When there’s a need that doesn’t really fit with existing products, make your own. That’s it with this new, tough Shop Floor & Utility Cart. While it’s not monumental in design, it does have some great functionality for DIY’ers, with strength that you won’t find elsewhere.
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What are the cool little things you’ve done to solve a niggly problem in a creative, DIY kind of way? These articles show the spirit of “in the moment problem solving”, in a category for Solutions! to help in the shop. While it’s nice to read, we’re also asking you to help. Please share your “on the spot” creative solutions. Just take some photos, then send your story. We’ll post them, and of course, give you the credit. Read below for ideas – some from us, and some from your fellow readers. – See all the Mechanic’s Posts here.
Small Trailer Instead Of A Truck?
That sounds like a good idea. Right? There are a million good reasons to need the capacity of a pickup truck, but actually, very few people use a Truck as a Truck that often. Can we get the function we need without all the weight and wasting fuel?
You Don’t Have The Plans I Need. Now What?
Sometimes looking for the right plans for the trailer you need is a needle in a haystack. Every site has something, but not exact. What’s next? When you really need a particular trailer that others don’t offer,
Reasonably Accurate Way To Bend Metal
There are a bunch of ways to bend metal for a bracket. Do a search on YouTube and you’ll likely find several techniques. Well, we don’t want to dis any of those because
Threaded Rod For Custom Bolts
You can use threaded rod (often called All-Thread) for a million things. Make a long bolt, or just the right size fastener. It’s also good for special brackets if you weld to it. And, if you’re not careful, you can make it fail in a million ways too.
DIY House Crane
A reader submission showing creativity in his lifting Solutions! A big Thank You to “A Treehouse Dweller” for this story about building a house crane to access his tall home. Of course, this is pretty cool in my opinion.
Excellent Small Car Trailer Caught In The Wild
Caught on the streets, this small trailer provides big benefits. It’s an excellent example of using a trailer instead of a truck, and this business owner understands efficiency.
Solutions! Found A Cool Air Chuck
Ever find something that wasn’t really a big deal, but you got pretty excited about it anyway? Me too. Found this fun tire inflation air chuck kind of by accident
Solutions! Reverse Car Parking Stop
Yeah, I know, most of the world doesn’t like or use the parking brake any more. Yet, some of us still prefer a manual transmission for the driving experience — and rely on the parking brake. So, what happens
Do It Yourself _ Is Not _ All By Yourself
DIY is the common acronym for Do It Yourself, but there’s a misnomer in the expression. In some things doing it by yourself is awesome, for sure, yet DIY does not mean
Storage Solution For Clamps
Storage space is a high priority in my shop. Maybe in yours too? It’s not that there is not enough space, it’s the prime space where tools are super accessible for any moment
Air Tools Lost & Found
A simple Solutions! reader submission for easy access and organization of his common Air Tools. Simple enough to build in an hour, and great enough to keep . . . forever. Try this.
Mother of Invention?
Do you believe the old saying “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”? Well, I have a need, but I don’t need an invention, just a quick solution. So, maybe Necessity is really the Mother of Creative Solutions!
Gantry Crane I-Beam Clamp – Free Plans
Introducing a new product to the Mechanical Elements family of Do-It-Yourself Plans — the gantry crane I-Beam clamp. A simple product we give as Free Plans in our launch celebration! Well, is it really FREE Plans? Yes. Use the coupon code on