Your favorite Macgyver moments\tricks

[johnjen]

There is also the self annealing tape that acts like heat shrink without the heat or the shrink. It bonds to itself to make a water tight seal. I've used it for years for both marine and automotive uses. It's sorta tricky to use but once you get the hang of it it works really well.

JJ

[tgeliot]

Originally Posted by troidus

Before modern electrical tape came along, there was rubber tape and fabric tape that were used together. Rubber tape was applied to the exposed conductor to insulate it, then fabric tape was applied on top of the rubber to hold it down and provide abrasion resistance. The fabric tape was sticky on both sides and may have been impregnated with tar or something like that.

Yeah I can recall my parents having "friction tape" that matches your description of the fabric tape -- except that ours was so old it wasn't sticky any more. My folks wouldn't ever throw anything away.

[troidus]

Originally Posted by tgeliot

Yeah I can recall my parents having "friction tape" that matches your description of the fabric tape -- except that ours was so old it wasn't sticky any more. My folks wouldn't ever throw anything away.

That's the name I was given, too. My mom had some in a drawer, but didn't have the other tape that went with it. I tried to use it for something when I was a kid, but it was worthless by itself. 'course it may have been 40 years old already, too.

[zeerx]

Originally Posted by troidus

That's the name I was given, too. My mom had some in a drawer, but didn't have the other tape that went with it. I tried to use it for something when I was a kid, but it was worthless by itself. 'course it may have been 40 years old already, too.

We use to tape up our hockey sticks with that stuff. We'd get a day or two out of it before it would unravel.

[GreaseGorilla]

Originally Posted by johnjen

There is also the self annealing tape that acts like heat shrink without the heat or the shrink. It bonds to itself to make a water tight seal. I've used it for years for both marine and automotive uses. It's sorta tricky to use but once you get the hang of it it works really well.

JJ

What you need is SCOTCH (3M) self fusing silicone Heavy duty triangular electrical tape

goes by 70HDT class |H insulation in 1" x 30 foot rolls

available |FREE from your friendly local government electrical worker, i got 20 rolls of that and 20 rolls of the black normal shit........ its da biznitch

[tgeliot]

Originally Posted by GreaseGorilla

What you need is SCOTCH (3M) self fusing silicone Heavy duty triangular electrical tape

goes by 70HDT class |H insulation in 1" x 30 foot rolls

available |FREE from your friendly local government electrical worker, i got 20 rolls of that and 20 rolls of the black normal shit........ its da biznitch

I see that 3M sells both triangular and non-triangular versions. Why do you recommend the triangular?

[theothersean]

out in the woods cutting trail , wifes jeans got torn open on some thorns , about a 6-8" rip , I grabbed a rag from the 4 wheeler ( piece of an old t shirt ) cut it into a strip , used the tip of a pocket knife to poke small holes on either side of the tear , rolled the piece of fabric like a shoe lace and laced the hole shut like a sneaker .

[mac10]

I once whittled a temporary oil filler cap out of aspen wood. The green wood was chosen because it was the closest tree,but it is also soft enough. Get the diameter right, and the threads in the crankcase will bite and hold strongly. Any softish green wood will work, along with a pocket knife. Leave it a few inches long to make it easy to remove.

Another time I used a big potato on top of my old truck engine to replace the lost cap. The hood held it in place for the 50 miles to town. Smelled good enough to eat by then.

[grizzzly]

Originally Posted by mac10

Another time I used a big potato on top of my old truck engine to replace the lost cap. The hood held it in place for the 50 miles to town. Smelled good enough to eat by then.

a guy i worked with would cook his lunch by placing on the engine of his truck

[troidus]

Originally Posted by grizzzly

a guy i worked with would cook his lunch by placing on the engine of his truck

People have been doing that for a long time. There are cookbooks for it now. Here's one:

http://www.amazon.com/Manifold-Desti...9960246&sr=8-1

[H96669]

Originally Posted by troidus

People have been doing that for a long time. There are cookbooks for it now. Here's one:

http://www.amazon.com/Manifold-Desti...9960246&sr=8-1

And feed it to Gordon Ramsey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obrV4JnFLDo

[GreaseGorilla]

Originally Posted by tgeliot

I see that 3M sells both triangular and non-triangular versions. Why do you recommend the triangular?

triangular makes a neater wrap........... i have both versions

[Frederic_Shiffer]

Fresh drink in 5minutes, in the desert.

Something learnt in the Mauritanian desert, that I used a lot travelling around India on my motorcycle, in the Rajasthan.

Put wet socks around your water bottles, it is a way to cool down the bottle without using refrigeration: the condensation will naturally cool the water inside. The more wind the better. In the Sahara it took like 30minutes.

The trick is to help the process by putting the bottles + the socks somewhere on the motorcycle where they catch wind and just driving.
In 5 minutes you have a fresh drink in a dry hot desert !

[REALGRAVEROBBER]

Now THAT is clever! Thanks for that gem.

[tgeliot]

Originally Posted by Frederic_Shiffer

Put wet socks around your water bottles, it is a way to cool down the bottle without using refrigeration: the condensation will naturally cool the water inside. The more wind the better. In the Sahara it took like 30minutes.

Evaporation, actually.

I recall when I was a kid we'd get these canvas water bag things. Fill them with water, and a bit would ooze through the canvas. Hang them on the outside of the car and have a constant supply of cool water to drink.