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As much as I try and create a bit of "theme" to tips and tricks submitted by my YouTube Subscribers, sometimes they are just "all over the park" so welcome to some really interesting, fun and very useful tips ...

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/lZZjLj9sOcM

The first tip was sent to me from Monica ...

 .. and it included a picture of a drawing of a mini hammer with the name Howard Moody under it, so I want to give credit where credit is due ... It has taken me a while to get to this tip because I do not readily have large sewing spool available, which is what Monica suggested if you and in this situation too, no reason that you could not use a cut off dowel about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. I wanted to use the spool because that is what was sent me .. I then attached some purple heart to one side and leather to the other. This allows the hammer a variety of uses.
For anyone who is a model builder, like boats, planes, cars and another miniature item, this small hammer will be a "must" for tapping, adjusting small items you are working on.
Thanks, Monica ... 

Wood Mallet

This tip was sent in from Michael, near Vancouver and I assume he knows how much I love magnets and how versatile they are. Michael sent a picture of a magnet with a recessed hole in that indicates that these magnets can be attached to walls, cabinets and so on by using a screw, which makes they a perfect companion for the multitude of steel woodworking tools and accessories we have and wondering where to store them ... thanks, Michael, I can use this

Wall Magnet

magnets

Check out Countersunk Magnets available through Amazon
Dale sent in this tip and I have not been able to try it out, but it's worth telling regardless. Dale says that if you immerse Gorilla Glue in warm water it can rejuvenate glue that has hardened. Now I am "assuming" Dale is referring to the Urethane version of Gorilla Glue because Gorilla Glue now has many different kinds of glues, bu their urethane version remains extremely popular. The only problem with it, is that after opening, the glue hardens up over time (like a few weeks or so). If you are purchasing this glue it is best to try and purchase just what you need for the job ... but if you have some leftover, and it has gone hard, this is a trick at least worth trying. 

gorilla glue
Check out this link to Gorilla Glue from Amazon

Another tip sent in from Michael is a storage idea for sanding discs and it's a simple trick, but easily adaptable to make this a permanent holder. I just used some cardboard that I had at hand to make this to show what can be done. It would be easy to use some thin plywood and maybe a plastic box and this would be a permanent holder for all you sanding discs. 

Sanding Disc Storage

Dale sent in this tip for putting splines in the corners of picture frames or even boxes or anything that might have mitered corners. Dale suggests that he has used his biscuit joiner to make the cuts and then inserted and glued in biscuits. He didn't mention if he had made some sort of a cradle to hold his biscuit joiner in and align it with corner pieces but that might be something to consider for anyone venturing this modification. Thanks, Dale, a good tip.  

Router table biscuit joint

Not that long ago I was in an email conversation with John from Texas who asked me if I had any ideas for a riving knife for his table saw that would accommodate the thinner 7-1/4 inch circular saw blades he was using because the riving knife in his saw was simply too thick. It's not something that I had thought about and I told John to give me a few days to think about, but obviously, he was thinking about it too and within hours wrote me back to ask if cutting up an old circular saw blade would work ... I told him I thought that was a great idea and you could even use your existing riving knife as a patter, just make it shorter.  I mentioned would get to try that in the next few days ... once again, John beat me to the punch and wrote me back showing me that he had gone ahead and made one and it seemed to be working fine. 
Well, what could I do but stop everything and try the same idea ... wow ... this was a great collaboration that turned out very well indeed.

By using one of my old circular saw blades and my angle grinder I managed to duplicate my riving knife, but in a shorter version that is perfect for smaller blades. I was surprised how quickly I could cut something out, mind you, the steel in circular saw blades is pretty thin, but in what seemed like a few minutes, and after a bit of work hand filing the new riving knife, it was fit like a glove and was ready to try out. I wanted to test it with a wood that is unforgiving in bending and MDF is perfect for that. As I pushed the MDF through the blade I did notice the riving knife deflected ever so slightly but I had checked the alignment before using it and it was in perfect alignment, so the tiny bit of deflection must be just movement of the wood as it passes the riving knife and blade. 
I was super happy with this addition to my saw and it solves the problem of riving knives with these super-thin circular saw blades ... thanks, John, you helped us solve in an important table saw accessory.

Riveting Knife

 *** Check out these blades and Amazon.com *** 

Freud 7-1/4"  24 tooth General purpose blade, good for ripping wood and general house, building and fence construction

Freud 7-1/4"  40 tooth, Finer cutting, better for cross-cutting natural wood, cleaner cuts of plywood and MDF

Copyright Colin Knecht
Woodworkweb.com

 

Subscriber Submitted Workshop Tips and Tricks - Episode 11