Shop Tricks and Tips

Thanks for the tip Gary. I think this is going to be a very interesting thread, I’m looking forward to seeing it get rolling. Now, i have to think of a “post worthy” tip.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

I guess my tip would be keep a spray bottle of WD40 handy to keep the wood sliding easy on all machinery. I like it because i’ve never had a problem with it interfering with the finish.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Works on chop saws, too.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Like you Gary, I will often measure once and cut alot. I’m much more confident sneaking up on those type of cuts. When I get real close though, I typically use my small disc sander to fine tune the fit. Just a touch of the piece to the disc takes the tiniest bit off. I’ve also found that the sander is good for fine tuning miters as well.

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

That’s the way I sneak up on mitered corners on trim. I do it with my miter slider on the table saw. In front of the fence on the miter slider, I use Porter-Cable self-adhesive sand paper to keep the work pieces from sliding while I cut. I also use it on the front of the sliding miter gauge I built for the router table fence.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Thanks for the tip! ;^)

-- Jesus is Lord!

I know one! When I do use glue it’s a pain to use brushes etc and I really don’t care to have to clean up anything. So what I do is use the pieces of plastic that comes with tool boxes or tackle boxes that you have extra. Then just throw them away.
Krum

-- Cathy Krumrei (Krum) http://www.TheCarversCorner.com

Gary,

This is a good tip. I’m sure of some of us could work with some of you “seasoned” woodworkers, we could learn a whole lot!

This is one of my favorite woodworking topics. I hope you can give us a bunch of “tricks and tips.”

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Here’s another on of my favorites:

There is a very old method of clamping that you don’t see mentioned anymore. They are called Go-Bars.
See the pictures for how they are used. They are worth a thousand words.

It’s basically a thin stick that you can make as needed. You need something for the stick to push against like
the ceiling. This an example of how I glued in the soundboard on my harpsichord. You need a lot of clamps for this.

The thicker the stick and the closer it is to being straightened increases the force. You could easily get 100+ pounds of force per clamp. Make sure that you use a cawl to protect your project.

Try it, you will be surprised how good they work, and how much force they have.

Here you can see that you can build your own platform.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Now that is cool! What a trick!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

guess I’ll get some wd-40 and the clamping stick trick is cool too !

-- ..... art for lifes sake

learned a new trick from a man who owns a stained glass factory and restoration business.

dark paste wax and heat gun

-- ..... art for lifes sake

old cds (I work in IT and we have lots of cds from old software) work as very effective glue spreaders

-- Chelle http://artsgranddaughter.blogspot.com

Grain viewer. (I doubt that this is original, but I don’t recall where I might have seen it.)

Grain orientation and quality are part of the criteria when laying out a cutting pattern. To help select the optimal layout, cut one or more viewing windows the size of your parts and lay them on top of the candidate boards. Slide the viewer(s) around to test different areas and combinations.

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

the heat gun pushes the wax around and makes it easy to shine, it melts into the cracks, joints and gaps.

I like glues and finishes that dry fast !

TIP: add japanese dryer to oil stains. makes a 6-10 dry time more like 2 hours.

I like polyurethane glues because the easy cleanup and stainability etc. Titebond poly was my favorite
now I use Rhino glue. Faster drying and doesn’t expand as much. Less mess etc.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Playing cards make cheap shims, all uniform thickness.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

bought some surgical scapels on ebay real cheap

they way better then any other razor blade or exacto knife I have ever used.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

I like to save old formica sample chains for shims. They work great and are easy to just snap off when in place.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

I’ve used this biscuit jointer now for eight or nine years and the first thing I did was mount it in this rough rig; never getting around to doing a tidy job. I find that 99% (approx!) of what I do with the jointer can be carried out more efficiently with it held in the vice as in the picture. e.g. doing a series of edge to edge joints I mount the machine in the vice, switch on and pick up the ready marked boards in turn and push them against the cutter., switching off at the end of the pile.

Without the rig, it would be a case of secure board to bench; pick up machine, switch on, perform cuts, switch off, put down machine, remove board and replace with another, pick up machine…...

Perhaps this arrangement is commonplace but I thought I’d mention it.

Seen here is a mitred box-lid member that will have biscuit reinforcements. The plywood ‘table’ is also a vast improvement over the small standard one as far as ease of use and accuracy are concerned

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.

I really like the biscuit jointer set up. Thanks
God bless

-- Gene, a Christian in Virginia

Another one. Suppose you are clamping a long surface but don’t have enough clamps or clamps with the reach to clamp in the middle.

Well, if you use a cawl that is either curved or warped you can get by with clamping only on the ends.
Set the cawl on your project with the curved surface facing down so that it rocks like a see saw. This way
when you clamp the ends down, the middle will apply pressure. The thicker and greater the curve the more
pressure in the middle.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

If you really want to know if you’ve sanded something good enough, take it out in the sunlight and look at it.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Here’s one I use everytime.

When you use waterbased finishes on wood they will raise the grain. When you are working your way
up through grades of sandpaper, before your last one, brush on a coat of water on your project to raise
the grain in advance. Then go ahead and make your final sanding when it dries and knock off the grain at the same time.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

When I make parts for my lattice work or half lap joinery I make taper gages and calibrate them with my digital calipers.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Dan – Excellent! I haven’t seen these used in a long time. So long ago that I forgot about them.

Not everyone may not know how to use them though. One way for example is to measure a gap. Stick the taper in the gap and see if it goes in as far as your measured mark.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Here’s another tip. You can use a ruler to make perfectly even divisions.

See example:

For something larger use every other inch or every 5 inches…etc.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary, I love that last one with the ruler!

-- Dust collectors suck.

Another one.

As long as the sides are 3-4-5 you have a 90 degree square. This is probably what they used to build the pyramids.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Wax the plate on your router. It’ll glide real nice. Setting inset doors, I use Formica samples to set the gap.

When setting over lay doors, I use double sided tape to tape strips on the faceframe that guide the door. I also use double sided tape to set drawer fronts on drawer boxes.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Suppose you want a bigger kerf from your sawblade. Just a hair!

Well, this works great. Loosen your blade and insert a piece of paper between the arbor flange and the blade.
It will turn your blade into a wobble dado blade, but such a small one that you will never notice the difference in your cut.

Fold the paper in half or add more thickness until you get exactly what you want. This works with all blades, even dado blades.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

To remove small amounts using my Miter Saw, I lightly press the part to the left side of the blade (Blade in the down position & stopped). Raise the blade while holding the part in place, start the blade and lower. You will remove about 1/2 the blade width. The blade shifts a small amount when the power is turned on, just enough to remove the small amount required.
Carlton

Need some small clamps in a hurry….Slice a piece of ABS pipe in 1”, 2”....what ever width you require, then cut a small bit out of the resaulting rings….Open and apply… These things hold not to bad. Great if you need a lot of clamps for a small project.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

I always use a small acid brush when spreading glue on small jobs. To keep the brush always like new, I keep it in a cup with about 1/2” of water. (brush end in the water) Next time I need the brush I just take it out and shake it off.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Here is an old axiom that works well for me.

Measure twice, cut once.

Today I was striping bark off of a fairly green red cedar limb and for those of you familiar you know it is loaded with sap. After my “skinning knife” got all gummed up I got to thinking of an easy way to clean it. I have learned that Rubbing Alcohol will eat the adhesive on bandages making them easier to remove on us hairy guys. So, being the intellect I am (ha) I tried it on the knife. With amazing results it made cleaning up almost effort less. It also works good at cleaning the sap off the hands.

shaving cream is a all purpose sticky goo cleaner. try it when nothing else works.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

I save the little Jell-o cups and caps from laundry soap containers. They are just the right size to mix small amounts of whatever and they hold just the right amount of glue for the normal glue job.

And they are free.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Have trouble cutting reactive wood? Wood that pinches your sawblade, splitter, or riving knife
when you cut it? Well, here is an easy way to cut it.

First of all as soon as you notice it happening, pull back if you can, if not stop your saw and lift the back end of the board to use the leverage to release it.

Now that you have identified the piece as reactive just cut it like normal except feed it just a short way then pull it back and feed it again. This will cause the blade to re-cut the the board. Do this as often as needed.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Got an old candle laying around? It makes for great lubricant for wood.

If you’ve ever had an old wooden window that sticks, just rub a candle on the part
that the windows slide against and no more stick.

Got wooden drawers that don’t slide like they used to? Try a candle.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

You can use the same candle to lubricate the threads of brass screws when mounting box hardware. Just drag the threads over the candle. It still works best to “precut” the hole with an equivalent steel screw prior to the final application of brass screws. This will stop the screw from snapping off in the hole as it is tightened.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Last night I was reminded of a trick I use way too often. I was helping my son put the hinges on a music box. After drilling the holes, we did not like the way it lined up. All we had to do was un-drill the holes and put them where they belonged.

So we drilled out the wrong holes with a 1/8” bit then inserted a 1/8” dowel. I cut the dowel a little proud then hammered it flush. Now we were back to zero and could re-drill the holes in the correct place.

One of these days I’m going to get one of those fancy self centering drill bits so I don’t have to use such clever ways to undo my malfunctions.

-- Leon -- Houston, TX - " I create all my own designs and it looks like it "

Douglas – A bar of soap works great also for lubing screws.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Douglas – A bar of soap works great also for lubing screws.

Yeah, one of those almost used up ones that are hard to use in the shower.

-- Maplewood, MN

My better half complains of the noise in the shop if the door is shut but she then complains that I don’t hear her.

Does anyone have a convenient, inexpensive method of letting you know that someone wants your attention. Sort of like those lights hooked up to phones for a visual riingtone.

Obviously an intercom won’t work because it, too, can not be heard over shop noise. Half the time I don’t hear the cell phone when she or anyone celse alls.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

How about a switch in the house that controls an outlet in the shop which has a strobe light plugged into it?

Or a dog training collar – that would get your attention! Although the jumping and twitching might be dangerous around the power tools.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

ill take the strobe , my luck id be peeing when i got zapped with the collar ! lol

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

Sawdust2

Try one of these devices made for the deaf.
Like a wireless button that signals with a strobe
http://unitedtty.com/store/product244.html

From:
http://www.unitedtty.com/store/notification-alerting_systems.html

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

try putting your cell phone on vibrate

-- ..... art for lifes sake

I was going to suggest the cell phone as well – as long as you don’t usually respond by jumping when it goes off, it should be effective and safe.

in the spring we had a discussion about this with lots of “unsafe” methods to interrupt. One idea suggested was the the person waits til you are done the task at hand and then call out.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Gary, interesting site. There are other good options there, also.

I carry my cell phone in a pouch on my belt. I often do not feel it vibrate.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Soap vs Wax for screw lube. Not that it makes a huge difference, but I’ve heard that soap will draw moisture and wax won’t. Still using the same beeswax candle for the last 7 years.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

not sure if this is a good tip or common knowledge.

I search dollar stores for the 24 packs of little artist brushes. Use them for everything, especially for glue up.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Do you want precision of one thousandths of an inch. You want to check the runout of you saw blade.
Don’t want to spend over $100 for commerical products? How about getting it for less than $25.

Well, just get the following:
http://www.amazon.com/VME-Mighty-Mag-Magnetic-Base/dp/B00095V0NC

http://www.amazon.com/Speedway-Series-1-Dial-Indicator/dp/B000K1JURI/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1199469687&sr=1-19

The indicator is mounted to the magnetic base.

Just set your rip fence close to where you want it and then stick it to the surface of your table saw slide
it up to your rip fence until the plunger is depressed halfway. Then you can measure exactly how far
you are moving your fence.

Stick it to your sawblade to measure runout or square your blade to your table.

There are all kinds of other applications.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Got a bent or warped piece of wood?

Like this:

Well, if one side won’t be showing, for example, an applied drawer front, this is a great trick.
Create a bunch of kerf cuts parallel to the warp as below:

Then cut some scraps strips a little wider than the kerf. Then beat them in with a hammer.
This forces the kerf open a little bit straightening it a little part of the whole.
It adds up if you do enough of them. Use a chisel to shave them flush.

This is the result.

This will also work for a long skinny part, like a shaft.
If it will show use a decorative piece of wood and make it a feature.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Here’s a quick one. To keep track of the width of the kerf that a particular blade will cut, I make a sample
cut in a scrap piece of wood as a reference.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I’ve been finishing a butcher block top per the instructions on the “Wood Whisperer.” I am applying the finish with a paper towel, as per his instructions. Having a healthy respect for spontaneous combustion I pondered the disposal of the paper. Eureka! Put the paper towel in zip-lock bag, add about 1/4 cup water, burp and seal, throw in trash.

-- Maplewood, MN

I’m kinda running out of tips. Any more out there?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Just remembered another.

I alwasy keep a roll of aluminum foil in the shop for different things. It’s great for temporary things like
a little bowl for mixing epoxy, paint, stain…

To cover bar clamps to keep glue off of them.

Put it between things that you don’t want glued together.

The uses are endless.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Need to clamp something that has an odd shape? Regular clamps won’t do the job.

Try this masking tape. There are different green tapes but this is the one to get.
It’s for “For Hard To Stick Surfaces” and you can leave it on for 3 days with no glue residue.

The best thing about it is that it stretches a little allowing you to stretch it over a gap and it will pull
it together. It’s part number 3M 2060. Big boxes don’t seem to carry it.

This is the best total price I have found for it.

http://www.drillspot.com/products/306196/3M_2060-1A_1X60YD_Green_Mask_Tape

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Now that I found out where the tips are getting posted:

I you want glue to match your project, add water based tints to the glue and it will help hide the glue line. I use aniline dyes, because that’s what I use when I’m doing projects.

Cheapest glue spreader- a digital one. You should have about 10 of them, or a story why not.

If you start getting off track while cutting with your bandsaw, try side pressure, rather than rotating the wood, to get back on line.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

When I start a large project and I’m working with screws, I buy a cheap-o wax toilet bowl ring and put my screw tips in it. It comes in a little plastic container so it doesn’t get all over everything, and it has a hole in the middle if you need to hang it (from your toolbelt or something). The wax, of course, helps lube the screws for entry. Being that the screw tips are in it, I can put 20-30 screws in it at a time and pull them out as I need it without them rolling around everwhere. When I finish a big project or a few small ones, I just pitch it and get another.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Do you have a cupped board? Throw it out on the lawn an a sunny day cupped side down. The sun will dry the top side, pulling it straight while moisture from the lawn expands the cupped side, pushing it straight. If it goes too far just turn the board over.

-- Tony, Sacramento

center drill

-- ..... art for lifes sake

I use inexpensive tool bits to set all distances under an inch.
Routers, band saws, tablesaws.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

What a great topic Gary.
Here’s one.
If you have a mitre thats not meeting properly & you don’t have access to all those you beaut tools to fix it. butt the two pieces together and run a saw blade between them. Keep doing that until you have a perfect mitre.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

to ebonize oak or walnut

soak steel wool in a jar of vinager for a couple weeks or months. Paint the wood with the stuff and in a little over an hour …. black grain.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

When you stain frame @ panel doors, use the blower nozzle on your compressor fo force the stain in behind the frame

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

If you use the Lee Valley plane socks, throw a silica packet in the “toe”, this will prevent the planes from rusting after the impregnated silica in the sock is gone.

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

Use painters tape to mask your glue lines, peel off, no squeeze out.

Need to clamp and want to protect your clamps from glue squeeze out…wax paper then clamp. Throw the it (the wax paper of course) away when the glue dries.

Back to that painters tape, if you have some fancy plywood/veneer/wood that you would like to avoid chip out or marking on. Painters tape does the job very well, if I need to be supper careful I still score the cut line through the tape. I prefer to use the blue tape from Scotch, the 7 day type as it is just sticky enough but still comes off easily without leaving any tape adhesive behind. Use the good stuff from Scotch not the no name brands if you are going to use the blue tape.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I sometimes use the ebonized oak formula to antique my projects.

Use a small brush and coat corners and glue lines with the vinager.

Sanding feathers out the vinager iron stain.

Next step is my normal finishing method of dark oak alchohol anilyne dye. ... oil stain … shellac and dark wax.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Use Duck Tape to hold your dust extractor bag in place before you clamp it on, otherwise @%%T%%&^&^(*($%^$%^$%&

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Great one Grumpy !!! You got me !!! >grin<

-- ..... art for lifes sake