the shop tips thread

[Mike P]

Now that I'm back working on the 37 again I keep finding more things I've picked up over the years, so here's another one.


I have a couple of big round speaker magnets and a couple of these old magnetic tow light bases sitting around the shop (if I can keep my grandsons from playing with them LOL). They come in handy if you need to hold a bolt or screw in place on one side of a panel or firewall while you start a nut on the other side. If you have paint you care about a rag or piece of felt between the magnet and the metalwill prevent scratches.






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[34_40]

That's a sweet tip Mike!

[firebird77clone]

So, you have ONE spot weld, or one cut with the skill saw, or etc. SAFETY FIRST. No flip- flops or sandals in the shop!

Don't ask. Just take my word for it.

[Mike P]

I recently went thru an AFB rebuilding spree and ended up with 3 rebuilt carbs that will probably end up sitting on the shelf for a while. I don’t mind builder carbs sitting but wanted to cover the throats on the rebuilt ones to keep dust and little critters out of them.

I looked up commercial carb covers and they want $10 and up for them which isn’t too bad but I hit on another idea that was basically free. I have a few of the plastic carb spacers sitting around and after looking at them I figured out I could just cut a piece of cardboard and slip it inside the spacer up against the little lip at the top.

C5 by M Patterson, on Flickr



C4 by M Patterson, on Flickr


C6 by M Patterson, on Flickr


A couple of the carbs that may end up on the shelf are the smaller throat early AFBs. I have the adapters to use the larger base air cleaners on them and if they end up sitting I’ll just use masking tape to cover those up.

C3 by M Patterson, on Flickr



I don't think it's too shabby for 5 minutes of work and being free.


C1 by M Patterson, on Flickr




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[40FordDeluxe]

I am waiting for them to have a sale on them at our HF. These are really handy.

[53 Chevy5]

I was just looking at one of those at HF but I get pretty gun shy buying things out of that store. It must be an ok saw then ?

[rspears]

I was just looking at one of those at HF but I get pretty gun shy buying things out of that store. It must be an ok saw then ?

I haven't cut much with it yet, but so far it seems OK. I figured I'd risk $100....

[40FordDeluxe]

They're still $135 at our store. I don't see a super coupon for it either. Figures.

[rspears]

They're still $135 at our store. I don't see a super coupon for it either. Figures.

Ryan, I picked this one up around the end of February. They had a super coupon specific to the saw, and their other coupons, like "25% Off Any One Item" excluded the Bauer name products. If I see it again I'll try to remember to let you know....

[rspears]

Ryan, I picked this one up around the end of February. They had a super coupon specific to the saw, and their other coupons, like "25% Off Any One Item" excluded the Bauer name products. If I see it again I'll try to remember to let you know....

Ryan,
The May issue of Wood Magazine has a bunch of HF Super Coupons, and one is the Bauer Band Saw for $99. I expect the same batch will be in oyher magazines too, but I'll send it to you if you don't find it. Good through 7/6/18.

[40FordDeluxe]

Thanks Roger!

[firebird77clone]

Today's tip:

Welding your work to the table stabilizes it, and ensures your welds stay square.

However: my weld table was too small for a particular project, so I borrowed a piece of granite from a nearby granite counter top installation company. You'd be amazed what they consider scrap.

Well, a granite slab makes for a fine flat work area, but to keep things square:

Spot weld everything into place.
Once everything is tacked together, sequence the welds so one offsets the other (compensate for shrinkage) and you can achieve a flat, square assembly

[Mike P]

The hood hinges on the Plymouth were getting a little stiff so I decided to lube them over the weekend. There is no such thing as a simple job on this car Once they got a little oil, I found out the 60 year old hood springs were too weak to hold the hood up.

New springs weren’t available when I built the car, but fortunately they are now.

I suspect several of you already know this one, but for those who don’t; the easiest way I’ve found to install the new springs is to use a brake spring tool to stretch the springs over the tabs.

BT by M Patterson, on Flickr


I started out trying the bottom one, but the little drilled divot kept spitting off the tab so I ended up using the one made of stamped steel.




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[TOW'D]

Since I work mostly alone I stopped turning the overhead lights in my shop
instead wear a rechargeable Ebay LED headlamp-miners light if you will- Everywhere I look I have bright light- They use 2-18650 LiPoly batteries -get good quality batteries from Sanyo-Panasonic not the batteries they offer with the lights
The batteries last all day and get a extra set on charge waiting
free shipping from China
Hank

[shine]

i switched to led lights in the shop. cost next to nothing to run them. twice as bright . thought i was going blind .