Even though I have some fancy power tools for shaping metal, I still reach for files every time I’m in the shop. As I mentioned in the shop tour, I have quite a large collection of files, in many shapes and sizes. Today I want to talk about them.
Category: Shop Projects Page 2 of 5
Making stuff from wood, metal or plastic.
I may be getting old, but I still don’t believe it’s hip to be square. Nevertheless, I expect my carpenter’s square to be at least as square as Pat Boone. But how do you test a square to find out?
Let me level with you: a lot of levels at the stores aren’t actually level. If you use such a tool to hang a picture or mount a shelf to the wall, you’re not going to like the result. Today I’m going to show you how to test a level before you buy it.
In part one of this set, I discussed how I acquired my Gerstner tool chest and the how I started the restoration process. I carefully taped over the hardware I couldn’t remove and cleaned the chest with Murphy’s Oil Soap and with a rag. I scrubbed it fairly hard to get all the dirt off. A bit of linseed oil to brought the shine back up on the chest.
A few years ago, Walt and I were at a model engineering show checking out the many cool engines and tools. There were a couple of dealers who had older Gerstner tool chests for sale. I managed to sweet talk one of them down in price a bit and walked away with a rough looking but solid tool chest – for my studio.