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The "What Did You Work On Today" thread

3M views 36K replies 388 participants last post by  cerial 
#1 ·
4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.
 
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#6,982 ·
Got the spaghetti sorted out on the ancient Honda bike (After finding that most of the bike is actually Alternating Current! :confused:)

Now every single thing works on it!! (and on a 50 year old bike, the only parts I actually needed were bulbs!) :thumbup:

It was the thing about having the AC parts wired as if they were DC that was blowing the bulbs! (and my brain!)
 
#6,983 ·
Well, yesterday I thought I might luck out on my dash and only have to repair the black areas and re-clear but further inspection today showed a crack that of course is in the orange. So, looks like a complete redo is in order.
I set the dash in the car anyway to see what should have been this weekend:(
I also installed the carpet.



Ed
 
#6,984 ·
Got the spaghetti sorted out on the ancient Honda bike (After finding that most of the bike is actually Alternating Current! :confused:)

Now every single thing works on it!! (and on a 50 year old bike, the only parts I actually needed were bulbs!) :thumbup:

It was the thing about having the AC parts wired as if they were DC that was blowing the bulbs! (and my brain!)
I'll be, AC current. I had a friend that had a couple of those old 50s back around 1970. We beat the snot out of those bikes, virtually indestructible.
 
#6,985 ·
I wanted to share this with you guys. When I installed the carpet in the rambler this weekend I wasn't sure how I was going to cut one piece and have it fit perfectly around the roll bar tubes. So I bought this mesh material at the upholstery shop and it worked fantastic to make patterns because you can see through it and mark and cut as needed.
Then I just placed the pattern on the backside of the carpet, traced around it with white chalk, cut and glue the carpet to the dynaliner foam already on the floor.
It actually looks better in person than the pictures.



Ed
 
#6,986 ·
I need to get my butt in gear and get this hooked up.
I bought this lathe a couple months ago and have to fix a few things on it and get a larger phase converted so I can run it.
With all this stuff plus my car in this two car garage I can't afford to put on weight, wont be able to get around things:D
 
#6,987 ·
for my bead roller I went to the hardware store and picked up some shim washers that fit the shaft where the dies go on. that way you can get different shapes from the same dies. like the step dies will give a less crisp edge over a wider area if that is what you are after. just pick up some scrap at the scrap dealer or use an old fridge door to practice on. I also made up a new die from a grade 8 washer and ahub for a weld on sprocket. welded the washer on where the sprocket should go, then spun the whole thing in the drill press and took the edge off the washer with a file to get a contour for a tipping die. use a skate board wheel under it or the flat part of the step die. just goof around till you get what you want.
have fun and check the clock every once in awhile, otherwise you come in the house and everybody else has gone to bed long time before.
haha
dennis
the stepping dies are awesome and have already planned on getting washers! I have a weird issue with the shafts though. Is this normal? The bolt doesn't even hold the bottom die on there. Seems like a defect but not sure.
 

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#6,988 ·
the stepping dies are awesome and have already planned on getting washers! I have a weird issue with the shafts though. Is this normal? The bolt doesn't even hold the bottom die on there. Seems like a defect but not sure.
Looks like you need a good assortment of spacers.
 
#6,989 ·
on the shafts where the stepped areas are(where the dies rest) it seems like they have to be even in order for the gaps to be even on the female bead dies to the male dies. So I think I got that part right but the shaft ends seem too long. Are they supposed to be the same length as the upper?
 
#6,990 ·
Bad luck weekend was right. I got my hinges re drilled for the new pins and stopped work today. Everything I looked at went sour. Lost my door remote for the garage, made 3 trips for wiper blades after one blew off the coly. The third trip i just changed it in the parking lot. I should have done that the first trip. My primer inside my doors flashed off 16 hours late in the middle of the night.
 

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#6,991 ·
on the shafts where the stepped areas are(where the dies rest) it seems like they have to be even in order for the gaps to be even on the female bead dies to the male dies. So I think I got that part right but the shaft ends seem too long. Are they supposed to be the same length as the upper?
Is there any adjustment in them at the rear? Maybe the bottom can slide back somehow?
If so, then you would add more spacers behind the die.

If not, say the heck with it, and add some spacers in front of the die so you can tighten the bolt.
 
#6,992 ·
Like dsraven, I bought some 1/16 in shims from my local Ace Hardware. They were 45 cents a piece and can be placed in front or behind the dies to get exactly the spacing you need. EZ fix and opens up other possibilities for the profiles you can make.

My shafts are 22 mm but 7/8 shims work perfectly.

John
 
#6,993 ·
if you bought an el cheapo deluxe roller like i did you will need to go through all the set screws on the gears etc to make sure they are all tight. that is when i set the spacing on my roller so the shafts line up on the inboard end. if the shafts are a little too long the add some spacers but at least the inboard part is the same so the dies are centred on themselves. do yourself a favour and add the little spring to help lift the shafts up when you relieve the pressure, it just makes life easier if you are doing it all by yourself like me. i used a spring from the hardware store, a valve spring retainer from a motorcycle on the top then adjust it as required for tension.
 
#6,995 ·
if you bought an el cheapo deluxe roller like i did you will need to go through all the set screws on the gears etc to make sure they are all tight. that is when i set the spacing on my roller so the shafts line up on the inboard end. if the shafts are a little too long the add some spacers but at least the inboard part is the same so the dies are centred on themselves. do yourself a favour and add the little spring to help lift the shafts up when you relieve the pressure, it just makes life easier if you are doing it all by yourself like me. i used a spring from the hardware store, a valve spring retainer from a motorcycle on the top then adjust it as required for tension.
Also take a few minutes and drill the bearing blocks and install some zerk fittings. They will become gaulded in no time if you don't.

John
 
#6,998 ·
Well, yesterday I thought I might luck out on my dash and only have to repair the black areas and re-clear but further inspection today showed a crack that of course is in the orange. So, looks like a complete redo is in order.
I set the dash in the car anyway to see what should have been this weekend:(
I also installed the carpet.



Ed
still, it looks fantastic
 
#6,999 ·
hey, tech69, i just thought of something. check the shaft on the roller to make sure it didn't get installed backwards. maybe if you swap it end for end the machined area will be the same length as the other one and will match up. I think mine had more area machined on the end where the gears are. is yours a powered model or hand crank? crank is good for control but it sure is nice to have power if you work alone. it is hard to control the sheet and crank the handle at the same time. that is why i powered mine with a drill.
 
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