Yet More Handy Tricks: Volume 5

Yet More Handy Tricks: Volume 5
40 Yet more handy tricks!

To see even more handy tricks, check out the rest of the saga at http://www.instructables.com/id/Handy_Tricks_8_Island_Handy_Tricks/
and Fifty Handy Tricks.
and 40 More Handy Tricks
and Australian Handy Tricks
and Guatemalan Handy Tricks
and Yet More Handy Tricks
and Handy Tricks Six!
and Handy Tricks 7: Bike Mods and Projects
For a bunch of things that didn't work, check out How Not To.

First Handy Trick: Duct Tape vs. Fiberglass Rash

"Amazon Leg Woman X" was carving magnum waves on her badly weathered surf-vivor-board.
With no wetsuit of course because she only needs what she can carry in her teeth.
While straddling Mr. Terrible Fiberglass outside the break and waiting for the tastiest curls, she worked a whole nettle's worth of tiny fiberglass needles into her skin.
9 hours later she noticed she was in extreme pain from thigh rashes.
She whipped out a roll of duct tape from behind one of her molars and used it to remove the fibers.
She employed the "lint gesture hula", "rub the sticky side in the cardinal directions", and "leave it attached til tomorrow and pull the hair off too" methods.
 
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Step 1California Jack Stands

California Jack Stands
Mose and I went in search of some wheels for a trailer at Bert and Johnnie's junkyard in San Leandro Ca.
I wondered why it was so hard to find the size we needed. Then I noticed the clever "California Jackstands" holding up most of the cars. A car comes with five rims if it's got a spare, and by the time they're done stripping the car they've employed 8 rims to prop it up.

Other than that it's a really good design, very solid and a wide base for soft ground.
The top rim is tack welded to the bottom rim at the four points where they touch.
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169 comments
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Feb 26, 2011. 7:59 AMpfred2 says:
I use a super cleaner called Purple Power that is sold in Wallyworld. It is a knock off of Castrol's SuperClean. It is an amazing stone lube!
Jul 12, 2011. 9:52 PMnalk55 says:
Is it the Purple Power De-Greaser for motors?
Jul 13, 2011. 5:20 AMpfred2 says:
I suppose it could be. It is marketed as a cleaner. But I think they sell it in the automotive cleaning products aisle. You'll know it when you have it when you have a liquid purplish in color and it is very slippery. It is sort of hard to wash off your hands. It is like soap on steroids. I use it to clean all sorts of things, and as my stone lube of choice. I buy it by the gallon, but have a pump spray bottle I dispense it from. Only takes a couple of squirts to lube a sharpening stone. So a gallon of the stuff lasts me at least a year. It's been a while since I've bought any. I consider the product an essential shop chemical. I always have some. I also use a little nylon brush to smush it around the stone, if I don't just use my finger. The little nylon brush cleans gunk out of the stone pores better though. Often I'll wipe a stone surface with a paper towel when I am done using it to dry it off. I use a lot of synthetic diamond hones and I think Purple Power can eat the glue that holds those things together. I just like putting my stones away dry. Seems neater to me than just letting the lube dry and leave residue on the stones. Get some if you can. I hope you find it as handy as I do.
Jul 14, 2011. 12:50 AMnalk55 says:
Oh I use it and I now I know we're talking about the same stuff. I use it to clean stuff and my cousin uses it to clean his golf cart engine that has a bad oil leak and cleans it really good. I never thought to use it as lubrication or anything like that.
Jul 14, 2011. 1:27 PMpfred2 says:
Give it a shot. It cleans up easily enough. Oil is a mess! My knives and plane blades and chisels and what not all come out sharp. I strop with a rouge charged leather as a finishing step with my whole sharpening ritual. I think it makes the edges last longer. And I don't put Super Clean/Purple Power on that! Though I may use a cleaner soaked paper towel to clean the red rouge off the tool.
Jul 13, 2011. 5:52 AMabadfart says:
you forgot the la tire theft trick. you put cinder blocks under the car and then rip the stem out with some chanel locks to deflate them, then you just un bolt and go. lucky for me the guy had only ripped the stem out of one when i got back.
Jul 12, 2011. 11:12 PMautokymatic says:
Some buds and I found an old leather couch on the curb, so we moved it 4 blocks with 2 longboards. We actually rode the couch downhill for 3 blocks XD.
Jul 12, 2011. 8:22 PMheyitskalee says:
"A red curb means "no parking, stopping, or anything".
A cop once pulled me over into one of these red curb area which was also a bus stop.
He wrote me a $270 ticket for being there, even though he picked the spot."

no actually, you picked the spot. a cop will follow you until you pull over. so you could have kept going to find a better spot.
Jul 5, 2011. 9:54 PMcdorsett says:
I once moved all of my stuff out of my dorm room on a skateboard because people had misplaced all of the carts. Very effective :)
Jul 27, 2009. 3:52 PMSalsa766 says:
what a bike
Feb 26, 2011. 8:08 AMpfred2 says:
What bike? That's mobile graffiti!
Jun 10, 2009. 9:34 PMDiamondBack says:
an overhead door, without it being overhead ... nice!
Feb 26, 2011. 8:05 AMpfred2 says:
Until it rains.
Feb 26, 2011. 8:03 AMpfred2 says:
I read someplace 32" is optimum antenna length for FM reception. Don't know if its true or not but it seems to work for me.
Jan 21, 2010. 10:23 AMMikenunb says:
   I did the same straightening job in the hole of a storm drain manhole cover.
Feb 26, 2011. 8:00 AMpfred2 says:
I've used metal stair handrails.
Feb 26, 2011. 7:54 AMpfred2 says:
In the gimp right click, colors, levels, play with the triangular sliders until you're happy. I didn't spend too much time. Oh and the curves thing can be fun as well.

Monster-Wagonc.jpg
Feb 26, 2011. 7:49 AMpfred2 says:
Who was Budda and what does a 500 pound man know about self control?
Jun 21, 2010. 7:02 PMwsni says:
Sniffing fumes from burning plastic is not a good way to retain your health.
Jun 29, 2010. 4:15 PMthepelton says:
PVC, or Polyvinyl Chloride, releases chlorine when it overheats, which is poisonous.
Feb 26, 2011. 7:39 AMpfred2 says:
Oxygen and water are poisonous in too great quantity so what exactly is your point?
Jul 2, 2010. 6:38 AMRmstrjim says:
Cops don't pick where you stop your car unless they're on foot and waving you over. If you're being pulled over it's your responsibility to find a safe place to stop.
Jul 9, 2010. 3:12 PMA good name says:
Please, if he had kept going the cop would have charged him with evading arrest.
Jul 10, 2010. 7:18 AMRmstrjim says:
... Being pulled over != being arrested. You're obligated to determine a safe place to stop your vehicle, as YOU are in control of it, not the police. Capiche?
Feb 26, 2011. 7:36 AMpfred2 says:
I thought those people with the lights on their roofs just wanted to race. I haven't lost to one yet!
Jul 19, 2010. 12:04 PMSomnia says:
Rmstrjim is right. For example, if a cop with lights on starts to follow you on a back road somewhere, you have the right to continue until you get to a lighted area for your own safety. You DO need to call the police station dispatch and let them know what you're doing, lest the coppers think you're ignorant or running away.
Feb 26, 2011. 7:32 AMpfred2 says:
Children should be kept in sealed rain barrels until they are 18 at which point unbunged and if nothing good is heard dropped into the sea!
Jan 3, 2011. 9:20 PMss2007wow says:
Most new & used tire shops will have them, here is a link:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Wheel+Bolt+Pattern+Gauges&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=ivns&biw=1712&bih=857&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6006274215940821102&ei=Cq4iTYebGs2hnweesZCtDg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CFoQ8wIwAQ#
Sep 21, 2010. 3:25 PMwickless candles says:
great tip, on being handy
Sep 26, 2009. 7:13 AMsuperhubbardman says:
This seems to be kind of obvious
Sep 20, 2010. 7:15 AMstormthirst says:
This is kind of obvious - to anyone who lives in the UK where squash (or cordial) is very very common place.
Aug 15, 2010. 11:54 AMeulaliaaaa! says:
That is clever! I live in Iowa, USA, and that is the perfect hillbilly/redneck gift!
Aug 15, 2010. 11:47 AMeulaliaaaa! says:
That is a LONG drainage tunnel...
Aug 15, 2010. 11:46 AMeulaliaaaa! says:
Interesting...
Jul 5, 2010. 11:00 PMA good name says:
What fluids were they draining exactly?
Aug 12, 2010. 11:07 AMquadracer says:
crankcase oil, coolant, power steering fluid, trans fulid, brake fuild and freon to name a few. They dont want any leaky cars hanging out
Aug 8, 2010. 3:12 PMLDW says:
Erm... does this 'instructable' also come in English?
Jul 25, 2010. 11:16 PMjaydenthorup says:
3 beeps comes from the power on self test POST. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000996.htm
Jan 21, 2010. 9:23 AMmrpesas says:
A better idea would be to not treat your child like a dog.
Mar 25, 2010. 11:15 AMchris76108 says:
I LOVE my dog!.... I'll bet you don't have children dover338.
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Author:TimAnderson
Tim Anderson is the author of the "Heirloom Technology" column in Make Magazine. He is co-founder of www.zcorp.com, manufacturers of "3D Printer" output devices. His detailed drawings of traditional ...
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