1) Cleaning parts: When I need to degrease a part or get the part completely oil free, I like to clean the parts with acetone or lacquer thinner. These two cleaners do an excellent job of cleaning parts (acetone works better for degreasing, lacquer thinner is better for removing tape goo, paint and stubborn inks). The problem with using these cleaners is that they evaporate faster than my 401k did. Because of this fact, it is hard to use them in any kind of container that will hold numerous, smaller parts. A cheap and easy fix is to take an empty 3 lb coffee can with a plastic lid and use it for storing your acetone and cleaning your small parts. If you leave the lid on, the acetone will last for several days.

2) The wood butcher: I don't enjoy working with wood, but sometimes you just can't avoid it, so I have decided to add one spiffy little wood working quick hit that I guarantee you will use someday. When a wood screw pulls out of the wooden part that it is threaded into (door hinge, pull handle on a drawer or any other type of wooden nuisance) you have an instantaneous wood working job that has to be taken care of. Try this little trick - fill the stripped out hole with round toothpicks and break them off at the surface (these act like little wooden heli-coils). Once the hole is filled with toothpicks, you can re-thread your screw into the damaged hole. No glue is necessary.

3) Part marking: When I need to identify parts for my own reference (dimensions, numerical order, part number, etc.) and then remove that part number before shipping to the customer, I usually use a magic marker or a sharpie pen. However, sometimes the parts are black (black oxide, black nylatron, black powder coat, etc.) A simple fix is to use a red magic marker. It doesn't create the perfect contrast but it is fairly easy to read and comes off just like regular black magic marker.

4) The difference between magnesium and aluminum: Sometimes a customer will bring in a casting that looks like aluminum but it could be magnesium. These two materials look alike but they are totally different. We all know what magesium can do if it is not processed correctly. To identify whether or not the part is magnesium I will take a piece of paper and fold it down the middle and then flatten it out so that it has a shallow crease in it. Then I will put a file to the casting and file off some material onto the paper. Fold the paper into a vee and let the material fall into the bottom of the vee. I then light a match or a candle and gently tap the filings off the paper and onto the lit flame. If you see miniature fireworks, the material is magnesium. If not, it is probably aluminum.

Click back arrow on your tool bar to return to Helpful Hints page.