Odd tips from the garage

[jhoff310]

Kinda off topic but I am curious as to what kind of odd tips you guys have or odd things you have in your garage for uses that someone else might not have thought of

Here's a few of mine.....
Box of tampons..works great for soaking up gas in the bottom of a tank...go ahead laugh, try it you'll see what i mean
Old silverware basket from my old dishwasher mounted to the workbench....great for holding screwdrivers and the most commonly used tools instead of retreating to the toolbox everytime I turn around
Maxi Pad----Yeah I know, I carry one when I go off to the woods to cut just in case of severe injury, they will hold alot of blood....lol
can of compressed air for keyboards---works great in the field for blowing the crap out of an air filter until I can get home to change it

Jeff

 

[dingeryote]

LOL!!! Kinda hard to follow that opening post with anything as ummmm..."Unique" as feminine hygene products, but what the heck.:wink2:

Old tooth brushes have a littany of uses. Kitchen strainers for when ya gotta fish parts dropped into oil. Cork screws get into tight places and securely hook things that forceps and booger hooks can't. Old leather belt sections glued to angle iron, make decent vice jaw pads.
Popcicle sticks come in handy for scraping gunk and grease without scratching anything, and they can be shaped to fit into oddball places.
Those elastic loop things that the gals use to put thier hair up, come in handy as hell, and don't melt like rubber bands.
The three pronged garden gizmos are almost purpose made for pulling poison ivy vines off of logs.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Whitespider]

Well, my work bench is at the back of the shop, which puts my back to the whole area and the drive outside the overhead doors. I put a small mirror above my bench so I can glance up at it to keep an eye on the little boy and also see who, or what, may be approaching.

I suppose a lot of guys do this… I mounted a peg board above the bench to hold the most commonly used bench tools, so I’m not making multiple trips to-and-from the tool box (my bench is 8-feet long) and I don’t end up with a pile of tools on the bench.

I mounted a small, three-drawer tool box, hanging under the bench top at one end to hold “groups” of tools. For example, one drawer holds all the tools I use for sharpening/cleaning/maintaining the chain saw… I only need to slide that drawer open and I have everything at arms reach while I work and I don’t end up with a pile of tools on the bench.

I installed an old electric kitchen cooking stove in my shop; it gets used for dozens of purposes. I’ve used the “self-cleaning” cycle to remove rust from metal, heat certain metal parts for disassembly and reassembly, heat up a frozen pizza out’a the beer cooler, dry welding rod, melt lead, etc., etc. On those cold mornings I put one of the top burners on “warm” and set my coffee cup on it.

I get worn-out “tools” from the dentist… darn handy little items.

 

[D&B Mack]

When I was a little kid, I accidentally cut my leg with an ax. I hit a major artery, my mother used a pad to soak up the blood. Worked better than the first three towels I filled up. I know keep one in my first aid kit.

Coffee cans are a great asset, good for holding parts, tools and cleaning solutions.

 

[slowp]

I had a mouse problem. I now have a small panther of a shop cat--Grapple, who has taken care of that problem. In return, I have put a nice fleece pillow in his cat carrier, and will wrap the carrier up with insulation so he will keep warm in the upcoming winter.

 

[danrclem]

Wire clothes hangers. They have many uses.

 

[ratso]

My bench is wooden I covered the top with a piece of sheet metal the back is rolled up 8".This makes for a clean top solvent and oil spills are not a problem.

 

[rmihalek]

Not really a shop tip, but since feminine products were discussed already I'll mention a good (manly) use for panty liners: they have an adhesive strip, so stick them on the inside brim of your hard hat so the absorbent part is against your forehead. One pad will soak up sweat for half a day or so and keep it from getting in your eyes.

 

[Coldfront]

Between my wife and my 2 daughters I doubt the feminine products would last long in my garage.

 

[Cliniford]

My bench is wooden I covered the top with a piece of sheet metal the back is rolled up 8".This makes for a clean top solvent and oil spills are not a problem.

I have the same setup but mine is covered with a 1/4 inch sheet of steel, although mine doesnt curve up int the back it does come down in front about 6" and its about 8' long. I absolutely love it and can weld on it no problem too. Clean up is a breeze and and about once every couple months Igive it a quick cote of WD-40 just to keep rust away.

 

[ancy]

Between my wife and my 2 daughters I doubt the feminine products would last long in my garage.

Hide them in an air filter box!

 

[s219]

Shoot, I have more odd tricks than I can remember now! I will share my most prized tip, and that is to keep duct tape handy. You can roll a small length of it, maybe 12-24", around all sorts of round-ish things, like ski poles, an axe handle, tractor shift lever, etc. Basically, you're making up a mini-roll of duct tape in a strategic place -- small enough to barely take up space or weight, but enough to come in handy in a pinch.

I have found this especially valuable when skiing or hiking and something breaks or rips out in the middle of nowhere. On my ski poles, I keep the tape rolled around the pole about 3" below the grips.

I have also found that nylon zip ties are handy to have around for all sorts of emergencies. They are strong for their size, and can provide a surprising amount of strength to hold broken parts or items together temporarily, or to position tools/objects for storage or packing. I always keep a stash under my tractor seat and in my toolboxes.

 

[1harlowr]

Hide them in an air filter box!

Or just hide them near where there is work to be done.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Old kitchen tools/pots and pans come in handy a lot for a lot of different things. I find beer is one of the most useful tools of all in the garage :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Nosmo]

Home Made Dip Stick

Here is what I use to check the hydraulic fluid level in my log splitter. It has a screw in dip stick which is silver colored and I've even tried coloring it black but it still doesn't show the fluid level very plainly.

OK what I now use is one of those wooden paint stirring flat sticks from the paint store. I just put a mark which represents the same level as the stock dip stick. Works really well and shows the level of fluid plainly.

Nosmo

 

[bobt]

Over the years I have encountered the need for small diameter wire.

One such situation is in need of something to tighten up and clamp plastic or rubber tubing to the fittings on carburetors, etc.

I keep a supply of bread bag twist ties on hand. They work great!

Bob

 

[fields_mj]

I had a mouse problem. I now have a small panther of a shop cat--Grapple, who has taken care of that problem. In return, I have put a nice fleece pillow in his cat carrier, and will wrap the carrier up with insulation so he will keep warm in the upcoming winter.

I can't stand cats, but I make sure not to run any black snakes over with the lawn mower for the same reason...

 

[spanky1205]

I usually keep some type of hand cleaner near by but if there is nothing around you can use dishsoap and sugar mixed together. The soap cuts the grease and the sugar works like the pumice in most hand cleaners.

 

[John R]

Old kitchen tools/pots and pans come in handy a lot for a lot of different things. I find beer is one of the most useful tools of all in the garage :hmm3grin2orange:

Rep sent!

 

[Gologit]

Hemostats, both curved and straight. I keep a couple of both in every tool box and saw box.