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Thread: The Tips and Tricks Thread

  1. #121
    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Girouard View Post
    I made my own “Bandie Clamps” , I went to HD and got the .99 cent spring clamps , and then to WalMart to got a bike inner tube. You cut the inner tube into 6” lengths and slip the now open ends of the inner tube onto the clamp ends.

    They work great for gluing on wood edge banding onto 3/4” plywood parts.
    I think I made twenty , I made ten, liked how they worked then made ten more. The 10 clamps cost 9.99 + tax and the inner tube was under $5.00 , for for fifteen dollars I made 10 clamps , the Rockler Bandies was $13.00 + dollars for two , plus some shipping fees.

    If you ever apply wood edge banding , and want to avoid pin nailing the strips on , or don’t want to use pipe clamps and cawl’s to do the clamping, the home made stretchy clamp might be some thing to consider.
    Note: Fred Skelly copied this tip here to keep it from getting lost in the archives. It was originally posted by Paul Girouard on 1/2/19, as a response to another post about using spring clamps. Thanks Paul!
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 01-03-2019 at 7:28 AM. Reason: Corrected date to 1/2/19
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  2. #122
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Ingleside, IL
    Posts
    1,417
    I have a 6" ruler and a 4" square that I use almost exclusively for layout, and I get tired of trying to find them and then having them on bench top when I'm working, so I epoxied a couple of magnets to my bench light - without which it's hard for me to do precise layout - and now they are there at hand when I need them.
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    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  3. Use a straw for glue clean up

    I got this tip years ago from a magazine - Although glue squeeze out is easy to clean from outside corners and joints, inside corners and joinery are more difficult to clean up. Use a straw to clean glue squeeze out from inside corners. Squeeze the end of the straw to create a "v" shape and push the "v" along the edge where the glue squeeze out is located. Instead of the glue smearing, it collects into the end of the straw. If the straw gets clogged, squeeze it out or cut off the end with scissors and continue. I often take the additional step of masking off the inside corners with tape to minimize clean up later on. Taping is a little extra work but worth it especially if the project will be stained and glue stains will show.

  4. #124
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
    Posts
    4,511
    Blog Entries
    11
    Having worked with several types of prefinished flooring including laminate, luxury vinyl planks and bamboo, I have found that all are very hard on saw blades. Particularly those floors finished with an aluminum oxide (ceramic) impregnated coating. A secret I recently found is that if you cut the planks on a MS laying flat, you will dull the blade much faster than if you are able to stand the planks on edge. And I found out that standing on edge, with the finished face facing you, even a 24 tooth general construction blade will make a perfect cut. And it helps if you are able to dedicate a 12" saw to 90 degree cuts and use a zero clearance backing board of a very hard material, in my case the same stranded bamboo I was using for the floor. Fortunately I have an older Milwaukee 10" saw for the miter cuts. Another advantage of cutting material vertically is that the sawdust will mostly spit out the back for collection whereas cutting material flat, much if the dust will spew all over, regardless of how good your dust collection system is.

    To avoid measuring issues, I simply lay the plank on the floor flipping it end to end and mark the cut in place, and to avoid cutting on the wrong side of the line and spoiling an expensive plank, I mark both sides of the cut with a Milwaukee Markzall marker.

    Once I finish my current bamboo flooring project, all of my blades are going in for a professional sharpening.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    NOW you tell me...

  5. #125
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Minot, ND
    Posts
    558
    Was trying to install a replacement sanding sleeve on my oscillating spindle sander and having a rough time trying to get the sleeve on. After struggling, (way too long), I pulled off the partially installed sleeve and tossed the rubber drum into the freezer. After about an hour, I was pulled out the drum and the sleeve then slid on without any issues. I should have known to try this myself, but ended up being prompted by SWMBO before trying this. Kudo's to her.

    (Be prepared to get some condensation on the drum afterwards if you're in a humid area.)

    Clint
    Last edited by Clint Baxter; 06-03-2023 at 6:05 PM.

  6. #126
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    274
    I do something very similar, but I use my wife’s pinking shears, since she no longer sews (but I don’t ‘publicize’ my use of them prior to doing it ). Leaves a very nice sawtooth edge. I cut one long side and one short side on each card.


    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    For use as a glue spreader I use a hole punch to notch the edges of gift cards.

    Some cards are 1/32", I use these as a sort of macro-feeler gauge when setting reveals.

    Attachment 377938
    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  7. #127

    Easy Check for Blade at 90 degrees. Table Saw, Miter Saw, Bandsaw

    There are many ways of checking that blade is 90 degrees to table. Here is my favorite method. It requires no measuring tools, just a scrap of wood. Cut the piece of wood in half, then flip one half over and butt the cut ends together while pushing the two halves against a straight edge such as the fence. If the blade is not at 90 degrees to table, the cut ends will not butt together evenly.
    Demonstrated in this video: https://youtu.be/uZu1VPtX8VE

    Thumb for Blade at 90 (1).jpg

  8. #128
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
    Posts
    15,596
    Blog Entries
    1
    Here's another tip. If you are worried about splitting trim, snagging carpet fibers or hitting your fingers when installing trim. Use a finishing nail as your drill bit. Cut the head off an appropriately sized finishing nail, put the nail in your drill chuck and tighten. Drill your hole. It will not grab your carpet. This also works for installing wood trim without cracking or splitting. You also don't need three hands to hold the trim in place, hold the nail and the hammer all at the same time.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  9. #129
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,889
    Easy free soft jaws for a vise. I was at Home Depot and saw them unboxing barbeques in the garden shope. They were throwing out what looked like angle iron about 3x3 inches about 3/8" thick made of solid tan cardboard. I took a couple of pieces of this packing material from the trash pile about three feet long. Cut it on the miter saw into pieces just longer then my vise jaw width. It is almost as hard as plywood and works well as soft jaws. Long enough web they do not fall off too easy.

  10. #130
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    274

    3-Ring Binders’ Loops for Storage

    We all have those cards and blister packs and other things that need to hang to be stored. The guts from 3-ring binders work wonders. Drill out the two pop rivets that hold the metal part to the ‘binding’ part of the binder (the part between the front and back covers), then screw the metal part to a strip of wood or directly to the wall in your shop. Don’t over-tighten the two screws — just get them snug.


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    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  11. #131
    I am making a saw track. I have the rails in place and am preparing a precision cut for the stiles on a RAS. I glued two pieces of wood together between the rails to serve as a substitute. I will set a fence saw stop an inch or so longer than the substitute. With the substitute in place I'll saw a piece of stock against it. Then remove the substitute, place that short piece of stock against the fence stop to cut the stile. The stile will be the same length as the substitute because they have both occupied the same space.

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  12. #132
    Great initiative! Having a dedicated thread for workshop tips and tricks in the General Woodworking and Power Tools forum sounds like a fantastic idea. It's a valuable resource for sharing innovative ideas and improving efficiency. Looking forward to seeing everyone's contributions and learning new techniques. Let's make this thread a go-to destination for woodworking enthusiasts!
    Great initiative! Having a dedicated thread for workshop tips and tricks in the General Woodworking and Power Tools forum sounds like a fantastic idea. It's a valuable resource for sharing innovative ideas and improving efficiency. Looking forward to seeing everyone's contributions and learning new techniques. Let's make this thread a go-to destination for woodworking enthusiasts!

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