Shop Tips

Torque a Spanish windlass to keep the miters tight

These knobs are made by cutting a circle out of a square blank but then using the scraps, connecting them with two sticks in the middle that are joined with a simple lap joint.

To quickly clear jams in a shop vac hose, use an electrician’s wire-fishing tape, which is often sold as “fish tape." After a few pokes with the end of the tape, the clog will fall out of the hose.

To prevent a mattress from sliding around on a platform bed, mix a nonskid additive into some of the finish used on the bed and apply it to the platform with a roller.

The cutter on this scratch stock is made from an old bandsaw blade, and the tooth is shaped with a bench grinder and a file. The holder is made from maple, with a slot bandsawed into it. A thumbscrew tightens the slot, holding the cutter in place.

This pipe-clamp adaptation allows just a few clamps to replace a whole stack of pipes of different lengths. And the whole system fits into a shoebox.

Aluminum L-bars from your local home-improvement store make winding sticks that will stay flat.

A quick solution that allows you to use gloves again after you've taken them off

Felt pads help you find the off-button quickly.

This unconventional use of shelf liner makes it easier to grip slick clamp handles.