12 Ultra-Convenient Handy Hints

Hanging Drill Storage

Clear up some shelf space by inserting a screw eye into the chuck of your drill and tightening it in place. Now you can hang your drill from any hook in your shop, leaving more room on your shelves for bulkier, heavier tools.

The REAL Reason Cutting Boards Have Handles

Avoid spilling produce by funneling chopped-up food through the handle of a cutting board into a bowl below. Just make sure the handle-hole is positioned over your bowl and push your chopped-up produce into it.

Keep Your Trash Cans Cleaner

Food juices leaking from the bottom of your garbage bags into the bottom of your garbage bin can make a nasty mess in a hurry. To speed up food-juice cleanup, throw a few newspapers into your trash can before you line it. The newspaper will absorb any spillage and is easy to remove and replace.

A More Convenient Container for De-Icer

Nobody wants to lug big bags and buckets of de-icer around. Luckily, leftover parmesan cheese cans work great as an easy container and dispenser for de-icers and salts, especially if you’re only worried about spreading them in a small area.

Protect Finished Product When Hammering

Prevent dings in finished product by cutting a slight kerf into a shim (a bandsaw works really well for this) and then slipping the shim around the nail as you hammer it in. The shim will hold your nail in place while simultaneously acting as a shield for any mishits and keeping your finished product mark-free.

Easy Way to Thread a Needle

Threading a needle is a tough ask, especially if you have shaky hands or can’t see well up close. To make the task a little easier, lay the thread across the bristles of a toothbrush. Next, press the eye of the needle against the thread until the bristles poke it through, and pull the thread loop up through the eye with another needle. Here are some other unique uses for your old toothbrush.

Pill Bottle Pencil Sharpener

Small, stand-alone pencil sharpeners are convenient, but there’s nowhere for the shavings to go. Create a catchall for shavings by drilling a hole in the lid of a pill bottle, gluing the sharpener to it and then screwing the lid back on the bottle. Don’t want to deal with sharpening pencils? Here’s a mechanical pencil everyone should have in their shop.

Detergent Catchall

Keep detergent from puddling in your laundry room by making a little catchall from a detergent cup and about six in. of copper wire. Just poke the wire through the sides of the detergent cup to create a makeshift handle.

A Stash of Cash

In today’s technology-centered world, you’re much more likely to forget your wallet at home than you are your phone. Keep a little extra cash tucked behind your phone case in case you need some funds to make an emergency purchase.

DIY Chisel Cover

Protect your hands and keep chisels sharp by covering the chisel tips with tennis balls. Just cut a slit in the tennis ball, slide it over the sharp tip of the chisel, and you’re good to go. The tennis ball will take up more space in your tool bag or bucket, but your hands will thank you.

Prevent Wood Movement With Salt

Wood has a tendency to move and shift almost as though it has a mind of its own. That’s why you should sprinkle a few grains of salt on your glued-up boards before clamping them together. The salt will keep the boards from sliding as you increase clamp pressure.

Create Your Own Edge-Banding Clamps

Create a clamp that’s perfect for holding edge materials in place with just a spring clamp and two rubber bands. Just slide the ends of the bands through the holes in the sides of the spring clamp, and then loop them around the end of the clamp to hold them in place.

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