IKEA KALLAX Hacking - Part 1 to 3

Mrs. Maker asked me to do some IKEA HACKING the other day, something we've done for at least 25 years now, and show people how easy it is.  So we took a couple of pieces of IKEA furniture that were either lying around or being thrown away by neighbors (BILLY, KALLAX & MALM) and integrated them into something completely different and new.  I have since seen many similar projects and believe that this particular IKEA HACK is quite popular, so hopefully it will inspire my viewers to go ahead and make what they want or need using IKEA furniture as modular components.

This project was fun to do and I encourage you to go ahead and do some IKEA HACKING of your own!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

EZ-RIDER - Front Caliper Hangar Pin & Pin Cover **REFURB**

A Hangar Pin Cover That You'd Never Want To Meet

One of the largest challenges I faced when rebuilding the Calipers from Hell was getting the hangar pin cover out.  The hangar pin itself is threaded through the two brake pads that go into the front calipers, ensuring that they are securely fastened to the unit.  Once the hangar pin has been installed, a pin cover is used to further fill the hole left behind.  My inability to get the hangar pin cover out completely stalled the caliper rebuild for about a week, because I couldn't figure out a way to get the hangar pin cover out without damaging it to the point where I would need to do something drastic, like drill it out.

The hangar pin cover is a proportionately large, wide and shallow screw type fitting that goes into the hole that is left over after the hangar pin has been installed.  Its apparent function is to make sure that that the hangar pin, which has a recessed 5mm hex head fitting, doesn't get filled up with brake material and grime and resultingly difficult to remove.  

Why is the hangar pin cover such a problem?  The main reason why is because the caliper body is made of aluminum, whereas the pin cover is made of steel.  These two differing metals not only have different thermal characteristics, they also have electrochemical characteristics that give them a tendency to bond together, particularly in the presence of water.

The idea of a pin cover is a great idea, except for the fact that the pin cover tends to get seized in the caliper, becoming an even greater removal problem than the hangar pin itself.  The removal of the hangar pin cover is further complicated by its design:  It features a very wide and very shallow slot that requires a huge flat-headed screwdriver, of a size that most people don't normally have in their toolbox (9.5mm wide).  

So what people do is use a smaller screwdriver which then skips out of the slot, chewing up an already alarmingly shallow slot in the head of the screw.  It only takes a few failed attempts to make the screw head useless, turning a bad situation into a horrible one.

Getting the hangar pin cover out of the front caliper is a very common challenge for people who restore older Honda motorcycles.  There are many techniques around to get the pin cover out (Heat, Drilling, Impact), but the technique that worked for me was using a penetrating oil for a few days, then a properly sized screwdriver with a six-sided shaft, an adjustable wrench, and the strength of two men to generate a lot of torque, maybe 60lbs or 80lbs worth.  That did the trick!

Once I got the hangar pin cover out, it took just a few seconds (but an equal amount of torque) to get the actual hangar pin out.  With that accomplished, I was faced with a choice:  Refurbish or Replace.  

Ultimately, even though replacement parts are not terribly expensive, I decided that it would be more entertaining to refurbish these two parts and replace them only if the refurbished units didn't work out.  That not only served to lower the cost of bringing EZ-RIDER back into service, it also provides people with an opportunity to see how they might refurbish parts that may be even more difficult to source than EZ-RIDER, which is not exactly an easy motorcycle to source parts for, considering it's the last edition of a small displacement model only distributed in Japan and the UK.

One thing I made sure of was to deepen the slot on the hangar pin cover by about 50% using a little cutting wheel in my moto-tool, to give the next screwdriver in line more meat to work with.  I would also probably use a vice next time to secure the pin in place, or take it out while the calipers are still on the forks of the motorcycle.

Enjoy!

Help a Maker Out?

Did you see anything in this video you want for yourself?  If the answer is yes, consider using one of the link(s) below to buy it directly from amazon.com.  When you do, I get a small commission that keeps me going!

Bill of Materials

GLOVEWORKS HD Industrial Black Nitrile Gloves - 6 mil, Latex Free, Powder Free, Diamond Texture, Disposable, Large, GWBN46100-BX, Box of 100
https://amzn.to/35fifrv

WD-40 Multi-Use Product Non-Aerosol Trigger Pro Spray. 20 oz. [1-Pack]
https://amzn.to/30h2nmN

Bondhus 22199 Hex L-wrench DoublePK,Long Length,12137 .050-3/8" & 12199 1.5-10mm
https://amzn.to/2Ec80Zs

Felo 0715750274 1/2" Series 800 Slotted Screwdriver, 8"
https://amzn.to/365QQYO

Trident Silicone Grease Jar
https://amzn.to/38GjiDg

Disposable Chopsticks, pack of 40 pair
https://amzn.to/3979cLK

Mazbot 6" Cushion Comfort Foam Grip Beading Awl
https://amzn.to/2ZjDwOL

15 pieces Scratch Brush (Stainless Steel + Brass+Nylon), AFUNTA Curved Handle Masonry Wire brush Set Bristle for Cleaning Welding Slag and Rust,5 pcs Per Type
https://amzn.to/2rvQFYK

BLACK+DECKER RTX-6 2 Amp 3-Speed Rotary Tool
https://amzn.to/2rHBJ9S

Dry Wet Sandpaper by Heylure, 45PCS 9 x 3.6" Silicon Carbide, 120 to 5000 Grit Sandpaper Sheets Assortment, for Metal Sanding, Automotive Polishing, Wood Furniture, Wood Turning Finishing
https://amzn.to/36AhUj5

Utopia Towels 12 Pack Dish Towels, 15 x 25 Inches Ultra Soft Cotton Dish Cloths, Blue
https://amzn.to/34rdwC1

FIXKIT 7-in-1 Portable Workbench, Multifunctional Folding Work Table Scaffold/Dolly/Platform with 4 Wheels for Garage
https://amzn.to/2QVtrVE

EZ-RIDER - Front Caliper Short Slide Pin **REFURB**

She Ain't Pretty She Just Looks That Way

Finding parts for EZ-RIDER, a Japanese Edition of a relatively small displacement motorcycle (VT250CR / M29) has proven to be a somewhat "challenging" task.  

I find myself slowly being forced into the position where I must refurbish parts that I might otherwise prefer to replace, because my motorcycle is not as popular and accessible as other models.

Case in point is the parts needed to refurbish the front brake calipers, which I believe includes the following parts:

1 064510-GE2-405 SEAL SET, PISTON
4 43353-461-771 CAP, BLEEDER
6 45108-ML7-922 SPRING, PAD (NISSIN)
8 45112-MS9-611 RETAINER
9 45131-ML7-921 BOLT A, PIN
10 45131-166-016 BOLT, PIN
11 45132-166-016 BOOT, PIN BUSH (NISSIN)
12 45133-MA3-006 BOOT B
14 45203-MG3-016 PLUG, PIN
15 45215-ML7-922 PIN, HANGAR

Some of these parts are available - some not so.

One part that seems to be a little on the hard side to source is #10 (45131-166-016) a PIN BOLT that functions as one of the two major caliper slide pins.

When I took the front calipers of EZ-RIDER apart, this bolt was in absolutely horrible shape:

Well, seeing as everything is closed in Hong Kong and I have a need for this part to be serviceable, I took it upon myself to try to refurbish this part of the front calipers, and see what could be done to bring it back into service.  

Enjoy!

Help a Maker Out?

Did you see anything in this video you want for yourself?  If the answer is yes, consider using one of the link(s) below to buy it directly from amazon.com.  When you do, I get a small commission that keeps me going!

Bill of Materials

GLOVEWORKS HD Industrial Black Nitrile Gloves - 6 mil, Latex Free, Powder Free, Diamond Texture, Disposable, Large, GWBN46100-BX, Box of 100
https://amzn.to/35fifrv

WD-40 Multi-Use Product Non-Aerosol Trigger Pro Spray. 20 oz. [1-Pack]
https://amzn.to/30h2nmN

Mazbot 6" Cushion Comfort Foam Grip Beading Awl
https://amzn.to/2ZjDwOL

BLACK+DECKER RTX-6 2 Amp 3-Speed Rotary Tool
https://amzn.to/2rHBJ9S

Dry Wet Sandpaper by Heylure, 45PCS 9 x 3.6" Silicon Carbide, 120 to 5000 Grit Sandpaper Sheets Assortment, for Metal Sanding, Automotive Polishing, Wood Furniture, Wood Turning Finishing
https://amzn.to/36AhUj5

Utopia Towels 12 Pack Dish Towels, 15 x 25 Inches Ultra Soft Cotton Dish Cloths, Blue

https://amzn.to/34rdwC1

**WOW** I Used Simple Household Products to Refurbish Some Speakers!

JBL Control-1 Speakers

**WOW** I Used Simple Household Products to Refurbish Some Speakers!

A neighbor was kind enough to loan me a pair of JBL Control-1 speakers a little while ago, to help me troubleshoot a little audio quality problem I was having.  The speakers worked just fine, but they were a little dusty when I got them:

So when I was finished with them, and didn't need them any more, and I thought it would be a nice gesture if I gave them back to him in better condition than I received them in!

So, I pulled out my trusty cleaning trinity:

1) Rubbing Alcohol

2) Classic Armor All

3) Castor Oil

And got to work!  

I am very happy to say the results I got were fantastic, and I couldn't be happier:

To see how I got these results...

Watch the video to see how I did it!

Video Bill Of Materials

Armor All 10160 Protectant, Original 1 pt (16 fl oz) 473 ml
https://amzn.to/2RGtHsx

Heritage Products Castor Oil
https://amzn.to/2rEhgmj

MG Chemicals 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol Electronics Cleaner, 475 mL Trigger Spray Bottle
https://amzn.to/2SEnQ7C