Here’s an easy way to measure depth while digging a posthole. Skip the hassle of constantly stopping and removing the posthole digger by turning the handles of your digger into built-in measuring sticks. With a permanent marker, make a line every six inches up the handle from the tips of the digging blades. When you get close to the desired depth, stop digging (leaving the digger in the hole) and check the depth on the handles.
Hand cleaner
To clean oil-based paint or stain off of your hands, try vegetable oil. Pour a small amount of oil on your hands while the paint is still wet and rub them together. Vegetable oil dissolves other oil-based materials and is much gentler on your hands than paint thinner.
Clean sweep
Cleaning the spaces between deck boards or the expansion joints in a sidewalk doesn’t have to be a tedious, on-your-knees job. Insert a screwpin hook into the end of a broom and drag the hook through the cracks. The hook will pull out debris, which can then be swept up easily.
Gluing gliders
Here’s a way to keep iron pipe bar clamps from making black stains on boards you’re gluing together. Stick pieces of automotive wiring harness on the pipe to shield the wood from the pipe. The corrugated plastic will stop any squeezed-out glue from touching the metal and prevent ugly deposits on the wood from glue-to-metal contact. The wiring harness wil also raise the boards a little to line up better with the pipe clamp’s jaws when you crank up the pressure.
