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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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#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
 
#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.
 
#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.
 
#535 ·
With winter upon us, I figured it would be a good time to remind people to prepared.

We have all seen the news reports of cars stranded on the highways for hours and in some cases overnight because of snow and ice. There have been instances of people stranded in rural areas and perishing because they were unprepared for the brutal elements.

Here are a few tips to help you be prepared for such a possibility.

Always have a fully charged cell phone with a charger in the car. For added insurance you can include a portable charger and keep a spare charging cable in the vehicle.

Emergency blankets and/or emergency sleeping bags. Compact reflector blankets and survival bags can be bought for less than $20.

A good quality LED flashlight with extra batteries.

Nonperishable, high-energy foods such as nuts, granola bars, dried fruit or beef jerky.

Bottled water (using an insulated bottle can help prevent freezing)

A good roadside emergency kit. At the very least is should have Flares or reflective triangles, jumper cables, work gloves, scraper, safety hammer, small knife, screwdriver with assorted bits, pliers, and a small first aid kit.

Portable jump pack in case the car battery becomes to weak to start the engine.

Hiking boots and hunting socks in case you have to get out and clear snow.

Collapsible steel shovel.

Long-handled snow brush and ice scraper.

Books in case you are stuck for a prolong period. Reading helps pass the time.

Local and regional road maps

When inclement weather is imminent, try not to have less than half a tank of fuel at any time.

If you are stranded in your car on a highway, have the mindset that you might be there overnight. If you are stranded on a rural or off road, plan on it possibly being a matter of days before help arrives. In either case, ration your water and food intake to try and make it last.

If you are stuck off road and it is snowing, get out periodically and clear the roof hood and trunk. This makes your vehicle easier to spot from air. You could also spread an orange emergency tarp over the roof.

Just because your vehicle is equipped with AWD/4WD does not immune you from the possibilities of getting stranded.

Stay safe out there.
 
#560 ·
Due to having only one eye that works, I buy glasses that are Lexan (AKA BULLETPROOF) in my readers.

Is that the same as the CR-39 you speak of?

Another tip protect those peepers, after you damage one or both, life gets darned hard.

It is better to wear your safety glasses and look silly, than to not look at all.

ED
 
#27 ·
gma2rjc said:
Does anyone know if this will work for the hinges on a door? Will the continuous opening and closing of the door cause the new spray paint to wear off?
IMO nothing looks more tacky than painted hinges. Looks good until the first time you open the door.

Unless they are old collectible hinges, replace.

You have to really question the orig article when they state knobs cost $20 or more. HD carries some decent ones in the $2-5 range
 
#28 ·
Thanks ddawg. You're right, they do look bad if it's there because someone didn't bother removing or taping over the hinges before they painted the door.

What I was thinking of is taking the original 'gold' colored hinges off the door and using the paint in the link (Krylon?) to paint over them. I wondered if the new paint would rub-off over time.

But, like you mentioned about the knobs, the hinges are only about $8 for a set of 3 at Home Depot, for the color I want.
 
#30 ·
I like the tip on how to find out if there is a water leak in a toilet. It’s simple yet highly practical and effective. Thanks for the links also.
Here is a tip on how to get a handle on a broken tool. I’m taking a shovel for example:
It’s unfortunate that the age-old skill of replacing a tool’s handle is on the verge of vanishing completely. Still, however, you can do it exactly in the customary way using the following simple steps:
The first thing to keep in mind is that the only way of ensuring the optimal strength of a replacement handle is to find the right direction of the grain of your wood handle
So, attach the new handle in such a manner that the wood grain’s oval rings can smoothly scale up and down the handle’s sides.
Since the handle can break because of the shovel straining along the ovals, make sure only straight lines of wood grain reveal when you examine the blade of the shovel toward the handle’s face.
 
#33 ·
Our refrigerator/freezer has the freezer above the frig. The freezer section was operating correctly, but the frig not getting to 40 degrees or lower. After clearing out the frig it was soon discovered that the cold air in the freezer naturally falls down thru a vent which cools the frig. Used a air dryer to melt the ice in the vent. Problem solved. If you're about to junk something, nothing to lose by tinkering with it...my diy'er advice :)
 
#66 ·
I don't need a hammer drill or a claw hammer for screws. Those are for folks in some trades that don't mind leaving an aggravation for someone else if it becomes necessary to disassemble or deal with cam outs or dutchmans.

I still do it the old fashion way.

If I'm working in your shop I'll do it your way. If you're working in my shop you'll do it my way.
 

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#91 · (Edited by Moderator)
Maint inspection.

I went to a talk given by a local (LINK REMOVED) and decided to follow his advice to get a "maintenance inspection."

We had the house inspected when we purchased it about 7 years ago, and having grown up in the Northwest where we do most things ourselves, addressed all the things our inspector found myself, but time passes and things develop.

He pointed out several things missed and while not really saving me a ton of money, definitely saving me from the aggravation of having to deal with the issues when they become emergent.
 
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