Shop tips

[Four Fingers of Death]

My favorite bunch of tools is the assorted diamond dremel grinding bits that Harbor freight sells. These things cut ANYTHING. You can sharpen carbide saw blades with them, grind out broken taps(slowly), crown .22-.243 barrels with the cone shaped one, drill holes thru flat springs, etc. Those magnetic rubber strips from the craft stores---glue to a piece of thick leather for no mar vise jaws. BTW, you can replace the rechargable batteries in the Dremel pack with AA LI-ion size from the drug store, way cheaper. Battery type Dremel+diamond bit=great chainsaw sharpener. Fits the pocket, good for 3 sharpenings per charge.

Is that a real Dremel you are using or a Chinee Boy? I have an old Dremel, great bit of kit. I have always been a bit leery of cheap Dremel bits and grinder wheels. You are referring to the metal bits aren't you? We don't have HF here, but the humongus hardware chain should have an equivalent. Must give them a try.

[Bulldogger]

I like this one!
BDGR

I hate looking for small parts that roll off the work bench. I bought a roll of the adhesive backed magnetic tape used on the back of ice box calendars and trinkets. I applied this stcky backed magnetic tape along the front edge of my work bench. Now, any small metal parts that roll off the bench are caught by this magnetic tape. Beats the heck out of crawling around on the floor looking for a part.

[Chicken Thief]

if your hammer heads come loose (wooden shaft) or maybe mould handles it maybe cos they have dried out, soak them in a bucket of water overnight wel it works for me (just dry of the water from the moulds before use or you might get a nasty supprise)

Use undiluted engine antifreeze (glycol), it wont evaporate again!

[Four Fingers of Death]

I saw an interesting gizmo on sale cheap down at the close out and tool shop, it was a wristband with a magnet. You could put your spare drill bit, screws, etc. Better than holding them in your mouth, lol.

[philthephlier]

Reamer for the crane on K frame S&W revolvers.

Buy the Lee Case trimming cutter if you don't already have one and the case trimmer pilot for .303 British cases. This pilot is a perfect fit inside the crane of K frame s&w revolvers. You will have to cut the pilot to provide the ability for the pilot to let the cutter reach the face of the crane for trimming, truing for correcting cylinder end shake issues. It works beautifully and both pieces cost about $10, not $30 or more that gunsmith supply houses get.

[Skirmisher]

Free things that come in handy courtesy of Depot/Lowes:

Flooring dept: hardwood flooring samples 3 1/2" X 5", makes a great pounding block, glue a couple together and drill for loading blocks

Cabinet dept: counter laminate samples, great for mixing epoxy or JB on. The big ones 3" X 5" make excellent windshield scrappers, keep a couple in the side pocket, better than chewing up a credit card when you or friends get caught short.

[xs hedspace]

That Dremel tool I have with the battery pack that can be replaced with LI-ion AAs, is marked Dremel Mighty-mite USA, but in fine print, Assembled in Mexico. Another 100 jobs gone! BTW, you have to solder in little jumper wires across two pairs of AA cells-look at the factory wiring when you pry the battery pack open.

[Four Fingers of Death]

The Laminate samples make a neat tool for wood turners, they can be used to cut a narrow groove to improve grip on tool handles that they are making.

Talking about jobs going overseas; my wife is a retired Chinese surgeon who met me here when she was spending some time with her brother who lives here. One of our early outings was to Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney. As we were leaving, they steered us thought the gift shop naturally and we had a browse. She picked up a little toy kangaroo and a toy koala and a toy cockatoo. I asked her what she was doing and she said gifts for her daughter, son in law and sister. I took one off her and turned it over. Sure enough, "Made in China" was on the tag. They were quietly returned to the shelf.

[rogerstg]

Wow, so many good ideas.

Here's mine. Post-It notes make great disposable surfaces for mixing small amounts of epoxy. The coating prevents bleed through of the epoxy. This is actually a common fly tyer's trick.

[1_Ogre]

Lots of good tips there. One I use is I like Chinese take out. Every time I get another project one of the plastic take out bowls or trays with lids make excellent storage boxes for projects. They have clear lids and easy to see into and usually large enough to hold all the parts for a 1911. Just FYI

[Zouave 58]

We use Castrol Super Clean water based cleaner around the shop as a general purpose cleaner/degreaser and it works great! The stuff is an inhibited caustic so don't use it on aluminum. It has a flash rust arrester so you have time to oil the part after cleaning. We use it in the bluing tanks as a hot soak and use it in a spray bottle as a cleaner for the bed ways on our lathe and mill. Great for cleaning muzzleloaders and it dilutes very well so its cheap to use.

[fast ronnie]

I have a machine shop, and stand in front of lathes and mills a lot. Cold concrete floors are not very comfortable. they are hard on knees, etc. An old sprint car tire makes a really good mat. Cut the sides off just at the edge, then cut across the tread. I've had these in my shop for 20 years and have yet to replace one. If you happen to drop a cutting tool or a newly finished part, the mat usually prevents damage. They are relatively easy to shake the chips off, too. Just pick up and tap the edges on the floor and most chips fall off.

[lead-1]

fast ronnie, I should've thought of that before I tossed out a couple old Hoosiers from my Dad's late model days.
That right side rear off a sprint should cover a fair size piece of floor.

[wquiles]

Wow, so many good ideas.

Here's mine. Post-It notes make great disposable surfaces for mixing small amounts of epoxy. The coating prevents bleed through of the epoxy. This is actually a common fly tyer's trick.

Good one. I use blue painters tape to mix the epoxy. Once I am done, I roll it up and throw it on the trash - nothing to clean

Here I am mixing thermal epoxy for LED work:



I also use the blue tape (two layers) to hold items in my lathe to prevent marking the surface:



Will

[Caladin]

Bamboo skiewers from the grocerie store work great for lots of things. Mixing/applying bedding compound, slide small springs on them so they don't escape,line up those PITA parts in trigger groups,cleaning those hard to reach back teeth......

[Gaseous Maximus]

Steel cartridge cases make good cutters for punching holes in gaskets and such.

[Graybeard96]

The other day I decidet my several decades old 45 Lyman Lubesizer was due for complete dissembling and cleaning. To avoid damaging/marking the Grease Tube which I wanted to unscrew for cleaning, I wound a bit of electrician Tape around it then fastened a Hose clamp on top of it and now had a perfect gripping surface for my Chanel Pliers.

Cheers

[fast ronnie]

On my barrel vise, I use inserts made to a couple of thou under barrel size, then wrap one or two wraps of copy paper around the barrel to prevent scuffing of the bluing. Make the split insert tight enough that the paper doesn't quite fit until the bolts on the vise are torqued down. I haven't had one slip yet.

[Quickdraw4u]

Get a set of diamond small files and regular steel small files at Harbor Freight Tool or Northern Tool for about $5 a set. I use mine all the time when trying to make something fit where it doesn't want to go. When it dulls or you break the tip off, throw it out and get a new set. Extremely handy!

[Isaac]

Get a set of diamond small files and regular steel small files at Harbor Freight Tool or Northern Tool for about $5 a set. I use mine all the time when trying to make something fit where it doesn't want to go. When it dulls or you break the tip off, throw it out and get a new set. Extremely handy!

Second this. I use them to clean damaged bolt heads and to re-cut slots in worn bolts. Several different shapes are included in each set.

Have to be picky when it comes to Harbor Freight. But some things they have work well.

Isaac