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theSpike125 t1_iwpf7ox wrote

You can also take a piece of cardboard, draw a rough outline, and poke the screws in where you removed them. I'm doing this when I split cases on bike engines.

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Wooble_Gopp OP t1_iwpfv4v wrote

Thats very practical, maybe I shouldnt have thrown out my ikea box

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roonerspize t1_iwq0kvh wrote

Additionally, poking them in the cardboard to hold them also gives you a chance to see in which order you removed them.

I've poked them in and then drew a circle around one set of the bolts and labelled them "cowling" and the next ones are "carb mount" and then "head" and "valve cover" etc. and I'll write notes beside different length ones to remind me which specific hole they went in. If you throw all the head bolts in a ziploc bag and one's longer, then it's a bit more difficult to remember where the longer one goes, especially if you don't get back to fixing it until a year later.

Also, record brief video clips of confusing disassembly parts. Like, when I'm taking apart an electric motor and want to remember which color wires go to which lug, I record a video of me pointing to each one and saying the color. If you're doing small engine and the carburetor linkages and springs, I suggest you record yourself pointing how they fit together.

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Gadgetman_1 t1_iwpsils wrote

This isn't just practical, but in some cases very important because some bolts may be shorter or longer than others.

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Waltzing_With_Bears t1_iwq2o89 wrote

And be certain to get the lay out of the head bolts right, and check the manual for installation order, if ya do it wrong it can cause trouble with gasket sealing

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OozeNAahz t1_iwqacdy wrote

I do this when taking the Tupperware off my motorcycle to do an oil change. Works great to keep the right screws in the right spots.

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