The Do-It-Yourself Tool Shed Thread vs Duct Tape Fixes EVERYTHING

[junglejuice]

I do a lot of custom-fab aquarium stuff, mainly modded things

Here's a refugium I built from an old power filter and a bunch of random stuff

In fishkeeping, a refugium is an appendage to a marine, brackish, or freshwater fish tank that shares the same water supply. For some applications water flow is limited in order to protect plants or animals that require slow flow. The refugium light cycle can be operated opposite to the main tank, in order to keep total system pH more stable (due to the uptake of acid-forming CO2 by the refugium during its daylight hours). One size guideline is 1/10th main tank volume.
A refugium may be used for one or more purposes such as denitrification, nutrient export, plankton production, circulation, surface agitation, oxygenation or aesthetic purposes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugium_(fishkeeping)

:D

 

[thujone]

love this thread, great woodworking stuff! i finished up a shelf earlier just waiting for the finish to cure.

i could really use a bandsaw too, might pick one up tomorrow if i like the looks of it. my forté is metalworking so i'm not sure how legit a brand Ryobi is...?

 

[Klue]

all the hardwood that i salvaged out of dumpsters and resawn to make stuff was a joy to my frugal side . now i have a 24x24 fully equipped shop that sees little in the way of work these days . my son will get all that equipment after i am pushing daisies .

I love salvaged hardwoods... You can find some beautiful cabinet timbers in old houses, best thing is that it's beautifully and slowly seasoned. Old house around here can have beautiful rainforest timber that was logged (and destroyed ) around here...

 

[felix]

Have you bought a really cool piece of kit & want to lean on the workbench in a masculine way to dick size with all the other guys?

haha, i just noticed this!

i'm just popping in to express my admiration for my beloved Stanley ratchet screwdriver:

Stanley Multi-Bit Ratchet Screwdriver 68-010

Multibit Ratchet Screwdriver + 10 Bits

Features and Benefits:

Magnetic head for efficient holding and rapid changing of the tip
Bit storage cartridge for easy access
Tri-lobe bimaterial handle for maximum torsion couple and significant user comfort
3-position ratchet mechanism
Supplied with 10 bits insert bits of popular sizes
0-68-010 Number of pieces 11

it really has rendered nearly all my other screwdrivers redundant. the rubber grip and selection of bits are perfect. i love it.

Stanley stuff is usually a few quid more expensive than the 'own brand' stuff from DIY shops, but I never ever regret buying it.

 

[Klue]

I have a set of Stanley Screwdrivers, they are great. What would some names of English or UK steel screwdrivers be??

I'm also keen for some more Cooper tools, Nicholson and any US off ebay soon

 

[Arnold]

I'll be starting a new project in the next couple of months. I have an antique chamber pot table/cupboard that is around 100 yrs old. The finish on it is ratshit, so i'm going to sand it back and varnish it. I also have a tallboy (it's only raw pine, but really lovely), that i'd like to stain and varnish.

If the cupboard is a nice piece of timber it would be a shame to varnish it, try french polishing it and have fun with sticky fingers.
Takes a bit of practice though.
http://www.countrychannel.tv/player.php?channel=&program=289874

 

[hobhead]

If the cupboard is a nice piece of timber it would be a shame to varnish it, try french polishing it and have fun with sticky fingers.
Takes a bit of practice though.
http://www.countrychannel.tv/player.php?channel=&program=289874

french polish with all the shellac and alc, not to mention the tediousness, is not durable . gunned on or hand rubbed oil base polyurethane lacquer is fast and super durable

 

[felix]

I have a set of Stanley Screwdrivers, they are great. What would some names of English or UK steel screwdrivers be??

I'm also keen for some more Cooper tools, Nicholson and any US off ebay soon

i don't think i've heard of any of those brands, i'm afraid. and i'm guessing most things (even Stanley stuff) is made in fucking China nowadays anyway. i can't think of any proper British stuff... Draper perhaps? their stuff is usually good quality.

hobhead, what do you think of Danish Oil? it can be hard work rubbing it in but it produces nice results. i'm sure cletus will have something to say about that, he used to restore antiques for a living.

 

[Klue]

^ Sweet, I'll check that out

Scored a whole heap more timber today, enough to finally make my bridge. It's going to be a work of art! I'll post pics when I'm building it.

I picked up a dewalt 18v cordless hammer drill today, and yeah it was a bit too heavy... I put it down as soon as I saw it was Chinese. American my butt!

 

[felix]

yeah, i don't really see much point getting a heavy ass cordless hammer drill. if you do need to drill into bricks or whatever, i think it's much better to use the right tool for the job and just get a long extension cable.

 

[Arnold]

french polish with all the shellac and alc, not to mention the tediousness, is not durable . gunned on or hand rubbed oil base polyurethane lacquer is fast and super durable

Till the poly lacquer chips and you have to refinish the whole thing instead of being able to fix it like with a french polish

French polish ain't durable if you expose it to water,heat or sunlight.
If the wood requires a cheap tacky looking ikea finish go ahead with poly lacquer.
If it's something better give it what it deserves.

 

[cletus]

As felix says, I'm a huge fan of Danish Oil for finishing wood. I've used it a considerable amount of times & still continue to do so. When you apply the first coat you think there's no way this will do, but after a few times it turns into something else. I've never seen a wood coating that brings out the grain so well. It never chips or peels even after a knock & has very good heat resistance.

I've restored a few different items in my time & customers would take in their shop bought coffee tables (usually expensive as well!) that ended up with the ring of death from a coffee or tea cup. Factory finishes are a bastard, but mark so damn easily. However once sanded down to the bare wood & Danish Oil applied it totally transforms it. The oil can be applied using a brush, or rubbed in with a cloth. I find that applying with a brush to start with is best, ensuring you go with the grain, avoiding any runs. When dry - preferably next day - lightly smooth with a fine steel wool because it will feel slightly rough in places. Tiny amount of methylated spirits on a cloth will remove dust in readiness for the next coat. You will also begin to see what the finish will look like when the meths is used. Repeat a couple of times & the end result will stun you.

 

[Arnold]

With Danish oil you have to be careful not to use the low lustre one or if you want a low lustre look to only topcoat with it.
Fine if you just use 3 coats which I don't even consider grainfilling.

Liberon superior finishing oil is where it's at if it's got to be a modern oil based finish.
UV heat water resistant.

I still mix lead monoxide (or litharge/minimum) and a load of other stuff in to linseed oil if I want a period correct finishing oil.

 

[hobhead]

Till the poly lacquer chips and you have to refinish the whole thing instead of being able to fix it like with a french polish

French polish ain't durable if you expose it to water,heat or sunlight.
If the wood requires a cheap tacky looking ikea finish go ahead with poly lacquer.
If it's something better give it what it deserves.

poly lacquer rules ! minwax satin applied 3x can does not chip . it is oil based thus flexible .
i have used water base poly and it's okay for somethings .
you gotta realize that floors are done in poly urethane that's how durable it is.
i have never seen poly chip and i have done floors and furniture.

shit the guys that fish out of my port and have exposed wood furniture and fittings use top of the line poly spar varnish. boats flex and are pounded by UV and salt water .

teak and the other oily woods are not candidates for varnish . they wont hold a finish so it is only possible to use tung or other oils that never dry.

for cedar privacy fences i use boiled linseed oil . i believe that linseed is the base of polyurethane . chemistry some how dicks around with the hydrogen and such to convert it to varnish.

 

[Damien]

Right so I checked this out and the hammer drills are about 5 kilos each and the driver drills about 2kgs... so this sort of think might be more appropriate;

Just noticed they put a couple of LED lights in this Drill, LED is some amazing tech right now

I've used these, they are nice.

 

[Arnold]

poly lacquer rules ! minwax satin applied 3x can does not chip . it is oil based thus flexible .
i have used water base poly and it's okay for somethings .
you gotta realize that floors are done in poly urethane that's how durable it is.
i have never seen poly chip and i have done floors and furniture.

shit the guys that fish out of my port and have exposed wood furniture and fittings use top of the line poly spar varnish. boats flex and are pounded by UV and salt water .

teak and the other oily woods are not candidates for varnish . they wont hold a finish so it is only possible to use tung or other oils that never dry.

for cedar privacy fences i use boiled linseed oil . i believe that linseed is the base of polyurethane . chemistry some how dicks around with the hydrogen and such to convert it to varnish.

I've seen it chip more then once and it deffo was poly lacquer.

With teak wipe/soak it with acetone if the oil doesn't hold.

With wood finishing there's no holy grail, everything's got advantages disadvantages.

 

[felix]

*buuuuuuump!* no way boys, no DIY action for over three weeks?

hey mr Klue - did you get that sweet makita cordless drill? how is it, and what is the point of the LEDs? are they to light up whatever you're drilling?

on the subject of cordless drills, B & Q (a huge DIY chain in the UK) are currently selling gorgeous DeWalt 18V cordless hammer drills in a nice case with TWO batteries for the unbelievable bargain price of £99!!! fuck knows how they're managing that, DeWalt drills are usually hundreds.

ah man, they're even cheaper online - £84, down from the normal price of £200.

on another subject, i have £75 worth of amazon vouchers from my birthday (thanks, cletus and mum! ) i was considering buying myself a nice new Leatherman. i do have a really basic old one i got over 15 years ago, kinda similar to this one:

but it's a bit shit in this day and age, primarily because it doesn't have a blade locking facility. so it's pretty unsafe to use and the lack of a blade lock means i wouldn't be able to use it at work - in fact it would probably be confiscated at the heliport and i wouldn't even get to take it offshore with me...

so: does anyone have any recommendations for Leathermen or other nice multitools? i also like some of the Gerbers too, like the 'Diesel'.

http://www.gerberuk.com/index.php/product/id/116

this is also to replace my even older beloved Victorinox swiss army knife, which was confiscated by those cloggie jobsworth wankers at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam last year.

 

[Samadhi]

Thanks so much for all the replies people! I"ll take these suggestions to the hardware store and have a chat with someone in there. I may actually take a photo of it and post it to give you more of an idea? :D

 

[Klue]

Nope, no Drill yet but I have been shopping around. They are mostly coming out of China at the moment, where is your DeWalt made??? I would consider getting them from the UK, what voltage is the power on the charger???

As far as a Leatherman, for you felix I would recommend the Freestyle cx. It's a pair of pliers and a blade... so simple yet so functional. You can't have too many Leathermen

 

[felix]

i don't have the DeWalt drill, so i've no idea where they're made. probably China though.

anyway, that Leatherman you posted isn't much of a multitool, dude. I went ahead and bought a Gerber Suspension:

i need ALL of those attachments.

£27, bargain.