tools you have made yourself
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 521
Likes: 1
From: Southern New England
Several years ago I had the need for a very-very stubby phillips screwdriver to loosen a screw on a steering column cover. I had only about 1/2" clearance from the top of the screw to an obstruction. I braised the tip of a phillips bit to an old hacksaw blade and it worked like a charm. Still have it in my toolbox.
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,587
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach
Made some tiny little picks out of paper clips for removing the pins out of electical connectors. Took about 2 minutes to make with a hammer and a file, but they worked like a charm 
Then there was also the ever useful chisel made from a flathead.
Then there was also the ever useful chisel made from a flathead.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 0
From: Maine
I made a spark-plug-wire-pusher-on tool out of a piece of wooden broom handle. I couldn't get my arm twisted up under the intake manifold and push the boot all the way onto the plug (Ranger with the dual-plug 2.3), so I cut a piece of the handle about 14" long and drilled a hole in the end a bit bigger than the wire diameter (but smaller than the boot diameter) and as deep as I could drill it. Then, I used a coping saw to notch one side with a width about the same as the diameter of the hole. Once I got the wire on top of the plug, this allowed me to push it down hard enough to seat it.
"Mifflin Clay"
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,177
Likes: 4
From: Mifflin, PA
What with working on electronic countermeasures equipment, I've bent and fabricated my share of tools, but the last was a set of allen wrenches - took the long side, ground them to a flat taper (almost chisel point), then filed a notch about a quarter inch up from the end, across the body. These, when inserted in the mid 80's GM rear wheel cylinder retaining clip, allow easy cylinder removal. Otherwise it's a B$t$h. Anybody runs across a need for these, I can email some pics.......Used to cut off screwdriver bits and braze into 1/4 inch drive sockets to use with a rachet ......brazed an air quick disconnect into a sparkplug body after removing the porcelain to put air pressure in a cylinder to allow valve spring removal with the head in place....
Last edited by alchymist; Dec 19, 2005 at 08:04 PM.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,542
Likes: 22
From: Murphysboro, IL
It wasn't for auto related work but when I was a sheetmetal worker we use to take a 3/4"-1" steel black pipe bushing and notch out a 3/14" groove on each side of it and weld a handle onto to it to turn on gas meteres whenever we would have to shut them off to do work on a gas line work.
One day I was having lunch and I was talking to a guy that worked for Ameren (the gas and electriccompany) and in conversation I told him what we did and he went to his truck and got one of their tools out and handed it to me and he said "they get aweful mad when we loose these things, here ya go!"
One day I was having lunch and I was talking to a guy that worked for Ameren (the gas and electriccompany) and in conversation I told him what we did and he went to his truck and got one of their tools out and handed it to me and he said "they get aweful mad when we loose these things, here ya go!"
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Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,542
Likes: 22
From: Murphysboro, IL
I also had to make a phillips and flat screwdriver in the metals shop, senior year we had to amke a tap wrench and a die wrench, that was a tedious project but it was neat when it was done. It had a screw tighten handle similar to that of a torque wrench and jaws so it could be used as a tap or die wrench
The Pacifier
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,245
Likes: 7
From: Cloverdale, BC
Made a clutch measuring tool in my pre-app class.
Also made a 1/4" pin punch, and a 5/8" chisel.
Then there's the Kenworth steering box allen wrench I made. 12" of 1/4 x 1" flat bar, with a 3/8 bolt (9/16" head) welded to it, for holding the backside of the bolt behind the rad.
Got a couple tie rod removers (not pickle forks).
After buying a bunch of star wheel adjusters for juice brakes, and none of them working, I had to bend a flat head screwdriver. Never did bend it back.
Also made a 1/4" pin punch, and a 5/8" chisel.
Then there's the Kenworth steering box allen wrench I made. 12" of 1/4 x 1" flat bar, with a 3/8 bolt (9/16" head) welded to it, for holding the backside of the bolt behind the rad.
Got a couple tie rod removers (not pickle forks).
After buying a bunch of star wheel adjusters for juice brakes, and none of them working, I had to bend a flat head screwdriver. Never did bend it back.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 3
From: Spokane, WA
I made a 2 foot long "wrench" last weekend out of 1"x3/16" flatbar. I was installing a bulkhead fuel fitting in the bottom of my stock gas tank but couldn't reach in the tiny fuel sender hole to hold or get a wrench on nut to hold it still. I cut a few pieces of bar and welded a simple wrench together so I could reach in and hold the nut. It got the job done.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,507
Likes: 5,563
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
i have made a few over the years, but 3 stand out, and are used more than the others.
#1 = 9/16 wrench for nuts in the headboard of the bed to hold the stacks in place. it is "u" shaped, with the open and box ends even with each other, but 2 inches apart.
#2 = water pump fan nut wrench, made out of 1/4 X 2 flat stock, with a 4 sided cutout to fit the fan nut. made this is on a sunday afternoon in 85 for a diesel.
#3 = took a 1 inch pvc "T" , and glued 2 inches of 1 inch pipe into it, with a notch cut into the end. use it to lock the hubs on the dana 60's when its colder than a polarbears hemaroids out.
#1 = 9/16 wrench for nuts in the headboard of the bed to hold the stacks in place. it is "u" shaped, with the open and box ends even with each other, but 2 inches apart.
#2 = water pump fan nut wrench, made out of 1/4 X 2 flat stock, with a 4 sided cutout to fit the fan nut. made this is on a sunday afternoon in 85 for a diesel.
#3 = took a 1 inch pvc "T" , and glued 2 inches of 1 inch pipe into it, with a notch cut into the end. use it to lock the hubs on the dana 60's when its colder than a polarbears hemaroids out.
Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,172
Likes: 1
From: Oakdale,Ca.
Dozens of tools on my lathe a mill...75% work as intended...simplest thing I made was a tubing bender for fuel/brake lines out of conduit and a little bit of flat bar, wish i had a digital camera to show a pic, but basically weld flatbar across the top of the conduit as a handle to turn it, then weld a little "L" bracket length-wise on the conduit to hold the tubing as you turn it.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
Working as a self employed truck and heavy equipment mechanic you get to fabricate quite a few tools out in the "field" (spanner wrenches for hyraulic cylinders,large wrenches from flatbar,........)
My latest for working on my projects at home is the rotating cab stand in my album. It makes body repair on the cab so much easier when you can get it to any position.
My latest for working on my projects at home is the rotating cab stand in my album. It makes body repair on the cab so much easier when you can get it to any position.