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

cletus

cletus

Bluelight Crew
Joined
May 10, 2006
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Hello Bluelight & welcome to The Second Opinion Tool Shed

Over the past while, I've seen various comments & had conversations regarding the lack of an actual DIY thread. So here it is.

Are you in the midst of a major or minor project? 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? Fitting a washing machine & you're completely clueless how to decipher the Bulgarian User Manual? Here is the place you can do all that & you can even ask that very question you don't normally want to, for fear of being laughed out the hardware store or shop?

Luckily I'm quite decent at most forms of DIY & will try my hand at anything. However the thought of starting a project does my head in, but once I get going I actually enjoy seeing the progression & the finished article. I just bought myself a Bosch rechargeable hand drill as my other one threw it's hand in a couple of months ago. Armed with new screwdriver attachments, I can safely report no screw is loose in a three mile radius of my home. Job done :D
Next I have even more decorating that involves stripping gloss paint from wood & painting from top to bottom :(

Come on then folks - What ya got? Any hints or tips you can share? Any questions for the masses?

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**If posting photographs or pictures, could we maybe keep the size down to around a maximum of 700 pixels please? I've been asked by a few because they are having problems loading the pages when they are too large**

Thanks :D
 
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cletus said:
I just bought myself a Bosch rechargeable hand drill as my other one threw it's hand in a couple of months ago. Armed with new screwdriver attachments, I can safely report no screw is loose in a three mile radius of my home. Job done :D
Click to expand...

LOL, that sounds like me. Even putting together Ikea furniture is more fun with the hand drill. Nothing impresses the girl more than pulling out the hand held tools. Although she did freak when I had to cut down our front awning so I could fit a sofa through the front door. The sparks flying off the angle grinder sent her running for cover.

Our whole house is a DYI wet dream (read it's 100 yr old, falling down and I'm just holding it up long enough to develop the land). My next job is tiling a design on the front of our downstairs bar. I have been told in no uncertain terms that I must finish the DIY before I purchase the pool table. :(
 
I've got a whole heap of hardwood that I'm going to build a solid bridge over the drain at the front of my house. There are plenty of things to do around the place but it has been pouring down rain for a week or so.

Bridge will be about 3 meters long, with 5x2" beams and 5x1" formwork that will be the boards for the top. I want to make it as wide as possible, probably will be about 1500mm wide but I would like to go wider.
 
^Angle grinders & bridge building. We are on a roll guys, good call.

This afternoon I'll be running tv cables to the bedrooms. Has to be an inside job today because it's still snowing here, so that rules out going outside. Been waiting for the kids to fuck off back to school because they have been off all week due to snow days! Finally peace & quiet.

I hope I don't go crashing through the ceiling when I'm up in the loft. Moments like this can bring out the inner Buster Keaton in me, with the added finesse of a baby elephant.
 
First DIY project was building a base for my model train set. Second attempt turned out nearly perfect. Was proud! Second DIY is going to be reattaching the rubber seal to the back door of my car :p
 
i have an old cedar chest that's in pretty bad shape. i'm going to a professional to repair some of the structural damage but i want to refinish it myself. i'd really like to paint it white. do you big burly men have any suggestions?
 
Fawkes said:
i have an old cedar chest that's in pretty bad shape. i'm going to a professional to repair some of the structural damage but i want to refinish it myself. i'd really like to paint it white. do you big burly men have any suggestions?
Click to expand...


Describe structural damage.........as it may not be as bad as it seems w/ help.
 
erm, well i had it shipped via Greyhound and they broke two of the legs off in the process. they aren't nice breaks either. pieces of the bottom slat were broken off with the legs. i was afraid i'd have to replace the entire bottom, but found a nice guy to do it. because i paid for insurance, Greyhound should be taking care of the cost. i'm still in the claims filing process.

other damage includes some corners where a pooch might've gnawed on it, but i'm thinking i could just sand those parts down..?

i could post photos later if that would help...
 
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ouch...


as for the chew spots, I'd go with some wood putty and a bit of sanding. Careful on which putty you end up using as some are prone to shrinking.

I've been using this for years



Home Depot, etc. carries it, although can't remember if I've seen it at Lowe's.

Sands great, doesn't shrink, and takes to staining well (or paint)

The pre-mixed varieties, I think Elmer's (some manufacturer?) was just notorious for shrinking and cracking.


*edit*
And to add to the above: when applying less is always more. That applies to anything sandable, drywall mud, bondo, etc.

*edit again*
Use quality, flexible drywall or putty knives. You'll thank me;)
 
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slef the tool shed thread killer......


no new projects?
 
Does the cedar chest have any finish on it already??


I just ordered a couple of tools off ebay.

Leatherman Freesytle cx

8241.jpg


Leatherman Style cs

leathermanstylecsfeatur.jpg


I've had a Leatherman that has been fantastic since I was a teenager. Nearly 15 years old and in perfect condition. The are quality, I can endorse them :)
 
I've spoke quite a bit here without adding any of my projects....

IMG_0957_1.jpg


The actual desk (flat surface only) was scored off of Craigslist for something like $50? I built the 2nd tier and through the racks in to house my gear and to bring the speakers up to proper monitoring level. Thinking of staining that tier to match but I've other things keeping me busy.

IMG_0958.jpg


DIY laptop stand :D
 
thanks slef! when sanding, can i just sand it by hand or do i need some sort of tool?

Klue said:
Does the cedar chest have any finish on it already??
Click to expand...

it does (or did) but it's so old that it's pretty worn. here's a photo of the legs. i don't have a photo of the top (the photos i have on my work computer were taken to provide to Greyhound for my damn money!) - but this should give you an idea of the overall state of it. would painting it white be too difficult?

IMG_7094.jpg
 
i'd just start off by hand sanding with a light to medium grit. again, less is more. just feel it out.

Palm sanders are great though and relatively cheap; a Black and Decker will run you $30 usually. Makes quick work of the job but ya gotta watch not to overdo it.


*edit*
You wanna work your way down the coarse-ness scale so to speak, start off with the medium and finish with the light.
 
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Ouch. Painting it shouldn't be too hard, but you may as well have a plastic box from IKEA sitting there other than something with such beautiful wood grain. I used to in the furniture restoring business when I was younger & the crimes people committed by painting furniture & doors was criminal. However it's your chest & if you want it covered in white stuff, it's entirely up to you! ( ;) lulz).

If you knew someone with a wood lathe or was quite good at rigging up some sort of contraption with a hand drill, those feet could be filled as per slef's handy instructions & sanded down a lot easier & more even. You can also try to fit them so the worst areas are pointing inwards away from view :\
 
^ that's bad-ass.................for reals. Might give that a go.


Built one of these recently. It's amazing what you can do with a piezo disc.
 
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