The Heath Robinson / Bodging Tool And Technique Thread

I made this at the tender age of 15 to find TDC on my then beast of a bike the mighty NSU Quickly
Made from copper 22mm pipe over a hollowed out spark plug using a brass ‘depth gauge’ held together by a formed piece of carpet to Lino plate
Necessity and being skint really is the mother of invention.

Worked well.

 

The ultimate bodge tools are always cable ties and gaffa tape. Fix anything.

 

Ha ha, I’ve used footprints on chrome taps!!

Only once mind!

 

That’s ok then

 

Surely a dinner knife instead of a flat screwdriver is the most used ever?

 

Footprint make the best chisels ever, they have a lovely shallow taper that is perfect to use as a drift and they will take a huge amount of abuse

 

MiL god rest her, always swore by traditional spud peeler for Philips type screws in those annoying battery operated children’s toys.

 

I once used an 8 berth static caravan chassis instead of a woodruff key.

Does that need some additional explanation?

 

Family holiday in Devon when I was @12yrs old, staying in a static caravan right on the beach.

The boat engine had been serviced by a professional as Father had been working right up to the holiday.
The flywheel nut hadn’t been tightened up so sheared the Woodruff key holding the flywheel to the crankshaft.

A spare woodruff key was a trip all the way back to Exeter and there was diving to do that afternoon.

I was the only one small enough to crawl under the caravan with a hacksaw to reach the readily available source of steel about the right thickness.
1/2hr later with help from a file the new woodruff key had been shaped and the boat was back in action.

And a great excuse for me to post this image of my Father and his pride and joy which sets the scene with regard to the Caravan Beach scenario.

 

Heathen!

 

Awesome Nasher

You started diving young then.

 

^
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a Chrysler outboard before.

 

My dad inherited one with an old boat he bought, it was badly corroded and a none runner, only fit for a rough ground sea anchor. It is probably still somewhere in the North sea....

 

I once hollowed out a static caravan to use it as a boat work shop
I opened up and peeled back one end like a sardine tin to get my then GP13 in.
Not so much a bodged tool as shed.

 

Bit of blue roll in a bolt head to hold it on the socket/key when putting into tight spot….learnt that tonight

 

I've been known to use a very small drop of superglue to keep a nut on the end of my finger when trying to get it on the end of a bolt in an awkward place or down a deep hole.