Shop tips?
- Thread starter Bret4207
- Start date
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Shop tips
I've been meaning to re-start this conversation for some time. We had some real long and very good threads on the old boards with lotsa good reading and tips. I'm going to list a few and hopefully youse guys will add your favorites.
One of the first acquisitions any gun owner/manly type man should make is a decent set of screwdrivers. Even Wally world sell the multi-tip type kits these days and while the quality isn't up to what you'd get from Brownells (www.brownells.com) it'll do for 80% of what you need. Find the tip that fits the screw driver slot, file or grind it to fit if needed. The sloppy fitting bit is the one that will booger up the screws on that nice hunk o'metal you payed good dollars for.
On a tight screw- get a close fitting screw driver and whack it a couple times with your plastic mallet. It helps loosen the screw. What? You don't have a plastic mallet? How about a rawhide mallet? Come on, you must at least have a brass hammer for your gun work? Better get one of the above because they plain work better for gun work. Plus you need one to knock your sprue plate aside. If that screw still won't loosen apply a bit of heat. This can be from a soldering gun, (make sure the tip has a wet appearance or the heat transfer is very slow), a very tiny flame from one of those mini torches, ( about 12 bucks at Wally world, runs on Butane), or by heating a metal object like a bolt that is close in size to the screw head in a flame and holding it to the screwhead, with PLIERS dummy, after it's nice and hot. Penetrating oils and solvents help too. Just don't do like I do and try excessive force first.
Speaking of pliers- Get 4 or5 pair. Different types and shapes are handy. Farm type stores, TSC for example, have nifty assortments made in far off china of dubious quality that are perfect. When you paid .99 cents for the pliers you don't mind grinding them or bending them into the shape you need. I'm talking needle nose type pliers in addition to the regular slip-joint style. Then there are Vise-grips. Gotta have 2 or 3 of them. For gun work you need the smaller needle nose type mostly. They're what you hold that hot bolt to the stuck screw with. This is one area where brand name products pay for themselves. I have never found any other brand other than Vise-grip to be worth a snot.
A vise of some sort is real handy. I see there are some plastic woodworking vises these days that work good for anything not involving heat. I've got one and it's handy. It will never replace a real bench vise though. Even a small clamp on vise will serve you if it's solid enough.
Files. Ah, files. There are 348,000 gazillion types, shapes and grades out there. Get a 8" mill bastard, a 6" triangle, and a set of needle files. Stop there until you figure out what you need next. Keep your files stored so they don't touch each other, that dulls them. Don't drag your file backwards across the work, lift it up for the return, dragging dulls your file. It's not a saw. Put a handle on the file, any handle is better than none. Spray the file with WD-40 occasionally, keeps rust off and helps when you go to clean the file. Either get a file card, (a brush looking thing with steel teeth that you push across the file teeth to scrape out the bits of metal stuck there that leave tose lines in your work), or sharpen a nail to remove the metal stuck in the file teeth. Prolongs the files life and makes it cut better. If you develop the habit of cleaning the file right after your done with it small children and beautiful women will adore you, or so I'm told.
Storage- Peg borad is wonderfull becasue you can see all your tools, except that it's expensive and everyone can see all your tools and try and steal them. Plus those little hooks always fall out on me. I like tool cabinets, but to start with a sturdy cardboard box will do, providing theres a safe dry location for it. I also have one of those lazy-susan tool holders that real handy, only I don't see them for sale anymore. Yard sales maybe. Whatever you do, organization helps make for better work.
Big storage- 5 gallon buckets reign supreme, at least on my farm. At a dollar a piece or free they makes great storage for wheel weights, hammers, prybars, shovels, axes, rope, lead cords, sawdust, odd wood scraps, cats, rags, wax, traps, your mother in laws ashes, car parts, old oil, chainsaws (bar down), nuts and bolts till you get something better, kitty litter (oil soak), really big runs of boolits, for quenching said boolits, dis-membered bodies (minus torso, don't ask why I know this), old inner tubes for making scope covers and sling shots, salt for the driveway and walk (those who don't know why you need salt for the driveway- consider yourselves blessed), nifty rocks and fungus you find while hunting, your wheat penney collection- you get the idea. Plus, as an added benefit they work great for drowning yourself when you find out your unemployed brother in law, his drunk wife and their 7 brats are coming "for a visit".
Grinders- You need something to grind with. Either a bench grinder- a cheap 6" $30.00 grinder is fine, or at least one of those holders for a drill motor or a Dremel. A Dremel, or a cheap knock off copy, is almost a neccessity. Just wear safety glasses waht ever you get. I can show you some nifty x-rays if you really don't know why you need glasses. Remember that grinding creates heat which softens metal and burns the fingers holding the metal. Go slow and easy. You can't put the metal you ground off back, not with out a lot of work anyway. With a good hacksaw, a grinder and a file you can make an astounding number of gadgets, geegaws, and whatsits for your castng/gun/reloading hobby.
I've been meaning to re-start this conversation for some time. We had some real long and very good threads on the old boards with lotsa good reading and tips. I'm going to list a few and hopefully youse guys will add your favorites.
One of the first acquisitions any gun owner/manly type man should make is a decent set of screwdrivers. Even Wally world sell the multi-tip type kits these days and while the quality isn't up to what you'd get from Brownells (www.brownells.com) it'll do for 80% of what you need. Find the tip that fits the screw driver slot, file or grind it to fit if needed. The sloppy fitting bit is the one that will booger up the screws on that nice hunk o'metal you payed good dollars for.
On a tight screw- get a close fitting screw driver and whack it a couple times with your plastic mallet. It helps loosen the screw. What? You don't have a plastic mallet? How about a rawhide mallet? Come on, you must at least have a brass hammer for your gun work? Better get one of the above because they plain work better for gun work. Plus you need one to knock your sprue plate aside. If that screw still won't loosen apply a bit of heat. This can be from a soldering gun, (make sure the tip has a wet appearance or the heat transfer is very slow), a very tiny flame from one of those mini torches, ( about 12 bucks at Wally world, runs on Butane), or by heating a metal object like a bolt that is close in size to the screw head in a flame and holding it to the screwhead, with PLIERS dummy, after it's nice and hot. Penetrating oils and solvents help too. Just don't do like I do and try excessive force first.
Speaking of pliers- Get 4 or5 pair. Different types and shapes are handy. Farm type stores, TSC for example, have nifty assortments made in far off china of dubious quality that are perfect. When you paid .99 cents for the pliers you don't mind grinding them or bending them into the shape you need. I'm talking needle nose type pliers in addition to the regular slip-joint style. Then there are Vise-grips. Gotta have 2 or 3 of them. For gun work you need the smaller needle nose type mostly. They're what you hold that hot bolt to the stuck screw with. This is one area where brand name products pay for themselves. I have never found any other brand other than Vise-grip to be worth a snot.
A vise of some sort is real handy. I see there are some plastic woodworking vises these days that work good for anything not involving heat. I've got one and it's handy. It will never replace a real bench vise though. Even a small clamp on vise will serve you if it's solid enough.
Files. Ah, files. There are 348,000 gazillion types, shapes and grades out there. Get a 8" mill bastard, a 6" triangle, and a set of needle files. Stop there until you figure out what you need next. Keep your files stored so they don't touch each other, that dulls them. Don't drag your file backwards across the work, lift it up for the return, dragging dulls your file. It's not a saw. Put a handle on the file, any handle is better than none. Spray the file with WD-40 occasionally, keeps rust off and helps when you go to clean the file. Either get a file card, (a brush looking thing with steel teeth that you push across the file teeth to scrape out the bits of metal stuck there that leave tose lines in your work), or sharpen a nail to remove the metal stuck in the file teeth. Prolongs the files life and makes it cut better. If you develop the habit of cleaning the file right after your done with it small children and beautiful women will adore you, or so I'm told.
Storage- Peg borad is wonderfull becasue you can see all your tools, except that it's expensive and everyone can see all your tools and try and steal them. Plus those little hooks always fall out on me. I like tool cabinets, but to start with a sturdy cardboard box will do, providing theres a safe dry location for it. I also have one of those lazy-susan tool holders that real handy, only I don't see them for sale anymore. Yard sales maybe. Whatever you do, organization helps make for better work.
Big storage- 5 gallon buckets reign supreme, at least on my farm. At a dollar a piece or free they makes great storage for wheel weights, hammers, prybars, shovels, axes, rope, lead cords, sawdust, odd wood scraps, cats, rags, wax, traps, your mother in laws ashes, car parts, old oil, chainsaws (bar down), nuts and bolts till you get something better, kitty litter (oil soak), really big runs of boolits, for quenching said boolits, dis-membered bodies (minus torso, don't ask why I know this), old inner tubes for making scope covers and sling shots, salt for the driveway and walk (those who don't know why you need salt for the driveway- consider yourselves blessed), nifty rocks and fungus you find while hunting, your wheat penney collection- you get the idea. Plus, as an added benefit they work great for drowning yourself when you find out your unemployed brother in law, his drunk wife and their 7 brats are coming "for a visit".
Grinders- You need something to grind with. Either a bench grinder- a cheap 6" $30.00 grinder is fine, or at least one of those holders for a drill motor or a Dremel. A Dremel, or a cheap knock off copy, is almost a neccessity. Just wear safety glasses waht ever you get. I can show you some nifty x-rays if you really don't know why you need glasses. Remember that grinding creates heat which softens metal and burns the fingers holding the metal. Go slow and easy. You can't put the metal you ground off back, not with out a lot of work anyway. With a good hacksaw, a grinder and a file you can make an astounding number of gadgets, geegaws, and whatsits for your castng/gun/reloading hobby.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Craft stores- Honeybunch probably goes to craft stores on occasion. I accidentally wandered into one with her one day and lo and behold I was temporarily hooked! They have oodles of pipe cleaners, really tiny and very sharp scissors, all sorts of wax, wood burning kits, little beads and shiny things that make great fishing lures, about 46 dozen different types of foam and poly-fill, granulated poly-type filler and wax, odd little tools and a bunch of other hard to find stuff. Try to look extremely bored while hunting the place otherwise your testosterone level may come into question.
Training the wife/girlfriend/mother/whatever- It all started back when we had the first custon 6 banger Lee mould run. I was so excited when the box came I showed SWMBO the mould and explained how incredibly fortunate I was. She said,"Uh-huh." and went back to Murder She Wrote. Obviously she was as enthralled as I was. Anyhoo, after seeing the sucessision of custom 6 bangers and various Ebay treasures that arrived in the BBT, she got the idea. We were at a yard sale one day and she said, " Hey, there's a couple Lymans and an RCBS with handles over by that pile of kids clothes." True love gentlemen, true love. She even spotted a set of new in the box Weaver rings in the Wally world parking lot for me. I'll add in here that it tooks years of training but my diabolical plan has borne more fruit. She brought home a mess of baskets intended for shoe storage from a dollar type store. Didn't work for snot for shoe storage but they hold die boxes and cartridge boxes just great. The key to "The Plan" is roses on birthdays and anniverseries, syrupy sweet cards on those days, and pretending that you really take an interest in the realtionships she shares with her ditzy friends. Saying things like, "Gee your hair looks nice" and "No kidding, you got those shoes for only $30.00?" help immensley. The whole thing goes much smoother if you happen to see your old girl friend as she waddles down the isle at the Price Chopper towing her 4 kids and pushing the cart full of beer and Freezer Queen dinners. Then you'll realize how lucky you really are. Sincerity is always more convincing when it's real
Training the wife/girlfriend/mother/whatever- It all started back when we had the first custon 6 banger Lee mould run. I was so excited when the box came I showed SWMBO the mould and explained how incredibly fortunate I was. She said,"Uh-huh." and went back to Murder She Wrote. Obviously she was as enthralled as I was. Anyhoo, after seeing the sucessision of custom 6 bangers and various Ebay treasures that arrived in the BBT, she got the idea. We were at a yard sale one day and she said, " Hey, there's a couple Lymans and an RCBS with handles over by that pile of kids clothes." True love gentlemen, true love. She even spotted a set of new in the box Weaver rings in the Wally world parking lot for me. I'll add in here that it tooks years of training but my diabolical plan has borne more fruit. She brought home a mess of baskets intended for shoe storage from a dollar type store. Didn't work for snot for shoe storage but they hold die boxes and cartridge boxes just great. The key to "The Plan" is roses on birthdays and anniverseries, syrupy sweet cards on those days, and pretending that you really take an interest in the realtionships she shares with her ditzy friends. Saying things like, "Gee your hair looks nice" and "No kidding, you got those shoes for only $30.00?" help immensley. The whole thing goes much smoother if you happen to see your old girl friend as she waddles down the isle at the Price Chopper towing her 4 kids and pushing the cart full of beer and Freezer Queen dinners. Then you'll realize how lucky you really are. Sincerity is always more convincing when it's real
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
We're rolling along now. A couple more come to mind-
One of my kids got a 4" magnifying glass with a magazine subscription. It also has a smaller inset area with probably 10x. I snatched that sucker up right off. I also have one of theose lamps with the built in magnifying glass in the shop, but it's not the answer I was hoping for. By the time I get far enough back to really enlarge the item I'm running out of arm to adjust the focus. Yeah, I know. Been to the eye doc yet Bret? I used to have one of those head band magnifiers and that worked good. Lost it or broke it.
Hacksaw blades- Far as I'n concerned having too many hacksaw frames is like having to many guns. Could happen, but ain't likely. I'm running about 6 now and I'm still on the lookout for some deeper ones. I have different blades on pretty much all of them. The real general use type gets a 10" Lennox Bi-Metal 18t, one has a Remington carbide rod type blade from about 1975 thats still going strong. Don't know if they're still made. You really can cut glass with it. One light frame has a 24T Starret for light pipe and such. Two have 12" ( I think) 18t regular type cheapys for PVC, copper, grade 3 or under bolts, nails, construction work. I have one jewlers type hacksaw frame I use for gun work mostly. I also have the "required if you call yourself any kind of man" sawzall with a bunch o'blades. Works great on anything not requiring any kind of accurate cut. Get the Bi-Metal blades, the regular ones don't last worth a ****. The reason I have so many frames is because they are cheap at yard sales and when you have the right one ready to use you don't try and make the wrong one work. I admit I broke down a couple years ago when I was building a shopeing stock for my draft horses and bougt one of those chinwanese power hacksaws. Great time saver for $175.00, not terribly accurate.
Yard sales. Some guys refuse to stop at yard, garage, rummage, flea market sales. Your choice. I like them, not as much as I used to because people figure every piece of junk Walmart screwdriver is worth at least a quarter now. Still you can pick up a lot of handy tools and such for cheap. Use your best judgement. I find rather than looking around for 10 minutes it's easier to walk up and ask if there are any tools, gun, reloading, fishing, trapping or car parts in the sale. Sometimes that triggers the seller to recall that old rifle in the broom closet. The chances of it turning out to be Uncle Ernies star-gauge National Match Springfield in mint condition for $50.00 are slim, but it's worth a shot.
Watch the neighborhood for construction projects. Just because Erma down the road is tearing out those god awfull avacado kitchen cabinets she put in back in '75 doesn't mean they wouldn't look swell in your shop. And the pink countertop Earl and Marlene are replacing will reflect a lot more light than that grease stained hunk of 1/2" plywood you use for a bench top. Medicine cabinets get replaced almost as fast as womens shoes. Grab at least 2. One you'll break the mirror in, so at least you'll have the spare right there in the shop when you go hunting for that gob of metal in yer eye.
Q-tips. Get the generic Wallyworld big box and be happy. Add in a big package of paper towels and at lest one package of toilet paper. These are shop supplies only, so quality isn't as much of an issue. TP thats not cottony soft on yer 'roids still works fine fer blowing yer nose and applying cold blue, RIG, etc. If you stumble onto a box of those brown paper towels grab 'em. Some times places changing over to air dryers in the restrooms throw them away. Maybe you can get the dispenser too. Handy, handy, handy.
Here's my number one money saver- Harbor Frieght, Northern Hydraulics, all those types of places sell a valve that fits onto your 20lb gas grill type propane tank. You attach it, turn the tank upside down and then screw on your empty regular 1lb propane bottle, the Bernzomatic/Coleman type you pay, I dunno, probably $3.50 for anyway. Open the valve and the liquid propane fills you small tank. It won't fill it all the way but it'll give you 1/2 to 2/3 of a fresh bottle for 1/4 what you'd pay at the store. They do work with the new OFPD type 20 pounders. I don't know what the little bottles of propane cost anymore because I haven't bought one in 12 or 15 years.
One of the guys mentioned lighting. You simply can't have enough good light, good light being flourescent. Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart all sell cheap flourescent fixtures for around $14.00. Get the level one up from the cheapest. I don't know the exact term but you want the "cold start" type. Even if your idea of cold is 50 degrees and sunny in Arizona, these last longer than the bottom of the line type. Save the reciept and use them for a week at every chance, turn them on and off I mean. About 20% of them die in the first 30 starts or so. Package that sucker up and exchange it for another one.
A good hi intensity desk lamp, or better, one of those jobs on the extending arm is a great help.
Put a carpet remanent, short nap, down on your bench top when your taking that gun, chainsaw, carburetor, nuclear reactor apart. All the little parts that fall, jump, vault, spring, fly, drop out of the project will hopefully land or catch on the carpet. Spend 3 hours on your knees with a flashlight looking for the little spring you lost and you'll see what I mean.
One of my kids got a 4" magnifying glass with a magazine subscription. It also has a smaller inset area with probably 10x. I snatched that sucker up right off. I also have one of theose lamps with the built in magnifying glass in the shop, but it's not the answer I was hoping for. By the time I get far enough back to really enlarge the item I'm running out of arm to adjust the focus. Yeah, I know. Been to the eye doc yet Bret? I used to have one of those head band magnifiers and that worked good. Lost it or broke it.
Hacksaw blades- Far as I'n concerned having too many hacksaw frames is like having to many guns. Could happen, but ain't likely. I'm running about 6 now and I'm still on the lookout for some deeper ones. I have different blades on pretty much all of them. The real general use type gets a 10" Lennox Bi-Metal 18t, one has a Remington carbide rod type blade from about 1975 thats still going strong. Don't know if they're still made. You really can cut glass with it. One light frame has a 24T Starret for light pipe and such. Two have 12" ( I think) 18t regular type cheapys for PVC, copper, grade 3 or under bolts, nails, construction work. I have one jewlers type hacksaw frame I use for gun work mostly. I also have the "required if you call yourself any kind of man" sawzall with a bunch o'blades. Works great on anything not requiring any kind of accurate cut. Get the Bi-Metal blades, the regular ones don't last worth a ****. The reason I have so many frames is because they are cheap at yard sales and when you have the right one ready to use you don't try and make the wrong one work. I admit I broke down a couple years ago when I was building a shopeing stock for my draft horses and bougt one of those chinwanese power hacksaws. Great time saver for $175.00, not terribly accurate.
Yard sales. Some guys refuse to stop at yard, garage, rummage, flea market sales. Your choice. I like them, not as much as I used to because people figure every piece of junk Walmart screwdriver is worth at least a quarter now. Still you can pick up a lot of handy tools and such for cheap. Use your best judgement. I find rather than looking around for 10 minutes it's easier to walk up and ask if there are any tools, gun, reloading, fishing, trapping or car parts in the sale. Sometimes that triggers the seller to recall that old rifle in the broom closet. The chances of it turning out to be Uncle Ernies star-gauge National Match Springfield in mint condition for $50.00 are slim, but it's worth a shot.
Watch the neighborhood for construction projects. Just because Erma down the road is tearing out those god awfull avacado kitchen cabinets she put in back in '75 doesn't mean they wouldn't look swell in your shop. And the pink countertop Earl and Marlene are replacing will reflect a lot more light than that grease stained hunk of 1/2" plywood you use for a bench top. Medicine cabinets get replaced almost as fast as womens shoes. Grab at least 2. One you'll break the mirror in, so at least you'll have the spare right there in the shop when you go hunting for that gob of metal in yer eye.
Q-tips. Get the generic Wallyworld big box and be happy. Add in a big package of paper towels and at lest one package of toilet paper. These are shop supplies only, so quality isn't as much of an issue. TP thats not cottony soft on yer 'roids still works fine fer blowing yer nose and applying cold blue, RIG, etc. If you stumble onto a box of those brown paper towels grab 'em. Some times places changing over to air dryers in the restrooms throw them away. Maybe you can get the dispenser too. Handy, handy, handy.
Here's my number one money saver- Harbor Frieght, Northern Hydraulics, all those types of places sell a valve that fits onto your 20lb gas grill type propane tank. You attach it, turn the tank upside down and then screw on your empty regular 1lb propane bottle, the Bernzomatic/Coleman type you pay, I dunno, probably $3.50 for anyway. Open the valve and the liquid propane fills you small tank. It won't fill it all the way but it'll give you 1/2 to 2/3 of a fresh bottle for 1/4 what you'd pay at the store. They do work with the new OFPD type 20 pounders. I don't know what the little bottles of propane cost anymore because I haven't bought one in 12 or 15 years.
One of the guys mentioned lighting. You simply can't have enough good light, good light being flourescent. Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart all sell cheap flourescent fixtures for around $14.00. Get the level one up from the cheapest. I don't know the exact term but you want the "cold start" type. Even if your idea of cold is 50 degrees and sunny in Arizona, these last longer than the bottom of the line type. Save the reciept and use them for a week at every chance, turn them on and off I mean. About 20% of them die in the first 30 starts or so. Package that sucker up and exchange it for another one.
A good hi intensity desk lamp, or better, one of those jobs on the extending arm is a great help.
Put a carpet remanent, short nap, down on your bench top when your taking that gun, chainsaw, carburetor, nuclear reactor apart. All the little parts that fall, jump, vault, spring, fly, drop out of the project will hopefully land or catch on the carpet. Spend 3 hours on your knees with a flashlight looking for the little spring you lost and you'll see what I mean.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
More-
A cheap substitute for WD-40 is plain old diesel/kerosene 50/50 with any oil. You won't get the water displacing quality, but hey, it's cheap.
ATF works great as a general lube and is reputed to be what Singer Sewing Machine Oil and more or less Marvel Mystery Oil is. Who knows what additives are in there. Singer oil was a favorite among many gunnysmith types in the 50's, but it was a "secret".
Rubbing alcohol is a good cleaner on guns but will damage some finishes.
Mineral Spirits is my prefered gun/general cleaning liquid. Cheap, dosen't evaporate that fast and smells manly. Hoppes does smell better and I've thought of getting ododrless mineral spirits and adding banana oil/extract/flavoring, whatever it's called. Thats what makes Hoppes smell SO good.
Starting fluid (ether) will degrease stuff to the point it starts rusting real fast. Very flammable, (IT IS STARTING FLUID SO BE CAREFUL), and overspray on some finnishes is a problem. A little goes a long way.
Any old manual that calls for "Naptha" or "Dry Cleaning Fluid"- usually acetone will answer. Evaporates real fast. BTW- tried the acetone in the gas tank- lowered my milage. Huh.
Any recipe that calls for "white gas"- thats old style unleaded gas. Use Coleman fuel. It's a lot more potent and works better than modern gas blends.
Cheap guy tip- When a philips head screwdriver finally gets to the useless point, don't toss it. Heat the end, hammer out to flat screwdriver shape, grind to final shape, heat to red, quench, temper to brown/very faint blue heat, quench.
The spray bottle Fantastik comes in works a lot better than the pump type WD-40 spray bottle. Don't know why WD-40 folks can't get this idea.
A cheap substitute for WD-40 is plain old diesel/kerosene 50/50 with any oil. You won't get the water displacing quality, but hey, it's cheap.
ATF works great as a general lube and is reputed to be what Singer Sewing Machine Oil and more or less Marvel Mystery Oil is. Who knows what additives are in there. Singer oil was a favorite among many gunnysmith types in the 50's, but it was a "secret".
Rubbing alcohol is a good cleaner on guns but will damage some finishes.
Mineral Spirits is my prefered gun/general cleaning liquid. Cheap, dosen't evaporate that fast and smells manly. Hoppes does smell better and I've thought of getting ododrless mineral spirits and adding banana oil/extract/flavoring, whatever it's called. Thats what makes Hoppes smell SO good.
Starting fluid (ether) will degrease stuff to the point it starts rusting real fast. Very flammable, (IT IS STARTING FLUID SO BE CAREFUL), and overspray on some finnishes is a problem. A little goes a long way.
Any old manual that calls for "Naptha" or "Dry Cleaning Fluid"- usually acetone will answer. Evaporates real fast. BTW- tried the acetone in the gas tank- lowered my milage. Huh.
Any recipe that calls for "white gas"- thats old style unleaded gas. Use Coleman fuel. It's a lot more potent and works better than modern gas blends.
Cheap guy tip- When a philips head screwdriver finally gets to the useless point, don't toss it. Heat the end, hammer out to flat screwdriver shape, grind to final shape, heat to red, quench, temper to brown/very faint blue heat, quench.
The spray bottle Fantastik comes in works a lot better than the pump type WD-40 spray bottle. Don't know why WD-40 folks can't get this idea.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Good suggestion on the chuck key. My Dad had his attached to the lathe with surgical tubing. Dad loved surgical tubing, the 6.5x55 and vodka, but thats another story.
Was up in the gun shop, (attic), yesterday watching SWMBO clean out her assortment of clutter. She is a collector of magazines, thousands of useless decorating magazines. This is opposed to my collection of valuble "reference material" which somewhat resembles a bunch of magazines, but is mine, not hers, therefore much more valuble. At any rate, she had me cart off several hundred mags to the burn barrel. Being the asstute scrounger I am, I sez, " Whatcha gonna do with all those magazine holders?" (She stores her magazines in HOLDERS, not boxes! Sheez) "You can have them moron" she sez. So that led to my sorting throuogh 189,000 gazillion back issues of probably 45 different mags on 189 subjects. Take my advice- Cardboard boxes work fine. Magazines holders don't stack for ****.
Dremel tools- Didja know Dremel changed their tool design a few years back? No? Neither did I until my ancient single speed Dremel bit the dust in shower of flame and sparks last year. So SWMBO gets me the top of the line variable sped super whiz bang kit, God love her, and thats when I got the bad news. I have most every accessory for the old style Dremels. Not one of them fits the new style with the threaded nose. I emailed Dremel and asked if there was an adaptor, but never got an answer. Just beware when you buy the accessory attachments at yard sales, tool sales. The very front of the old style had sort of a ribbed surface, the new ones have a screw on flared nose piece that you unscrew to fit the attachments to.
Every discount tool supply- Grizzly, Harbor Frieght, Northern, Penn Tool, TSC stores- sells the big fraction/number/letter size drill kits for around $39.00. The quality is not high, but if you plunk down the $$ yoou'll at least have the right size drill bit when you need it. I find the temper to be a bit brittle and some times a bit of sharpening helps along with lots of cutting fluid. No, they won't drill the case hardened reciever of Uncle Lous Springfield, but niether will the best Cleveland. You'll need carbide/acid/spot grinding for that. I have 2 sets of the chiwanese drills and replace the broken, burnt ones with good Clevelands as I go. It may be a waste to some guys, but I can't bring myself to spend $280.00 on a decent set of this size.
Chisels- I'm talking metal working "cold" chisels here. In the days of yore, the local "gone smythe" made parts with a forge, a chislel and a file. You too can do the same! There's about 56 dozen different types of chisels out there. You need maybe 4 of them for gun work. A good old fairly heavy job about 8" long with a 1/2' wide face for knocking the big peices off, a much smaller diamond shape, kept very sharp for corners, a 1/4" or 3/16" wide caping chisel for narrow slots, and a half round job maybe 1/8" wide. That last one isn't easy to find, but can be made up from a good quality pin punch. How do you use them? Take an appropriate weight hammer, say 4-8 oz for the smaller ones, and tap the chisel in where you want the metal removed. It's tap, tap, tap until things start going where you want. I can't explain it more than that. You cut gently and alter the angle of attack so you get a good bite, but not too deep. Play with some scrap and you get the hang of it. It's lots quicker than filing/grinding, even with a Dremel, and there's no heat to speak of. You cna make curves, indents, slots, key ways, corners, cut offs- anything. It just takes time. Try it somedays and see if it isn't a handy thing to know.
Chisels bring us to punches, drifts, pin punches, etc. Find a nice set of small punches or pin punches. Pin punches tend to be longer. Many discount places have sets for cheap. Make sure the ends are flat and square. Never, ever, ever use a pnch thats too big or way too small for the pin in question. Idealy the punch should fit the pin almost exactly erring to the small side so the punch will fit the pin hole. Tap the punch gently but firmly to "start" the pin moving. Then tap it out. Most pins allegedly go in right to left. Your mileage may vary on that. Find a brass drift, (a drift has a tapered form to the punch end) for knocking sights out of dovetails. Copper, some plastics and polished steel also work for that. Aluminum tends to mark the steel with a stain I find hard to remove. For aligning parts and drift is handy. Yes a nail will work. They also bend in the holes sometimesmaking a job removing them. Just remember that when you hit the punch you can deform the pin or the metal around it if you miss. Don't miss if you don't want a marked up gun.
Was up in the gun shop, (attic), yesterday watching SWMBO clean out her assortment of clutter. She is a collector of magazines, thousands of useless decorating magazines. This is opposed to my collection of valuble "reference material" which somewhat resembles a bunch of magazines, but is mine, not hers, therefore much more valuble. At any rate, she had me cart off several hundred mags to the burn barrel. Being the asstute scrounger I am, I sez, " Whatcha gonna do with all those magazine holders?" (She stores her magazines in HOLDERS, not boxes! Sheez) "You can have them moron" she sez. So that led to my sorting throuogh 189,000 gazillion back issues of probably 45 different mags on 189 subjects. Take my advice- Cardboard boxes work fine. Magazines holders don't stack for ****.
Dremel tools- Didja know Dremel changed their tool design a few years back? No? Neither did I until my ancient single speed Dremel bit the dust in shower of flame and sparks last year. So SWMBO gets me the top of the line variable sped super whiz bang kit, God love her, and thats when I got the bad news. I have most every accessory for the old style Dremels. Not one of them fits the new style with the threaded nose. I emailed Dremel and asked if there was an adaptor, but never got an answer. Just beware when you buy the accessory attachments at yard sales, tool sales. The very front of the old style had sort of a ribbed surface, the new ones have a screw on flared nose piece that you unscrew to fit the attachments to.
Every discount tool supply- Grizzly, Harbor Frieght, Northern, Penn Tool, TSC stores- sells the big fraction/number/letter size drill kits for around $39.00. The quality is not high, but if you plunk down the $$ yoou'll at least have the right size drill bit when you need it. I find the temper to be a bit brittle and some times a bit of sharpening helps along with lots of cutting fluid. No, they won't drill the case hardened reciever of Uncle Lous Springfield, but niether will the best Cleveland. You'll need carbide/acid/spot grinding for that. I have 2 sets of the chiwanese drills and replace the broken, burnt ones with good Clevelands as I go. It may be a waste to some guys, but I can't bring myself to spend $280.00 on a decent set of this size.
Chisels- I'm talking metal working "cold" chisels here. In the days of yore, the local "gone smythe" made parts with a forge, a chislel and a file. You too can do the same! There's about 56 dozen different types of chisels out there. You need maybe 4 of them for gun work. A good old fairly heavy job about 8" long with a 1/2' wide face for knocking the big peices off, a much smaller diamond shape, kept very sharp for corners, a 1/4" or 3/16" wide caping chisel for narrow slots, and a half round job maybe 1/8" wide. That last one isn't easy to find, but can be made up from a good quality pin punch. How do you use them? Take an appropriate weight hammer, say 4-8 oz for the smaller ones, and tap the chisel in where you want the metal removed. It's tap, tap, tap until things start going where you want. I can't explain it more than that. You cut gently and alter the angle of attack so you get a good bite, but not too deep. Play with some scrap and you get the hang of it. It's lots quicker than filing/grinding, even with a Dremel, and there's no heat to speak of. You cna make curves, indents, slots, key ways, corners, cut offs- anything. It just takes time. Try it somedays and see if it isn't a handy thing to know.
Chisels bring us to punches, drifts, pin punches, etc. Find a nice set of small punches or pin punches. Pin punches tend to be longer. Many discount places have sets for cheap. Make sure the ends are flat and square. Never, ever, ever use a pnch thats too big or way too small for the pin in question. Idealy the punch should fit the pin almost exactly erring to the small side so the punch will fit the pin hole. Tap the punch gently but firmly to "start" the pin moving. Then tap it out. Most pins allegedly go in right to left. Your mileage may vary on that. Find a brass drift, (a drift has a tapered form to the punch end) for knocking sights out of dovetails. Copper, some plastics and polished steel also work for that. Aluminum tends to mark the steel with a stain I find hard to remove. For aligning parts and drift is handy. Yes a nail will work. They also bend in the holes sometimesmaking a job removing them. Just remember that when you hit the punch you can deform the pin or the metal around it if you miss. Don't miss if you don't want a marked up gun.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Gotta fresh cup o'joe and I'm going to try to think of a couple things here-
Removing frozen screws-
1. The screwhead/bolthead is in good shape-
A. Find a screwdriver that FITS THE SLOT (very close fit end to end and in the slot of the screw) grind or file the screwdriver to fit if needed. With Phillips head/Torx head/Allen head you just find the one that fits best and maybe grind/file a bit off the end for a really tight fit. Set the screwdriver bit tightly into the slot and strike it 4 or 5 times with a hammer, a plastic mallet, brass or copper hammer, anything under 10 oz. or so. Don't try a 16 oz. claw hammer on a 6-48 screw because you can drive the screw through the threads. IOW- use an appropriate sized striking instrument. Try this several times and se if that doesn't work.
B. A doesn't work- Try turning the screw "FORWARD" or into the work. This is simple but a lot of times it works. If it turns into the work even a bit, just rock it back and forth a bit and it may come out. If it moves at all apply a solvent/oil/penetrant. Work the screw with the oil on it and it may back right out. This also covers the previously unknown "LEFT HAND THREAD". I worked for hours on a payloader once trying to remove a lug nut. An old drunk guy, ( he was REALLY good at drinking), asked me if I'd thought of it being a left hand thread. He may have been a drunk, but he wasn't a stupid drunk.
2. Add in here that the screwhead is buggered up already.
C. A and B don't work. Now we go to heat. If someone lock-tited the screw in it amy well resist all the solvents, etc. Get a soldering gun/iron and get it up to heat. Leave whatever oil, etc is on the screw head as it will keep th solder from sticking. Make sure the soldering gun/iron tip has a "wet" look to it. Thats melted solder and is yoour heat trasfer source. A dry tip will take forever to heat you article. Apply the tip to the screw for maybe 45 seconds or a minute. You may see/smell the oil you used spitting and smoking. Thats good, it means the heat is transfering. Once your godd ol' common sense says it's time put the soldering gun/iron down wherte it won't start a fire and immediately try the screw. You can also do this with a very small flame out of one of those micro torches but you chance over heating things and scorching any nearby wood and loosing the blueing in the area.
C2- For buggered Torx/Allen/Socket head or hex head screws and bolts. Vicegrips, over size Torx/Allen head wrenchs, driving a flat tip screwdriver bit into the hole, E-Z outs. At this point you're less concerned with recovering the screw and more concerned with geting the darn thing out. E-Z outs rarely work IMHO. For socket or Allen heads try driving a slightly oversize Torx bit into the hole. Works better than any E-Z out I've used. Almost always works. For hex heads you're into Vicegrips, those sockets specificaly designed for removing rounded off bolts heads, I forget the names, Sears has them, or even welding another nut onto the bolthead so you can get a good grip. I doubt you'll use that on a gun, but maybe on a car or tractor. Works on busted studs and such. Sometimes a flat blade screw driver can be driven into a phillips slot, and I mean driven into it, and it will work. Othertimes you can chisel or Dremel cut a new slot in a screw and get it. Obviously you have to use extreme care for the surrounding metal/wood or you'll make a real mess. Trust me, I've done it a thousand times! This is probably a good time to step back and stare at the problem for 15 minutes or so. Have a sandwich and a drink and give the screw a minute or two to think about repenting and backing right out. Oddly enough it sometimes seems to work. There may be gremlins hanging onto the threads that give up after some in-activity, I don't know. It works sometimes, thats all I can say. You may have a brainstorm at this point and discover how to get it out too. Don't go to a "bigger hammer" at this point unless you can control the ol' temper.
D. A,B and C don't work after repeated attempts. By now any Lock-tite type product will have given up the ghost from the heat and any rust would have been handled by the solvent/heat/tapping. We're into metal on metal galling most likely. You've got a cross threaded, cockeyed jewel on your hands. That or your into the infamous broken and boogered screwhead/bolt head. Here are your options-
1. Take it to a gunsmith/machine shop and have them remove the part.
2. If you have the ability and confidence AND the proper tools you can try drilling the screw/bolt out on your own. We're talking a drill press and a good vice mounted to the drill press, center drills for starting, accurate center punching, sharp undersize drill bits for the hole, good cutting oils, and the knowledge of when to STOP. Left hand drill bits (yeah, they're real) may work here and bring the screw right out, or they may not. Worth a try if you have them. If you are thinking you'd do it, then you probably already have the tools. Read Brownells "Gunsmiths Kinks" , all 4 volumes, to find a bunch of methods to do this and a lot of tricks to make it easier. If this sounds like certain disaster, then go to the gunsmith/machine shop. Just be honest and admit you don't want to risk screwing up the item big time and that you don't have the equipment to do this. It doesn't mean you're not a man or that you're a failure. It means you are smart enough to stop before you loose a bunch of $$$$$.
Removing frozen screws-
1. The screwhead/bolthead is in good shape-
A. Find a screwdriver that FITS THE SLOT (very close fit end to end and in the slot of the screw) grind or file the screwdriver to fit if needed. With Phillips head/Torx head/Allen head you just find the one that fits best and maybe grind/file a bit off the end for a really tight fit. Set the screwdriver bit tightly into the slot and strike it 4 or 5 times with a hammer, a plastic mallet, brass or copper hammer, anything under 10 oz. or so. Don't try a 16 oz. claw hammer on a 6-48 screw because you can drive the screw through the threads. IOW- use an appropriate sized striking instrument. Try this several times and se if that doesn't work.
B. A doesn't work- Try turning the screw "FORWARD" or into the work. This is simple but a lot of times it works. If it turns into the work even a bit, just rock it back and forth a bit and it may come out. If it moves at all apply a solvent/oil/penetrant. Work the screw with the oil on it and it may back right out. This also covers the previously unknown "LEFT HAND THREAD". I worked for hours on a payloader once trying to remove a lug nut. An old drunk guy, ( he was REALLY good at drinking), asked me if I'd thought of it being a left hand thread. He may have been a drunk, but he wasn't a stupid drunk.
2. Add in here that the screwhead is buggered up already.
C. A and B don't work. Now we go to heat. If someone lock-tited the screw in it amy well resist all the solvents, etc. Get a soldering gun/iron and get it up to heat. Leave whatever oil, etc is on the screw head as it will keep th solder from sticking. Make sure the soldering gun/iron tip has a "wet" look to it. Thats melted solder and is yoour heat trasfer source. A dry tip will take forever to heat you article. Apply the tip to the screw for maybe 45 seconds or a minute. You may see/smell the oil you used spitting and smoking. Thats good, it means the heat is transfering. Once your godd ol' common sense says it's time put the soldering gun/iron down wherte it won't start a fire and immediately try the screw. You can also do this with a very small flame out of one of those micro torches but you chance over heating things and scorching any nearby wood and loosing the blueing in the area.
C2- For buggered Torx/Allen/Socket head or hex head screws and bolts. Vicegrips, over size Torx/Allen head wrenchs, driving a flat tip screwdriver bit into the hole, E-Z outs. At this point you're less concerned with recovering the screw and more concerned with geting the darn thing out. E-Z outs rarely work IMHO. For socket or Allen heads try driving a slightly oversize Torx bit into the hole. Works better than any E-Z out I've used. Almost always works. For hex heads you're into Vicegrips, those sockets specificaly designed for removing rounded off bolts heads, I forget the names, Sears has them, or even welding another nut onto the bolthead so you can get a good grip. I doubt you'll use that on a gun, but maybe on a car or tractor. Works on busted studs and such. Sometimes a flat blade screw driver can be driven into a phillips slot, and I mean driven into it, and it will work. Othertimes you can chisel or Dremel cut a new slot in a screw and get it. Obviously you have to use extreme care for the surrounding metal/wood or you'll make a real mess. Trust me, I've done it a thousand times! This is probably a good time to step back and stare at the problem for 15 minutes or so. Have a sandwich and a drink and give the screw a minute or two to think about repenting and backing right out. Oddly enough it sometimes seems to work. There may be gremlins hanging onto the threads that give up after some in-activity, I don't know. It works sometimes, thats all I can say. You may have a brainstorm at this point and discover how to get it out too. Don't go to a "bigger hammer" at this point unless you can control the ol' temper.
D. A,B and C don't work after repeated attempts. By now any Lock-tite type product will have given up the ghost from the heat and any rust would have been handled by the solvent/heat/tapping. We're into metal on metal galling most likely. You've got a cross threaded, cockeyed jewel on your hands. That or your into the infamous broken and boogered screwhead/bolt head. Here are your options-
1. Take it to a gunsmith/machine shop and have them remove the part.
2. If you have the ability and confidence AND the proper tools you can try drilling the screw/bolt out on your own. We're talking a drill press and a good vice mounted to the drill press, center drills for starting, accurate center punching, sharp undersize drill bits for the hole, good cutting oils, and the knowledge of when to STOP. Left hand drill bits (yeah, they're real) may work here and bring the screw right out, or they may not. Worth a try if you have them. If you are thinking you'd do it, then you probably already have the tools. Read Brownells "Gunsmiths Kinks" , all 4 volumes, to find a bunch of methods to do this and a lot of tricks to make it easier. If this sounds like certain disaster, then go to the gunsmith/machine shop. Just be honest and admit you don't want to risk screwing up the item big time and that you don't have the equipment to do this. It doesn't mean you're not a man or that you're a failure. It means you are smart enough to stop before you loose a bunch of $$$$$.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Here's a short post on taps and dies.
On guns your most common issue will be "chasing" or re-threading an existing hole or screw. Chasing is the term used for re-newing or cleaning an existing thread. Scope mounts and sights commonly use 6-48 and 8-40 threads. The taps and dies will not be available at your garden variey hardware store. Brownells has them and you should have the Brownells (www.brownellls.com) catalog just to be aware of all the neat things there are to spend your bucks on. A 6-48 screw is a number "6" diameter screw with 48 threads per inch. Brownells also sells what they call a "Screw Check'r" which is a metal plate with a bunch of threaded holes in it. You take your screw and try it in different holes until you find the one the screw fits. Then your thread and size is identified. You can also measure the screw with a caliper or mic and a thread gauge. Once you determine the size you can order or otherwise get ahold of the tap or die you need. A tap goes in a hole. A die thread a screw or bolt. A die stock holds a die so you can form the threads, it's the handle for the die in other words. A tap handle holds a tap, although a light wrench will work and makes it even easier to break the tap. I recommend a tap handle. Lts say you need to clean a threaded hole- you have the tap and handle. Secure the tap in the handle and take a look at the hole. Assuming the hole doesn't have a broken off screw in it, you can place the nose of the tap in the hole. If you have the correct size tap it will fit part way into the hole. Before you start turning the tap apply a lubricant, 3 in 1 oil, Break Free, WD40, something. Obviously on a right hand thread you'll turn the tap clockwise. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosy. The biggest problem now comes up. Taps are very, very delicate in 6-48 and 8-40 size. They break easy and once broken in a hole, you're into some work and $$ to get it out. They are also very hard and tough steel, so it's not easy to get them out, hence the work and $$$. You have to get the tap into the hole STRAIGHT, not cockeyed. My sugeestion is to start the tap (we're chasing threads here not tapping a fresh hole) without the tap handle, just your fingers. You'll feel the tap take the existing thread unless it's full of dirt or galled metal in which case it still may take. once you feel it take the thread let it stand there and look at the taps angle with the hole. It should be a pretty much right angles to the work. It may cock off a little due to dirt or metal pushing the tap sideways. Back the tap out and put it in the handle. Get tap at right nagles relative to the work and start it about as far as it went with your fingers. Very slowly and with care turn the tap 1/4 to 1/2 turn, then back it the same amount. Go into the work the same 1/4 to 1/2 turn and then add 1/4 turn and back out again. You'll feel the tap start either following the thread or cutting the dirt/metal. The very instant you feel the tap start to "bind", back it out of the hole and clean the juck off the tap. The flutes will fill with dirt, Lock-Tite, oil, metal, whatever is in the hole. Then clean the hole with solvent, re-lube and go back to it. Go about 2 complete turns and back it out and clean. You'll eventually come to the point where the tap stops either becasue it bottoms out in the hole or comes to the end of the threads. Or, it comes out the far side of the work if it's a through hole. Unless your need more threads stop there. Now you're into bottoming and plug taps which aren't as "pointy" as a regluar tap and can go further into a hole, and break off deeper in the hole. We're just chasing or re-newing an existing thread so we'll stop there. If at any point the tap binds or grabs- STOP TURNING!!!. Back the tap out and find out why it's doing that. It may be the end of the hole or some garbage in the flutes causing it. The flutes in the tap carry the waste material so they need to be cleaned as they fill. DO NOT FORCE THE TAP, IT WILL BREAK!!! Just go slow and easy. If the tap starts grabbing or going cockeyed or there's clearly a problem then take the work piece to a gun shop or machine shop and have them do it. It could be a hardened work piece or some other problem. Until you've tapped 25 or 30 holes it's a learning process and you won't have the feel for it. Break a few taps and you'll know what fustrating work is. Once the tap cleans the threads, use the solvent and try your screw in the hole. Should be a nice, easy job to screw it in. Chasing a thread with a die is easier. Secure the screw or bolt in a vise and start the die with you fingers. Then lightly put the diestock on the die, secure the lock screw and do the 1/2 turn biz with the lubericant. You'll see the metal and dirt gather in the die flutes. Often you cna just back the die 1/2 turn and spray the garbage out of the flutes with solvent rahter than backing the die all the way off. Sometimes a small screw can be turned into the die with a screwdriver if it will start straight. The same cautions apply as with tapping a hole ecept if a screw beaks off in a die it's a relative breeze to get it out. Of course then you have to aquire a new screw to replace the one you broke.
The cardinal rules for tapping are-
1. Use a sharp, correct. lubricated tap or die.
2. Start the tap or die straight. If you tilt the tap it WILL break.
3. Use no more force than needed.
4. CLEAN THE TAP OR DIE EVERY TURN OR SO!!!!
5. STOP when the tap or die binds!
6. Go slow and easy and you should be OK.
On guns your most common issue will be "chasing" or re-threading an existing hole or screw. Chasing is the term used for re-newing or cleaning an existing thread. Scope mounts and sights commonly use 6-48 and 8-40 threads. The taps and dies will not be available at your garden variey hardware store. Brownells has them and you should have the Brownells (www.brownellls.com) catalog just to be aware of all the neat things there are to spend your bucks on. A 6-48 screw is a number "6" diameter screw with 48 threads per inch. Brownells also sells what they call a "Screw Check'r" which is a metal plate with a bunch of threaded holes in it. You take your screw and try it in different holes until you find the one the screw fits. Then your thread and size is identified. You can also measure the screw with a caliper or mic and a thread gauge. Once you determine the size you can order or otherwise get ahold of the tap or die you need. A tap goes in a hole. A die thread a screw or bolt. A die stock holds a die so you can form the threads, it's the handle for the die in other words. A tap handle holds a tap, although a light wrench will work and makes it even easier to break the tap. I recommend a tap handle. Lts say you need to clean a threaded hole- you have the tap and handle. Secure the tap in the handle and take a look at the hole. Assuming the hole doesn't have a broken off screw in it, you can place the nose of the tap in the hole. If you have the correct size tap it will fit part way into the hole. Before you start turning the tap apply a lubricant, 3 in 1 oil, Break Free, WD40, something. Obviously on a right hand thread you'll turn the tap clockwise. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosy. The biggest problem now comes up. Taps are very, very delicate in 6-48 and 8-40 size. They break easy and once broken in a hole, you're into some work and $$ to get it out. They are also very hard and tough steel, so it's not easy to get them out, hence the work and $$$. You have to get the tap into the hole STRAIGHT, not cockeyed. My sugeestion is to start the tap (we're chasing threads here not tapping a fresh hole) without the tap handle, just your fingers. You'll feel the tap take the existing thread unless it's full of dirt or galled metal in which case it still may take. once you feel it take the thread let it stand there and look at the taps angle with the hole. It should be a pretty much right angles to the work. It may cock off a little due to dirt or metal pushing the tap sideways. Back the tap out and put it in the handle. Get tap at right nagles relative to the work and start it about as far as it went with your fingers. Very slowly and with care turn the tap 1/4 to 1/2 turn, then back it the same amount. Go into the work the same 1/4 to 1/2 turn and then add 1/4 turn and back out again. You'll feel the tap start either following the thread or cutting the dirt/metal. The very instant you feel the tap start to "bind", back it out of the hole and clean the juck off the tap. The flutes will fill with dirt, Lock-Tite, oil, metal, whatever is in the hole. Then clean the hole with solvent, re-lube and go back to it. Go about 2 complete turns and back it out and clean. You'll eventually come to the point where the tap stops either becasue it bottoms out in the hole or comes to the end of the threads. Or, it comes out the far side of the work if it's a through hole. Unless your need more threads stop there. Now you're into bottoming and plug taps which aren't as "pointy" as a regluar tap and can go further into a hole, and break off deeper in the hole. We're just chasing or re-newing an existing thread so we'll stop there. If at any point the tap binds or grabs- STOP TURNING!!!. Back the tap out and find out why it's doing that. It may be the end of the hole or some garbage in the flutes causing it. The flutes in the tap carry the waste material so they need to be cleaned as they fill. DO NOT FORCE THE TAP, IT WILL BREAK!!! Just go slow and easy. If the tap starts grabbing or going cockeyed or there's clearly a problem then take the work piece to a gun shop or machine shop and have them do it. It could be a hardened work piece or some other problem. Until you've tapped 25 or 30 holes it's a learning process and you won't have the feel for it. Break a few taps and you'll know what fustrating work is. Once the tap cleans the threads, use the solvent and try your screw in the hole. Should be a nice, easy job to screw it in. Chasing a thread with a die is easier. Secure the screw or bolt in a vise and start the die with you fingers. Then lightly put the diestock on the die, secure the lock screw and do the 1/2 turn biz with the lubericant. You'll see the metal and dirt gather in the die flutes. Often you cna just back the die 1/2 turn and spray the garbage out of the flutes with solvent rahter than backing the die all the way off. Sometimes a small screw can be turned into the die with a screwdriver if it will start straight. The same cautions apply as with tapping a hole ecept if a screw beaks off in a die it's a relative breeze to get it out. Of course then you have to aquire a new screw to replace the one you broke.
The cardinal rules for tapping are-
1. Use a sharp, correct. lubricated tap or die.
2. Start the tap or die straight. If you tilt the tap it WILL break.
3. Use no more force than needed.
4. CLEAN THE TAP OR DIE EVERY TURN OR SO!!!!
5. STOP when the tap or die binds!
6. Go slow and easy and you should be OK.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A quicky on grind stones- Everyone has a 6 or 8 inch grinder in the garage. FYI- the coarser the stone, the less heat builds up. The finer the stone, the quicker the metal heats up. I don't really understand why, I'm not all that bright, but it's true. If you really want to pick up some good info on sharpening and grinding then get Len Lee's "Complete Book of Sharpening" availble form www.LeeValley.com Lee Valley Tools/ Veritas. It's a compnay/store up in Ottawa Ont. and the catalog should be right there in the magazine rack next to the john, along with Brownells catalog. They sell a soft white grindstone that runs way cooler than the typical cheapy hard gray stones that your grinder came with. Just the thing for doing a really good job on yoour woodworking chisels etc. They also have a zillion and one items you'll find you can't live without and some real good, really hard to find books on wood working, metal working, gardening, all sorts of stuff. I got the complete Popular Mechanics Shop Note collection one Christmas. We're talking like 30 volumes of articles and ideas from 1915- 1945 or something like that. Way cool. Great company. Quick sevice.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Gorilla Glue- I don't know how long this stuff has been around, 3-4 years. It's one of the new brands of glue and I picked some up a while back. This stuff works on almost everything! I've glued metal to metal, glass to metal, fabric (glued the back of my calf to the seat of my pants accidentaly), plastic, even wood! It expands a bit and is messy but it works good. Little sample bottles are available at Walmart. This stuff has yellow wood glue beat by a mile.
JB Weld- the standard epoxy filler. Great for repairing the cracked steering wheel on your tractor, sealing a seam in a gas tank, making barrel vice blocks. Will not take loads, heat above maybe 250 degrees or impact. Handy stuff.
PC-7, Devcon, other 2 part epoxy type glues/fillers. Great for a lot of mechanical uses. Make sure you really degrease the mating surfaces. Epoxy doesn't stick to grease/rust/water/air. Some types will work in overhead work.
Brownells Acra-Glass and it's varieties. The gold standard glass bedding, cracked stock, all around handy 2 part epoxy type filler/glue. Can be colored. Never seen it fail on it's own, user failures do happen. Read any of the Gunsmith Kinks series to find a million and one uses. Even works as a stock finish!
Loc-Tite- There's about 27 different kinds and most work great. Go to their website and read up. You'll find what you need. Some types will even work to fill gaps and will hold a suprising amount of force, as in a stripped thread.
Krazy-Glue- Gotta have a little tube for fixing broken plates, figurines, Christmas ornaments and for gluing your index finger to your eyelid.
JB Weld- the standard epoxy filler. Great for repairing the cracked steering wheel on your tractor, sealing a seam in a gas tank, making barrel vice blocks. Will not take loads, heat above maybe 250 degrees or impact. Handy stuff.
PC-7, Devcon, other 2 part epoxy type glues/fillers. Great for a lot of mechanical uses. Make sure you really degrease the mating surfaces. Epoxy doesn't stick to grease/rust/water/air. Some types will work in overhead work.
Brownells Acra-Glass and it's varieties. The gold standard glass bedding, cracked stock, all around handy 2 part epoxy type filler/glue. Can be colored. Never seen it fail on it's own, user failures do happen. Read any of the Gunsmith Kinks series to find a million and one uses. Even works as a stock finish!
Loc-Tite- There's about 27 different kinds and most work great. Go to their website and read up. You'll find what you need. Some types will even work to fill gaps and will hold a suprising amount of force, as in a stripped thread.
Krazy-Glue- Gotta have a little tube for fixing broken plates, figurines, Christmas ornaments and for gluing your index finger to your eyelid.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
hope everyone adds their favorites to this one-
Books, books, books. Any gunny type he man has to have the aforementioned Brownells catalog. Better get Midways USA too, along with the standard Cabelas, Red Head, etc. Now there are a bunch of littler companys out there such as Lindsay Publishing, www.lindsaybks.com , that have titles you never dreamed of. Lindsays got a wicked sense of humour too, although a bit on the liberal side politicly. There's websites galore if hunt around. Don't over look the weblinks at the various gun sites you go to, lotsa good places.
There's an older book out there called Shop Savy by Roy Mongouvon (sp?) If you find a copy, grab it. You'll learn something new evrytime you pick it up. Same for the "Machinists Bedside Reader" series, available through "The Home Shop Machinist" magazine and Brownells. Any older copies of Audels books are great, carpentry, machining, plumbing and electrical work. The older pre-60's issues are better for us amature type guys because we don't have plasma cutters and CNC milling machines. In fact the early black covered series are my favorites and they are from the 20's and 30's. Their welding books are great. On welding there are a million old copies of "Welding Helps for Farmers" out there, great stuff. Same for any of the old Lincoln or Hobart books on welding. South Bend, LeBlond, Atlas, all the old lathe and machine tool companies put out books that are still available and indespensible. Check your local library too for older titles.
On guns- Clyde Bakers "Gunsmithing" book is the standard. James Howes 2 volume set is fantasic if you can afford it. Same with Dunlops book. All the Brownells "Gunsmithing Kinks" are required reading. Great recipies in there too, along with a bunch of good jokes. More later.
Books, books, books. Any gunny type he man has to have the aforementioned Brownells catalog. Better get Midways USA too, along with the standard Cabelas, Red Head, etc. Now there are a bunch of littler companys out there such as Lindsay Publishing, www.lindsaybks.com , that have titles you never dreamed of. Lindsays got a wicked sense of humour too, although a bit on the liberal side politicly. There's websites galore if hunt around. Don't over look the weblinks at the various gun sites you go to, lotsa good places.
There's an older book out there called Shop Savy by Roy Mongouvon (sp?) If you find a copy, grab it. You'll learn something new evrytime you pick it up. Same for the "Machinists Bedside Reader" series, available through "The Home Shop Machinist" magazine and Brownells. Any older copies of Audels books are great, carpentry, machining, plumbing and electrical work. The older pre-60's issues are better for us amature type guys because we don't have plasma cutters and CNC milling machines. In fact the early black covered series are my favorites and they are from the 20's and 30's. Their welding books are great. On welding there are a million old copies of "Welding Helps for Farmers" out there, great stuff. Same for any of the old Lincoln or Hobart books on welding. South Bend, LeBlond, Atlas, all the old lathe and machine tool companies put out books that are still available and indespensible. Check your local library too for older titles.
On guns- Clyde Bakers "Gunsmithing" book is the standard. James Howes 2 volume set is fantasic if you can afford it. Same with Dunlops book. All the Brownells "Gunsmithing Kinks" are required reading. Great recipies in there too, along with a bunch of good jokes. More later.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Couple quickies-
Although Brownells sell these really nice 6" long swabs, for 99.9% of gun/shop work generic Q-tips work great. That .1% of the time those 6" swabs really help.
You cold blue guys got to remember- DEGREASE everything associated with the process, especially the steel wool! I had problems cold bluing after Dad died until I recalled him degreasing the wool. Big difference.
Learn how to make vise jaws. Leather, wood, copper, rubber, plastic all have their palce.
Keep your eye's open for hunks of copper or brass that will work as punches. I found a 1"x8" hunka brass along the road one day (the 1 beneift of crawling around under trucks). What a great drift!
Although Brownells sell these really nice 6" long swabs, for 99.9% of gun/shop work generic Q-tips work great. That .1% of the time those 6" swabs really help.
You cold blue guys got to remember- DEGREASE everything associated with the process, especially the steel wool! I had problems cold bluing after Dad died until I recalled him degreasing the wool. Big difference.
Learn how to make vise jaws. Leather, wood, copper, rubber, plastic all have their palce.
Keep your eye's open for hunks of copper or brass that will work as punches. I found a 1"x8" hunka brass along the road one day (the 1 beneift of crawling around under trucks). What a great drift!
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I've tried to come up with something interesting to add here, but apparently have writers block, or maybe I just don't know all that much, probably the latter.
Couple little tips-
Never,ever throw away a broken broom, rake, hammer, axe, sledge handle. The broom and rake hadles make dandy paper towel roll holders and they can be cut off and used as hangers for farily heavy items by drilling an apporpriate sized hole in a stud and driving the handle in there. Works good for garden hose, belts, etc. The heavier handles make good sprue plate knockers and if rasped down to a reasonable size make better hammer handles than store bought ones.
A great design for a vise stand involves an old car rim, a hunk of well casing or other pipe at least 4" in diameter a flat mounting plate for the vise and some concrete. Obviously the vise gets mounted to the flat plate, which gets welded to the pipe at a handy height, and the pipe gets welded to the rim which lays flat on the floor. Brace the pipe to the rim as you deem appropriate. Then fill the rim with concrete, about 1-2 bags of Sack-rete should do fine. I suppose some heathen might use LEAD, but we all know there are much, much better uses for lead. The beauty of this design is that you can roll that vise around to where ever you need it. Real handy.
Another nifty vice kink, (Uncle Ray will catch that one fer sure!) is to mount a vise to a flat plate welded to a reciever hitch insert. Real handy to be able to just pull the pin on the trailer ball and stick the vise onto your truck. Good and solid too.
Those receiver hitch set ups offer another possibilty- The female part is availble as a seperate piece about 8" long. Theres no reason a guy couldn't weld one to a stand like the vise stand above and get several of the male inserts and attach his press, sizer and such to seperate inserts. Or you could attach the female part to your bench and go that way. You aren't dealing with a tremendous amount of torque so the samller hitch pieces ( about 1" square vs the larger 2or 2.5" setups) could be used. They're cheaper and would be easier to work with too.
Couple little tips-
Never,ever throw away a broken broom, rake, hammer, axe, sledge handle. The broom and rake hadles make dandy paper towel roll holders and they can be cut off and used as hangers for farily heavy items by drilling an apporpriate sized hole in a stud and driving the handle in there. Works good for garden hose, belts, etc. The heavier handles make good sprue plate knockers and if rasped down to a reasonable size make better hammer handles than store bought ones.
A great design for a vise stand involves an old car rim, a hunk of well casing or other pipe at least 4" in diameter a flat mounting plate for the vise and some concrete. Obviously the vise gets mounted to the flat plate, which gets welded to the pipe at a handy height, and the pipe gets welded to the rim which lays flat on the floor. Brace the pipe to the rim as you deem appropriate. Then fill the rim with concrete, about 1-2 bags of Sack-rete should do fine. I suppose some heathen might use LEAD, but we all know there are much, much better uses for lead. The beauty of this design is that you can roll that vise around to where ever you need it. Real handy.
Another nifty vice kink, (Uncle Ray will catch that one fer sure!) is to mount a vise to a flat plate welded to a reciever hitch insert. Real handy to be able to just pull the pin on the trailer ball and stick the vise onto your truck. Good and solid too.
Those receiver hitch set ups offer another possibilty- The female part is availble as a seperate piece about 8" long. Theres no reason a guy couldn't weld one to a stand like the vise stand above and get several of the male inserts and attach his press, sizer and such to seperate inserts. Or you could attach the female part to your bench and go that way. You aren't dealing with a tremendous amount of torque so the samller hitch pieces ( about 1" square vs the larger 2or 2.5" setups) could be used. They're cheaper and would be easier to work with too.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Didn't realize it'd been so long since I blathered on here!
Stuck casings- In addition to the bore brush method, you can use a spiral type srew extractor. You very GENTLY turn it into the broken off case and it should come right out. Sometimes a cleaning rod from the muzzle end will knock it out. Freezing the action will also help.
Reloading dies- This seems real simple but- When you get a new die, or used die for that matter, take a minute and clean that sucker up. Nothing against Lee, I should own stock in the company I have so much of their stuff, but many of their dies are FILTHY when received. Take them apart and use a solvent to clean them up good followed by a metal protector. Might be a good idea to remove the O ring on the Lee type to protect it from solvents.
Loose mould handles- After waiting for the handles to cool down, (you can guess why I added that!), pull the handles off. You can try a bunch of methods to secure them. Due to the heat I haven't had much luck with glue/epoxy. Toothpicks on the other hand, combined with a homemade feurrle (sp) do work. Main thing is to determine WHY they're loose and remedy the issue. Bits of wire inserted into the handle hole sometimes work. This ain't art. It's a freakin' mould handle. Ugly is ok.
Loose handles on a mould- Sometimes we have to make do. My first set of Lyman type handles was made from a radiator hose clamp pliers. They fit the old spring style clamps and already had a hole about where I needed it. (To this day my evil step father wonders where they went! BWAAAAAHHHHAAAAAAA!!!! Trade ya for my Marlin 44 mag and the 2 Savage 24's you took you dirty........, uh, sorry.) Anyway, they didn't fit real tight. But by shimming them with some soft copper tubing they worked. Same idea with factory type handles. If they go all wimpy and loose on the mould, just shim them with washers made from pop cans, shim stock, anything that won't melt. A hole punch for paper will work on aluminum, or you can punch a hole with a flat nosed punch against a wood surface. Shim till the setup feels right and stop. Easy as pie.
Loose sprue plate screws- OK, some moulds have a set screw to lock the sprue plate screw. Assuming that screw will move you're all set. If on the other hand you're like me and will buy any old rusty mould that you might concievably one day own a gun for you WILL end up with a non-functioning or non-existant set screw. If the sprue plate screw won't stay where God and man declared it should be there is a simple fix. Getcher screw where you want it. Then take a prick punch or nail set and LIGHTLY punch the side of the mould over the screw hole, about halfway down the length of the screw. What you are doing is very slightly dimpling the hole the sprue plate screw runs in. This will cause the screw to bind a little and stay put. Don't over do it. Try the screw as you go. When you feel a bit of resistance, thats far enough.
Sprue plate sharpness- A nice sharp sprue cutter is good. Dull is bad. Dull makes holes in the boolit base among other things. Get a cone shaped stone designed for the Dremel tool at Wally World or where ever. DO NOT PUT IT IN A DREMEL TO DO THIS!!!! Read the last sentence about 10 times. Take the sprue plate off the mould. Using yer fingers twist the stone in the sprue hole till you just feel a ridge start to form on the bottom of the sprue plate. Give it about 3 more twists. Stop there! Now you have to flaten the ridge you just formed. When you bought the stone you also bought at least one sheet of 320 grit abrasive paper, at the auto parts store if the hardware or Wal Mart ain't got it. Finer paper will work and give you a nicer finsher, but don't go coaser if you can help it. A FLAT shapening stone will also work. Put the paper on a FLAT surface, like a piece of glass, stone counter top, or if nothing else is available the side of the mould itself. That will be very small, but it can work in a pinch. Gently rub the sprue plate in a circulare motion, a small circle with not a lot of pressure. All you are doing is knocking that ridge back a little. You'll see the ridge as a shiny spot around the sprue hole at first. Then after 5 or 6 cirlces check it. If the shiny ring is about gone stop there. Thats all there is to it. That sucker should cut like a hot knife through butter. Try it and see.
Stuck casings- In addition to the bore brush method, you can use a spiral type srew extractor. You very GENTLY turn it into the broken off case and it should come right out. Sometimes a cleaning rod from the muzzle end will knock it out. Freezing the action will also help.
Reloading dies- This seems real simple but- When you get a new die, or used die for that matter, take a minute and clean that sucker up. Nothing against Lee, I should own stock in the company I have so much of their stuff, but many of their dies are FILTHY when received. Take them apart and use a solvent to clean them up good followed by a metal protector. Might be a good idea to remove the O ring on the Lee type to protect it from solvents.
Loose mould handles- After waiting for the handles to cool down, (you can guess why I added that!), pull the handles off. You can try a bunch of methods to secure them. Due to the heat I haven't had much luck with glue/epoxy. Toothpicks on the other hand, combined with a homemade feurrle (sp) do work. Main thing is to determine WHY they're loose and remedy the issue. Bits of wire inserted into the handle hole sometimes work. This ain't art. It's a freakin' mould handle. Ugly is ok.
Loose handles on a mould- Sometimes we have to make do. My first set of Lyman type handles was made from a radiator hose clamp pliers. They fit the old spring style clamps and already had a hole about where I needed it. (To this day my evil step father wonders where they went! BWAAAAAHHHHAAAAAAA!!!! Trade ya for my Marlin 44 mag and the 2 Savage 24's you took you dirty........, uh, sorry.) Anyway, they didn't fit real tight. But by shimming them with some soft copper tubing they worked. Same idea with factory type handles. If they go all wimpy and loose on the mould, just shim them with washers made from pop cans, shim stock, anything that won't melt. A hole punch for paper will work on aluminum, or you can punch a hole with a flat nosed punch against a wood surface. Shim till the setup feels right and stop. Easy as pie.
Loose sprue plate screws- OK, some moulds have a set screw to lock the sprue plate screw. Assuming that screw will move you're all set. If on the other hand you're like me and will buy any old rusty mould that you might concievably one day own a gun for you WILL end up with a non-functioning or non-existant set screw. If the sprue plate screw won't stay where God and man declared it should be there is a simple fix. Getcher screw where you want it. Then take a prick punch or nail set and LIGHTLY punch the side of the mould over the screw hole, about halfway down the length of the screw. What you are doing is very slightly dimpling the hole the sprue plate screw runs in. This will cause the screw to bind a little and stay put. Don't over do it. Try the screw as you go. When you feel a bit of resistance, thats far enough.
Sprue plate sharpness- A nice sharp sprue cutter is good. Dull is bad. Dull makes holes in the boolit base among other things. Get a cone shaped stone designed for the Dremel tool at Wally World or where ever. DO NOT PUT IT IN A DREMEL TO DO THIS!!!! Read the last sentence about 10 times. Take the sprue plate off the mould. Using yer fingers twist the stone in the sprue hole till you just feel a ridge start to form on the bottom of the sprue plate. Give it about 3 more twists. Stop there! Now you have to flaten the ridge you just formed. When you bought the stone you also bought at least one sheet of 320 grit abrasive paper, at the auto parts store if the hardware or Wal Mart ain't got it. Finer paper will work and give you a nicer finsher, but don't go coaser if you can help it. A FLAT shapening stone will also work. Put the paper on a FLAT surface, like a piece of glass, stone counter top, or if nothing else is available the side of the mould itself. That will be very small, but it can work in a pinch. Gently rub the sprue plate in a circulare motion, a small circle with not a lot of pressure. All you are doing is knocking that ridge back a little. You'll see the ridge as a shiny spot around the sprue hole at first. Then after 5 or 6 cirlces check it. If the shiny ring is about gone stop there. Thats all there is to it. That sucker should cut like a hot knife through butter. Try it and see.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A thought or 2-
Never, ever, ever throw out any electrical appliance before doing a couple things.
1- Cut the cord. You'll need it eventually and many appliances like drills and sanders come with nice cords. Saves $$$$.
2- Never throw a drill away without at least trying to get the chuck off it. Again, you'll need it someday.
3- If you're good with electric stuff, I'm not, washing machine motors are supposed to be good for running shop type stuff.
4- Nuts, bolts, springs, belts, lamps- strip what you can. Less $$$ spent on the aforementioned items you saved means more $$$ to spend on gunz.
5- Treadmill motors are supposed to be great for running drill presses. Lotsa horses and variable speeds from slow to really slow. I just scavanged one and will let you know if it works.
Never, ever, ever throw out any electrical appliance before doing a couple things.
1- Cut the cord. You'll need it eventually and many appliances like drills and sanders come with nice cords. Saves $$$$.
2- Never throw a drill away without at least trying to get the chuck off it. Again, you'll need it someday.
3- If you're good with electric stuff, I'm not, washing machine motors are supposed to be good for running shop type stuff.
4- Nuts, bolts, springs, belts, lamps- strip what you can. Less $$$ spent on the aforementioned items you saved means more $$$ to spend on gunz.
5- Treadmill motors are supposed to be great for running drill presses. Lotsa horses and variable speeds from slow to really slow. I just scavanged one and will let you know if it works.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A real quick link- www.micromark.com These guys are into model building. But, they have lotsa stuff us gunny types love. Take a peek!
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A lee die can be honed out by taking a strip of 120 gr paper and wraping it around a rod that'll allow it to fit in the die. Then start rolling it on your thigh. do 50 rolls then switch the rig end for end so the wear evens out. I opened a Lee .329 die to .331+ in 200 rolls. Finish off with finer paper if you want.
On a Lyman/RCBS die you could try the same thing, but they are reported to be much harder. Stillwell tool and ide used to open them Try a search here or Google.
Just a quick note on tools. You can get cheap tools (clamps, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, puches) at a variety of places. Wal Mart, TSC, the various industrial supply places like Enco, MSC. There's nothing wrong with cheap tools for many things. They can be welded, bent, brazed, ground, whatever into shapes or modified for what you need. You aren't sacrificing an heirloom tool, you're making do. No sin in that.
On a Lyman/RCBS die you could try the same thing, but they are reported to be much harder. Stillwell tool and ide used to open them Try a search here or Google.
Just a quick note on tools. You can get cheap tools (clamps, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, puches) at a variety of places. Wal Mart, TSC, the various industrial supply places like Enco, MSC. There's nothing wrong with cheap tools for many things. They can be welded, bent, brazed, ground, whatever into shapes or modified for what you need. You aren't sacrificing an heirloom tool, you're making do. No sin in that.
Mikey
New Member
Pardon my interruption...
Do yourself a favor and have at least one fixture in your "critical work" area outfitted with 5000K Natural Light tubes. It's easy to be cheap and use the ACME of fluorescent tubes, the Cool White 40 (or 32 these days), and that's okay for ambient lighting in the shop. Having the natural light available in your work area will assist in seeing detail that gets washed out with the CW or daylight tubes. I have these in a fixture directly above my lathe so I can see fine grain detail and fit of wooden pieces, and fit/finish details of metal. They're only about 10% more expensive than the CWs and make a huge difference for these tired eyes.
"Put a carpet remanent, short nap, down on your bench top when your taking that gun, chainsaw, carburetor, nuclear reactor apart."
I have a 3x6 metal bench, originally for working on computers, covered in this way. It's my sit-down, serious-work table. Like Bret said, little pieces don't fly as far, and if I drop a gun on it, it won't get marred, providing I miss one of the hunks of granite countertop scrap that reside there as well.
Good stuff in this thread. Again, pardon my interruption.
mike
----> BTW, SlippShodd from other forums... you can blame Brad.
Do yourself a favor and have at least one fixture in your "critical work" area outfitted with 5000K Natural Light tubes. It's easy to be cheap and use the ACME of fluorescent tubes, the Cool White 40 (or 32 these days), and that's okay for ambient lighting in the shop. Having the natural light available in your work area will assist in seeing detail that gets washed out with the CW or daylight tubes. I have these in a fixture directly above my lathe so I can see fine grain detail and fit of wooden pieces, and fit/finish details of metal. They're only about 10% more expensive than the CWs and make a huge difference for these tired eyes.
"Put a carpet remanent, short nap, down on your bench top when your taking that gun, chainsaw, carburetor, nuclear reactor apart."
I have a 3x6 metal bench, originally for working on computers, covered in this way. It's my sit-down, serious-work table. Like Bret said, little pieces don't fly as far, and if I drop a gun on it, it won't get marred, providing I miss one of the hunks of granite countertop scrap that reside there as well.
Good stuff in this thread. Again, pardon my interruption.
mike
----> BTW, SlippShodd from other forums... you can blame Brad.