Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i Family Handyman

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Monster oscillating tool The most common complaints about oscillating tools are slow speed and a lack of power. Dremel has addressed these issues with the aptly named “Velocity.” This tool boasts a 7-amp motor, while most oscillating tools are in the 2- to 3-amp range. The oscillation angle has been increased to 5 degrees so you can remove more material with every pass of the blade. The tool kit even comes with a blade big enough to cut the occasional 2x4, but don’t throw out your circular saw just yet. This beast is heavier than most other oscillating tools and has a thicker handle, so if you have small hands or do a lot of overhead work, this may not be the tool for you. The Velocity is equipped…

Trim trouble solution Sometimes door or window casing won’t lie flat against the wall because the drywall protrudes beyond the jamb. The fastest fix for that is to bash the drywall flat with a hammer. If that’s not enough, recess the back of the casing with a power plane. Before a blade change… Crank the blade to 45 degrees or so. With the arbor tilted up, you have better access and you’re less likely to drop the nut into some unreachable cranny. Hump detector A drywall knife isn’t just for spreading joint compound. Its long, straight edge helps you find high or low spots in your work. Mark those spots with a pencil, then sand or fill as needed. Get a grip on battered bolts When a nut or bolt…

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the gearhead in your family, look no further. We’ll show you a few new tools that belong in every garage toolbox, as well as a few “golden oldies” that always earn their keep. Most of these tools cost less than $20. Vented funnels for faster, neater pouring If you’ve ever tried to pour used motor oil from your drain pan into a recycling jug, you know it’s a glug-glug affair that takes forever, burps oil on your clothes and sometimes turns into a messy oil spill. Forget that! You can pour quickly and neatly with SpeedyFlo vented funnels (a combo pack with a 10-in. and a 12-in. is $14 at speedyflo.com). Just plunk the funnel into a clear recycling jug and pour.…

1. (B) When the mortar is stiff enough, your thumb should barely leave an imprint, and you should be able to rake or brush loose mortar away without it smearing on the stone. 2. True. Unlike wood or fiber cement, vinyl (and aluminum) siding should be nailed loose, with the nails in the center of the nailing slot, so that the siding can expand and contract as it warms and cools. Set nails will also cause wrinkled siding. 3. (C) The wide prong is neutral, and that wire goes to the threaded socket that the bulb screws into. The narrow prong is hot and goes to the metal tab in the center of the socket. If a lamp is miswired, the threaded socket is always hot whether the light is…

handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com Spray-paint organizer My wife was just about to throw away a shoe caddy when I had this idea. I screwed the shoe caddy to one of the garage walls, and now I store all my spray-paint cans in there. It lets me find the color I want, and the cans aren’t hogging valuable shelf space. James Stefan Small-parts sander I’m 91 years old, but I still enjoy spending time in the wood shop. I like to make wooden toys and give them to my great-grandkids and charity groups. One trick I’ve learned over the years is to use emery boards—the kind for filing fingernails— to sand small parts. Emery boards come in different sizes, and some are more abrasive than others, so I keep an assortment on hand. Joe…

10 tips for a fast, fine finish— without swirls! How it works—and what goes wrong The pad of a random orbit sander moves in two ways: It wiggles in a tight orbital pattern while it rotates. This combined movement leaves a random pattern of scratches running in every direction, overlapping, intersecting and becoming practically invisible. But if you sand the wrong way, you’ll prevent the sander from working properly. You’ll get visible scratches, often in the form of long, spiraling swirls. You may not see these swirls on raw wood, but a coat of stain will highlight them. 1GO S-L-O-W When you use a random orbit sander, it’s natural to scrub back and forth in a hurry. But that produces swirls. Slow down! The slower you go, the more random…

In last month’s “Home Tech” (“Before You Cut Your Landline...” Oct. ’16, p. 74), we ran through the pros and cons of dropping your phone service (and the monthly bills). Two of the biggest reasons to keep a landline are to maintain 911 access where your landline provides your exact address to emergency responders, and to eliminate the problems associated with missed and dropped cell phone calls around your house. But there are solutions for these situations. Here are three: 1 INSTALL A CELL BOOSTER SYSTEM Add a booster antenna, a network extender or a new cell phone with voice over LTE (VoLTE). For more information on boosting your signal, search for “boost cell phone signal” at familyhandyman.com. 2 DISTRIBUTE CELL SIGNAL If you have a strong cell phone signal…

Put on your thinking cap and take this month’s quiz to see just how smart you are when it comes to DIY. Here’s how it works: ■ There are easy, intermediate and really tough questions all mixed together. ■ Theremay be more than one correct answer! ■ Get the answers and your DIY rating on p. 82. Good luck! 1. It’s important to rake the excess mortar out between courses of stone or brick to make a clean, even line. How long should you wait before doing it? A. About five minutes. B. Until the mortar is stiff but not yet hard. C. A full 24 hours. D. You should rake it as you go, while the mortar is still wet. 2. True or False? Vinyl siding that’s nailed too…

Sanding is never fun, but the right machine can make this tedious chore go faster. For most DIY projects, the right machine is a 5-in. random orbit sander. Belt sanders are often too aggressive and orbit-only sanders too slow. A random orbit sander hits the sweet spot in between. Whether you’re choosing your first random orbit sander or looking to upgrade, check out the following pages to find a model to suit your needs. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SPEND? All the sanders we tested performed exactly as they should, but they covered a huge price range: $30 to $220. So how much should you spend? If you’re a light-duty DIYer and rarely use a sander, chances are you’ll be satisfied with any of the low-cost models. But if you’re a…

Keep hose connections clean Your hoses will inevitably get dragged through the dirt and mud. It’s important to keep those hose connections clean because dirt in the couplers will eventually lead to dirt in the hoses, and then there’s only one place for that dirt to go— into your expensive air tools. Debris in tools is a major cause of piston and O-ring damage. And dragging hose splitters with an unused port across the ground is almost a sure bet to pollute your hoses and tools. Hang hose connections from a sawhorse or anything handy that’s off the ground, or set them on a clean surface. Your tools will thank you. Carry extra parts A bad valve or cut hose can cost you lots of money in downtime. Avoid that…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com A thickness planer (aka “surfacer” or “surface planer”) is an easy-tomaster tool whose only function is to smooth one face of a board. But oh, what a function that is. Once you start using a thickness planer, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. But, if you’re new to this tool, the painful part of the learning curve comes when you have to replace the expensive cutting knives you’ve destroyed in the process. These tips will help you get the most from your planer and make the knives last as long as possible. 1 Is that board worth a set of knives? It’s tempting to send just about any board through the planer when you see the incredible transformation the planer is capable of producing. But a set…