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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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#145 ·
#149 ·
I just learned this one. I'm going to go try it today!

Trim coil has a million different uses. Use for covering holes and reinforcing all kinds of stuff. You always want to have some around. But does leftover trim coil go all over the place and get beaten up before you can use it? Here's the answer. Cut a slot in the side of a bucket. Insert roll of flashing. Dispense it like aluminum foil.

Fiberglass window screening material is handy for reinforcing joint compound and glue in imperfect conditions. Maybe I will cut a roll in half and make a dispensor for that as well.
 
#152 · (Edited)
Well here is my attempt to pass along a useful tip.

You know that last shinny new tool you bought. Perhaps it was that small angle grinder or the oscillating multi tool you got from Harbor Freight. You decided you wanted to keep it in the box it came in so you would have all the parts and pieces, like blades, bits and the wrench to change blades and bits in one place.
Well now that box is all beat up. The corners are smashed, the bottom is falling out and the flap you open is completely gone..

When you get your next shinny new tool, before you use it and get the box all beat up, reinforce the corners of the box with clear cellophane packaging tape. Wrap all the corners, double wrap the bottom. Put a strip on the crease of the flap, both inside and outside. That will probably make the box last as long as the tool.

Of course, if you are from Tennessee, Kentucky or Arkansas you can use duck tape.
 
#156 ·
mathmonger's tip of the day reminded me of how much I use non skid shelf liner. Pictured is some duck taped to ladder rails as gutter cleaning time is upon us. It helps stabilize ladder some and prevents marring of the gutter finish.

It works really well to place in a tub or shower to stand on when doing plumbing work there and my wife even allows me to use her counter tops and dining table for special projects if shelf liner is used, especially if the project is hers. Makes small parts not roll around so much and easy to grasp with old stiff fingers.
 

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#157 · (Edited)
Good tip Seniorsitizen. When the grandkids spend the night, they like to have a fan running while they sleep. I keep a small (but noisy) fan on the table in that room and put a piece of the non-skid shelf liner under it to keep it from vibrating off of the table. The fan has little rubber dots on the bottom of it, but it still slides without the shelf liner.
 
#171 ·
I have seen some of those on an old tv show Survivorman (Les Stroud). He also used some corn chips on an episode. They lit surprisingly well and long. Works well unless you smoked some weed, got the munchies then ate all your Doritos; but then again you'd be so baked you wouldn't care.
 
#166 ·
Another good fire starter, which works really well, is to cut old bicycle tubes into pieces and light them. Mountain bike tubes burn for about a minute per inch of tube.
Cut a 3 inch strip, insert a pack of matches inside, fold both ends over and wrap an elastic (or tape) around the package to make it water resistant and throw it in the bottom of your hiking pack.
 
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