Popular Woodworking 2006-10 № 157, страница 12

Film Containers Double as Small Measuring Cups

Here's a tip you'd better act on before it's too late: With digital photography supplanting film, it's harder to find plastic film containers. The tip is to gather a stash for the shop. Not only do they provide storage for brads and small hardware, they're also handy as small measures for test-mixing stains and finishes, making up small amounts of powdered glues, and other general shop alchemy.

The best kind are the translucent containers because you can gauge hash marks on the side with a felt-tip pen to indicate a half-measure, quarter-measure, or whatever suits the job. This allows for accurate test-mixing before committing large amounts of finish. You can easily gauge the ratio of different liquid stains when creating custom colors, play with the viscosity of shellac, or even mix mineral spirits, oil and varnish to make your own wipe-on finish.

Oliver Griffith Las Cruces, New Mexico

Outside Calipers Help You Finish Unusual Objects

I was preparing to spray finish on a gavel that I made, and was scratching my head trying to figure out how to handle it during the process. While considering my options, I realized that the calipers I recently bought at a yard sale might help. I sharpened the tips to needle points, then pinched the head of the gavel between them. Holding it like this allowed me to spray all the surfaces at once. And the ring on the calipers provided an easy means for hanging the piece to dry. After rubbing out the second coat I repositioned the caliper tips slightly before spraying the final coat. This eliminated any evidence of contact with the caliper tips. Obviously, this technique would work for all sort of small parts.

Roger Dubois Dudley, Massachusetts