Post up a tool that you have that you didnt know you needed until you got one...

FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#1
#1
I have a few but this is my favorite.

My first tool on this list is my SWAG Off Road Band Saw.

SWAG V3.0 Portaband Table

I cut a block of wood to lock the trigger on and wired it through a momentary contact foot pedal for no hands control. Step on it to cut and walk away when your done. Simple and efficient.

Don't know how I ever got along without one.

Doug
 
joebiodiesel

joebiodiesel

Member
#2
#2
I borrowed a friend's Jet Horizontal/vertical band saw last year for a small project. I don't know how I ever got along without it. My wife got me one for Christmas.

Joe
 
FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#3
#3
joebiodiesel said:
I borrowed a friend's Jet Horizontal/vertical band saw last year for a small project. I don't know how I ever got along without it. My wife got me one for Christmas.

Joe
Click to expand...
There ya go!

I had Horrible Freight band saws for years. Never a straight or square cut... Broke down and bought an Ellis 1600 Mitering band saw 8 or 9 years back and use it so much I don't know how I ever got by with the little ones.
 
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FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#5
#5
Here is another Big Boy Tool that I didn't know I needed until I used one. This thing cuts 1/2inch plate like butter.... 1/4 inch is a breeze. Cut a couple of engine mounts with it today.

Plates cut.

This is how clean it cuts. Doesn't even leave a bur...

 ]

Money well spent if you cut any amount of steel. I have cut plate, I beams, tubing angle and pipe with this thing and it just keeps on going.

Doug
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#6
#6
My bench shear certainly makes the list. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hck-sphs8 I had a crappy old metal band saw it was useless so the shear now takes its place. But the 20 ton hf shop press definately. The top beam is starting to bend I use it so much. Im about to pull the trigger on a cheap $300-400 ebay plazma cutter. Seems like it would be nice for the thicker stuff with curves and whatnot.
 
lostinbaja

lostinbaja

Member
#7
#7
My 1936 South Bend 9" x 48" Lathe. I've used it to make suspension bushings for race cars to fork bushings on a Mini Bike.
It's uses never end.
 
FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#8
#8
jeep2003 said:
My bench shear certainly makes the list. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hck-sphs8 I had a crappy old metal band saw it was useless so the shear now takes its place. But the 20 ton hf shop press definately. The top beam is starting to bend I use it so much. Im about to pull the trigger on a cheap $300-400 ebay plazma cutter. Seems like it would be nice for the thicker stuff with curves and whatnot.
Click to expand...
Jeep pay close attention to the travel speed at the max rating. Those machines are usually rated for 1/4 inch and it is in inches per minute not feet per minute. You have to go super slow. My big Miller is rated at 7/8 and when you pass 1/2 inch you slow down a lot. 1/4 and 3/16 is pretty quick but you can outrun the heat and have to back up. I had a $300 plasma and it was rated to 1/4 and it was really just good for sheet metal. It was so slow on 1/4 that you could cut it faster with a cut off wheel. Also install a water seperater on the machine its self. I have a paper roll element filter mounted on the cart the plasma is on and it has never spit a drop of water out the tip which will ruin the tip.
Just a heads up.

Doug
 
CaptNugget

CaptNugget

Active Member
#9
#9
So seen this thread last night.. Glanced at it... Today I got my first jar of "Quick-Glo" rust remover polishing compound. Heard a lot of good things but never tried it. Opened it and have a chrome light for my Owosso Explorer trike. It's heavily pitted and was pert-ner brown! Took an old sock and scrubbed with "quick-glo" and it's a night and day difference! The pitting is still there and some dark spots but still very shiny and presentable! It's made in Louisiana. Bought jar off eBay for $15 .. Well worth the $ and I'll never not have a jar around again. Even if it's just to make things look nice to sell. There's a good demo video on YouTube from "jay lenos garage" shows it work and details
 
FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#10
#10
Here's a great tool for working on a big bike or a 4 wheeler. This is a Pit Bull with a 1300 lb capacity. Very handy and very very stable. Lock it in position and strap the bike to it then you can roll the thing around like nothing to it.

 
Chain Linkin

Chain Linkin

Member
#11
#11
I just built my self a wooden cart to help me move my mini around /storage. It doesn't have the lift feature which would be nice but I made it as high as my tail gate so it's easy to load and unload.
 
Fantic Freddy

Fantic Freddy

Member
#12
#12
IMG_0972.JPG I had a small portable air compressor for years, it could barely inflate a car tire....then brought this home. It's not the biggest (no 220 in the garage), but I can paint mini bike frames and remove lug nuts with it.
 
FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#14
#14
Fantic Freddy said:
View attachment 94153 I had a small portable air compressor for years, it could barely inflate a car tire....then brought this home. It's not the biggest (no 220 in the garage), but I can paint mini bike frames and remove lug nuts with it.
Click to expand...
You will enjoy having plenty of air at hand. It makes a huge difference in what you can do like you said above. One piece of advice I would give you is to move the dryer to a bracket that bolts to the tank or the wall and connect the 2 with a hose. Just normal running of the compressor will fatigue the threads at the compressor end of the nipple and crack or break off. Don't ask how I learned this....... I have a quarter turn ball valve mounted at the tank and then 3 feet of hydraulic hose running to the dryer and regulator. The ball valve gets turned on every time I use the compressor and turned off when I am done. This way there is always air in the tank and you never have to wait for it to pump up pressure. You can open the valve and put air in a tire or blow something off, close the valve and your done. No waiting... If the tank has one of those tiny ball valves that I see on some new compressors you would like a conventional ball valve with a handle much better.

Here is a hose similar to what I have on mine. 3/4" x 3' ft Compressed Air Jumper Hose Rapid Air Maxline 3/4" MNPT x FNPT F0215 | eBay

Look through their stuff as they have a lot of good stuff for air compressors and plumbing a shop. I especially like their compressor drains with the pull cable. You don't have to stand on your head to drain the moisture out of the tank...

Doug
 
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FOMOGO

FOMOGO

#15
#15
Here is another shop tool that I didn't realize how nice it could be until I had one to use. Its an old discarded Air Compressor tank that I converted to a portable air tank. I have about $65 or $70 in the black one and $20 less in the red one. I picked up the red one off the street many years ago and I bought the black one in the scrap yard for $20. This is a simple project that is extremely handy. The red tank is 20 gallon and the black tank is 22 gallon. The 20 Gallon with 100 psi in it will take of lug nuts with a 1/2'' drive impact and only drop 5 psi per lug nut. This amazed me the first time I tried it. These were just run of the mill compressors at one time. I stripped all the compressor related junk off of them and started with a close nipple into a 4 way block. This was the hardest piece to find but Evil Bay had them. The Apollo ball valves are more Evil Bay fodder. 8 used for $35.00. $8 pressure gauges off Evil Bay. A couple of 90 degree fittings and some close nipples from Lowes and a 25' Goodyear hose from northern tool and you have an air tank.

I cant take credit for the idea. I went to a friends house many years ago and he had a 10 gallon compressor tank setup with the Freon bottle to air tank conversion kit. I thought now that would be just right with a 20 gallon tank. So I picked one up off the side of the road and bought the air tank conversion kit for it. It worked ok.... It was slow to fill with the valve stem type connection and you could not keep it from leaking. Well I found the Black tank in the scrap yard and decided it was time to do this right. So that is where the current plumbing configuration came from. You snap your air hose on the connector, turn the ball valve and it will fill out of my big compressor in about 30 seconds to 125 psi. Close the ball valve and disconnect the hose. Now you have air that will be there 6 months later. This configuration does not leak and I have built 3 tanks so far.

Pics.....









There ya go. Scrounge up a tank and some pieces and make one for your shop. When you have a flat tire in the yard it is just the ticket. Now I have about 600 feet of air hose so I could air up the neighbors tires if I wanted but this is so much easier than dragging out a hose and then having to put up the hose after you have used it for 5 minutes.

[MENTION=47323]OND[/MENTION] You need one of these...

Woo Hoo... post number 1000.....

Doug
 
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