It’s when you have the tools to fix and repair items the old-fashioned way, but knowing clever life hacks can really save a lot of precious time and effort. Check out these 10 amazingly clever handyman hacks that can help you out in a pinch:
1. Unjam your nail gun with your fingers.
Upon removing all fasteners, batteries and fuel cells from your nail gun, you can separate the nose bolts from the magazine or open the nose hatch to locate the stuck nail.
All you have to do to unjam the nail gun is remove the nail with your fingers. If it’s too difficult to pull the nail loose, use a set of pliers. Feel free to further inspect your nail gun before you refix the front nose.
2. Remember measurements with masking tape.
Making measurements across several points or sawing wood to a certain dimension? It’s easy to lose track of the proper measurements.
Stay free from any remeasuring when you forget the measurements simply by jotting down the figures on masking tape that you stick onto your tape measure.
3. Hold onto your roofing tools with DIY hangouts.
If you’re working on the roof, you will find that a spring clamp is useful to keep any materials, hoses or cords from sliding down the sloped surface.
Just place the clamp in a vice and bend up one of its handles to create a hook. Be careful not to clamp it to a hot or brittle roof shingle to prevent unnecessary damage.
4. Create a woodworking file for efficient sanding.
It can be difficult to sandpaper a piece of wood when there is limited space. It’s easier to use a paint stir stick or a similar object. Simply adhere a piece of sandpaper around the stick with an all-purpose glue and start filing away!
If you would like to store the file for later use, you can write down the sandpaper grit on the exposed part of your stir stick for future reference.
5. Hold your nail with pliers to avoid hammering your fingers.
Most of us are painfully familiar with the sensation of accidentally hammering our own fingers instead of a nail.
One simple way to prevent this accident from happening is by holding the nail in place using a set of pliers or even a fine-toothed comb. Then, even if you misjudge the distance between your hammer and the nail, you won’t be hitting your fingers.
6. Soak paintbrushes in vinegar for easy cleaning.
Submerge the brush bristles into a pot with just enough white vinegar to cover the strands, then set it to boil for several minutes. Let your brushes cool a little, and the paint will fall off easily when you wash them later on.
Repeat the process several times to remove any remaining paint from the brushes.
7. Effortlessly scrub dirty items with your power drill.
Simply connect your sponge or scrub brush to your drill and turn it on for effortless cleaning! The drill will do all the scrubbing power for you, and you will only need to point it in the right direction. For cleaning needs’ variations, purchase different types of scrubs!
8. Use a rake for pain-free concrete mixing.
A lot of water might splash over the edge when you mix concrete powder and water with a hoe. Mix your concrete far more efficiently by using a rake instead. The gaps between each tooth will allow easier mixing and less splashing for a cleaner, neater job.
9. Cut foam quickly with a worn jigsaw blade.
Grind the teeth off of an old jigsaw blade by grabbing the blade with pliers. While wearing eye protection and a pair of gloves for safety, firmly hold the pliers over a grinder to remove the blade’s teeth.
The resulting smoother jigsaw blade will be able to cut through foam pieces easily and without any mess.
10. Cut perfectly-sized mitre pieces by planning for trials.
Fine-tuning your mitre pieces to the perfect angle and size can be much more difficult that you expect initially. It’s not uncommon to buy the appropriate length and ruin half of it before getting it right.
Instead, prepare for some trial-and-error cutting by purchasing some extra test pieces that you can use to adjust your mitre saw to the exact required angle.
