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now I do own and have considered using a hole saw, but the last time I used it, it didn't perform so well

I used this 2 5/8th once to cut a hole in some wood and it got distorted and misshaped, in other words it's no longer perfectly round, but slightly oval and I didn't wanna risk cracking the plastic or having it walk all over it like a bad drill bit, hope that makes sense

that and I looked for one with fine teeth but couldn't find one

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so there, one is in, 47 to go...

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ok, so that was the little guy, now let's see how the big one will fit

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and bowfties... not too shabby - what do you think? post up a comment

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we now interrupt this Upgrade to bring you another FTS (Fix Dat Shizzle) for sale upgrade

this broken corner has been bugging me for years, it has been lost and found half a dozen times, survived 4 house moves, and a bad encounter with Gorilla glue, ha ha

let's see if we can fix it

By the way, Crazy Glue (if it's still called that) is/was absolutely amazing and 100% effective each and every time in sticking your fingers together! Am I right or am I right folks? Please share your fun moment with that magical concoction below.

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now to the common laymen (or laywomen) this may appear as a run of the mill soldiering iron, but the more daring of you will clearly see it for what it is: Plastic Meltor 3000

I think it turned out ok, and honestly the only reason the crack still appears is because like I mentioned earlier at first I tried using Gorilla glue on it and the residue is still there creating that slight separation (had I not tried that first, you wouldn't even be able to see the crack)

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and now for the Strength Test, yup it will do!

add another $12.50 to the value of the truck

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Gauge Upgrade Project

Fun Level:

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Devils advocate..... It's still a 'cracked bezel'. If I were purchasing a used truck & saw that, my mind would be thinking about the cost of a new bezel which is equal to not adding value 'as-is'. Fill the crack void & get some texture agent + fresh satin black to help your cause.

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I am lovin' these new gauges, you'll be able to read 'em from the back seat!

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well, well, well, what do you know...

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:clap: AWESOME!

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Once you sell the truck what are you going to do with all that free time??? You could make your truck posts into a book, good luck with the sale

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ha ha, bruh the next project is OFF da CHAIN ! you will not be disappointed

I do own three trucks:

1974 Rusty (the son)

1971 Dusty (Rusty's dad) [this will be the next epic build]

1954 Busty (Rusty's great grandfather, yes we skipped a generation) check that build out it was my biggest challenge thus far fer sure

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folks, I'm a simple man, I see a hole, I gotta fill it

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what is he doing?

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ah ok, we knew that

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meanwhile on the Ride The Lightning LLC. electronic workbench we believe in the belt and suspenders approach, so we crimp and solder our connections

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I'm not a smart man but I know one thing about wiring: no matter what you do you won't please everybody

I once got accused of using the wrong wire just because I didn't source it from NASA but went to NAPA instead, well 7 years later the truck still hasn't caught on fire LOL

so in order to keep the wiring under 50 feet we're attempting the daisy chain approach

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Would you believe this, we had to stop and put things away, because my ex girlfriend decided to cook dinner on our WORKBENCH ! what a crock?

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so just a quick rant to see if you relate:

Man I am running out of everything working on this project, first I do not use the provided garbage connectors that AutoMeter grabs a handful of and throws them in the box, they are as bad as the hard yellow, blue, or red conduit ones you buy at AutoZone, that you crimp on your starter wire and then your truck won't start in the rain at night after some concert, ha ha, no thank you - you can notice the quality of [ahem] craftsmanship by what connectors people use on their rigs, it's sort of the right of passage

and it's not just that they suck but they will ruin your gauges as you try and press them on and pull them off

so I buy mine at MOUSER https://www.mouser.com/images/mouser...m.png?nosprite

TE Connectivity 42238-2 Terminals

https://www.mouser.com/images/tycoel...2238-2_SPL.jpg

see how this guy has two sets of blades on the tail, one crimps and holds the wire shilelding for strength and the middle one holds the stripped off wire part for electrical conectivity type of thing

so yeah, I ran out of these connectors, I ran out of soldering wire, I ran out of something else too, but I take pride in my work and I actually enjoy wiring, which reminds me

Wiring Top Tip: (how not to hate it)

spend the money, and buy yourself quality tools, not all at the same time, get them as you need them one at a time to spread out the costs

1. proper wire stripper so you are not A. using your teeth (been there) or B. using a box cutter or your 18" deer skinning knife, ha ha

2. the right crimpers for the connectors you are using, this seems daunting at first but it's not the surgery of rockets, commit to only using non shielded connectors, that will lead you down a path of non shielded wire crimpers instead of the blue, red, yellow junk ones, I recommend a ratcheting one, that way it forces you to press on it until it lets go, meaning you are done

2B. avoid multi tools they are OKishing at two things but not GOOD at either one

3. not all soldering irons are created equal, get a good one, spend 10 minutes and learn hot to solder two pieces of wire together and then practice, it takes a bit of time, use a workbench to support your wire, don't try to do it suspended in thin air (when you start and when possible)

thanks for reading, and honestly I am just trying to help you Young Padawans out

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Not trying to take away from your post, but what is your opinion of these? In another post, somebody stated they were pretty good.

https://www.amazon.com/Crimping-Tool...8&sr=8-16&th=1

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no problem, glad you brought this up, I am all about discussions and starting a conversation not just about these wiring tools but anything

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...AC_SL1500_.jpg

so this set falls under the "Multi Tool Category" the problem that I have with tools like these is that its a major PIA and very time consuming to swap those attachments (since you have to find a matching top and bottom each time), now let me explain yes you can change them in 2 minutes but as you are wiring that adds up because say you are building a harness and you have 16 crimps to do and half of them need attachment A and the other need attachment B you just spent how many minutes swapping those heads, and I know you can do all your A crimps first and then do all your B crimps but that's not how you usually do stuff cause you will forget to go back and crimp something

another problem is that both tools look too much alike, what I mean by that get one that has an orange handle and another one that has a blue handle type of thing, you will thank me later, you want to be able to find them on your messy workbench in a flash and distinguish them at a glance

thirdly pass on that wire stripper, yes pros have the technique down for holding the wire in one hand and pulling the end off with that tool with the other hand, but beginners need a tool that does the work for them, so I will try to post an example of a proper wire stripper, that will make you run around the house looking for wiring projects, ha ha

IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripper, Self-Adjusting, 8-Inch (2078300)

great question though, keep them comming

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so not to beat a dead horse to death, but this is my basic Line Up

1. notice the different color handles (well sorta, ha ha two are red(ish)

2. each tool only has one job, one purpose, although the stripper can cut wire I use the little light blue (periwinkle) pliers just to cut my wires type of thing

did I really just say "periwinkle" yeah, yeah I did, go ahead suspend my Man Card

I will be replacing that red wire stripper (far left) it sorta sucks I bought it at an auto parts store I think at like 10:58 PM one Saturday night right before they closed, ha ha to complete a project I was working on

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I have come full circle and I'm pretty enamored of a nice set of OEM gauges. But if I had to swap them out for aftermarket, I'd want to get an all business set up like you got.

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hey bud I get it, and I've been there done that have the T shirt, however get intimate with that expensive circuit board, the mechanical speedo and inacuate tach, spill a bit of hot oil on you from the cracked oil pressure tube, and then we'll talk, ha ha
thanks bro, really appreciate it, the gauge console is in your face any time you drive the rig as is the steering wheel, so those two things are must upgrades and a nice treat and reward for all your hard work, ha ha

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Those little nipper dikes are really nice tools for detail work like cutting tails off through hole components on circuit boards, cutting 16ga stranded and smaller wire, and flush cutting wire tie tails to meet spec. I have several flavors from Excellite and Crescent among others on the bench and a couple sets in my tool bags for travel.

I've worked with several different wire strippers over the years.
I was never really sold on the Vise Grip style strippers like you show. Too big and klunky. I figured they'd be great for Romex. Some of my techs prefer them. Not everyone likes the same things. Pick em up and see how they feel in your hand. Then use the ones you like.

Klein makes a copy of the Vise Grip style you pictured and a slightly different wire stripping tool with replaceable knives similar to the Ideal Stripmaster wire stripper tool family.
I have one of the cheaper Klein knockoffs of the Stripmaster on the bench collecting dust. Not as refined as the Ideal tool.
I like the operation of the Ideal Stripmaster. So far you can still buy them from The Borg at Lowes.
Attachment 2131425

I've had something similar to the manual strippers below in my arsenal for near 45 years. Well before I was an adult. I've worn out and or lost several. They're really good for tight quarters where you can't even fit any of the manual strippers and they're really nice for stripping coaxial cable jacket once you get a feel for them. I don't even nick the outer braid.
Attachment 2131427

Another tool I wouldn't be without are the old Craftsman Handi Cut tools. They make super clean cuts in Ethernet and other stranded wire. They're also my second favorite tool for stripping coaxial jacket.
Attachment 2131438

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If you do any automotive or motorsports electrical work you do not have to buy the crimp tools that crimp the pins for one connector family only in one operation. That type of tool is real nice but they tend to be expensive and not super versatile. The cheaper ones don't seem to do a great job.

Delphi made two very versatile ratcheting terminal crimp tools. Actually more than two but these are the bees knees.
They crimp terminals in two operations. The conductor is crimped in the proper cavity for that terminal & wire gauge. Then you move the partially complete assembly to another cavity where the insulation or seal wings are crimped in a second operation.
I've crimped Deutsch DTM & DT open wing terminals, Molex GT, Metripak GT, Metripak 150 & 280, AMP Quadlok (VW AUDI), Weatherpak, Packard 56, and several other families on 14-20ga wires using the two Delphi tools. $220 for the pro level tools is a bargain for that versatility.
They cost between $90 & $130 each but you can position the terminal and ratchet the tool down and re-position the wire without loosing the jaw closure. They will not open til you have completed the crimp cycle or cammed the emergency release open so you don't end up with an over or under crimped terminal. You can likely evilbay these off for $95-$100 each if you take care of them and suddenly decide you don't need em.
-Delphi Ratcheting 12085270 Crimps Weatherpak and Metripak 150/280 sealed terminals... Three seal and two conductor wing cavities.
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...4&d=1583110667
-Delphi Ratcheting 12085271 Wide range crimper with five cavities for conductor and un-sealed insulation strain relief crimp wings.
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...3&d=1583110667
If you need to crimp Metripak 480 or 630 or Packard 59 terminals you need larger cavity tools but the above tools will crimp 85-95% of what you're likely to encounter.

These are some less expensive $30ish non ratcheting tools. These are great for the weekend warrior that's crimping a few terminals or as a tool to hold you over til you can find a nicer one but you'll tire of them quickly if you're building vehicle harnesses for your hot rod or restorations. The downside is you can open them before the crimp operation is completed and end up with loose crimps and they don't have the positive stops of the more expensive tools so you can over crimp the terminals as well.
-Wire and weather seal crimp tool for Weatherpak and Metripak 150/280 sealed terminals. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002CCAEJ6
-Wide range wire and jacket wing crimp tool for unsealed and sealed connector conductor wings. This tool will not crimp the Weatherpak/Metripak/Molex-GT weather seals but it will crimp the conductor wings of those families and both wings of un-sealed terminals. https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Packar.../dp/B003MWJ6SA Greg has something similar to this one in his arsenal.
Sargent Tools makes some of the less expensive as well as ratcheting tools that match the Delphi tools in quality. They're made in the USA. Mouser carries Sargent tools. https://www.sargenttools.com

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HATZIE glad you chimed in, what do you make of this style stripper, I am tempted!

check out this video of how they work here: Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: Automatic Wire Strippers

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...AC_SL1500_.jpg

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This is a pretty good overview of the gambit of available strippers.

Those end strippers that Adam is showing off are similar in function to the Vise Grip tool. His old set are much better quality than the $15 versions but they both work.

This is has positives and negatives.
As Adam pointed out you hit a wall where the blade shears through the wire and insulation around 22-26ga wire.
Another downside is the tool doesn't clip all the way around the insulation. Instead it nicks the insulation and pulls so some of the special stuff like the halon impregnated rail car wiring I work with on occasion tends to pull and stretch rather than cut off. If you look at the PVC and Crosslink Poly wires after you strip em you'll see that the jackets don't shear nicely rather they pull and stretch a bit before breaking off leaving a tapered end to the jacket using this style tool. Not as bad as the Hypalon FRA approved wire but not nice and sharp either.

The Ideal Stripmaster type tool will strip 22-26ga as long as your knives have the proper slots for that gauge wire. I have a set with knives for fine gauge cable and a couple different sets with various knives for heavier gauge wires.

The downside to the Stripmaster is the knives can nick the wire when they get really worn and loose from a lot of mileage. I have worn out one set. After 30 years of field work.

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Wow, did I open up a can of worms! :) Thanks for all the info, from everybody!! Carry on Greg :)

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HATZIE leaves no stone unturned, rumor has it Nikola Tesla used to run his patents by his grandad (on his mother's side) first on his way to the Trademark Office, so it runs in the family

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Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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ROTFLAO. :lol::lol::lol::lol:

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OMG!!!!
HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hatzie is the best!!

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Holy Crap! What a ride and great work on this one! Sorry to see you letting him go seal someone else’s driveway. Good luck with the sale you might get a fast bite on the forum if you post him for sale and have the deal ready to go when the bench seat is done.

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Double

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Trouble

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so staying busy while waiting on parts and materials, so gave the bed a shop vac treatment followed by a bath in preparation for a second coat of much needed Herculiner tomorrow

What? he lifted the front to ensure all the water drains out of the bed properly, I mean who does that

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what started me down this path was half a can left of the stuff, so I said hmm should use it up... so I went out and bought three more cans LOL

can't wait to get this stuff on my knees (yes through a pair of jeans) and above the elbows, and on my forehead if I'm lucky