Family Handyman 101 Handy Hints (July 2009).pdf

101 CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES

WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

HINTS

Collector ’ s

CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES

WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

J U L Y 2 0 0 9

101

Collector ’ s

HANDY

HINTS

Edition

101 Handy Hints ®

Blowapartstuck5-gal.buckets

My dad and I have figured out a way to get those stuck-together 5-gallon

pailsapartnearlyeverytime.Wejustpushanairnozzlebetweenthebuckets

and blow compressed air into the lower one.

Stain-savingsprayapplicator

Saveyouremptypump-typesprayersthathavean

adjustable-spray tip and use them to apply wiping

stain. Spray a small section

at a time, then wipe

it. You’ll be sur-

prised how little

stain you use

to complete

the job this

way com-

pared with

brushing.This

technique is

especially helpful

for applying stain to

intricate parts like

spindles.

Amber Williams

[I didn’t believe this until

I tried it. The secret is

to push the air noz-

zle tip into the

side of the top

bucket to cre-

ate a path for

the air to get

into the bot-

tom one.The

top bucket is

propelled by

a cushion of

air and lifts

right out. It sure

beats pounding

them apart—and

sometimes to pieces—

with a hammer.—Editor]

Ashley Bradberry

CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

101 Handy Hints ®

See-throughjunk

drawerinabag

I store my extra fasteners in a

clear plastic bag instead of a cof-

fee can or junk drawer. Searching

forthecorrectnut,boltorwhatever

is as easy as looking “through” the

bag,reachinginandpluckingitfrom

the mix.

Ducttape

wristbands

Whenyou’reworkingwithfiber-

glass insulation, tape the cuffs of

your long-sleeved shirts to gloves

with duct tape. It’ll keep the glass

fibers from getting under sleeves and

irritating your skin. Your wrists will

thank you.

Gail Snyder

Carl Jensen

Tapemeasure

holder

Since I’ve never had a specific place

to store my tape measure, I could

never find it when I needed it. I

solved the problem by screwing a

large picture hanger plate onto the

wall behind my workbench. Now, I

hook the tape measure onto the

hanger when I’m finished and have

no trouble finding it at all.

Spraycannozzlecleaner

Nozzles from cans of spray paint tend to

clog with dried paint after use.

Here’s a trick to keep them clear for

the next project. Remove the noz-

zleandstickitonyourcanofWD-

40 (most are the same size and

shape).Justgivethenozzleaquick

squirt to clear it out, then return

the nozzle to its rightful place.

PICTURE HANGER

PLATE

John Lee

CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

101 Handy Hints ®

Postholegauge

Digging a posthole requires you to

constantly stop and remove the digger

to measure the depth of the hole. Skip the

hassle by turning the handles of your post-

hole digger into built-in measuring sticks.

With a permanent marker, make a line every

6 in. up the handles from the tips of the dig-

ging blades. When you get close to the

desired depth, stop digging (leaving the dig-

ger in the hole) and check the depth on the

handles.

Highflysucker-upper

We live on a farm, so keeping flies out of the house and evicting them

once they’ve moved in is a constant headache. When they swarm against

theinsideofthewindows,wesimplysuckthemupwithavacuumcleanernozzle.

The problem was that the hose didn’t reach the skylights. Then my husband

thoughtofduct-tapinga10-ft.lengthofPVCpipeontotheendofthenozzle.Now

we can suck flies down from the highest skylights in the house.

Louise Veldhuizen

Bill Robinson

Wrenchfor

roundedboltheads

Loosen bolts with worn,

rounded heads with a

pipe wrench! The

pipe wrench jaws

dig in and grab the

head so you can

remove the bolt.

ROUNDED

BOLT

Jeff Larson

CELEBRATING 500 ISSUES WITH CLEVER SOLUTIONS TO EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

101 Handy Hints ®

Screw-lubeonastring

Drill a hole through a bar of soap and

hang it above your workbench. Run

long screws across the soap before you drive

them and they’ll smoothly penetrate the

wood without stripping the screwhead.

Movable

bikerack

Tired of that darn

bike hanging in your

way? Build this movable

bike rack from a 2x4 and

a pair of bicycle hooks.

Cut four 3-1/2-in. blocks,

stack two on top of each

other, and screw them

together. Now screw

them on the end of a 4-

ft. 2x4 and repeat the

process for the other

side. Drill a hole in the

middle of the stacked

blocks and screw in the

bicycle hooks. Lay the

rack across your garage

ceiling joists, and hang

yourbikefromthehooks.

When you need to get

behind the bike, simply

slide the entire rack out

of the way.

Brian Bubenzer

Tinfoilcouch-saver

Keepyourcatsoffthecouchwith

tinfoil. Tear off a piece of tin-

foil long enough to cover

the top of your couch, and

set it on the cushions. The feel

andsoundoftinfoildrivescats

nuts and they’ll immediately

jump off.

Carolyn Quintiliano

Kitty Fay

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