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110011 HHAANNDDYY CCoolllleeccttoorr’’ss HHIINNTTSS®® EEddiittiioonn CCEELLEEBBRRAATTIINNGG 550000 IISSSSUUEESS WWIITTHH CCLLEEVVEERR SSOOLLUUTTIIOONNSS TTOO EEVVEERRYYDDAAYY PPRROOBBLLEEMMSS J U L Y 2 0 0 9 101 Handy Hints ® 1 2 Blowapartstuck5-gal.buckets Stain-savingsprayapplicator MydadandIhavefiguredoutawaytogetthosestuck-together5-gallon Saveyouremptypump-typesprayersthathavean pailsapartnearlyeverytime.Wejustpushanairnozzlebetweenthebuckets adjustable-spray tip and use them to apply wiping andblowcompressedairintothelowerone. stain.Sprayasmallsection at a time, then wipe Amber Williams it. You’ll be sur- prisedhowlittle [Ididn’tbelievethisuntil stain you use I tried it.The secret is to complete topushtheairnoz- the job this zle tip into the way com- side of the top pared with bucket to cre- brushing.This ate a path for technique is the air to get especiallyhelpful into the bot- forapplyingstainto tomone.The intricate parts like top bucket is spindles. propelled by Ashley Bradberry a cushion of air and lifts right out. It sure beats pounding them apart—and sometimestopieces— withahammer.—Editor] CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 3 5 See-throughjunk Ducttape drawerinabag wristbands I store my extra fasteners in a Whenyou’reworkingwithfiber- clearplasticbaginsteadofacof- glass insulation, tape the cuffs of fee can or junk drawer. Searching your long-sleeved shirts to gloves forthecorrectnut,boltorwhatever with duct tape. It’ll keep the glass is as easy as looking “through” the fibersfromgettingundersleevesand bag,reachinginandpluckingitfrom irritating your skin. Your wrists will Gail Snyder Carl Jensen themix. thankyou. 4 6 Tapemeasure Spraycannozzlecleaner holder Nozzles from cans of spray paint tend to clog with dried paint after use. Since I’ve never had a specific place Here’satricktokeepthemclearfor to store my tape measure, I could PICTUREHANGER thenextproject.Removethenoz- PLATE never find it when I needed it. I zleandstickitonyourcanofWD- solved the problem by screwing a 40 (most are the same size and large picture hanger plate onto the shape).Justgivethenozzleaquick wall behind my workbench. Now, I squirt to clear it out, then return hook the tape measure onto the thenozzletoitsrightfulplace. hanger when I’m finished and have notroublefindingitatall. John Lee CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 7 9 Postholegauge Highflysucker-upper Digging a posthole requires you to We live on a farm, so keeping flies out of the house and evicting them constantly stop and remove the digger once they’ve moved in is a constant headache. When they swarm against to measure the depth of the hole. Skip the theinsideofthewindows,wesimplysuckthemupwithavacuumcleanernozzle. hassle by turning the handles of your post- The problem was that the hose didn’t reach the skylights. Then my husband hole digger into built-in measuring sticks. thoughtofduct-tapinga10-ft.lengthofPVCpipeontotheendofthenozzle.Now Withapermanentmarker,makealineevery wecansuckfliesdownfromthehighestskylightsinthehouse. 6in.upthehandlesfromthetipsofthedig- Louise Veldhuizen ging blades. When you get close to the desireddepth,stopdigging(leavingthedig- ger in the hole) and check the depth on the Bill Robinson handles. 8 Wrenchfor roundedboltheads Loosen bolts with worn, rounded heads with a pipe wrench! The pipe wrench jaws ROUNDED BOLT diginandgrabthe head so you can removethebolt. Jeff Larson CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 12 10 Movable Screw-lubeonastring bikerack Drill a hole through a bar of soap and hang it above your workbench. Run Tired of that darn long screws across the soap before you drive bike hanging in your them and they’ll smoothly penetrate the way? Build this movable woodwithoutstrippingthescrewhead. bikerackfroma2x4and Brian Bubenzer a pair of bicycle hooks. Cut four 3-1/2-in. blocks, stacktwoontopofeach other, and screw them 11 together. Now screw Tinfoilcouch-saver them on the end of a 4- ft. 2x4 and repeat the Keepyourcatsoffthecouchwith process for the other tinfoil.Tearoffapieceoftin- side. Drill a hole in the foil long enough to cover middle of the stacked the top of your couch, and blocks and screw in the setitonthecushions.Thefeel bicycle hooks. Lay the andsoundoftinfoildrivescats rack across your garage nuts and they’ll immediately ceiling joists, and hang jumpoff. yourbikefromthehooks. Carolyn Quintiliano When you need to get behind the bike, simply slide the entire rack out oftheway. Kitty Fay CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 13 15 Disguising caulk onconcrete Scratch thatlayout If you’re caulking concrete, either to fill a crack or to seal it around the edge,you can make the caulk almost invisi- Items that have ble.Simplydustthecaulkwithdryconcretemixwhile mounting holes on the it’s still wet. When it’s dry, brush away the excess, back can be tricky to hang BACKOF MAILBOX andthecaulkwill virtuallydisappear. level. To ease the layout process, make a template. 14 Doorpainting Set a piece of paper over MOUNTING helper the back side of the item HOLES O U T LIN E and rub over the outline Paint both sides of a door at andmountingholeswitha once with this nifty trick. Purchase pencil. Level and tape the three 3/8-in. x 4-in. lag bolts at a template into position on hardware store. Screw one into the the wall, then drill pilot center of the top edge and the other holes and secure the fas- twointothebottomedge6in.in teners.P.S.Ifthemounting from each end. Paint one side of holes are oddly spaced, the door, then lift the door by the MAILBOX make sure you don’t two bolts and flip it over using reversethetemplatewhen MOUNTING LOCATION the single bolt as a pivot. youtapeittothewall. Now paint the edges and Ron Ross 3/8"x4" other side of the door. LAGBOLT When the door is dry, remove the bolts, fill the holes with putty and touch upwithpaint. William G. Freed CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 16 18 Airhose Chipterminator station Whenyou’recuttingoffthebottomofaninteri- or veneered door with a circular saw, it’s difficult Keepyourairhoseandfittingsin to get a clean line because the wood veneer one place and out of the way. chips very easily. Eliminate chipping by first 2-1/2" Screw a coffee can onto a RISERBLOCK scoringthecuttinglinewithasharputilityknife. scrap piece of plywood. Make your saw cut 1/16 in. from the line Attach a 2-1/2-in. riser onthewasteside,andeasetheedge block to the edge of the with sandpaper. The wood will plywood and hang the chipuptotheline,butnotpastit. entire contraption from a Anna Victoria Reich wall or workbench. Drape yourairhoseoverthecof- 19 fee can, and store your Hatchback fittings inside. It also protector works great for hanging extensioncords. Haveyouevertriedthejug- gling act of loading and unload- Walter Barndt ing a hatchback while keeping 17 the hatch from banging against Caulkingextender the metal rib of the open garage door?Toprotectyourcar’sfinish, Ifyouhavetogetcaulkintoa glue foam pipe insulation to the tightspot,justtapeaflexible metal garage door rib with rub- drinking straw to the tip of your ber cement. The hatch will rest caulking gun and you’ll be ready damagefreeagainstthefoam. to caulk into any nook the straw Al Danas willreach. Rick Tatanus CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 20 22 Long-term Fishingrod storage catcher NEVER CATCHES ANYTHING One way to get rid of clutter in Whenever I grab a fish- yourstorageshedorgarageistodo ing rod, it always catches what we did. Screw 16-in. scrap on the line from another 2x4s at a slight upward angle to rod, and it’s quite a eachsideofawallstud.Theywill headache to untangle the holdawidevarietyofyardtools. lines.Tosolvetheproblem, Tina Campbell Icutan8-ft.1x4inhalfand used 1-in. screws to mount 1-1/4-in. PVC caps (42¢ each)onone1x44in.apart. Onthesecond1x4,Iequally spaced 1-1/4-in. PVC couplings (35¢ each). I 21 screwed the 1x4 with the Cordless 45-DEGREE 4"PVCELBOW caps to the wall a foot off drillholster the floor, and the one with Makeaniftycordlessdrill couplings 6 ft. off the holster by screwing a 45- floor and directly degree 4-in. PVC elbow ($3) above it.The rod tips to the side of your work- slide up through the bench. Quick-draw the drill couplings and the out of the holster when handles rest in the you’rereadyforaction. caps. Mark and Miriam Joe Jaquesmoe CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 23 25 Muffinpanpartstray Padded rakeholder WhenIworkonsmallprojectsor take something apart, I use muf- If you’ve got a lot of raking to fin pans to keep everything organized. do, tape 3/4-in. pipe insulation Stack several pans together for extra overtherakehandletoprotect workspaceorstorage. your hands from blisters. Pipe Tom Zeman insulation can also be used to softenthehandlesonbrooms, TTAAPPEE shovelsandothertools. Chris White 33//44""PPIIPPEE IINNSSUULLAATTIIOONN TTAAPPEE 24 Propane tankcarrier 26 Twinedispenser Whenever I took my 20-lb. propanetanktobefilled,italways Prevent balls of twine from rolled around in the trunk of my tangling up by making a twine car. To solve the problem, I dispenser from an empty plastic stuck it in an old milk crate. detergent jug. Cut the bottom off the The crate’s wide, flat base jug and drill a hole in the cap. Screw keepsthetankstable. the jug to your shop wall with the Doug Milder spout facing down. Drop the ball of twine into the jug, thread it through theholeandscrewthecapon. Paul Chupek CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS 101 Handy Hints ® 27 28 Sandpaperfiler Microwavecleaner My sheets of sandpaper used to get crumpled It’seasytocleanbaked-onfoodandspillsfromyourmicrowave!Partially and damaged lying around the shop.I purchased a fillameasuringorcoffee file folder ($4) from an office supply store, and now my cup with water and add sandpaperiswellorganizedandinpristinecondition. asliceoflemon.Boilthe Aaron Zeff water for a minute, and then leave the door closedandletthesteam loosen the mess. After 10 minutes, open the doorandwipeawaythe grime. Dorothy Gore 29 Disappearingremotes If your remote controls are cluttering up your coffee table and getting lost behind sofa cushions, here’s how to neaten up. Apply adhesive-backed hook-and-loop strips to the undersideofthecoffeetableandtothebacks of the remotes. To avoid snags on upholstery and clothing, put the soft (loop) material on the remotes. Now all the controls are hidden fromview,butyou’llalwaysknowwheretofind them. Hook-and-loop strips are available for about $7 a package at home centers and discount Daniel Griesbach andhardwarestores. CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS