# Frugal woodworking???



## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

I admit it, I'm cheap. 
But, more than that, it's a long way to town and I might not find what I'm looking for anyway.
What use do you other frugal woodworkers make of everyday items. For instance. I use cut up pop cans for shims. If that isn't enough, I have a chain of old Formica samples that work.
My digital calipers have been retired...at least for gauging thickness out of the planer. Now I use open end wrenches. For odd height and spacing of router bits, I use drill bits. That's when my keyway stock isn't sufficient. Got a bunch of keyway shorts from a machinist's cutoff bin. $5.00 and sizes from 1/8 through 3/4 by 1/6ths. Sure beats those brass bars for price and utility.
Got tired of paying big bucks for ceramic band saw guides, so I made my own from oak. Soaked them in used motor oil and they work great.
A few sptrizes of 409 or Simple Green and my saw blades and router bits look like new.
Recently, I decided I'd had enough of cleaning up behind my SCMS so I built a dust catcher. Dollar store $4.00 large plastic storage container on it's side. 4" Toilet Flange through the side (now the bottom). Lockable sliding sleeve attached to the back (the orig. bottom). 2X3 post fits in the sleeve. 45* cutoffs for feet. Attach the DC hose to the toilet flange. Total cost.....about $10.00 and some scrap wood and all thread. 
Works like a charm.
Now, don't get me wrong. When it comes to tools and safety, I don't scrimp.
I'm sure there are a lot of you guys and gals that resist opening your wallets or purses and have lots of frugal tips to share. So, how about it?


----------



## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Citrus cleaner for me on cleaning blades and tablesaw table. Also use it on the lathe rails. Made my own thin rip jigs. Use a woodscrew for holding pen and stopper blanks to drill instead of some fancy self centering thing. Just use my combo square for height/distance of router bits. Hardly ever throw away even the smallest scraps because I can always find some project that I can use them on, especially with turning. What I can't use I save for a friend who makes wooden jewelry. My dust collection on my jointer is a box beneath the port with the flap up to guide it right in. Use old yogurt and sour cream containers for glue pots and mixing small amounts of finish. I'm sure there are more that I'll think of later.


----------



## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

sawdustfactory said:


> My dust collection on my jointer is a box beneath the port with the flap up to guide it right in. Use old yogurt and sour cream containers for glue pots and mixing small amounts of finish. I'm sure there are more that I'll think of later.


Thanks for the yogurt container tip. I'll be using that.
You reminded me of the dust bag the wife made for my jointer. It's an old Craftsman with a cast iron bed to which I stick rare earth magnets to hold the bag in place under the unit.


----------



## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

I too use plastic tubs from butter and yogurt for mixtures of finish. I filter my Evaporust through a coffee filter so I can re-use it. I use old baby formula cans to store screws, hardware, etc. I use large 300 watt CFL bulbs that only cook 65 Watts for my lighting. They are extremely bright and save a lot on electricity. I never noticed a savings before but when I replaced my 300 watt incandescents with 300 watt CFLs it was not only brighter but I noticed savings for the first time too. I use a vinyl shade that I got at Lowes on cleareance for like $2.00 to cover my bench when I am gluing things up. When I am done I just roll it up and store it. The glue flakes right off. I rarely buy full price anything. I try to always get things on sale. I hoard scrap wood. I also use wood for my guide blocks. I use ipe cause it's hard and naturally oily and I think it works better than cool blocks. I'm sure there's more but that's all I have for now.


----------



## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

ACP said:


> I use large 300 watt CFL bulbs that only cook 65 Watts for my lighting.


Where do you find those bulbs?????


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I use old peanut butter jars for everything in the shop. Plastic only, no glass. Made my own mini 5 gallon seperator for my shop vac. Total cost was about $8 I think. I save old t-shirts and sweat shirts and cut them up for rags for clean up in the shop. Some medications come with a small plastic dosage cup. I save them for mixing small amounts of expoxy. I also save small, normally unusable, offcuts of plexi for mixing epoxy on as well. I keep a roll of waxed paper in the shop for covering cauls and laying on my bench during glue ups. Glue wont stick to it. I also keep a box of Q-tips in the shop for cleaning squeeze out from corners and smaller areas.


----------



## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

When i stop at the local coffee shop, I'll grab a few extra wooden stirring sticks for mixing and whatever.
At the other coffee shop, I'll grab the plastic stirring sticks. They come in handy for applying a small amount of lubricant or glue in a tight spot or ..........anything I need them for.


----------



## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Gene Howe said:


> Where do you find those bulbs?????


I got mine at Lowes and Menards. I bought the Lowes ones first. They called them 300 Watt equivalents and were like 25 each. I then went to Menards and found 200 W (so they called them) for $17 each. Thing is the 200 watters were rated at like 1200 more lumen per bulb. After trying them both I find the 200 watters to be brighter. The bulbs are huge. If you have a low ceiling I wouldn't recommend them, but m garage ceilings are 10ft so I am comfortable with them up there.


----------

