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

[robert baccus]

Clusters of bandaids stapled all over the shop. Small diesel tractor with front end loader to clean out the curls from the shop.

[Brian Myers]

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

Another source for pure talc would be tire talc . You can find it for bicycles but it's not cheap that way. Both NAPA and O'Reilly auto parts have it on their websites , don't know if they carry it in their stores.

[Eric Holmquist]

The small plastic jello shot cups from the party store, I rarely use any fluids (finish, gesso etc.) that even comes close to filling these on any session on a project. They also are adequate for the occasional small parts like the bolts for chuck jaws. You get hundreds of them for almost nothing.

[Walter Mooney]

I have two things:

You know the little plastic letter openers with the little blade in them that people/companies used to give away? They are great for cutting sandpaper -- just fold, crease and slit it with the letter opener.

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Three-ring binders. Everyone has some of them, with different size loops for differing amounts of paperwork to be held in the binder (e.g., 1", 2", 3", etc.). Don't throw them away when the covers wear out. Open them up flat, drill out the two 'pop rivets' that hold the ring assembly to the binder, freeing the ring assembly. Now throw the binder cover away (or recycle it if possible). Mount the ring assembly to a board with a couple short screws, then mount the board on the wall in your shop. They make great places to hang all those little blister-pack cards, as well as keys, small tools, etc. I probably have eight or ten of them scattered around the shop holding al sorts of little things. And it's easy to see what's hanging on each one!


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