You`re up on a ladder, it`s dark, you`re trying desperately to get done on time, and now this. You need to hold a 10-foot-long 2-by-4 with one hand, while you mark the end of it for cutting. And somehow not fall off the ladder. This would be so easy, you mutter angrily to yourself, if I weren`t doing it all by myself. Or if I had three arms. Or if I had the biceps of Hulk Hogan. Or if I knew some slick way to hold that thing up all on my own.
Well, here are some of those slick ways. They work. I know, because that little scene I just described was what I was doing last October, trying to build a playhouse before the snow came, working all by myself. I used just about every one of these tips. Put them in your arsenal of do-it-yourself techniques and they`ll save you many an awkward moment, just as they did for me.
Don`t get cocky, though, and forget the very first rule of working alone: If it`s not safe, get help. Moving heavy objects, for instance, is not something to do alone, nor are dangerous jobs like working on steep roofs.
Hold everything
As every apprentice carpenter knows, ”Hold that for a minute, will ya, bud?” is a common phrase around a building site. Unfortunately, we do-it-yourselfers don`t have apprentices. But we can carry in our toolbox an elastic rubber cord and a clamp, to help hold things just about as well as an apprentice.
One of the most common uses for an elastic cord (or Bungee cord, shock cord, rubber tie-down, whatever you care to call it) is to hold a level to a post. The post could be for a railing, a fence, a deck, a playhouse, even a mailbox. You can use the level (or even two levels) to check whether the post is plumb, and still have two hands free for fitting something to it, nailing that something on, pouring a footing around it, or whatever.
A clamp is another tool you`ll find a hundred uses for while you`re working alone. Its common uses are to hold two pieces together for marking, and to hold the other end of a long board up while you nail.
Just about any clamp works well, but my favorite is the new Quick-Grip clamp by American Tool. This clamp adjusts with one hand, so you can hold your work with the other, and it has soft pads on the jaws, so it won`t mar surfaces. At less than $25, it`s a godsend for those of us who have merely two hands. You can buy them at home centers or through the mail from Williams Tool, Dept. TFH, 2017 White Settlement Rd., Ft. Worth, Tex. 76107;
1-800-788-0007.
Jack saves your back
One of the most awkward, exasperating, throw-down-your-tools-in-despair jobs, even if you have helpers, is putting drywall on a ceiling. By yourself, it`s almost impossible-unless you go out and rent a drywall jack.
To use it, you load the jack with a sheet of drywall and then raise it into position, using one jack handle to lift the sheet, the other to raise it to a horizontal position. Once the sheet is snugly in place, a few screws will hold it there so you can move on to the next sheet. The jack rolls around easily, fits through doorways and disassembles for transport. Most will reach up to 12 feet high. They rent for around $20 a day.
Don`t drop it, prop it
Often the best advice for working alone is to stop when you`re having trouble and build a gizmo to help. The most common gizmo is some type of prop. The ones in our illustration are typical of those you might rig up to hold a sheet of drywall, a cabinet, a window, a heavy mirror, a stereo speaker, a bookshelf, a microwave or even a painting.
The shape and size of the prop aren`t critical, but here are a few tips from those of us who`ve propped up plenty:
– A couple of shims under the props can help to adjust your ”prop-ee”
so it`s level.
– For particularly ungainly objects, clamp the props on for stability. (I told you to keep some clamps handy!).
– Try gluing some carpet scraps on top of your props to keep them from marring your work.
– If you need to prop something up tight against a ceiling or other surface, make the props about 1/16- to 1/8-inch too long, then tap them into place at an angle to force your project into position.
Cutting plywood`s a snap
My first table saw was small-but my ambitions were not. With that little bench-top saw I was going to make kitchen cabinets, bookshelves and a built-in china cupboard. All by myself, to boot.
What a setback I had when I tried to cut my first sheet of plywood, though. The wood flopped and bellied, the saw tipped and groaned and I cussed. The cut was awful, and my mood was worse. So the next day I built some support tables and, even though I`ve since graduated to bigger and better saws, I still cut plywood alone, and I still use those support tables. Gratefully.
The table behind the saw, the ”outfeed” table, is the most important one. It supports wood as it comes out of the cut. You can buy roller stands
(around $50), which work well if you`re short on space, but these stands are most effective on narrow lumber. The best solution for plywood is an outfeed table. You can make it plain or fancy, nail it together from scrap or build it like a piece of furniture, but here are some features it should have: – A slick top surface so wood slides easily on it. Tempered hardboard glued to plywood, varnished plywood or plastic-laminate-covered particleboard all work well.
– Adjustable feet. These let you adjust the table so it`s perfectly flush with the table saw top, preventing pieces from catching. You can use adjustable appliance or furniture feet, which are available in home centers and hardware stores.
– A couple of grooves in the top of the outfeed table, lined up with grooves in your table saw top. This prevents the guide bar on the miter gauge from hitting the outfeed table when you`re crosscutting. Cut the grooves with a router or a saw and chisel.
The other support table holds the plywood alongside the saw. You can make a temporary one out of a pair of sawhorses with an 8- to 10-foot board screwed or nailed to them, or make a more permanent version like a long and tall sawhorse. Sand the edge and varnish it to help the plywood slide.
Nail it
Finally, you`re never alone when you`ve got a hammer and nail. A suitably placed nail will hold up the end of the board, the end of the level, or even the end of your tape measure. One especially handy technique is to bend over a nail to form a hook. For example, this will hold the end of a long deck joist in place so you can nail the other end.
If you`re putting up crown molding, put a piece of string in your pocket, too. You can prop up the end of the molding with the string looped around a nail in the wall while you fuss with those difficult corner joints.
