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I agree on all your points but you forgot one topic of discussion. In what we put into our bodies you need to consider your work environment also. let’s face it, an automotive shop is probably not one of the healthiest places to work. You are dealing with some pretty toxic materials as well as dust from many sources. After being out of the auto industry for five months and seeing how a “real company” deals with health conditions in the work place I am just appalled at what I have been exposed to for the last twenty years. I was shocked when I blew my nose found out my buggers were not supposed to be black :unsure: .
I agree on all your points but you forgot one topic of discussion. In what we put into our bodies you need to consider your work environment also. let’s face it, an automotive shop is probably not one of the healthiest places to work. You are dealing with some pretty toxic materials as well as dust from many sources. After being out of the auto industry for five months and seeing how a “real company” deals with health conditions in the work place I am just appalled at what I have been exposed to for the last twenty years. I was shocked when I blew my nose found out my buggers were not supposed to be black :unsure: .
[quote=”Webby the Bear” post=87338]Ps, regarding sharpening drill bits. I’m sure there is a special tool for it. However you can just use your stone wheel to sharpen the bits. As long as the angle is correct of the point (59 degrees if memory serves) then it will cut properly.
I made myself a handy drill bit gauge at college to go on my key ring:
The 59 degree angle is not the problem that is the easy one. The problem is all the other angles that go into sharpening a drill bit properly. I am impressed when I see someone free hand sharpen a drill bit and knows what they are doing. I have tried for years and finally gave up a couple of years ago and purchased the Drill Doctor.
[quote=”Webby the Bear” post=87338]Ps, regarding sharpening drill bits. I’m sure there is a special tool for it. However you can just use your stone wheel to sharpen the bits. As long as the angle is correct of the point (59 degrees if memory serves) then it will cut properly.
I made myself a handy drill bit gauge at college to go on my key ring:
The 59 degree angle is not the problem that is the easy one. The problem is all the other angles that go into sharpening a drill bit properly. I am impressed when I see someone free hand sharpen a drill bit and knows what they are doing. I have tried for years and finally gave up a couple of years ago and purchased the Drill Doctor.
Great info on the video. The only things I would add are use a Dremmel and a Drill Doctor. I use a Dremmel to straighten out the top of the broken off fastener so it makes it much easier to drill down the center. The Drill Doctor is just indispensable unless you are really good at sharpening bits free hand (witch I can’t do to save my life), this tool will sharpen bits better than new in most cases. I have had the same drill index for twenty years and have only replaced a few, I just sharpen them. If the bit is sharp you will not have to push hard and the bit should not break as easily. Now in my new job most of our fasteners that break are stainless steel, that is all we can use in the ovens because regular steel just disintegrates at the temps these run at. Stainless SUCKS to drill !!!!! One other tip is what we would use on the rear exhaust manifold bolts on the GM gen 3 and newer motors. Once you have the manifold off we would use a MIG welder to blob (yes I know very technical term) some welding material on to the broken off bolt which is usually either flush or countersunk with the head. What happens is the weld will not stick to the aluminum head but will stick to the bolt and the heat will soften up the thread locking compound used by the factory. Now, once you have enough weld built up you can use a Turbo Socket or similar tool to grab onto and remove the broken bolt. We would be into an exhaust manifold for sometimes five or so hours when we had a couple of broken off bolts and the dealership would charge accordingly. Once the manager and writers found out about our little trick and saw we could replace a manifold with a couple of broken bolts in 1.5h or less they stopped paying us the five they used to to do the job and pay book time and maybe a little more. This was fair in my mind as because I see broken bolts as straight time jobs. Then we found out they were still charging the customer the 5 hours and sometimes more for the job. To this day they wonder why the techs had such bad attitudes.
Great info on the video. The only things I would add are use a Dremmel and a Drill Doctor. I use a Dremmel to straighten out the top of the broken off fastener so it makes it much easier to drill down the center. The Drill Doctor is just indispensable unless you are really good at sharpening bits free hand (witch I can’t do to save my life), this tool will sharpen bits better than new in most cases. I have had the same drill index for twenty years and have only replaced a few, I just sharpen them. If the bit is sharp you will not have to push hard and the bit should not break as easily. Now in my new job most of our fasteners that break are stainless steel, that is all we can use in the ovens because regular steel just disintegrates at the temps these run at. Stainless SUCKS to drill !!!!! One other tip is what we would use on the rear exhaust manifold bolts on the GM gen 3 and newer motors. Once you have the manifold off we would use a MIG welder to blob (yes I know very technical term) some welding material on to the broken off bolt which is usually either flush or countersunk with the head. What happens is the weld will not stick to the aluminum head but will stick to the bolt and the heat will soften up the thread locking compound used by the factory. Now, once you have enough weld built up you can use a Turbo Socket or similar tool to grab onto and remove the broken bolt. We would be into an exhaust manifold for sometimes five or so hours when we had a couple of broken off bolts and the dealership would charge accordingly. Once the manager and writers found out about our little trick and saw we could replace a manifold with a couple of broken bolts in 1.5h or less they stopped paying us the five they used to to do the job and pay book time and maybe a little more. This was fair in my mind as because I see broken bolts as straight time jobs. Then we found out they were still charging the customer the 5 hours and sometimes more for the job. To this day they wonder why the techs had such bad attitudes.
The most expensive job I participated in was a body shop job on a GMC Danali pick up. I did a frame swap and the total bill was around $25K. Not sure what percentage of the bill the frame swap was. Best guess was frame price $6K and 36h labor so some where around $9K.
The most expensive job I participated in was a body shop job on a GMC Danali pick up. I did a frame swap and the total bill was around $25K. Not sure what percentage of the bill the frame swap was. Best guess was frame price $6K and 36h labor so some where around $9K.
I’m not sure I’m welcome here 🙁 . I started working in dealerships in 1994 and just left my last job to get out of the field last October. I have worked exclusively at GM dealers. I have ASE master tech and more GM certs than I can count. I just could not take the dealerships any more. I just discovered ETCG as for the past few years I wanted nothing to do with cars when I was out of work. Now I think I actually miss working on them.
I’m not sure I’m welcome here 🙁 . I started working in dealerships in 1994 and just left my last job to get out of the field last October. I have worked exclusively at GM dealers. I have ASE master tech and more GM certs than I can count. I just could not take the dealerships any more. I just discovered ETCG as for the past few years I wanted nothing to do with cars when I was out of work. Now I think I actually miss working on them.
I would warn anyone against working on cars for a living unless it is there last resort. I went to a votech school that was affiliated with GM. I spent 18 years working in GM dealers and have been one of the top techs in them for the majority of that time. If you figure in the cost of inflation I was not making any more money when I left than when I started 18 years ago. I am now working as a maintenance tech at a manufacturing facility. I was hired with no knowledge of there equipment, with much better benefits and working environment for more money than a place where I was one of the top guys and had experience. I looked around at other dealers and they are all paying around the same. When I started in the dealership the average labor rate was around $45/hr, now the average around here is just under $100/hr. Labor rates have gone up over 100% and technician pay has only gone up around 10% in 18 years, am I the only one that has an issue with this? Add that with the fact that GM has been cutting labor times left and right over the past few years, it just about makes it impossible to earn a decent living working at a dealership. My experience has only been with GM but I suspect others cant be far from this. And tools, at my new job I was issued a tool box with all the required tools and if i need anything else I just have to ask and they will get it for me. It is so nice not to have to provide tools so I can make someone else money! Maybe I am just sour but this is the feelings of all of my co workers at my previous employer.
I would warn anyone against working on cars for a living unless it is there last resort. I went to a votech school that was affiliated with GM. I spent 18 years working in GM dealers and have been one of the top techs in them for the majority of that time. If you figure in the cost of inflation I was not making any more money when I left than when I started 18 years ago. I am now working as a maintenance tech at a manufacturing facility. I was hired with no knowledge of there equipment, with much better benefits and working environment for more money than a place where I was one of the top guys and had experience. I looked around at other dealers and they are all paying around the same. When I started in the dealership the average labor rate was around $45/hr, now the average around here is just under $100/hr. Labor rates have gone up over 100% and technician pay has only gone up around 10% in 18 years, am I the only one that has an issue with this? Add that with the fact that GM has been cutting labor times left and right over the past few years, it just about makes it impossible to earn a decent living working at a dealership. My experience has only been with GM but I suspect others cant be far from this. And tools, at my new job I was issued a tool box with all the required tools and if i need anything else I just have to ask and they will get it for me. It is so nice not to have to provide tools so I can make someone else money! Maybe I am just sour but this is the feelings of all of my co workers at my previous employer.