Pipe Clamp Supports -- Tool Tip #20

One of the old saws of woodworking is that you can never have enough clamps. I will attest that this is certainly true despite owning a fair number of them, relying mostly on the inexpensive but powerful pipe clamps by Pony, Bessey, Harbor Freight, etc. If you've done more than two glue-ups with these you've already run across the issue of the tail end of the pipe falling and the jaws bucking up off the workbench. This is not a frustration, of course, when the clamp length is appropriate to the width of the glue-up, but during multiple glue-ups one migrates inevitably toward clamps too long for the job.

To control this little bucking bronco I always put a long strip of wood about 7/8” thick underneath all the ends of the hanging tails. This does the job nicely of keeping all the pipe clamps level and in a single plane so the boards can be laid in with no difficulty. I've thought of using pipe insulation placed on the tail for the same purpose, but such insulation is not thick enough. Too recently it occurred to me that your typical pool noodle would provide exactly the right thickness to keep the tail from falling. So now instead of a bunch of bucking broncos, we corral a well broke line of Ponies. Hope this helps.

(The astute observer will observe that the photos show a situation where the noodle was actually not needed, but I was nonetheless eager to share the use of my other noodle.)

Find the online shop at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Lotion as Hand Cleaner -- Tool Tip #19

One of the neatest things about my 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 were the convenient repair kits that Toyota provided. Packaged in their individual red boxes were everything you needed to rebuild, say, a universal joint or a brake assembly or the master clutch cylinder. I think the idea was that if you filled a modest satchel with a bunch of these kits you really could head out in the boonies and fix most anything on the run. I, however, worked on our FJ40 in the driveway, used quite a few of those little red boxes and got my hands mighty dirty. Back then I used Goop or Gunk or Gorp, whatever, to dissolve the grease and grime, pretty nasty products actually, maybe a step away from washing your hands in gasoline. Took quite a while before I incidentally discovered that most any ordinary hand or body lotion also works well as a hand cleaner. Frankly, for myself, those expensive balms and creams that are supposed to do magic for working hands are mostly hype.

Ever since this discovery, several times a day, I slather lotion on generously as a hand cleaner, and using no water (reduce cracking!) just dry my hands on paper toweling or a terrycloth towel...works quite well. The dirt and grime transfers to the toweling.  Plus your hands don't end up marinated in petrochemicals or dried out by soap and water. Those little lotion tubes and bottles turn out to be perfect to drop in a tool bag during installations.  Alas, I've come up with a fairly lame excuse to post a couple pics of my favorite vehicle, but on the otherhand certain individuals in your life may appreciate hands that feel more like 220 grit than 40 grit.  To see all 18 previous tool tips type "tool tip" into the search this blog window.  You might find something you can use in your own shop.

Useful wooden objects including hand carved teaspoons at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com 

21 Indelible Comments

They are like tunes stuck in your head but, instead, stuck in your life. Surely dear reader, you too remember comments people have said to you that are still with you. Can you at this very moment recall any? Yet these comments were not especially poetic, not necessarily aphoristic, not notably brilliant, not always true, not, in fact, even "memorable," but nonetheless they remain indelibly. I have searched for some commonality that unites them but find none:  not speaker, place, time, circumstance, age, etc. I can say, however, with some confidence, that they number no more than thee dozen or so. By opening myself up to their remembrance they have come back to me quite easily over the course of only a week or two. If I ever come up with 21 more I'll post a further collection.

Yes, indeed, a few tool tips are included for those of you handy with your hands, which turns out to be the case with me as I did follow my college professor's advice in the very last comment:

1) Washing Hands

To really clean your hands, wash something else. (J.M.)

2) Turds

If you are impressed with the size of your turds then you're getting enough fiber. (M.K.)

3) Marking along a Template

For real accuracy don't hold the pencil upright but keep the cone against the guide. (N.L.)

4) Spray Cans

Always ignored the cleaning advice about spraying upside down, and they work just fine. (M.D.)

5) Intersections

Look first to your left on account that vehicle will hit you soonest. (J.M.)

6) Finches

Lucky to have them move in as they will sing their little hearts out for you. (K.C.)

7) Sleep

Don't worry about not sleeping...just rest. (F.A.)

8) Jail

Spend some time in the slammer...it builds character. (F.A.)

9) Cookies

Broken cookies are healthier. (O.M.)

10) Early Days of Windows

I love how you can go in first thing in the morning and open all your windows. (B.C.)

11) Mental Agility

Avoid the calculator; doing math longhand preserves mental agility. (J.A.)

12) Hammering

Ear protection, of course, for the loud tools, but try it for ordinary hammering. (T.K.)

13) Chairs

You know you're getting old when you make noises rising from your chair. (N.B.)

14) Advice from our XT Builder (1984)

Just remember the first rule of using a computer:  always back up your work. (J.H.)

15) Right Color

Kurt, you don't look good in blue. (D.G.)

16) Coffee

For the perfect cup pour coffee and cream simultaneously. (D.K.)

17) Vacation

Sights are without end; a true vacation is dolce far niente. (F.A.)

18) Olives (Eyeballs) and Children

As soon as you eat ten, you will like them. (J.M.)

19) Speaking Your Mind

Now that I am old I speak my mind, a freedom I lacked in youth. (J.A.)

20) Meditation

Awaken yourself each morning at 3:00 AM, the ideal time for meditation. (A.L.)

21) Academics

Kurt, don't go into academics, it's a nasty business. (L.T.)


Readers are offering a few of their own "indelible comments" which I include below.  As with my own I am not providing a context, leaving that to the imagination, the important thing being that these words have stuck with the person:

22)  You can always go to the bathroom if you try.   (from D.&L. D.)

23)  Because I said so!  (from D.&.L. D.)

24)  Stick to theoretical work.  (from M.N.)

25)  Gotta eat.  (from S.T.)

26)  Has it changed?  (S.H.C. debating the merit of a second visit to the Grand Canyon)


Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

Tool Bed Polishing -- Tool Tip #18

My clearest early memory of silicon carbide sandpaper, if such is the stuff memories are made of, is in the hands of a lovely female luthier as she gently hand rubbed the newly lacquered surface of a gourd-shaped Neapolitan mandolin. She used the tiniest piece of very fine grit black paper following the round curve of the instrument's back perfectly with her fingers until the entire surface was uniform powdery white and ready for yet another coat of lacquer. Few of my furniture commissions over the years required this type of mirror finish, and most of my uses for silicon carbide sandpaper, typically 400 grit, have nothing to do with finishing wood itself. I have already written about its excellent application in sharpening chisels when glued to a plate of plate glass:

Read more about this particular use at:  Fast Sharpening

Another blog post suggests silicon carbide sandpaper in order to prevent slippage between the surface of a miter gauge and a piece of wood:  Anti-Skid Miter Gauge

Today's tip is about yet another excellent application. Use 400 grit silicon carbide sandpaper attached to a hard rubber sanding block to clean, smooth and polish machine tool beds and tables as well as other machined metal surfaces such as the sole of a handplane. The block can also remove gunk, grime, high spots and burrs from the base plates of jigsaws, circular saws, plate joiners, etc.  Expect the sandpaper to load quickly and have extra sheets on hand.

You have a machine shop in your hand. Move with the grain of the factory machining. The few first passes immediately reveal low and high spots on a tool bed, such as at the throat of a jointer where you definitely don't want any miniature ski jump. Do stop short though of trying this on the cylinder head of that old Chevy V8 engine you're rebuilding.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com

   

Feng Shui for Sheet Goods -- Tool Tip #17

How many are the ways to store sheet goods?  Really, just two:  horizontally as they do in lumber yards and commercial shops or vertically, typically leaning against a wall, as we do in small shops.

The problem I had with this second system is access, always the sheet closest to the wall was the one you needed which required lifting it up and over all the others.  This shop organizational "tool" provided not only easy access but also mobility, allowing one to roll full sheets up to the table saw and then putting the cut list back aboard.  Pieces could be removed over the rails or alternately slid out from the end.  The whole unit stores easily as well, the swiveling casters allowing parking in very tight spots.  Here are some details:

●  Casters are solid rubber 6" diameter, two with locking levers

●  Dimensions are 2' wide x 6' long; platform structure made of 2x4's 

●  Cleats under each of the separating bars prevent sheet goods from shifting laterally

●  Easy to pull a single piece out of the rack over slick Melamine floor 

●  Height of PVC pipe separators:  15", 24", 41".

Suddenly sheet goods have their feng shui...you won't regret having this caddy.

Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

Shop Clean-Up: Rule of Two's -- Tool Tip #16

Geraniums are an unexpected window treatment in a garage, and I'm talking about a serious grease monkey's garage where transmissions are pulled as easily as flashdrives. Even more surprising, however, were this mechanic's tool habits. As each tool finished its job, wiped clean it was and then put back in its place, turning the tired saw “a place for every tool and every tool in its place” into a mantra.

Now and again I've thought what a nice ideal this was, and now and again I would try to follow his example though not with much success. My working behavior was more to grab tools helter skelter, dropping them on any blank spot on the workbench and often having to move a bunch as I negotiated a piece of furniture. Anyone who works with their hands knows well that any job always requires every tool you own. Maybe a few might return to their places in the course of things, but inevitably in the light of the setting sun I had a job that my mechanic friend did not: putting away a pile of tools.

So now I have a piece of advice for you that has proven a psychological advantage to make this task easier:   I call it the “rule of two's.” This will work for the gardener out in the yard. It will work for a load of clean dishes in the dishwasher. It will work for the tools of any craftsman in any media. It will work for butcher block, easel or workbench. Take your tools by two's and put them away. Somehow this pairing of items just makes the task of putting away smoother, faster, more satisfying, more “artful.” Try it once and see what I mean...seems silly, but it really works!

An index of the first 15 Tool Tips can be found at:  15 Tool Tips

 Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:   FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

An Exception to the Rule

15 Tool Tips

1800's Level

Tool Tip#15 -- Hose through a Door -- a decorative and permanent way to route hoses or wires through closed doors

Tool Tip #14 -- New Grit for Sanding Sponges -- reviving the grit on a sanding sponge after its own grit is worn away

Tool Tip #13 -- Miter Gauge Tightening -- using transparent tape to quickly tighten a miter gauge sloppy in its track

Tool Tip #12 -- Grabbing for Arrows -- improving a pencil's handle to unsheath it more easily, not to mention removing more errors

Tool Tip #11 -- Sharpening a Hammer -- using a disc sander to prevent rubber mallets from marring work or skidding

Tool Tip #10 -- The Hulk's Bench Scraper -- plate glass to smooth and flatten bench tops as well as standard glass for use as a wood scraper

Tool Tip #9 -- Securing an Old Favorite -- draw tight latches improve the traditional door slab over sawhorse workbench

Tool Tip #8 -- Easy Fill for Portable Tank -- a double male coupling allows fast filling of a portable air tank through its outlet

Tool Tip #7 -- Sleeves to Shoulders -- using a shelf pin sleeve to reinforce frequently used 1/4" holes in pegboard

Tool Tip #6 -- Replacement Power Cord  -- the appropriate gauge extension cord makes an inexpensive and easily available replacement power cord

Tool Tip #5 -- Magnets in Molded Plastic Cases -- glue in magnets to keep bits, blades, wrenches or whatever handy in your plastic tool cases

Tool Tip #4 -- Extension Cord Hair Band  -- a giant inner tube rubber band nicely cinches an extension cord roll

Tool Tip #3 -- Power from Above -- just because you're working in front of a garage door doesn't mean you can't have a place to plug in a tool

Tool Tip #2 -- Nuts over Tangs -- protecting your hands from the sharp end of a file or rasp with a common electrical item

Tool Tip #1 -- Block Tenderizing -- if it's hard to bend that sanding block to receive sandpaper it may be time for block tenderizing

Tool Tip #15: Hose through a Door

Over the years I've pinched and cut enough hoses and wires in my shop door because it was required to keep the door shut for heating, cooling, dust, vapors, etc.  The simple solution as shown is to install two cable hole grommets on either side of the door.  These serve to permit passage through the door, prevent chafing of the hose or wire and allow easy closure of the hole with the grommet's snap-in cover (lying on the sill).  My custom office systems have always included numerous cable hole grommets, though, with the advent of so much wireless equipment, the market for these will likely decline...a warning to investors in cable hole grommet manufacturers.

See also our shop at:  FlyingCircusStudios.etsy.com

Tool Tip #14: New Grit for Sanding Sponges

The aluminum oxide abrasive used on sanding sponges typically wears off quite fast, but those sponges make excellent blocks for other sandpaper.  In fact, the grit provides a flaccid velcro to hold sheet sandpaper (same width as your block sander) or a used disc from an orbital sander.  You'd be surprised how effective even a used disc can be for contour sanding.  Note also the crutch tip on the vise's release lever...to prevent power cords drawn across the vise from pinching and getting stuck.  Am I the only woodworker to whom that's happened?

Tool Tip #13: Miter Gauge Tightening

The miter gauge that comes with many stationary tools typically fits loosely enough to induce errors.  Unless the miter gauge guide bar is fitted with adjusters, you can still make it snug in its slot by just adding a layer of transparent tape.  In the photo I add a single layer of "Scotch" tape to one side of my table saw miter gauge bar and trim the excess with a razor blade.  The tape's thickness of .001" is all that it takes to eliminate any play, and the surprise is that this quick fix lasts several years.  A layer could be added to the other side as well if the play were really bad.

Tool Tip #12: Grabbing for Arrows

I've never been a fan of carpenter's pencils, finding them imprecise, awkward and a hassle to sharpen.  What is it...a million hours of construction labor lost each year to sharpening them?  I do, however, like the better grip they provide when grabbing them from a tool belt or shop apron.  To provide that same grip on a typical pencil I glue on an arrowhead eraser.  In fact a pencil without one now feels quite naked to me.  I always have a pair handy in all the locations I need them:  a #2 for writing and a #3H for lines.  (See also Plague of Cheap Tools)  Furthermore, should you ever make that rare marking mistake you have a nice fat eraser to take care of it.

Tool Tip #11: Sharpening a Hammer

Deadblow hammers are useful woodworking tools for both disassembly and assembly, though one hardly wants the imprint of a hammer face on either an antique slated for repair or a new piece of furniture.  The indentations, roughness and dirt on the face of the hammer shown in the picture are easily removed by a few seconds in contact with a disc sander.  The bed of the disc sander is especially useful in keeping the face of the hammer exactly parallel to the disc.  I usually bring the hammer face to the disc with the sander just turned off and winding down, since the disc at full speed tends to melt the hammer face rather than "sharpen" it.  By the way, sharpened hammers have much less tendency to slip or skid, like a student pilot.  If you've created too sharp a hammer head, relieve the corners slightly. You may even find that the disc is ever so slightly cleaner than when you started, i.e. like the work boot used to clean a belt sander in Old Sole Eraser.

Tool Tip #10: The Hulk's Bench Scraper

I couldn't find any green gloves for this picture, but just take a long and wide piece of 1/4" plate glass, hold it at an angle safely with thick gloves and then draw it across your workbench in several different directions.  Now you have a monster bench scraper:  off come high spots, glue drops, burrs, splinters and most any piece of debris that could scratch your work.  With repeated use such a scraper has the further benefit of flattening the top of your workbench, which is always a help for any form of glue-up.  Used with care, freshly cut glass makes an excellent scraper for wood, a practice I first encountered in the Chelsea studio of the Greek sculptor Michael Lekakis.  He used little squares of window glass for the final finish on a variety of his wood sculptures.  That's 8 crisp edges without any maddening metal scraper sharpening...the Hulk can keep his shirt on.

Tool Tip #9: Securing an Old Favorite

Throughout college my only desk was a hollow core door slab placed over a pair of sawhorses, and I still haven't abandoned this convenient form of table.  Whenever I need an additional work surface open come a pair of Trojan ( http://www.trojantools.com) sawhorses and on goes a 3-0 door slab.  A good door slab typically provides a very flat surface which is useful in assembling face frames or checking the 3-dimensional squareness of a carcase, not to mention being very much lighter than any folding table.  However, having your slab seesaw a load onto the floor is not fun.  To provide greater security for this old favorite I've added a draw tight latch to the end of each 2x4 and bolted the Trojans on as well.  The draw tight latches make attachment quick and easy with no reaching underneath the table.

Tool Tip #8: Easy Fill for Portable Tank

Portable air tanks are not only great for filling tires, but also supply compressed air for such impulse tools as brad nailers, making for quieter, more peaceful installations.  Typically they are designed to be filled with an air chuck through a standard valve stem shown here within the knurled red knob.  Much faster and easier, however, is using a double-ended male plug placed into the female quick couplers of both the compressor and the portable air tank.  Thus the tank is filled through it's outlet (make sure the air valve is on!).  If you're fast you can release both female quick couplers simultaneously, and the male plug assembly just falls away with no air loss from the tank.

Tool Tip #7: Sleeves to Shoulders

In my penchant for quick access to tools, I've found the best way to place a small diameter tool or bit in pegboard is often just to stick it straight in.  This is made more feasible by the fact that the pegboard is mounted over 1.5" of high density foam which holds it shape well.  Doing "in and out" too much, however, erodes and enlarges the hole.   The solution is to create a shoulder for the hole with a sleeve, in this case a Knape & Vogt sleeve actually designed to receive a shelf support spoon with a .25" pin diameter.  Since the external diameter of the sleeve is greater than the diameter of the pegboard hole these sleeves fit nice and tight, providing permanent reinforcement.  Of course, using these sleeves for actual shelf supports provides durability, security and beauty.

Tool Tip #6: Replacement Power Cord

Long and short, heavy gauge and light gauge, with ground and without ground describe the variety of extension cords I keep in my tool kit, but besides extending cords they have another useful function.  Should the power cord on most any power tool fail, an instant replacement is already on hand.  A soldering iron and sometimes crimp-on connectors can make this replacement quite professional.  Make sure, of course, that the wire gauge of the extension cord matches or exceeds the cord on the tool and that the number of conductors is the same.  Generally you'll be surprised how high the cord's gauge on the tool is.  Four advantages here:  1)  You fixed the tool at a fraction of the price you'd pay for a "real" power cord;  2)  You may now have a bright safety orange cord instead of plain old black;  3) You can have a cord of any length you like;   4)   You've saved a trip, and the job can plunge ahead.

Tool Tip #5: Magnets in Molded Plastic Cases

Once upon a time all tool cases were metal, but with the advent of molded plastic cases I had to adapt this little magnetic storage trick.  Now I attach the magnet to the case using epoxy, but it still functions well as a handy storage "tray" for a myriad of blades, bits, wrenches, keys, drivers or whatever is needed for the particular tool in hand or in case, as it were.

Tool Tip #4: Extension Cord Hair Band

A really quick and easy way to cinch an extension cord for storage is to wrap the center with a cross section of car inner tube looped through itself.  Mine are cut with pinking shears, and the little teeth provide even better "locking."  Car inner tubes are harder to find these days, but just one from your local tire dealer or flea market will produce numerous handy giant rubber bands for this and lots of other binding purposes.

Tool Tip #3: Power from Above

Not countable the number of times that I would be working midstream against the vast 16' expanse of my Wayne Dalton garage door and need to plug in a power tool.  That would require obtaining and running an extension cord out to one of the walls.  No more.  Now when the door is lowered I have power from above, a permanent 3-outlet extension cord attached to the door with nylon cable clamps and plugged into a receptacle at the side of the door.  This cord can be draped to follow and clear the door movement or plugged in and removed as needed.  Hardly a day goes by that it is, indeed,  needed.