sidenote: doing everything properly is a bitch. and very time consuming... this is my first block assembly I usually send the bottom end to a shop and then put the rest of it together.
checking everything to make sure its all proper clearances and resisting the temptation to just slap it together is damn hard.

ive been making "poormann" tools for some time now and there are more in my collection just haven't posted it yet
------------

I couldn't get myself to pay 60-100 bucks for a plain door handle and a dial gauge on ebay

so I googled some variations of the stretch gauge and one looked very similar to a suitcase handle with a gauge


went to home depo and bought a 3 dollar drawer handle
and drilled 2 holes in it..
(wrap a string around both ends so the holes you drill are parallel to the handle and inline with eachother) probably the hardest part.
then use the screws that came with it to hold the gauge and the needle on the other end.
used with my digital gauge instead of dial I like digital better.

looks like a pro gauge also and I didn't have to wait to get it delivered from china or pay 60 bucks for it.

drawer handle and gauge

find a spring and a thin washer to hold the gauge from sliding down

10 minutes later all assembled and ready to use

checking clearance on the itr rods.( in the process I know it should be at 0.13-0.15mm

 

NICE. However, would the spring tension cause inaccurate readings? I'd try to calibrate it and see if it does... like check length of something with a vernier/caliper then check it with the assembly you have there.

 

Digital gauge auto calibrate zero out any position

 

Are you using a honda bag to hold the rod?

How accurate is that gauge??

 

Yep oem is the way to go lol
Gage is accurate as any

 

Theres no need to calibrate length
You only need this to measure bolt stretch from zero to 0.015mm

 

Nice. Definitely a cool DIY.

 

I think he means use calipers to check them with no stretch, use your stretch gauge, then check again to make sure that its measurment is accurate. Really cool little diy tool though.

 

As long as the handle isn't flexing, nice job!

 

I checked it the handle is pretty solid. it took me some pressure to drill through it. its not aluminum its some harder metal.


next tool in my "poorman" line of tools is DIY piston ring compressor.

I bought a POS ring compressor from harbor freignt.
and it didn't hold them tight enough or it wasn't aligned or whatever the sht was wrong with it. piston wouldn't go in
I tried to roll the edge inward slightly but then it started scratching pistons so I kicked it across the garage...

then made this amazing tool

I don't even have to use pliers to hold them in place just my fingers was enough to sqush them and pistons slide right in. I spend an hour messing with that harbor freight sht and then 10 minutes with my "poormann" tool.

another thing I noticed is with harbor freight tool the rings were always moved out of alignment every time. because as it rolls in the walls slide and pull all the rings

I pulled 2 pistons back out after using my own tool and they were all in exact same spots where I set them

PS: wider ring would work better but this is all I had

 

Lol

 

Only thing I'd worry about with that stretch gauge is thermal expansion from being in your hands. Even with the high end ones at that we have at the shop we set the gauge down on the bench for a few minutes after every other bolt (on teardown, where we'd otherwise be checking a bunch in succession). During assembly, we check it against the standard, use it once, and then recheck to make sure it hasn't grown while being handled.

That's generally good practice for any high precision tool though. It can be good for .001" here and there in a climate controlled room... Most likely doesn't matter in garage world though and that's why you adjust to the middle of the tolerance band anyway.

Way to think out of the box, I like it.

 

Thats why i like digital gauge.
You can zero out on every bolt so theres no issues with expansion etc.