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Thread: Your Best Nifty Shop Tip?

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    North central Pa Tioga Co.
    Posts
    701
    To lubricate screws buy a wax seal at the hardware and fill a plastic jar with it . Great for lubing screws!

  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Heely View Post
    Use sandpaper like someone else is paying for it. Trying to use worn out stuff just causes frustration. And I don't subscribe to the idea that worn out 120 grit is my new 180....
    Being a tightwad, and maybe even taking it to a new level, but also believing steadfastly in what Paul has said here about using sandpaper like someone else is buying it, I learned this trick from a fellow 80+ year old turner in our club. I've learned that when old timers like that start talking it's always worth it to perk up your ears and listen. Anyway, he showed us all a sandpaper cutter he uses. He said his wife keeps him on a tight budget so he has to conserve sandpaper and this really makes a sheet of sand paper last a long time. It's just a simple piece of plywood with an old hacksaw blade screwed to the edge of it and a template for tearing a sheet of sandpaper down until it's in 1/16th size squares. You then fold the 1/16th sheet into thirds. As 1/3 gets used up, turn it over and use the next 1/3 and then unfold it and use the last 1/3. I'm here to tell you that it makes a sheet of sandpaper last forever!
    sandpaper cutter.jpg

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chicago Heights, Il.
    Posts
    2,136
    When I turn bowls with a tenon for the chuck I always make a second tenon a little wider at the base of the bowl blank. I call it a fudge factor. If I get a little too deep on the inside i have little extra on the bottom. If it comes out where I planed it, I can cut off the excess when when I reverse it to finish the bottom.
    Member Illiana Woodturners

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    lufkin tx
    Posts
    2,054
    Make a couple of wooden cones with tenons in various sizes to turn HFs or vases reversed in order to finish turn the bases. is this a runon sentence? of course you hafta pull up the tailstock with a small flat point to support base end.-------------------old forester

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Minot, ND
    Posts
    558
    Beeswax is not only great for finishing, but is also great for lubing screws.

    Clint

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Punta Gorda, Florida
    Posts
    25
    My biggest time saver is a 4" forstner bit on a drill press and a stainless steel 4" faceplate. Regardless of shape, size or bark, it makes a great surface to mount the faceplate. The heavier or more out of balance the blank the deeper I drill so the plate is surrounded in solid wood and then I fasten it with 1 1/4" deck screws. I have turned many massive pieces this way. I bought the cheapest bit I could find and it has served me well for many years. The bit is easily sharpened with a stone, though it is rarely needed.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Chesterfield, VA
    Posts
    1,332
    In a recently posted (here) video of Cindy Drozda (I think), I noticed something really helpful to me. She was hollowing out a small form and then reached and put the end of a clear plastic tube in her mouth, took the other end and stuck it in the hollow form and blew all the chips out. The tube was on a string around her neck. Very simple idea! Keeps you from bending over and blowing into the hollow form only to eat a mouthful and it keeps your compressor from blowing them all over the place if you use that. Remember - EXHALE through the tube!

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    lufkin tx
    Posts
    2,054
    Throw away your powered face masks and dust vacums. mount a 24-30" fan on an outside wall about 16" behind your lathe. on my second fan i also mounted a flying bowl guard. also sucks laquer, fumes, ect. DO NOT mount in close proximity to your wife's clothesline.---------old forester

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Colby, Washington. Just across the Puget Sound from Seattle, near Blake Island.
    Posts
    931
    Quote Originally Posted by Jesse Goodwin View Post
    My biggest time saver is a 4" forstner bit on a drill press and a stainless steel 4" faceplate. Regardless of shape, size or bark, it makes a great surface to mount the faceplate. The heavier or more out of balance the blank the deeper I drill so the plate is surrounded in solid wood and then I fasten it with 1 1/4" deck screws. I have turned many massive pieces this way. I bought the cheapest bit I could find and it has served me well for many years. The bit is easily sharpened with a stone, though it is rarely needed.
    I'd like to see a photo of this.

    Russell Neyman
    .


    Writer - Woodworker - Historian
    Instructor: The Woodturning Experience
    Puget Sound, Washington State


    "Outside of a dog, there's nothing better than a good book; inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Lakeland Florida
    Posts
    2,297
    This thread is fantastic!

    Double D, that little trick is pure gold! I will be using that one. Everyone's tips are fantastic, I will echo one of Scott's, only mine is a different twist.... Paint the wall behind (or background) battleship grey, it reveals the line VERY clearly.

    Ride the bevel... Let the tool do the work.

    Use sandpaper like a 3 year old uses toilet paper. Cheating doesn't work, DON'T Skip grits!

    Take as much care on the finish as the piece, even a fantastic piece can be ruined by a rushed/ improper finish. (The higher the gloss the finish, the more it will reveal sanding flaws or toolmarks, DON'T skip grits!)

    Be patient

    DON'T skip grits!
    “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” ~ Albert Einstein

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Cullowhee N.C.
    Posts
    991
    Some great tips on this thread.
    I will add this one. When you need to find a small metal screw or tool in a large pile of shavings use the magnet on the bottom of your shop light. It is strong enough to pull any small metal out of this no mans land. Has saved the day for me more than once for sure.
    Jack

  12. #42
    Tip # 1. Do not stick your finger into the table saw blade. Ben there and done that.

    Tip # 2. Do not buy your wife flowers "just because". That is a florists sucker deal designed to make your life impossible for 72 hours and will become very expensive before you reach the high ground on the other side of this event.

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Harrisburg, NC
    Posts
    814
    For centers, use the peg board hooks/racks made for screwdrivers. Work with 2MT, I don't know about other sizes.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Bainbridge Island, WA
    Posts
    261
    If you are skinny, a shop vac can be a wonderful way of getting much of the dust out of your clothes before heading back into the house. If you are pleasantly plump, however, a shop vac adds much entertainment to this process. At least my wife found it entertaining when I showed her all of the "hickeys" and bruises the shop vac bestowed on my belly.

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Colby, Washington. Just across the Puget Sound from Seattle, near Blake Island.
    Posts
    931
    I'm compiling a list of the BEST OF THE NIFTYTRICKS and will post it at the end of the month. Thanks to everyone who has shared, and still waiting for more of the Old Guard to chime in.

    Russell Neyman
    .


    Writer - Woodworker - Historian
    Instructor: The Woodturning Experience
    Puget Sound, Washington State


    "Outside of a dog, there's nothing better than a good book; inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

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