Family Handyman May 2018

FAST AND POWERFUL A SAW FOR THE AGES When I was a framing carpenter in Denver back in the day, pulling a mammoth “worm-drive” saw out of your truck and going to work was the sign you’d reached the big leagues. These monsters required Popeye forearms and a diet of canned spinach to operate, but they could cut through anything and were virtually indestructible. The DeWalt 60-volt MAX circular saw (model DCS575T2) is the cordless equivalent of these vintage brutes. It has a lot to love. Like all worm-drive saws, the left-side blade position makes it easy to see your cutting line. It’s a workhorse: The 60-volt battery coupled with DeWalt’s thin-kerf FLEXVOLT blade (specifically designed for cordless saws) creates a saw that’s fast and powerful. It can churn through materials up to…

SHARE YOUR HANDY HINT WITH US! submissions@familyhandyman.com Easy-to-make wine rack If you need more space for wine storage, make this wine rack using pantry shelves and 1x2s. Cut the 1x2s to length to fit the shelf depth and use a router to round over their top edges. Then space the 1x2s about 2 in. apart and screw them to the shelf. Adjust the shelf spacing so there’s about 5 in. of clearance for the bottles. ROBERT LACKEY SALAD BAR GREENHOUSE The next time you hit the salad bar for lunch, save the plastic container to make a mini greenhouse for starting seeds. Wash the container and then punch some air holes in the top. Fill the bottom with potting soil, plant your seeds, add a little water and close the lid. Set the container in a…

8 EASY WAYS TO CUT METAL FAST There’s nothing wrong with using a good, old-fashioned hacksaw, but there are faster, easier ways to cut metal. In this article, we’ll show you power tool tips and techniques for cutting the types and thicknesses of metal that DIYers handle the most. 1. DITCH THE ABRASIVE GRINDER DISCS An angle grinder fitted with an abrasive metal-cutting disc works well to cut all kinds of metal, including bolts, angle iron, rebar and even sheet metal. But the discs wear down quickly, cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them. Instead, we recommend using a diamond blade that’s rated to cut ferrous metal. These will last much longer, cut faster and cleaner, and wear down much slower than abrasive discs. You’ll find ferrous-metal-cutting diamond blades for…

BUILD A WELDING TABLE Admit it: You’ve always wanted to learn how to weld. This pro will show you how. Welding intimidates a lot of people, even some of us hardcore DIYers. And that’s a shame because welding opens up a whole new world of household repairs and cool projects. We asked a pro welder to demonstrate some basic techniques by building a welding table. She’ll walk you through each step and provide helpful tips along the way. A metal welding table is the perfect project to start with because you can build all your future welding projects on it. The materials will cost about $160. This table was built using a Lincoln 210MP. This machine can function as a MIG (metal inert gas/wire feed) welder, a TIG (tungsten inert gas) welder and a…

Wear thick leather gloves. Wear a welding cap under your helmet. (Yes, we know our expert didn’t wear one.) Wear a long-sleeve shirt and pants made from cotton or leather. (These will also protect you from the arc rays, which can burn your skin like rays from the sun.) Wear hearing protection and safety glasses when cutting. Wear a welding helmet when welding to protect your face from sparks and your eyeballs from welder’s flash (sunburn on your eyes). Keep flying sparks away from flammable or explosive materials. Don’t touch the electrode (wire) with bare skin, and keep yourself and your clothing dry. Remove loose jewelry. Always maintain a proper ground. Always weld in a ventilated area, even if you use a fume extractor. Only weld on bare metal. Breathing…

Just think of it—a tool storage system for your garage or shop that you can endlessly reconfigure to accommodate all your tools. They’ll be right at your fingertips whenever you need them. And when it’s time to straighten up at the end of the day, you’ll know right where everything goes, making cleanup quick and easy. How much you spend depends not only on the size of your storage wall but also on the level of finish you’re after. We spent about $500 on the materials for our wall, but you could build it for about half the price by using 3/4-in. CDX construction plywood. WHAT IT TAKES TIME: 2 weekends as shown COST: $500 as shown (about $10 per square foot) SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate TOOLS: Miter saw, table saw, drill/driver What is a FRENCH CLEAT? French cleats…