Best Shop Tricks

no chance of bending, losing or damaging them with the pliers. i could pound nails with a socket wrench, but i use a hammer (most of time).

i can barbarian with the best of them, but the right tool for the job makes life a little easier - and i do a few chains a month...

Usually in the spring or summer my friends start bringing their engines to my garage that have been sitting since last summer. Usually a 6" section of stripped multi conductor lamp cord does the trick. Depending on the size of the clogged jet, 1-3 strands twisted and GENTLY worked through the jets gets the problem fixed.

Blind bearing removal w/o a puller: pack the recess behind the bearing, place a shaft in the center of the bearing and hit it with a hammer. The bearing will pop out.

A foiled gum wrapper wrapped shiny side out around an old buss type fuse will get you home - fix the reason of the blown fuse 1st!

Why do I seem myself with a face fill of splattered grease if I try this?

Curly - Izzat you?

I use torn up paper towels soaked in water for this. It's less messy.

Home Depot and Lowes have these concrete mixing tubs that would be perfect for changing transmission fluid or some thing big and they are about $13.

I read on another site that Lacquer Thinner will clean jets. I haven't tried it yet. He said even new bikes sitting on the showroom floor will clog the jets.

Those are awesome as parts cleaning tubs too.

Sent from outer space with my Thunderbolt with Tapatalk.

Also Hoppe's #9 solvent for cleaning guns.

hydraulics are awesome stuff. thanks for posting this, i had forgotten.

(years ago i watch in amazement as a 15 ton propeller was stretched and pressed onto to a shaft, all at once)

you've seen me in the garage ? wthell ? lol


ya, i quit with pie pans, now it's either:

a) 5 gallon bucket (tire changes, all tools AND parts inside)
b) ziplocks (oily parts, lots of them
c) duct tape, peal a strip off and put each part in the next space. re-assembly = reverse it
d) magnetic ashtray

ohgood, hi!

Hope you don't mind me asking, but how did they actually do that, stretching and pressing the propeller on?

You've piqued my curiosity.

Thanks,


Liz

I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if any of this is 205

I have a thermarest pad I lay on the garage floor whenever I need to lay down next to the bike to change the oil, check the tires, whatever. Way better than lying on concrete.

My bike is supposed to be upright when the oil is checked, but doesn't have a centerstand. I got a small mirror with a telescoping handle, so I can check the oil while sitting on the bike. I got it from Sears.

Before I work on the bike, I always sweep the garage floor. That makes it a lot easier to find that washer I always drop.

+1, your the first other person I have heard that does this, also, sweeping the dirt away keeps anything that hits the floor from picking up dirt, parts/tools/your body/that rag your supposed to be cleaning stuff with ect...

I think most people do. Hardly a ‘trick’.

My trick is old carpet runners under the bike. Sops the oil spills and dampens the falling washers/bolts....they don't go so far.

No need to sweep, the ShopVac is always close by. I should go shopvac the bike maybe I'll find that SS fastener I dropped a couple days ago around the radiators.

Invert a sock or piece of pantyhose over the end of the vacuum to catch the fastener.

ill dig up some cool stuff when I get home :)

Nauseum tent screening material....last much longer and better at filtering the juice from the parts washer.

Set of micro brushes/reaching tools, best thing you can buy for them shopvacs, then you can use it on the computer.

Great! Thanks!