Popular Woodworking 2007-10 № 164, страница 18

Cardboard

Copper electrical wire

Fast-track Shellac

I use shellac a lot in the shop as a universal sealer under oil finishes, varnishes, enamels and wax, and as a separating layer on multicoated things such as painted chests. As a result, I like to always have shellac at the ready. I used to mix my own shellac from flakes, but now I just prepare a quick mix from a can of 2-lb.-cut store-bought shellac, cutting it one-to-one with denatured alcohol. This results in a thin, general-purpose viscosity that lays out nicely and evenly.

For real convenience, I also keep a low-maintenance brush at hand that I don't have to clean afterward. I keep it suspended in a jar of denatured alcohol, with just a portion of the bristles dipped. Keep the metal ferrule dry; otherwise it will corrode from the water that the alcohol absorbs from the air. (It doesn't matter if the brush dries up; just add alcohol and you'll be ready to go in half an hour or so.) I drill a hole in the handle to accept a piece of copper electrical wire that rests on the lid for hanging the brush. A piece of cardboard serves fine for the lid. The threads on a metal lid would just gum up, locking it on.

It's important to use the right sort of brush. My badger-hair brush has fine bristles that apply the shellac very evenly while holding a good dose of the thin mix without dripping. It's at least 15 years old and has resided in suspension the whole time. Figure on paying $25-$30 for a similar 2" brush.

— Kim Chan, Sebastopol, California

Band Saw Clamp Hand

I change blades on my band saw fairly often to suit different jobs. While wrestling with a blade a while ago, I realized that the biggest problem with changing blades was simply stabilizing one end enough to wrap the opposite end around its wheel. I grabbed a spring clamp and temporarily secured the blade to one wheel, making it a cinch to mount the other end.

— Doug Whitson, Phoenix, Arizona

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