Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2019 i Family Handyman

SIGN UP FOR MORE “STUFF WE LOVE” We’ve launched a new weekly newsletter featuring more of the tools, gadgets and gear we are living for right now! Sign up to get the scoop on all of our favorite products; go to fhmag.com/signup LEARN MORE. BUILD MORE. Take on the home projects you’ve been dreaming about! More than just your average how-to videos, our DIY University online courses offer professional guidance from a Handyman expert, who will answer your personal questions and provide step-by-step instructions—as if you’re in a real, live workshop! Choose what works best for you—in-depth premium courses or quick classes that are self-paced. Get all the tools and info you need to succeed. Learn more at DIYUniversity.com. Video Tutorial Turn your pile of scrap wood into a set…

Cookie sheets, cutting boards, cooling racks, serving trays, pizza peels… Most of us have a disorderly pile of large, flat cookware—and the thing we need is always at the bottom of the stack. This simple system of dividers brings order to the chaos. It requires minimal skills and materials and goes together fast, which allows you to spend more time cooking and less time searching and sorting. Figure A Cabinet Dividers TOOLS Circular saw or table saw, drill, brad nailer (or hammer and nails), basic hand tools How to build it Measure the width and depth of your cabinet (Photo 1), then cut two 1/4-in. plywood panels (A) to fit. If you have a double-wide cabinet (like ours), cut the plywood so it extends at least halfway beyond the vertical center stile.…

Q My gearhead neighbor keeps telling me I should quit using my 12-point sockets and buy a set of six-points. Is this really necessary? JEFF ALBRIGHT, COLUMBIA, MO A It’s true that 12-point sockets are fine for most lightweight repairs, but heavy wrenching calls for a six-point socket. A six-point socket is much less likely to slip off a stubborn fastener or round over the corners. Here’s why: (1) Six-point sockets have thicker walls, so they’re less likely to flex. (2) A six-point socket is designed to contact the head of a fastener well away from the corners so contact is made on the thickest part of the socket and the flattest part of the fastener. This dramatically reduces the likelihood of slippage and rounding over of the corners. And…

A work light that shows true colors The Hybrid LED Color Range Work Light from Ryobi features variable color temperature, allowing you to adjust the light quality to your work space. It improves color perception—a big benefit for painting—and it reduces eye strain from working in bright white light. The ability to warm up the light as well as dim it can keep you working comfortably longer. The work light features 360-degree light head rotation and includes a tripod mount. It’s cordless, but it can also be plugged into an extension cord. This light is available at Home Depot for $80 without a battery. It’s part of Ryobi’s 18-volt ONE+ System, so you won’t need the battery if you’ve already invested in the system. POCKET SQUARE I keep three essentials…

Traditional hand-cut joinery requires skill and a great deal of practice to master. But are those fancy joints necessary? Nah. I still use mortise-and-tenons or dovetails when a project calls for it. But for most projects, I just need joinery that’s strong and simple. My go-to methods include pocket screws, dowels, biscuits and the Beadlock system. There’s no reason to have all of them in your arsenal. Most serious woodworkers choose one or two, become proficient and use them for virtually all joinery. These four methods are strong enough for typical joinery, and they’re all affordable. POCKET SCREWS You can get a basic pocket hole kit for about $30. You’ll need a supply of different lengths of special self-drilling washer-head screws (coarse threads for softwoods, fine threads for hardwoods). You…

Whether you’re shopping for others or making up a wish list for yourself, help is right here. These gift ideas, big and small, come from the best source we know of: our own workshops, job sites and hands-on experience. $30 Space-saving hose Garden hoses always used to be a hassle to lug around and to store at my farm. GrowGreen hoses have been the answer to both problems. Thanks to the lightweight material, the hoses expand with water pressure and retract when empty. A 25-ft. hose retracts to less than 10 ft. long. When the job’s done, I spray the water out of them and toss them into a bucket. ANNE OF ALL TRADES does it all, from farming and carpentry to fine woodworking and metal forging. She shares woodworking…

Dog Food Scoop It’s true that the tops of plastic jugs make good funnels. But if you keep the cap on and angle the cut, they also make handy scoops for everything from potting soil to pet food. I used a half-gallon jug for this scoop. RAY DEAN DRYER-LINT FIRE STARTER To build a fire properly, you need to have tinder (easy-lighting material), kindling (finger-size sticks) and fuel (logs). We all have a ready supply of tinder: dryer lint. To make fire starters, I stuff empty toilet paper tubes with dryer lint. My lint “logs” light quickly and burn long enough to ignite the kindling. And I don’t have to resort to lighter fluid! RYAN FRANZA SANDPAPER TEARING BLADE Cutting sandpaper will dull scissors and utility knife blades in no…

Before you can stop a leak, you have to find its source. That can be tricky. Water that escapes your pipes can travel a long way before it drops onto your cabinet’s floor. Here’s how a drip detective tracks the source of a leak: Fill both bowls of the sink with lukewarm water, not cold. (Cold water can cause beads of condensation to form on the pipes, making it impossible to find the leak.) Then get under the sink with a trouble light. Dry off all the pipes and examine the seals around the basket strainers. If you don’t see any droplets forming, remove both sink stoppers and watch for telltale dribbles. Joints are the most likely source of leaks, but old metal pipes can develop pinhole leaks anywhere, especially…

MEET THE EXPERT Rick Muscoplat has decades of automotive repair experience and a great website: ricksfreeautorepair advice.com. Whether you’re headed south for a beach vacation or to Grandma’s for the holidays, you’d better do a quick check of your car’s health first. Some discoveries can help you prevent “towable” events; others are safety issues. It would be best to run through this five-minute checklist a week before departure so you’ll have time to get the car repaired if a mechanic is needed. 1. Check for fluid leaks Small leaks can turn into gushers once you leave town, and that can be costly. The most common sources: the radiator, engine oil pan, transmission oil pan and hoses, power steering hoses, steering rack, and heater and radiator hoses. Use a flashlight to…

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