Still on drills, a hand drill clamped in a vice can be used for a low-tech wire wheel or buffer. Just chuck the appropriate tool in place and go to work.
Working on your diesel is generally an enjoyable time, but it seems that even when we're the most careful and paying close attention to the task at hand, something jumps out and bites us at the exact moment we are vulnerable. Need to change the oil in your mom's Jetta but you only have one oil filter wrench that's too big and you're supposed to pick up a hot date in 30 minutes? Read on. We have a quick-and-easy, down-and-dirty solution to get you out of the jam or generally make the simple task even simpler. What we have compiled are 34 of the coolest garage tech tricks to help get you through even the most mind-numbing of maintenance chores and keep you from stuffing the pockets of your local service center. Following in no particular order...
If you don't have any of the fancy new laser-etched, easy-to-read sockets, you can wipe some light-colored paint into the number etchings for an easy-to-read solution. Merely wipe off the excess and the numbers will be filled with paint that can be more easily seen in your dimly lit garage. | 
There is no way you can be a home mechanic without a Unibit. With thinner metals, a Unibit is invaluable for drilling perfect holes where a standard drill would bend the edges of the hole as it chewed its way through. | 
If you have to hold a nut where your fingers can't reach and the tape trick with a socket or box wrench won't fit either, a dab of grease on the end of a standard screwdriver will hold the nut in place and is slim enough to get the nut where it's needed. |
Tick Tick Tick
To locate a ticking noise that you just can't seem to pinpoint, a piece of garden hose 24 inches long works great as a cheap stethoscope. |  |  |
Torque
"There must be an easier way!"
Applying final torque to an assembly with multiple fasteners usually requires a certain sequence. Take a cylinder head, for example. Following the manufacturer-specified sequence, you'll more than... | 
...likely apply 75 percent of the final torque first, then reset the torque wrench and apply the final torque. After applying the final torque, go back over the sequence again to make sure all the fasteners are properly seated. | 
At a show and you forgot the bug-and-tar remover, but a greasy flying beast's carcass is smeared across the chrome? Use your lady's nail polish remover to instantly clean up the mess. Be sure not to get any on the paint, though, as acetone is a great paint remover as well. |
The best and easiest nut, bolt, and fastener (or general junk) holder is an empty ammo box. Plenty are available at surplus stores or on the Internet. | 
Not exactly rocket science in this day and age, but wrapping tape around a drill bit at a pre-measured length makes an easy depth-gauge point to stop drilling. | 
Dielectric grease is made for a reason, and that reason is to prevent corrosion in electrical circuits. Be sure to keep a dab on blade-type fuses and on the base of lightbulbs to prevent spotty operation. |
A used quart oil container or gear fluid container makes a cheap and easy funnel if you cut the bottom of the container off. | 
With a lifted truck, the aggressive tires will generally grab muck and toss it onto the truck's surface as you drive to a show. Mudflaps are definitely not show-worthy, so using some industrial spring clips to hold the mudflap in place just for the drive will save you from cleaning the lower half of the truck again. | 
Did you know that the major brand-name wrenches have tighter clearances than overseas swap-meet equipment? Remember that next time you buy 30 wrenches for $19.99 and one of them slips off the fastener and you bust a knuckle. |