Cool Tips I'd Forgotten

[SARGE]

Working around the gal bud's house, I've rediscovered tips learned long ago and used but had forgotten about. Been doing alot of repair work using wood and the following may prove handy to others:

When driving nails into some grades of wood it's very beneficial to dull the point of the nail so as to prevent wood from splitting. I usually tap the nail(s) on concrete a few licks.

When sawing, I place a piece of masking tape under the cut line to prevent splintering. Works like a charm.

[Rossua]

A tip I was once given on sawing wood is to always begin with an upward stroke towards you. Trying to make the first cut by pushing the saw downwards is much more difficult and accident prone.

Another thing about wood is that sometimes hammering a nail into wood takes an extraordinary amount of effort. This is due to "knots" in the wood. You cannot hammer nails into these knots - they are like iron. If wood is painted you cannot see where the knots are, but will know when the nail won't go in. I encountered this problem recently while installing an Ethernet cable in my house and when clipping it to the skirting board (baseboard).

[Lespaul20]

I worked building post-frame buildings for two years and I know the nail trick pretty well. That's why when you see 16d ring shanked they don't have a complete tip, it's like two tips. I guess the science behind it is, when there isn't a point the nail creates a hole instead of just becoming a wedge.

[TwoRails]

Nice reminders, SARGE. One tip that took me a while to remember fathfully is to measure (at least) twice and cut once. I learned that right after I learned that no matter how many times a piece of wood is cut, it's still too short!!

[Rossua]

I second the "measure twice (at least) and cut once" philosophy, which applies not just to cutting wood but to other tasks as well. On taking my Ethernet cable through a wall I thought I had measured up the position of the second hole accurately to line up with the first hole on the other side, but sure enough it was quite a distance off, meaning a more careful and painstaking measurement to get it right with the second attempt. Another example of hasty measurement was when I was mounting a roller blind on a bathroom window the other day . My measurements showed it would fit just fine so I pushed in the extremely tight-fitting end stops into the cylindrical roller over which the blind canvas is rolled, only to find it was too wide for the window, and worse I was never going to be able to get the end stop out. With a hacksaw and the needle-node pliers, tweezers, and flat-blade screw-driver from my PC toolkit I was able to improvise a solution to cut a piece off the cyclinder with the end stop still in place, then force the end stop right into the shortened cylinder. In short, measurements are all too easy too skimp on, and I should really know better as I have a degree in Math!

[David M]

Working around electronics and saltwater, I have an arsenal of things I use for keeping saltspray and saltwater off of things that conduct electricity. These are my favorite weapons against water intrusion.

Silicone grease..available at diveshops, Grainger and Radio Shack. Works around things that are made of rubber since petroleum adversly affects rubber seals etc. Stuffing underwater electrical connectors with this displaces any water that might get in there if there is a leak.

Tef-Gel..this stuff never hardens, never washes off and its slicker than snot and sticks to anything. I use it on terminal blocks, crimp connectors etc...it totally stops corrosion. http://www.tefgel.com.au/

Heat shrink connectors....Completely keeps water out of crimp connectors such as butt joints and ring terminals. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...0001/125/124/9

Liquid electrical tape. Coat anything and it dries in an hour or so forming a completely water tight seal. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0

Self-fusing tape....goes on like regular tape and then self-fuses to itself....this stuff is magic. No seams for water to leak through and it remains pliable. I use it for creating a water tight seal such as where I have to run wire through a deck or cabin top.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

Boeshield...Developed by Boeing for use on aircraft. Its a waxy substance that I have sprayed on printed circuit boards. Conpletely keeps water off the board and stops any shorts or water damage. Does not conduct electricity. If I were to go to phase cooling for a CPU, I would spray this stuff all over the board to stop shorting caused by condensation.
http://www.theruststore.com/Boeshiel...osol-P3C4.aspx

Polysulfide bedding compound..... Dries slowly but once it dries it sticks like crazy, even to epoxy and glass. Remains rubbery and holds up to UV. Better hope you never have to remove this stuff. Made by Sikaflex. Way better than silicone sealant.