It's a sure bet that all of us home hobbyists have come across a few neat homemade tools or ideas that facilitate our fabrication and/or assembly chores. Some are simple, some a bit more complex. Some are fashioned out of leftover scraps, and some from any combination of said scraps and existing tools. No matter what the component's original source, it's amazing how we car guys can fashion helpful gizmos out of odds and ends.
That said, we're gonna take a look at a couple of handy items I've made out of some leftover angle iron that actually get quite a bit of use in my own home shop. They're simple to fabricate and simple to use--and the best part is they cost only a few minutes to slap together but save lots of time and make fabrication chores a lot easier.
With this in mind, let's go ahead and take a look at my simple gizmo's.
Have you come up with a time- or aggravation-saving gizmo of your own? If so, drop me a line along with some images, and we'll start sharing them with the rest of our readers. I think it'd be both fun and informative for all. So, if you're so inclined, share your ideas with us by sending them to jim.rizzo2@sorc.com. We'll make sure everyone knows where they came from--and who knows, maybe there will be a bit of STREET RODDER swag in it for ya, as well. ...
I told ya they were simple...
I told ya they were simple tools. This one I whipped together as a jig for tubing and/or rod so I could weld them together and keep 'em straight as I did so.
Starting out with a length...
Starting out with a length of 1 3/4-inch angle iron, I measured out and cut myself a couple of 2 1/2-inch sections and an 8-inch section.
I used a couple of my magnetic...
I used a couple of my magnetic angles to hold the pieces point-to-point in order to attach the shorter two sections to the long section.
It was a bit tricky and took...
It was a bit tricky and took a rather light touch to make sure the three pieces were located correctly, but once in place I quickly tacked 'em together with my trusty HTP-160 MIG.
I then dove into my stash...
I then dove into my stash of C-clamps and chose a few 3-inch ones (I always keep dozens of C-clamps of various sizes on hand). I then trimmed off the bottom face of the clamps as shown here, and then welded one each to the outer surface of each short section of angle.
After the pieces were tacked...
After the pieces were tacked in place, I then took a length of 2-inch tubing and placed it into the cradle formed by the two short lengths of angle iron and snugged it up in the vice...
...This not only held the...
...This not only held the pieces tight for welding, but seating the tubing into the V's ensured that everything lined up perfectly as it was finish welded.
This is what I came up with...
This is what I came up with after about 15 minutes of fabrication. The jig holds tubing up to 3 inches in diameter, and the clamps secure the tubing in place so they can be butt-welded together with ease and accuracy.
The next item is a drill jig...
The next item is a drill jig that allows me to drill perfectly aligned holes in tubing and/or bar stock. It is very similar to the tubing jig shown above, yet it helps perform a different task. I also went about attaching the angle iron point-to-point in a different manner this time. Here I used a third piece of angle iron and my vice to align and hold the pieces square. The blackened edges shown here are the pieces to be attached and the unmarked piece is the one used for alignment.
With the angle iron welded...
With the angle iron welded together point-to-point, I then set it up on the drill press to drill out a relief hole in the center of the jig.
I gradually opened up the...
I gradually opened up the hole to 3/4-inch...
...The relief hole allows...
...The relief hole allows me to drill through the subject without the bit contacting anything but the item being drilled.
I then attached a trimmed...
I then attached a trimmed C-clamp to this jig as well.
Here you can see the jig in...
Here you can see the jig in action. The clamp holds the subject tubing in place, making sure that the piece doesn't move and that the hole is drilled perfectly perpendicular.
See, I told you this was simple...
See, I told you this was simple stuff. An hour of time and a bit of scrap and inexpensive C-clamps resulted in a couple of tools that are handy as heck and end up making some of my fabrication chores easier and faster. I'll be showing you more simple and helpful tools from my home shop in the future, but I'd still love to share your ideas with the world as well, so get out the old digital camera and share and share alike. It'll be fun and mutually rewarding for us all.