Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2018 i Family Handyman

WORKING IN THE COLD Before signing on with The Family Handyman, most of the editors here were employed in the building trades. And all of us have worked in Minnesota, where it can get nippy outdoors come winter. Travis Larson even worked in Greenland, where temps plummeted to 40 degrees below zero. We got together (inside) and pooled our favorite tips for staying comfortable and safe while working in the cold. Have a variety of gloves on hand Different tasks require different gloves. Tight, thin gloves are perfect for delicate tasks like grabbing hold of small screws or twisting wires. Keep thicker gloves or mittens handy for moving equipment or hauling cold, wet material. Oversize gloves or choppers like these will fit right over your formfitting gloves, so you can…

They offer the ultimate in cutting convenience. But can they do the job? We’ve used cordless circular saws for years and love them. With battery and motor technology improving rapidly, we wondered if the latest generation of saws was approaching the performance of corded models. So we put them to the test. Here’s what we learned. The bottom line on performance: While there’s still a performance gap between corded and cordless saws, most cordless models now have the cutting power to handle just about any job. We even found one (Makita’s XSR01) whose power rivals that of a corded saw. Is cordless right for you? If you’re in the market for your first circular saw, we think a corded saw is still the best choice. But if you’re an active…

DANGEROUS DECK Don’t Lean Back! The bench in the photo above looks like a nice place to sit and enjoy the view, and it would prevent you from accidentally walking off the edge of the deck. But it’s not a substitute for a guardrail. THE RIGHT WAY: Codes may vary by municipality, but where the International Residential Code is in force, decks that are more than 30 in. above the ground are required to have a guardrail that measures at least 36 in. from the deck surface to the top of the guardrail. Also, the guardrail design must not allow a 4-in. sphere to fit through any opening. And finally, the guardrail must be able to withstand a concentrated 200-lb. force anywhere along the top of the rail. The deck…

SHARE YOUR HANDY HINT WITH US! submissions@familyhandyman.com Handy Hints Clever solutions from our readers ROLLER SPINNER To spin-dry a mini roller, chuck a 1/4-in. bit into your drill. Slip the roller onto the bit and pull the trigger. Centrifugal force whips the water right out. I recommend doing this in a bucket, utility sink or outdoors. SPIKE CARLSEN MAGNETIC TOOLBOX LABELS HANDY HINTS® Tired of trying to figure out which toolbox drawer had the tool I was looking for, I bought magnetic business cards at an office supply store ($25 for a pack of 100). I peeled the film off the front, stuck a piece of card stock on top of it (old business cards work great) and labeled each drawer. LAURA VOGEL MAKE YOUR OWN AWL I like to…

3 TIERS OF SHELVING Keep your most-used spices on the front shelf for instant access. The two inner shelves are perfect for items you use less often. If your wall cabinets are so full that you can’t find anything without constant reshuffling, we have the perfect solution. This swing-out cabinet provides two extra layers of shelving for great visibility and easy access. We chose to make shallow shelves on the front for spices and wider shelves on the back for bottles or cans, but you can configure your swing-out however you like. Narrow adjustable shelves behind the swing-out provide even more storage space. Tools and materials You’ll find all the materials for this project at home centers or lumberyards. The plywood has to be cut accurately into the parts for…

If you think pocket screws and biscuits have put dowel jigs out to pasture, think again. I love pocket screws and biscuits, but dowels offer a combination of strength, simplicity and accuracy that can’t be beat. That’s why most furniture is still manufactured with dowels. For less than $50, you can buy a self-centering jig that can make joints as well as a machine can. All you need is a drill. MEET THE EXPERT Tom Caspar is a professional furniture maker and the former editor of American Woodworker magazine. HOW IT WORKS The heart of the jig is a steel block with holes to guide your drill bit. On many models, the holes are threaded, which lets you install bushings for drill bits of various sizes. The holes are precisely…

Need more Family Handyman? Get our best tips and hints in your in-box. Sign up at tfhmag.com/diytips GOT A DIY QUESTION? Finding answers is easy at familyhandyman.com. Just use the search box at the top of the page to get expert step-by-step help with your projects. GOT A HANDY HINT OR TIP FOR US? To share your information with us, submit a copy of your original contribution, including photos and/or sketches, by email to: submissions@familyhandyman.com Or mail to: The Family Handyman, 2915 Commers Drive, Suite 700, Eagan, MN 55121 Please include your name, mailing address and email address if you have one, and indicate to which department you are submitting. We reserve the right to publish your submission in any appropriate department, or elsewhere. Contributions will not be acknowledged or…

It’s always a challenge to find matching containers and lids. This rollout solves the problem by keeping them all neatly organized and easily accessible. The full-extension drawer slides are the key. To simplify tricky drawer slide installation, we’ve designed an ingenious carrier system that allows you to mount the slides and make sure everything is working smoothly before the unit is mounted in the cabinet. Tools and materials Our 24-in. base cabinet required a 4 x 4-ft. sheet of 1/2-in.-thick plywood for the rollout, plus a 2 x 3-ft. scrap of 3/4-in. plywood for the carrier. Yours may require more or less. We found high-quality birch plywood at a home center for this project. If you have trouble finding nice plywood, consider ordering Baltic birch or ApplePly plywood from a…

If you’ve got a table saw, here’s a new way to put it to work: making cabinet doors. You don’t need any special jigs— just your saw, large or small, a miter gauge and a sharp blade. And you don’t need any specially prepared wood; material from a home center will be fine. MEET THE EXPERT Tom Caspar has been a professional woodworker and custom furniture builder for more than 40 years. A MORTISE-AND-TENON JOINT WITHOUT ALL THE FUSS Here’s a classic way to put together a strong, good-looking door without making any unsightly holes. Choosing the wood Plan to use 1x3 or 1x4 hardwood boards for the door’s frame. You’ll find this material at most home centers and lumberyards. These are just nominal dimensions, of course. The actual dimensions…

5 Fixes That Save You Cash Here are five of the best ways to save money on car maintenance. These are easy jobs that you can do yourself in minutes instead of overpaying at the oil-change joint. Do each one as needed throughout the year and you’ll leave about $175 in your wallet. Replace your wiper blades DIY SAVINGS: $20 It’s easy to tell when your blades need replacing. Simply press the washer button and see if they wipe the windshield clean. If you see streaks, the blades are done. The auto parts store will have lots of economy blades, but get a name brand instead (such as ANCO, TRICO or Bosch). They cost more, but their higher-quality rubber wipes better, has better UV protection and lasts longer. Follow the…