The Tip Of The Week

[chief ben]

I was thinking, Something I do now and then, we should have a place to put
all the good idea's some of us come up with,
And after 20 years in the U.S. Navy I have a few,
And I know a lot of othere old Miltary Guys, And people that never was in the miltary have a lot of Good Idea's,
So let's Hear them.

And Here Is my First One, PILL BOTTLE Water Resistance

How to remember when you did the last maintenance on your tractor or Car Boat or lawn mower or what ever and what you did to it, I know a lot of you Guys have a good memory, But for me at 65 some things are starting to slip. Even when I write it down on something I forget where I wrote it down or where I put the Information, So I came up with this idea, A small Pill bottle and a tie tie strap I typed out the Info. On the computer and made it the size I wanted it to be and put it in the Bottle and strap it to the tractor, this is for my Ferguson TO-30
Now if I can remember where the tractor is i’ll have it made.

 

[chief ben]

TIP OF THE WEEK 2
This tip of the week is a little different than the pill bottle where you can’t remember something, this is more like when you can’t find something,
Like the Broom are dust pan when you want to clean something up are just want to clean shop floor, I have walked around in the shop for ten minutes or more looking for the
Fox tail, Broom, or dust pan, and some times I can’t find the trash can,
But Now If I Find One, I Find Them All.
Now if I can just remember to put them all back where they belong my problem is over.
So this is my solution to the problem.

 

[BigAl62]

Good ideas! And thank you for your years of service!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Here's my idea, simple and cheap. Glove hanger/dryer.

We really never had a good way to dry our gloves at the fire house. After a few winter fires and gloves getting wet, you have to figure out a way to dry your gloves, inside and out. I thought about it and realized the gloves must be hanging by the finger to dry, so water can run out.
This is what I came up with, just a pair of spring clamps screwed to the front of the lockers. I bought them at HD for less than a buck a piece and put them on everybodys locker at the FD. I also made some hangers for drying our turnout gear too, that's for another post.

I also have one to hold my wood stove gloves at home.

 

[chief ben]

I like the Glove hangers, and in Ohio you don't want wet gloves in the winter,
i hope more people will add to the Tip Of The Week.

 

[LWaite]

Great ideas fellas keep it going

 

[camarotoolman]

I Keep my screws,nails, etc. in p[astic water bottles, easy to see contents, don't break like glass, don;t dump over like boxes, and very cheap.

 

[Matt M PA]

Perhaps not a "great" tip...but one I figured out after finishing our detached garage and wanting it to stay clean.

(Since the garage is up, I've removed and restored the suspensions on 3 1956 Oldsmobile 88s. They were nasty, dripping the clumpy old grease, etc.)

Before I pulled the car into the garage, I spread that thick clear plastic like you'd use in the garden to cover the floor..then park the car on it. I think the stuff I bought was 8 feet wide. This plastic catches all the grease, rust, leaks, etc....and when the car is done you just roll it up and throw it out.

 

[romafern]

Great tips! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stephenw]

Shop Tips

An easy way to remember a measurment while doing layout work is to make a mark on your ruler with a Sharpie. The mark will usually wipe right off when done, but if it sets real well, alcohol will remove the ink.

 

[Printer Mike]

I use a silver Sharpie for writing information(mileage, date) on oil filters, aircleaners, batteries, etc. The silver shows up well on dark colors.

 

[kbs2244]

Filter numbers are always a pain for me look up in the store.
The books have pages torn out, etc.

I tear off the end panel of the box the filter came in and keep it in the glove box.
Then the next I need one I just bring in the piece of cardboard and match the number.

 

[sberry]

Stay out of the casino is my tip for the week.

 

[e-tek]

Stay out of the casino is my tip for the week.

Oh oh - someone left some money at the wheel again!

Do you mean stay out just for this week?

 

[e-tek]

I've read a thousand of these tips pages and the one that I still use (and can remember) is this:

Use a spray-can cap to hold wires you want to solder together. Just cut a slit in opposite sides of the lid and slide the wires in, to meet in the middle. It has several advantages: light enough to hang from wires that are still connected, a good height to work at if on the bench, and the cap catches dripping solder!

 

[nit2wn]

Close as I have for this one, I stole all of mine from you guys. Electrical conduit was my pipe choice as I over bought for a hot tub install.

 

[Stephenw]

I've read a thousand of these tips pages and the one that I still use (and can remember) is this:

Use a spray-can cap to hold wires you want to solder together. Just cut a slit in opposite sides of the lid and slide the wires in, to meet in the middle. It has several advantages: light enough to hang from wires that are still connected, a good height to work at if on the bench, and the cap catches dripping solder!

 

[PCO6]

Here's my idea, simple and cheap. Glove hanger/dryer.

That reminds me of something I have done for the last 50 years or so. BL50 from Michigan and I are the only two people I know that do this. When you take your socks off at night, pin them together with a safety pin and throw them in the laundry. You will NEVER have to sort socks again. You will NEVER lose a sock and you will NEVER have to go searching for them down a sleeve or a pant leg when you take your laundry out of the drier. I have been doing this since I was about 10 yrs old. My mother told me to do it ... so I did.

 

[sberry]

Not me,, I have never lft a nickle in a casino, had to have my loot for more important items,,, whiskey and women,,, ha

 

[plym49]

To remove a rusted fastener or stuck stud, heat well and touch a candle to the threads. Beeswax works best. The hot wax wicks inside and can withstand a higher temperature than penetrating oil.

 

[Jeeprz!]

That reminds me of something I have done for the last 50 years or so. BL50 from Michigan and I are the only two people I know that do this. When you take your socks off at night, pin them together with a safety pin and throw them in the laundry. You will NEVER have to sort socks again. You will NEVER lose a sock and you will NEVER have to go searching for them down a sleeve or a pant leg when you take your laundry out of the drier. I have been doing this since I was about 10 yrs old. My mother told me to do it ... so I did.

An aircrew buddy of mine in the navy did the exact same thing for the same reason, he also used brass safety pins so they didnt rust in the wash and stain anything. He is the only person I have ever know or heard of that did that in almost 20 years before reading your post!

 

[BigAl62]

I have a towel bar on the end of my workbench to hold my fender covers and my 4 way lug wrench. Keeps them off the floor and out of the way.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Cut a hole in the end of an paint tray to direct fluids that drain over axles, etc into a drain pan.

Ive tried several things like antifreeze bottles with the side cut out but the paint tray seems to fit everywhere and can usually wedge or latch it onto something. Here it is after draining antifreeze out of my willys jeep.(getting it ready for plowing)

Chris

 

[Shadowdog500]

Here is another.

Use a muffin tin to store bolts and stuff for a project. Follow a pattern to store bolts when taking it apart then reverse the pattern when putting it back together so there is never any doubt what bolt goes where. The extra organization seems to sped things up as well.

I keep it in my rolling tool cart.

Chris

 

[Super Mech]

Don't fry bacon in the ****.

 

[lotsoftools]

Great tips. I think I'll be using that paint pan idea in the near future.

 

[Matt M PA]

Don't fry bacon in the ****.

If you do...keep your sausage out of the pan!

 

[Rag Roc]

When mixing epoxy adhesives (JB weld etc.) I use the indented bottom of an empty beer or soda can.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Cut a hole in the end of an paint tray to direct fluids that drain over axles, etc into a drain pan.

Ive tried several things like antifreeze bottles with the side cut out but the paint tray seems to fit everywhere and can usually wedge or latch it onto something. Here it is after draining antifreeze out of my willys jeep.(getting it ready for plowing)

Chris

As I started reading your post Chris, I thought a paint tray would be perfect to sit oil filters in and allow them to drain too.
I have an oil barrel with a big funnel for mine but I know guys have talked about draining oil filters on here before.

 

[sberry]

Most have a gage in the pit for the well but its kind of pointless there, I have actually solved a couple problems I might have not been aware of had I not had this one at my wash sink.

 

[Silver6.0]

Most have a gage in the pit for the well but its kind of pointless there, I have actually solved a couple problems I might have not been aware of had I not had this one at my wash sink.

I like the cord guard on your welding cart. Great idea.

 

[dadsEH]

before pouring paint out of a tin cover the rim with masking tape and no more messy paint stuck under the lid.

 

[Rigged]

Here's my idea, simple and cheap. Glove hanger/dryer.

We really never had a good way to dry our gloves at the fire house. After a few winter fires and gloves getting wet, you have to figure out a way to dry your gloves, inside and out. I thought about it and realized the gloves must be hanging by the finger to dry, so water can run out.
This is what I came up with, just a pair of spring clamps screwed to the front of the lockers. I bought them at HD for less than a buck a piece and put them on everybodys locker at the FD. I also made some hangers for drying our turnout gear too, that's for another post.

I also have one to hold my wood stove gloves at home.

I have been doing this for years! This is the first time that I have seen someone else do that. I'm not a genius, damn!


I actually use a larger mouth one that I wrap around a wound up extension cord and attach to the 2x4 framing in my shed.