This old guy in Wichita showed me a trick with a zip tie I still use

Honestly, I was working on a Cessna 172's cowling in Kansas about five years back, struggling to hold a hinge pin in place while I got the bolt started. This retired mechanic named Carl walked over, grabbed a zip tie from his pocket, and looped it around the pin and a nearby bracket. He said, 'Use it like a third hand, kid. It's cheap and it won't scratch nothing.' I've probably used that trick a hundred times since. Anyone else got a simple tool hack for awkward jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_jackson651mo ago

Ever try a magnet on a string?

faithwalker1mo ago

Seen that trick, william_jackson65, and it reminds me how we find simple fixes for dumb problems.

the_logan1mo ago

Actually, that's a fishing trick for lost keys.