Plywood frequently splits when you begin sawing it. You can prevent this by applying a strip of masking tape at the point where you plan to start. To prevent splintering or splitting when sawing you can also prescore the top layer on both sides, at the cutoff point, with a sharp chisel or pocket knife.
If you're buying plywood to use where only one side will be visible, you can save money by buying a piece that is less expensive because it's perfect on only one side. Use expensive waterproof bond plywood only for outside use. Use less expensive water- resistant bond plywood when panels will be exposed to weather infrequently. And use rela-tively inexpensive dry bond plywood when panels will be used indoors.
You can saw a board into almost perfectly equal lengths without measuring it. Simply bal-ance it on a single sawhorse. When the board stops wobbling the center will be the point where the board touches the crossbar of the sawhorse. To make any sawing task smoother and easier, lubricate a saw's blade frequently by run-ning a bar of soap or a candle stub over its sides. To prevent a saw from binding when ripping a long board, hold the initial cut open with a nail or wedge. Move the nail or wedge down the cut as you continue to saw.
Saws cut more easily across the grain than with it. In ripping cuts there's a tendency for the blade to follow the grain, rather than a marked or scribed line, so watch carefully when making rip cuts or the cut might turn out wavy. To prevent dimpling a wood surface when removing a nail with a hammer, protect the sur-face with a small block of wood or a shim; this, incidentally, will also increase your leverage.
To extract a nail without widening its hole or denting surrounding stock, use long-nose pliers and roll the pliers in your hand.
Check that wood is perfectly smooth after sanding by covering your hand with a nylon stock¬ing and rubbing it over the surface. You'll be able to detect any rough spots that remain. Sandpaper clogs fast, and usually before it's worn out. You can clean clogged sandpaper and give it new life by vacuuming it or rubbing a fine- bristled brush back and forth across its grit. When gluing 2 pieces of wood together, position the grain in the same direction. If the pieces are crossgrained and later swell due to moisture absorption, the joint will pull apart.
When you drill through any kind of wood a certain amount of splintering will occur at the breakout point. (This is true regardless of the type of bit used, since wood has a composition that causes it to fracture rather than break.) You can prevent this breakout splintering by backing the stock with a piece of scrap. Whenever there's danger of splitting a nar¬row section of wood with a screw, predrill a hole. Then the wood won't crack when you insert the screw.
Tack rags will last longer if they're stored in an airtight container to keep them from drying out. Airtight storage also prevents spontaneous combustion. (This safety tip applies equally well to other rags, coveralls, work gloves, and any other clothes that might absorb flammable oils and solvents.)
Though a hacksaw is designed to cut metal, the thin blade is well suited for cutting small pieces of wood accurately. A plastic playing card or credit card can serve as a scraper for removing excess wood filler from a surface that you are repairing. A salt shaker makes a good applicator for distributing pumice evenly on a wood surface.
If you're buying plywood to use where only one side will be visible, you can save money by buying a piece that is less expensive because it's perfect on only one side. Use expensive waterproof bond plywood only for outside use. Use less expensive water- resistant bond plywood when panels will be exposed to weather infrequently. And use rela-tively inexpensive dry bond plywood when panels will be used indoors.
You can saw a board into almost perfectly equal lengths without measuring it. Simply bal-ance it on a single sawhorse. When the board stops wobbling the center will be the point where the board touches the crossbar of the sawhorse. To make any sawing task smoother and easier, lubricate a saw's blade frequently by run-ning a bar of soap or a candle stub over its sides. To prevent a saw from binding when ripping a long board, hold the initial cut open with a nail or wedge. Move the nail or wedge down the cut as you continue to saw.
To extract a nail without widening its hole or denting surrounding stock, use long-nose pliers and roll the pliers in your hand.
Check that wood is perfectly smooth after sanding by covering your hand with a nylon stock¬ing and rubbing it over the surface. You'll be able to detect any rough spots that remain. Sandpaper clogs fast, and usually before it's worn out. You can clean clogged sandpaper and give it new life by vacuuming it or rubbing a fine- bristled brush back and forth across its grit. When gluing 2 pieces of wood together, position the grain in the same direction. If the pieces are crossgrained and later swell due to moisture absorption, the joint will pull apart.
When you drill through any kind of wood a certain amount of splintering will occur at the breakout point. (This is true regardless of the type of bit used, since wood has a composition that causes it to fracture rather than break.) You can prevent this breakout splintering by backing the stock with a piece of scrap. Whenever there's danger of splitting a nar¬row section of wood with a screw, predrill a hole. Then the wood won't crack when you insert the screw.
Tack rags will last longer if they're stored in an airtight container to keep them from drying out. Airtight storage also prevents spontaneous combustion. (This safety tip applies equally well to other rags, coveralls, work gloves, and any other clothes that might absorb flammable oils and solvents.)
Though a hacksaw is designed to cut metal, the thin blade is well suited for cutting small pieces of wood accurately. A plastic playing card or credit card can serve as a scraper for removing excess wood filler from a surface that you are repairing. A salt shaker makes a good applicator for distributing pumice evenly on a wood surface.
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