Easy and usefull tips and tricks post

It's that time again folks. Post your easy, usefull and cheap tips and tricks here. Been a while since we've done this and I KNOW you've got some good stuff to share & make life easier. Let's see 'em.

 

Here's one for the new HAMB.

If you don't want to quote when you reply to a message, just highlight the quote in your new message and hit the delete key.

Middle of garage season and no one has anything to share?

 

I would like to see a tip on how the hell can I make my profile picture under 7,000 bytes. getting it 100x100 pixel resolution is not a problem. but it's impossible to get a real picture under 12,000 kbs. (needs to be under 7,000)

at least with Microsoft Paint.

anyone have a link to free photoshop?

 

Norton, have you ever used Irfanview? It is a great program, free last I checked, that allows you to view your pics and resize them very easily.

 

I'll try it, thanks.


My free trial of photoshop ran out.... and i've already spent too much money on Nero and dvd/burnering equipment so i'm broke.

thanks for the tip.

 

The easy way is to post the picture somewhere on the net and just link to it.
You don't have to resize it. The HAMB will do it for you.

There's a program free to download off the net called irfanview. You can adjust the picture quality in it to cut down on the file size of the pic.
Make your picture the size you want, adjust the picture quality slider till it's under a 70K file when you save it.

 

Is it ok to post a car-related tip here? Hope so.

Did you know that the propellant in a can of computer keyboard cleaner is wicked cold? Flip a can upside down, hit the button, and it releases the propellant. Useful for freezing all kinds of stuff.

I've had a couple balljoints be almost nearly impossible to split out of spindles. Pickleforks, hammers, sledgehammers, torch + sledgehammer- nothing worked. So I heated the spindle up with a torch (yum- smell that rubber and grease burn!), then took a can of keyboard cleaner, flipped it upside down, aimed the little plastic tube at the ball joint. You could hear the metal pop as it shrank, and it frosted up instantly, but since you can direct the spray, the spindle stayed hot. Two whacks with a carpenter's hammer on the spindle, and it fell right apart. I'd never dare use the ball joint again after doing that to it, but I was taking it out for a reason anyway...

 

Actually, that's what I was after. Car tips, stuff like what WORKS for cleaning whitewalls, Shop tips, easily made usefull tools, etc.

 

Having trouble removing those spring perches from an early Ford axle? Heres how I done it on a model A axle. Some things you will have to have is about 2 cans of PB Blaster, a big ass hammer, and lots of extra tools you will lose when you get angry and start throwing them across the yard! First order of business is to take the castle nuts off. Then bathe the perches with the Blaster, all over maybe even a whole day.

Once all this is done you need to source out a piece of solid steel tubing that will fit through the spring perch hole. One thing that worked for me is a bumper jack handle. It was stiff and was the perfect size! This is the trick, because having this item gives you a simple lever and increases the force you can apply. I suppose you could bend the perch but that didn't happen in my case. You can twist the tubing back and forth and loosen it some, once this is done put the axle across 2 sawhorses or other objects. Then with the perches hanging upside down you can hammer on the object you placed through the spring perch hole until your hearts content. Hammer on it right next to the perch and it should start its way out.

I suppose a blue wrench would also help but I had no access to one. So thats it hope this helps someone

 

I prefer Westley's Bleche White for that.

 

The whitewall guy here in Bako is kinda strange (Agent Orange Agent Orange), anyways, when you buy whites, he shows you the 50's way of cleaning them. Seems to work for me! 1. grab a can of beer 2. grab a can of Comet Cleaner 3. grab the Choreboy 4. scrub you filthy animal, come on put your back into it! 5. drink that beer!!

If you have old motors laying around the garage and not enough stands, set the engine-oil pan first-into the center of an old tire, stops it from falling over or mashing the pan.
Don't forget to spray W-D40 onto all raw metal before bagging....it will rust!
Duct tape will get you home from Vegas when you catch your rad. hose on the fan in the middle of Baker.
Hey the removable handle of your shop jack makes a fantastic breaker bar!
Most importantly, you can defraud the stock market and still get your own show from prison!
x
Brandy

 

Its cool now, I figured it out. I used irfanview and it's great....


never heard of the program before, it sure is great for a free one!!

microsoft paint is so useless.

 

When you have a busted light bulb and can't get it out of the socket, push in a patatoe and twist it out.






also, righty tighty, lefty loosy

 

For those of you with kids eating baby food from jars. Thise jars make great holders for small stuff in your garage. I take the top off and screw it to the underside of a shelf. Then I can fill the jars and twist them onto the lids securley under the shelf. These hold misc washers.

 

I'm working on building an English Wheel. Found that an Industrial Caster from Tractor Supply or Harbor Freight will work for the upper wheel. Took it apart and chucked it up in the lathe on the inside of the rim. Turned down the outside, best I could get with my lathe was 3 tho. run out. Made a new axle for it and have it ready to put in the frame when I get it welded up. Have less than $100.00 in it so far. The lower anvils may be a problem for me tho. Will have to talk to my machinist buddy and see if he has any tips on making them.

 

For baby-food jar holders, you can buy a little carousel (lazy susan) for them. Has 6 or 8 slots that you can stack three or four jars in. Great for small parts storage, and takes up very little space.

If you can't remove a ball joint with the pickle-fork, make sure the fork tines are UNDER the rubber boot that's on the ball joint. I had a friend whack the hell out of one for a long time. When I gave it a shot, I just made sure the forks weren't digging into the rubber boot, and in two whacks it was broken free. I've seen this happen a couple times since then.

Shop Tip: Store your absorb-all in a 5-gallon bucket from Home Depot. Put a couple of them in the shop. Easy access, and you don't have to worry about tearing the bag (which ALWAYS happens)

Get a shop manual for EVERYthing you're working on. Got an engine from one car in the body of another ? Get a factory manual for each of them.

Motors Manuals are AWESOME. Don't bother with the Flat Rate manuals--useless for what we do.

Don't throw away ANY old engine part without running the casting numbers first. I jound out the junk water pump on the small block Chevy I bought was for a '56 Corvette. Rebuilt it, sold it to a 'chainer for $105 plus shipping. Same with a distributor I had--date coded for 1959, and I got $20 for it (I was gonna cut it up for an oil primer. Bought a different one at the same swap meet for $5, and made $15 on the whole deal)

Have as many shop manuals and reference books as you can get your hands on.

Now that you've got all these books, put them on a book shelf with doors on the shelf to keep the shop grime and dust from making them filthy.

-Brad

 

cool. i want to make one also.

could you please post a photo or two of your progress? why are you turning the outside of the caster?

 

snortonnorton sent you a PM

 

here's my el-cheapo tech tip for this run..
when doing bodywork, especially on the hard to match contours such as hood peaks and fender lips....wrap your sandpaper ( it helps if you use the adhesive backed stuff) around a deep well impact socket. the sockets are a variety of sizes to suit whatever contour you need.
especially helpful if you are trying to keep a consistant contour when knocking down bondo.

wooden dowels in a variety of sizes work quite well too.

for wet-sanding, wrap your sandpaper around a paint stick to give you a nice even finish.

and lastly, take an empty 1 liter soda bottle, punch a small hole in the center of the cap...next fill with water and squeeze. use for wetsanding. the small hole conserves water, and also creates enough pressure to keep your sandpaper from getting gummed up.

 

Kitty Litter is wonderful at absorbing oil, trans fluid or any other automotive fluid you forget to empty out when you remove that engine;-) Kerosene also works as a very good agent to break up oily substances on shop floors, just remember to squirt out your garage after the fact!

Low on break fluid? Use ATF.

Zipties hold the most amazing things together, like carb linkage!

Wax butchers paper works wonders at repelling paint for those of us who are too lazy to remove our bumpers.

Tabacco can be used in a pinch to plug a hole in a radiator...just put in radiator and wait for it to be forced into the hole.
x
Brandy

 

For takin' out thin rubber stripping or gaskets and all those other little guys i use a flat head screwdriver and cut out a little circular notch in the corner and it works great. you just work the thin side under what ever you want to remove and just push the handle away from you and pull up then your done, alot better than trying to work your hand in there!

-jake

 

Snortin'
The caster wasn't designed to have tight tolerances. It was quite a bit out of round, the axle was a carriage bolt. It was square on one end, but the mount it went in had a square hole on both ends. Turned down a new axle and drilled the mount to the correct size for it.
I got it all welded up tonite and tried it out with a jury rigged bottom anvil. I made the startling discovery that gloves are a good idea with sharp sheet metal. Also don't run your fingers into it either, It'll pinch the shit out of you!

 

For masking off intricate detail and areas that would be a nightmare , use aluminum foil....pro aircraft painters do it also in highly congested/detailed/hydraulic/wiring areas, like up in the landing gear and engine bays....you can scrunch it and mold it around anything and it'll stay , you can even shape it right up to things perfectly with a small screwdriver or pick. I've painted engine compartments on late model cars for complete color changes that you'd swear the engine came out. It's super cheap, easy to work with, thin and picks off easily, sometimes you can even blow 50% of it off with a blowgun after your job is dry & just peel the rest.

 

dude, thanks so much for the tip, as i might need it.

After painting my bike that i'm still trying to finish up, I scratched the shit out of the frame near the rear section since i ran into major problems with the rear wheel. i can't tear it apart at i've spent 3 months trying to wire it..

I might try this aluminum foil method and touch up the bike..

thanks....

 

I use tin foil as well! It's perfect for when you repaint the car and you don't want to remove the headlights! I also use the big black plastic trash bags to cover the tires/wheels on my car. They slip right over and you don't have to worry about overspray on your wide whites!

Brandy

 

Brandy, do not put ATF in your brakes.

My tips;
To get those greasy clothes clean, dump a couple cans of coke in the wash.

Removing tie rods and ball joints- it has been so long since I used my pickle fork I don't even know if I still have one. I get 99% of them out with a few swift blows from a fair sized hammer. A couple well placed blows on the side perpendicular to the tapered hole will dislodge all but the most stubborn and you haven't destroyed the rubber boot with the pickle fork. For the stubborn ones use some good penetrant, give it a few blows and leave it for a while. Repeat until it comes loose. A few hammer blows always sets up a vibration that allows the penetrant to work its way in.

 

put an egg in the radiator plugs a leak as well...
8 pound bfh knocks off all balljoints
if ya need to set a tire bead spray a bunch of carb cleaner in the tire and throw a match on it the explosion will seat the bead and it will be up to about 30 psi. dont try to light it with yer zippo. use a match

 

Getting something done. Have big dawg between the garage and the computer.

 

LOL, funny one. is that a dalmation? then it's probably just a great an attack dog as my Lab,,, (not good attack dogs at all unless you want them to lick someone to death)

 

Can't figure out where that noise is coming from in you mill? Cut a 2x4 in a 2ft section put it to what you think is the culprit and put your ear to the other end.

Need a Transmission jack? Go by the old tire shop in town and ask for an old steel wheel. Cut out the center and cut the wheel in half where you get a U out of it. Take the head off of your floor jack check the diameter of the input hole for the head. Find a pipe about the same size cut to fit and weld to the bottom of the U. for 50 cents worth of gas and wire you have a dual purpose floor jack.

ALWAYS keep 2 sets of pantyhose in your bucket, they make a pretty good replacement belt if one goes.

99 cent brake cleaner works better than any engine degreaser, it is amazing.
Good info, keep it coming!