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DIY Tip of the Day!

127K views 561 replies 158 participants last post by  KRV4Lee 
#1 ·


What tips have you learned in your DIY experience that you wish you knew earlier? Let's learn from each other and share our tips! To keep this thread going come back each day to share a tip and read the latest posts. :yes:
 
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#487 ·
There were stories back in the 60's where Hertz had Shelby Mustangs for rent.

And people would rent them, go to a Drag track, race them, and return them on Monday.

Lots of people have no morals in them at all.

ED
 
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#488 ·
I know a guy who used to work for Enterprise. He told me about a truck they had that came from the dealer with custom rims.

A guy rented it and returned it to a different Enterprise office. Unbeknownst to him, they were familiar with the truck and quickly noticed it no longer had the custom rims.

They called the police who went to the guys house and found the rims on his personal truck. He was charged with grand theft.
 
#489 ·
Sometimes your table saw miter gauge can become loose in the miter slot just from years of use. The deviation is usually slight but can be noticeable when trying to make precision cuts like those in cabinet or picture framing.

There are mods you can do that require drilling and tapping small holes in the side of the bar and inserting Teflon screws which are then adjusted until the play is eliminated.

A quick fix for this is to affix a strip of painters tape to the bar. Often just the one thickness of painters tape along one side is enough to eliminate the play.

I have used this method often and it has worked every time.

Wood Yellow Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Wood stain Gas
 
#490 ·
Hiring contractor for a seasonal location:

Contractors that work around seasonal locations can be hit or miss as some advertise during peak months. Workmanship can (not always though) be spotty as they are not local to take accountability and often gouge people not familiar with the work. Guy I was fishing with said to hit the library, find contractor from phone book 15-20 years ago and match up with who is still in business. If they are still in business...they generally have gone through the ups and downs of the economy and provide stable work.

Tried this for my plumbing projects (replace 3 shower valves, 2 toilets, and W/D valves).....first 4 quotes were within $150 of each other and all had really positive reviews online and all offered local referrals. The only one that could fit me in his schedule is downstairs as I type, replacing a shower valve.
 
#492 ·
When removing screws, nuts and bolts in tight spaces, you run the risk of the fastener falling down to some difficult to reach or outright inaccessible place, especially when doing automotive work.

To prevent this hold a magnetic pick-up tool right next to the fastener as you remove it so the magnet will grab it before it can fall.

Magnetic pick-ups are inexpensive costing about $3.

Office supplies Writing implement Font Electric blue Stationery
 
#493 ·
They also make a device called Mechanic's Fingers.

it has a pair of little claws activated by a push button, that open to grab the dropped screw, then release the button to close the claws, and extract the screw.

I have both magnetic and mechanics fingers in my tools.

ED
 
#494 ·
They also make a device called Mechanic's Fingers.

it has a pair of little claws activated by a push button, that open to grab the dropped screw, then release the button to close the claws, and extract the screw.

I have both magnetic and mechanics fingers in my tools.

ED
I have small ones of those claws I used in IT work.

Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Font Stationery


I have seen the long articulating ones you speak of.
 
#500 ·
Sorry if these have been mentioned already, but I just now saw this post, so have 25 pages to go back and learn from now.

When piecing things together, whether it be a countertop, drywall, or some other type of larger setup - go beyond the corner with one of the pieces - the corner is a higher stress point. You don't want a joint there.

If doing countertops, always remember to round the lower inside edge, or at least blunt it in some way.
That's where little ones grab onto. So you don't want sharp edges there.
 
#503 ·
View attachment 741403

A large magnet will find the nails in wood ashes from burning rather than pulling them all prior to burning .
It will also find small screws , nuts . washers and cap screws you dropped in the tall grass when the lawn tractor broke down on the back 40 .
Working in IT, I have amassed quite a collection of magnets that came out of defunct hard disk drives. These are powerful magnets that will give you a nasty pinch if you get a finger caught between it and and piece of ferrous metal.

After building my deck, I secured a number of them to a board, rigged a handle on and went through the yard like a prospector with a metal detector where I found a number of screws and nails that got dropped during the build process.

NOTE: These can only be found in drives that have spinning platters. You will not find them in solid state hard drives.
 
#508 ·
Keeping a long, heavy board or a full sheet of plywood tight against a short fence can be challenging and frustrating, especially if you are working alone.

To make the task easier, clamp a long level or a long, straight board to the fence. The longer the fence, the easier it is to keep the wood tight against it.

Wood Tradesman Tool Carpenter Flooring
 
#511 ·
Keeping a long, heavy board or a full sheet of plywood tight against a short fence can be challenging and frustrating, especially if you are working alone.

To make the task easier, clamp a long level or a long, straight board to the fence. The longer the fence, the easier it is to keep the wood tight against it.

View attachment 742491
Note where the operator
Keeping a long, heavy board or a full sheet of plywood tight against a short fence can be challenging and frustrating, especially if you are working alone.

To make the task easier, clamp a long level or a long, straight board to the fence. The longer the fence, the easier it is to keep the wood tight against
=========================================================
Note where the operator's body position is . Of all the positions he could be L to R he is at the best position .
 
#509 ·
From time to time folks have questions about design loads for various builds. One of the forums I read is an Engineering forum. It gets a bit involved, but I do see a lot of specific info for calculating the various aspects of design loads. Use an advanced google search to find what you're looking for.
Example roof joist site:Structural engineering general discussion Forum - Eng-Tips
 
#510 ·
We all know what a chore it is cleaning shower stalls especially if it has some mold. Here is a method that makes it significantly easier.

Supplies:
Bottle of cling formula toilet bowl cleaner with bleach.
Stiff bristle scrub brush
Roll of cheap paper towel
Scotch-Brite pad
Latex or Nitrile gloves
Cleaning rag
If you do not have a hand-held showerhead a small bucket.

Make sure to either have the bathroom window open or have a fan to ventilate the area

Starting at the top of the tiles, run a bead of cleaner down and across all the joints, the corners and along the bottom where the tile meets the tub.
Wedge paper towels along the bottom to help keep the cleaner in place.
Let the cleaner sit for an hour.
Wearing the gloves and using the scrub brush, go over all the joints. Go over the rest of the tile with the Scotch-Brite pad. This does not take a lot of effort.
Rinse the walls with hot water and the cleaning rag to remove any residue.

After applying the cleaner, it took me less than 15-minutes to scrub and rinse. I was surprised at how clean the stall got with so little effort.
 
#513 ·
With all the rain we have been getting in the southeast of late, it is causing lawns to grow faster and not all of us have the time to mow weekly. This often results in grass clumping even with the mower set at the highest blade height and using a mulching blade and/or cover.

One could bag the grass clippings but this can be a pricey option. (The bagger attachment for my JD E120 is $500).

To mitigate this issue, I mow the lawn as usual. I then move on to edging which gives the clippings time to dry. With the blade height unchanged, I then run the mower over the now dried clumps of grass. The dry grass makes it easier to re-mulch and disperse the clumps.
 
#516 ·
I recently painted my kitchen cabinets. The doors were removed and painted in the garage.

As I was using a sprayer, I rigged up a temporary spray booth on top of my table saw using 1x2 furring strips and inexpensive painter's plastic. The strips were cut into 40" lengths. I made 2 squares securing the corners using my pin nailer. I used 3 other strips to secure the 2 squares together and then covered the whole thing in plastic securing it to the frame with a staple gun. A 9x12 plastic drop cloth covers it nicely leaving one side open to work. The top of the saw was covered in painters masking paper. Be sure to change the plastic between priming and finish. The primer leaves particulate on the plastic that can blow onto the workpiece when applying paint.

Plumbing fixture Window Wood Bathroom Building


To make painting easier, I bought a cheap lazy susan swivel plate and secured some rubber feet I had laying around to the corners. They help hold the piece steady while turning without marring the finish.

Auto part Gas Circle Wood Rectangle


I could paint each door in less than 60 seconds with this setup which included the face and edges.
 
#524 ·
I recently painted my kitchen cabinets. The doors were removed and painted in the garage.

As I was using a sprayer, I rigged up a temporary spray booth on top of my table saw using 1x2 furring strips and inexpensive painter's plastic. The strips were cut into 40" lengths. I made 2 squares securing the corners using my pin nailer. I used 3 other strips to secure the 2 squares together and then covered the whole thing in plastic securing it to the frame with a staple gun. A 9x12 plastic drop cloth covers it nicely leaving one side open to work. The top of the saw was covered in painters masking paper. Be sure to change the plastic between priming and finish. The primer leaves particulate on the plastic that can blow onto the workpiece when applying paint.

View attachment 767589

To make painting easier, I bought a cheap lazy susan swivel plate and secured some rubber feet I had laying around to the corners. They help hold the piece steady while turning without marring the finish.

View attachment 767590

I could paint each door in less than 60 seconds with this setup which included the face and edges.
DRACCH.... Pretty Neat....

Couple questions....

1) How did you keep the panels upright... either vertical or horizontal

2) How'd you remove and stack the still wet panels....

I'm betting you had a good idea for the above...

TIA...Peter
 
#517 ·
Sometimes cabinet magnetic catches can be pretty strong which makes opening the doors a bit difficult.

Rectangle Aluminium Plastic Composite material Electronics accessory


To weaken the pull somewhat, place some clear packing tape over the metal plate and using a razor or X-Acto knife you can trim the tape to fit. A single layer is a good balance between holding the door close and ease of opening.
 
#518 · (Edited)
Many dash-cams use a smart card, usually microSD to store recorded data. In the event of an incident, it is sometimes hard to access or view the relevant video on the dash cam itself on scene. Some cameras have wi-fi or Bluetooth options but even these can be cumbersome at times.

Keeping a card reader in your vehicle can help.
Peripheral Product Gadget Material property Font


You simply place the memory card from the dash-cam in the reader and plug it into the USB (charging) port of your smartphone. You can now access the video or download it to your smartphone. This particular model has USB Type C on one end and Type A on the other. Modern smartphones use Type C.

If you have an older phone that still uses USB Type B
Rectangle Gas Electronic device Font Automotive exterior
, you can get a reader that accommodates Types, A, B and C.

Product Font Data storage device Computer data storage Gadget
Product Font Rectangle Technology Electronic device



These are also handy for transferring videos to your computer negating the need to remove the camera from the vehicle.
 
#519 ·
Next time you replace your carpet, keep a couple of remnants (or get some from a carpet installation company).

You can use them to create a non-marring surface on your sawhorses. Just fold pieces of carpet over the top of the sawhorse and staple it to the sides.

Easel Table Wood Ladder Chair



This of course assumes your sawhorse is wood or you have a sacrificial 2x4 secured to the top.
 
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