REMOVING BOLTS BY CANDLE Removing broken bolts and studs can be surprisingly easy. First clean the area, then you heat up the broken bolt or stud. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Put a candle or paraffin wax on the broken bolt or stud. Let it sit for another 15 minutes...

IN HOUSING SHAFT REPAIR Let's say you need to repair damaged threads on the impeller end of a pump or turbo shaft, which is recessed in the housing, and maybe even mushroomed by a hammer-happy tech. You cannot remove the shaft from the housing because of the...

WELDING ROD STORAGE Regardless of the material, after some time, humidity takes its toll, and many rods end up being trashed. Especially susceptible are aluminum, magnesium, and chrome moly. I keep my rods in hermetically sealed homemade tubes of plastic plumbing...

DOUBLE YOUR STRENGTH Lifting heavy objects is an everyday occurrence in machine shops.  To prevent injury, it’s a good idea to install small, inexpensive wire cable hoists over equipment that can hold castings in place while mounting to machinery.  Small hoists that...

REVERSE SCRIBE TOOL When port matching intake manifolds, I make some different shaped "Reverse Scribes" to get in and scribe mark the dye on the intake manifold flange side. It works great, is often easier than marking and transferring an intake gasket pattern, as...

FINDING YOUR CENTER One the most challenging jobs is the 302 -351W cylinder head stud removal that fastens down the intake manifold. It rusts and sits at an angle which makes it almost impossible to center a drill bit for removal. The solution is to drive a 1/4-inch...