If your toolkit is organised by shoving everything you own into a box, it might be time to organise the mess. DIY blog Apartment Therapy outlines a trick pulled from the new issue of Martha Stewart Living for dividing your tools by project to give you better access to what you need.
A good stud finder is an excellent addition to any toolbox, but if you don’t have one, this tip from a general contractor over at Houzz is a money-saver. Get the strongest magnet you can find and wrap it in painter’s tape, leaving enough loose that you can use as a handle. Then drag the magnet across the wall where you want to find a stud.
Cutting the insulation off wire is something of an art form. If you’re not careful it’s easy to cut through the entire wire by accident. To solve this problem, Thingiverse user bjbsquared created a simple wire cutter that lights up when you cut through the insulation.
Whether your project of choice involves getting arms deep in the guts of your own hand-built PC, a fancy Arduino project, some basic home repairs, or you like to get dirty under the hood of your car, you probably have a kit full of essential tools you need to do most jobs. We’re wondering: what projects do you tackle, and what are the essentials in your toolkit?
Finding the right glue for the job isn’t always an easy task and if you get it wrong, your DIY project will fall apart before you even get started. Thankfully, DIY blog Design*Sponge has put together a chart describing which glue is best to use and when.
If you’ve come home from an IKEA run, settled in to put the furniture together, and found that while unpacking everything you’ve misplaced a screw, the solution might be right inside the box. Use the packing styrofoam as a cradle for the screws and tools that come with the furniture.
Unless you’re a full-blown repairman with a utility apron, working on small household projects usually includes a part where you’re trying to hold screws and nails in your pockets or mouth. Instructables user genterara solves this problem with a simple magnetic wristband.
Regardless of how you store your nails, it’s likely you’ve poked yourself at least once when grabbing one out of a bag or off a table. To prevent this, home improvement show host Ron Hazelton suggests fixing a magnet in the handle for an easy way to grab nails without using your hands.
Hanging groups of photos or paintings together on the wall can create a gorgeous spot on the wall to show off a bunch of similar pieces, like family photos. The trouble is that measuring and positioning art on the wall close to one another can be a bit of a pain. The Hang and Level is a simple, cheap tool that makes hanging one painting or a dozen photos quick and easy.
If you have a set of cheap micro screwdrivers, chances are you’ve run into the problem of not being able to get enough torque to unscrew anything, especially in an older electronic device. Instructables user tranvi007 had the same problem, so they came up with a simple process to make a handle.
