cmiller

ChadC
Yes, I think a jigsaw could work, and it wouldn't pose the table saw kickback problem. Give it a try and let us know how it works. Thanks for the feedback.
Chuck

Stew2
DON'T use a table saw to cut a lengthwise kerf in a piece of PVC pipe. The pipe will act as a clamp on the blade, and you'll run the risk of a big-time kickback.
Skyhammer
yes, the wider the pipe cutoff, the more the clamping pressure

Thanks for all your comments folks. You've got me LOL too. Grecci, the vest is by Occidental. Here's a link:
http://bestbelt.com/product/belt-free/2585_beltless.html
cheers,
Chuck

Glad that helped Savvypete. I have a love/hate relationship with my Sawzall too. It makes cuts that nothing else can do. It is the quintessential remodeling tool. As a result, I have a large collection of blades that now look like cartoon lightning bolts from banging into the wrong target.
Chuck

JWBinSD:\, yep, vertical surface. You found the glitch.
byhammerandhand: yep, more drills please--just like routers and bits--more is better
JohnOSeattle: the vest is made by Occidental Leather. Here's a link: http://bestbelt.com/product/belt-free/2585_beltless.html
falsedawn: I guess it depends on how long it takes to get out the other drill and how many holes you're plowing with the hole saw.
Cheers,
Chuck

Hi Gideon,
Glad you like the tenon tip. It's a useful way to cut a cylindrical tenon on all kinds of workpieces. Our tipster David Kalin in Hawaii uses a much larger version of this to profile cylindrical ends on 4x4 fence posts, which he then encases in pvc pipe to thwart the termites.
Regarding the rotation of the workpiece in this video. Please have another look. I am rotating it counter clock wise--the same rotation as the dado blades. In this manner, the workpiece is rotated into the advancing teeth.
best,
Chuck

Hey Zargon,
glad you liked the tip--thanks for saying so. Here's a link to the vest,
http://bestbelt.com/product/belt-free/2585_beltless.html
best,
Chuck

Hey Piffin,
thanks for that refinement--good idea. Lacking the 5/4 stock a similar quick-registration situation could be fashioned with some tacked-down blocks affixed to the guide strips.
yeah, the spam problem. We're working on it--there's always something...

tipseeker--
those are from Trojan, and they are really good. Sturdy, light, and they fold up into a tidy package.
www.trojantools.com
there are a bunch of places on line that sell them, Amazon among them.
thanks for your question,
Chuck

Todj57
very clever. Can you post a sketchup drawing that shows a section through the steps and formwork, with the stepped screed in position?
Chuck

Hiya ABcanuck,
that's a slick way to keep your crown at the right spring angle, and locate nail backing at the same. thanks so much for contributing to our little brainstorm bulletin board here. glad you like the tips.
Chuck

Super shed Fred. Thanks for posting. Lots of great recycling ideas in here, and I think it's a clever twist on the door spinner to use it for holding the windows during their tune up.
I'm a goof-paint convert. I've probably got twenty gallons of various hues down in the basement. As one of my art teachers once said, "there are no bad colors, just bad combinations of colors".
Chuck

“I'm puzzled why the editors thought this was a good video to put up for viewing? It seems kind of like a discussion of how to make your own nails out of wire.”

Here’s why. A tip is about creative improvisation. A good tip takes some common thing, and finds a new use for it. Yes, plaster washers are commercially available, but if you just need a dozen to reinforce a cracked ceiling, and you don’t want to wait three days for delivery, this tip can help you out. And if you’re new to patching plaster, and have never seen this method, simply learning about the concept is useful.
There are always going to be better ways to do a given homebuilding task (we’ll never call it “best way”), and that’s why we invite your comments. They enrich the dialogue, and make each tip that much more useful. And if I’m stuck on an island someplace, with a roll of wire and a boat that needs repair, I’ll figure out a way to make nails.

StevenAL,
to your question: I stripped the old roof off, repointed the chimney, installed new flashings and vents and re-roofed the entire building during the dormer project--and I expect I am forgetting stuff too.
Chuck

The tree monkey on my back is Douglas fir, which is evidentally a pine. I grew up in Northern California, where the tree is common along the coast. And once I became a builder in the Bay Area, I worked my way through piles of it, both as framing lumber and as a finish material. When a saw chews through green Doug fir, the air smells like pineapples on a hot day.
My local lumberyard was next to the track where I used to go for a jog everyday. As a cool down, I'd walk through the yard, looking at the end grain of the units of 2x fir, searching for that tell-tale tight vertical grain that indicates "jackpot". I'd pull out those prizes, carefully stack the wood back, and head for the checkout desk to put them on my tab. Did they care that I was high-grading the lumber pile? I asked Babe, the checkout guy if he had an opinion on the subject. He said he was glad that somebody cared enough to use the good ones someplace where they could be seen.
That lumberyard is long gone, scraped away to make room for condos. I'm in Connecticut now. But every now and then, when I'm at Home Depot, I'll find myself looking at the end grain of all those 2x sticks of Doug fir.

Hi Matt,
Thanks for this excellent tip. We must be in the cosmic coincidence zone here. Last week we videotaped a bunch of new tips, and one of them was about this exact topic. The variant that we shot puts the magnet inside a plastic bag. Drag it through the screw pile, collect a bunch of screws and then turn the bag inside out. They're trapped in the baggie.
Chuck

very nice Austin669. Less work with better results using recycled materials is a nifty trifecta.

thanks demouser--that caulksaverplug sounds especially promising. Two other ideas that tipsters have shared for slowing down the hardening of the caulk in a partially spent tube:
1. Squeeze out just enough caulk to make sure there is no air in the tube tip, then cap it with an appropriately sized wire nut.
2. I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds like a good idea: seal the tube tip with hot-melt glue.
Anybody tried that one?

I'm with ChuckB on this one. Along with more insulation than is required by code, I'd opt for this system on a new house whether it was required or not. I'm curious about fire insurance costs for a house with a sprinkler system. It could be a sprinkler system pays for itself over time in insurance savings.

Good idea tbw. I put a post-it on web guy's dashboard to add the pop-up titles. In the meantime, you can click on the "back to list" link at the top to get you to the menu of tip topics without the annoying yada yada.

Thanks for your comments everybody. We're making this video-tip stuff up as we go along, so we really appreciate your feedback. To Mfourneir's point, yes, this is a basic tip. We've always had a mix of tips in the magazine that run from beginner level to advanced, and that's because, well, we want to reach as broad an audience as possible. If you're new to the world of home building, patching a hole in a gypboard wall is a good way to get your feet wet--a sort of gateway project to more challenging tasks.
To BobboMax's comments, yep, those are all steps that are integral to making a good drywall patch. Maybe somebody will send in some advice on getting those steps right too. I hadn't heard about "texture in a can", but truth be told, I'd rather use the tools and materials I've got on site to get the job done instead of buying a can of stuff that does the same thing and will end up in a landfill.
And to runnerguy's comment, I agree with you partly. I think we need to dial down the riff at the end of the tip, and better yet, record a slightly different hook.

This looks like a great way to save some time removing cedar shingles if you’ve got a simple shed or gable roof with great access front and back for the loader, and an operator who’s had plenty of time to practice on his own house. That’s a narrow set of criteria, but as proved in this video, it can happen.

Hey Chris,
Thanks for the feedback on the ellipse definition. I see your point, and I sit corrected. Nevertheless, whatever we want to call this thing--I'm leaning toward an "ellipse-ish"---it's a cool trick. I drew a bunch of other arcs on the plywood when we shot this video, and each one had a different feel to it. And they sure didn't take long do do. If you'd like to draw up the string technique, we'll work it into the mix.
Chuck

Hi Huck,
Thanks for your comments--I'm glad you like our dormer addition. I've posted a few more photos to address your questions, and to add a bit more to the story. All told, this project added about 70 sq. ft. to the house.
Chuck