Useful, Out-of-the-Ordinary Shop Items.

[Ron Rutter]

...and a couple of others I spotted later:
• Oven Cleaner -- incredibly effective for removing pitch from saw blades
• Old Sweatshirts & Socks-- I cut the shirt sleeves into segments and slide my bowls into the openings for protection during transportation; socks are for small objects; sweatpants work for very large items.

Russ. I use powdered dishwasher soap for cleaning saw blades. Soak in hot water with a sprinkle of soap for 20 minutes, scrub with a soft brush & rinse. Not anywhere near as corrosive as oven cleaner.

[Tony Rozendaal]

Bamboo shish-kebob skewers. I use them to put epoxy on the inside of pen blanks. Also to dab just the right mount of loctite on the inside of pen tubes before pressing the parts together. When painting pen tubes, I clamp one in the vise and slide the tubes on it and tab away with the fingernail polish, then leave them there to dry.

[Ted Calver]

Large rubber bands. Useful for keeping small bundles of things together, and clamping small irregular shapes. They make these small clamps much easier to use one handed.
Guitar 003.jpg

[John K Jordan]

Reminded of this one when I reached for it today:
Disposable surgical scalpels. I keep both the straight edged with sharp points (#11?) and those with rounded edges hanging on a couple of small nails. So many uses. When dull, get another one from the box. Cheaper than dirt, available from Amazon and elsewhere.

JKJ

[Alan Heffernan]

Dental picks. A friend's father was a dentist and he had a shoebox full of picks and I got a dozen or more. They come in handy all the time for all sorts of tasks.

[Russell Neyman]

Had to look up gimlet because I didn't know what it was (it's a hand-cranked device for making holes from the Neanderthal era) but it turns out I have one. Good tip.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimlet_(tool)

[Thom Sturgill]

Sheets of craft foam, especially the self adhesive type. I use it to line jaws, make jam chucks, and to seal the vacuum chuck.

[John Grace]

OK...perhaps not directly related to woodworking, but someone just posted this on my Facebook page and I guarantee you'll find at least one useful tip from this video. Thanks...John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nf_...fufWiXtWvlz8Og

[Bob Bachynsky]

I have one of the tool magnet bars I place on my work table. When I'm working I set my tools on it so they don't roll off the table or fall when I bump it.

[Dave Bunge]

A good quality spray bottle filled with water. I use it to keep the wood wet when I'm turning thin, once turned bowls, to raise the grain during sanding of salad bowls, and for small cleaning tasks, like cleaning the visor on my face shield.

[Robert Engel]

House wrap makes excellent film doing panel glue ups. Why throw it away?

Non slip rug underlays or shelf liner use on top of workbench or between parts when stacking to protect

Interlocking anti fatigue mats have them all over the shop buy them as Sams.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Laying more than a coupleof tools on the ways doesnt work well for me so I use an ironing board. It is strong for its weight and easy to position.

[Jeff Jackson]

...and a couple of others I spotted later:
• Oven Cleaner -- incredibly effective for removing pitch from saw blades
• Old Sweatshirts & Socks-- I cut the shirt sleeves into segments and slide my bowls into the openings for protection during transportation; socks are for small objects; sweatpants work for very large items.

I too save my old socks with holes because they make great finish rags. But when you hang them out to dry don't do it where the neighbors can see you hanging your old socks that are all yellowed from finish.

[John Nordyke]

left over roll of painter's plastic sheeting - it is slightly more robust than saran wrap and I use it to wrap the not-yet-processed chunks of green wood after bandsawing in case I get interrupted and they have to sit for a day or two before rough turning.

[John K Jordan]

A container of talc powder and a chalkboard eraser. Rub the talc into cast iron surfaces to lubricate as well as fill the pores to prevent corrosion. I use it on my bandsaw, lathe ways, etc. This recommendation came from the European tool company Robland in their manual for a cast iron sliding table I use on my cabinet saw.

The trick is finding pure talc that doesn't have perfumes and additives that makes it smell like a baby's room. Billiards people know what to get:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005U4A9KW

JKJ