Cheap and effective tools

[Ron B]

Not my idea but one I am using to great success...using dental picks (toothpick shaped plastic with a little tuft of "hair"on one end..very cheap....use once and toss...as they have a small head they are very easy to position in really tight spots.

 

I mentioned in my own log that Japanese saws are Xacto saws on steroids...they are very fine toothed but cut through hard woods much faster.

 

I also have cut manicurist's files into pointed  wedges....find them handy to sand narrow spaces like when cutting/shaping the rabbet on keel.

 

Nothing terribly original but thought I'd share.

 

Ron

 

 

 

 

[BANYAN]

Ron, now you've done it - Pandora's box has been opened

 

Let me add:  clothes pegs, hair clips and  bulldog clips as clamps

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Chuck Seiler]

    Shouldn't this be "Inexpensive and effective tools"?  The cheap tool is the one that breaks first time one uses it. 

[Bob Cleek]

And don't forget those mini bamboo skewers at the supermarket, good for all sorts of stuff including trunnels and the ever-present Starbucks skinny wooden stirring sticks.

[hornet]

I wouldn’t be without my cheap fly tying vice. Excellent for many jobs where a third hand is essential. 

[Harvey Golden]

Yes to clothes pegs!  Though we call them clothes pins up Oregon way.  Highly adaptable, too!

[Bob Cleek]

Thousands of years from now, archaeologists will be dumbfounded by those wire springs on clothespins. They'll keep finding them with their metal detectors, but there will be a raging debate over what they were actually used for.  

[Louie da fly]

3 hours ago, Harvey Golden said:

Though we call them clothes pins up Oregon way

 

 

Funny. To me these are clothes pins.

 

 

The Vikings and Anglo-Saxons used them to hold their clothes together.

 

But whatever you call them, I find clothes pegs very useful, and you can get miniature ones from stationery or art suppliers, which are great in tight spaces. You can get some idea of scale from the glue bottle on the right.

 

 

And plastic-headed push pins. Wonderful things.

 

 

Though it's occurred to me that I may have overdone it a little on occasion  . . . 

 

 

 

PS: What do you use the dental picks for?

 

Steven

Edited February 17, 2021 by Louie da fly

[liteflight]

Nah!

“If a little is good, more is better and too much is just enough”

certainly applies to Clamps, clothes pegs, and pins of all sorts!

[Bob Cleek]

Here's another cheap tool: "Pizza savers." Yes, that's what they are called in the trade. They are those white plastic things that look like round tables with three legs that they put in pizza boxes to keep the top of the box from contacting the melted cheese on the pizza and making a mess when it's delivered. 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_saver

 

These make great "painter's points." A painter's point, which are often pyramid-shaped, but can have other suitable shapes, are used to hold a piece of work that needs painting up above the level of a table so it's top and edges can be painted without coming into contact with the bench top that it's being painted on. These "pizza savers" work great for this purpose. Just turn them upside down so they are standing on the round part and you'll have three pegs sticking up to support whatever you need to paint. Use three or four or more to support your work, of course. So, grab 'em when the pizza comes. In short order you'll have a box of them in the shop to use whenever they're needed. 

 

Store-bought painter's points: No need to waste the money on them anymore.

 

[FlyingFish]

Aluminium 12 mm & 19mm channel and thumb screw head bolts. Cheap 'n cheerful.

[stuglo]

19 minutes ago, FlyingFish said:

Aluminium 12 mm & 19mm channel and thumb screw head bolts. Cheap 'n cheerful.

? Where did you obtain them

[FlyingFish]

Most metal suppliers will sell the channel, for example:  https://www.metals4u.co.uk/materials/aluminium/aluminium-channel/100719-p which yu cut and tap to size, these are 3mm.

and the thumb screws https://www.accu.co.uk/en/plastic-thumb-screws/427329-SFTR-M3-30-N

 

 

[Keithbrad80]

The Marine Corps recently changed their standard issue sewing kit which is to bad because I swear they made the previous version just for modelers. There was a pair of scissors, which was essentially 2 #11 blades with a handle, it was incredibly sharp and lasted for ever, they were specifically made to remove IPs, little strings on your uniform. There was strong Black and Tan line in there of different sizes, it had a few cloths pins and some needles, it had all sorts of stuff in a nice green plastic bag lol. The best part is they only cost a dollar! They were cheap because they were pretty much disposable. As soon as you unraveled the string you were done with the kit, but the scissors were  crazy sharp and are perfect for rigging. They used the price to $5, which isn’t bad still for a pair of scissors that is super sharp, very small and light weight. 
 

Bradley

[Ron B]

1. dental picks aces for applying glue.

2. In Montreal where I grew up we also called them clothes pins

3. We also made guns using clothes pins and broken hockey sticks....weird but true.

4. love the spirit of all of you...inventiveness and glee

[JohnLea]

10 hours ago, Ron B said:

 

2. In Montreal where I grew up we also called them clothes pins

 

In Toronto, where I grew up we also called them clothes pins and the ones without the spring, clothes pegs.

[chris watton]

Stanley Knife, small rusty old plyers, pin vice and steel rule - set up for life!

[leclaire]

Don't forget emery boards of various sizes for use in sanding. I get mine by raiding the admirals stash when she is not looking. 

 

Bob

[gak1965]

On 2/18/2021 at 10:52 AM, Keithbrad80 said:

..., they were specifically made to remove IPs, little strings on your uniform.

That brings back memories. Haven’t heard anyone talk about an IP in like 35 years...

[wefalck]

IP ?

 

... and I always tried to find a use idea for those 'pizza-savers' - thanks for the tip, Bob. Tha'ts a modeller's mind: whenever he comes across 'something', he thinks, how it could be used in the workshop.

[Moab]

Don’t forget to use empty plastic prescription bottles to store small parts. Thanx to all for some great ideas...Moab

[wefalck]

My preferred containers are film-bottles. Lucky me, who always kept them, particularly the clear ones, as they are now a rare commodity.

[leclaire]

Your comment re IP's made me scratch my head for a minute. Then it dawned on me that it been a little over 50 years since I got my butt chewed for having a couple of those on my uniform. Funny how I remembered that but can't seem to recall what I had for dinner last night.

 

Bob

[mikegr]

I need to cut 1mm wide fillets of wood. Looking for a tool I found this one which might be useful

 

cutter

Edited March 3, 2021 by mikegr

[Cleat]

During my first build I was frustrated using toothpicks to apply glue.  I was at Rockler's and discovered mini glue brushes and a glue keeper for my next built - I really like these silicone tools (I use larger ones in my garage).  When the glue drys it is easy to remove from the keeper and brushes.  I typically just put a small dollop of glue for the task (much smaller than the picture), wipe any glue from a brush (wet/semi dry/dry), and repeat.  The keeper shown is the top of a larger container. 

 

[wefalck]

The silicone 'brushes' can be bought in most art-shops and through the usual auction Web-sites. They are meant to be used instead of palette-knives in painting with pastose acrylics and for sculpting in soft materials.

[Roger Pellett]

Not to wish anybody bad luck, BUT:  two times when I have visited the Emergency Room, a table saw accident for me (I still have all 10 fingers) and once when my wife cut her finger, the doctor asked if I was a fly fisherman.  When I responded that I built ship models he gave me the tweezers and forceps that he had used.  He said, “we just throw them out.”

[GGibson]

Somewhere on the internet (I think it was on somebody's thread here on MSW), I saw a picture of someone holding a mini rafter square.  It was small enough to be useful in squaring bulkheads, etc.  Anyone use such a tool? Where did you get it?  

[jim Landis]

Rockler, Woodcraft and Micromark all have small triangle setup tools.

 

[Jack12477]

14 hours ago, GGibson said:

Somewhere on the internet (I think it was on somebody's thread here on MSW), I saw a picture of someone holding a mini rafter square.  It was small enough to be useful in squaring bulkheads, etc.  Anyone use such a tool? Where did you get it?  

Do you mean this one ?  I got it from Lee Valley . It is their pocket layout square, about 1.5 inches 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Jack12477