Tool and shop tips & tricks FAQ

320780 Views 287 Replies 204 Participants Last post by binksman, Oct 11, 2019

steveh

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2005

I thought we should start a thread where can share our most useful tips and tricks.

I'll start with how I learned to seal threaded pipes for air and liquid. I learned this from a journeyman plumber. Since I have been using his method, I have yet to have to re-do an air or liquid threaded fitting. Brandon asked how others did this in his thread on shop air.

First wrap the threads with Teflon tape. Then use Whitlam's Blue magic sealer on top of the Teflon tape. Assemble the parts. It's good to go right away.

The Blue magic semi hardens enough overnight that if you touch it, it won't rub off.

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241 - 260 of 288 Posts

rob93

· #241 · Jul 7, 2013 (Edited)

Bumping this thread for a couple tips I've been shown. Sorry if they're already here.

For a handy little cup to carry liquids, hardware ect in...
Take an empty soda can, hold the top by the lid to about a 45 degree angle against a belt sander, keep spinning it around the lid to evenly sand the entire rim. There is a seam attaching the lid to the rest of the can that you must sand off.
After about 20-30 seconds of sanding, pull on the pop tab and the lid will pop off. You are left with a clean, burr-free can to hold shit in.

Also, nothing removes splinters better than a pair of calipers.

tempestv

· #242 · Sep 4, 2013

rob93 said:
Bumping this thread for a couple tips I've been shown. Sorry if they're already here.

For a handy little cup to carry liquids, hardware ect in...
Take an empty soda can, hold the top by the lid to about a 45 degree angle against a belt sander, keep spinning it around the lid to evenly sand the entire rim. There is a seam attaching the lid to the rest of the can that you must sand off.
After about 20-30 seconds of sanding, pull on the pop tab and the lid will pop off. You are left with a clean, burr-free can to hold shit in.

I used to have a hand cranked can opener that would do this even faster, and leave a perfectly clean edge.

rocklobster87

· #243 · Nov 23, 2013 (Edited)

Keep small remnants of tubing from projects and weld them onto things like tables, vice stands and tool carts as mig gun/tool holsters/hooks. Helps keep things off the floor and within reach.

applying superglue to the tip of a gloved finger or cheap screwdriver is a good way to retrieve non-metallic items from tight spaces.

cupcake baking tins are useful for storing hardware during teardowns. Put down rows of masking tape and label bins if needed. Ice cube trays are handy too.

I often "sweep up" with a long blow gun. Aim it down a wall, close to the floor and it blows metal shavings/dust/whatever out of the corner and out into the open where it can be swept. Great for getting around tables and equipment that aren't easy to move.

You can make all kinds of cool welding pliers and clamps out of chinese vise grips and scraps of plate, bar, angle iron etc.

A 5 gallon bucket with a flexplate lying on top makes a great funnel holder.

224886

· #244 · Nov 23, 2013

mudtrux said:
But they don't mix, at all. Try it in a clear or opaque cup. I tried with Dextron and Type F.

They mix but not for long but they mix long enough to work better than any penetrating oil you can buy by far. The mix works really well for cleaning parts too.

Biggest problem is you can't store it in a spray bottle because not only do they separate but acetone will eat through plastic after a while. That and acetone is flammable as shit. I had seized upper LCA bolts on my XJ and used it on them and had it run down the control arms. I had my Jeep up in the air with a cheater bar pulling the LCAs down to get them back in the axle and slipped with the bar. Just the friction from that was enough to ignite the acetone on the LCA.

Zi

· #245 · Nov 26, 2013

An easy (manual) air compressor drain: one of those 1/4" NPT truck air tank drains with a lanyard. You just pull the lanyard and hold it for a few seconds. They're like $5-10. Mine has a 4' lanyard with a loop at the end; I hang it over part of the compressor switch box.

LBHSBZ

· #246 · Dec 20, 2013

Motorcharge said:
They mix but not for long but they mix long enough to work better than any penetrating oil you can buy by far. The mix works really well for cleaning parts too.

Biggest problem is you can't store it in a spray bottle because not only do they separate but acetone will eat through plastic after a while. That and acetone is flammable as shit. I had seized upper LCA bolts on my XJ and used it on them and had it run down the control arms. I had my Jeep up in the air with a cheater bar pulling the LCAs down to get them back in the axle and slipped with the bar. Just the friction from that was enough to ignite the acetone on the LCA.

I tried this for the first time the other day...headbolt was busted off in a Mercury outboard, vise grips wouldn't budge it. Whipped up a bit of ATF/Acetone in a steel container with a brush and dabbed in around the bolt...came right out.

Did the same on exhaust manifold nuts that hadn't been pulled in 230K miles. They broke loose easily and unscrewed with my fingers.

I'm sold.

ironmangq

· #247 · Jan 20, 2014

Hanr3 said:
Dirtygerman said:

I want to hear the theory behind your statement, and then I want to hear your solution for removing rust bonded rotors/hubs.

Click to expand...

Heat between the lugs with a torch, when you hear the metal pop, the rotor is loose and will come off easily, no damage to anything.

Impact like a hammer blow can cause the rollers in the bearing to leave little dimples in the bearing race (or flat spots in the rollers) which can cause them to fail pre-maturely. Remember, you wheel bearings are cushioned from hard impacts by the tire and the suspension, hammers don't have any give and the shock gets absorbed by the bearings.

ironmangq

· #248 · Jan 20, 2014

rob93 said:
Bumping this thread for a couple tips I've been shown. Sorry if they're already here.

For a handy little cup to carry liquids, hardware ect in...
Take an empty soda can, hold the top by the lid to about a 45 degree angle against a belt sander, keep spinning it around the lid to evenly sand the entire rim. There is a seam attaching the lid to the rest of the can that you must sand off.
After about 20-30 seconds of sanding, pull on the pop tab and the lid will pop off. You are left with a clean, burr-free can to hold shit in.

Also, nothing removes splinters better than a pair of calipers.

Hand operated can opener from the kitchen works great too, also leaves the rolled lip there for a smooth rounded edge.

jovak

· #249 · Feb 1, 2014

For stained concrete floors a friend of mine who happens to be an Aircraft mechanic (a&p,a&i) uses an old Windex bottle with avgas or just gasoline and a rag for oil and grease stains also works good for cleaning surfaces with no paint in general.
Some really great stuff here! Subd!
When I changed a power steering line on my chevy, i didnt have the right size wrench I think it was like 21mm and I had 20 and 22 and an adjustable wouldnt fit so i used a 24mm with a shim and it worked fine. But i wouldnt recommend this if you can avoid it

When you have to hold a nut in place and you cant get your hand in place, use masking tape on the combo wrench.

ATF works wonders on many things, after all it is mainly detergent, a friend of my dads who was a mechanic in the Coast Guard said that they covered everything on the boats in ATF, For as long as I remember my dad has wiped guns down with ATF to prevent corrosion.

I always have to squirt cans of Oil with flex necks on them, one ATF and one waste oil, and use them on almost every project assembly and dis-assembly

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icalbert101

· #250 · Feb 15, 2014

another magnetizing trick that I don't believe was hit. get a couple of magnets from old hard drives. and swipe your screwdriver from handle to tip then remove from magnets and repeat a few times. much like using a butchers steel. to De-magnatize swipe the other way. CAUTION these magnets are fucking strong if you get a set out of a TB or larger driver and your finger gets in between them it WILL give you a blood blister. these are also the best magnets for tool recovery just tie a string on,

Another harddrive magnet tip. if you have ever seen "Gun Magnets" at a gun show they are just hard drive magnets. you can mount them under furniture and the little 1x2x.125 magnet will support a loaded 1911

Busch_Light74

· #251 · Apr 20, 2014 (Edited)

Just a few tips i have used over the years in my trade.
1. I use lard when tapping threads. It's cheaper than that Tap magic shit and works better imo.

2. Ever break a bolt off even with the surface of whatever it is stuck in? I find a nut with the ID roughly same size as the bolt and place it over the broken bolt. I build a little tit up on the center of the bolt using a mig,and then jump the arc over to the nut and fill the ID of the nut in. Let it cool,take a wrench and back it out. "Note this is not a sure fire way but it does work in some instances"

3. I use WD40 if i have to turn copper for a cutting fluid. Works great and leaves a nice surface finish.

4. If iam milling gussets or brackets ect ect. I stack a few together and tack them so that i dont have to repeat my setup's over and over and it goes alot quicker.

5. When you are using transfer punches to transfer holes, You don't have to hit it like you are beating some tweaker to death for trying to steal your stuff. It ruins them, dull's the tips. Just enough of a tap to mark the steel is all you need. You can use a regular punch to deepen the indention to stop a drill bit from walking.

Im sure 90% of you already know this stuff and or have better alternatives. Just throwing my .02 out there for what i use.

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shiner2001

· #252 · Sep 12, 2014 (Edited)

2

Break the ceramic off of and hollow out a spark plug, weld it to a male quick disconnect, slip on some 3/8" line and screw it in #1 so you can easily feel the compression stroke while you're laying on your back under the truck turning the engine over by hand.

Oh and obviously it only works when you paint it gold. (Made it easy to spot in the toolbox).

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Vinman

· #253 · Oct 30, 2014

Best garage I did recently was replace the 6' power cord on my Lincoln Mig Pak welder with a 25' RV extension cord (had to replace the male cord end).
I was going to simply make an extension cord but decided to just hardwire directly to the machine.
Every time I use the welder now I appreciate not having to be so close to the receptacle.

TheHardWay9

· #254 · Dec 30, 2014

You guys ever see this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwv_XjWp1KA

22george

· #255 · Dec 31, 2014

pretty cool

Trwelds

· #256 · Mar 18, 2015

Vinman said:
Best garage I did recently was replace the 6' power cord on my Lincoln Mig Pak welder with a 25' RV extension cord (had to replace the male cord end).
I was going to simply make an extension cord but decided to just hardwire directly to the machine.
Every time I use the welder now I appreciate not having to be so close to the receptacle.

I like this and also would add that I like to have the same length of hose to a bottle on the wall. then use a cable wrap to keep it all in one. makes it much nicer to pull the machine around.

chuggins143

· #257 · Mar 19, 2015

We have a small 110V Lincoln MIG on one of those HF carts. Nice and small for those little jobs you don't want to have to bust out the big welder for... To make life easier, I mounted a 4 gang outlet box on the side of the cart with a 6" plug on the end. Now I can use a regular extension cord (we have a HD 12ga one for this purpose) to feed the cart, the welder is plugged into the box and we have a place to plug in a grinder or whatever as well. Not ever going to be a problem since you'll never be welding and grinding simultaneously anyway!
:grinpimp:
C

RagTopTA

· #258 · Dec 28, 2015

Air Tool Hanger

We have quite a few air tools in our little shop. They are always getting scattered all over the place. So I made a cheap functional hanger for them.
1" square tubing. Drilled 7/16" holes every 3" then added a 5/8" slot under each hole. Works great.

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Usmc42

· #259 · Jan 2, 2016 (Edited)

Tool and shop tips & tricks FAQ

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

Awesome thread. Sub'd

rocklobster87

· #260 · Jan 10, 2016 (Edited)

2

Not sure how many people know about these, but they can be very useful for layout and for measuring in general anytime when ~1/20" precision is adequate.

It's an engineers tape measure and it's graduated in 0.01', 0.1' and 1.0'.

It breaks feet into base ten like the metric system and lets you make measurements that are easier to add/subtract/divide quickly and without error.

Tape measure Tool Measuring instrument

For example: I wanted to space these slider supports out evenly over a 3.16' span.

Vehicle Automotive exterior Bumper Car Commercial vehicle

3.16' / 4 = 0.79'

0.79' x 1 = 0.79'
0.79' x 2 = 1.58'
0.79' x 3 = 2.37'
0.79' x 4 = 3.16'

make marks at 0', 0.79', 1.58', 2.37' and 3.16' and done.

much easier than doing math on fractions or converting back and forth between them and decimal equivalents.

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