Favorite tools

[Rivetboy]

During the long and winding road of bus conversion, I have had a lot of success and failures with different tools. Some of my favorites are disc grinders, preferably more than one, with a slitting wheel and a grinding wheel perhaps a flap wheel, they are so cheap I have a stable of them. And the good old air over hydraulic 20 ton jack from HF.

How about you? Favorite Bus tools?
How about good old farmboy improvisations?

 

[Nawbdy]

Diablo metal blade in a circular saw.

Angle grinder.

Believe it or not, ratchet straps. I've used them several times so far in my conversion.

Beer.

 

[musigenesis]

Diablo metal blade in a circular saw.

Angle grinder.

A Diablo in an angle grinder (instead of a zip wheel) is also a good thing, at least from a safety standpoint. It makes a thicker cut than a zip and is slower, but it's impossible for the disk to break and very difficult for it to catch, so I feel much more comfortable using it for demolition. It also lasts a lot longer so you don't have to be changing blades all the time.

 

[rossvtaylor]

There are so many necessary tools...and I think I shared several in a similar thread not too long ago...but another one comes to mind, because I was just talking about it today.

If you need to remove any vinyl lettering or reflective tape, the Whizzy Wheel is the bees knees. They do make a mess, and you'll end up looking like you got frosted in a snow globe, but they'll remove even the most difficult heat-resistant multi-layered vinyl without marring the paint. Get two, because they do wear down.

 

[Kevmiami]

Wow! The whizzy wheel looks amazing. Ty!!

 

[Lee Savoy]

rosstaylor recommended a torque multiplier and after buying and using one, I do too. I think not only for the build and addressing tire and axle issues but I'm going to make a place for one permanently on our bus.


https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Heavy-To...&qid=1616020791&sprefix=torque,aps,204&sr=8-7


As far as farmboy improvisations so far, I use wheel barrow handles to manipulate the tires. That count? :biggrin:

 

[o1marc]

rosstaylor recommended a torque multiplier and after buying and using one, I do too. I think not only for the build and addressing tire and axle issues but I'm going to make a place for one permanently on our bus.


https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Heavy-To...&qid=1616020791&sprefix=torque,aps,204&sr=8-7


As far as farmboy improvisations so far, I use wheel barrow handles to manipulate the tires. That count? :biggrin:

I have a multiplier and still can't budge them nuts.

 

[Lee Savoy]

If you need to remove any vinyl lettering or reflective tape, the Whizzy Wheel is the bees knees.

I had planned to get one for the vinyl stickers on our bus, but will they also work for those super heavy reflective strips? They run full length down the sides and all the way around the back of our bus. I was assuming I was going to go after them with an oscillating tool with a scraper blade and probably gouge to the metal in places.


By the way an oscillating tool is another must have for bus building in my book.

 

[Lee Savoy]

I have a multiplier and still can't budge them nuts.

I had the same problem then realized I was working with left hand threads. Once I went the other way, they came right off.

 

[o1marc]

I had the same problem then realized I was working with left hand threads. Once I went the other way, they came right off.

Gosh, I hope that isn't why they wouldn't budge. if it is, I won't tell you.

 

[Lee Savoy]

Gosh, I hope that isn't why they wouldn't budge. if it is, I won't tell you.

Watch this video, about 1:40 I record my embarrassment. Does this look like what's happening to you?



https://youtu.be/g2IIb2jgaQ0

 

[Bus'n it]

Love my Miller 215 welder and my Sunex Pneumatic air Rivet gun. Both are going to be stowed on the bus after the conversion! Will probably never need them again, but they are such faithful tools and deserve to go for a ride

 

[rossvtaylor]

I had planned to get one for the vinyl stickers on our bus, but will they also work for those super heavy reflective strips? They run full length down the sides and all the way around the back of our bus.

Yes, they'll work for those...in fact, that's how I found out about Whizzy Wheels. I've always used a heat gun and scraper, but we bought a used ambulance about 6 years ago which had two layers of old, sun hardened reflective tape. Heat didn't touch that stuff! It took me 5 Whizzy Wheels to remove all the tape from that big ambulance. The stripes were about 6 inches wide, double thick, and they wrapped all the way around the sides and back...plus another strip angled up to the rear corners. The Whizzy Wheels took that all of and left the paint in perfect shape.

 

[Tejon7]

It's not a tool exactly, but I've recently discovered and fallen in love with Type F thread cutting screws:

Just drill a pilot hole and zip these things in with an impact driver. The #12 size uses a 3/16" pilot hole, which is also conveniently my go-to rivet size.

Second on the rubber eraser wheel, pneumatic rivet gun, and beer.

 

[Rwnielsen]

I seriously thinking about getting a welder for brackets and such. I haven't really narrowed it down yet. I did buy a torque multiplier, 4800:1. Never used it but it's there if I need it. I've always been a tool junkie so self control is essential

 

[Tejon7]

I seriously thinking about getting a welder for brackets and such. I haven't really narrowed it down yet. I did buy a torque multiplier, 4800:1. Never used it but it's there if I need it. I've always been a tool junkie so self control is essential

Be careful... I'm also a tool junkie. I bought one of those cheap Titanium flux welders from Harbor Freight and I can see myself upgrading soon. But, I'll probably keep the Titanium since it's tiny, portable, and honestly pretty decent. That means I'll probably end up with a whole fleet of welders instead of just buying a decent all-around machine the first time!

 

[Rivetboy]

Self control Yup Thats not cutting your fingers off just like gun control is hitting the target.
Have a Milwaukee deep throat and a regular throat bandsaw been using for decades. Am so looking forward to this building things with this saw WOO

 

[Rivetboy]

Hey Joe, how about the picture? It is a JET metal/wood cutting 1 HP 115/230 volt 14 inch Bandsaw.

 

[Simplicity-SKO]

My favorite tool was given to me by a friend who was frustrated with what I called a flashlight. Hey, it said Eveready on it.

It's a USB rechargeable LED that folds 180 degrees, has a 6" blade filled with diodes and a light on the end of the blade for sticking in skinny spots. Best of all, a really good magnet on the other end. Super bright!

No matter what tool you have, can't use it without good lighting!

Probably next is my Milwaukee deep throat portable band saw.

Third. A hammer. It doesn't always fix things, but it sure does a good job of smashing em'.

 

[Rivetboy]

My favorite tool was given to me by a friend who was frustrated with what I called a flashlight. Hey, it said Eveready on it.

It's a USB rechargeable LED that folds 180 degrees, has a 6" blade filled with diodes and a light on the end of the blade for sticking in skinny spots. Best of all, a really good magnet on the other end. Super bright!

No matter what tool you have, can't use it without good lighting!

Probably next is my Milwaukee deep throat portable band saw.

Third. A hammer. It doesn't always fix things, but it sure does a good job of smashing em'.

Is this it ? https://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-74850-Switchblade-Rechargeable-Multi-Function/dp/B084SWJJCZ