I think the theme of this episode tips and tricks is "saving footsteps in the workshop". I have never worn a footstep counter but I know that I make many unnecessary footsteps in my workshop going back and forth for different reasons so hopefully, some of the tips given here will help me save a bit of shoe leather.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/OJofwArjMk0
The first tip is from a friend of mine Steve, who works in a busy production shop alongside Debbie and together their output of products is busy and in some seasons quite hectic. The last thing they need is to re-finish some of their woodwork products because of a tiny bit of glue that may have got on the wood and now is blocking the stain from absorbing into the wood ...
*** SEE BOTTOM OF ARTICLE FOR DETAILS ON MAGTOOL SALE ***
To help solve these issues, Steve has attached wiping rags around his glue-up area so that anytime either one of them gets glue on their fingers, they can quickly and easily wipe it off, without having to run around the workshop (like me) looking for a rag. When a wiping rag gets too dirty, it's easy to replace them. Great tip Steve, thanks
And speaking of footsteps, I have some of those anti-fatigue mats and I'm lucky because mine don't move around -now- (because I coated my floors with anti-skid material), but if your floors are a bit shiny and slippery and you end up chasing your anti-fatigue mats around the shop, or worse tripping over them, Michael suggests that some lines-of-glue from a simple glue stick, like Elmer's Glue, might solve your problem. For the small cost of a glue stick, if you don't already have one, it's certainly worth a try. Thanks, Michael ...
This tip is from Jim in Columbia, who uses one of those retractable key chain holders to keep track of his dust collection remote switch. I like to turn my dust collector off between machines (usually) so I am also using my remote switch a lot and this is a good option for many people. For me, I use a magnet pick-up extension on the metal of my drop ceiling, then place a magnet on the handle, and that way I can suspend my remote above the machine I am working on. Either way, there are a couple of ideas for you that might help you save a few footsteps in your workshop ... thanks, Jim for your tip.
Below is a quick pic of how Colin hangs his remote from the ceiling
Gerda tells me she is often working with non-square wood, that is curves, circles, ovals, etc. and measuring these items with conventional tape measures is a real pain, so what Gerda now uses is a cloth tape, which you can buy anywhere. I checked the one I have and compared it with a tape and mine is right on ... but I have heard that cloth tapes can stretch and I do know that older versions were subject to that, but from what I can see, the newer, reinforced cloth tapes appear to be much sturdier than what I have seen years ago ... this is a great solution for curved measuring .. thanks Gerda
Old toothbrushes have so many uses, maybe someone should write a book on them, then you could add John's idea of using an old toothbrush to get out squeeze-out glue from inside tight corners, like boxes and cabinets, where it is otherwise hard to get at. A little bit of water on the tooth brush for the glue that is still wet might be an asset sometimes too, and it's all easy to clean off after. Thanks for the tip, John ...
Tony mentioned to me that he had some legs that needed to be re-glued on the bottom of a small table, but that he didn't have a clamp long enough. So what he did, was reverse one of his one-handed clamps, to make it a push clamp, and that way he could use the pushing force between his ceiling and the table legs and get enough pressure to make a good secure glue-up. Not all clamps can reverse and the easy way to check is to see if they have a removable head, that will be quite evident my bolt and nut. If your clamp does not have this, sometimes you can take them apart and reverse them, but when I tried this, it's a real challenge getting them back together again .. certainly nothing I would do if I had glue waiting to get clamped, so check your clamps and see if they can reverse it might come in hand to you one day ... thanks Tony ..
10% Discount when you use the code .... COLIN_KNECHT
Click here for Magtool Website
