Home Made Tools

[67C10Step]

Anyone got photos of those home made gadgets you made to get the job done? You know, the thing you need for that third hand or whatever to get a quick, non repetitive job done?

I had one the other night in the shop trying to press new lower ball joints into my lower A arms. They are off the truck and painted so I thought I would use my 12 ton press to install them. Problem was I didn't really have the right fixture to hold the A arm for the pressing. I only have two to do and it was about 10:00 p.m. so there wasn't any going to the parts store to borrow a ball joint press. A little thought, some left over lumber and here is my lower ball joint fixture. Piece of 4x4 with a hole cut in it for the ball joint stud and reinforced with more than just a few wraps of aluminum tape. Just wanted it to last for two pressings and it worked like a champ.

What you guys got that could inspire the rest of us?

[truckster]

I needed a spindle nut socket for my front end, and when I went to O'Reilly the kid behind the counter looked at me like I had asked for a plasma fusion inductor. So I went home and made one:

[weq92f]

.
I needed this pulley on and didn't have the proper tool so...

[mongocanfly]

To many to count...usually if I need it I make it....

[RustyPile]

I restored 3 old Cushman scooters and needed an engine stand so I could work on the engines.. I designed one and cut out the pieces.. My grandson was studying to become a welder so I gave him the pieces to weld up the stand..

[A1971Blazer]

I have a plethora of homemade specialty tools that I have made
I suppose I cheat because I own a machine shop
Here's one I used just last week to install a TrueTrac locker

case spreader for GM 12 bolt truck

[Greg58]

That is pretty cool, I would never think you could stretch cast iron!
Greg

[72c20customcamper]

Have lots of home made tools for cars . But I've been doing knives and hatchets for about 5 years . My hookaroon hand forged made the handle out of ash .

[shifty]

There were a couple of these threads over in the Shop forum over the years. This is the one that sticks out in my head, but I swear there was another one in the 2006-2008 era also : http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=5012999

[yuccales]

You know how we all save stuff. Had a broken breaker bar handle. Rusty Proto ball peen head with no handle. Put the two together, made one of my favorite little hammers. I use it for small roll pin installs quite a bit.

[Boog]

I needed a NPT tap on a saturday late afternoon so I whipped this up from a 1/2” piece of pipe. Worked like a champ and have never needed it since. I cut 3 grooves in it with my grinder.

[87chevy.com]

Plier bead crimping tool for small diameter tube. Making 5/8 and 3/4 heater core lines for another engine swap.





Works pretty nice, it leaves a nice smooth bead. Make one light pass, then full crimp the 2nd pass. If they started out as pliers vs crimper/cutters, I imagine it wouldn't make the marks on the tube..

Clint

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by Greg58

That is pretty cool, I would never think you could stretch cast iron!
Greg

Oh yeah, you definitely can, but you shouldn't have to with a GM 12 bolt. That's Dana 60 kind of stuff.

[ChevyRacefan]

Originally Posted by yuccales

You know how we all save stuff. Had a broken breaker bar handle. Rusty Proto ball peen head with no handle. Put the two together, made one of my favorite little hammers. I use it for small roll pin installs quite a bit.

That is nice.
I have a few ratchets , that are dead. and hammers with cracked/junk handles.
I'll have to cut/grind down the ratchets head, but , ..

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

To many to count...usually if I need it I make it....

Same here.

Not sure that this really applies, but I made it yesterday and thought of this thread, so what the heck...

Using my metal band saw yesterday, I decided enough was enough. The flimsy sheetmetal cart that came with it required that I kneel on the floor every time I wanted use the thing, it was way “tippy”, it was a pain to move around, and it had next to no storage space.

I took a break from working on the C10 and turned a bunch of scrap steel into a cart that’s actually usable. For a total investment of zero dollars and a couple of hours of my time, I’m quite happy with it. It's stable, easy to move, places the saw at a comfortable height, and has storage for metal scraps, blades, the table for vertical use, etc. I may make it pretty someday (clean it up and paint it), but I doubt it.

[Myself]

You guys will love this! A powered hacksaw for larger steel. An old man I know built it years ago and gave it to me about 2 years ago. The motor I believe is either an old belt drive blower or washing machine motor. The idler pulley is off an 80's Ford. The gearbox is from a commercial ice maker. The switch at the arm joint kills the power when the cut is finished. The bolt on the end of the arm is to hang a 5# weight off of. Just clamp your tubing in the vise, set the blade on it, hang the weight, start it up and walk away.

[1966burb]

Getting ready to pull the engine out of my 66 burb. Took an old cherry picker that I picked up on CL and adapted it to a 3 point hitch hook up on my tractor.

[chtr65]

Here is a tool I had made up from a friend of mine for taking dog dish hub caps off of deep dish rims. This prevents the painted rim from getting chipped edges. It works as the same principle as the old slid hammers. Hook on back edge of hub cap, and slid the collar back to break the hubcap loose.

[Overdriven]

Originally Posted by yuccales

You know how we all save stuff. Had a broken breaker bar handle. Rusty Proto ball peen head with no handle. Put the two together, made one of my favorite little hammers. I use it for small roll pin installs quite a bit.

Pretty much the same story. Although if I’m honest I cringed a little bit cutting off the head of this broken Torque Wrench. But everyone in the shop loves the “Torque Hammer” and makes jokes about turning it up or down. There’s a small tack weld to keep the adjustment from spinning while swinging though.

The wrench is just made from 1/4 sheet and to fit into a specific place. I didn’t have an extra wrench to modify so cut this one out. Hardened it as best I could with a torch and some oil, been holding up so far.

[Richard2112]

C-clamp and modified hole saw. Valve spring compressor

[mikelom]

Originally Posted by chtr65

Here is a tool I had made up from a friend of mine for taking dog dish hub caps off of deep dish rims. This prevents the painted rim from getting chipped edges. It works as the same principle as the old slid hammers. Hook on back edge of hub cap, and slid the collar back to break the hubcap loose.

Need a tool like that. Thanks for the idea.

[Redneck Rydes]

Originally Posted by 1966burb

Getting ready to pull the engine out of my 66 burb. Took an old cherry picker that I picked up on CL and adapted it to a 3 point hitch hook up on my tractor.

I did the same thing for my tractor,works great

[1966burb]

Just tried my modified Cherry Picker on my 66 burb engine swap. Worked great.

[HAULIN' IT]

Originally Posted by 1966burb

Getting ready to pull the engine out of my 66 burb. Took an old cherry picker that I picked up on CL and adapted it to a 3 point hitch hook up on my tractor.

THAT is Awesome!! New Holland decal & all...Got to love it! Lorne