Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

I was working on installing a fuel line on my truck the other day and figured I would re-use a hole in the firewall (there are a few that need welding up). The hole was too large for a nut zert so I rummaged through the bin of death and found a heavy washer, drilled it out to fit the zert on the drill press, loaded up the zert on the gun, stuck it in the hole, slipped the tight fitting washer on the zert from behind and cinched it down. Worked great. Worth passing along.

 

Re the coke and aluminium foil:
I tried it:


Mart.

 

If you ever need to tape a wire connection in an extremely tight area this little trick makes it easier. Take a length of electrical tape and roll it up very tightly with the sticky side out. Place the tape where you want it and unroll the tape around the wire.

 

Cheap enamel paint remover..... Easy Off oven cleaner. The neighbor kids car was sprayed with rattle can enamel paint. The car was a white 1999 Chevy. Easy off removed the paint without destroying the finish. I’ve used it to remove engine enamel paint off the engine blocks.

 

Damn. Why didnt i ever think of this!


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A buddy who is big into the rock crawlers world just has a long skinny funnel mounted to the wall with a hose poked through a hole in the wall to a gravel pile outside. Doesn't have to leave the shop or open the door in the winter and also doesn't have to carry a cup o piss anywhere when it gets full.

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If you live in the country it's easy. We have 80 acres and my DNA is on every square foot of it.

 

Dad has an old hoe that the blade broke off of. Leaving a pole with a metal hook on the end. Just used it last week to take my Xmas lights down without having to get on the roof. Works well for snagging things under a lowered car as well.

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Best work bench floor mat I ever had came from Tractor supply. A 3/4” solid rubber horse stall mat.


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I use an old paint roller handle and form a short hook on the roller end, most of them have a threaded hole in the handle that makes it easy to add length as needed to reach high up on the eaves to remove lights. I'll post a pic once I find mine in the garage... Just moved so still finding stuff and learning where its at!

 

Haven't used them in the garage but we had 4 if those horse mats in a dog run that came with our old house... Took them when we moved.... They are now under the kids play equipment in the yard. I can mow right up to it and don't have to weed wack under it. Would also work great under your outside dumpsters.

Coincidentally they don't work very well in an outside dog run, rain got between and under them and cratered the mud below so they were nowhere near flat or ever dry.

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Installing a new radiator in my van before a trip to Ham Drags 5 years ago I discovered that preformed transmission lines were no longer available for my vehicle. I went to Home Depot and bought a bag of these copper fittings with various angles for about $10, lubed and pushed transmission hose through them. Still works great!

 

Wow! The hose doesn't kink inside the bends?

 

I know it works, but it looks like ass. Just saying.

 

Maybe you have a black rattle can laying around to knock the copper off those fittings??

 

Great idea but I have one question. Did your parents give you a set of tinker toys when you were a kid?


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Had to check my calendar to see if it was April 1st.

 

No kinks at all.

 

It's just daily driver van.

 

What would you have done?

 

Dang, I forgot how touchy you guys are! Sorry to have offended so many..........

 

Well, I'll bet your way was easier than mine. I'd have been searching the junk yard and or bending them from metal/aluminum brake line. Is it beautiful to look at, hell no, but if it works and keeps your DD on the road, oh well. We cant all be Boyd Coddington

 

Nice way to keep a DD on the road without spending a fortune in the process. While not show quality it looks like an economic fix to keep one running. I think most of us have had to do unconventional fixes before.


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I would have bent up steel tubing and used rubber hose to connect the ends.

 

You made something that you can't buy and it's completely functional. You done good as far as I'm concerned.

 

I agree it isn't pretty but if it works....

I wonder if you there is a process to heat the hose or something so it learns the new shape and would keep that form after you take the copper off. No idea if it's possible or not just curious.

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I keep all of my hand tools on a cart with rollers. Instead of walking back and forth a hundred times I just roll the cart up to the work. You can see the cart in the top left hand corner..

 

Thanks for correct terminology. Coping saw blade, the better the teeth the better it works.

1 more car I promise, Rex Winter
Dry n windy Lubbock TX

 

I keep most of my hand tools on pegboard hooks on the wall cause I
need the exercise!

 

a little grease on the seal and hand tightening of oil filters will eliminate this kinda nonsense. a result of trying to change the filter on a car I just bought, I actually had to remove the oil pan to get this thing off.