Tips and Tricks….

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by intocarss

Never thought of that THANKS!!

I like simple stupid tricks like that which are hidden right under our noses!

Stacy David's GearZ show has some good ones> http://staceydavid.com/articles/tips

[dontlifttoshift]

Blue sharpies are faster and easier than Dykem for small layout work.

I keep an assortment of various sized washers for layout work. If you want to drill holes in the corners of a square plate 1/2" in from all edges a washer with a 1" outside diameter will put the center of the washer at the center of the hole. Way easier than measuring.

I use the washers for layout of lightening holes as well, usually on the aforementioned chipboard.

Automatic center punch.....get one.

Kwik Scribes are worth their weight in gold. https://socalsac.com/tools/kwik-scribes

In General, Minimum bend radius = material thickness = material used to make the bend. A 90* bend in 16 ga (.063") will "use up" a 1/16 so cut your blank 1/16 big.

Measure twice, cut once. Never "burn" an inch when using your tape measure, it always ends badly. Also make sure the hook on the end of your tape is straight and square.

A 6" piece 3/8" rubber fuel line slipped over the porcelain on your spark plugs makes installation and removal easier around headers when you can't get your fat fingers in there.

Always torque your wheels immediately after installation.....always.

You can use the open end of a wrench as a caliper to measure round stuff. Not sure if that bolt is 1/2" or 7/16" grab a wrench and find out.

When making brackets for various items, always radius the outside corners and then deburr them. Sharp corners under the dash can cut wires, hands, and foreheads.

Take care of your hands. This is right up there with safety glasses and ear plugs. If your hands are dried and cracked they don't work as good and little scrapes and cuts that aren't usually a big deal last forever when you work with your hands all the time. Your wife/girlfriend/sister/ mom has at least 10 different kinds of lotion, steal some and use it......on your hands. I wear gloves whenever I am working with metal.

Good thread, Greg. Should be all kinds of neat ideas come out of it.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by dontlifttoshift

Blue sharpies are faster and easier than Dykem for small layout work.


Great tip! I keep Dykem in the brush on and the rattle can version -- but love the sharpie idea!



I keep an assortment of various sized washers for layout work. If you want to drill holes in the corners of a square plate 1/2" in from all edges a washer with a 1" outside diameter will put the center of the washer at the center of the hole. Way easier than measuring.



^^^^^This! And something else I've learned to use in the opposite fashion -- I use my transfer punches to scribe stuff -- a half inch transfer punch will scribe a line 1/4" from the piece you're tracing etc.



I use the washers for layout of lightening holes as well, usually on the aforementioned chipboard.

Automatic center punch.....get one.



Way more accurate!!!


And if you want to transfer a hole from a piece your trying to mount -- USE A TRANSFER PUNCH -- and your holes will come out perfectly so you can mount the piece!!

Kwik Scribes are worth their weight in gold. https://socalsac.com/tools/kwik-scribes

In General, Minimum bend radius = material thickness = material used to make the bend. A 90* bend in 16 ga (.063") will "use up" a 1/16 so cut your blank 1/16 big.

Measure twice, cut once. Never "burn" an inch when using your tape measure, it always ends badly. Also make sure the hook on the end of your tape is straight and square.



I burn the tape for accuracy -- and it's cost me lots of lost time because the piece I'm working on ends up 1" short. So much for being accurate! I hate that!! LOL




A 6" piece 3/8" rubber fuel line slipped over the porcelain on your spark plugs makes installation and removal easier around headers when you can't get your fat fingers in there.



I've always used a straight plug boot -- and a bit of plug wire…. same effect and a HUGE time saver!!!




Always torque your wheels immediately after installation.....always.



If we're at the track -- we might torque them two or three times in a day!




You can use the open end of a wrench as a caliper to measure round stuff. Not sure if that bolt is 1/2" or 7/16" grab a wrench and find out.



How easy is that!!! Never thought of it!


I'll add a "plumbing" tip -- a half inch "pipe" measures 3/4" outside diameter -- so a 1/4" pipe measures 1/2". If you measure the PIPE -- subtract 1/4" from the OUTSIDE DIAMETER and that's your pipe size.





When making brackets for various items, always radius the outside corners and then deburr them. Sharp corners under the dash can cut wires, hands, and foreheads.

Take care of your hands. This is right up there with safety glasses and ear plugs. If your hands are dried and cracked they don't work as good and little scrapes and cuts that aren't usually a big deal last forever when you work with your hands all the time. Your wife/girlfriend/sister/ mom has at least 10 different kinds of lotion, steal some and use it......on your hands. I wear gloves whenever I am working with metal.



SUPER GLUE -- best thing in the world for small splits in your fingers -- or cuts in the shop!! IT was originally made for suture-less emergency wound closures! It won't hurt you a bit and dries instantly - stops the bleeding instantly -- and those little splits? They heal from the inside - and the super glue kills bacteria (which is why they hurt so bad!) and you'll have zero pain in 3 seconds!

My hands are ALWAYS a mess….I can't seem to keep them together.




Good thread, Greg. Should be all kinds of neat ideas come out of it.

THANKS!! I hope so!! There's so many sweet little tricks that really make a job faster of better…

I remember when a guy showed me to measure the center to center of two holes…. I always tried to hold the tape on the centers - it never worked out. Then he showed me to measure from the edge of one to the same edge of the other -- BINGO! So simple… but who knew??

[Twoblackmarks...]

Originally Posted by Sieg

I like simple stupid tricks like that which are hidden right under our noses!

Stacy David's GearZ show has some good ones> http://staceydavid.com/articles/tips

That was some Nice tips I have not heard before, baking flour on Alu Wheels! Hmm

On regular wrenching there is one thing I use at work a bit, you probably know it, but to keep the nut from falling out of the socket, put some paper around the nut so it sticks inside the socket.

And tape Your universal joints, they are almost useless without tape..

[BonzoHansen]

Originally Posted by Twoblackmarks...

And tape Your universal joints, they are almost useless without tape..

I'm a big fan of wobble extensions now. I rarely use those ujoints anymore.


If you ever come across a broken 4th gen f-body door take the reinforcement tube out of it. It makes for a great persuader for added leverage when needed, and gm even put a nice hole in one end to hang it on a screw in the wall.

[Viperlover]

Make sure that you research which way the clutch disc goes in before you install it and the transmission.

[EBMC]

These are all great tips! Another one I learned long ago is to smear some valve grinding compound on old rounded bolt heads and works especially well with rounded allen sockets. it takes up the slop and gives it bite with the socket to help remove.

[TheJDMan]

When I twist off the head of a bolt the most effective way I have found to remove the remaining thread is to weld a nut on the end of the broken off bolt. The bolt can then be removed with a normal wrench and the heat normally helps loosen the threads.

Great thread BTW!

[renegade6]

This method works great for removing broken LS manifold bolts. The other thing is that if the head is aluminum, you don't have to worry about your welds sticking to it.

Originally Posted by TheJDMan

When I twist off the head of a bolt the most effective way I have found to remove the remaining thread is to weld a nut on the end of the broken off bolt. The bolt can then be removed with a normal wrench and the heat normally helps loosen the threads.

Great thread BTW!

[Revved]

Originally Posted by TheJDMan

When I twist off the head of a bolt the most effective way I have found to remove the remaining thread is to weld a nut on the end of the broken off bolt. The bolt can then be removed with a normal wrench and the heat normally helps loosen the threads.

Great thread BTW!

This also works well for removing stubborn bellhousing dowel pins you aren't reusing. Weld a bolt on to the end of the dowel pin with the threads facing out, use a piece of pipe with a washer that allows the threads to stick out. Antiseize the threads and put a nut on... tighten with impact gun and the dowel pin will pop right out.