Tips and Tricks….

[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??

[jarhead]

Originally Posted by Blake Foster

Plant potato's DEEP ................... and EARLY

sorry.
Honestly PLAN your project out, maybe not to the extent of having every part number figured out. but a good idea. and DON'T change it, I see it so often on here and in REAL life. save the upgrade for the next project. if you stick to the plan you will probably have the cash left over to at least start the next one, instead of building the same car 3 times.
Take my Nova for instance, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be when it was finished and that is want I got. and I only spent 4 months building it. (no the shop did not build it)
I have only changes shocks and a rear end in 4 years and those were only for R&D. By not changing it I was able to buy a Grand National and do some upgrades on that too.

BUY GOOD TOOLS!!!

damn I am tired...

I read...

I have only change socks in 4 years.

Dogs keep waking us in the middle of the night to go outside.

damn I am tired...

damn dogs...

[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..

[jarhead]

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

Off to the hardware store...

The magnetic socket trick will be a great help.

Thanks for the link

[Wissing72]

Use an old angled spark plug boot with a piece of rubber hose in it on your radiator petcock to drain into a bucket. Less mess.

The torquing of wheels: start in one corner and work in one direction around the car, truck, trailer. DO it the same direction from the same start point every time the habbit will keep the question "did I get that one" to a minimum.

Run a magnet down the shaft of a screwdriver once, it will magnetize it for the small stuff.

A piece of rubber hose on a drill bit as a "stop"

[INTMD8]

Originally Posted by preston

Here's one I learned from the master himself -

Sharpen both ends of your tungsten so you can quickly change out when you contaminate it !

I suppose a corallory to that would be - sharpen up several of them so you you swap 'em out without disengaging from your weld site.

Or, maybe everyone else doesn't dip their tungsten in the work as much as I do lol.

I don't do it often but when I do it's so much tungsten destruction that I couldn't even flip the thing around without grinding a golf ball sized piece of aluminum off of it first.

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by gmtech921

A piece of rubber hose on a drill bit as a "stop"

Cha-Ching! A new no-brainer! Thanks

[IMPALA MAN]

When I was in college, my truck was stolen. Determined to not let the next one get stolen AND not having much money, I made a cheap set up that .... Well at least the truck didn't get stolen.
1. Run a wire to a toggle switch, from any accessory that becomes hot when the engine gets started.
2. Run the wire from the toggle switch to the horn.

At this point whenever the toggle switch is on AND the engine is started, the horn will sound continually until the switch is turned off.
I hid the switch under the seat and turned it on any time I parked it.

Think about it, as soon as the vehicle gets started the horn continues to say on. The thief has the choice to find why, or split and move to any easier target.

If you want to really get creative, get one or two additional horns. If the thief decides to hang around and find the horn to disconnect, he probably won't think to find a second or third horn placed say inside the rear quarter panel and or rear bumper.

[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.