Smart Shop tips!

[sea2summit]

When you’ve got those pliers/side cutters/fence tools/etc that won’t fall open or open as easily as you want find an old sawzall blade, cut it off at about 3” long, drill a hole and make a solid loop of wire. Chuck up one handle of the tool in a vice, apply a generous amount of lube, loop the loop of wire around the other handle (tape or otherwise protect the handle), attach sawzall, run for about five minutes. Works like a champ.

 

[JK22]

When you’ve got those pliers/side cutters/fence tools/etc that won’t fall open or open as easily as you want find an old sawzall blade, cut it off at about 3” long, drill a hole and make a solid loop of wire. Chuck up one handle of the tool in a vice, apply a generous amount of lube, loop the loop of wire around the other handle (tape or otherwise protect the handle), attach sawzall, run for about five minutes. Works like a champ.
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Pretty clever. I like it.

 

[radios1]

Always buy another box of nitrile gloves as soon as you open one...especially during the last 12 months.

still, not safe around machinery that can grab your glove, and pull your hand into extreme danger!!. imagine your hand, and arm being pulled off your body by a 10HP machine!.. I used to run those!.. and I never allowed anything but plain paper rags in there, because of the extreme danger of it.. welding is an exception, because of the extreme heat, but that's about it..

 

[dragoneggs]

Always buy another box of nitrile gloves as soon as you open one...especially during the last 12 months.

Indeed, I was sort of stocking up on HF 5mil gloves when they would go on sale. Covid has definitely caused my stock to dwindle.

 

[GeneV]

Me, I'm not worried wearing disposable nitrile gloves, and I work on a lathe and mill. Anything that would pull my hand in with the glove I'm sure would pull my hand in while not wearing a rubber glove.

After working for years with wd40 (I mostly machine aluminum), the skin on my right hand is permanently damaged, so I now wear gloves when machining.

That could be my smart shop tip for this thread: don't allow wd40 prolonged exposure to your skin.

Another tip is, wear nitrile gloves! I like wearing them now, very convenient. Hands grimy and I gotta go take a pee? Easy.

 

[the old grind]

My tip for the day is to re-purpose long appliance cords for battery chargers/tricklers & task lighting. (weld much?)

Cords from old vacuum cleaners are long and durable (fiber reinforced). Long pool pump and electric pressure washer cords must be vetted for cold weather flexibility (HFT-anything, btw) or be planned to be left in place as alt to outlets, etc.

All 'wet' batteries will self-discharge when sitting, Gel/SLA the least but they still will. Anything that sits for weeks at a time deserves something. A car/truck battery that's run 2x/wk will far outlast a tractor battery (o'sized for svc life, considering common use) that's run 2x/mo. Life expectancy is proportional to time spent topped up, period.

btw, I have six or so tricklers, and Battery-Minder 1500/1510 is my #1. (YMMV) Dual-battery trucks get maintainers rotated weekly whether equipped with isolator (F-450) or separate/spare (Chev 2500 HD). I'm rotating six chargers/tricklers/maintainers between > a dozen batteries in vehicles and three spares in waiting. (also for trolling motor & 15 gal 12v sprayer) A $50 gizmo that'll > dub'l the life of three or so $100+ batteries is just Scottish of me.

 

[fried1765]

My tip for the day is to re-purpose long appliance cords for battery chargers/tricklers & task lighting. (weld much?)

Cords from old vacuum cleaners are long and durable (fiber reinforced). Long pool pump and electric pressure washer cords must be vetted for cold weather flexibility (HFT-anything, btw) or be planned to be left in place as alt to outlets, etc.

All 'wet' batteries will self-discharge when sitting, Gel/SLA the least but they still will. Anything that sits for weeks at a time deserves something. A car/truck battery that's run 2x/wk will far outlast a tractor battery (o'sized for svc life, considering common use) that's run 2x/mo. Life expectancy is proportional to time spent topped up, period.

btw, I have six or so tricklers, and Battery-Minder 1500/1510 is my #1. (YMMV) Dual-battery trucks get maintainers rotated weekly whether equipped with isolator (F-450) or separate/spare (Chev 2500 HD). I'm rotating six chargers/tricklers/maintainers between > a dozen batteries in vehicles and three spares in waiting. (also for trolling motor & 15 gal 12v sprayer) A $50 gizmo that'll > dub'l the life of three or so $100+ batteries is just Scottish of me.

I have a total of 17 Battery Maintainers/Tenders.
I do not rotate.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The Wife just hates it when I lick the butter knife before sticking it back in the butter.:licking: (just kidding)

I saw my FIL do that once with a spoon in a serving bowl. Uh, none for me.

 

[chim]

At a picnic, guy across the table ate a fork full of whatever and then used the fork to cut a piece of pie. Yuk.

 

[PILOON]

I recently purchased a bundle of , I'll call them 'cord keepers' on the web.
They are short double sided Velcro strips designed to coil computer and power cords.
They have a slit on one end so as to be able to loop them onto your cord.
I now have every corded power tool sporting one as well as my many extensions.
Sure prevents tangled messes of cord.