Cool Tips and tricks
 

Hey guys, I just thought of a cool thread. I thought we all could share cool tricks and tips of the trade? Like using S.O.S. pads for cleaning minor surface rust off from chrome. Using coat hangers and bending them to the shape you need for a pattern for brake or fuel lines. We also could tell each other about some of the cool tools out there, either homemade or bought? I have a test light called a power probe, it connects to the pos and neg post of the batt, then you have a short wire from the test light. You are able to put either power to the tip or neg to the tip.With the short neg wire from the test light and puttin power to the tip you can energize a circuit. This is an excellent tool for electrical work!! There are all sorts of tools, in my shop that I've either made or bought. As I'm typin this, I can't think of anything?? Your turn :-X22

Later

Oh Yeah...
 

Cardboard is cheap!! make your patterns for motor mounts, brackets, anything you need out of cardboard get it refined to fit like you want and then transfer it to steel or aluminum.Also on that note, since I work at an auto upholstery shop I have access to clear vinyl. It is useful in alot of areas, you can see through it and use it for a pattern also like when you need to make holes for an emblem or bracket or .......... the sky is the limit? And speaking of upholstery, if you need to drill a hole in your floor and you already have your carpet down and don't want to take it out, you can cut a small hole in the carpet and padding with a razor blade, then use a steel pipe or socket to keep your drill bit from catching the carpet or padding. Also feel free to tell about any cool hardware catches or bolts/ nuts and so on. Lets help each other out!!!

hey truxx1956 ! garyf1955 here. dropped ya a couple of lines on that emer. brake clevis, for my 55 f-100. I still need it. please let me know a.s.a.p. ! ! ! ! my e-mail address is garyrfarley@zoominternet.net my e address is open 24/7 ha ! ha!

Hey truxx--any info on the material for 56 ford truck seats that is vinyl-looks like tan tweed and red skirting? Have any extra??? Bill---your the guy with the turquoise/white 56--right--nice!!!!! saw it in Knoxville---Bill

The weirdest tool I ever used was a hard-cover book. I was drilling through the floor above my gas tank to install seat belts... Set the book on top of the gas tank so I wouldn't puncture it when the bit broke through the floor. Worked well! The book was gouged pretty good and the gas tank was saved :)

Oh, and when doing tear down and run into stuck bolts, I use a MAPP torch to heat the bolts, burn up rust, etc. When I do it in an area where there is paint that I don't want to damage, I get a squirt bottle and keep the paint wet while I'm heating.. the laws of thermodynamics won't let the paint bubble because the heat will transfer through to the water. I never read that anywhere, so I count it as a self-taught trick. ;P

To make a custom sized sanding drum, chuck a lenght of 3/8" rod in a drill motor, Start wraping the end with tape, running the drill to wind it on. When it reaches the right diameter, tear the tape, tuck in a piece of sandpaper under the tape and wrap the paper around a few turns. works great for cleaning out a bore.

Great tip about drilling thru carpet. (1) 'Valve cover gaskets'...use clothes pins to hold the gasket in place until the sealer dries. (2) 'Taps & Dyes'... Instead of buying expensive bottom taps, cut the bottom off a regular tap with a cutoff wheel.

Lots of good tips here so far and I will be checking this post often as I'm sure that there will be tons of good tricks to come.

Just got me a new tool a Hypertherm Powermax 30 plasma cutter. What a sweet unit runs on either 110V (15A) or 220V (30A) and I've been cutting and hacking like a mad man. I think its distracting me from working on the truck. The novelty will wear off soon I hope??

Keep `em coming, it`s rockin.
I`m thinking of doing a short term stickie on this, a good idea or not?

I hope this thread becomes a regular topic as I think it would be a world of help to the pro and shadetree alike. I have a tip for those bolts in remote places like the back of the manifold I keep a collection of 2"-4" long copper pipe in various I.D. sizes make sure your socket will fit in it then place it over the bolt to help keep your socket from slipping off the bolt.

Yeah, I'm that guy :) I have a line on something similar, but not exact.However I can probably get the exact stuff.I have a contact who has bought out trim shops over the years and has alot of NOS material. But it ain't cheap!! If you're not building an all original truck, what I can get you would probalby work? Of course in my shop the only time we use the word original is when we're talkin about chicken!!

Later and GOD bless

I polish my own aluminum and stainless with a washer motor, some buffing pads and compound from one of the big box companies (Sears,HD, Lowes). Got the motor mounted on a wooden box, polisher on one end of box, 2nd motor and sanding disc mounted beside 1st one. Used the same setup for my bench grinder.
Mounted a motor inside anther box, cut a hole above it and have a drum sander.

I use my drill press as a mill. Using a machinists cross slide and being very careful I've made beveled covers for my bed holes and grooved aluminum plates for my radio and a/c controls. 16 years as a machinist helps, too. Dream up something, look around your shop and I can guarantee you can do it too.
I used to call up these places that wholesale tools to companies, tell them what I needed and say I was gonna send a guy around later to buy it! No, it wasn't illegal. Ok, a little underhanded maybe. But they don't sell to the public and I needed machinists tooling.

I bought some fancy art deco drawer pulls and replaced all my dash knobs. In most cases I had to drill and install set screws to hold them.

I think that would be an excellent idea especially for those of us that are relatively new to the sport of old truck restoration.

Anyone got any tips on hanging the front fenders on my '48?

A lot of times when working on your truck you find a second pair of hands is not available. I used this method to install the carriage bolts and other bolts on my truck. Sometimes you have to start a nut from one side of the bed but are unable to hold the bolt from falling out to start the nut. I had this problem when I installed the new wood in the bed of the truck and also the fender bolts. What I did was take small strips of duct tape and simply place it over the head of the bolt taping it to the body etc. Then I could crawl underneath and put the lock washer and nut on. I was even able to tight the nuts from underneath. Once the bolt and the nut is tight, I simply removed the duct tape.