Fun Stuff

EDITOR NOTE: This is a reprint of a series entitled Just the Tip authored by Thomas Brobst. His ‘make-do-with-what-you-got’ and ingenuity makes for interesting reading and maybe help a poor soul out of a perplexing repair. See if you agree with me this is fun reading.

Just the Tip
Tip #4

Hello, crazy MG and LBC people and welcome to the fourth in a series of my column, Just the Tip, chronicling useful tips for the garage, workshop and home from myself and you, my dedicated and emotionally disturbed fans. This month’s tip is a simple but highly useful one. And it only takes a dollop of waterless hand cleaner (WHC) which any decent hack mechanic already has on his utility sink. Personally, I like the GoJo brand but the Permatex brand that I have at the moment works just as well. (Caution: Don’t use the pumice stuff, only the pumice free type will work) This is a tip I learned many years ago from an electrician I was working with at my first real engineering job. He was installing a boatload of wiring and electrical equipment related to my project. One day I noticed him doing something a bit out of the ordinary (no, not THAT!) He was slathering a bundle of electrical wiring with hand cleaner. I mean, he was really slopping it all over the first few first few feet of a long bundle. Curiosity got the better of me so I asked, “Dude, WTF? Are the wires dirty or something?”. “No”, he replied with a gleam in his eye. He explained that he was lubricating the wires prior to pulling them thru steel conduit. “Shut Up!”, I said. “Really?” Well, Dear Readers, it turns out that waterless hand cleaner is a really great lubricant that’s perfect whenever you have two things, typically male-and-female-ish shapes, one of which is usually rubber or vinyl, and that don’t normally want to slide together easily due to a tight fit and/or high coefficients of friction! You just slop the WHC all over both pieces to be assembled, inside and out, then give them a push and…. Schwoooop!...they’re together! And since WHC is water-based it’s easy to clean-up, afterward, with a rag or paper towel. And, in any areas where you can’t reach it will quickly evaporate, unlike an oil based lubricant, so that the final assembly is tight and firm and will not come apart due to left-over lubricant. Since that fateful day, I have used WHC for things like installing bicycle hand grips, pushing wires and cables thru panel grommets, installing strain reliefs on cables and pushing radiator hoses onto tight hose nipples. It is remarkable how well it works. And, as I mentioned, clean up is a snap. So, there it is. Another elegant solution! Hah!

And now, lucky readers, we have a special treat! This is the very first tip submitted by a JtT reader, in this case our very own Marty Chamberlain. It’s a doozy too, folks. An Anti-Gravity Lift! Whoa! I’m not sure if really fits the spirit of the column because I imagine many of us might lack the skills to duplicate this as it requires either a solid grasp of quantum physics, a lot of liquid helium and a super-conducting magnet or a strong personal ability in telekinesis; the last of which I believe Marty possesses...lucky dog. I have to admit I’m really envious of Marty’s unobstructed access to the underside of his car. I think I’ll go throw stones at my old hydraulic lift! Apparently, he’s applied for protection from the US Patent Office, but, personally, I think he’d do better with a KickStarter crowd-sourcing venture on this one. Thanks, Marty for your great submission! Maybe you can steer our readers to some reading material on developing the necessary skills to actually levitate their own car. Or maybe you could offer some training yourself? Just to our club members, of course. Definitely need to include your garage in the next club Garage Tour! A little word of caution to your better half, MaryBeth… please don’t distract Marty when he’s in the garage. If he loses his telekinetic concentration while he’s under the car….uh-oh! 

Till next time, folks! And please don’t be shy. If you have any workshop or household tips that you’d like to share send them to me at thomas.brobst@gmail.com or to our esteemed editor Greg Prehodka at MGracer53@aol.com.

Safety Fast! (Haha….that always cracks me up!

~~ Tom Brobst