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Thanks, up here it's maple syrup country and I almost never think to get out the honey. This summer we had a number of friends buy new homes and decided to leverage the local community market for housewarming gifts. We found local wine, local honey, and a woodturner who had honey dippers made...

Got out to the shop last night and turned (foreshadowing pun) this: Into this: The wood is Cottonwood from a tree I cut down this spring. It's light and likes to tear out if I'm not careful (hence the roughness inside the flutes of the honey dipper) but I think it came out OK. I totally...

If it was me I'd set my table saw depth to just clear the bottom lip, set the fence to the appropriate depth, and slowly slide the vent through on all four sides (wearing appropriate PPE and using push blocks, of course). And if it blew up I'd probably still have time to get to the store and...

I have a similar but different problem. Years ago I bought the cheapest caulking gun I could because I'm cheap. It worked fine for a while but eventually the dynamic part of the handle folded over when faced with some extra stiff construction adhesive. No problem, I just straightened it out...

Rolled my new project vehicle into the garage. She's in rough shape but the price (free) was right! The PO had a half dozen similar units he was giving away since his kids had outgrown them. In an extremely clever twist he modded them all to run off 18V Milwaukee cordless tool batteries...

A smart thief breaks into your shed first and uses your mower. That's why you should never use Stabil and only high ethanol fuel, the thief will still be tugging the pull cord in the morning when you get up.

That's what I do with the snowblower too, but man the first start in winter is a pain in the ****. I have to pull the cord like 50 times before I realise that I shut the fuel off last spring. After that she fires right up!

Finished off this little guy, actually in the basement since the garage is too humid and the finish was taking too long to dry. It's a rattle for a new arrival to the family-of-friends. Mahogany of some flavour (long forgotten since the wood has been in my scrap bin for decades) and birds-eye...

Rough it up and lay down a coat of a shellac based primer. The HD should carry Zinsser BIN, even way up where you are. That stuff dries fast, sands crazy smooth, and will stick to anything. Better yet, any topcoat will stick to it. I used it to prime a bedroom set I repainted for my oldest...

I finally did some reorganizing and got this old man where he belongs. The stand still needs some work, it's just two desk drawer units stacked on top of eachother and held together with a couple machine screws. It's not quite as sturdy as I'd like and it still needs a top, but it sure is nice...

Though we run our propane grill a couple times a week year round, I've never tried operating a smoker. It's always been on the "when I find the right deal" list and I've been thinking about building one myself for years. Well, turns out I'm going to have to combine those two ideas, because this...

Worked on a new rattle for a friends new baby that is due to arrive any day now. This one is mahogany and birds-eye maple. I'll do another round of sanding and finishing on the lathe before I part it off and finish the ends. There are a couple more new arrivals planned for this year in my...

But then you need to get those aluminum magnets to stick to it and I'm way too cheap for that!

As the next step in my "I can probably figure out wood turning" journey I made this little guy. It's made from some cottonwood that I cut down in my yard this spring. Lots of grain figure which apparently common in cottonwood due to it fast growth and relatively low strength. Some tearout on...

About half a lifetime ago I spent a summer building decks and sunrooms, so we had plenty of opportunities to screw up operating a two-person power auger. As others have said, know which way the handle is going to move when you hit something solid and be ready for it. You might think you're...

Wired up the motor and got my almost 80 year old drill press spinning again. I still need to adjust the motor mount so I can close the top cover, but she's operational for the first time in I don't know how long. Bearings seem OK and moving the belt to the top pulley puts it firmly into...

They're only a couple bucks each, buy three, sharpen up the ends, and keep them all hot on the BBQ or in a toaster oven near the work site. Pull one off, use it 'til it doesn't cut clean anymore, then pop it back on the heat and grab the next one. Mark out your sheet and have a plunger and...

That's my low-tech go-to as well. I try to make sure I have at least half an hour of puttering / clean up after doing anything that makes sparks, then I do a lap of the shop sniffing and poking for any smoke or hot spots.

There's a lot of undie-wadding going on over the term maker space. As I understand it, a maker space is a location with tools that allows members to use them to do their projects. For people who live in the heart of a city it's likely the only option for getting access to space and tools to do...

Doesn't look like it has too many high precision features, it might be fun to get access to a mill and carve a new one out of a hunk of steel. Or if you're feeling particularly shade-tree, use an angle grinder!