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A simple, but worthwhile hack

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Posted

This hack may be well known to many of you already, but it came as a sudden epiphany to me the other day.  

I was trying to install a washer & nut in a location where my fingers could not go - underneath a plate atop the engine.  I couldn't hang on to both for the install, but could easily turn the bolt from above.  Finally, I cut off a square piece of duct tape and stuck it to the bottom of the jaws of the open-end wrench I was going to use to hold the washer & nut, and keep the nut from turning.  The tape temporarily held both washer & nut on the end of the wrench.   This allowed me to place them on the end of the bolt where my fingers couldn't go, while I rotated the bolt from the top!

There must be dozens of hacks y'all have created over the years.  It would be great to hear them!

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Posted

A little dab of rubber cement or anykind of plyable sealer works good too. 

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Posted

Best file handle in the tool box.

zReqRwG.jpg

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Posted (edited)

Hey, that's kind of corny!

actually I like that, wish cobs were more readily available here in the west.

Edited by wypaul
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Posted

Gotta try that one!

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Posted

For clamps an awe, vice clamps, lace time them shut for difficult ones 

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Posted

Sorry, I just don't get what you're trying to say here.  Could you please re-phrase that?  Thanks.

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Posted (edited)

Yea crappy English and I never re read what I wrote. Sometimes adel clamps can be a hassle if there is a big stack-up or precarious location. So you’d put the clamp on where it’s suppose to go, and use an awe to simulate a an3 bolt. Then you use vice grips to squeeze the clamp together, again the awe will keep the 3/16” holes of both sides of the clamp aligned. Take the awe out, and use waxed string to tie the clamp closed, then when you remove vice grips the clamp stays aligned and closed allowing you to easy navigate a bolt through it.

Edited by Matthewtanner

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Posted

Yes, Adelle clamps can be a real pain!  So can those little spring hose clamps, as they tend to distort, then not work right (at least the cheap ones do).  Correct me if this is a bad idea, but I've taken to using small cable ties to terminate fuel and oil lines instead.  I pull them tight with pliers, pulling against a crescent-style adjustable wrench open just enough to pass the tail of the zip tie through.

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Posted

if you do a double wrap with zip ties, you can get a good tight clamp for some things.  JImChuk

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Posted (edited)

As far as clamps, I am sold on oetiker clamps.  Nothing squeezes as tight, is as 100% secure, grips all the way around the hose (zipties and worm gear clamps always have a slack spot under the tab)

Just gotta be careful not to put the oetiker in a location where you cant remove them easily (to remove I cut the compression tab with a dremel cutoff disk)

s-l400.jpg

Edited by Yamma-Fox
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Posted

Ski pole handle for the grip on the stick?  3/4" or 19mm stick diameter is same as many ski poles!

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