Homemade Tools!

[kshansen]

Yes, good intentions is as far as it has gotten tradesman, it's to sort out the mess that my socket drawer is. Sometimes I wish I had 5 each of 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 3/4, and 15/16 sockets, because they are the ones I'm always looking for.

I just might have to check my tool box, looks like my pair of channel locks might have made it to missouri!

Tradesman, look closer as there are at least three sets of the socket bars in there.

I should talk as my tool box out in the garage is a bit disheveled since I retired. Combining the tools from work with the tools at home did not help. I did put together a good selection of the duplicates and sell them to the guy who was stuck with trying to take on some of the work I did at the quarry. But even with that I still have an overfull roll cabinet and a full 4X8 foot peg board above the main work bench in the garage.

 

[kshansen]

Well here is one of the smallest homemade tools we'll probably see here:



This was one I made up a few years back when I had to put new clutches in the boss' Ford limited slip rear diff. Actually forget exactly how this worked but think it fit between the two rear axle shafts and allowed me to compress the springs enough to get the spider gear shaft in the diff. Just a 3/8 bolt cut to the length to fit between the two shafts and the nut pushed against the spacer washer to act like a miniature jack. I know there is a "factory tool" of some kind to do this but as I knew this was a once in a life time job and it had to be done that morning I made do.

 

[AllDodge]

Show us your hand crafted tools! This is my wrench torque intensifier.

I like this idea, as others I use a pipe or hook another boxed wrench in the jaws of the open end side of the wrench. Helps out a lot more these days with small wrenches and not being as strong as I use to be

 

[crane operator]

kshansen- If you think they're yours- you can come get them, but be prepared, because I'll put you to work using them, we can always use a extra hand.

 

[thepumpguysc]

When I worked at a BIG injection manufacturing plant.. I HAD TO sign an agreement saying IF/WHEN I developed any tools, they were THEIRS, along w/ the blue prints.. AND UP TO 2 YEARS AFTER I LEFT THE COMPANY.. THEY COULD CLAIM MY IDEAS AS THEIRS.
Kinda sucked.. needless to say, I kept them to myself..

 

[repowerguy]

This is a offset socket to set the preload on top stop injectors in L-10 Cummins with a Jake.

 

[Truck Shop]

Another one of my homemade tools for trouble shooting electrical problems on trailers. I have another one the same only with a female socket.
I use this hooked to a 12v battery so I can isolate the trailer from tractor, truck or lead trailer. I just wired in cheap flashers to omit the flasher
unit on truck/tractor. Plus it keeps the truck from setting sometimes for hours while finding the problem with all the lights on.



Truck Shop

 

[nowing75]

Made this for testing trailer lights and you can also plug the truck into it also

 

[AllDodge]

That's pretty nice, sure it comes in handy

 

[repowerguy]

The first is my home brew tire bars made from a leaf spring and a piece of 7/8" solid stock, the other is a jack stand, I use mostly when I put a starter on a truck but want full access under it.

 

[Hobbytime]

necessity is the mother to all inventions....aint nuthing can stop one determined person with a welder..lol......nice bunch of improvised tools...ill have to dig through my shop draws for some of the ones I made..remembering what they are for is a different story...lol

 

[repowerguy]

You're almost right Hobby, poverty is the mother of all invention lol.!
I just wanted to show some or all of my hand crafted stuff for others to duplicate or modify to suit there needs. Sometimes all it takes is a small nudge to spark a thought of, I can make this out of this piece of scrap!
I'm trying to empty out my library(see my post in TGIF, Library Fire) and pass it on to others.
You other old wrenchs best step up and show us your stuff, don't keep it a secret or be embarrassed by a ugly weld or two.

 

[Ratmotorhead]

Don't we all have a drawer in the toolbox like that

 

[repowerguy]

This is my lifting bar, it is fully adjustable in length and balance. It is made from 3/4" thick steel. I don't know the capacity, but I lifted a engine and transmission with final drives and sprockets out of and back into a 450B Deere with nary a issue.

 

[Jonas302]

Here is one I made for knocking sanviks into grader blades sure saves some hammering especially with the blade is still on the machine

 

[thepumpguysc]

I took my pull start 10hp generator & made it an electric start yesterday..
Has to buy a flywheel w/ ring gear & starter off ebay.. for 100.00 total.. 4 bolts & washers for 1.50..
and she starts right up w/ a flip of a switch..
MORE OVER, the wife was happy.. she actually said, Good Job..!!! She probably wouldn't have thought much of it, except w/ my latest
back surgery and a storm a week after.. SHE had to pull start it.. SEVERAL times..
She knew what a PITA it was..

 

[hvy 1ton]

Here's what i made for testing for testing trailers. Only does clearance lights, left, and right tailmarkers as i don't normally have issues from the brake or 12V circuits. I haven't made up a pig tail for 7-way truck plug yet. I keep getting the idea to have my buddy print me up an enclosure for some rocker switches and use a 12V dewalt tool battery to power it, but for quick and dirty this works great.

 

[AllDodge]

I like it

 

[hvy 1ton]

Just noticed i hooked it up backwards for the pic

 

[kshansen]

Here's what i made for testing for testing trailers. Only does clearance lights, left, and right tailmarkers as i don't normally have issues from the brake or 12V circuits. I haven't made up a pig tail for 7-way truck plug yet. I keep getting the idea to have my buddy print me up an enclosure for some rocker switches and use a 12V dewalt tool battery to power it, but for quick and dirty this works great.

Or how about power it off one of those jump start batteries? Could get all fancy and wire in a flasher to simulate the signals. And while making the box make it big enough to store a contact brush and a couple of each bulbs,

Don't think hooking it up backwards will be noticed by the light circuits, unless using LEDs they would be polarity sensitive and cause you all kinds of work trying to figure out where the broken wire was located!