The next installment from Steve Valentine.
IT’S TOOL TIME ONCE AGAIN
Already in the list of TOP TIGER TOOLS are:-
1. A Large Hammer
2. An Angle Grinder
3. A Very Good Set of Drill Bits.
4. A Pair of Engineers Dividers.
5. Propane Gas Heater.
6. Deburring Tool.
7. An Air Compressor & Air Tools
In the last instalment of ‘TOOL TIME’ I was encouraging you all to go out and spend the housekeeping on very necessary & expensive air tools. So for this month my Independent Financial Advisor (SWMBO) insists that I bring you all back down to Earth with a couple of ‘cheapies’.
Therefore, for the princely sum of £6.99 I give you:-
Tiger Tool No.8 – A Flexi Drill Sanding Drum.
I found one of these to be incredibly useful and versatile whilst making brackets and adjusting the ‘fit’ of various body parts.
As an alternative to a belt or disc sander, which would cost £60 - £160, this works just as well.
Mounted into an ordinary electric drill and used freehand it can be used to tidy up, or modify, the Tigers fibreglass mouldings. Due to its 6” diameter it tends to give a smoother finish to the edges without the ridged effect obtained from using small diameter ‘flap wheels’. I also used it to form the curved edges on my plywood dashboard template. In fact, by using different grades of sanding belt it can be used on fibreglass, wood and metal. I also found that by mounting my electric drill/sander combination in my bench vice I could use it to round off, and shape, the corners of brackets and spacers, like a slightly less aggressive grinder.
I got mine from SCREWFIX. Cat No.10387 (It’s gone up to £7.99 now!!) but I’m sure they can be found in your local DIY store or B&Q.
Tiger Tool No.9 - Multi-connector kit.
So now you’re all thinking, “What’s a Multi-connector kit?”
One of the most confusing areas of a kit build to most builders is the wiring loom; it’s also a major cause of breakdowns, and possibly fires, once you’ve got the kit on the road.
By making use of this brilliant little kit your wiring will be much more neat & tidy, easier to understand and a piece of cake to isolate or disconnect troublesome components.
Basically a Multi-connector kit is a set of easily assembled plug and socket kits that can be used to simplify the wiring and give that added touch of professionalism.
There are various types available which are suitable for high & low current applications and even a set that are waterproof. The set that I used was from Vehicle Wiring Products (vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk) and was their cheapest set at £27. This gave me a selection of 37 connectors with 6.3mm terminals, and crimp tool, that could be assembled into 1, 2, 3,4,6,8 & 11 way connectors which neatly plugged and latched together. Extra or replacement connectors are available singly at minimal cost, although the basic kit was sufficient for my build.
I put connectors on nearly all components with more than two wires. Once the detective work of identifying all the wires was done it was then easy to make up the plugs so that they were connected correctly each and every time without having to re-identify each wire. This has paid dividends when connecting up my ‘Bright Six’ which has 7 wires, and also the rear lights where it is easy to mix up brake & tail light wires. It has also been useful on the front indicators as they can be quickly unplugged so that the nose can be removed.
Steve
