Most of us have one but might not have realized it's versatility. One of the handiest things you can have in your shop is a "Jump start box". They sell them everywhere for 30 bucks and up... depending on bells, whistles, compressors, lights... i think some even come with a George Foreman Grill.


They are an excellent test battery for your electrical projects and installs including wiring your truck, testing trailer lights, etc.... light enough to take to the salvage yard to test parts/lights/relays etc. I've used the same one for years powering my hood up and down 14 gazillion times as we fit it up and make adjustments. also used it for testing bear claw latch install and a hundred other things... they are also much lighter than a full sized battery, sealed gel cell so no worries it it rolls over in the car/truck and they have an adequate handle for carrying... Mine will even charge my cell phone thru the USB port.. and a backup source for my handheld ham handitalkies during power outages and weather related stuff ( with the appropriate jumper leads) they are almost as handy as a shirt pocket.

later
John

 

I have a "power probe" it hooks up to a battery or jump box has a long cord and a probe on the end of it. There is a switch that I can provide 12v or ground to a circuit. It also has a ground lead on it as well. This tool has been super helpful. I can test and power up most any 12v circuit. Welcome to Power Probe, Inc.! its simular to this but I have the master set.

 

Hi Gang. Just a note of warning! I just replaced a set of tires that I considered to be 85% but were made in 1988. Two of the tires had serious seperations! Be CAREFULL!

 

yes, ANY tire more than 6 or 7 years old is dangerous! Here's how to read the date code on tires....

On the sidewall of the tire, usually near the bead area, you will see DOT followed by something like this...

XXXX XXXX NNNN

or this

XXXX NNNN

The X's can be numbers or letters, there might be 4,7, or 8. These are not that important, they are the codes for the manufacturer, as well as a couple of other things. The important part is the last 4, which will ALWAYS be numbers. If there are only 3, then the tire was manufactured before 2000, and should NOT be used!

The first 2 numbers are the week, and the last 2 are the year of manufacture. Here's an example...

DOT JB1R GWER 5210

This tire was manufactured during the 52nd week of 2010.

 

Good to know.

Thanks

 

x2 and the examples were cool too. :)

About 5 years ago I spend over two hours diggin' through Discount Tire's
big pile of used tires in the middle of summer and finally settle on two...

"I can't sell those tires to you, they're out of date, they're too old :/"

{CRAPOLA! I'm not buying milk, danggit, ok, calm down, breathe ;}

"what's a guy to do that needs bald tires for a dune buggy? :/"

"I can't sell 'em to ya... :/ ...but I can give 'em to ya! ;)"

Alvin in AZ

 

These are GREAT tips! I wish I had some to share with you guys. If I think of any I'll post them.

 

Just went to recover my stored vehicles that were untouched for 20 plus years. Most of the tires looked like crap, but one set looked OK. I tried and they all took air??? I made a quick trip to NAPA and when I returned one of the four "OK" tires was back flat. I refilled it and continued to do some other work in preparation for moving my stuff. Came back and it was flat again. Decided to take it to have both sides reseated at a tire shop. The kid hit the tire with the tire demounter and the tire crumbed!!!! Looked OK but had serious dry rot!

 

I wanted to share my experience with Permatex RTX in the aerosol can. Nothing PO's me more than RTV tubes that solidify after using 1/10th of the tube when first opened, no matter how tightly capped.

This aerosol has a nifty way of closing off the main supply as well as the tube, and has a trigger to release it that is very handy. Very easy to put a thin line of RTV on a gasket, especially around bolt holes.

I bought a can of this in July '12, gasketed two 9" diffs, filled countless little holes on my truck, did two flathead oil pans, I can't even count how many small jobs... and it is still ready to go every time I pick it up. Only the smallest bit of the dispenser nozzle cures and is easily pulled out. Unscrew the nozzle a couple turns, and pull the trigger. When you're done, just screw the nozzle back down and cap it. Try it, you'll like it!

 

Cool one, ALBUQ :)

I've been using the "Right Stuff" (dumb name, good stuff) and lost the
caps long ago and just pull the cured stuff from the tube, no sweat. xD

IMO, Permatex never learned how to make a lid/cap, ever! :(

----------------------------------

Here's something I've been doing since told about it back in late 90's
but just now getting around to taking a picture of it...


^^ that's cheaper and better than this...


Can be used to cut slots into the tops and/or bottoms of frame rivets
so they're easier to cut off with a cold chisel.

Ever know anybody that-didn't-resharpen their new pocket knife blades
to a more acute angle so the dangged thing would actually cut something? LOL :)



The main problem with the factory angle on rivets (and most other things)
is the thing you're trying to cut will work harden on you and start ruining
the cold chisel's edge. If the cold chisel is actually -cutting- the edge even
acute like that one sharpened at what?
25 degrees per side?
Can handle a frame rivet like it was nothing.

The hit that messes up the edge the first time quickly snowballs with the
rivet work hardening even more and the chisel can't cut it, they are about
the same hardness after that. :/ Then you're just beating the two metals
together mushrooming both. LOL :)

Change the angle you're cutting almost every hit so it'll cut into new fresh
"meat". ;)

Another way to do it is just have the wife cut the rivet heads off tho... xD


Use big tools. The hammer is a homemade 8 pound single jack and the
chisel is 1"x 12" (made from 7/8" hex). It's light work really, just cramped
working conditions.

Alvin in AZ

 

Ross,

Like the RTV stuff. can't wait to get some.

 

Hold the cold chisel with a pair of vise grips or a strap wrench to save hands

 

once when busting bricks out of a wall to put in a vent... hitting a brick chisel (wide blade) with a 4# hammer... missed the chisel and smashed my hand but good... whole thing turned blue/black and it was three weeks before I could close it into a fist...

use the vice grips !!!!!

john

 

I couldn't disagree with you more. :)

John, your only real problem is there in the word "once" ...I believe. ;)

The answer is... learn how to use a hammer. Really, it's that simple.

I wore out a -bunch- of cold chisels at work and never broke the handle
out of my bonding hammer. I put a hunk of spike maul handle in it in late
Sept of '73. Still got it. Still use it but it's a measly 2+1/2#. :) But it was
about perfect for chiseling off track connections and Cadweld bonds tho.

Found that old hammer head in the motorcar/tool house when I cleaned
it out after I first got the Mesa Signal Maintainer's job. Gene Bayliss

CADWELD

There's my 2+1/2# bonding hammer on the right and the 8# on the left...


Some of the "more uncoordinated ;)" at work used vise grips or hammer
their chisel through a hunk of rail-car brake hose etc. They still couldn't
hammer worth anything. LOL :) Those were the sissies. Bobby Wright
would just pound the hell out of his hand. LOL :) He wasn't no sissy. xD

For me it made it harder work if I didn't hold the chisel with my hand.
No kidding on that. That way sucks, IMO.

Compared to a gandy dancer (traquero out here;) I can't drive a spike
worth anything. But when I get around "regular" guys all of a sudden
I look-like I know how to use a sledge hammer like a pro. It's all relative. :)

They'd all laugh like crazy when I'd break a handle out of a spike maul. :)

Alvin in AZ
ps- Recognize that bonding hammer there, Renaldo "Chicken" Badilla? :)
pps- He watched, then told me that handle would last me a lifetime. :)
We were waiting on trains to change out an insulated joint at a lower
quadrant semaphore signal at the Tempe Mesa line.

 

not sure if this has been posted yet, but a very good idea with angle grinders!