Darth Lefty
Fri 12/29/06, 3:51PM
This is not a procedural thread but rather a collection of advice. Please add to it with your own experiences. Here's ten to start it off.
1. Always buy the best tools you can afford. The better ones cost more because they're worth more. You're less likely to round off a nut with a pro-grade crescent wrench than you are with a cheapie. This is not to say you have to pay ten bucks for an end wrench from the guy with the Snap-On van in his driveway. That wrench is worth its price if you can afford it; it will last until it is stolen or lost. You will torque apart any screw before you round it off or break the wrench. If you leave it in your backyard and hit it with the lawnmower, you will have to write off the lawnmower, and if you lose it in the dirt the archaeologists who find it in 2450AD will wonder at the state of metallurgy in the early 21st century. BUT, a wrench at a tenth the price at Home Depot will serve you nearly as well. However, a wrench from the $10 household tool kit from the aisle display at Wal-Mart is useless garbage.
No_Brakes23: One use for Harbor Frieght's Chinese junk is for modifed tools. If you need a slim wrench or some other modified tool, you can tweak, grind and cut the crappy wrench without feeling like you just ruined something good.
2. Exception to above: buy a very good and expensive set of Allen wrenches / hex keys / whatever. Cheap ones will wear out and round off under even marginal torque, and ruin the screw heads at the same time. The ones that come on a key ring should be thrown away without ever even attempting to use them.
3. Don't use air tools. Need a reason? Consider the state of your car's lugnuts. If you have mechanics work on your car, your lugnuts are marked and notched and otherwise nasty, and it's pretty common to get them stripped or cross-threaded, for which you get an apology from the kid who did it, and your car in the shop another day while they get you a new rotor. You're not going to do any better than that kid... he went to mechanic school after all.
DasTeufel: "Air tools" are pneumatic impact wrenches. Most fasteners don't need the power of a pneumatic impact wrench. If you need an impact, get an impact driver.
http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/images/impact.jpg
racinteach:BTW some air tolls are your friend, learn to use them correctly and you will be surprised how easy jobs become..however I do recommend you do not use them on bolts smaller then a 14mm head..and not to tighten anything on an MC unless you know how to set the torque ranges on the gun and the nut or bolt is smaller then 24mm.
4. The trick to starting a machine screw: hold the screw in position and turn it backwards until you feel it drop a little. Then righty tighty. No crossthreads or non-starters, ever!
Racinteach: -If you can't turn the nut or bolt by hand when starting it...something is not right....don't force it..... I hate retapping messed up threads... -
5. The old rule of thumb if you don't have a torque wrench is "quarter turn past finger tight". With a little experience you can do it by feel.
Monte: - My dad always taught me to turn it until you strip the threads, then back off half a turn. - {You're not helping. -ed}
6. If you do have a torque wrench remember to return it to zero when you put it away.
7. Always assume you're going to make a mess and have drip pans and rags and hand cleaner ready. A pair of coveralls is not a bad idea. Keep your work space clean, too. Grease and oil attract dirt and hair like mad.
8. Hand cleaner is harsh stuff and dries out your skin. If you have a big multi-day job that you have to clean your hands many times, to use the john or consult the Internet or eat or whatever, use some hand lotion once in a while.
9. Some people like gloves. They are good protection for sure. I think I lose some feel with them and don't use them, and suffer barked knuckles for my folly.
10. If you don't have the right tool for the job, consider buying the tool and putting off the repair until you have it. A week or two ago we had a guy asking about the security-pinned Torx bolt that holds the ignition lock to the top triple. He chose to grind out the pin and stick a screwdriver in the hole, an enormous hassle with big nasty cutting tools that destroyed the screw. The correct socket costs something like five bucks and can be delivered in a week or so. BUT, he did get it out. Again, it's up to you.
Grim:11. ALWAYS clean your tools. it may sound odd but its a very good thing to do. if you leave it dirty and greasy, the tool will have a better chance of rusting. also it just makes it easy to keep everything else clean...basically just good house-keeping habits. -
Racinteach:12. Get a telescoping magnet ....trust me you will need to have one of these around...you know to get the bolt that fell way in there between the swingarm and the engine case...don't ask me how I know of this spot...
Slowpoke:13. Three tools that I find very convenient:
1. Y handled 4-5-6 mm hex wrench that you can get at a bicycle shop (thanks Racinteach for this tip). Makes removing the seat very easy! Keep it easily accessible for the times that the battery terminals loosen.
2. 6" adjustible crescent wrench - also keep it easily accessible for the times that the naked's mirror bolts loosen.
3. 4mm hex socket or T handle wrench - makes it easy to prop up the gas tank.
14. 4 on the road things to carry - difference between an expensive tow or a long wait and a minor inconvenience:
1. Spare brake lever.
2. Spare clutch lever.
3. Tire patch kit.
4. Source of air to inflate your tires.
15. A good addition to your bike's tool kit is a pair of pliers - small household or large needle nose, or maybe even a small channel lock.
1. Always buy the best tools you can afford. The better ones cost more because they're worth more. You're less likely to round off a nut with a pro-grade crescent wrench than you are with a cheapie. This is not to say you have to pay ten bucks for an end wrench from the guy with the Snap-On van in his driveway. That wrench is worth its price if you can afford it; it will last until it is stolen or lost. You will torque apart any screw before you round it off or break the wrench. If you leave it in your backyard and hit it with the lawnmower, you will have to write off the lawnmower, and if you lose it in the dirt the archaeologists who find it in 2450AD will wonder at the state of metallurgy in the early 21st century. BUT, a wrench at a tenth the price at Home Depot will serve you nearly as well. However, a wrench from the $10 household tool kit from the aisle display at Wal-Mart is useless garbage.
No_Brakes23: One use for Harbor Frieght's Chinese junk is for modifed tools. If you need a slim wrench or some other modified tool, you can tweak, grind and cut the crappy wrench without feeling like you just ruined something good.
2. Exception to above: buy a very good and expensive set of Allen wrenches / hex keys / whatever. Cheap ones will wear out and round off under even marginal torque, and ruin the screw heads at the same time. The ones that come on a key ring should be thrown away without ever even attempting to use them.
3. Don't use air tools. Need a reason? Consider the state of your car's lugnuts. If you have mechanics work on your car, your lugnuts are marked and notched and otherwise nasty, and it's pretty common to get them stripped or cross-threaded, for which you get an apology from the kid who did it, and your car in the shop another day while they get you a new rotor. You're not going to do any better than that kid... he went to mechanic school after all.
DasTeufel: "Air tools" are pneumatic impact wrenches. Most fasteners don't need the power of a pneumatic impact wrench. If you need an impact, get an impact driver.
http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/images/impact.jpg
racinteach:BTW some air tolls are your friend, learn to use them correctly and you will be surprised how easy jobs become..however I do recommend you do not use them on bolts smaller then a 14mm head..and not to tighten anything on an MC unless you know how to set the torque ranges on the gun and the nut or bolt is smaller then 24mm.
4. The trick to starting a machine screw: hold the screw in position and turn it backwards until you feel it drop a little. Then righty tighty. No crossthreads or non-starters, ever!
Racinteach: -If you can't turn the nut or bolt by hand when starting it...something is not right....don't force it..... I hate retapping messed up threads... -
5. The old rule of thumb if you don't have a torque wrench is "quarter turn past finger tight". With a little experience you can do it by feel.
Monte: - My dad always taught me to turn it until you strip the threads, then back off half a turn. - {You're not helping. -ed}
6. If you do have a torque wrench remember to return it to zero when you put it away.
7. Always assume you're going to make a mess and have drip pans and rags and hand cleaner ready. A pair of coveralls is not a bad idea. Keep your work space clean, too. Grease and oil attract dirt and hair like mad.
8. Hand cleaner is harsh stuff and dries out your skin. If you have a big multi-day job that you have to clean your hands many times, to use the john or consult the Internet or eat or whatever, use some hand lotion once in a while.
9. Some people like gloves. They are good protection for sure. I think I lose some feel with them and don't use them, and suffer barked knuckles for my folly.
10. If you don't have the right tool for the job, consider buying the tool and putting off the repair until you have it. A week or two ago we had a guy asking about the security-pinned Torx bolt that holds the ignition lock to the top triple. He chose to grind out the pin and stick a screwdriver in the hole, an enormous hassle with big nasty cutting tools that destroyed the screw. The correct socket costs something like five bucks and can be delivered in a week or so. BUT, he did get it out. Again, it's up to you.
Grim:11. ALWAYS clean your tools. it may sound odd but its a very good thing to do. if you leave it dirty and greasy, the tool will have a better chance of rusting. also it just makes it easy to keep everything else clean...basically just good house-keeping habits. -
Racinteach:12. Get a telescoping magnet ....trust me you will need to have one of these around...you know to get the bolt that fell way in there between the swingarm and the engine case...don't ask me how I know of this spot...
Slowpoke:13. Three tools that I find very convenient:
1. Y handled 4-5-6 mm hex wrench that you can get at a bicycle shop (thanks Racinteach for this tip). Makes removing the seat very easy! Keep it easily accessible for the times that the battery terminals loosen.
2. 6" adjustible crescent wrench - also keep it easily accessible for the times that the naked's mirror bolts loosen.
3. 4mm hex socket or T handle wrench - makes it easy to prop up the gas tank.
14. 4 on the road things to carry - difference between an expensive tow or a long wait and a minor inconvenience:
1. Spare brake lever.
2. Spare clutch lever.
3. Tire patch kit.
4. Source of air to inflate your tires.
15. A good addition to your bike's tool kit is a pair of pliers - small household or large needle nose, or maybe even a small channel lock.