My bench vice has knurled steel jaws. That’s kinda rough when you want to hold soft materials like aluminium, brass, or plastic in the vice.
I converted an old kitchen chopping board into a couple of drop-in vice jaws, as a quick solution to the problem.
Not perfect, not pretty, but definitely functional.
This was a 30 minute project.
I discovered this ratty old screwdriver in a box of my Dad’s old tools.
It seemed appropriate to restore it to its former glory.
Over the years he used it, this was probably not used so much as a screwdriver, but more as a general purpose – poke – lever – tweak – stir – device!
I cleaned off all the layers of paint and rust and grime, filed the pointy end back nice and square so that it worked as a screwdriver again, sanded it with fine paper, and applied WD40.
A simple little project, but a nice memory to have of my Dad, who taught me how to work with tools when I was very young.
This weekend, I discovered the joys of electric rust removal.
I used a glass baking dish, a battery charger, some plain tap water, washing soda, and an old bit of steel.
The results were really quite amazing.
The rust just disappeared in a flurry of bubbles.
A little bit of brushing and light sanding brought it up all nice and shiny.
A lot easier than rust converter.
$3.85 for 1kg of soda. I probably used 1/50th of it, roughly 7cents.
For my vintage shears restoration, I needed some sort of power sander with coarse grit papers.
I went to the hardware store and had 10 sandpaper disks in my hand (only $2 each – I was planning to use my sanding disk in the drill)
To my delight, I found this little beauty that comes with 20 sheets ranging from 60 to 120 grit.
Perfect. $34.
Quick math meant that for $14 extra, I got the power sander.
Davo's Weekend Workshop 