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 #8

Hello, again, MG people, British car people and readers of all flavors. Welcome to another episode of Just the Tip (cue the soap opera organ). Previously on JtT we saw how our intrepid hero made a useful tool by cutting a bolt in half. This week he will show you how to make something useful by cutting a nut in half. Who knows what he’ll cut in half next week….maybe a woman? Either way, his band saw will get a lot of use.

Over the few weeks I’ve been putting my engine back together. Are you aware of all the studs that need to be removed and installed when rebuilding an engine? There are 11 studs that attach the head to the block, six for the intake/exhaust manifold, three more for the thermostat housing, four for the rocker shaft assembly,...studs everywhere!! They can be a pain to remove without damaging them. And even after they are removed and cleaned and the associated tapped holes are all cleaned out the studs still don’t always go back in with just finger pressure like I wish. So….what to do? Yes, you could go buy a stud remover/installer. I know. But that’s too easy. And I’d be concerned about thread damage when removing really tight or corroded studs. So, what this camper did is take an appropriately sized nut and….come on, all together now…. cut it in half! That’s right! Now I can nestle the two halves onto the threads of the stud and clamp them tightly with a vise- grip and ...voila!...I can turn the tightest stud with ease. It makes an incredibly tight grip and does absolutely no damage to the threads. In fact, I’ve used the same method to actually restore damaged threads. Just loosen up on the vise-grip pressure a bit and turn the half-nut set around the threads of a bolt or stud a few times to restore the damaged area. Works great! Check out the pics. One pic shows two sets of half-nuts I made for my MG, 5/16-24 and 3/8-24. I even color coded them! The other shows one set in action. Give it a try!

That’s it for this episode of Just the Tip. Feel free to share some of your garage...or household...tips. I would love to hear from you. thomas.brobst@gmail.com

~~ Tom Brobst