Family Handyman July - August 2018

QUALITY MATTERS WATERING TOOLS THAT DELIVER I’m not a huge fan of yard work, especially watering grass and gardens. So I pay attention to products that make it easier—and Gilmour has come out with two products that do just that. The Circular Sprinkler with Spike Base (No. 3203) has all the features you want and need, and its design makes it intuitive to operate. You simply slide collars to adjust the spray pattern or pull up the top for full-circle watering. It has a simple lever for adjusting spray distance and an on/off switch to minimize back-and-forth trips to the spigot. Two sprinklers can be linked in series. The Thumb Control Watering Nozzle with Swivel Connect (No. 4312) feels solid and has an easy-turn outer ring for adjusting the spray pattern. The volume is…

CHIMNEY FLUE PLANTERS To make these terra-cotta planters, go to a brick supplier and buy 3-ft. lengths of clay chimney flue liner ($15 each). Cut them to different heights using a circular saw fitted with an abrasive cutting wheel. You can put them on a deck or patio, or accent your yard wherever you like—just pick your spots and bury the ends in the soil a little. Fill the liners with gravel for drainage, leaving 8 in. at the top for potting soil. Since the water can drain, the liners won’t crack if they freeze. Or just set pots on top of the gravel and bring in the plants for the winter. NANCY BELMONT COMPRESSOR CREEPER Air compressors are heavy and cumbersome to haul around a shop or garage, so I put mine on wheels.…

Building furniture and cabinets is an investment of both time and money. So when you’re buying plywood for these projects, shop wisely. Your choices will have a huge impact on the building process and the results. This article will help you decide exactly what you need and help you avoid common plywood pitfalls. 1. CHECK FOR FLATNESS Don’t expect perfection—you probably won’t find it. Just try to find the best of the pile. Sight down all the edges just like you’d do if you were buying 2x4 studs. Sometimes, sheets are warped in multiple directions, resembling a potato chip. Leave these for some unlucky, less-informed buyer. If you’re buying 1/4-in. plywood, don’t worry about flat and straight; it won’t be either. But you’ll likely fasten it to structural parts, which will keep…

Admit it: You’ve tried flattening sheets of plywood. I have too. I’ve tried weights, clamps, wetting down the concave side, sun-drying the convex side and gluing opposing bowed sheets together. Nothing seems to work with any reliability. If the core veneers weren’t in a perfect state of equilibrium and all in harmony when they were bonded together, the sheet has little chance of flattening out. The only recourse is to save the flattest sheets for the largest parts and use the worst sheets in smaller components, minimizing any curvature.…

VENEER CORE is made up of many layers of hardwood bonded together. The layers are assembled with alternating grain direction, called crossbanding. This makes a strong, rigid, lightweight sheet with excellent screw-holding capability. Because of these qualities, veneer core is my first choice in most cases. PARTICLEBOARD CORE is the least expensive option. Like MDF core, it’s flat and stable with consistent thickness. But particleboard core is a bit worse in the screw-holding category. Also, it’s a special-order product, at least from my lumberyard, whereas MDF core is readily available. LUMBER CORE consists of edge-glued strips of wood, usually basswood. On both sides of the core, there’s a crossbanded veneer, then the face veneer. Like veneer core, it has excellent screw-holding capability, strength and rigidity. But it’s considerably more expensive…

Fire blocking aims to prevent or at least slow the vertical movement of flames, smoke and gases by sealing off concealed spaces like stud cavities and soffits. Smoke and gases readily travel horizontally as well, so preventing horizontal air movement, such as within a dropped ceiling, has its own name: draft stopping. Code requirements for adding fire blocking and draft stopping apply mainly to new construction. But if you’re finishing a basement, putting on an addition, remodeling a room, or just running pipes or wires through a plate, you’ll need to include fire blocking. We’ll show you the most common fire blocking applications on the following pages so you can apply the principles to your project. Figure A Whole-House Fire Blocking Materials for fire blocking Materials approved for fire blocking are just common building materials.…