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Anti Skid and Anti Slip materials have been around for many many years now and in some areas, they are finding new uses and certainly in my workshop they are. I love this material, it comes in different "weights" or thicknesses, it's quite inexpensive and it works great. I seem to find a new use for it on a regular basis and it never disappoints me.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/M-WP52OOTcA
I was first introduced to this material in the form of "router Mats" that were said, at the time, to be anti-slip so that you could freehand route anything and when you used this anti-slip material between your wood and your workbench, the material would hold it firmly while you routed. And it was true, this stuff worked great. Then I found that you could purchase similar materials in different thicknesses and apply it to many different things to make them much less susceptible to movement.
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I don't know what I would do without magnets .. they have got to be one of the handiest things in the workshop and with the new Earth Magnets, they are super strong and so small you can use them in many many places that I would never have thought of years ago, but now, they come in so many shapes, sizes, and strengths you can find many applications for them.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/18HpiB-cSS0
There are so many little things we can do in the workshop to make life easier. I am reminded of this when I visit other shops and I see so many things they could be doing that would make their work quicker and easier and for very little cost ...
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Measuring and Marking are a big part of woodworking and anything we can do to make it easier and more accurate will only make the work more pleasurable. There is nothing worse than working on a project right up until assembly then finding that one or more of the pieces don't fit and the part or parts need to be re-made. Making thing right the first time is just so much easier. I find it's better to take my time to the build rather than trying to rush and make mistakes because often the mistakes are fundamental measuring errors that lead to parts problems later on.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/wqRVFL5wjhY
One of the tricks I learned recently was how to make a circle using a square, a pencil, and 2 nails. At first, I couldn't see how it could even work. Something about it didn't seem right and I wasn't able to visualize it in my mind, I had to actually try it out, and wouldn't you know ... it works ...
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The final step of creating a woodworking project is putting some sort of finish on it. Sometimes the finish is a clear coat of some product, other times it is opaque like a paint. In either case there is usually some sort of mixing and and cleaning process that needs to be done and not all of are in love with the process and some (me) have often taken short cuts.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/vOwGiAQKykQ
I don’t often paint wood, but sometimes it is the only choice and if you do not mix paint fully, you can get streaking, patchy color and inconsistent texture, so mixing well is imperative. Mixing smaller quantities is easier but often we are mixing gallon pails or at least portions of them and all that paint needs to get mixed...