157 replies to this topic

[Moosetales]

So, here's what we have thus far. Please keep the suggestions coming....I know the list isn't complete yet. If you have suggestions for alternative ways to break things down or think a tool should be in an alternative section feel free to let me know.

 

Mainstays

 

• Duct tape
• A warm dry place to work with lots of light
• Sharpie—assorted colors
• Zip ties—assorted sizes
• Razor blades—for scraping or cutting
• Knife—pocket, fixed blade or razor knife (a good one will hold an edge and is easily sharpened)
• Telescopic Magnet - removing nuts and bolts that your arm or hand won't allow you to get to
• Ziploc bags—assorted sizes are great when you need to keep parts together during a rebuild
• Plastic storage bins—for storing parts after disassembly
• Cardboard—for inserting bolts into for ease of painting
• Painters Masking Tape—for taping off areas that you don't want disturbed
• Big White Blanket—lay it under your work surface, so it's easy to find dropped nuts and bolts
• Magnetic parts tray
• Gas cans—1, 2.5 and 5 gallon tanks
• Turkey Baster—for helping to fill transmission while still attached to the tractor frame
• Scrub Brush—for cleaning tires
• Wire Brush—for cleaning paint overspray from original ties
• Small Paint Brushes—for miscellaneous touch ups
• Hemostats—they are the best clamps in the world
• Dentist picks—to work on carburetors, for removing O-rings, scraping paint from hard to reach places
• Magnifying glass
• Toothbrushes—for hard to reach places when cleaning parts
• Pry Bar 
• Full set of good quality Screw Drivers—WIHA brand, Cornwell brand or Bluepoint from Snap-on or Klein
• Radio
• Notepad & Pen/Pencil—writing part numbers down, taking notes, ect.

 

Hammers

 

• Dead blow hammer—HF has the orange ones and the heads are full of sand—great when you need the force but don't want to bang up your work.
• 2 lb. hammer—fiberglass handle and rubber grip
• 3 lb. “drill hammer”
• 5 lb. hammer

 

Tire “Rasslin”

 

• Bead breaker
• Tire spoon
• Valve stem tool
• Tire/ tube patch kit
• Bug sprayer filled with soapy water
• Angle grinder with flapper disc
• Tire slime

 

Heavy Lifting & Bracing

 

• Chain hoist
• Floor jack
• Axle stands

 

Lights, Camera, Action…

 

• LED Trouble/Work Light
• Digital camera
• Flashlight—flat bottom, swivel head, cordless, magnetic
• Headlamp

 

Wrenches, Grips & Clamps

 

• Vice Grips—assorted sizes
• Torque Wrench—for an engine rebuild these are a must have! (inch and foot pounds)
• Lineman’s pliers
• Wrench Set—metric & standard
• Socket Set—metric & standard
• Adjustable Wrench—assorted sizes
• C-Clamps—assorted sizes
• Pipe Clamps—assorted lengths
•  

 

Compressed Air

 

• Portable air tank 
• Air compressor
• Blow gun
• Air ratchet
• Impact driver
• Paint guns
• Air chisels
• Sanders
• Sand blaster
• Air jack
• Air Compressor
• 50 foot hose
• Blasting media—walnut shells, sand, black beauty, soda
• Air Die Grinder—cut off tool for removing stubborn bolts you don't want to use the flame wrench for

 

Cleaners, Lubricants & Polishers

 

• Shop Rags & Towels
• Scotch Brite pads/scuff pads—for scuffing surfaces before painting
• Magic Erasers—removes scuffs and stains from vinyl seats, and cleans chrome
• Rubbing Compound—removes oxidation from original paint surfaces
• Polishing Compound—brings back the shine of original paint and smoothes out the paint surface
• Simple Green—general cleaner and plastic restorer
• Maguire Car Wax and Cleaner—protective cover for tractor finish
• Bug and Tar Remover—for removing rust stains on chrome
• Easy Off Oven Cleaner—paint and grease remover
• Dawn Dishwashing Liquid—for removing greasy residue from freshly stripped parts, and as lubricant for tire installation
• Armor All—rubber, plastic, and wiring harness restorer
• Comet Powder—tire cleaning agent
• SOS Pads with the Pink Soap—aluminum cleaner
• WD-40—lubricant, chrome cleaner, and aluminum polisher
• Never-Dull—chrome, brass, copper, aluminum, and nickel polisher
• Mothers Chrome Cleaner
• Penetrating Oil—for ease in removing old rusted bolts and nuts
• Zip-Strip—paint remover/dissolver
• Acetone—for cleaning up overspray and for prepping surfaces to be painted
• 100% Mineral Spirits—for cleaning painted surfaces before applying another coat

 

Abrasives

 

• Steel Wool—assorted grades
• Sandpaper—assorted grits
• Emery cloth—a must for polishing shafts and cleaning parts
• General Purpose File Set & File Cleaning Brush

 

Adhesives

 

• J-B Weld—Cold Welding Compound and SteelStik
• Epoxy

 

Rust-Busters

 

• PB Blaster
• 50/50 acetone/ATF—homebrew rust buster
• Electrolysis tank—a 45gallon plastic drum makes a good sized one and isn't expensive

 

Electrical

 

• 12V test light
• In-line Spark checker
• Battery charger
• Multimeter
• Stranded wire—assorted colors, 12 or 14 gauge
• Combo crimper, cutter and stripper tool
• Assorted connectors in a plastic storage case—ring terminals, butt connectors, etc.
• Heat shrink wire wrap—assorted sizes
• Electrical tape

 

Specialty Tools

 

• Bearing separator
• Harmonic balancer puller
• Feeler gauges—for adjusting valve lash, points etc.
• Brass Drift punches—great for driving things like bearing races when you don't want to chance gouging or scratching the bore
• Bearing and seal driver kits
• Honing stones—to debur a surface or remove high spots from a gasket surface
• Tap and die set
• Snap ring pliers—Kastar 1434
• Calipers and Micrometers—digital set. These are rather important when doing a restore! Being a lot of these old GT's are hard to get parts for in many cases you will have to measure bearings, bushings and seal to find or make an alternative part
• Hydraulic Press
• Mechanic's Stethoscope—a long piece of wood or dowel to listen to the engine in different places and isolate the origin of those little bangs and knocks

 

Drills

 

• Drill Press
• Vice—for drill press
• Cordless Impact Driver
• Assorted Drill Bits—metal cutting and general purpose

 

Cutting, Grinding & Welding

 

• Plasma cutter
• Plastic welder
• Bench grinder
• Welder—helmet, gloves
• Oxy Acetyl Torch
• Angle grinder—assorted cutting blades and grinding wheels

 

Safety First

 

• Fire extinguisher
• Safety glasses
• Safety shield
• Respirator
• Mechanic’s Gloves
• Rubber gloves
• Band Aids—or a shop rag and duct tape…..or electrical tape

 

Storage

 

• Small and Large Storage Organizers—the various sized drawers come in handy for valve stem cores and caps, carb parts, miscellaneous electrical fittings, miscellaneous knobs, etc.
• Pegboard with hooks—aids in keeping parts up off the floor, on the wall and out of the way
• Tool storage—a good tool box on wheels is a real help for keeping things organized
• Coffee/Soup cans—for storing miscellaneous nuts and bolts, holding paint when touching up, cleaning parts

 

For those with a sense of humor

 

• 48 oz. cross pein hammer and some short 2x4 scraps can be a wonderful stress reliever
• Cold beer OR alternative for those youngsters amongst us
• A good list of excuses for explaining to your wife why you brought home another tractor
• A better list when that tractor doesn't even run
• Mad money & a great hiding spot for your money from your wife

Edited by Moosetales, January 12, 2013 - 08:11 AM.

[KennyP]

Some good C-clamps can be a help. Various sizes. Some times a good pipe clamp can help out too.

[Nato77]

How about a notepad for taking notes, writing part numbers down, ect...  A air die grinder/cut off tool for removing stuborn bolts you don't want use the flame wrench for. Some scotch brite pads/scuff pads for scuffing surfaces before painting. Maybe even some bandages (to keep the red stuff in and off your project) for the war wounds you get (I use electrical tape myself).

[Moosetales]

Nato & KennyP,

 

Both are great suggestions. Funny how we do this stuff everyday yet I found myself overlooking some of the more basic and well worn tools in my shop until I put some thought into it. Input has been added to the master  list.

[HDWildBill]

Since we are comprising this for the beginner and this is really good for any of us.  A camera to take pictures of how it is supposed to go back together.  Saved my butt a few times.

[coldone]

The racheting wrenches like Gear wrench. One of the most usefull wrenches ever invented. I prefer the ones with the ends that flops side to side.

[WNYTractorTinkerer]

That's a formidable list above..  Kinda looks like my garage's inventory above!!  Who would have thought  my tool inventory would become so large??  There's still a few items on my 'Wish list' that are included in your suggestions but it just may have to remain that way..  Time will tell..  

[New.Canadian.DB.Owner]

You need a good list of excuses for explaining to your wife why you brought home another tractor.

 

... and a good trailer with tie downs for getting them home ...

[pigsitter]

Some good small engine manuals would be a good addition.I've picked up a pretty good assortment by buying used manuals off ebay and amazon for not a lot of money

[boyscout862]

Some good small engine manuals would be a good addition.I've picked up a pretty good assortment by buying used manuals off ebay and amazon for not a lot of money

 

You can download them here for free and print them. Then when you leave oily fingerprints or spill coffee on it, no big deal. 

[ol' stonebreaker]

  I was wishing I'd taken pics of different stages of the top end overhaul on my Suzi 4 wheeler, especially the heat shields on the exhaust system. One thing not mentioned so far is a good shop manual for whatever you're doing major repairs on. The one on CD I bought for my 314 was invaluable.I have a Clymers for the Suzi and it is the best shop manual, other than a factory one,I have found. 

  Since I do quite a bit welding, Kenny's suggestion is right on. I have c-clamps from 1 1/2"-12". I don't think you can have too many as I've used them a lot for other projects besides welding. The vise grip c-clamps get used a lot, even for wood working.

                                                 Mike

[pigsitter]

While there is a great collection of manuals here for download,I just like having the paper manuals on hand,call me old school there's just something special about them.

 

 

 

Pick up a good LED headlamp,they are under $20.You can't beat having light pointed right where you're looking at.

Edited by pigsitter, January 12, 2013 - 09:19 AM.

[boyscout862]

I have 3 file cabinets(curteosy of the town dump) filled with manuals, catalogs and file folders for my projects past, future, and present. It makes finding and organizing information alot easier.

[WNYTractorTinkerer]

I have 3 file cabinets(courtesy of the town dump) filled with manuals, catalogs and file folders for my projects past, future, and present. It makes finding and organizing information alot easier.

I have a cabinet on the wall I use to store all my manuals.  

 

Back to the tool thing-  The trick when you get a large collection is arranging things so you have a good chance of finding them when you need them..  I learned this after many searches for something then I give up and replace the tool and whaaa-laa..  I find the original!!  Sometimes multiples of a lot of tools is essential as you could have a lot of projects going on and the things you need most just seem to 'evaporate'!!  Sockets are great at just disappearing into frame rails and such!

[Kurtee]

Hi all;

I have been sittin here studying this and a coupla things come to mind. The dowel rod for stethescope trick is a good one, I don't have any dowel rods but I use a wooden cane. I have a couple canes like you see an auctioneer use at sales or is used to tend livestock with. I have used them for listening to motor noise and the other use is as an arm extension. I turn one around and use the hook to reach things tucked under my bench or anywhere else out of reach.

 

Lights have been brought up several times. I would like to suggest the Wobble Light. We use them at work and the guys love them. Very durable and portable. Several sizes available. A lot of buildings we use as shops have poor lighting and these can make a difference. Here is a link to Northern tool catalog page for reference.

 

http://www.northernt...tt=wobble+light