I love it when subscribers share their ideas and tips and tricks, so I get to see what they are doing, and share it with the rest of the woodworking community ... that's what this website was initially set up to do ... share woodworking ideas
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZjCOO7M4ViM
I'm going to start off with something that has been submitted a few times to me and I have briefly covered it before, but many new subscribers have missed this so a quick re-cap on - What to do with your Drill Press Chuck Key ...
Drill Press Chuck Key
One idea that has popped up a few times is using one of those retractable key holders ... where the keys live on a ring at the end of a short chain, and when not in the chain retracts up into the housing that sits on your belt. Something like a retractable tape measure.
It's a great idea and many people use it ... I tried it for a while but the chain always seemed to catch in what I was working on my drill press table ... so I moved to a loose cord, that also kept getting caught up so I finally went to a magnet on the mast of the drill press and for me that works the best ... but other people I know, love the retractable key chain version, for them it works best and that's the great thing about woodworking, there are often different ways of accomplishing the same thing. Thanks, Bob for jogging our memory on this tip.
Epoxy Mixer
Paul from Ottawa suggested holding on to used plastic utensils and using them for Epoxy mixers. I love that I idea. Plastic is the best for mixing epoxy, it's clean to work with, doesn't soak into the mixing stick and doesn't contaminate anything. I also like that the plastic cleans up really well with a chunk of paper towel so you can use them over and over ... thanks, Paul
Transferring Measurements
Dave sent it a very useful tip for those of us who have irregular shapes, or even just shapes of things we need to mount on a wall and they are awkward areas or otherwise harder to get at and transferring measurements is the easy way to go. Dave suggests putting the mounting marks on a piece of taking, like blue painters tape, that can often be mounted and re-mounted a couple of times (I used green painters tape in the video because it is easier to see the marks on). With this method, you can mark things while they are on the workbench, then just take the tape to where you want to mount something ... stick the tape to the wall and now you have an exact marking off what you want to drill pilot holes or simply mark and mount.
Great ideas Dave ... thanks
Bulk Clamp Holders
Mama C sent in this tip for storing bulky clamps, things like 90-degree clamps for making picture frames, and even these wooden handscrew clamps can be quite cumbersome. I leave my hand screw clamps in a tray under my bench with some other C clamps and they are always in the way when I want to get a C clamp. Mama C suggests hanging them on your lumber cart, or on a similar workshop location that places them out of the way, but still easy to get at. They can often be attached to a short piece of light chain then simply hung on a nail or even better a screw hook. A very handy idea ... thanks, Mama C
Windex Lubricant for Sharpening
This tip was sent to me by Gerry when he was watching me sharpen one of my tools ... his suggestion was to use Windex as a lubricant instead of water. The system I am currently using to sharpen my tools is a sticky back abrasive paper on a flat glass surface. I use a bit of water on the abrasive sheets to help keep them clear on iron filing as I am sharpening them, otherwise the iron filings build up and slow down the sharpening process. I'm a big fan of Windex and use it for much more than just cleaning windows, but had not thought to use it as a lubricant for sharpening. I have tried it and it does seem to work. I think that perhaps the soap in the Windex helps to clear the iron filings and the small amount of ammonia might be contributing to grinding the steel of the blades a bit quicker. What it is, it seems to work and I'm going to carry on using it. Thanks, Gerry!!
Anti Skid Discs for Magswitches
This tip was sent to me by Jim in Columbia, and it has to do with giving these Magswitches better grip. These magnetic switches have a LOT of power when it comes to lifting and holding things, but like all magnets, they are more easily slid across a steel top that when you try to lift them off. I figured this out when even before I bought my first ones, which as you can see by the blacktop, was many, many years ago. I had the idea even before I purchased them that I could fix this short-coming by using double-sided tape with some very thin anti-skid material, and it has worked amazingly well for years ... what I didn't know that you can now purchase ... from some carpet stores, these little self-adhesive discs that will do exactly the same thing but they are MUCH easier to apply ... a great tip Jim, thanks for this and thanks for sending me the samples !!
Copyright Colin Knecht
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