I had to plane the bottom of some bedroom doors that dragged on a shag rug, but I didn’t have my portable workbench to hold the doors on edge. Needing a quick solution, I cut some notches in two empty drywall-compound buckets down to the last reinforcing ring and placed one of the doors on edge right in the notches. To hold the door tight, I inserted a flat bar between the door and one of the notches. This setup was remarkably stable, especially after I added weight to the buckets.
—James Fisk, Kennebunk, ME
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #256
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I can't believe FHB would put this kind of tip out there. If you don't have the correct tools, don't do the job. After 53 yrs. in the trades, if I can't do it right, I will wait till I can. Shame on you FHB
Re: "I can't believe FHB would put this kind of tip out there."
Oh, I dunnow, it looks like kind of a multi-function tool to me ––
Dump a bunch of sawdust into 'em, a couple of bottles of Febreeze, maybe some bacon soda, an' ya got yerseff a bona-fide two-seater!
No need to take on any high-and-mighty aspirations towards your craft... Oh, no.
And I'm sure the painter will fix those flat-bar gouges –– Hell, this ain't a church!
Nothing like getting panned. But, one comment was right, it is a multi-function tool.
I carried all the tools, cordless power planer, dust bag, drill/driver, hammer, chisel, hand vac, drop cloth, straight edge, etc. in the buckets up two flights of stairs. In fact, as I put the tools in the buckets I thought of laying the door down on the buckets instead of the bed to plane the bottoms. But, it was awkward to plane and hold down with my foot, and it moved around on the bed, too. So, I cut the notches and wedged the door in place, which held well enough I could keep two hands on the planer. The hardest part of the job was getting the hinges off the jambs because they are cast iron and have concealed barrel pins, do not come apart, and have two hundred years of paint on the screw heads. I had three doors to do with the wife and daughter being so happy with the new shag rug, but, not happy that they couldn't open or close the closet door or doors to the halls.
I had to roll back the rug just to open the doors after all the furniture was put back in place. Yes, it was a shame.
Way to think outside the box if you asked me.