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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:47 pm 
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Favorite shop tool...

A magnet on a stick, or in my case a telescopic handle. Not glamorous, but very handy for retrieving that arbor nut that dropped down the dust chute on the table saw, or that nearly microscopic set screw that fell into a pile of shavings. If you have one when you need it, it quickly becomes your favorite tool.

Cheers,
Tom

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:44 am 
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tms wrote:
Favorite shop tool...

A magnet on a stick, or in my case a telescopic handle. Not glamorous, but very handy for retrieving that arbor nut that dropped down the dust chute on the table saw, or that nearly microscopic set screw that fell into a pile of shavings. If you have one when you need it, it quickly becomes your favorite tool.

Cheers,
Tom


heheheheh, it sounds like you dropped a "microscopic set screw" into a pile of shavings today Tom :D

I love magnets. I have a whole collection of them, that I "harvested" out of old speakers. I never throw a speaker away until I get the magnet off of it.

They're super handy around the worktable, I use them to hold random screws/nails etc... Since I don't have a proper vice, I'm always screwing down stop-blocks or whatever, and that random assortment is really handy.

Another great use is when I'm working on my truck. I stick the magnet near where I'm working, and it holds all the nuts and bolts, sockets, extensions, wenches, screwdriver, etc.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:18 pm 
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Jim2 wrote:
tms wrote:
Favorite shop tool...

A magnet on a stick, or in my case a telescopic handle. Not glamorous, but very handy for retrieving that arbor nut that dropped down the dust chute on the table saw, or that nearly microscopic set screw that fell into a pile of shavings. If you have one when you need it, it quickly becomes your favorite tool.

Cheers,
Tom


heheheheh, it sounds like you dropped a "microscopic set screw" into a pile of shavings today Tom :D

I love magnets. I have a whole collection of them, that I "harvested" out of old speakers. I never throw a speaker away until I get the magnet off of it.

They're super handy around the worktable, I use them to hold random screws/nails etc... Since I don't have a proper vice, I'm always screwing down stop-blocks or whatever, and that random assortment is really handy.

Another great use is when I'm working on my truck. I stick the magnet near where I'm working, and it holds all the nuts and bolts, sockets, extensions, wenches, screwdriver, etc.

Image


If you use a rag or a plastic bag around the magnet it is much easer to get the screws off. Also old hard drives have small but very powerful magnets in them.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:39 pm 
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Daddy Gloves wrote:
......

If you use a rag or a plastic bag around the magnet it is much easer to get the screws off. Also old hard drives have small but very powerful magnets in them.


Right on Monte, I put a rag over it sometimes... but for the way I use them at the bench, no rag necessary :thumbup: I do use a rags when I'm cleaning up with the magnet though.

I love being able to just toss the screws back when I'm done with them too. The "miscellaneous screws" magnet is usually in the back corner of the bench, just out of "easy" reach, so it saves my back from having to make that awkward stretch..


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:46 am 
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The really nice part of the "rag trick" is that if you are working in an area with steel shavings or chips, after you have found the bolt, you can clean the magnet just by removing the rag. Cleaning a magnet full of steel shavings is NO fun at all!
I use a paper towel with a rubber band holding it on and can just toss the paper towel into the trashcan when I'm done.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:51 pm 
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They come in handy for a wide variety of things. I use a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax for finish on lots of my small turnings. I epoxied a rare earth magnet to the bottom of a cat food tin that's full of my mixture. That way it rests conveniently on the headstock of the lathe. Nice thing about the cat food tins is that plastic covers are readily available for them to keep the finish clean from shavings.

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PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 3:14 am 
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I use them, usually 3, on the backside of the saw vise when sharpening as saw. Many saw Docs tell you to wear a mask to prevent breathing in the tiny metal fragments when filing but I had a hard time doing that. I put a rare earth mag in the thumb of a latex glove, cut it off and put it on vise....when it comes time to clean it...just turn the thumb inside out. I keep one magnet on my drill press to hold the chuck. I also have a telescoping pen with magnet on the end.....Tom is right...handiest thing in the world.
good thread...thanks for reviving it!

Don


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:29 pm 
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Here's one that's so simple, I'm surprised nobody ever taught me this when I was a greenhorn...

These boxes are always a pain in the butt to open cleanly... And, even if you do open them "clean", they don't last long...

Image

------------------

... I finally found a better way to open these boxes... From the bottom!

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It's easier to open this way, and it closes better too! :thumbup:


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:19 pm 
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I use tongue depressors throughout my shop, for stirring paint, mixing and spreading glue, as 1/16" shims, and as sanding boards.

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I make a batch at a time and always have a variety on hand. A little extra margin of sandpaper on one edge allows it to wrap around the edge and make a nice rounded surface.

Cheers,
Tom

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PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2018 4:44 pm 
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A cheap and convent source for UHPE for rub strips, small glides ... from 5 gallon plastic buckets while not as hard of strong as UHMW it works good if not worked to hard.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 3:07 pm 
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Splinters Those wood or metal painful and sometimes hard to see, but you know they are there because every time it is rubbed the wrong way... owie! For the last couple of Years, I have been using Gorilla Tape to pull them out of my hand or fingers. Place on affected location, rub then yank, it's a miracle. no needle nose pliers, tweezers, x-acto knife.

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