Let's see some homemade and unusual tools

[duke182]

i love tools, especially homemade and specialty tools but havent seen any posts here about them so i decided to ask to see what is out there. i dont have any pics to post right now but i will get some up as soon as i can. in the mean time i would love to see what ya'll have come up with to get the job done and to save a little money along the way.
so dont be bashful show us your inginuity

[Roady]

I do like this subject and we do already have a collection.

If you're interested, there's a thread for this in Octane's Corner titled Tips, Tricks & Tools. There's a link to it in ShopTalk.

Whatcha got?

[duke182]

not at all what i had in mind.
that thread has several good tips and a couple of descriptions of a couple of tools.
no pics.
i had hoped to see pictures of homemade tools and shop equipment and store bought tools modified to do a better or different job.
besides that thread is locked.

i dont have an extensive collection but i do have things like stands tables hammers and other things i will post when i take some pics and get off the phone and back to the computer.

i hope this thread catchs on and others will share the things they have made or modified to make life easier in and around the shop.

[Roady]

I went back and read thru it and see what you mean. I like making tools work for me too.

Below are some for fork work from this thread.

Make a tool to remove the fork top caps. Mine was a 2"x4" about 2 feet long. I screwed two short pieces of 1x2 at the center with a 21mm gap. With the forks still clamped in the trees, you can then hold both ends of the board , press it over the cap and unscrew it while applying pressure. When the cap releases from the threads you'll have pretty good control of it. Put the caps back on with this tool, too. Sorry, no pic but here's a drawing (shown downside up).



Then for the removing the circlips ... my cheap circlip pliers would not get that big clip out from under the dust seal. So, I ground down the tips of an old pair of 8" needlenose pliers so they fit in the holes. Also, the tips had to be bent in at a slight inward angle.





For installing the new seals ... a 3' long piece of 1-1/2" PVC pipe is an effective punch to put in the new seals. Slide the lower bush and thick backing ring down the upper leg and into the top of the lower leg. Slip the PVC down and tap them in, it doesn't take much and you won't need a hammer. Lightly oil the new seal and tap it down with the PVC until the circlip groove is fully revealed.

[KYpondman]

Roady, thanks, I copied all of those. They work great!
Claude

[AussieGold]

i have kept this a secret til now.....here is my valve removal tool. hi tech . a small piece of wood glued to the swivel thing with jbweld. the metal thing glued to the fixed part of the clamp( jbweld again) is a thing i found. i have no idea what it is off, but it fits the top of the valve spring perfectly.

3 clamp.jpg

[Greg]

Not my idea (Cyborg gave me the idea) I just tweaked it a bit and did the grunt work. the .
I Had to make couple of tools lately after I molested the rear bearing retainer and since I was at it I made one for the front as well. My first attempt was to drill a flat bar exactly the distance between the holes on the rear retainer(used the old retainer as a model) and braze a 3/16” rod I had laying around.. After the brazing I cut the pins to right length. With that in hand I tried to install the retainer back in the hub as a dry run while I waited for the new retainer ro arrive. All went well except the disc retaining bolts got in the way of the flat bar to where I was not able to screw the retainer more than couple of turns. I fixed it with my next try. I cut the flat bar to the exact width of the retainer ,that way, it would not interfere with the hub and allow me to screw the retainer till it sited over the bearing. Next I brazed a 5/8” nut dead center ,that way I could use my torque wrench .Works out nice .
Then I used the same idea to make retainer wrench for the front. Except of using pins I made it in to a flat blade screw driver with two blades that straddle the grease seal and brazed it dead center on a ¾” flat bar.
I’ll try to post a picture of them if anyone is interested .
Greg.

[Greg]

My attempt at posting picture of the tools.

It worked..Wow!!

[KYpondman]

Great tools Greg! I wish I could weld and braze and was creative and all that good stuff.
Claude

[Greg]

It does not take great skill to Braze if you have the right equipment .Those two items can be made by silver soldering instead. Which you can silver solder with a none expensive propane torch . Lowe’s carries all the supplies you will need to make them. Give it a whirl.
Thanks.
Greg.

[CYBORG]

i'm interested in why you brazed instead of welded, greg

[Greg]

i'm interested in why you brazed instead of welded, greg

Much easier than having to dig the welder out.
Greg.

[CYBORG]

i see your problem.....its a lot like mine

[postrucks]

don't know how to link it or repost it but if you look at a posting called carb rebuild tip you can see how I modified a cheap pair of pliers to remove a float valve seat without damaging it.

Here's a link to your thread. Roady

[KYpondman]

Greg, where did you get the photo of my garage?