Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2022 i Family Handyman

My seventh-grade shop teacher opened the door to DIY in my mind. That year I attempted to make two things I just couldn’t get any other way: The first was a life-size model of Voltron’s sword; the second was an electric guitar. Mr. Westland gave me all the wood and moral support I needed without judgment. One turned out magnificently—handcarved out of solid wood, painted with lacquer and embellished with chrome. The other was a guitar. Well, it was in the shape of a guitar; let’s just leave it at that. But the spark in me was lit. At 16 I had the opportunity to refurbish a strange-looking electric bass. I was told it was worthless; they just wanted it playable again. So, not knowing what I didn’t know, I…

We knew we wanted to create a backyard living room, a spot where you could put up your feet and enjoy the company of family and friends around a fire. Because we were stuck in the Midwest in late winter, we decided to take the project on the road—all the way to Santa Fe. Your backyard may not look like this one, but you can adapt these stylish, low-maintenance options to suit any yard. Build one or all, and then sit back and relax, knowing there’s little to no upkeep ahead. SCAN THIS CODE SEE A VIDEO OF HOW WE TRANSFORMED THIS BACKYARD!…

An inviting boardwalk and unique wall accent panels are the finishing touches to this backyard. The boardwalk provides an elegant path, and the accent walls tie it all together. Best of all, they’re built with composite decking, which is easy to clean and will look good for years to come. The boardwalk is a quick and easy build. The flexible composite decking will follow slight contours in your yard and can span roots and rocks that would otherwise require excavation. You may have to do a little digging to make the boardwalk flush with the ground and create a seamless walkway through your yard. The walls surrounding this backyard were bland, so to liven them up and match the rest of the new space, we used extra deck boards to…

Dust blows from flowering plants, trees and grasses, sending tiny pollen seeds directly into your nose and eyes. This is allergy season—a time when you and some 50 million other American allergy sufferers stay inside, hoping to avoid an allergic reaction to pollen, for weeks or maybe months at a time. Problem is, sources of your discomfort can be indoors too, causing coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes and more. Pollen, whether from grasses or flowering trees, is the most convenient scapegoat for allergy sufferers whose immune systems react to the airborne dust. But indoor dust—with a high presence of dust mites—is equally to blame. And it can cause problems for people with asthma too. In guidelines for those with asthma and allergies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends multiple strategies…

Generators are becoming must-have tools for homeowners, whether for emergency backup or portable electricity. While shopping, you’ll see a growing category of power packs that are versatile, affordable and easy to use. But they’re not all the same, and finding the right one will require you to answer a few questions. What can they do? Where will you use one? What will you plug in? How much should you spend? We looked at a few options and tested one on a job site to help you choose the right generator for your needs. GENERATOR OR POWER STATION? They all get called “generators,” but that’s not accurate. A generator uses a gas or diesel engine to make electricity. And noise. More power means more noise—that’s fine on a work site but…

I use propane often at my house to cook on my gas grill. I’m careful with propane tanks, especially when transporting them, and I trust that the manufacturer of my grill considered my safety when designing this enclosure of gas and flames. If you’ve replaced burner elements in a gas grill, you know it’s a fairly simple appliance. A 20-lb. propane tank feeds burner tubes made of steel, brass or even ceramic or porcelain through a thermoplastic hose with a pressure regulator. Those burner tubes are perforated with small holes or slits where gas exits to be burned. Fuel, delivery, ignition. A backyard fire pit is even simpler than your gas grill—there’s no device to hold food over the flames—but you still need to consider safety with such a unit.…

If you use home and garden pesticides for weed and pest control, here’s what you need to know to store them safely. It may seem like a lot of rules, but these products pose significant risks. Included in this category are products for repelling and eliminating pests, weed killers, nitrogen stabilizers and other plant regulators. If you’re unsure about a product, check the label for signal words like danger, poison, warning and caution, and for the presence of an EPA registration number. Proper storage prolongs the chemical shelf life of a product and—more importantly—it protects the health of people, animals and the environment. Here are some general storage requirements, but refer to your pesticide labels for specific information about the products you’ve purchased. ■ The EPA recommends keeping pesticides in…

A few years ago, my shop partner picked up a Ridgid Oscillating Edge Belt/Spindle Sander, and it quickly became one of my workshop favorites because of its versatility. Having one compact tool that can do edge work in addition to spindle sanding is fantastic. The tilting table—with detents at 0, 15, 22.5, 30 and 45 degrees—really makes it a slam dunk. You can quickly change the setup between edge and spindle work without any tools. With the sander hooked up to a shop vacuum, the dust collection is pretty good. The edge sander takes 4 x 24-in. sanding belts, and the unit takes five sanding drum diameters, ranging from 1/2 in. to 2 in. All accessories are stored right on the machine. The Ridgid EB4424 is about $280 online and…

When we built our Getaway vacation home for the September 2021 issue, we used a roll-up garage door in lieu of a sliding door to the deck. But we didn’t want a traditional overhead opener track in our kitchen and living space, so we used a jackshaft opener (also called wall-mount or side-mount) that sits discreetly to the side of the door. Now, almost everyone on staff wants a similar opener at home. And why not? Our garage door on the loading dock at the workshop has one. But is a jackshaft opener right for your garage? Surprisingly small and quiet, a jackshaft opener connects directly to the torsion bar above a garage door. No long chain or belt is needed, eliminating much of the noise you get with an…

You go up there seasonally to retrieve, and then replace, the holiday decorations. But it’s a grab-and-go trip since the attic is cold, dark and mysterious. Should you visit this space more often? What should you look for if you do—besides that tree skirt you can never find? If your home has an attic and you haven’t looked in there yet this year, go right now. Oh, wait, read this first! You should inspect your home’s attic regularly, perhaps seasonally. The more often you look up there, the more likely you will notice changes and prevent problems. Here’s what you should look at and for: ROOF LEAKS In most attics, you can get a good view of the underside of your roof. Inspect that roofing material for signs of leaks…

NOT “SEE” WORTHY I bought a used canoe at a garage sale. The canoe was seaworthy, but I figured I’d renew it with a fresh coat of marine paint. I waited for a sunny day, perched the canoe upside down on two sawhorses and painted the entire canoe in short order. After several hours, I returned to admire my handiwork, only to find the entire canoe covered in a coat of white fuzz! The wind had come up, causing a nearby cottonwood tree to shed its cotton, which then turned my canoe into a giant fluffy slipper. STACY GIBSON FURNITURE FLAMBE I decided to strip my old kitchen chairs using a gel paint stripper. After working on the first chair for hours and making slow progress, I decided that a…