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Create extra storage space by screwing wire closet shelving to joists in your garage or basement. Wire shelving is see-through, so you can easily tell what’s up there. Depending on the width, wire shelves cost from $1 to $3 per foot at home centers.
David Cotner
Protect brass from cement
Cement-based materials like mortar and stucco contain chemicals that corrode brass. Keep brass light fixtures out of contact with masonry using 1/4-in. clear tubing. Just slit the tubing with a utility knife and slip it over the edge of the fixture’s base. The tubing is available for about $3 at home centers and hardware stores.
John Wilkie
Mark drywall cutouts with lipstick
When hanging drywall, smear lipstick on electrical boxes. Then position the sheet and press it into place to create a perfect cutout pattern.
Kurt Lawton
Foot-friendly spade
Give your shovel-shoving foot a more comfortable pushing surface. Saw a slit in a scrap of 1-in. PVC pipe and slip it over your shovel’s flange. If it won’t stay put, add a bead of hot-melt glue.
Tom Bobich
Renew a knife blade
Utility knife blades often dull near the tip long before the rest of the blade loses its edge. To get more mileage out of a blade, put on a pair of safety glasses and snap off the tip with a pliers. Presto!
You’ve got a new sharp tip.
Carl Hines
Let in light and keep tools out of sight
Don’t let window-peeking thieves see that your shop is full of valuable tools. Cover your windows with a few of those plastic panels made to cover lights in suspended ceilings. Get acrylic rather than styrene—it’s less brittle and cuts better on a table saw. A 2 x 4-ft. piece costs about $7 at home centers. Unlike stick-on window film, plastic panels are easy to remove if you drill holes and hang them on nails.
Allen Block
Editor • GARY WENTZ
Art Direction • DAVID FARR
Photography • BILL ZUEHLKE
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