just stood out from the others. I tried to use the flathead end as the hubcap pop off tool, but there was no leverage or pivot point. I found a smaller rod, flattened the head, bent it close to a 90 degree angle and heat treated the end. Now, popping off of the small hubcap would be: Insert the flat screwdriver end, gently hit it securely into the gap, and pull on the “L” handle outwards, to pop the cap off.


For some teenagers design and idea, it worked every time. The beauty rings stayed pristine, the painted rims shined like a black diamond, and the small hubcaps popped off easily with a gentle tap/pull move.

Jnaki

Of course, that project gave me an added “A” for the work. This is/was a great class. The tool stayed with the sedan delivery when I sold it in 1965, along with the standard lug wrench. The 4 prong spinner, cross, lug nut went with our next car. Teenage hot rodding strikes again...

 

How about a tool for removing seized tiered ends . Slide this over the end with stud sticking through the slot and put an impact gun on the socket that’s welded on the end!


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Welding assist, and front alignment laser.

 

I needed a tool to pound the grease caps back on the hubs of my trailer and didn't want to try multiple parts stores so I cut a 2" hole in a 2x4 and dry wall screwed it to a handle.
Much better than tapping each side. Send $5 and I will send measured drawings... .

 

A tool to remove that oddball 5/16 oil galley plug in the early hemi. It's a 3/8 extension with the end milled to 5/16. It's been working for 54 years and took that plug out about 15 times.

 

16"'s of rod with a piece of 3/8 hex welded on for priming engines.
I used to use a 1/4" drive hex socket with extensions until the socket or extensions
would come apart and fall into the oil pan.

 

I’ve got a lot of tools, also..... but I think you may have me beat. I’ve got one drawer in my tool box, that is full of just those crazy homemade tools!








Bones

 

I find it's easier to buy sandpaper than make it.

 

What, no pitchers?

 

Johnny, I made my living working on limited number, hand made trucks, some valued at close to two million dollars apiece. They were very complicated and some times access
to certain areas was very limited.
This made making “ special “ tools very desirable. Once made they were stored for future use.
Some of my special tools could be bought.... some not. Those that couldn’t be bought, I invented, designed, and made. Some I made because I liked my design better, that what was available.
I even designed and built my own pumper tester and used it to get one of the first ISO underwriters rating of #2 in the state.
Sometimes you just have to do what you got to do.







Bones

 

If you do any work at all on these old machines you own "modified" or homemade tools. Here are just a few I could find in a couple minutes, there are many more lurking in other drawers and on shelves in the shop.
Left to right:
1. First iteration of hemi spark plug boot pulling tool. Reaches down into the tube, lays against the plug and lifts the rubber boot up. No yanking on the wires.
2. Second and current iteration of hemi plug boot pulling tool. A much more durable tool than the first one.
3. Tool to push and seat the plug boot onto the hemi spark plug. I like to hear that muffled "click" when the connector snaps over the terminal on the spark plug.
4. Wrenches and curled 3/8 extension. The third wrench is to reach a couple nuts on the bottom of my '76 Harley. I don't remember what the rest are for, but they all served some purpose.
5. The wood plug is an alignment tool that fits in the distributor hole of an early hemi and lines up my oil pump priming tool (not pictured).

 

The nuts on your Shovelhead Harley, rear cylinder base nuts? I made one of those too.


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I have plenty of home made stuff. Steering wheel pullers, axle pullers, dash bezel wrench's, alignment tool's, pinion wrench and stuff I can't remember. The ones I like the best are the ones I unearthed that I've truly forgotten about. But sandpaper is where I draw the line. Not to say I haven't used a driveway or two to grind or smooth something out. But those I've left behind. To heavy for my tool box you see.

 

Tie rod hole reamer.

Phil

 

Here is a pic of the dust cap installation tool I mentioned above in reply #3. Second pic is the 3 pieces it's made from. None are glued together so if I ever need the black iron or PVC fittings for something else they are still available.

 

MC push rod and 9/16 12 point wrench = Distributor clamp wrench.

 

Snowed the other day and the snow removal company had not come to clear the yard.
Tilt and load showed up at 7 am to pick up a forklift.
Could not back into the loading dock to pick up.
Ok here’s my Heli forklift /Chep skid snow plow!
Worked absolutely amazing!