Shop Tricks

[BearKiller]

Perhaps even find an old cord in the dump.I reuse allot of vacuum cleaner cords all the time

I am always scavenging wire and cords, among anything else I might think useful.

At our shop, the dumpster is behind the building, sort of out of our view, thus we get a LOT of garbage tossed into it that didn't come from our shop; it's funny to watch those little old ladies in their Town Cars go tearing away from there, trunk-lid still up, slinging rocks from the tires, when I pop around the corner and catch them in the act.

Every time I take something around there to toss in, I find myself fishing more out than I threw in.

Many is the super-long vacuum-cleaner cord that I have collected in this manner.

 

[carpenter383]

I am a electrician the florescent lights you are talking about are not very efficient compared to the new ones.

They were more than likely T12 bulbs, they will be removed form the markets soon just like the incandescent bulbs.

They will only be T8 bulbs available. There will also be a T5 bulb but they are more expensive and less efficient.

We have a contract with Orion lighting they make high bay fluorescent lighting. When we go into a facility and change out there old light with our new ones, it is twice as bright and only use about 1/4 of the power.

The last plant we did we change out 168 lights for about 38000dollars and in about a year and nine months they will recoup all of there investment in monthly energy savings.

They make fluorescent that will go in -40 and start with no problem every time. Technology changes every day. Soon the incandescent bulbs with be a thing of the past.

The screw in fluorescent bulbs use about a 1/4 of the energy as a incandescent bulb. A 26watt fluorescent is the same as 100w incandescent bulb.

Now you can get fluorescent bulb with a higher color rendering factor. The use a scale in K's a 3500k is a yellow light like a incandescent bulb. A 5000k is more like sun light. The real sun is 10000K. The 5000K make a big difference when you are trying to work on things and need good light compared to that old yellowish light.

The 8' fluorescent bulbs are also obsolete.

The other reason you hear homing and the bulbs pulse is because the old lights that you are talking about are magnetic ballast, they do not make them any more either. All of the new fixture use electronic ballast that do not hum or pulse and are quick starting.

My advise get a good electrician or a electrical supply house and have them look at your current lighting and see what they recommend. You might be surprised to find how much money you could save and how much fluorescent lighting has changed.

A good electrician should be able to replace your current lighting one for one and save you at least half the energy and get twice the light and a better quality of light.

I hope I enlightened you on fluorescent lighting. If any thing I said was unclear just ask and I will try to help.

So you are saying I won't be able to buy new t12 ho bulbs in the future?
I just spent a few hundred bucks putting up 8ft fixtures in my garage
They are the quick start cold temp ones. They don't whine, but they do cause radio interference.
I saw the t8 fixtures when I bought the t12's. I had no idea they were planning on doing away with t12's

 

[larryccf]

........
Many is the super-long vacuum-cleaner cord that I have collected in this manner.

funny, i like scoring those as well - wish more appliances had long cords like those

 

[Iplayfarmer]

So you are saying I won't be able to buy new t12 ho bulbs in the future?
I just spent a few hundred bucks putting up 8ft fixtures in my garage
They are the quick start cold temp ones. They don't whine, but they do cause radio interference.
I saw the t8 fixtures when I bought the t12's. I had no idea they were planning on doing away with t12's

I bet they gave you a heck of a deal. It's probably like the phenomenal deal I got on a TV card for my computer just before they switched everything to digital. The TV card was advertised with the word digital in the description because it converted the analog signal to digital within the computer, but the receiver was analog. It's worthless now.

 

[BearKiller]

>> CLEANING BARRELs <<

To thoroughly clean the inside of a barrel/drum/vat/whatever, load the empty barrel onto the truck and secure it, such that it cannot move around.

Fill the barrel approximately half full of water.

Add plenty of whatever detergent you prefer.

Haul the half-full barrel around everywhere you go for as many days as possible; the rougher the ride, the better.

The constant sloshing around will more effectively clean the barrel than any other method one might contrive.

 

[bal0123]

"LIGHTING YOUR CUTTING TORCH"

the hand held squeeze spark igniters have worked for many years, But I have found if you will steal one of your wifes New Yankee Candles and keep it lit while working in your shop or garage it is a great way to light your torch and it keeps your shop smelling good and kills your nasty beer fart stinch quickley.

 

[BearKiller]

>> WEED CONTROL <<

Scavenge every plastic five-gallon bucket lid and steel drum/barrel lid you can get.

When driving steel posts, flag-poles, clothesline poles, or wooden fence posts, put the post through the center of a lid, RIM UP on the lid.

You will need to cut a hole as snug to the post as is feasible.

Level the area around the post as much as possible underneath the lid.

If said post is in a well-groomed yard, maybe sink the lid a little below flush with the surface.

Fill the surface of the lid with #8 stone, lava rock, marble chips, or BBs, whatever suits your decor.


If the post is already in the ground and no way to drop a lid over from the top, use TWO lids, notching them to fit around the post, and mis-matching the notches, such that no bare ground is exposed.

No longer will you waste time weed-eating around that post.

 

[Bedlam]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

 

[Ken45101]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

I would not use something as abrasive as sandpaper. Usually the terminals are tinned. Sandpaper will remove the tin and encourage rust.

Maybe lightly use a small rat tail file?

Ken

 

[carpenter383]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

Blast it with high pressured air then spray with carb cleaner and blst again.
Repeat until clean, then spray with wd40 and plug it in

 

[The Haymaker]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

Maybe some QC cleaner and a small bore rifle barrel brush, such as a .22 or .17?

 

[toy]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

Have you tried getting a can of electra clean and spraying it in the socket, blowing it out with air first isn't a bad idea and using a thin blade on a knife to kinda gouge the build up loose isn't a bad idea either.

 

[BearKiller]

>> TRAILER PIG-TAIL CONNECTORs <<

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?

Having backed trailers more miles than most people have driven means I have pulled a lot of trailers and had to clean and trouble-shoot a lot of pig-tails.

Even if you never own a gun, get the biggest gun-cleaning kit with the most little cleaner gizmos that you can find.

Those kits have brass bristle brushes in sizes ranging from about 3/4 down to .17.

The .17 and .22 sizes, chucked in a slow turning drill, better yet one of those egg-beater drills, are ideal for polishing the bores of trailer connectors.

Don't forget plenty of electrical contact cleaner.

Once the holes are clean and shiny, take a Dremel bristle brush in a Dremel and polish the prongs.

Once polished, take a small straight screw-driver and carefully spread the prongs just a shade.

When messing with electricity and wires, Vaseline is your friend.

Fill the cavities of the trailer plug, BOTH sides, truck and trailer, with plain old Vaseline, both during use, and especially when NOT IN USE.

Vaseline is about as good a water repellent as there has ever been.

Also, bugs, dirt-daubers, etc., can't mess with the plug when it is smeared full of Vaseline.

An added advantage is it lubricates the plug, thus making it much easier to plug/un-plug.


Wire to a "brain-box"; don't just hard-wire the plug into the truck wiring system.

Either make your own design inside a weather-tight tool-box using terminal strips, or buy one of the purpose-built seven-stud trailer harness boxes.

Mount this box in an easily accessible location, as close to the trailer connection as feasible.

Route the proper wires for ALL SEVEN functions, even if your current trailer only uses four of them.

Having such a brain-box, should you ever have need to use a pig-tail of different design to the one you have, it is a simple matter to run it's wires into the box and tie into the appropriate terminals.

You can have fourteen-thousand pig-tails, all connected to the truck via
that one terminal box.

If you have to pull a trailer that has been incorrectly wired, and this is an all too common situation, simply move the wires around inside the box to match the wrong-wired trailer, making sure to put them back to rights as soon as it is un-hooked.

NEVER EVER have the trailer lights controlled by the head-light switch on the truck, not even through a relay, never.

The trailer markers should ALWAYS be controlled by a dedicated switch of their own, completely independent of the trucks lighting system.



SOLDER SOLDER SOLDER; never ever use those "scotch-locks" suitcase-type squish-together connectors.

Brand new high-dollar gooseneck trailers come factory-fresh with about a five-gallon bucket full of those sorry connectors at every light and function; a little cow pee, some salty water, and a few vibrations is all it takes to knock the lights out.

I have seen it a million times, and done it too; reach under the trailer and grab the wires, give them a few jerks, and the lights start working.

What this does is wiggle those scotch-locks back into temporary electrical contact.

Before making another trip, cut away those offensive connectors and properly crimp/solder/heat-shrink the connections.

 

[Ken45101]

If it has rust in it, I would suggest replacing it. There is no way you will prevent rust once you have removed the tinned protection. It will always be a problem even if you get it cleaned up for a week or two.

Ken

 

[Uncle Doug]

Any ideas on how to brush up and clean the inside(female) end of the small 4 prong trailer light connectors?Ive used some sand paper rolled up real small but so envision a small round brush that would slide right in there and do the abrasion.Ive never seen any but would think they would sell.
i just tried a drywall screw in and out but doesn't have the same effect.
So how does everyone clean them up ( this one in question has some serious dirt and rust on it more than usual.
Thanks...

You can try one of these brushes. We use the SS brushes while hold up better than the brass brushes.

Orifice Brushes

 

[Egon]

Vaseline is about as good a water repellent as there has ever been.

One can also use a dielectric grease.

 

[Ken_CT]

These mini brushes from Harbor Freight are pretty good for small orifices.
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[Bedlam]

I considered replacing and I would have with the extent it was rusted up but its the control that does the switch from the amber to red lights and the plug is a molded part of it. Its usually in the compartment on the fender well. but after 10 years the fender starts to rot a bit and leak, thus the problem.
I got it done with the sand paper rolled up and I twirled it around, and used cleaners et. then took some pliers and flattened the ends a bit.
I like the idea of the gun cleaner brush its on my list now .Also Agree 100 percent with solder. CHEAP and Easy , And I believe the best bond possible.
Thanks for all the ideas and comments.. Again some good ideas come through.
Oh I also. repaired the side lens. I saw all the tail light fixtures from cars I junk, and cut sections out of the plastic lens to hot glue in the broken lens.I did one on my car once Like a puzzle to put together but it took allot of sticks of glue. But saved a bundle.

THANKS for the HF link Im placing an order antd thats just what ill order also

 

[studor]

If you can taking the plug off a solution of baking soda and water will take off the corrosion -- I have a supply of both ends which I buy when they are on sale to replace the ends on a regular basis

 

[BearKiller]

I
Oh I also. repaired the side lens. I saw all the tail light fixtures from cars I junk, and cut sections out of the plastic lens to hot glue in the broken lens.I did one on my car once Like a puzzle to put together but it took allot of sticks of glue. But saved a bundle.

I thought I was the only one to be stingy enough to do that.

We bought the wife's truck one night and she was driving it on a couple hundred mile trip early the next morning; if I hadn't have already known the truck I wouldn't have trusted it quite so quick; besides, it's a 1st Gen. Dodge/Cummins and they are better than Maytags.

Anyway, it came with a big hole broken out of one of the tail-lights.

I didn't want to give the cops any excuse to harrass her, so I undertook to plastic-weld a flattened marker-light lens into the broken light.

I warmed the oval-shaped marker lens until pliable and flattened it like a pancake.

Then, I used an old broken-handle rolling-pin to contour my patch to conform to the shape of the tail-light.

I warmed both the patch and the lens until both were almost hot enough to melt; then, using the son's H-F plastic welding kit, I fused the two together.

The repair turned out so well that it was barely noticable.

If anyone ever did notice, they did not comment.

She drove it that way for a couple years, until I found a brand new chrome-trimmed pair at a swap-meet.