Fabricator's tips.....

OK, how's about a thread where we can post various tips and tricks that we utilize to make fabrication work easier?

I'll start with a few....

When final shaping smaller stuff and you need just a "little bit" more taken off, go and grab some of the wife/gf's emery boards. Better yet, hit the dollar store and snag a bunch in all different grits and sizes. They even have "buffs" that will make really smoothing something up easy. You can even cut them to fit in weird places.

Take a piece of plywood or other flat board, mount a couple 2x4's to the bottom along the edges and notch the 2x4's to fit over your sawhorses. Instant portable workbench.

If you or a buddy get to rebuild a tranny or xfer case, be sure to keep any gears, bearing races, shift rails, shafts etc. that get replaced. Keep them by the press and use them as needed.


Anyone else got a few?

 

Ok woodworkers this works great cast iron tables saw's ext to keep them slipery and rust free and stops beer bottle rings when your buddys put down a beer on them i use Butchers bowling ally wax just follow directions on the can

 

Another good centerpunch is a small (e.g. 10-32) thread tap. The one with pointed ends. Grind one point flat to hammer against.

When pressing in a new bearing cup, take a grinder to the outside surface of the old one to reduce the diameter slightly. Makes a great driver.

To remove 50 year old undercoat, use a propane or oxy/acetylene torch to soften it while scraping. Also works great for removing Bondo.

tommy b

 

Just thought of another one...If you happen to have a broken bolt, you can use a cheap swap meet set of torx drive sockets to get it out. Simply drill the hole into the broken bolt like normal (undersize from the star pattern of the torx socket you'll be using) and drive the torx into the hole with a hammer. Then just attach your socket and back it out.

 

If you need an Allen Key and don't have the right size, or it's a large one, get a bolt and put 2 nuts on the threaded end. The head of the bolt becomes the allen Key, and put a wrench on the double nuts. For example the drain plug on a NV 3550 is an 18 mm allen head. I didn't have an 18 mm bolt, but ground a 19 mm bolt head down to make it fit. I sometimes weld a nut to the bolt to make it a permanent tool. I have a couple of those in my tool box.

Paul

 

Buy a warehouse....................

we fabricators are netorious for being pack rats........

if you have a really stubborn bolt broken off (steering box bracket on the-7) weld a piece of metal ir even anouther bolt to the exposed portion and between the heat of the weld and the new ability to grip, the bolts come right out.

 

Old speaker magnets are your friend. Stick 'em to a metal surface upside down, sideways, whatever and stick tools, bolts, whatever to keep them from getting lost. Cover the bottom with something protective like thin felt to prevent marring. They can also be used to hold metal in the right place for tacking in place, etc. Put an old tray or pan on one now you have a holding basin for your nuts, bolts, etc. Put a couple of them on a larger pan with solvent for cleaning engine, trans, and transfer case parts, gears, etc., and the metal particles will stick to the pan instead of getting back on the parts you are cleaning. Nickmil

 

Put a small magnet in the bottom of you gear boxes ( trans, Diff, transfer case, Oil pan ) To catch small metal particals for floating in the oil/ Gear grease.

 

Don't have a Bench grinder, or your bench grinder too far away at the moment? Grab your angle grinder and Workmate. Clamp the angle grinder tightly into the workmate and now you have a portable Benchgrinder.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the #1 fabricator tip: Measure twice; cut onceR)

 

always wear your dress pants while grinding (not) dont ask.. i wont tell..

I have a old elk hide from hunting it works great for covering seats and windows up to protect from welding sparks..


using 2inch pvc to hold your brake lines and fuel lines up out of the way works great. go to the lumber store and buy the 2 inch straps meant for holding 2 inch pipe and strap pieces however big you need to the ceiling or the wall to hold long thing stuff. i use it for holding all of my spare cb antennas.


Corona box's are really good for storing things in they are stackable very strong, just remove the bottle devider and its better then the milk crates.. and there is a treat in each box when they are new.

make sure if your welding under your jeep that you dont have any "missing" 22 loaded shells laying on the floor.


If your neibour likes to complain that your always making noise .. when he walks in spark the welder at the right time and he will never bother you again.



You "can" use your welder as a cut off tool also. just crank the heat way up and let her rip. then you will need to do some grinding to clean it up.mine will blast 1/2 inch plate pretty easy.

 

oh ya..

never show your wife how clean and nice your welds are. you end up making patio furniture instead of working on the jeep

 

Don't think you can hold a small part in one hand and an angle grinder in the other. I have the scars to prove it.

 

A few painting tips:
-Dedicate your guns, one for primer, one for color, one for clear.
-Drill various size holes in a 4x6 or 4x12 (if you can find one) block to stand items you can't hang.
-A length of 1" water pipe hung from the ceiling makes a great hanger for parts you can hang (don't hang them from your garage door opener).
-First coat of any paint should be fairly transparent. Only let it dry to tacky, then spray your second coat to opaque.
-Have a run? Use a new razor blade held vertically and carefully plane off the run, then rub out w/ compound.
-Save a little of your color in an airtight container for touchups.
-Use the torn end of a paper match to apply said touchup paint.
-Always use an air dryer at the compressor and an inline throwaway moisture filter at your gun.
-If a small area is damaged or needs to be resprayed, feather edges into good paint over 4"-6" area, then tape paper towards the area and roll back and tape back edge. Make rolled edge start about 2"-4" away from area and spray into (not under) the paper. Compound after paint sets.:v6:

 

If you have a blasting cabinet, a 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid is a great place to store the extra/different media and keep crap out of it. Throw in a silica gel package and help control moisture as well. You can get these at Home Depot and Lowe's. (and about any hardware type store I imagine.)

 

Use ziplock baggies to organize bolts and misc hardware when taking something apart. Label them as you go with a marker. Even if you don't use everything when you put it back together you'll know if you've missed anything.

An old refrigerator makes a great paint cabinet.

 

A way I've found to locate spot welds for drilling out is to lightly go over the surface with a wire wheel or a small scotchbrite wheel. This will remove the paint off the flat but it will stay in the weld, which is dimpled. Works great except for the ones close to an inside corner, where the wheel is too big. If you punch through, then plug weld the new panel rather than spot welding it.

tommy b