A Simple Shop Vacuum Hose Mount

EFFICIENT BASEMENT LIGHTING WITH NO ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY 08 02 2010

EFFICIENT BASEMENT LIGHTING WITH NO ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY 

For many years while working in my work shop, I would accidently drop small parts on the floor and it would take some time to find them on the natural color of the concrete floor. This built upon the frustration of already difficult repair projects.  Having some experience with painting floors as I had painted a garage floor to make sweeping up dust easier, I set out to Wal-Mart and purchased 2 gallons of latex white floor paint for about $15. a gal. I prepared the floors of the workshop and wash room by using a floor scraper(model number #93292)  purchased from Harbor Freight for around five dollars and some excess acidic concrete cleaner that I had left over from another project. I poured a cup of this into my mop bucket and filled it with hot water and mopped the floors. I grabbed a second mop head-affixed it to my mop handle and rinse mopped the areas free of any acidic residue. I them thoroughly dried the area with fans and where needed with a clean microfrabic cloth.  The next day I grabbed the roller tray, roller extension handle, some nitrile gloves, 2 cotton balls, an old pair of shoes, 3M model  7500 respirator that I augmented with soft pipe insulation on the neck strap , and roller painted white the first coat on the floors.  When dry the next day, I did the same thing and used a 3 inch paint brush to edge the sides (wearing white socks instead of shoes). Three days after that, I coated it with a clear coat of acrylic paint to seal it.  And three days after that I carefully rolled back in my heavy tools I have mounted on casters purchased from Harbor Freight.  There was no damage to the new paint on the floor. I now have a floor surface that reflects and augments light as if it were a light bulb itself.  It is easier to find parts that fall on the floor and easier to sweep as the pours in the concrete that hold dust are sealed.  My basement workshop and laundry room are now much safer for me and my family.  I effectively saved on lighting and energy costs by efficiently lighting these rooms in this manner. If everyone in the country were to do this millions of dollars worth of time and energy would be saved. The naysayer says that you still have to turn on light bulbs and I say that you don’t have to add any additional electric lighting. Mercury and billions of pounds of carbon monoxide would be spared from the environment, if everyone did this.

For added safety you could add floor grit to the paint, Rustoleum manufactures small bags of this you can buy at the hardware store.

To be honest I have rubber floor mats placed in front of my work bench to reduce fatigue and I painted those white also.

Article originally published at:

http://homeimprovements-thomas.blogspot.com/

http://workshopsecretsbythomasmurphy.blogspot.com/

God Bless Those Who Think

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright  2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

The Paint Can Shaker – Workshop Improvement 06 26 2010

Have you ever had a can of paint that needed shaking and a snow-blower that still had winter gas in it? Here is the solution. I tied the can of paint to the snow-blower with some military surplus strap and ran the snow-blower for about ten minutes. Don’t do this with aerosol cans of paint because they will explode causing blindness and personal injury and sometimes they do not go off right away but more like they have a hand grenade fuse in them.

A length of 1” PVC pipe was used under the front to prop it up at an odd angle to make it more rickety and shaky.

God Bless Those Who Think

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

Electric Device Transformer Labeling and Safety

06 09 2010

Electric Device Transformer Labeling and Safety

Whether it is a charging station for a cell phone or a power tool, always take a permanent gray magic marker and label the transformer as to what phone or tool is goes with. Do this when you first buy it. Also if there is space write how long it takes to charge on it also.

This saves time and waste in the future with regards to finding the transformer as they all look alike and the fact that the transformer is a form of hazardous waste. Plus the fact that if you hook up the wrong transformer to an electric device unknowingly you could start a fire if at the very least you do not ruin the device. I do not use sticky labels because there could be an issue with heat dissipation.

Here is a link to my store for the Sharpie Silver Metallic magic marker pictured above that works so well for this:

http://astore.amazon.com/homeimpro01d-20/detail/B00009L1WE

God Bless Those Who Think

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

Making Short Staples Out of Long 05 24 2010

Making Short Staples Out of Long 05 24 2010

Do you have a staple gun? Have you ever ran out of short staples but did not want to run to the hardware store and waste time gas and effort to go there. I had no short staples but I had long staples maybe 9/16” or 5/8”. That’s not the only problem you get to the hardware store and it is hard to determine just what goes in there. Actually I did have some 1/4 “ staples but they were too wide to fit in my gun. The 9/16” and the 5/8” were the right width to fit in my gun so here is what I did that allowed me to finish my project. I took my Wiss metal snips and cut the 9/16” staples down to ¼”. Use the cutting surface of the blades as near to the inner end where they meet when fully open and make a few quick passes to cut the staples. It worked although the gun clogged a few times I was able to complete the project. By the way the life and death rule with anything named gun is to ALWAYS point it in a safe direction and never in the direction of another person, yourself or in the direction that could ricochet to the former or latter. Like a bullet or fireworks that did not go off a clogged staple gun can still fire and like trouble “It waits to.”

Follow this link to find out more about aviation metal snips

http://astore.amazon.com/homeimpro01d-20/detail/B00002N5KQ

http://astore.amazon.com/homeimpro01d-20/detail/B0025D0JZG

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

Dust Collector Large Object Pre Catch 05 21 2010

Dust Collector Large Object Pre Catch 05 21 2010

What I have created here is catch, it is the white plastic canister that is friction collar fit to one of the intake ports. By adding the white container, probably came from a protein powder drink canister, I have created a catch that works on dynamic back pressure to capture large objects that might get caught and ruin the fan impeller blade of the dust collector. If you have ever heard a large piece of something get caught in your dust collector impeller and rattle around until you can shut the thing off quickly before either the motor burns to fire or the impeller needs replacing then this is the simple solution for your dust collector.

It does work and work well at capturing large objects; however it will not protect you from long straps or ropes that are picked up. Also you should turn off your dust collector and unplug it, wait till the impeller stops any turning it is doing before working here to add one of these or remove any paper like material that are good at clogging the airflow and reducing the power of the dust collector.

My dust collector is a Central Machinery Item number #97869, from Harbor Freight Tools website; it is 2 horsepower and requires a 20 Amp circuit. Keeping the dust down in your house or garage is very important to the health of you and your family.

God Bless Those Who Think

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy

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How to quickly clean your work bench top

A post with Levity

Do you want to quickly clean your work bench or counter top without using a paper towel. Here is what you do:

You go get an orange and peel it in as few sections as possible. Sit at your work bench and eat the orange. After you are done eating the orange use the peel to wipe the dust off or your work bench. It will pick up most dust and leave a clean scent. Afterwards you can wipe the surface cleaner with a clean wet rag.

This is indeed an environmentally friendly method of cleaning.

This will also work on kitchen countertops. There is citric acid and quercetin in the peel that cleans the surface in addition to the microfiber towel effect of the peel.

Blessed are those that think

Thomas Paul Murphy

Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy