The Tips and Tricks Thread

[Dave huber]

I found it!
Take a peek at
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/...gs-t21712.html

Niki is the man’s name. I’d like to get him and Serge in the same workshop for a while. I’m sure they could build anything!

enjoy,

Dave

[Chris Parks]

Niki was a past member of this forum and few more but sadly passed away some years ago. He was definitely a very clever man who never stopped thinking, I just did a search for a sample post and the images have gone with the wind unfortunately.

[Dave huber]

He was clever, for sure. I like his sense of humor

i saved the posts to a PDF. I can’t post here since it weighs in at ~48 MB. However, if someone wants a copy, PM me and we will see what the best way to move a file that big is.

i Emailed it to myself, but I have a pretty lenient provider.

i could host it at DropBox unless someone has a better idea.

[John Blazy]

Heres a few from my past, and utilizing these tricks in the present:

• Use 4" and 6" PVC to make clamps - my favorite trick. Cut a kerf longways in the pipe, then crosscut them like a carrot to however many you need. Love these things. You can thermoform the tips out a little, then drive screws through them and the screw points hold miters together
• Then here is my most useful - buy a 600 grit diamond wheel from North Jersey diamond Wheel or other supplier, then sharpen your own tablesaw blades. Haven't sent out blades for 12 years now. Sharpens carbide router bits too. sharpening-main.jpgsharpening-clsr.jpgsharpening-tooth.jpg
• Favorite miter gluing trick right here using plastic packaging tape (many know this one, but some might not)FoldedMiterTrick.jpg
• I made my own edgebander 30 some years ago, still works, and have run over 10,000 feet of edgebanding through it.Edgebander.jpg
• Doing alot of epoxy work lately, so I made my vacuum de-airing / de-bubbling chamber from a propane tank by cutting the top off, then making a 1" thick lexan lid with a garden hose nipple for my vac hose. Works like a dream. I can watch the bubbles disappear to know when its done, and shut of vac if it expands too much - so glad I mad a clear lid. vac-chmber-cutting.jpgvac-chmber-suction.jpg
• Then lastly, only if you have a laser - make an angle jig, and you can cut polished bevels with your laser on acrylic AngleJig-Beveling.jpg

[Andrew Joiner]

John, My utmost respect. You take DIY to another level! Love your posts.

[John Blazy]

John, My utmost respect. You take DIY to another level! Love your posts.

Thanks! Same gift of creativity used to make my jigs/tools/tricks keeps me up at night thinking of cool stuff like my figured CF "wood" veneer.
CFQuilt-Medrez-full.jpgccf-006-quilt-clsp.jpg

[Ole Anderson]

Just keeping this thread going. This one is self explanatory:

[John K Jordan]

This one is self explanatory:

I like this! I have a big bright red label on the front of my bandsaw to remind me but after the first few days it turned invisible.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I have a florescent pink ribbon on a magnet that I hang in front of the blade when it's de-tensioned.

[Bill Carey]

I put the safety plug from the switch on a binder clip taped to the tensioning arm.

[Chris Parks]

I never remove the tension, job done.

[Frank Pratt]

I never remove the tension, job done.

Same here.

[Doug Garson]

Just keeping this thread going. This one is self explanatory:

I've seen a variation on that where you use a carabiner, you hang it on the tension knob when tight and when you loosen it you clip it around the blade.

[Bill Carey]

this is probably old news but if you do a lot of hand sawing these are pretty handy. Flip up stops for push and pull saws, and they are out of the way when not in use.
20181028_122415.jpg20181028_122329.jpg20181028_122339.jpg

[Frederick Skelly]

Sometimes, plastic draftsman squares aren't really square. To square-up mine, I use my shooting board and plane.

Then I check them for square by drawing a line, flipping the square (mirror image) and drawing another line. If the two lines overlap, I succeeded.