Your Best Nifty Shop Tip?

[Wally Dickerman]

Geez...so many tips, where to start. You can get small blocks of parrafin in the canning dept. at the grocery store. I keep a block near my lathe and frequently rub some on the bed and the underside of the tool rest banjo. It now will move smooth as silk.

[Tim Rinehart]

I always keep a small metal 6" ruler nearby, and was constantly losing it or 'blowing' it off into chips.
I take a couple small round magnets (about size of quarter), and keep the ruler attached to tailstock with it. Problem solved.

Here's another using same round magnets...a local turner taught me this to get a consistent second bevel on a bowl gouge for those pesky transitions in bowls (Jimmy Clewes refers to it as the microbevel I think)...but it's just a second bevel about half way down the initial bevel to reduce burnishing when taking steep angles on inside of bowl.

Keep a couple magnets (say 2 or 3) on end of your v-block on Wolverine. I will sharpen initial bevel, the one closest to cutting edge, then lay those 2 or 3 magnets INSIDE the v-block, which pushes the gouge closer to the wheel to establish a second bevel consistently.

[Greg Bolton22]

On bowl blanks that still have the bark intact, use a self-taping Forstner bit to remove the bark where your drive or live center needs to be. I use a 1.5 inch Irwin speed arbor bit and it works like a charm. Much quicker than mallet and chisel!

Greg

[Tony De Masi]

Go slow and be patient.

[Charles Bjorgen]

If you're striving for a nice, flowing curvature on the exterior of a bowl, place a six-inch straight edge at various locations along the bowl and it will reveal any undesirable flat spots. A tip given to me by a turning buddy named Steve.

[Jon McElwain]

I have several magnets stuck to the headstock to hold little items like allen wrenches, calipers, chuck keys, etc. I also use one of those magnetic bowls like they sell at auto parts stores. This hangs on the headstock or the lathe body.

[Terry Quiram]

I pretty much live in pocket tee shirts. SWMBO was always complaining about shavings in the pockets. I solved the problem with blue painters tape. I tape the pocket closed.

Wally's tip about parafin is a good one but I find a wad of wax paper works for me. I rub it on the tool rest, the tool and the ways so the banjo slides easily.

[Russell Neyman]

THE TASK: Repairing a small flaw or void in a complex grain pattern, like curly maple or a burl.

THE TIP: Use regular crayons in the appropriate colors, mixing and matching as necessary. You can melt the primary color into the void, scrape it flat with a razor blade, then scrape away the secondary color areas as needed, adding other colors of crayon. This surface will accept shellac and some other finishes. The crayon can be melted with a heat gun or open flame.

[Toney Robertson]

My wife (a teacher) got rid of one of her old paper cutters that she had broken. I fixed it (don't tell her) and it makes a GREAT sandpaper cutter. Very easy to cut any width strip you want. Reduces waste.

[Mike Peace]

Keep a piece of a candle handy for rubbing across the tool rest to make it easier for tools to glide. Use it on the woodworm screw before using, especially with green wood to make it easier to remove. Also use it on faceplate mounting scews as Bill Bohlen uses soap.

[Gary Kman]

Spend a few bucks and buy the few wrenches, screwdrivers, allens etc that you need often and keep them at the lathe instead of going through the 11th drawer down (or is it the 9th) on the big chest on the other end of the shop.

[Russell Neyman]

Locating the correct wrench to tighten allen screws is a pain in the backside, especially when it comes to standard versus metric. I remove them and spray both the screw and the matching allen wrench with a matching paint, which makes is so much easier to find the right size. I don't do this on all my tools; just the set screws on my cutters and jaws.

[David DeCristoforo]

My very best, all time greatest shop tip is a fantastically simple and cheap solution to an age old problem, namely stuff creeping under clamping pressure as it slips and slides on the thin layer of glue. After years of messing with cauls and extra clamps and a million other cumbersome "solutions", I discovered in a totally serendipitous manner....sand! After the glue is spread, a couple of grains of fine sand dropped here and there in the glue and no more frustrating slipping and sliding and creeping.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Some fantastic suggestions so far. Here's a health related one. To prevent allergic reactions from exotic woods and to prevent long term issues from inhaling dust I'd recommend a shower and a nasal irrigation system over and above the normal dust collections system. I started using a nasal irrigation system years ago after having chronic sinus infections and chronic bronchitis for years. Haven't had a cold and have had only two relatively minor sinus infections in seven years. A link: http://www.waterpik.com/sinus-health/

[Roger Chandler]

+1 on the sinus irrigation system........after a long day of turning and sanding, I always use one and the occurrences of sinus infections has been drastically reduced. My allergist put me onto these a few years back, and I have now had two, and it really does help!