Hints and Tips

[woodchucker]

On a post on another thread, I was lamenting the fact that I didn't have a proper method of storing my excess drills. I don't have enough to justify the expense of drill bit dispenser(s) let alone the space to put them. However, lumping them all together isn't the answer either as sorting through them ti find the one you need consumes a lot of time.

My criteria for storage is that the cost is minimal, storage is compact, and that sorting is relatively easy. The solution that I came was storage pouches sorted by hundredths of an inch. I have a "Seal a Meal" that works well for making small plastic bags. I also have pieces of 6 mil polyethylene sheet left over from various projects. The sheet is folded lengthwise with one half slightly longer than the other and pouches about an inch wide are made using the Seal a Meal. Once the drills are loaded, the whole affair can be rolled up into a compact roll for storage.

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I bought a sealer (not seal a meal) but professional sealer at a garage sale, and started doing the same with excess stuff. I agree it's great. Keeps the rust out and makes it easy to identify for later.

 

[extropic]

@RJSakowski

WOW! The "Seal-a-Meal" storage tip hit me right on the nose (figuratively speaking).

Now to buy a Seal-a-Meal.

 

[matthewsx]

On a post on another thread, I was lamenting the fact that I didn't have a proper method of storing my excess drills. I don't have enough to justify the expense of drill bit dispenser(s) let alone the space to put them. However, lumping them all together isn't the answer either as sorting through them ti find the one you need consumes a lot of time.

My criteria for storage is that the cost is minimal, storage is compact, and that sorting is relatively easy. The solution that I came was storage pouches sorted by hundredths of an inch. I have a "Seal a Meal" that works well for making small plastic bags. I also have pieces of 6 mil polyethylene sheet left over from various projects. The sheet is folded lengthwise with one half slightly longer than the other and pouches about an inch wide are made using the Seal a Meal. Once the drills are loaded, the whole affair can be rolled up into a compact roll for storage.

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Did you try vacuum sealing?

 

[tjb]

Another similar thread ran about a year ago titled, 'Tricks of the Trade'. I'd be inclined to want to keep posting on this 'Hints and Tips' thread instead of that one. But there were some great suggestions on that one, as well:

Tricks of the Trade

A 6 in. scale makes a good sweat squeegee on a hot day. (Thanks Fred)

www.hobby-machinist.com

Regards

 

[RJSakowski]

I have "Seal a Meal" but actually prefer a brand called "Pak 'n Save" as it has a timer. It used to have a vacuum pump but I removed it because, for it's intended purpose, it wasn't possible to properly clean it. (I used it for packaging fish and venison and it would get rank very quickly.)

 

[RJSakowski]

Upset because you just knocked some teeth from your barely used band saw blade? It can live on....as hack saw blades.

I cut them into appropriate lengths with tin snips and drill a .156" hole in one end. Then I use a #6 screw and an old hack saw blade as a guide and drill the second hole. Round the ends if you wish or leave them square.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

A week or two back, someone had posted a beef about a shoe polish sized tin, I think it was for a blueing paste. Trouble opening it. . . It didn't ring a bell at the time. I had a similar problem with the acid flux for soft soldering brass. I do mostly electrical work where acid flux is a "NO-NO". On hand are several brands of rosin flux and many grades of solder with a core of rosin flux. The end result being that I don't use the acid flux very often and just didn't think about it.

Reading an old PM Shop Notes book (1946-47), I ran across a solution offered for that very problem. They recommended a square block of wood tacked to the lid. My version is a little more "elegant", using a circle cut out of 1X4 with a hole saw and hot glued to the flux tin. I suppose small nails would work. Acid flux is rather corrosive and doesn't get used very often. I was afraid the nail holes would corrode so used hot glue. The nails probably would work better for mild components like blueing.


Along those lines, a couple of other ideas that I would pass along;

A dual purpose tap: Most of my taps are "plug" taps, I very seldom need a bottoming tap. Cutting a plug tap and cleaning up the end provides a bottoming tap. A 2 or 4 flute works best, but it can be done on a 3 flute. Cutting a groove in each end and building a driver with a tang like a screwdriver to drive the tap either way. A quick and dirty way to tap a blind hole.

From the same books, when working brass, there is usually a squealing and the cutter tends to dig in. They recommended using, of all things, condensed milk to lubricate the work. Supposedly, it stops the squealing and gives a much smoother cut. I haven't tried it yet so have no comment.

Then there is the notion of my own that a small surface grinder could be built from a shaper. Mine is small, an Atlas S-7, so large work couldn't be done. Mounting a grinding wheel to the ram would be simple enough. With fore and aft movement as well as sideways, a simple grinder could be built. I don't do large work and cleaning up some angle blocks got me to thinking how to grind a few of them back true if they needed it. This was the quick and dirty answer I came up with.

.

 

[woodchucker]

Just saw this in my WWJ email feed. Seems like many of you have these and they would hold both 1/2 and 3/8 end mills easily. Just separate the end mills so they don't hit each other.

Perfect Bit Storage - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

Used ammunition holders can be repurposed into router bit organizers for 1/2, 3/8 and 1/4 inch shank bits. Reader's tip.

www.woodworkersjournal.com

Plastic gun cartridge divider trays make excellent router bit holders. I use them both to store my bits and to keep similar bit styles or sets together. I find .45 caliber holders are perfect for storing 1/2″-shank bits; .38 caliber carriers are just right for 3/8″ shanks, and .22 caliber sizes work well for holding 1/4″ bits.

– Frank C. Manley
Broadview Heights, Ohio

 

[woodchucker]

Need to shim something. I use feeler gauges, brass, aluminum sheets...
But woodworkers generally keep playing cards for shims. They work even for machinists too.
Every once in a while I buy something that has a plastic card that the product is mounted to such was the case years ago for a Werner ladder. I kept it for shim stock.

It all depends on what your needs are perm/temp/machining. Also gasket material is good for shimming.

also: see post #33 in this thread.

 

[woodchucker]

Dog tags (dog license tags) make nice pads for your clamps to prevent damage. I keep mine, I never put them on my dogs until recently.