Redneck/SF Engineering

[RTK]

This came to me a couple of days ago...

If you are a tall guy like me, you might have a hard time fitting in the VC's seat with all of your kit on. So after a couple of months of trying to fabricate some sort of seat back extension for my chair a light bulb came on. The back rest has 4 inches of padding on it, but the bolt holes are in line with the back side of the seat back (behind the padding). I just took off the entire back rest off and bolted it back on, but now facing aft. And that gave me another 4 inches of leg room. Sure, all of the padding is now on the wrong side but now my seatbelt fits and my knees aren't burning up on the dash.

If anyone else has another solution, I'd like to hear about it.

If you take out the bottom bolt on both sides the seat will pivot like a recliner. If you're 5'7" to 6'0" it works out pretty good with kit on.

[Sionnach]

This is a great thread. My bit of redneck engineering is more of a convenience than the lifesaving type.

After hiking to a backwoods camp site, setting up camp, and prepping to cook some chow, I realized I had forgotten a very important convenience item--my spoon.

My whittling skills aren't up to making a wooden spoon, so I made a spoon out of 550 cord, a water bottle, and a metal tent spike with my multi-tool.

[cold1]

A buddy of mine inherated (sp?) a little JD dozer. It was down in the woods and ran when his uncle parked it 5 years before. We got it running and found the water pump was cracked. My buddy went out there to replace it and sheard the bolt off at the block. He called me to come help get it out. So we loaded up his tools on the polaris ranger and went out. Well after about two minutes of using his drill the battery goes dead in it. He wanted it the bolt removed today, so he had a set of jumper cables, I had some jumper wires and the drill was 12 volts. I hooked the jumpers up to the contacts in side the drill, Then I hooked them to the jumper cables and the cables to the battery on the polaris. 10 minutes later I had the bolt out.

[Bill Harsey]

Sorry guys, this was too good not to post.
My shop is 65 miles west of those mountain tops.
Heres the story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/10/flying.lawn.chair.ap/index.html

[Rumblyguts]

Sorry guys, this was too good not to post.
My shop is 65 miles west of those mountain tops.
Heres the story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/10/flying.lawn.chair.ap/index.html
Brings back fond memories of Cutter John's attempt at flight. Now where's the South African embasy? Not sure of Cutter's SF creds, but he was a vet;)

[The Reaper]

Bill:

Are you absolutely sure this is for real?

When Mythbusters tried it, it took an enormous number of balloons to lift a grown adult, with no ballast at all.

I know it has been done before, but the number of balloons in the photo looks way too few. Was this guy a jockey or something?

TR

[Bill Harsey]

TR,
I just got off the phone with Brandon Wilcox, the chase pilot. He says it really happened. They hired a videographer to record the flight and the Bend newspaper was involved.
look for the balloon pilot, Kent Couch, to be on GMA tommorrow morning and then possibly Letterman. Was told he has First Class tickets for NYC.

When Mr. Couch jumped out, the "ship" went airborne again (20 knot ground winds) and he lost his videocamera and the handheld radio Brandon lent him. They are looking for the balloon now but it could have gone a long ways. Razor, keep your eyes open.

I'd bet really good beer in large amounts this really happened. Kent Couch is the owner of the Shell Station we fuel up at for our trip to the Steens Mountains every year. :D

ps. They did this last year but no one was interested in covering it then.

Edited to add: Here is the link to Brandon Wilcox's business: http://www.proairservices.com/

[RTK]

Bill:

Are you absolutely sure this is for real?

When Mythbusters tried it, it took an enormous number of balloons to lift a grown adult, with no ballast at all.

I know it has been done before, but the number of balloons in the photo looks way too few. Was this guy a jockey or something?

TR


I remember that one, and just looked up the info. It aired in 2003 as the third pilot to the show. They deemed it "Confirmed."

[The Reaper]

I remember that one, and just looked up the info. It aired in 2003 as the third pilot to the show. They deemed it "Confirmed."

As I stated, I know that it is possible, and has been done before, as my kids have that episode on tape, but the quantity of ballloons seems low for that payload.

TR

[mdb23]

I have a whopper example of "redneck engineering" involving slow burning CS, an airtight container, some tubing, an air compressor, and a metal spike with a couple of holes drilled in it, but I think it might be wrong for this forum. :D

Let's just say that I prefer the above "redneck house clearer" to the CS ferret rounds.:D

[7624U]

If you ever lose a M249 rear take down pin take a ALICE clip off your LCE remove the push pin part and put it in the pin hole and bend it,, works fine just lift up on the handle so you dont get a run away gun while fireing... also works for missing M-4 pins..

[Bill Harsey]

If you ever lose a M249 rear take down pin take a ALICE clip off your LCE remove the push pin part and put it in the pin hole and bend it,, works fine just lift up on the handle so you dont get a run away gun while fireing... also works for missing M-4 pins..

This is the kind of stuff that this place is for. Good post.

[Bill Harsey]

This happened up in the state of Washington, good example of DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE!

Here is the story: http://http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes (http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes)

[The Reaper]

This happened up in the state of Washington, good example of DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE!

Here is the story: http://http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes (http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes)

How'd that work out for him?

NOT TOO GOOD!:D

I guess he did not have access to WD-40, a cheater pipe, or a torch. Probably just as well.

I hope that he did not have any kids.

TR

[Bill Harsey]

That guy was 10 miles south of Seattle, puts him close to the north edge of Ft. Lewis.

All you mechanics already know this but if your faced with a tough bolt or nut, here is the drill just like The Reaper laid it out, WD-40 at least overnight if needed, longer if you have the luxury of time.
Cheater pipe, long. To go with this, if your breaking sockets, use a 6 point socket instead of "many point". If you break that, get an impact wrench socket of the correct size. If you break that, your in the wrong profession, see your nearest USMC recruiter.
The torch works but you have to be both careful and kind of fast or else you heat up everything inside and get another form of binding. Often after heating and everything has cooled off, the nut or bolt will break free when you try the wrenches again.

[PSM]

Cheater pipe.


When I read the headline, I thought he was using the shotgun barrel as a Cheater. Still stupid, but it would have been more effective.

Pat

[Pete S]

I laughed for a while after reading this in the paper.
The guy was 66 years old. I guess some people never "get it."

[LibraryLady]

This happened up in the state of Washington, good example of DO NOT TRY THIS ANYWHERE!

Here is the story: http://http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes (http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/11/12/lug_nut.html?print=yes)


Read the story and first thing I thought of was this thread; wondered if anyone had posted it yet... :D

LL

[clapdoc]

I had to laugh at the story about the guy in Oregon, sounds like it could be from Mississippi.

We encounter rusted nuts all the time on farm equipment, for the big nuts a cheater and pipe wrench usually works. wd40 and a torch helps on some occassions. On nuts under 3/4 inch we use some special sockets that Sears markets, these sockets are driven on and cut into the nut when you start to remove them. This really works good and saves a lot of time.

I never thought of using a shotgun although i have felt like shooting several pieces of equipment on this farm.




clapdoc sends.

[probjm]

Years ago, 2 hrs into a 6 hr road trip (1973 Volvo, don't ask!), my clutch cable breaks. A devout 'Macguyver' fan, this was not a problem. I reach into my ever-present rock climbing gear bag, withdraw a length of 1" tubular webbing and a steel 'biner. Bolted the 'biner to the forward side of engine block (as a slide point, top-rope belay style), secure loops into 2 broken ends of cable (using field expedient swaged ferrules), connect with webbing using waterknots and routing thru aforementioned 'biner, adjust for no slack, and continued trip with no problem.

[Bill Harsey]

probjm,
That's good stuff. We'll talk about your choice of cars later. ;)

[probjm]

knifemaker, that was a long time ago, in a Biloxi far, far away. It was, though, a pretty bombproof little car; it always ran rough, but it always ran. And it could almost climb a tree with it's 5:10 rearend!
probjm

[Bill Harsey]

knifemaker, that was a long time ago, in a Biloxi far, far away. It was, though, a pretty bombproof little car; it always ran rough, but it always ran. And it could almost climb a tree with it's 5:10 rearend!
probjm

With a 5:10 rearend you didn't need no stinkin' clutch cable! :D

[Bill Harsey]

Get some "Loctite 380" otherwise known as "Black Max".
This stuff will hold things together.

for example when trying to hold some small complex shaped piece that can't be gripped in the milling machine vise...
Glue the work to the top of the mill vise with some Black Max and make the cuts.
It takes a little heat from the torch to get it free but the stuff is amazing strong and tough.

[Razor]

Is it hard to get metal parts unstuck from fingers, Mr. H? :D

[SilkRider32]

I was eating some hard candy when my molar crown broke out. It broke off nearly flush with the gum. I knew if I went to the denist they would want to cut out the remaining part of the tooth from the jawbone. That would be expensive and not just what I wanted to do. Superglue to the rescue. I took the broke piece of crown and cleaned it good with rubbing alcohol and well as the base in my mouth. Set the hairdryer on low heat and dried out the base. Put on some Superglue on the broke piece and put it back on. I bit down on a plastic stick to apply pressure while it set up. Took a dental pick and removed the excess glue and was good to go. So far it is still holding up.

[Bill Harsey]

I was eating some hard candy when my molar crown broke out. It broke off nearly flush with the gum. I knew if I went to the denist they would want to cut out the remaining part of the tooth from the jawbone. That would be expensive and not just what I wanted to do. Superglue to the rescue. I took the broke piece of crown and cleaned it good with rubbing alcohol and well as the base in my mouth. Set the hairdryer on low heat and dried out the base. Put on some Superglue on the broke piece and put it back on. I bit down on a plastic stick to apply pressure while it set up. Took a dental pick and removed the excess glue and was good to go. So far it is still holding up.

Saca, SACA! :eek:

Good that this works for you. Sounds like you did a good job too.

My dentist, nephew of Col. Rex Applegate, who served in Vietnam as a dentist and has been here in my shop (seeing how I tend to do things) made a point of telling me the last time I sat in his work chair to please NOT use super glue on a crown because it was going to be tough to take off if further work was needed.

Hope this keeps working...:D

[Retired W4]

Is it hard to get metal parts unstuck from fingers, Mr. H? :D

I think Bill just uses the torch on his fingers as well.:D

[SilkRider32]

Saca, SACA! :eek:

Good that this works for you. Sounds like you did a good job too.

My dentist, nephew of Col. Rex Applegate, who served in Vietnam as a dentist and has been here in my shop (seeing how I tend to do things) made a point of telling me the last time I sat in his work chair to please NOT use super glue on a crown because it was going to be tough to take off if further work was needed.

Hope this keeps working...:D

Had the post of the tooth been left I would have gone to the denist to have the crown put back on. In this case it broke off just about flush and it was either that or surgery. I was just trying to avoid the surgery.

[Bill Harsey]

Had the post of the tooth been left I would have gone to the denist to have the crown put back on. In this case it broke off just about flush and it was either that or surgery. I was just trying to avoid the surgery.

That deserves some kind of an award!

[Air.177]

OK, at home do it yourself dentistry is way harder core than I am. I can handle minor surgery, but I draw the line at dentistry.

Good times,
Blake

[Sacamuelas]

That deserves some kind of an award!
Not so fast my friend...;)
From reading the post by SilkRider32, it sounds as if there is one VERY important fact about this tooth that should be mentioned.

HIS TOOTH HAD ALREADY RECEIVED ROOT CANAL THERAPY. Therefore, it had no sensory innervation left within the tooth at all. I suspect this because he mentioned that that tooth also had a post in it. We don't/can't put posts in teeth that haven't had root canal therapy. The part left in the mouth has no innervation, so it can't hurt whatsoever. There is almost never pain associated with a tooth break like what is decribed. This little super glue trick works somewhat on teeth like that.... but there will be leakage and the end result is more decay forming down under the gums. This makes for a tougher extraction in the long run. But hey.... you save paying a little now for the benefit of a lot more "fun" later. :D

On a tooth that has already had a root canal, you are usually much better off just leaving that little sucker alone. It is much easier to keep clean and will NOT hurt. It will not get swallowed or come lose during chewing or sleep. Assuming it could come lose during mastication, it could cause other damage to the surrounding dentition when you bite down on it. Of course, the best reason it leave it out is that the broken off tooth portion can be drilled and placed onto dental floss to make into a nice necklace for ornamental wear.

[The Reaper]

Not so fast my friend...;)
From reading the post by SilkRider32, it sounds as if there is one VERY important fact about this tooth that should be mentioned.

HIS TOOTH HAD ALREADY RECEIVED ROOT CANAL THERAPY. Therefore, it had no sensory innervation left within the tooth at all. I suspect this because he mentioned that that tooth also had a post in it. We don't/can't put posts in teeth that haven't had root canal therapy. The part left in the mouth has no innervation, so it can't hurt whatsoever. There is almost never pain associated with a tooth break like what is decribed. This little super glue trick works somewhat on teeth like that.... but there will be leakage and the end result is more decay forming down under the gums. This makes for a tougher extraction in the long run. But hey.... you save paying a little now for the benefit of a lot more "fun" later. :D

On a tooth that has already had a root canal, you are usually much better off just leaving that little sucker alone. It is much easier to keep clean and will NOT hurt. It will not get swallowed or come lose during chewing or sleep. Assuming it could come lose during mastication, it could cause other damage to the surrounding dentition when you bite down on it. Of course, the best reason it leave it out is that the broken off tooth portion can be drilled and placed onto dental floss to make into a nice necklace for ornamental wear.

Look at the bright side, Saca - you could die before the remainder of the tooth needs to be dug out, and save yourself the pain as well as the expense.:D

TR

[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

I have several physical aliments that limit my flexibility which occassionally requires me to use a cane and need help getting some types of footgear on.I have come up with a simple solution.* I have attached a hook to the cane that allows me to pull boots on that have loops (which is why I still wear my old chippewa's).* It also come in handy for stability when I need it and provides me a little more reach to take out the occassion smart ass by either slashing him or hooking on to him as a little come along:D

[SilkRider32]

Not so fast my friend...;)
From reading the post by SilkRider32, it sounds as if there is one VERY important fact about this tooth that should be mentioned.

HIS TOOTH HAD ALREADY RECEIVED ROOT CANAL THERAPY. Therefore, it had no sensory innervation left within the tooth at all. I suspect this because he mentioned that that tooth also had a post in it. We don't/can't put posts in teeth that haven't had root canal therapy. The part left in the mouth has no innervation, so it can't hurt whatsoever. There is almost never pain associated with a tooth break like what is decribed. This little super glue trick works somewhat on teeth like that.... but there will be leakage and the end result is more decay forming down under the gums. This makes for a tougher extraction in the long run. But hey.... you save paying a little now for the benefit of a lot more "fun" later. :D

On a tooth that has already had a root canal, you are usually much better off just leaving that little sucker alone. It is much easier to keep clean and will NOT hurt. It will not get swallowed or come lose during chewing or sleep. Assuming it could come lose during mastication, it could cause other damage to the surrounding dentition when you bite down on it. Of course, the best reason it leave it out is that the broken off tooth portion can be drilled and placed onto dental floss to make into a nice necklace for ornamental wear.

He is correct there was not any pain involved in it because it had a root canal done on it years before. The post that I mentioned was what was left of the tooth after the denist ground the tooth away so he could mount the crown. It is the post that broke off and the crown came with it and that was what I glued back on. As far as an extraction is concerned, surgery is the only alternative to the situation regardless if I left it off or have it removed. Glueing it back on was best choice in my thought to cover the jagged sharp edges sticking up from the break.

No awards are necessary as this was a simple fix, but thanks for the thought.

[Bill Harsey]

I have several physical aliments that limit my flexibility which occassionally requires me to use a cane and need help getting some types of footgear on.I have come up with a simple solution.* I have attached a hook to the cane that allows me to pull boots on that have loops (which is why I still wear my old chippewa's).* It also come in handy for stability when I need it and provides me a little more reach to take out the occassion smart ass by either slashing him or hooking on to him as a little come along:D

I like that.

[Dante]

I was tired of going to the doctors for broken fingers because I have had about 4 so I just use popsicle sticks and med tape as a splint, and tape the broken finger to another one to add more straightness. Last one I had healed in about 2 and a half weeks. Not that clever but I found it to be a relief at the time so my parents didn't have to spend 300+ dollars for something I could do myself.

[Razor]

Broken or merely dislocated? If it was actually broken, you'd better pray you had a good (lucky) set, or you'll be paying for it in the future.

[The Reaper]

Broken or merely dislocated? If it was actually broken, you'd better pray you had a good (lucky) set, or you'll be paying for it in the future.

Amen.

And arthritis is a bitch. Trust me on that.

TR

[Dante]

It was broken but not severely. Probably just a small fracture. Might not be the smartest idea but I don't like having a bunch of money spent on me especially for something I don't need. However a better splint could probably be made out of a piece of aluminum and some squishy foam with the proper tools. Right now I can just bend it enough to the point where I can't make a full fist but almost there. Still quite a bit stiff.

[weasel]

Most folks here know I grew up logging, spent years at it. Any of you guys have to handle cable? Sometimes we need to put an eye in one end to attach to other rigging so we can pull on stuff, this is what cable does, it pulls on stuff. Most wire rope is 6 strands over a core. To do a proper spliced eye takes the right tools and some learned skills. What I'm going to describe takes almost no skills, is fast and will work with anything from 1/8th inch to 2 inch or bigger if you have the personal horsepower to bend it. If you have say 3/4 inch cable, unravel the six strands of cable completely, go back about three feet. Ignore the core. Use a screwdriver or similar tool to pry them apart to get started if you have to. Take three strands to each side. Grab one strand from each side and point them toward each other until they cross about midpoint. Wrap them back together, just like they came apart. Do this with each strand from each side until you've put the cable back together in a loop. It'll look just like it was made that way. Ignore the free ends hanging past this fast eye we call a "Farmers Splice" It's as strong as the entire cable for a little while but it lacks the long term durability of a true spliced eye. I should charge for this, it's that good.

Careful with that one. Men have been cut in half trying that (mainly because when wire goes it normally explodes with shards and stuff, but with that splice it will whip at near supersonic speed, so guys get caught too close whe it fails). We put it in a tensometer and it turns out it is only around 30% as strong as the wire. Wire will have a safety rating 1/6th of its breaking strain. So it works for light loads, but not safe for something heavy. In other words you use it to get something done immediately (say tie up a tanker) but take the extra 10 minutes to make a proper splice and throw that over the bollard asap.

cheers

w

[sofmed]

Amen.

And arthritis is a bitch. Trust me on that.

TR


Amen to the Amen!

I dislocated my L index finger at the second joint, with fracture. Imagine your finger pointing medially from that joint, at the same angle of your thumb with your fingers spread wide. Real pretty.

Needless to say, 22 years later I have a large calcium deposit which mildly reduces my r.o.m. Not enough to affect my off-hand shooting though!:D

[Bill Harsey]

Careful with that one. Men have been cut in half trying that (mainly because when wire goes it normally explodes with shards and stuff, but with that splice it will whip at near supersonic speed, so guys get caught too close whe it fails). We put it in a tensometer and it turns out it is only around 30% as strong as the wire. Wire will have a safety rating 1/6th of its breaking strain. So it works for light loads, but not safe for something heavy. In other words you use it to get something done immediately (say tie up a tanker) but take the extra 10 minutes to make a proper splice and throw that over the bollard asap.

cheers

w

I worked Oregon "old school" highlead and skyline logging sides for just over a decade. We had enough power in the yarder to break new chokers made from 1 and 1/8 inch diameter wire rope (since we are talking wire rope, it was the "good stuff" for logging). I have seen bad accidents with cables resulting in death.

We would never log with that type of splice but it can be very handy for rigging up when the eye will be cut out and/or re-done after something is pulled through the correct block or blocks.
I suppose you wouldn't like tying knots in wire rope either, but it can be done.

The reason I mention the wrapped splice is for temporary rigging when one is in a difficult place without the proper tools to produce a traditional long lasting eye splice.

[sofmed]

Getting back to the main topic...

Long trip in the middle of Texas, having left I37 some time back, and heading south toward Alice on the way to McAllen three years ago in my buddy's car, Crown Vic, as my Ranger was in the shop (what's new there?).

0200 or so in the AM, been on the road for about 9 hours this particular day, and I have a blowout, front right tire running about 70mph. Scary as s**t. Took foot off accelarator pedal immediately and coasted to a stop on the burm.

NOONE around for miles!

I always carry a bag of odds and ends to include at least two head lamps, a couple flashlights, one surefire halogen and a cheaper offbrand LED type for longer lighting needs, extra batteries. Also a copious amount of 550 cord and 100 mile an hour tape, 100 oz. bladder/camelback H2O, space blanket, first aid kit, couple pair of gloves, etc.

This is where it gets fun.

Tire is gone. Running on the rim. Grab the spare. Good to go. (I think at the time) After changing the damn thing and riding for another 20 mins. the spare goes. Again, not my car. Stopped on the side of the road in pitch black middle of nowwhere Texas with a flat spare on the studs and a bent rim in the trunk.

Oh, great, no cell phone signal. S**t!

Take the rim out of the trunk, trade places with the spare, and while I have the car jacked up I take the two wool blankets from the trunk and a helluva lot of duct tape (virtually the whole role) and wrap the rim in the stuff.

Drove 4 miles on that mess at about minus 6 miles per hour. LOL Finally came to an early exit to Alice to some obscure little area where I was able to finally get a cell signal and find a vending machine to grab a snack while I waited on the tow truck.

You should have seen the guy's face when he looked at the frayed tape and blanket hanging off the rim. I wish I would have had a camera, for his look and for proof.

At least I didn't have to listen to the metal on concrete grind the whole way in. The blankets were, of course, a total loss and I wound up having to pay out of pocket, about $130.00 for an aftermarket steel wheel replacement, and about $170 for a Michelin tire to go with it the next morning. Quite an expensive trip.

What did I learn? While PMCSing someone else's vehicle, take the spare tire OUT of the well and inspect it thoroughly, don't just check the air pressure and then hit the road. The tire had good pressure, but underneath some water had settled and rusted the backside of the rim and, voila, add the weight of a car, the heat generated from riding on it, and it fails.

At least I was able to laugh about it...especially after I recouped my near $300 bucks. Pat was good natured about it, after he stopped laughing. :D

Cheers!

Mick

[4StringSlinger]

Redneck orthodonist:

14 years old, mom divorces stepfather, no money to make scheduled visits to the ortho to adjust/maintain my braces for many months. Finally got fed up and reoved 'em myself, upper, lower, and anchors...with a pair of needle-nose pliers. It was a couple of years before I could afford to go to a dentist and get the glue removed.

Redneck mech:

18 years old, driving a '79 Mustang with built 302. The clutch cable ran close to the headers, and the heat caused it to bind up, which caused the clutch cable tensioner to pull through the firewall...late at night, in a bad part of town [naturally].

I used a vice grip to stabilize and maintain tension on the cable, then wrapped the shit out of it with 100 mpf tape...essentially making a huge knot bigger than the hole...help up for a week until I could afford to replace the cable. Had my dad cut up some aluminum to bolt over the hole in the firewall...and of course wrapped the cable to sheild it from the heat.

[The Reaper]

At least I didn't have to listen to the metal on concrete grind the whole way in. The blankets were, of course, a total loss and I wound up having to pay out of pocket, about $130.00 for an aftermarket steel wheel replacement, and about $170 for a Michelin tire to go with it the next morning. Quite an expensive trip.

Sounds like time to call a wrecking yard. Probably get a couple of good rims with decent tires for less than $100.

TR

[weasel]

I suppose you wouldn't like tying knots in wire rope either, but it can be done.

The reason I mention the wrapped splice is for temporary rigging when one is in a difficult place without the proper tools to produce a traditional long lasting eye splice.
You're right, I don't like tying knots in wire and I agree, I've done the same thing (mea culpe) with the wrap splice because I couldn't remember all the twists and turns needed to "tie" a wire rope properly. Whenever something like that happens you haven't slept for 3 days, its pitch black, wet, and too cold (for you and the wire) and needs to be done then and not later :D

The guy who taught me wires was "Old George", one of the last of the square rigger sailors, so he was probably 92 when I met him. He spliced a 32mm wire rope in front of me with a vice and thats it, no marlin spike. I sh!t you not. I have never met a harder man in my life. Some people say he died, but I'm hesitant to believe it.

Needless to say, I constantly failed him.

So anyway, do what you need to do, but stand well back. I guess it all depends on the type of boat you are on too as to the condition of rigging to expect. e.g. backing up to one of those arab fish traps to pull it up and take a few fish for lunch, you are never quite sure whether the cable is going to snap because of rust or not in the red sea, but I hear they have better rigging on the dows around in the gulf, who knows?


cheers


w

[DA PAM Dan]

On a recent deployment we had to make a rather large concrete LZ. We had been having some issues with our screeds. Primarily getting them to function as they should and maintaining them. After pouring two 20'x120' pads we started on our third, the screed runs out of fuel. We refuel it try to start it, the pull cord breaks. Keep in mind we have alot of wet concrete to screed and it is about 110. With nothing but a some Leathermans a standard issue belt, and the fear of having to jackhammer or pick ax this stuff up a guy busts off the cover to where the pulley is attached to the crank wraps his belt around it and give it a pull it starts and everyone looks at him like he just interrupted the last supper because he saved out butts. Not to mention our backs and sanity. With heat and the thought of backbreaking labor as a motivator alot can be accomplished.

[Diablo Blanco]

After my first contract I took a break and then reentered the Army. We were on a bus heading between sites when it broke down. It overheated as the serpentine belt broke on the engine. I took an equal length of 550 cord and put a knot every 3 - 5 inches and replaced the belt with it. Fired up the bus and it ran fine, even better.

Funny thing is, a more senior Sergeant cut the cord and said it wasn't an authorized repair and we could get in trouble so we should wait. Being the new guy I replied "You're not an authorized repair..."

He didn't know how to respond :)

[72_Wilderness]

Vaulted ceilings look really nice, that is until you want to hang something and do not have a ladder. So the crawling/standing on furniture begins, which would normally be enough, but this a fourteen foot vaulted ceiling. An old memory struck my mind and I went to work. One broom, one pen cap, opposite end of pen, chocolate wrappers and one dremel wrench later with duct tape holding everything together I was in business. I say it worked, even if the end of the pen is still stuck on the thumb tack, it hasn’t fallen down.

I had an audience that demand to take a picture of the devise.

h ttp://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u258/72_W_Blackfoot/Misc/100_0140.jpg

I changed the light bulb in the stairwell of the Old Division Tac Shed the same way. One mop, one broom handle, a pencil, a styrofoam cup and a few wraps of duct tape.

72W

[freerider04]

Anyone who's been on a ship might like this one

After having a P-100 pump crap the bed during a drill, we devised a new way to make foam using 2 P-1 dewatering pumps.

Take 1 P-1 and set it up for suction overboard, and discharge into the P-1 pump can (preferrably the plastic square one)

Set the other P-1 up for suction from the first pump can, and discharge to wherever you need foam.

Start 1st pump, puor half a can of AFFF (the 5 gal cans) concentrate into the pump can. When pump can is appx 3/4 or more full, start the second pump.

Viola, instant foam. It's a pretty low quality, low pressure foam, and dissapates kinda quickly, but it will put out fires and provide a vapor barrier.

Add 1/2 can of AFFF about every minute to keep it up.

[Longstreet]

I am not sure if this fits this thread, but I think the tip will be greatly appreciated - especially those of you who ride.

Next time you accidently melt your rain gear or the rubber from your boots on the pipes of your bike, try using Easy-Off oven cleaner. Silly me melted part of my Chuck-Taylors on my pipes due to pushing the kickstand down. I tried just about everything to clean off the black smudge that they left. Nothing worked. I finally heard about using oven cleaner and gave it a shot. Not only did it take off the black smudges, it also removed the smudges from the boots my dear girlfriend wore two years prior to.

And to top it all off, my bike smelled lemon clean.

[Diablo Blanco]

another time we had a SAW that was missing a pin to hold the pistol grip in. Someone had used 550 cord to replace the pin but the SAW kept going run-away on us. I took a closer look and noticed the problem was the bolt wasn't catching on the trigger latch. Using some baling wire and my leatherman I tightly wound the wire between the grip and main body. Worked perfectly.

[chipw]

Saw this on another blog and thought it fit here nicely.

Using a hybrid auto as an emergency generator:

http://lifehacker.com/5118575/use-a-prius-as-an-emergency-generator

[Bill Harsey]

Chain saws open doors FAST!

And might discourage most folks from trying to hold it closed against you. ;)

Great posts here.

[mark46th]

I worked with a great scrounger in Thailand. One day, he talked the Air Force at NKP out of 3 old Chevy Pickup trucks to use for targets and Demo training. The Air Force even delivered them on a flat bed. He cannibalized the needed parts from two to make one perfect running truck. We did use the other two for targets and Demo. But it was a vehicle not on the books so every time we heard a helicopter, we had to go hide it in the jungle. We also got a message from the B team that we were using too much fuel, so we had to buy our own gas for it.

[Longstreet]

My brother (who is a motorcycle technician and extremely mechanicaly inclined) told me about a time he was in the Caribbean visiting his friend. The car they were using developed a crack in the fuel tank and they needed to get it repaired as it was leaking gas. They took it to the local shop and were told that they did not have a replacement and it would take some time to order in a new one. It was then recommended that they visit the 'old man on the hill' and he would fix it. So they literally went up a hill and visited the 'old man'.

The old man looked at the tank and then said the crack needed to be welded. Rather than empty the tank, he hooked up a hose to the exhaust pipe, turned the car on and then put the other end of the hose into the gas tank. He let the car run for a number of minutes and then welded up the hole - without it exploding

Understandably, my brother was 'concerned' about the event and kept his distance as much as possible from the car. He later realized that he did not have to worry. Due to the car's exhaust being pumped into the gas tank, all of the oxygen was pushed out. And given combustion needs oxygen, there was realitively no chance of the tank exploding.

Although he would never do such a procedure himself (unless absolutely necessary) my brother told me that he was impressed with the ingenuity that the old man had. He also said it was amazing to see how people adapt to the situation at hand and working with what they have at their disposal, what they can overcome.

[The Reaper]

My brother (who is a motorcycle technician and extremely mechanicaly inclined) told me about a time he was in the Caribbean visiting his friend. The car they were using developed a crack in the fuel tank and they needed to get it repaired as it was leaking gas. They took it to the local shop and were told that they did not have a replacement and it would take some time to order in a new one. It was then recommended that they visit the 'old man on the hill' and he would fix it. So they literally went up a hill and visited the 'old man'.

The old man looked at the tank and then said the crack needed to be welded. Rather than empty the tank, he hooked up a hose to the exhaust pipe, turned the car on and then put the other end of the hose into the gas tank. He let the car run for a number of minutes and then welded up the hole - without it exploding

Understandably, my brother was 'concerned' about the event and kept his distance as much as possible from the car. He later realized that he did not have to worry. Due to the car's exhaust being pumped into the gas tank, all of the oxygen was pushed out. And given combustion needs oxygen, there was realitively no chance of the tank exploding.

Although he would never do such a procedure himself (unless absolutely necessary) my brother told me that he was impressed with the ingenuity that the old man had. He also said it was amazing to see how people adapt to the situation at hand and working with what they have at their disposal, what they can overcome.


I would not try this at home boys and girls.

The over pressure in the tank, while it may not push liquid gasoline out, may be pressing gas fumes out, which is what really "explodes".

And remind me not to lend you and your brother my vehicle.

Now JB Weld would have been a better fix, IMHO.;)

TR

[perdurabo]

I would not try this at home boys and girls.

The over pressure in the tank, while it may not push liquid gasoline out, may be pressing gas fumes out, which is what really "explodes".

And remind me not to lend you and your brother my vehicle.

Now JB Weld would have been a better fix, IMHO.;)

TR

This reminds me of an old USAF flight line initiation where a been-around would take a virgin airman over to the fuel depot, spray a liberal puddle of jet fuel (JP-4? JP-6) on the ground, stand in the middle of it smoking, while the airman looks on in horror as the been-around drops his cigarette onto the puddle.

(The cigarette was extinguished by the "kerosene")

[XJWoody]

If one has misplaced the chuck key for a drilling device, one can place a like-sized bit in the chuck hole, and lever upon it with a flat blade screwdriver to loosen or tighten. I've heard this referred to as a 'navy yard chuck key.'

One can often size a too-large wrench down using coins, a flat blade driver tip, or other durable shim stock.

A stripped phillips/hex/torx headed fastener can sometimes be slotted to accept a flat-blade driver. A hacksaw (or a small segment of a hacksaw blade clamped in pliers) or a small file can be used to make the slot.

[RichL025]

A stripped phillips/hex/torx headed fastener can sometimes be slotted to accept a flat-blade driver. A hacksaw (or a small segment of a hacksaw blade clamped in pliers) or a small file can used to make the slot.

If you have something nearby the screw that you can brace your hand on, a dremel with a cutting wheel works well for this.

RL

[XJWoody]

Earlier in this thread, Mr Harsey mentioned that one can charge vehicle batteries with a DC welder.

Field DC welding can also be done, using vehicle batteries as the power source. Basic terms, one 'shorts' the battery, using jumper cables for the ground and hot leads, and welds with a SMAW (stick) welding rod. 12v is pretty wimpy, 24v (two 12v in series or one 24v) is getting there, and 36v (3x12v or 24+12) will put out some real heat. Not the ideal setup, but could get one out of a jam, and is somewhat portable.

Basic needs include : two or three charged 12v batteries, (or one 24v) several sets of jumper cables, leather gloves and a couple pair of 'good' dark sunglasses (a shielding lens/hood is ideal, but...)

There is also a COTS wire-feed spool-gun kit (flux core or solid wire with shielding gas) sold under the trade name Ready Welder: http://www.readywelder.com/


Don't kill all your prime mover batteries, and a note: If your trail buddy comes along, asking to borrow your battery, and some sunglasses... don't be generous and hand over your new Gargoyles... he will wear yours over his. Guaranteed. :cool:

[Longstreet]

I would not try this at home boys and girls.

The over pressure in the tank, while it may not push liquid gasoline out, may be pressing gas fumes out, which is what really "explodes".

And remind me not to lend you and your brother my vehicle.

Now JB Weld would have been a better fix, IMHO.

TR

I may have misread the idea behind this thread and if I have my appologies. I was under the impression that we are to share ideas that were rather 'unconventional' and worked. When I made my post I was not recommending anyone try the tactic of welding a fuel tank with fuel in it - just that it can be done to a certain degree of safety. Obviously this should only be done if it is absolutely necessary.

I cannot explain the science behind it as I am not a mechanic, welder or physicist. I had heard previously that the strategy is 'somewhat' sound, but I could never back it up with real evidence. When my brother actually saw it performed and explained it to me, the rumours proved to be true.

I did speak to my brother again about using JB Weld and he said that was more of a 'hack' way of fixing the problem. He went on by saying to truly fix the tank, it must be replaced. Given he has over fifteen years in the motorcycle industry, worked for several dealerships (including Harley Davidson and numerous Japanese brands), was a 'tech's tech' for Yamaha and has now gone on to work for an aerospace company (that produces satellites for NASA and the famed Canada Arm), I'll take his advice.

[The Reaper]

I may have misread the idea behind this thread and if I have my appologies. I was under the impression that we are to share ideas that were rather 'unconventional' and worked. When I made my post I was not recommending anyone try the tactic of welding a fuel tank with fuel in it - just that it can be done to a certain degree of safety. Obviously this should only be done if it is absolutely necessary.

I cannot explain the science behind it as I am not a mechanic, welder or physicist. I had heard previously that the strategy is 'somewhat' sound, but I could never back it up with real evidence. When my brother actually saw it performed and explained it to me, the rumours proved to be true.

I did speak to my brother again about using JB Weld and he said that was more of a 'hack' way of fixing the problem. He went on by saying to truly fix the tank, it must be replaced. Given he has over fifteen years in the motorcycle industry, worked for several dealerships (including Harley Davidson and numerous Japanese brands), was a 'tech's tech' for Yamaha and has now gone on to work for an aerospace company (that produces satellites for NASA and the famed Canada Arm), I'll take his advice.

I'm just fixing it long enough to get home. I have a JB Weld kit in my truck right now, as a matter of fact. Just in case. I hope I never need it.

At the same time, I am in no particular mood to visit the afterlife in route to my quarters.

I understand the theory behind using CO to remove the combustible oxygen from the tank. You can also purge it with nitrogen, or any of the other inert gases. What you cannot do is to keep the gas from getting hot and going to a gaseous state, especially once the heat is applied, which may overflow the tank and allow fumes to spread in the area outside the tank, which if you are still conscious and breathing while welding, is probably O2 saturated. In fact, there will probably be fumes coming out of the hole in the tank as well as the neck. This moves the category of this advice to the, it might work, or it might kill you category. Kind of like the stuff McGiver did, it might work once in a while, the rest of the time, it will leave you pretty messed up. Maybe the old guy had done this a few times before, maybe he had done it quite often. Eventually, IMHO, the odds are going to catch up to you.

Incidentally, many fuel tanks today are plastic for strength and weight issues. I would not plan on throwing a torch to one of those, but the JB Weld just might get you home.

If I had an epoxy kit, or the village repair guy with a torch, and I needed to use the vehicle again, I would put my money on the JB being good enough to get me home, and the torch could stay and wait for the next guy.

I will be keeping an eye on YouTube to see how many times this trick is tried.

Thanks for your contribution.

TR

[greenberetTFS]

I'm just fixing it long enough to get home. I have a JB Weld kit in my truck right now, as a matter of fact. Just in case. I hope I never need it.

At the same time, I am in no particular mood to visit the afterlife in route to my quarters.

I understand the theory behind using CO to remove the combustible oxygen from the tank. You can also purge it with nitrogen, or any of the other inert gases. What you cannot do is to keep the gas from getting hot and going to a gaseous state, especially once the heat is applied, which may overflow the tank and allow fumes to spread in the area outside the tank, which if you are still conscious and breathing while welding, is probably O2 saturated. In fact, there will probably be fumes coming out of the hole in the tank as well as the neck. This moves the category of this advice to the, it might work, or it might kill you category. Kind of like the stuff McGiver did, it might work once in a while, the rest of the time, it will leave you pretty messed up. Maybe the old guy had done this a few times before, maybe he had done it quite often. Eventually, IMHO, the odds are going to catch up to you.

Incidentally, many fuel tanks today are plastic for strength and weight issues. I would not plan on throwing a torch to one of those, but the JB Weld just might get you home.

If I had an epoxy kit, or the village repair guy with a torch, and I needed to use the vehicle again, I would put my money on the JB being good enough to get me home, and the torch could stay and wait for the next guy.

I will be keeping an eye on YouTube to see how many times this trick is tried.

Thanks for your contribution.

TR

TR,

When my wife got her motorized wheel chair. I had to get a "hitch and lift"put on the back of my car to transport it. When I went to get it installed,they told me that they had to weld the back half of the hitch to the body of my car because they couldn't bolt it down like they normally do and then they welded that back part and used a "shield" to protect themselves while they did it...........:eek:

GB TFS :munchin

[Bill Harsey]

Good discussion on welding fuel tanks. I've only done it a couple times when the tank could be removed and filled about 95% with water. Also have set fire to everything around a diesel fuel tank welding on logging equipment (more than once), thank goodness for required fire extinguishers but you still have to run back to the tank to put it out...


Very Durable Metal Finish from Local Source
Recently finished welding and reinforcing an old "new" diamond plate steel bumper for my antique 1 ton Chevy six pack pickup.

I asked some questions about what to prime and paint it with and am quite surprised with the results.

PRIMER: NAPA #7220 "self etching primer" this stuff dries very hard and after a bit could not be scratched with my fingernail. It's made by Martin Senour. I'd asked what was the best primer question of a friend who's career is welding (both repair and building new) heavy logging and construction equipment and also the manager of local Napa. Got the same answer from both, use the self etching primer. I did as advised.

PAINT: Acrylic enamel by Dupli-Color, color, silver also from NAPA.
Acrylic enamels are the toughest paint on the shelf at NAPA.
Used a 2 by 4 flat against the silver paint and gently tapped with a 12 lb. hammer to drive the bumper onto the frame to place the attachment bolts.
Some of my gentle taps may be have been less gentle than others. No marks on the 48 hour old paint.

From now on when I build something from mild steel, I'm going to prime and paint it because it takes a long time for the rust color to get even all over. ;)

lesson for me, ask questions. Things have changed, paint is now tough.

Edited to add: Value of this very good stuff is that it is from NAPA. These stores are almost everywhere. NAPA's system is set up so that if the product requested is not on the shelf, often it will be there the next morning.

I still cannot believe how tough the primer is for a non-baked finish.

[armymom1228]

Yesterday on my way from Va Bch to Reedville, Va. I was called and asked to find a washer 1 7/8 inches inside diameter and 1/4 inch thick plastic (duralon) or teflon..plastic anyway. I got the call long after I had left what passes for civilization in these parts. ( I dont even have cell service at the moment). Two hardware stores, a plumbing supply house, a/c parts place, auto parts and a marine store. Nada.. so I called back and asked the Ex if he had a hole saw set? Yep...I drove back to the marine store and got some scrap starboard. Drove into Reedville to the boatyard. Got the starboard out and cut one hole 2 inches, another 2 1/2 outside the 2 inch hole. Cut another set. The ex then took some sandpaper and finished the job. A friend now has his rudder back on the boat with new "retaining" rings. I should have just done that to start with. I wasted 3 hrs stopping along the way to try to find stupid plastic washers.

The Ex and a Friend used some of my extra shrinkwrap to make a "cajun bimini"
The guys wrapped the shrinkwrap around the frame. Held it in place with clips and 100mph tape then used a heat gun to shrink it to the frame. It is not too pretty but it will get him home to NC from here and keep him dry (okay sorta dry) and the sun off his head.

[greenberetTFS]

AM,

Tell the truth now,when did you get your 18C ? :rolleyes::p:eek:

Big Teddy :munchin

[wet dog]

When I was quite young, my grandfather and I made a trip to Evanston, WY for tractor parts. Upon entering town, we saw a "train wreck", a real one. A full length rail car carry LP gas, leaking from the valve. LP gas fumes visible in the wind, moving around. Police, fire trucks, wreckers standing off 1000'. No one moved, all were afraid of an explosion.

My grandfather told me to follow him...

Leaving the truck, we scurried past the officers and entered the sage and greesewood. Upon exiting, we were standing next to the rail car.

My grandfather took off his oil soaked leather gloves and after placing a good sized rock inside one he asked if I could throw well. I opted out.

He lit the glove on fire and threw it high. The glove, upon reaching 60' at a point where oxygen and LP gas were missing, a fire started. The rock fell back to earth, the fire hovered at 60-80 feet above the ground. Slowly the fire dropped to 40, then 30 and finally rested at 20 feet.

My grandfather started walking back to the truck and met fireman and police officers waiting for him. No one asked a question. My grandfather told a fireman, "Keep an eye on that flame, when its about 2 inches from the valve, blow it out, should be a slight fire, no worries. Biggest threat will be the grass catching on fire. We gotta go, mama has dinner waiting for us."

When my mother was little and times got hard, my grandfather often returned to the coal and soda ash mines looking for work. While working the mines, miners often hit pockets of natural gas. This was how miners kept bigger explosions from killing people.

A cool lesson from an old man. He made me go look for his glove.

[armymom1228]

AM,

Tell the truth now,when did you get your 18C ? :rolleyes:Big Teddy

uh.. why thank you Teddy. I cannot say all my coonass engineering projects when so smoothly. lol... a few definitely were in the running for a Darwin award. :rolleyes: Fortunately I lived to tell the tale and deny all involvement. :D

[BMT (RIP)]

Anyone ever use a Fit'um All?

BMT

[wet dog]

Anyone ever use a Fit'um All?

BMT

Never heard of a Fit'um All?

[BMT (RIP)]

Only 1 person had never heard or used a Fit'um All.

Guy's and Gal's we have all used a Crescent Wrench at sometime during our life!!
A Crescent Wrench will Fit'um all!!

:D

[wet dog]

Only 1 person had never heard or used a Fit'um All.

Guy's and Gal's we have all used a Crescent Wrench at sometime during our life!!
A Crescent Wrench will Fit'um all!!

:D

That's too funny! Must be a regional identifier, like "pop vs soda".

We always called it an 'adjustable wrench' or if it actually said 'Crescent', we would say, "could you hand me the 'Crescent' wrench...it's in the tool box, upper left drawer, thanks".

[Bill Harsey]

Anyone ever use a Fit'um All?

BMT

You threw me off track with that term.

All my Crescent wrenches are metric.

[Bill Harsey]

You threw me off track with that term.

All my Crescent wrenches are metric.

That was supposed to be at least mildly funny.

I like crescent wrenches for things like hydraulic and pressure gas fittings because the face is wider than standard wrenches (if you use a big enough Crescent wrench).

If the crescent wrench is not adjusted tight to the nut, bolt or fitting it tends to round over edges and slip so I try to take the extra effort to find the correct wrench for anything that takes some torque.

Use a six point socket instead of a twelve point for jobs you have to use a lot of force on.
If you really have to torque on a socket wrench (first sign of high torque, sockets are breaking) get a socket designed for air tools, they have thicker walls.

Down side is the thick walled sockets do not fit in narrow clearance places.

[lksteve]

All my Crescent wrenches are metric.If you hold them in the other hand, they'll work for SAE...

[lksteve]

That was supposed to be at least mildly funny. It was...but sheesh, we're sensitive, today.;)

[Bill Harsey]

It was...but sheesh, we're sensitive, today.;)

I've been taking sensitivity training from y'all here. :D

[wet dog]

I've been taking sensitivity training from y'all here. :D

Sensitivity training as in, "...going for the jugular".

[Bill Harsey]

Sensitivity training as in, "...going for the jugular".

yes.


Lot's of pages here, have we already discussed the "hot wrench"?

[wet dog]

Have you ever seen old timers make nails on an anvil? Visited a friend the other day, saw him spit out 4 new nails in 1 min.

When he doesn't have a hammer in hand, his parkinson's disease is quite evident. Hammering is his only PT.

WD

[Bill Harsey]

Have you ever seen old timers make nails on an anvil? Visited a friend the other day, saw him spit out 4 new nails in 1 min.

When he doesn't have a hammer in hand, his parkinson's disease is quite evident. Hammering is his only PT.

WD

Yes, More amazing than it sounds. Traditional forged nails are both tapered and square in cross section and nicely "headed".
Good picture here: http://www.appaltree.net/aba/nails.htm

I've heard stories that some settlers making their way across the west, when moving, would burn down the house and barn to get the nails back. This is how precious these small pieces of forged steel were.

Edited to add:
Wet Dog,
You keep interesting company. All the best to your friend.

[The Reaper]

Yes, More amazing than it sounds. Traditional forged nails are both tapered and square in cross section and nicely "headed".
Good picture here: http://www.appaltree.net/aba/nails.htm

I've heard stories that some settlers making their way across the west, when moving, would burn down the house and barn to get the nails back. This is how precious these small pieces of forged steel were.

Look a lot like square cut masonry nails.

TR

[Bill Harsey]

Look a lot like square cut masonry nails.

TR

They do except they are hand forged and came in lengths from fine finish cabinet to ship and bridge building sized spikes.

Here is another look to see some hand forged nails:http://www.sevenpinesforge.com/nails.html

[wet dog]

They do except they are hand forged and came in lengths from fine finish cabinet to ship and bridge building sized spikes.

Here is another look to see some hand forged nails:http://www.sevenpinesforge.com/nails.html

Those are beautiful! Early-Man or Neranderthal had nothing on these.

[CSB]

Found this old photograph when moving my office. It goes back to 1974, just south of 38 degrees north latitude in the Land of the Morning Calm (aka Korea).

We were shooting 4.2" mortars and when it was time to roll back to Camp Hovey not only did we have a flat tire, the tire came all the way off the rim.

This was my solution. It got us along from the "back 40" to the paved road, where we could get a new wheel brought to us and replace the rim.

And yes, I am apparently "old school" ... those are Gamma Goats doing the pulling.

[Bill Harsey]

Found this old photograph when moving my office. It goes back to 1974, just south of 38 degrees north latitude in the Land of the Morning Calm (aka Korea).

We were shooting 4.2" mortars and when it was time to roll back to Camp Hovey not only did we have a flat tire, the tire came all the way off the rim.

This was my solution. It got us along from the "back 40" to the paved road, where we could get a new wheel brought to us and replace the rim.

And yes, I am apparently "old school" ... those are Gamma Goats doing the pulling.

That has to earn some kind of award around here!

That's some serious dirt logging.

[ZonieDiver]

Ya gotta love the old "Four Deuce"! Mortarmen rule! "High Angle Hell"!:D

[XJWoody]

Many moons ago, I got stolen from my Cav squadron and sentenced to a tour in a Brigade HHC arms room. I'd occasionally get paroled to the motor pool (Asst. Jr. vehicle dispatcher IIRC)

Anyhow in the motor-daddy's office was a very olde (1950s?) FM on improvised recovery techniques... That log on the trailer is one of those...

One can use a spare tire (or tarpaulin etc) for an improvised winch anchor point. COTS is a Pull-Pal™ and saves a LOT of digging.

Having some time in & around the Jeeping/4-wheeling scene, I've observed plenty of redneck get-home fixes. I may have been guilty of shredding both a primary tire and the spare outside of Murphy NC... I happened to recall a pile of old tires some slob had dumped alongside Beaver Dam Rd, so I sent a runner & by gawd there was one 'close enough' (which held air & had some tread.) That led to my first time breaking down & remounting a MV tire in the field. Fun stuff.

If that FM is still in print, it's a worthwhile read if one is mechanized or has an interest... -> here's a PDF that gets to the heart of it...

http://www.adrenalina4x4.org.bo/Articulos/Art_3/US_Army_driving_manual_vehicle_recovery_ch22.pdf

Also, a Skilcraft ball-point pen body (the pointy end IIRC) can be used as a bypass/temp replacement for a clogged fuel filter on an M151.

[Bill Harsey]

For what it's worth:

Had to drill and tap for screw threads in some micarta yesterday. Tap size was 4-40 (small) and I was having a tough time getting the tap to cut and was nearing the torsional breaking point of the new and sharp tap.

Put some paraffin on the tap and tried again. Difference was like night and day.
Job became too easy and was completed with no further problems.

[Ambush Master]

For what it's worth:

Had to drill and tap for screw threads in some micarta yesterday. Tap size was 4-40 (small) and I was having a tough time getting the tap to cut and was nearing the torsional breaking point of the new and sharp tap.

Put some paraffin on the tap and tried again. Difference was like night and day.
Job became too easy and was completed with no further problems.

A side note: If you are going to need to use Loctite, use Soap. It will wash away quite easily, but will give you a high degree of Lubricity.

Later.
Martin

[Paul_31-B]

in 01 I was deployed to Kosovo, my team and I were on patrol in Strpce (probably spelled wrong) a good minute away from Camp Bondsteel. Anywho, for some reason unbeknownst to us our Headlights went out:boohoo. Tried everything (yes including turning them on) Nothin worked, however we had two 15 million candlelight searchlights. Those combined with a roll and a half of 100mph tape attacehed firmly to the front end of our 1114 brush guard; we had light. Wouldnt have been such a big deal except it was 0300 in the AM and about -25 degrees and heavy fog..Good times.

On a side note you can also make a killer sandwich by takin the bread, coldcuts/cheese (whatever you take from your local DIFAC downrange) etc puttin it together, wrapping it in tin foil - raise the hood of the humvee and putting the tin foil sandwiches on the engine block for about 3-5 minutes. Works better whenever its cold.

[greenberetTFS]

in 01 I was deployed to Kosovo, my team and I were on patrol in Strpce (probably spelled wrong) a good minute away from Camp Bondsteel. Anywho, for some reason unbeknownst to us our Headlights went out:boohoo. Tried everything (yes including turning them on) Nothin worked, however we had two 15 million candlelight searchlights. Those combined with a roll and a half of 100mph tape attacehed firmly to the front end of our 1114 brush guard; we had light. Wouldnt have been such a big deal except it was 0300 in the AM and about -25 degrees and heavy fog..Good times.

On a side note you can also make a killer sandwich by takin the bread, coldcuts/cheese (whatever you take from your local DIFAC downrange) etc puttin it together, wrapping it in tin foil - raise the hood of the humvee and putting the tin foil sandwiches on the engine block for about 3-5 minutes. Works better whenever its cold.

Paul,

We use to do that to heat up C rations when I was in during the mid fifties.....:cool: I'm sure they also did it in Korea and WW2......;)

Big Teddy :munchin

[Paul_31-B]

I know its nothing new Sir, I actually stole the Idea from MY Grandfather who coincidentally is Also a Korean War Vet. Just keepin the tradition going!

[rltipton]

I know its nothing new Sir, I actually stole the Idea from MY Grandfather who coincidentally is Also a Korean War Vet. Just keepin the tradition going!

Lots of good stuff on this thread! I once burned a can of kiwi to keep a pup tent warm when it was freezing ass cold and soaking wet in Hoenfels (Sp?). I got that tip from my dad. Works like a charm, you just have to have a vent at the top to let the smudge out. Not recommended in a tactical situation!

[trunkmonkey]

For those who can't permanently paint their overwhites with black strips for wooded areas the smoke from a burning MRE spoon can be used as a field expedient method to blacken almost anything temporarily. It also can be washed off for later for inspections.

When I was stationed in Alaska I was working on a small surveillance team. Since skiing and snow-shoeiing was the preferred method of conveyance we would often be tracked by infantry scouts. To lose your pursuers we would take a trail and make sure to traverse a large snow drift that was fairly hard packed. We would then toss road flares into the drift which would instantly melt through. and melt a large portoin of the underlying snow. The top of the drift would remain intact due to the depth of the snow and the fact that a small layer of ice will form to support the snow. It would take the unit pursuing us 30 minutes to an hour in order to recover their troops from the hole. then they would pursue much much slower.

[PSM]

...without a ramp! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jdQd9HKugI) :lifter

Pat

[DJ Urbanovsky]

A couple weeks ago, I was needing to get some dies made for forging these titanium sporks I'd designed because I wasn't satisfied with the current offerings on the market. The machine shop I approached wanted two to five grand to make these dies for me. I did not want to pay two to five grand. In fact, this felt like highway robbery for a set of forging dies that I was going to use for .060" thick Ti. It's very ductile when it's heated, and unless the steel for the dies is annealed, it's most likely going to be harder than the 36 Rockwell of Ti. When I told the machine shop that for two to five grand, I'd make the dies myself, the guy gave me that "Yeah, right" look...

So myself and my friend and knifemaking mentor Charles fabricated a set of dies from scratch out of a 5" diameter steel drop that the guys over at my surface grinding facility hooked me up with for free. In fact the only real cost in fabricating the dies was in time (it took us two eight hour days from start to finish, but there was plenty of lollygagging in there). To form the female die for the bowl, we used a Dremel with a carbide burr and removed a little bit of steel at a time. It was a pretty ridiculous process.

I know it's not duct tape and chewing gum, but it is making something that makes me money out of a piece of scrap that was going to get thrown in a dumpster. And the dies work like a charm.

When somebody acts like I can't do something myself, my mission in life becomes finding a solution and proving them wrong.

[BMT (RIP)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeanPDO-D6M

BMT

[Diablo Blanco]

Here's one worth remembering

A few days ago we were sitting around the CP and I found an old football. It was deflated and we had no pumps around to inflate it with.

We ended up finding some Canned Air with a little red straw. We used the red straw as a needle and used the canned air to inflate the football. Worked great!

[sofmed]

In opposition to the little foxes that spoil the vine, it's the little victories like that one with the football that boost morale and keep one's mind positive and actively seeking solutions. Cool stuff.

:lifter

[Richard]

I once burned a can of kiwi to keep a pup tent warm when it was freezing ass cold and soaking wet in Hoenfels.

Personally...I cannot imagine a reason for having Kiwi on an FTX to Hohenfels. ;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

[rdret1]

I don't know that it was SF engineering so much as pure luck, but we went to Nashua, NH once for EMS Climbing School. Bill Wheelehan was our new Team Leader. Phil Shea was my junior. We were supposed to make daily SATCOM. Lo and behold, both Phil and I forgot a compass. When it came time for our first contact, we set up, I looked around and the sun was alomost setting, so I drew a compass on the ground with west toward the sun. I put the antenna on an approximate azimuth, Phil guessed an approximate elevation and we made the call. First time contact 5X !

Cpt. Wheelehan came over and said "I was watching you. No way you made contact!" We gave him the handset and he called and got confirmation. He asked how we did it. We told him "See that pinetree over there sir? The satellite is just over the top of it." He bought it. The next day Phil and I were on the mountain come contact time so Cpt. Wheelehan and Chuck Abram made the contact. When we got back Cpt. Wheelehan came up to us, all excited, and said, "Sgt. Winters, Sgt. Shea, I did like you said and aimed the antenna at the pinetree and made good contact!" For the rest of the trip we could do no wrong.

[Richard]

And so it goes...:p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uaaG9D8--0

Richard

[Diablo Blanco]

That's a great one Richard, is that from HeeHaw?

The Red Green Show out of Canada. :D

http://www.tvtubex.com/The-Red-Green-Show.html

Richard

[Shock]

If you have a can of tuna in oil with a strip of flannelette you can burn it for a warm meal, almost tastes like chicken. Don't dump out the oil when you open the can, put a piece of flannelette folded over itself straight into the oil and make sure the corners are above the sides / with no oil on them. Light each corner with a lighter and once it catches place the lid gently back on the top with room underneath for air. Leave for 5 minutes until the top is crispy brown.

There is a technique to it, took me more than a few months to get it tasting right.

[frostfire]

I thought of posting this in weapon discussion, but it's so rednecky that I think it fits here better. I want to get some technical/common-sense check before I become part of the statistics/Darwin award

I plan to seal off the lower holes of the remington tactical choke tube, hoping that the gas will be forced to come out of the upper ones thus reducing muzzle flip or serving as a muzzle break sort-of. I got the idea after recalling how well the set up worked with the M1A SOCOM. Granted, this is 12ga, that is .308. I must confess I lack the knowledge of relationship among muzzle velocity, barrel diameter, shell vs. cartridge or shot vs. slug vs. bullet, and muzzle break operation/efficiency.

Has anyone ever tried or contemplated this or something similar?

[The Reaper]

I thought of posting this in weapon discussion, but it's so rednecky that I think it fits here better. I want to get some technical/common-sense check before I become part of the statistics/Darwin award

I plan to seal off the lower holes of the remington tactical choke tube, hoping that the gas will be forced to come out of the upper ones thus reducing muzzle flip or serving as a muzzle break sort-of. I got the idea after recalling how well the set up worked with the M1A SOCOM. Granted, this is 12ga, that is .308. I must confess I lack the knowledge of relationship among muzzle velocity, barrel diameter, shell vs. cartridge or shot vs. slug vs. bullet, and muzzle break operation/efficiency.

Has anyone ever tried or contemplated this or something similar?

Not sure what the wad and shot would be doing while passing through.

Bear in mind that muzzle flip is redirected recoil.

I have had decent results with the Briley comp choke on my Benellis.

TR

[spherojon]

"New" Tactical truck looks pretty awesome.

http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do;jsessionid=5D2BCA6918D13979CEB2CBA9029F4 112?displayContent=214548&ESRC=army.nl

[PR31C]

looks pretty awesome

Looks like JJ_BPK'S Post (http://professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28846&highlight=tactical+truck)

[charlietwo]

At one point during SOPC, I lost my pencil in a draw and needed something to write with on my point sheet -- I grabbed a pine tree twig, shaved off the end to a point and took a lighter to it, charring it slightly and making a "pencil". Worked like a charm.

Not very impressive, but it made me happy. I even kept the "pencil" and gave it to my parents as a souvenir :D

[BirdStuff]

Can't express how hilarious/informative this thread is. Did a search for this on these forums and was actually shocked nobody had posted it yet.

http://www.instructables.com/

Great user submitted do it yourself site. Great resource for ideas and gadgets.

[Nystagmus]

While I was deployed to Iraq in 2003, I dismantled a water fountain and took out the water cooling coils and compressor, as one. I then assembled them in a box so that I could have a fan blow through the coils and out through a corrugated hose our sleeping area. It worked well for about a week, and then the compressor gave out, and it was back to the heat.

It also works better if you keep the area to be cooled minimal (in sq ft) and partitioned from the rest of the building.

[PSM]

I have to remember this one:

Link (http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/2011/02/02/white-trash-repairs-defying-nature-with-nature/)

Pat

[lksteve]

So, the boss pays some big bucks for a GPS system that has a cell phone based communications modem...and since I tend to work alone in Wyoming, I get the system...where cell phone coverage is often poor...and today, I had to stake an oil well down in some very low ground...if I stood on the hood of the truck, I got a signal sufficiently strong to survey with...if I didn't, well, no signal...so I said to my self, "Self..."

The cell phone is in a belt holster on top of the striped rod...

[lonetlan]

Last year there was a snow storm. My buddy and I were helping people out of snowy ditches and generally being nice in his Ford Bronco 4x4. We had a hard time getting a truck out of a deep ditch; Radiator developed a hole. All we had were some sandwiches, mustard, two gallons of water. I used water to fill up the radiator and mustard to plug the hole by squeezing the mustard into the radiator. Everyone thought it wouldn't work... Been working since.

[mark46th]

It's a wonder anyone on this thread lived past their 25th birthday...

[DesertRat]

Most everybody knows how to get broken bolt out that broke off flush with the threads with a washer, nut and a welder. But when they break off below the threads I use a small pipe nipple. Place the pipe as centered as you can with rod already inside the pipe. When you get everything seated push the stinger forward and weld out. Let it cool and grab it with a pipe wrench and pull it out. If that does not work after a couple of tries you need to drill it out with a left handed bit.

[Jefe]

My 1SG in Panama showed us this one:

If you are digging in to a defense and speed is more important that surprise (like if they already know you're there), have everyone move in after the leaders recon/crew served weapons and scrape out the size and shape of the position at least 6 inches down if you can.

Pull back to the ORP leaving the demos there and drop a bangalore into each position, tamp it and set up your ring main and blow. Have demo team repeat again and you occuppy and scoop out your new foxhole. From there, if you need to clear field of fire, the bangalore is your friend. Put few together and push them down your primary sector of fire and let the demo teams do there thing.

Others:

Using cheap cell phones with group setting for text message security alerts in real time reporting

For those fancy nights when you have some wine at the team house, cut water bottles in half, point cap down. You now have proper goblets

[BOfH]

This one is slightly less spectacular than some previously posted, but useful(in my case at least):

I have a tree on my property which is slowly dying and some large upper limbs have broken off and fallen onto the lower ones, getting caught, and just waiting for some high winds to break free and wreak havoc. Many of them were in positions unreachable by an extension ladder and the neighboring branches were too weak to support a person, so, enter about 30 feet of PVC electrical conduit, some 550 cord and a stick. The conduit comes in 10 foot sections, I connected three of them, fed the 550 cord through the conduit and tied the stick at the other end. PVC conduit is pretty light, but rigid enough to handle, and I was able to maneuver the stick into the V of said stuck branches and pull them down.

[ODA CDR (RET)]

here's a few for the youngsters.

Learned this one in the big house, (younger years).
Collect as many as you can find filtered cigarette butts. Remove the outer paper until you have only the fiberglass portion. Rip them open and lay them on something very flat, in a long 2"-3" wide and 4"-6" long, letting them overlap each other. Then set the pile on fire and wait till it becomes a blob. Than lay something flat on top of it to put it out. What you are left with is a piece of hard plastic. Can be shaped and sharpened on the sidewalk and wrapped for stabbing or placed length wise in a bar of soap for slicing.

If your ever stuck with a dead battery in a standard tranny vehicle, you can jump start it by jacking it up and wrapping a tow strap around the drive wheel and pulling like your starting a lawnmower. Helps with two jamokes pulling.

If you ever find yourself fishing for Peacock Bass in Lake Gatun, you can use a 1" piece of Burger King straw. Cut the straw, feed it onto the line then tie your hook and let the straw slide down to the hook. Happy fishing.

[PSM]

If your ever stuck with a dead battery in a standard tranny vehicle, you can jump start it by jacking it up and wrapping a tow strap around the drive wheel and pulling like your starting a lawnmower. Helps with two jamokes pulling.



Why not have the other jamoke push you while you sit inside and mind the clutch? ;)

Pat

[ODA CDR (RET)]

Sometimes your in sand and thats even too hard for a steely eyed jamoke!

[PSM]

Sometimes your in sand and thats even too hard for a steely eyed jamoke!

Ah! I read it as "stuck with a dead battery" rather than stuck "and" a dead battery. Poor jamokes, what else could happen, a flat tire? :D

Pat

[TF Kilo]

I figure it's an appropriate point to relay this experience.

I recently had to move from AK to NV... 2 vehicle convoy, pickup towing our trailer, blazer just on its own.

Ended up having the rear U-joint on the rear driveline break in two.... in the middle of bum-f Canada.

So, although the driveline was still working but with a nasty clunk... ended up stopping on the roadside at a pullout, jacking up the rear end to get some play in the driveline through the slack in the rear suspension, and disconnecting the entire rear driveline.

It's a press-fit on the actual driveline for the front U-joint, and with it being a slip yoke I couldn't leave it on the transfer case because it'd fall right out.

Put a pan out, collected all the fluid that came out of the transfer case... and rigged up a cover for the rear output with electrical tape, 550 cord, then re-filled the transfer case as best I could given it being a roadside repair.

Put the transfer case in 4 wheel High, and continued on the drive with no ill effects and no leaking worth discussion... Was rather proud of myself.

The next town we got into, we spent the night in a NAPA service shop's parking lot considering we pulled in at about 0300. 0700 rolls around, they open up. Not able to get the proper U-joint, but they improved on my repair with a rubber cap from... well, I don't know, but this rubber cap when anchored with a pipe clamp fits perfectly and is now in the vehicular repair pelican we keep in the truck at all times... if we have an issue again, we have that for an emergency repair if necessary.

Ended up getting the driveline repaired in Prince George at a gear and driveline shop... they had the parts on-hand, and also fixed a couple other things for free.

So, if you have rear driveline issues that deadline a 4wd truck, consider pulling the driveline and covering up the tail housing, then continuing in 4x4 high... it'll work on the trail and it'll work on the road.

[Golf1echo]

TF Kilo that brought back memories of Kansas in the middle of the night. The rear differential exploded in my old trooper. After taking out the drive shaft I was able to limp into one of the next towns where they did have to remove gears and weld the axle together . That patch was made by packing grease around what was left and covering all with Spray Foam insulation and duct tape, made it back to NC that way.

[DIYPatriot]

I had a '65 Chevy Corvair Corsa - swear I'm not dating myself. I just appreciate old American cars. I joined a local Corvair Club and spent many Saturday afternoons learning from the wise men that were gracious and patient enough to take a 16 yr old kid into their fold. Today, I'm driving a '72 Chevy C-10 a couple times a week, too - belonged to my grand father.

Anyway, I was 16 and on a date with a retired Gunny Sgt's daughter and he said to have her home by 9 PM - he really meant 8:59. On our way back to her house I pressed the clutch to shift from 3rd to 4th, will never forget that, and felt a pop and then the pedal fall all the way to floor board. I also felt my heart sink. I was screwed. I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't have hardly a soul around me other than Kristin, reminding me how much her daddy was gonna kill us both if she were late. It was getting close to 9 PM.

To this day, I firmly believe he would've killed me first and spared her life and used me as the example. As experience would have it, I paid attention on a transmission rebuild/install and remembered where the cable ran underneath the floor. I had my tool box in the trunk (front of the car) and began ripping up carpet with an old Case XX.

The cable was shot. Completely frayed. However, I had just enough slack that I could rig it up around my Phillips head screwdriver. Taking what little slack remained, I wrapped the cable around the base plate of my shifter and limped us back home. I grinded a few gears, but as they say - If you can't find 'em, grind 'em.

For those interested, I got her home a few minutes late. He was waiting outside and after admiring my determination to get his daughter home, I was granted an execution stay. Thank God. I'm alive to tell the story.

[czs21]

I've only ever been cursed by warts on one occasion. My right ring finger had a wart about 3/16 of an inch in diameter. What to do what to do. It was the summer before Freshman year of college and arriving at my first non-family place(I'm from Appalachia, what can I say) to meet women, I did not want this wart around. I figured that chemicals or other treatments would take to darn long. With a little bit of do now: think later spirit, I fetched the soldering iron. It took two 'treatments' because the first one failed to go all the way to the base of the wart. The good news was it worked and there was no blood due to the instantaneous cauterization. The bad news is, I swear the garage still smells like burnt skin.

On a side note, if you're in a situation that pits you with just a chainsaw against a rattler that has become a bit to comfortable with tree you're hanging in, make sure you turn the saw upside down so the chain isn't pulling the snake towards you...

[jzachariahg]

Being from the south, we have pine trees and the limbs start growing at a height that is rather high, to get around this problem, we take a ball that is heavy enough to have a good deal of kinetic energy when thrown, but also to be able to be thrown, a croquet ball works great, and then bore a small hole through the center. Take a 30' piece of paracord or something similiar and thread it through then tie it off. Then attach a chainsaw blade to the end of the paracord, and then add another long peice of paracord and tie that to the end. Then take the ball and sling it over the tree limb as close as possible to the trunk of the tree and have two people who do a sort of back and forth sawing motion and cut off the limb, try and ensure that the chainsaw blade is straight or it will not cut. I also have two creative weapons that can be used as a last resort, a water bottle, when full of water makes a wonderful baton since water does not condense. A knife can be made by cracking a cd or dvd in half and then wrapping cloth of some sort around one half for the handle.

[Go Devil]

I built this bullet trap in the back yard to do some testing before the full range goes into place.
6"x6"x12' Treated posts set in concrete, 8' above grade.
Rubber roofing membrane stapled to posts, front and back.
3/4"x4'x8' Treated plywood mounted to back of posts.
2"x10"x4' Pine boards lag bolted to front of posts.
Fill Structure with dry sand.
Structure Is capped and treated with exterior deck stain.

Tested range is from 5m to 75m.
Tested ammunition: 22lr, 9mm, .357, 45ACP, .223, .308, 30-06, 7.62x39, 5.56 NATO, 7.62NATO, 12ga 3" Magnum. Multiple hits.

Results: All rounds were trapped within back stop except for test rounds (7.62x39) near bottom sides where 6"x6" posts meet sand cavity.

The rubber membrane was used to prevent sand from leaving cavity.
The boards mounted to front of back stop can be replaced due to wear.

I will continue to post pics of construction and modifications.



24571

24572

24573

24574

[medic&commo]

Maybe these are old news to some, but when I went over to PI to meet my wife's family I saw a few unique ways of solving everyday problems:
1. Fishing
Go to the rice paddies with all the villagers, bring a generator & pump.
Pump out most of the water.
Have the women take butterfly nets and scoop all the shrimp from around the edges.
Guys get in & scoop up the mudfish with your hands.
Have a feast (don't bother to cook the shrimp).

2. Flashlight breaks (rusted switch inside).
Take a burned out bulb, cut & flatten the metal base to a thin strip.
Insert inside handle, covering rusted area.
Presto, light works.

3. Recycling nails
Insure you leave nail heads sticking out slightly.
To pull out, without bending -
wrap cord around one block of wood, leaving 1 end free.
wrap the end around nail & back around block.
place 2nd block near nail.
twist 1st block over 2nd block, until nail pulls out.

4. Adjusting Water hose length
Take used, spent bicycle inner tubes, cut into strips.
Have several short copper pipes the same diameter as hose pieces.
Connect hoses with pipe, wrap & secure with rubber tubing.

5. "Scrubbing" pots / wooden floors
Take sand and coconut shells, in the place of cleanser.
Without the sand, shells work great as a floor polisher.

6. Shampoo / conditioner
Women use squeezings from shredded coconut for hair care.

[BMT (RIP)]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BckZ4i1BzF0?feature=player_embedded

Don't get no better than these men!!

BMT

[The Reaper]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BckZ4i1BzF0?feature=player_embedded

Don't get no better than these men!!

BMT

Brother, that was a helluva story, and it made me proud to be an American.

What a great family, and they are creating a legacy.

Them, and people like them, DID build this country.

TR

[orion5]

Brother, that was a helluva story, and it made me proud to be an American.



Me too....that's a great profile of the Carpenter family.

I know these types of businesses exist everywhere across our land. I wish we saw more of these profiled on TV, vs our current crop of slutty slug-fests, also known as "reality shows".

Yeah, I know I'm boring...;)

[Sdiver]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BckZ4i1BzF0?feature=player_embedded

Don't get no better than these men!!

BMT

EXCELLENT story.

Thanks for the find. I will be sharing this.

[SF_BHT]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/BckZ4i1BzF0?feature=player_embedded

Don't get no better than these men!!

BMT

Thanks. That made me home sick.....

That is what makes our country great......

[JJ_BPK]

Thanks, This is what it's all about.

Hard work and family,,

The American Way..

:lifter:D:lifter

[The Reaper]

So I am curious with regards to the subject of building a rope bridge across say a ravine or fast-moving body of water, but how does one get the bridge to the other side? And for sizeable spans in particular, how do they do this? (like where you have a rope bridge going over a huge canyon?).

You need a volunteer.

TR

[ODA CDR (RET)]

you put out security....

[MiTTMedic]

It's easier to do it when the canyon is much smaller...before it grows larger.

[mark46th]

"You need a volunteer." TR

Preferably one who can swim...

[BMT (RIP)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8s-qZM3Bb0&feature=youtu.be

I think this would cut down on mowing time and operator fatigue!!!

BMT

[Dead_Bolt]

Back in 2008 I was working as a Lineman for a large power company in North Carolina 3rd shift. Driving my bucket rig about to get on I485 in Charlotte and I saw several police cruisers with their strobes on trying to assist a stranded motorist, Pulled over to see if I could help...

Officer told me the motorist had hit black ice and skidded off the road into the ditch there and now her car wouldn't start back, he told me they had a tow truck on the way but he was an hour away in Hickory. (from inside his cruiser with the heat wide open while the woman stood outside her car shivering)

So I took it upon myself to get this old pontiac bonneville running again. I asked her to turn it over and it goes CLICK CLICK CLICK. tested the battery with my volt-meter... battery was good so I knew it was the starter, took a piece of 6/3 copper cable and my class 2 rubber gloves attached one end to the battery terminal post with ground lugs from an old meter base and the other end straight to the solenoid.

problem solved . and saved her a couple hundred bucks on the tow, money I hope she spent on a new starter solenoid.

[Dead_Bolt]

Another example here... In 2011 I visited my dad to find his lawn was a good 2 feet tall in some places. I asked him about it he told me both his lawn mowers were broken (1 push mower 1 riding lawn mower) and he had nobody to help him fix them (guilt trip for not visiting often enough).

after 3 minutes we decided the push mower was a lost cause and focused on the riding mower, the ignition system was electric, and burnt to a crisp, other than that there seemed to be nothing else wrong with the thing.

So my first idea was take the safety covers off the engine and start it the same way they start those Indy cars, manually turn the fly-wheel to the top of the compression by hand then put the hammer drill with a correct sized socket attachment on the bolt and start'er up... this almost broke my arm, we scrapped that idea after 1 attempt.

the push mower had a pull cord and a spindle top... removed it, didn't fit properly, used a Dremmel tool to shave the sides down and it... still didn't fit properly. took the aluminum engine cover and 3 flat pieces of scrap metal about 3'' long 1'' wide...welded the scrap steel to the engine cover in a way resembling the hood ornament on a Mercedes-Benz, ran self tapping screws through the screw holes in the spindle top fastening them to the steel which now held the spindle top at the correct height over the flywheel. manually turn flywheel to the top of the compression, set engine cover contraption back on, 1 guy holds the engine cover and the brake pedal while the other man pulls the cord.

Started right up, removed the engine cover (quickly) and mowed the grass. He still started it this way until a few month ago when he bought a new riding mower.

[5thgrp"C"]

I figured I'd throw my suggestion out to the crowd. Here was my situation:

A piece of sharp heavy metal dropped onto my right foot. The bleeding was extremely bad coming from a large cut at the base of my pinky toe. Not wanting to ruin the carpet I wrapped it with a dish towel, grabbed some super glue and started by craft project in the bath tub. A major problem was the blood was flowing so fast it was literally just blowing out the super glue. So as I looked around I saw the role of Charmin Ultra Soft. By mixing the Charmin and the super glue it made a quick clot that worked perfect. After about an hour I was able to easily pull the glob of super glue/Charmin off my foot and replace it with just a super glue layer.

In a pinch that combination made a very reliable quick clot device. I hope the story was an entertaining as informative.

[Penn]

TR, LMAO You need a volunteer. Classic!!!

[Flagg]

I figured I'd throw my suggestion out to the crowd. Here was my situation:

A piece of sharp heavy metal dropped onto my right foot. The bleeding was extremely bad coming from a large cut at the base of my pinky toe. Not wanting to ruin the carpet I wrapped it with a dish towel, grabbed some super glue and started by craft project in the bath tub. A major problem was the blood was flowing so fast it was literally just blowing out the super glue. So as I looked around I saw the role of Charmin Ultra Soft. By mixing the Charmin and the super glue it made a quick clot that worked perfect. After about an hour I was able to easily pull the glob of super glue/Charmin off my foot and replace it with just a super glue layer.

In a pinch that combination made a very reliable quick clot device. I hope the story was an entertaining as informative.

THAT was both quite funny and even more informative.

If this thread is Redneck Engineering University and many of the posts would fall into 200,300, and 400 level classes, I've just got a link to something that would be 100 level redneck engineering ideas:

http://nowthatsfunnystuff.com/some-helpful-tips-to-make-life-a-little-easier1255-932/

A couple potentially good field expedient ideas:

water bottle lantern
carabiner carry-all
pen spring(and a bit of tape) to protect vulnerable cord connections
cut up PET containers as hasty tools
bread clips for jandals(sandals)
bog roll/paper tower cardboard for holding maps
rubber band across can for painting
iPhone speaker(bog roll tube)
wet sponge frozen in a bag for a drip-proof icebag

[Flagg]

I saw this the other day here in Afghan and immediately thought of this thread.

http://s27.postimg.org/abwzd5o9r/20140315_150836.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/abwzd5o9r/)

http://s15.postimg.org/5mxzbenkn/20140315_150725.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/5mxzbenkn/)

Afghan redneck radiator hose repair.

A farm tractor radiator hose with some rips/tears/holes was repaired using a thin plastic supermarket bag.

The bag is cut into a single ply thin strip and pulled very tight over heat and wrapped like tape and adheres pretty well with the heat.

Not sure how long it will last, but it looks to work pretty good and I've never seen/heard of this one before.

[MtnGoat]

I saw this the other day here in Afghan and immediately thought of this thread.

http://s27.postimg.org/abwzd5o9r/20140315_150836.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/abwzd5o9r/)

http://s15.postimg.org/5mxzbenkn/20140315_150725.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/5mxzbenkn/)

Afghan redneck radiator hose repair.

A farm tractor radiator hose with some rips/tears/holes was repaired using a thin plastic supermarket bag.

The bag is cut into a single ply thin strip and pulled very tight over heat and wrapped like tape and adheres pretty well with the heat.

Not sure how long it will last, but it looks to work pretty good and I've never seen/heard of this one before.
So they wrap it with the trash bag strips then heat it up? Or is the heating done as they wrap the plastic bag around?

Nice trick too.

[Flagg]

So they wrap it with the trash bag strips then heat it up? Or is the heating done as they wrap the plastic bag around?

Nice trick too.

Heat is applied AS it's wrapped up and carefully pulled tightly.

Looks like it might take a little practice to do it really well.

The local Pashtun tractor mechanic said he has done this many times(lack of replacement hoses and decent tape).

It looks like a balance between not pulling tight enough leaving sags/gaps and pulling too tight and ripping the plastic bag strip.

But it certainly seemed to work.

I'm going to try to find out how LONG it works(hour metre on the tractor) :)

[Lan]

I apologize in advance if this has already been posted. My search yielded no result.

If you've got a tire to mount on or offroad, you can do so by spraying WD-40 around the entire circumference of the tire's bead and igniting it. Is really handy if you've blown a bead offroad!

This guy does it using a small amount of WD-40 but I suspect there was more fuel in the tire than what was shown. Other flammable liquids may work as well. Be careful!

Example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myi-MxNCI4o&sns=em)

[Lan]

A scoop of TANG with a load of dishes will clean the inside of your dishwasher.

[mark46th]

WD 40 makes a good starting fluid for diesel engines, too...

[WarriorDiplomat]

I apologize in advance if this has already been posted. My search yielded no result.

If you've got a tire to mount on or offroad, you can do so by spraying WD-40 around the entire circumference of the tire's bead and igniting it. Is really handy if you've blown a bead offroad!

This guy does it using a small amount of WD-40 but I suspect there was more fuel in the tire than what was shown. Other flammable liquids may work as well. Be careful!

Example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myi-MxNCI4o&sns=em)

I saw this technique on a show years ago when scientists were driving across the artic they had a flat and a female had a can of hairspray. Good stuffg

[PSM]

Roast Pig! :D

Pat

[Freddy Krueger]

Field DC welding can also be done, using vehicle batteries as the power source. Basic terms, one 'shorts' the battery, using jumper cables for the ground and hot leads, and welds with a SMAW (stick) welding rod. 12v is pretty wimpy, 24v (two 12v in series or one 24v) is getting there, and 36v (3x12v or 24+12) will put out some real heat. Not the ideal setup, but could get one out of a jam, and is somewhat portable.

Basic needs include : two or three charged 12v batteries, (or one 24v) several sets of jumper cables, leather gloves and a couple pair of 'good' dark sunglasses (a shielding lens/hood is ideal, but...)


Can Attest This works great. but be careful you can overload the batteries causing venting and a possible explosion, i recommend using the longest pair of jumper cables you can also in a pinch cut a pair of Slave cables and seperate them cutting off the head and they work too.


On a side note you can also make a killer sandwich by takin the bread, coldcuts/cheese (whatever you take from your local DIFAC downrange) etc puttin it together, wrapping it in tin foil - raise the hood of the humvee and putting the tin foil sandwiches on the engine block for about 3-5 minutes. Works better whenever its cold.

Back When i was a young CMCN (E3) this is how i did all of my cooking on FEX.

As a Seabee we do a lot of Jerry rigging everything from "hot wiring" a Hilux by using paperclips in the fuse box to fixing air intake's with Pringle cans and duct tape.

But my all time favorite we were doing an administrative convoy from VA Beach to AP Hill, one of our 15 ton stake trucks pulls off to the side of the road, as field crew we pull up and start checking it out after about 5 minutes we found that the throttle return spring was so worn out that it had no spring and the truck could not idle down, so I take my set of blousing straps (in the navy we use fabric rubber bands to blouse the bottoms of our pants instead of tucking them into the boot on our BDU's or CUU's or NWU's whichever term they use each year) and wrap them multiple times around the throttle return they are just springy enough to work, the truck made it the whole 6 weeks of training without needing any more work.

[DIYPatriot]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this question, but I wanted to ask y'all for any recommendations regarding a generator. Application requirement is to power appliances in the house during blackouts or other outages. My family's home is in an area that recently lost a substation and has had power issues in the past.

I'm not home all the time, but the wife and kids are. We keep a deep freezer full of meat and my home barely gets above 80 in the hottest months, so I'm not really concerned with AC, but it would be nice to run it once my wife falls asleep - she likes the house at 80. I like the house at 64 - as do the kids. We compromise at 76 (not much of a compromise, huh? - happy wife, happy life) :D In the winter, the house gets down to about 60 if we do not run any heat. We have gas heat with an electric air handler unit.

My limited research has led me to believe that I need at least 5000w for the appliances and about 8000w if I want to add the HVAC into the mix. Most recommendations also point to gas for simplicity sake. I have a budget of ~$2k. Most generators I've priced are in the $500 and above range.

What are your recommendations? What brand? What power? As far as implementation and hook up is concerned - how would you go about it? What mistakes have you learned from? What other considerations am I overlooking?

[The Reaper]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this question, but I wanted to ask y'all for any recommendations regarding a generator. Application requirement is to power appliances in the house during blackouts or other outages. My family's home is in an area that recently lost a substation and has had power issues in the past.

I'm not home all the time, but the wife and kids are. We keep a deep freezer full of meat and my home barely gets above 80 in the hottest months, so I'm not really concerned with AC, but it would be nice to run it once my wife falls asleep - she likes the house at 80. I like the house at 64 - as do the kids. We compromise at 76 (not much of a compromise, huh? - happy wife, happy life) :D In the winter, the house gets down to about 60 if we do not run any heat. We have gas heat with an electric air handler unit.

My limited research has led me to believe that I need at least 5000w for the appliances and about 8000w if I want to add the HVAC into the mix. Most recommendations also point to gas for simplicity sake. I have a budget of ~$2k. Most generators I've priced are in the $500 and above range.

What are your recommendations? What brand? What power? As far as implementation and hook up is concerned - how would you go about it? What mistakes have you learned from? What other considerations am I overlooking?

You will not be running much in the way of home appliances for $2,000. If that was my budget, I would probably go for a small Honda or Yamaha, which you would need to run extension cords to your desired appliances.

The cheap, gasoline powered 5,000 watt portable generators are a very short- term solution, and will burn 10 or more gallons of gas per day in continuous operation. They are not intended for constant runs or a long life span. It might get you through an extended outage, but not if you run it long and hard to replace commercial power. I had one while I was saving up to buy the whole house system.

If you are looking for a whole house generator, the smallest ones I am aware of are 5,000-8,000 watts and are not likely to support a whole house load plus an AC unit. Figure one of those would probably set you back $3,000 to $5,000, minimum, plus an electrician for a day or so and an LP tech to plumb the gas. You might possibly pick up a used unit for a few thousand, but that can be a crapshoot. You would need an Automatic Transfer Switch if you want it to kick in automatically when the power goes out. You would also need a steady supply of Natural gas, or at least a 500 gallon LP tank for a two-week power outage event. I would plan for a morning run of a couple of hours, and an evening run of a couple of hours as well, which should stretch your supply to at least a couple of months. I recommend the Kohler brand, the Generacs tend to be problematic. That would allow you to run your core appliances to keep your food from spoiling, and maybe a window AC. I have a 14KW, and it will just barely allow our 5 ton heat pump to come on, if no other heavy loads are on-line. Everything with an electric motor takes several times its normal running load to start up. You can manually switch on heavy loads as the others drop back, or use an automatic load-shedding device. We have almost everything on the 14KW Kohler, minus the other heat pumps, the water heaters, the stove, and the dryer. we were probably $8,000 to $10,000 getting our system up and running. We could probably have run everything on a 20,000 watt unit, but the increased cost and fuel consumption ruled it out for us.

Best of luck, hope that helps.

TR

[DIYPatriot]

Entire post


That is exactly the kind of feedback and info I needed - thank you. I will most likely have to go the temporary route for now and budget the bigger unit for later. I'm renovating soon, and will have an electrician and a plumber on site in a few months. Sounds like that will be an ideal time to do any wiring or other work to at least stub something in. Appreciate the info, TR!

[The Reaper]

That is exactly the kind of feedback and info I needed - thank you. I will most likely have to go the temporary route for now and budget the bigger unit for later. I'm renovating soon, and will have an electrician and a plumber on site in a few months. Sounds like that will be an ideal time to do any wiring or other work to at least stub something in. Appreciate the info, TR!

Identify the circuits you want on emergency power, and have the electrician put them all in a separate service panel, if he can.

I had all of the outlets and lights put on the generator supply, and plan to turn off loads as they are not needed. The plumber should be able to run the gas to your future generator location. Gensets do tend to be somewhat noisy (about the same as a mower), so I would not put them outside a bedroom window. If you go with a conventional gasoline generator in the meanwhile, the electrician should be able to put the connections where you need them and set-up the generator service panel for a quick installation.

My wife loves it when the lights go out and ten seconds later, everything comes back on, without getting out of the chair.

If you buy a used gas model for the short term, you may be able to get most of your money back when you replace it. Give it a long test run, under load before paying for it.

TR

[DIYPatriot]

Identify the circuits you want on emergency power, and have the electrician put them all in a separate service panel, if he can.

I had all of the outlets and lights put on the generator supply, and plan to turn off loads as they are not needed. The plumber should be able to run the gas to your future generator location. Gensets do tend to be somewhat noisy (about the same as a mower), so I would not put them outside a bedroom window. If you go with a conventional gasoline generator in the meanwhile, the electrician should be able to put the connections where you need them and set-up the generator service panel for a quick installation.

My wife loves it when the lights go out and ten seconds later, everything comes back on, without getting out of the chair.

If you buy a used gas model for the short term, you may be able to get most of your money back when you replace it. Give it a long test run, under load before paying for it.



Roger that! I will post back to this if/when I have more questions. Hopefully, others will learn through shared experiences.

[PSM]

Roger that! I will post back to this if/when I have more questions. Hopefully, others will learn through shared experiences.

We’re on the other end of the spectrum from TR. Being off-grid solar, we never have long-term outages like people in hurricane or ice storm areas. With periods of extended cloud cover, we just need to remove the load from the system to allow the batteries to catch up with demand. This is never more than 6 to 8 hours, but is always during the day. We have several generators: a 2000kW Honda, a 3.5kW Champion, and two 5.5kW Generacs (one inop at the moment).

Our house was built to be energy efficient with extra insulation, 6” walls, all Energy Star appliances, and LED lights throughout.

Before the solar system was up and running, we ran the whole house with the Champion for roughly 16 hours a day for 4 and a half months. We could not run large appliances simultaneously. So we retired the Champion and added the first Generac. We can run most things simultaneously except the washing machine and microwave. (For some odd reason the dishwasher will not work with the Generac.) One note: our heat-pump system is a Daikin ductless mini-split system which does a very good job and only uses about 300 watts once the house is cooled. We turn it on while the indoor temperature is below our thermostat temp, that’s an advantage of living in the desert, it cools drastically at night.

Next week we are installing a Kohler 8kW automatic LP gennie that will only help charge the batteries on those pesky overcast days (which have been bad the last 8 months or so.)

Good luck!

Pat

[DIYPatriot]

We’re on the other end of the spectrum from TR. Being off-grid solar, we never have long-term outages like people in hurricane or ice storm areas. With periods of extended cloud cover, we just need to remove the load from the system to allow the batteries to catch up with demand. This is never more than 6 to 8 hours, but is always during the day. We have several generators: a 2000kW Honda, a 3.5kW Champion, and two 5.5kW Generacs (one inop at the moment).

Our house was built to be energy efficient with extra insulation, 6” walls, all Energy Star appliances, and LED lights throughout.

Before the solar system was up and running, we ran the whole house with the Champion for roughly 16 hours a day for 4 and a half months. We could not run large appliances simultaneously. So we retired the Champion and added the first Generac. We can run most things simultaneously except the washing machine and microwave. (For some odd reason the dishwasher will not work with the Generac.) One note: our heat-pump system is a Daikin ductless mini-split system which does a very good job and only uses about 300 watts once the house is cooled. We turn it on while the indoor temperature is below our thermostat temp, that’s an advantage of living in the desert, it cools drastically at night.

Next week we are installing a Kohler 8kW automatic LP gennie that will only help charge the batteries on those pesky overcast days (which have been bad the last 8 months or so.)

Good luck!

Pat

Thanks, Pat! That's great info. When we sell this house, we plan to build and going off-grid is definitely a priority for us. I'll dog ear this and loop back to it, though I'm sure some technologies will shift, but the concepts should be similar. In the meantime, I gotta get something quick and in a hurry b/c we're on rolling 4 hr black outs at the moment, sometimes twice a day. I have a couple deep freezers full of meat so there's that. Thanks again!

[PSM]

Thanks, Pat! That's great info. When we sell this house, we plan to build and going off-grid is definitely a priority for us. I'll dog ear this and loop back to it, though I'm sure some technologies will shift, but the concepts should be similar. In the meantime, I gotta get something quick and in a hurry b/c we're on rolling 4 hr black outs at the moment, sometimes twice a day. I have a couple deep freezers full of meat so there's that. Thanks again!

I wasn't pushing off-grid, just pointing out that a 5.5 kW can run your house for short outages and longer if needed. But, get a battery start for your wife. The problem on my new Generac is that the pull cord is very long and my wife can't start it.

Also, as TR said, you can run extension cords from important appliances to a power strip and use a smaller gennie. But, if you want it to run the whole house through the service panel, you'll need a transfer switch which is another couple of hundred dollars. If you are in a crowded neighborhood and need a more quiet solution, look into an inverter generator like the Honda EU2000i. There are some cheaper knock-offs now that are OK.

If noise is no problem, I can recommend Champion. They are made in China, but customer service is in the U.S. and they respond quickly (I only had a problem with the pneumatic tires going flat and they replaced them with solid tires.). They also make a inverter knock-off but I have no experience with it.

Good luck.

Pat

[PSM]

DIYPatriot,

Your message box is full.

Pat

[woodchuck]

Missing O rings and certain gaskets can be replaced with USB Cables or other electrical cords. I had one hold up on a power steering unit for 9 months. It worked great.

[Penn]

Occurred right before service. TGF duck tape.

[sofmed]

I'll just leave this right here...

[Team Sergeant]

I'll just leave this right here...

You know, if he cammies that contraption and calls it a "Tactical Fishing Rig" he'll make a few million.

Just saying.........:munchin

[MR2]

You know, if he cammies that contraption and calls it a "Tactical Fishing Rig" he'll make a few million.

Just saying.........:munchin

But if he puts a rail on it - they will ban it is 17 states and the ATF will classify it as a destructive device.

The Bubba will make a fortune making 80%ers...

[bblhead672]

I'll just leave this right here...

High capacity fishing? Assault fishing?

[Team Sergeant]

High capacity fishing? Assault fishing?

You had to go there didn't you..................

[Joker]

You had to go there didn't you..................

Gotta paint it flat black...

[cat in the hat]

but never hurts to be prepared

[sofmed]

:lifterbut never hurts to be prepared

[Aka0013]

Me and some friends built a smoker out of cinder blocks that we found in the woods. Threw some ribs on it for a few hours and had a solid dinner that night. One of the best spring breaks I had.

[frostfire]

So you crave late night kasekrainer but dont want all the fat/carb load just before sleep. You wake up in the morning and realize the Europeans are not fond of placing microwave in every hotel rooms. Cold kasekrainer is not that appetizing, so what to do?

Quick review of conduction and convection and alles klar!
You use the resealable walnut bag to keep the wurst in while running sclading hot water in the sink.

Hmmmmm lecker!

[Requiem]

Not redneck. Not SF.

But apparently if you keep a couple of these in your vehicle you can give a stranded motorist a jump.

:p

Susan

[PSM]

Next week we are installing a Kohler 8kW automatic LP gennie that will only help charge the batteries on those pesky overcast days (which have been bad the last 8 months or so.)



UPDATE: One of the carburetor bolts broke on the Kohler over a month ago and we still have yet to find someone to service it. (Well, we did, but they made it worse.) Waiting for another company out of Tucson for, hopefully, next week. The Kohler only had 416 hours on it and most of that was the weekly exercise and weekly half hour to pump water.

Can't recommend the Kohler 8RESV generator.

Pat

[The Reaper]

We have a Kohler 14KW model, and other than battery related issues, and occasional helpers pushing buttons, it has been very reliable.

TR

[PSM]

We have a Kohler 14KW model, and other than battery related issues, and occasional helpers pushing buttons, it has been very reliable.

TR

That's why I was specific with the model number. Apparently, they were trying to go to a more verticle look to mimic an A/C unit and they didn't get it right, yet. The repair guys that are next in line have dealt with this before and say that they have a permanent fix. We'll see.

Pat

[Gypsy]

So my brother bought a 2002 Toyota 4 runner for my nephew, he didn't notice until the other day it doesn't have an antenna. (can't even remember the last time a car had one!) Since the radio seems to be working just fine he wanted to cover it somehow, to keep out rain dirt etc.

He used a steel casing from a 7.62 x 39 round and coated the bottom with some leak seal to create a quasi gasket. (dipped and dried a few times)

Voila! :lifter

[Badger52]

So my brother bought a 2002 Toyota 4 runner for my nephew, he didn't notice until the other day it doesn't have an antenna. (can't even remember the last time a car had one!) Since the radio seems to be working just fine he wanted to cover it somehow, to keep out rain dirt etc.

He used a steel casing from a 7.62 x 39 round and coated the bottom with some leak seal to create a quasi gasket. (dipped and dried a few times)

Voila! :lifterOk, that's officially cool. :cool:

[The Reaper]

So my brother bought a 2002 Toyota 4 runner for my nephew, he didn't notice until the other day it doesn't have an antenna. (can't even remember the last time a car had one!) Since the radio seems to be working just fine he wanted to cover it somehow, to keep out rain dirt etc.

He used a steel casing from a 7.62 x 39 round and coated the bottom with some leak seal to create a quasi gasket. (dipped and dried a few times)

Voila! :lifter

If that thing was a fired case, it is going to rust like you wouldn't believe.

Just my .02, as always, YMMV.

TR

[Gypsy]

If that thing was a fired case, it is going to rust like you wouldn't believe.

Just my .02, as always, YMMV.

TR

Thanks TR, he said he coated the entire casing in a rubber coating. (leak seal) Hopefully it will last for a while. He has more. :D

[Golf1echo]

LRRP Sea Food Chowder, delicious, the taters need just a little more time...