Reader Tips - Page 67 of 213

The next time you need to install trim on a finished wall, consider using rare-earth magnets to show where the studs are. Simply move these powerful little magnets over the…

Some jobs require down-and-dirty elbow grease. After scraping loose some of the creosote buildup inside a fireplace, I found wire-brushing the most-effective way to remove the caked-on patches. I could…

I had to make some urgent plumbing repairs under a kitchen sink, so I hunted around for my flashlight. Its batteries were dead, so I reluctantly set up a 300w…

I hate installing fiberglass insulation, especially overhead. Faced with this task, I reach for the forklike tool shown in the drawings below. Made of 2x2s screwed and glued at their intersection…

Lining up the blade of a miter saw with the cut mark on a piece of molding can be difficult to do perfectly. Rather than sneaking up on the mark,…

Tired of cleaning sawdust and drywall dust off your glasses all day long during the winter months because of static? Try this: Wipe your glasses with a simple antistatic clothes-dryer…

A how-to for when you have to put in a skirtboard the hard way.

As a handyman in the city, I work on jobs consisting mainly of repairs and small installations such as closet organizers or shelf units. I don't need a big truck…

When it came time to install the window hardware (blind mounts, shade mounts, valance mounts) in my restored 1880s home, I discovered that a tool typically used for metalworking really…

I like to carry a countersink—the kind that includes a tapered drill bit—in my tool pouch. I find it nice to have on hand when I have to set a…