The Tips and Tricks thread

[Ben Wilson]

Another one - When you fit a new wheel to a grinder start it up and step well back. If it's going to fail without provocation, it will probably do it in the first few seconds...

["Z" UTE]

Non ferrous metals, ie. Aluminium, and Copper should never be ground with your bench grinder, as Plonka said, the wheel will fly apart. For these metals, use a flap disc, on an angle grinder.

cheers Chuck.

[chris davey]

I know all about the eye protection thing. I got a tiny bit of dirt in my eye from under my car. Got it out fine. 2 weeks later it was infected. Had to take eye drops for a month. I now have slight scarring on the eyeball which needs to be checked up on in a year and I have increased pressure in the eye (which can be a symptom of glaucoma) but unsure if that is related to the dirt in eye. I wear eye protection from now on. Blind people can't race cars.

[celicapain]

Another one - When you fit a new wheel to a grinder start it up and step well back. If it's going to fail without provocation, it will probably do it in the first few seconds...

Also, when your using a wire wheel on a grinder, spin it up and run a piece of steel through it with your face turned away and a pair of gloves on, cause a few times ive used a fresh wheel and got a shotgun blast of little fibres stuck in my face/hands.

[o_man_ra23]

I had a lucky escape when I spilt underbody black and got it in my eye... all washed out, and no side effects have presented themselves. I was wearing safety glasses (got binned as you cant see through them anymore), but goggles would have kept more of it out (possibly all). May have to go and invest in a couple of sets soon.

Cheers, Owen

[Ben Wilson]

My best effort was fixing a leaking sump on an Escort rally car, I had to pull the starter to get to the back bolts. When I pulled the starter out a big blob of hot, dirty oil fell right into my eye.

Took about 3 months until I could see colour properly in that eye again...

[lunar_c]

..Glad to hear you guys are all okay .. as we now all know - Wear Safety Equipment!

[MOOKIE]

In my experience its mainly the time factor that stops people using safty equipment.
watch american chopper/hotrod and those shows, when the deadlines get close they rarely use safety equipment.

[TooF]

something thats worth having.. two different sets of good saftey glasses. one clear and one tinted for when your working outside.

Uvex make a good pair (both in clear and tinted) that wraps around nice a tightly. not quite as tight as sealed goggles but much easier to live with. they are dirt cheap to boot so definantly worht the investment

[NeoNasty]

I can really reccomend getting a box of doctors latex gloves. I think they are about $10 or $15 for 100. a hundred box lasted me about a year.

Stops your hands getting covered in crap and stops those harsh chemicals getting stick under your nails.

When your oxy welding, be careful which end of the rod you pick up after stopping for some reason. Ive gotten a few good burns on the tips of my fingers from picking up the wrong end. Easy to do. Put a bend in the end of it (like an umbrella), so you know to pick that end up.

Ratches spanners. Friggin awsome. I use my normal ring spanners to crack a hard nut, then use the ratchet to get it out of the tight position. Saved me many hours of frustrating work.

When working under a car on jack stands. Get yourself a big ass cardboard box to lie on. It stops oil and stuff wrecking the landlords concrete. Its helps stop the cold from getting into your back. Its easy to slide around on. Plus I find it much easier to work with rather than the trolleys that you lie down. Im a thick unit, and I am too close to the car with that extra few inches that the trolley lifts me.

Thats all I can think of at the moment.

[Ben Wilson]

When working under a car on jack stands. Get yourself a big ass cardboard box to lie on. It stops oil and stuff wrecking the landlords concrete. Its helps stop the cold from getting into your back. Its easy to slide around on. Plus I find it much easier to work with rather than the trolleys that you lie down. Im a thick unit, and I am too close to the car with that extra few inches that the trolley lifts me.

I use a tarp myself, it's amazing the comfort difference that a couple of extra layers between yourself and the concrete make.

[o_man_ra23]

I use a trolley, then again Im a thin unit and its my damned concrete... so no landlords to ever worry about again (gee thats a good feeling).

I will second the get a clear and a tinted pair comment... amber shades are good for low light conditions too. Work pays for mine, so Im set there.

Cheers, Owen

[infotechplus]

I use a tarp myself, it's amazing the comfort difference that a couple of extra layers between yourself and the concrete make.

You should never lie on concrete - it drains your batteries.

Cheers,

Peter

[NoRecall]

.... Blind people can't race cars.

Why did i just picture a bunch of blind blokes trying to race.... He he he.

On a better note...

Put your sand/grit soap or even an old cake of soap in an onion bag (the plastic holey ones) and tie it to you tap! That way it’s always there when you need it. and you not getting grease everywhere looking for it.

[celicapain]

if you need to cut something in a bandsaw, and you cant get it to sit properly cause of the angle you need it cut at, its easier to tack wield the something to a nice flat piece of metal, and then clamp the flat piece down, holding the work piece firmly under the blade.
*especially usefull making merge collectors