I have a confession to make.
Sometimes I will abuse a tool by not using it for the process it was originally designed. Not like hauling a tool around by its power cord or something as equally stupid, mind you.
You know, the thing that needs to be done one time and it’s not worth the time and setup to do it with the correct technique or tool.
Like using a compound mitersaw to notch the end of a 2x by placing it perpendicular to the fence and carving away.
But I’m sure no one here would ever think of doing something like that. I mean it might tarnish your image as a professional or something.
But just curious if anyone ever gets creative with their tools.
Replies
I use my pencil to stir my coffee.
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Remodeling Lead Carpenter w/ 20 years exp.
+ A Construction Engineering Degree
Located in Elmira, NY
Incessantly Whining Liberal
Sarcastic Smartass
Cunning Linguist
Family Man
Dog Lover (NOT THAT WAY YOU PREVERT!!!)
Watch what you say or some of those here will warn you about lead poisoning.
Or encourage it.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Watch what you say or some of those here will warn you about lead poisoning.
Well, it certainly explains a lot.
; )
If I survive, I have survived.
But if I have enriched someone else's life, I have succeeded.
quittintime
"I use my pencil to stir my coffee."
Yuck!
What do youuse to clean your ears out with then?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"What do youuse to clean your ears out with then?"
Paper clips.Normal is just a setting on your dryer.
Compressor and a blow nozzle.
gets both ears with one blast!
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Remodeling Lead Carpenter w/ 20 years exp.
+ A Construction Engineering Degree
Located in Elmira, NY
Incessantly Whining Liberal
Sarcastic Smartass
Cunning Linguist
Family Man
Dog Lover (NOT THAT WAY YOU PREVERT!!!)
whoee!
talk about clearing out the cobwebs...
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I use my car keysuntill the circumstances change, my answer will remain the same...
Don't encourage somethinglike that. With some if they probe to deep and ruture an ear drum their heads might deflate....
Here fishy fishy....
I am not a true carpenter. Kind of a jack of all trades. So I don't buy really good wood chisels. I buy a decent set every couple of years. Once I get my latest set the others go in my tool bucket for general purpose. That means anything you can use a chiasel for other than chiseling it gets it. DanT
To paraphrase a saying, The bigger the head, the larger the collapse...
some could start a chain reaction that would lead to us fallinginto a black hole.
I repent of the suggestion, LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Everything is a hammer except for chisels , they are screwdrivers.
I find the deckmate 2 1/2 in screw works best for getting earwax and bloody scabs out of my ears. the reamer blade on my plumbing pipe cutter works good too.
8in vise grip pliers for pulling teeth and and my grandfather used a 10ft drain snake instead of Exlax. My grandmother fell in love with her whirlpoll washer in spin cycle. she had a friend that had a laundremat and would get together with her girlfriends after it closed at nite to have fun.
dogboy
Winter nights in Maine are too dark and too long, but I don't want to think about that rinse cycle, LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Toss a small heavy rug in the washer and set 'er on the corner of the washer at rinse / spin cycle, step right up 'n hang on.
Here fishy fishy....
rodeo time!! Yeeeeee hawwwwww!! Man do I have joke fer that.
Check yur email...incoming
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
this is how your sister likes itMr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
GO ORANGEMEN!!!
Ya heard that huh?..<G>..Or did IMERC spill the beans?
OR HAVE YOU TRIED IT?...
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
All I will say is:
YEEEE HAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!!Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
GO ORANGEMEN!!!
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpc2RicmIxBF9TAzk1ODYyMjM4BHNlYwN0aA--?slug=ap-beast-bc-syracuse&prov=ap&type=lgns
yeah, go orange man, hehehe
I came home from work to watch the second half....
Should have stayed and watched they mud dry!!
Oh yeah .... BITE ME!!!!
Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
GO ORANGEMEN!!!
Edited 3/12/2004 4:17 pm ET by Mr T
Think T has yur line of thought mapped out???
No spilling from here...
Here fishy fishy....
naw, he did the sister..
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
.............a spoon....................hey, you asked for it!
I keep unsharpened pencils on my desk for just that purpose!untill the circumstances change, my answer will remain the same...
I freehand scribes on the table saw. I've never had a problem but my boss tried it and shot a board through a brand new window.
Smile. It could be worse. You could be me working for you.
I cut perfect circles on the table saw, with the help of a little homemade jig.
The results can be equally exciting. Gotta just be patient.
I also cut freehand on the table saw. But, never thought of that as abusing a tool. Just using it to it's full potential.
Oh, and I have hit a screwdriver with a hammer a time or two in my life.View Image
Do alot of freehand on the tablesaw. I would love to see that jig. We should start a new posting on Jigs.Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing! Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell
I do love jigs and other handy helpers.
The circle cutter is really simple.
I cut a strip of wood that would fill the miter slot on the left side of the blade.
Then fastened a piece of 1/2" plywood to it that was full table front to back and from about 1" to the inside of the blade and out to the edge of the table to the left.
Run your blade up through it for a zero clearance slot.
Then I just put a mark on the plywood square from the center of the blade.
So if you want to cut a 24 inch circle, measure out from the blade a foot and drive a finish nail. Drill a small hole in the back of your board, to be cut and drop it down on the nail.
You must start with the blade below the plywood, turn on the saw and raise the blade into your board. Just a little.
The problem with this is that the blade has to dog a lot of wood on the back side, so don'r feed it to much or it will get mean.
Then just spin the board counter clockwise a full circle, raise the blade a bit more and repeat, till you have cut all the way through.
When written out, it sounds kinda drawn out, but the result is very nice.
Remember to not feed the saw to much at a time, just enough to keep it happy, but not enough to make it angry enough to try to hurt you.View Image
re: freehand scribes on the tablesaw:
done that too, many times
not to mention freehand coping on the tablesawcaulking is not a piece of trim
I have used a screwdriver as a chisel.
Was not wearing safety glasses at the time.
I have used a utility knife as a surgical instrument.
Shoulda been wearing safety mittens at the time.
Joe H
My flat tip or phillips head chisel and light weight prybar....
Not to mention my frequently used 14 oz adjusting tool and my 19oz vaughn adjusting tool
Darkworksite4:
Gancho agarrador izquierdo americano pasado que la bandera antes de usted sale
I have used a screwdriver as a chisel.
Was not wearing safety glasses at the time.
I have used a utility knife as a surgical instrument.
Shoulda been wearing safety mittens at the time.
Joe H
That is NOT tool abuse. It is however EYE abuse, and something else abuse, but even I trim my nails with a utility knife, and everone knows that a screwdriver is a chisel, pry bar and punch, heck even a weapon too.
Today I used a chisel to open a can of paint. I know I wont sleep tonite.
I once came back from lunch to find one of my chizels with a big chip out of the blade, and a smear of paint on it. I looked over at the painter and he tried to "fess up" by saying "I used your screwdriver to open my paint can.... Hope that's all right".
I grabbed him by the ear, marched him out to the truck and drove him to the contractor's supply store where I made him buy me a new chizel, much more expensive than the damaged one.
Ok, I didn't really do all that.... But dAMMIT i REALLY WANTED TO!!! I did however make him give me all the money he had in his pocket towards a new chizel.
like the old saying.."if it was a decent chisel it wouldn't have chipped"...I heard that once too many times.
saw a coworker prying on a bondo can...said " damn this thing sucks"...I looked at his screwdriver...a 3/8" Winchester Arms socketed bevel edge chisel, made of gun steel and blued. New Haven Conn. etched on it.and the logo.
I promptly swiped it from him, and gave him a 6 in one..that chisel is still my first one I grab from the rack when I am tooling on my bench..love it.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I don't know if this is tool abuse but.....We clamped a 10" chop saw to the 4x4 stair posts to cut the railing angle. It looked strange but it worked. We used real clamps- not those vise grip squeeze things- and lifted the cutoff straight up.
Heck no, that's not abuse.
That is pretty darn clever. I will use that one, myself. Thanks!!View Image
That is clever. But its easier to create a jig out of 3 pcs. of 3/4" pine. and use the circ saw. 2 of the pieces sandwich the post (or handrail in our case) and thus get clamped. The 2 pieces are made about an inch or so wider than the post and can be articulated to whatever angle you need. The 3rd piece gets glued to the other 2 at the overhang and thus becomes your "fence". A photo would really simplify things but I just don't have one. We had to invent this to shorten a handrail that could not be removed and it required a precision cut. The jig took about 20 min. to set-up and worked like a charm.
wow!!!! how about a picture of that setup??
i'm impressed!!caulking is not a piece of trim
I can't quite focus in on the mental photo. Maybe a drawing?
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Clamped a mitre saw to the 4x4?
Hey, I thought I was the only one who ever did that!
Scared the heck out of the guys I was working with, but it worked great.
Well, I have some screwdrivers that are sharper than some of my chisels...
And I use my table saw to cope, and to cut cove mouldings, but the worst I can think of, (and will admit to!) is the time I needed to clean up two slabs of 1/2" thick aluminum I had gotten from the scrapyard. Was going to make a metal table, and these were the main shelves. 18" x 60", but they had scores and grooves all over them, about a strong 1/32" deep. When I bought them I thought (stupidly) that I'd just hit 'em with the belt sander. HA!
That technique had less than zero percent success. So, if you wanted to take off about 1/32" of aluminum, what would you do? Reach for the portable hand power planer! Makita to the rescue. I figured going in that I would be into a few sets of blades when I was done, but the other technique was such a failure that I was just fine with buying a few new blades.
Let me tell you that you have never heard such a sound! LOUD, and just dangerous sounding! But it worked likew a charm, and soon the shop was covered in these little 3 1/4" long x 1/16" w x 1/64" thick aluminum tinsel peices. So light they gently floated down.
It took about an hour, but when all was finished, the blades were fine!
Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
whats wrong with coping on the table saw?
i do it all the time, isnt that what the sides of the teeth are for?caulking is not a piece of trim
I cant help it but every tinme I get out the handsaw, I stsrt playing it like a musical instrument...
brrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiinngggggggggggGGGGGGGggggggg...... brrrriiiinnggggggggggggggnnn
....."some people call me mawreecce...."..bbbrrrrriiinnnngggg...
that's definitely abuse
Well, I was going to start out by saying I subject my tool to creative abuse every day, but I decided that was too ambiguous and somebody would be sure to take it the wrong way, so I won't.
Rez.
I do it ALL THE TIME. Don't know if you caught my "using a lathe as a centrifuge" post.
So if you didn't
http://forums.prospero.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=40659.11
Tools are just that, tools, use 'um to get a job done irrespective of what they were designed to do in the first place.
Jon
you mean like draggin a milwaukee circ saw sideways to make coves that are REAL wide?..or chair seats? nope.
I like to use a mattock for deck demo...prys up even the toughest deck boards..busted a few handles tho.
used a palm nailer for autobody work..hammers out dents real fast..made some wood faces for the hammerface..curved..
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
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Who Dares Wins.
SHAME!!!! You are one in a crowd. I'd never do some thing like that.... ROAR!!
Here fishy fishy....
Well, there was that one time...
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-BREAKTIME/messages?msg=34767.1
Kevin Halliburton
"In him the whole building is joined together ..." Ephes. 2:21
Roar! I'd missed that thread.
And now Piffin's knocking on 13,000.
I think he deserves a prize.