Build your own tools?

I personally don't believe I have any tools I made myself in my possecion. I do however look for tools at bargain prices, but I've yet to make a tool, like a jig or something as of yet.

One night while straightening up my shelves, I found an old box of slot car equipment. The old (and I do mean old) lightbulb went on. Cut a piece of scrap white pine to 3/4 X 4-3/4. Mounted a 2-AA cell battery box to one end. Put an old well used slot-car motor in front of it held in place with rubberbands. Made a bearing block out of scrap plastic. A 2-1/2 in. piece of 3/16 in O.D. brass tubing(from a slot-car frame) with one end twisted at 90 degrees held on to the motor shaft with a piece of electric cord insulation and I had a paint mixer. Works great in all sizes of paints that I use. Mix the paint then spin it in either water or thinner, depending what you use. Total cost = 0. Total time to make = 15 minutes. Been using it for quite a few years now.

Jim 

One night while straightening up my shelves, I found an old box of slot car equipment. The old (and I do mean old) lightbulb went on. Cut a piece of scrap white pine to 3/4 X 4-3/4. Mounted a 2-AA cell battery box to one end. Put an old well used slot-car motor in front of it held in place with rubberbands. Made a bearing block out of scrap plastic. A 2-1/2 in. piece of 3/16 in O.D. brass tubing(from a slot-car frame) with one end twisted at 90 degrees held on to the motor shaft with a piece of electric cord insulation and I had a paint mixer. Works great in all sizes of paints that I use. Mix the paint then spin it in either water or thinner, depending what you use. Total cost = 0. Total time to make = 15 minutes. Been using it for quite a few years now.

Jim

Whoops. Almost forgot. Screwed a small slide switch to the side of the wood and wired up. 

I haven't personally done this (yet) but a few people have taken the cheap electric tooth brushes with the spinning tip, removed all the bristles and used double stick tape to add a piece of sand paper to the end for a seam sander.

 

Eric... 

I recently completed a rope walk. This is a device that can take the pain out of making rope in scale for boats, and ship rigging. The design is base on a product sold by modelexpo-online.com. I was going to buy the actual device but they were out of stock. I studied their design carefully and I think I made a pretty good facsimilie of the machine. Mine has the advantage of being able to use a battery operated screw gun to ease the process. I have made several diameters of "rope" including a 3 and 6 strand rope.

 

Dremmel Speed Control for $6.00

Scrounged old 6 ft. extension cord + PVC electrical box + Dimmer Switch = infinitely adjustable speed control for dremmel tool. Instead of an uncontrollable 28000 RPM I can adjust to my needs for intracate carving and modifications.

I used a single pole dimmer switch. Wiring it up was very easy, and now I have a valuable addition to my tool kit.

Brian

Division 6 wrote:

I haven't personally done this (yet) but a few people have taken the cheap electric tooth brushes with the spinning tip, removed all the bristles and used double stick tape to add a piece of sand paper to the end for a seam sander.   Eric...

I have done that, it works ok but changing the sanding pad is a bit of a chore.

 Another simple modification that I did was making a paint stirrer from a capocinno mixer. I have cut of the spiral (I do not want my paint in a nice thick frot..) and bypased one of the batteries so it works half speed (using only one battery)

 

It's not much but I have a favorite glue applicator (super glue or liquid what ever).  I forget where I read about it but here it is explained.  Take a sewing needle and very carefully cut just the rear end off.  This would be the end with the eye.  This leaves a very small two pronged fork.  I then heat the sharp end with a candle etc. and melt it into a long piece of sprue (for the handle).  I love using it.  When it gets clogged with super glue you can just put it in a flame for a few seconds and it will burn off the super glue.

 

Grizz 

grizz30_06 make sure you have plenty of ventilation when you burn off the glue whatever kind it may be. All glues that we tend to use can be very toxic when burned, even very small amounts. Safety first and foremost. Be careful.

Jim

Spray booth

 

Bench hook for cutting stuff

 

2 printed circut boards with metal pins and wood wedges to clamp any kind of really odd shape.

 

A piece of a saw blade to scratch, rip or make wood grain.

 

A piece of paino wire sharpend to a pyramid shape on the end for scribbing and cutting.

 

A nail pusher-er-iner.

 

A suggestion for those of you that are contemplating making a sanding tool out of an battery powered toothbrush.  Use Velcro to attach the sand paper to the toothbrush. I found some small (1/2" dia) Velcro circles at my local lumber yard (hardware stores carry them to) in packs.  I glued the loop (the fine material) to the toothbrush head w/contact cement (Goodyear Pliobond) and then trimmed it so it was the same size as the head.  I then took several of the Hook sides of the Velcro and trimmed them so they were a little bigger than the loop material.  Those were attached to several different grades of wet/dry sandpaper that had been previously trimmed to fit.  Changing the sandpaper now isn't the hassle it was before (plus it gives the sandpaper a cushioned surface).

I build a lot of jigs..  Here's the drawing for one I use to build my own seat harness hardware.

Sorry about the crudeness, but I'm no draftsman, lol...

I don't sweat any crudeness though, since I can make one in about 5 minute or less, and it only has to hold together long enough to make a half-dozen or so parts..

Instead of buying a file brush/ cleaner ... I took an old barrel brush from a cleaning kit I had, one with a threaded end on it, and screwed it into a drilled end of a wooden dowel. Small and just the right size to clean out my files after sanding.

I've also used the sewing needle placed in a dowel (mentioned above) IOT place glue.

Being a sculptor to earn my bread I often make my own tools, store bought sculpting tools take you just so far, plus they are quite costly. As for modeling I sometimes need precision in forming or shaping I cannot do by hand. I have a jig for my Tiger 1 that holds some 25 track links used w/ varing width strips guide a saw blade to cut grooves on the tracks cleats. I make dozens of sanding sticks w/ custom profiles, some w/ a layer of sheet craft foam which I then trim w/ razors yielding a curved c/s, rolling, twisting and folding  paper into various shapes. A cut off wheel in a dremel to take off bits of razor saw, sort of a tiny key hole saw, when chucked in a x-acto handle. Making new spinners for my A/C conversions, would be nearly impossible on the lathe if I just turned hand wheels, so I grind a profiling tool out of 1/8" steel stick it in the head and jamb it into a piece of spinning "Delren"and I have a buck for my home built Vac-u- former, presto a perfectly formed spinner. I guess I'm lucky, I enjoy making my own tools almost as much as I do making models.  Oh almost forgot, tightly folded sand paper clamped in a hemostat for those real hard to get at places.