Pariest

TEMPLATES...Why didn't I think of this sooner?...Duh!

Most of the stuff I upcycle is made from scavenged bits and pieces that were never really ment to go together. I got these great furniture feet of an old ottoman and wanted to put them on a trunk, but there  was no easy way for me to transfer location of the existing bolt holes of the legs to the bottom of the trunk.

After trying a few different methods I wondered how real furniture guys do this, and then it hit me. They have a factory, special tools, plans, and TEMPLATES!!!
I traced the top of the legs onto cardboard, poked a pencil through the bolt holes and used my template to locate the holes on the trunk!

  

So you made your cut and the piece is still just a hair too long. All you need is the tiniest trim off this piece and it will fit perfectly, but sometimes taking off just a little is difficult to set up.

To just shave the piece set it up against the blade (with the saw off!), then press a little harder against the blade until you see the blade bend just little, hold the piece tightly against the miter gauge and slide it back well clear of the blade. Turn the saw on, and make your cut. You will take off just a hair.

I am not proud of this.
While driving one fine day I spied an awesome vintage dresser on the side of the road, FREE. It was in pretty good shape, sure some scratches and dings, a little peeling veneer, but totally workable. This baby was fresh from someone's basement, and had probably only seen sunlight for the past 30 minutes in the last 60 years. A super find.

One problem. No way was this thing going to fit in my car, and I had to be somewhere soon. No time to go home and get the van. If I left it there it would have been long gone by the time I got back. I looked around...No one watching...I grabbed a couple of the drawers and put them in the trunk, and got out of there.

 I was going crazy the rest of the day. Would the dresser still be there? Would the the kind homeowner who was giving away a dresser for free be watching, all the while cursing the lowlife that came and took just the drawers?

As soon as I got home I jumped in the van, returned to the scene of the crime, and there it was, the dresser, waiting for me. I loaded it in as casually as I could and got out of there, beaming with triumph all the way home.

Yeah, it's a dirty trick. Very few people want a dresser that's missing some drawers. It's like a big smile with a few missing teeth. If you do this don't be a jerk. Go back and get whatever it was you took a piece of.

In the middle of a painting project when the pizza guy shows up with your food? Wrap up your wet paint brush in a plastic shopping bag so that you can get a slice of pepperoni while it's still warm. This trick will work for overnight and can save you some clean up time, along as you'll be painting the same color tomorrow.
   And if your not going to use that color again till next weekend?...Wash your brush.