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Homemade tools

M92PV4U

Falling Down
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
110
Messages
3,942
Loc
D.p. Ca.
What are some tools that you needed and built? I made this spanner wrench and some similar to it.
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Lol. I make a lot of tools. I need to take picture of them though.

I work on GM vehicles. In the GM world the special tools are called “J” tools. My buddy dell that’s too cheap to buy these special tools, just makes replicas of them. So we call them “D” tools. So when I make tools, it has just stuck that they are “D” tools. 😀
 
I built this after the last time I had to build transmission cooler lines from a coil of tubing, and after I saw how fucking expensive the commercial versions were. I need to soften up the edges of the wheels some because it does mark up 3/8 and bigger tubing but it does get it straight and I'm in it about 20 bucks.
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I saw a cool homemade tool on book of faces last week and can't find it now.

Basically is was 3" of roll cage tube that had been notched, then vice grips welded onto the end.

Video showed it sliding on tube/and clamping to hold other notched tubes against the main tube so that it could be welded.

I've searched, and can't find it.:homer:
 
I rebuilt a 4L60E for the first time 2 years ago. I bought the best parts but got stingy on tools. I wasn't confident this job was within my abilities and I didn't want a bunch of dough tied up in specialty tools if it went south.

They make a specific spring compressor. It was more than I was willing to pay. So I made this out of scraps and it worked great.

I didn't buy that teflon ring tool either. I took a set of rings to a shop and handed the tech $20 to put them on, he just ran them in dry. One had the smallest impefection afterwards so I replaced them all. I wasn't chancing someone else's work making this fail.
To avoid the tool I cut a couple solo cups into sheets, wrapped them around the shaft, put the lubed up teflon ring over the cup, moved it into place and dropped it in the groove. Then I wrapped the solo cup sheet around the outside and put a hose clamp on to shrink the teflon. I didn't take pics, wish I did now. two years later and this transmission is still awesome. I liked building the thing too, I look forward to building another someday.






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I built this after the last time I had to build transmission cooler lines from a coil of tubing, and after I saw how fucking expensive the commercial versions were. I need to soften up the edges of the wheels some because it does mark up 3/8 and bigger tubing but it does get it straight and I'm in it about 20 bucks.

I like the portable ghetto/mobile work bench.
 
You did a nice job on that!

I built one too, but not as fancy as that. I used some Agricultural tool bar for the bottom die and some bucket edge for the upper die.

Nice! I'm a bit spoiled. Having a mill and a lathe gives me the opportunity to make things way more complicated than it really needs to be.
 
Seems like all I really do is make tools. Here are a couple more that I made. If you want to know more just let me know. I’m happy to share ideas. The belt sander came from Jeremy Schmit on YouTube. Can’t believe how useful it is.

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Seems like all I really do is make tools. Here are a couple more that I made. If you want to know more just let me know. I’m happy to share ideas. The belt sander came from Jeremy Schmit on YouTube. Can’t believe how useful it is.

Nice work! What are you using the belt sander for? Is there a platen on the underside or just slack belt between the wheels?
 
Nice work! What are you using the belt sander for? Is there a platen on the underside or just slack belt between the wheels?

Mostly deburring since I do a ton of machining. It works very well for rounding corners on flat bar. I have the platen attachment, and adjustable angle table and a 2" wheel attachment for it also. Using ceramic belts, it is amazing how much material it can remove. I put a bucket under it to catch the dust and it still makes a huge mess.
 
Here are some pictures of the setup today. I don’t know why but my phone turns all the pictures sideways.

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Press brake for my HF press. Bought 6" of press brake die off ebay for $20, they made the rest out of scrap I had laying around. Works great, Largest Ive bent so far was 3" wide 1/4" plate. Press had no problems with that.

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Swag offroad table is too fancy for a HF saw. Especially since the saw and the Swag table cost the same amount of money. Need to countersink the holes but Ill take it for Free.99

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I made a stand like that for my HF saw too. Do you have issues with blade tension? Seems like whenever I try to cut something larger than 1/4", no matter how slow i go, it always cuts sideways. That's with good fresh blades (starrett or whomever) too.

How about a home made tool holder?

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I made a stand like that for my HF saw too. Do you have issues with blade tension? Seems like whenever I try to cut something larger than 1/4", no matter how slow i go, it always cuts sideways. That's with good fresh blades (starrett or whomever) too.

The tension seems fine but I do have issues with the blade not being "straight" I just make sure I have a cut line drawn out so I can square up the piece I'm cutting to the blade itself while I'm cutting. not ideal but I don't have the funds for a Milwaukee at this point so It will do for now.
 
I made a stand like that for my HF saw too. Do you have issues with blade tension? Seems like whenever I try to cut something larger than 1/4", no matter how slow i go, it always cuts sideways. That's with good fresh blades (starrett or whomever) too.

How about a home made tool holder?

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I've been wanting to do something similar to that for a while now. Good job!
 
What have people made for masking machines? I'm talking about the things that hold a roll of auto body masking paper, and a roll of tape, and they align the two so that as you pull the paper off, the machine applies tape to the paper for you.

I'm thinking EMT is the perfect stuff to make this with.
 
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