Thread: Show The World How You've Modified Your Tools To Work For What You Needed/Razors etc

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Yesterday I spent my kids inheritance on my combination Retirement/Birthday to Myself which is a motorcycle. Don't worry they can sell it after I'm dead to pay for the funeral and hopefully there will be a little left over for them.

Anyway it has lots of chrome including a rack at the back and since on occasion I might what to ride to the store and pick up some barley pops or if I took a trip it would be nice to have some elastic hold down straps. However I didn't want to take a chance and scratch the chrome. But the only ones I've seen have the metal just painted with a little rubber 'thingy' to cover the end so I made my own with common heavy duty rubber hold down straps.

I used common automotive vacuum hose then put plenty of liquid dish soap in very hot water then placed the hose and allowed the rubber to become pliable. I then put a light coat of the liquid dish soap on the metal 'hook'.

While I wouldn't say it was 'easy' it wasn't 'hard' however as the hose progressed to where I felt it should be to protect the chrome I found that I need to use more than just 'finger tools' so I applied some electrical tape to the jaws of a pair of pliers.

Here's how I modified the hold downs:

One with a rubber cushion and the stock metal:



The completed modification:



I left about a 1/4" 'extension' at the end to try to make sure that the metal end didn't 'bite' anything.

Thanks for looking!

Gasoline works very well to slip rubber over metal and has the added advantage of once it dries, (a few minutes) the rubber is glued on. Just squirt a bit inside and slip it on, they become very slippery, and you have a few seconds to adjust the fit, if needed.

Years ago, when I worked in a Motorcycle shop, this is how we replaced rubber hand grips. You have to cut them off, once dry.

Well I'll be replacing the rear tire on my motorcycle here in a few days and I thought that I might need a little brute force and ignorance to get the shaft free. I don't own a dead blow hammer only a couple of rubber mallets but I had some brass 'punches' (brass shafts from large valves) that were my dad's so I ground the small end of one so that it will fit nicely into the counter sunk hold from when the shaft was manufactured so as not to damage the threads and make sure the punch didn't wander from the center.

The modified 'tool' is in the middle/you can see from the bottom 'punch' that dad had used it.



Here's a better look at the one I modified. I'll probably only use it for similar tasks.



Yes I polished it up a bit/it'll only be 'NEW' once.

Here are a few tools I had to modify for doing wire inlays. Old shaving brush handle with cut down x-acto handle inserted and an x-acto blade ground down and sharpened to cut the slot for the wire and a brass rod filed to a taper to use as a push rod to adjust the wire. Eventually I am going to spend a little more time to make some better tools, but since these work new ones can wait.

“Custom” Dremel Bit holder

I had been using a few of the 2X4 inch plastic boxes, (with holes drilled on the top) as Dremel bit holder, for bits I use frequently. Problem was they caught anything that got near them and went tumbling bits across the bench.

One day I was at a garage sale and saw a solid walnut board drilled with a boat load of 1/8 inch holes, a Cribbage board… and the light bulb went on.

It fits perfectly on the side of my wooden tool box, that holds most of my razor hand tools. The holes are 1/8 inch and drilled deep enough to hold the bits securely.

I still keep extra, duplicate bits in plastic compartmented boxes. This board keeps the most used bits readily visible and at hand and I am not even using, half of the holes.

Best of all it was 2 bucks. Now, I see them all the time, at garage sales and thrift stores.

I use a length of sisal rope tight between two vises with metal polish rubbed on there to polish inside the barber notch. Just put the notch on the rope and rub back and forth. Low tech but it works, especially if the notch is too small for a dremel wheel.

A custom stanley 307B. was a 6 oz. Ebay buy $12 shipped new old stock.


I ground/polished the head, 4.5 oz now and smooth, then shortened the handle to 10".

Also have a hunk of D2 on the way for a pinning anvil I will add to this post later. A small round I will drill for pin stock and polish up, heat treat ect. I saw one similar in a video somewhere.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Well I'll be replacing the rear tire on my motorcycle here in a few days and I thought that I might need a little brute force and ignorance to get the shaft free. I don't own a dead blow hammer only a couple of rubber mallets but I had some brass 'punches' (brass shafts from large valves) that were my dad's so I ground the small end of one so that it will fit nicely into the counter sunk hold from when the shaft was manufactured so as not to damage the threads and make sure the punch didn't wander from the center.

.

Last week a new OS&Y valve showed up on a pallet at work.

Guess who called Dibbs on the old one.....

Hey Roy was I the first one to use that brass drift? It was the perfect tool in my opinion, I,,m going to have to have one of them myself!!!! Tc

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Hey Roy was I the first one to use that brass drift? It was the perfect tool in my opinion, I,,m going to have to have one of them myself!!!! Tc

I have a set of different sizes. One of my bigger ones I use for knocking the axle out of a Harley (or anything else) to keep from damaging the threads. I also have a big brass headed hammer.

Well.... new guy has reinvented the wheel hahaa
Saw a pinning anvil in a video a while back and thought, man thats pretty clever. holes drilled for pins and all. I didn't realize they were sold at SRparts.com for $20 lol live and learn. Im into mine for $18 with the shipping.

3 1/2 x7/8" D2 drilled for 1/16" and 1/8" pin stock, awaiting heat treat.