Recent content by Charles Lent

"Because I have one" and if I was building these, I think I would use my "Incra I-Box Jig" on my Unisaw to make these. The joints take a bit longer to cut, but would be several orders of magnitude stronger. But then I tend to like box joints, especially when using thin materials. The jig makes...

I would NOT use MDF for a drawer bottom. Quality plywood would be my only choice for this. Moisture ands humidity do bad things to MDF. Quality plywood to fit the existing slots would likely last another Century, if the rest of the piece does. Charley

Just be aware that some cars today have cigarette lighter sockets that turn on only when the engine is running. My Jeep Grand Cherokee has two cigarette lighter sockets in the lower center console. One stays on, but the other turns on only when the ignition is on and the engine is running. I...

My sister and brother-in-law had a cat that had to have it's front paws de-clawed early in it's life because it was climbing the expensive drapes and couldn't be stopped. It was young enough when de-clawed that it figured out how to adapt to not having them. It still had hind toenails and one...

Female cats have been the best mousers for us, but our last cat died 5 years ago. Male cats usually can't be bothered with mouse chasing. The females are the best hunters. Without a cat, I have been trapping the mice and have been using Victor traps. The old style with the metal trigger work...

If humanity has a need for something, somebody will come up with a fix for it. The greater the need, the more competition and alternatives that will become available. Charley

That should do, but I just bought a 10' length of 6" PVC and a couple of end plugs. Then added a handle to one of the end plugs and drilled the needed holes. I never did much steaming, so after keeping it 10+ years and it getting in the way one too many times I trashed it. I figured out that the...

"I'm thnking we may have a need for something like that in the future. Is it working as advertised and would you be willing to share the brand?" Ted, The seat lift that my son chose was made by Liftseat. He bought the heavy duty model because he is a big guy at 300 lbs. It's quite big and...

Two houses and about 60 years ago we lived in a house that had a small tree die just outside the kitchen window where we had a bird feeder. So, when I cut the tree down, I left the stump of this 4" diameter tree standing at about window level. Then I attached a small platform to the top of the...

We installed new toilet and seat made by Toto when we replaced one bathroom with a handicap version about 5 years ago. The new seat has a bidet and heated water tank built into it as well as the heated seat. I got funny looks when I told the electrician that I wanted a power outlet behind the...

Car wax is NOT what you should be using. Read the contents of every wax before using it. The silicone in car wax will cause all kinds of problems when it gets on your wood projects. Finishes and glue will not bond to the wood wherever there is any silicone on the wood. Fisheyes in the finish...

I just keep my table saw and all other cast iron waxed. Charley

Don't expect much from them. They don't want you modifying their tools, but will sell you a whole new circuit board. I had to reverse engineer a DeWalt 788 scroll saw because it had fallen over in our woodworking club's outreach trailer and the speed control shaft had become bent. It was...

It's never a good idea to have two speed controllers connected together, but maybe you could disconnect the speed control potentiometer and extend the wiring out to a new speed control potentiometer of the same resistance and type. Removing the top cover should let you see the controller. The...

I stopped reading newspapers back when I was living in NY State and active in a fire company. We were about 18 miles from the city where the newspaper was printed, so that may have explained it. Whenever we had something happen really newsworthy in our township, the story about what had...