Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
Upcycling shoes can not only save you hundreds of dollars a year, but also inject some new life into a stale shoe collection. From freehand doodles to snazzy stenciling, a little bit of color can work wonders on an old pair of shoes. Create an original pair of shoes that will change the feel of any outfit.
Window film insulation kits are really very simple to install. Find out what happens to the temperature inside a house with plastic shrink-wrapped storm windows with help from a seasoned home improvement expert in this free video clip.
Making makers on film in "Halo: Reach" is something you do from the theater mode. Make makers on film in "Halo: Reach" with help from an expert in the virtual world of all things "Halo" in this free video clip.
You can use a foam stamp for a wide variety of different things depending on your preferences. Get examples of a foam stamp with help from a longtime crafts expert with years of experience in this free video clip.
When folding and cutting a paper flower ball, you're always going to want to keep a few key things in mind. Fold and cut a paper flower ball with help from the founder and Chief Executive Maniac of Marketing Maniacs, Inc. in this free video clip.
Gates come in many design configurations to suit a variety of uses and openings. Although gates are often mounted directly onto cement, stone or brick walls, it might be necessary to install freestanding gateposts, for example, if local building codes mandate the preservation of certain aesthetic standards. In such cases, a post with a deeply set footing provides the support required by light and heavy gates. The material and dimensions of your gatepost depend on the material, height and heft of your gate. A 4-by-4-foot or 6-by-6-foot post made from pressure-treated lumber is enough to support a basic, door-size wooden…
Shading with markers can actually be a great, fun way to give your drawing its own unique look. Shade with markers with help from an experienced graphic designer and illustrator in this free video clip.
Laminate cabinets are not constructed of hard wood, but some of the tools used on real wood also apply to laminate. If you need to fill a drill hole in your laminate, wood putty will do the trick. While you have to take more care with the surface of the laminate surrounding the hole, the rest of the process mirrors working on solid wood cabinetry.
Picket twisters, also known as scroll bender or bending jig, are devices use to shape metal for making decorative shapes for railings and fences. These jigs allow the user to use leverage and brute strength to shape the metal. While most people who want a fence or railing will either just buy the one they want or buy the device for making the bends, it is possible to make your own picket twister.
Inside your Samsung DLP projection TV, a light source and a series of lenses and mirrors work together to produce an image on the screen. Most Samsung DLP TVs also contain a color wheel that starts to spin when you turn the set on. The color wheel sometimes makes noises when it starts to fail. Other noise sources include the cooling fans or incorrect settings.
Samsung's Digital Light Projection televisions typically offer stunning, large and vibrant images, but some models may experience specific issues related the digital board inside the unit. This board, also known as the DMD board, controls the micromirror chip, color wheel and video processing, and its problems manifest in visual, audible and operational ways.
Many people use the word cement to describe what is actually concrete. Cement is mixed with other materials to make concrete for driveways, patios, house foundations, garden urns and countertops. Concrete is naturally pale gray, but you can dress it up by adding stamped designs before it cures. Concrete usually contains stone aggregate. For designs, concrete needs aggregate that's smaller than 3/8 inch. Designed concrete is poured and prepared like any other concrete surface, and the designing should begin as soon as the water on the surface has evaporated.
Plastic or metal wall anchors provide added support for heavier objects – including shelving, artwork and mirrors – that screws on their own cannot handle. This is especially true if the object is hung on drywall, which is constructed from gypsum and not intended to support much added weight. This is where anchors come in handy. The wall anchor is used in conjunction with screws to provide that extra support to your treasured items on display. Drill an effective pilot hole before inserting the anchor and screw to help ensure your family heirlooms remain safe.
Planar shear testing of rubber determines how much tension the material can take along a flat axis before tearing or otherwise failing to maintain its structural integrity. In most shear tests, the test sample is gripped on either end by a testing machine, which pulls the grips farther and farther apart along the planar line until the material gives way and the shear point is measured. Certain types of grips are well-suited to this type of test, and play a crucial role in the testing, because an even, sturdy hold is required.
Some carports are freestanding structures, erected over a driveway beside a house. Others are built into the house in lieu of a garage. Still others are added to houses, either as an extension of a garage or built to connect to a wall. Connections will vary with the type of house and location of the carport. A carport built alongside a wall should be connected on the sides. A carport added in front of a house will be connected at the end. The connection methods are similar, using a ledger board on the wall as a support.
Dents of any size on your vehicle are unsightly. Not only are they ugly, but rust can form if the paint is cracked or chipped in or around the dent. You can pull minor dents from your vehicle and prevent rust from forming using materials from a parts store. Body shops charge several hundred dollars for minor dent repairs, and that's without the paint. You can repair the dents yourself and save money.
Shrink wrap is a thick, polypropylene sheet that shrinks when heat is applied, to form a tight, waterproof seal. The polypropylene is flexible enough to be shaped around a variety of forms, and quick to install, making it ideal for temporary roof repairs. Shrink wrap will keep out rain and prevent further damage to the interior of a structure while you wait to make more permanent repairs.
Installing a cleanout door on the outside of your chimney gives you clear access to the bottom of the chimney to remove ashes and soot. If your chimney currently does not have a cleanout door, it is necessary to create an opening in the side of the chimney. Typically, a cleanout opening is near the bottom base of the chimney. The most time-consuming part of the installation is cutting a new hole; this requires some drilling and chipping away of the masonry.
Nylon web belts have several advantages. They are sturdy and do not dry out or tear over time like leather belts, and they are strong enough to hang tools on or to be used for safety or climbing gear. Nylon web belts can last a lifetime if they are cared for properly. However, they do have one disadvantage. Punching a new hole in the belt is difficult because if you do not seal the edges of the hole, the belt will fray or even unravel completely.
The ash door on a wood stove is located at the bottom of the firebox. It’s where the stove’s ashes fall when they are burned. The ash door also has air holes in it that allow the draft from your flue to flow under the wood in your stove, which makes your fire hotter. If your ash door only has one hole in it, you can drill a second hole to produce a better draft in your stove.
Modern front projectors are predominantly one of two types: 3LCD arrays and Digital Light Processing. Epson, original equipment manufacturers of many other company's liquid crystal display projectors, are leaders in the field. Texas Instrument's DLP spans many brand names. The technologies used to project an image on the projector screen translate into largely similar images, with their main differences pertaining to how those images appear.
Hanging speakers can improve the surround-sound home theater experience while economizing household space. For this reason, many speakers have built-in hangers or pre-drilled keyholes designed to suspend them from a wall mount. Unfortunately, some landlords frown upon drilling holes into the wall. You can use large, heavy-duty picture hooks to hang speakers without creating holes. To avoid property damage, choose picture hooks designed to support the weight of your speakers.
When making a smoker or a keg cooler out of an old refrigerator, you'll most likely need to drill a hole in the appliance. These retrofitting techniques depend mostly on measuring correctly for the sizes of the hoses, pipes and taps that need to fit through or in the hole you drill. After taking the measurements, you'll finish drilling in no time at all.
Drilling into a Kohler sink, regardless of its material, is significantly more difficult than drilling into wood or drywall. Standard drill bits that most people use on the aforementioned materials will not work for drilling into a sink. Instead, you’ll need to use a cobalt drill bit or masonry drill bit. The drilling process is split into two parts, with each part requiring a different sized bit. As long as you continuously douse the bit in cold water while drilling, you should not encounter any problems.
Water damage is never good news and the damage can become significantly worse if you allow standing water to sit on the top of your ceiling. By drilling a hole – or multiple holes – you allow water to escape, preventing it from causing more damage as it expands. If your ceiling is made of a soft material such as plaster or drywall, you likely won’t have trouble making a hole with a standard drill bit.
Ice makers require an adequate supply of water to create a constant supply of ice. One method of supplying water to an ice maker allows water to flow from a supply line through a small hole. The small hole can be drilled into the copper line or the copper can be pierced with a saddle valve. An installed saddle valve ensures the hole aligns with the valve opening but it can leave a small piece of copper inside the pipe. Correctly drilling the hole will ensure the hole is in the correct location and allows the valve to seal on…
Water seeping through your carpet, wood or tile floor may be the result of a leak in the concrete slab. There are are plumbing pipes underneath the slab that can crack to due external pressures such as an earthquake. To fix the leak, you must access the plumbing beneath the concrete slab. Concrete is a difficult surface to penetrate, but you can bore a hole through it with the proper tool.
When replacing a lock set on a door, you may find that the current hole is too small for the new set. This is especially true of much older doors, as the older lock sets were smaller than they are today. Enlarging a hole in a door for a new lock set requires manufacturing a template. Usually a hole saw uses the center bit to keep the saw straight while drilling through the door. The template keeps the hole saw straight because it is the same size as the hole you are drilling.
Installing a ladder in a loft is a straightforward operation that focuses on the flexibility and removability of the installation. Merely screwing a ladder to a loft will not offer the stability or the opportunity for future customization that a well-bolted ladder ensures. This method of installation is also practical for situations in which the ladder will often be removed for storage and an opening of the space it occupies. The installation is secure and will remain so for the life of the loft.
Installing beams on your ceiling can provide a rustic look to any room and can increase the visual appeal of your living space. Because cedar offers warm color tones, beams made from this type of wood can help brighten an otherwise dull room. The weight of solid cedar beams can make this project challenging; however, you can accomplish this task with basic carpentry tools and the help of two assistants.
Sharpie brand permanent markers will eventually run out of ink with multiple uses, but sometimes you just forget to put the cap back on and the tips can dry out prematurely. Before you throw your marker away, try a technique that can revive your Sharpie's performance, whether you're using a fine or ultra-fine point. Not only will this extend the life of your Sharpie but it will also save you money.
Like many home improvement jobs, installing hardware on cabinets can be infinitely easier with the right tools. In this case, the best way to make this job go smoothly is to employ a jig. A jig for cabinet doors and drawers is a template, usually made of plastic, that contains a series of holes. When held up to a cabinet or drawer, the template allows you to mark and drill holes with quick, spot-on precision and create a uniform look among your cabinets.
Shelves are useful in many applications, particularly in areas that you use for storage, like garages, basements and outbuildings. Putting up a shelf depends on several factors, of which the length of the shelf is one. When installing a 5-foot shelf, it's important to ensure that the shelf has proper support through the entire length.
Most Frigidaire microwave ovens install over the range following the same procedure, though there re a few with minor differences. Installing a microwave is a good way to save counter space in a kitchen when space is at a premium. Mounting the appliance on the wall is not difficult, but you should have someone helping you when you lift it into place. This installation re-circulates and does not vent to the outside.
Anyone who takes their off-roading seriously inevitably will become stuck in the mud, high-centered or overturned at one point or another. When this happens, a winch may be the only thing standing between them and a long, long walk home. Mile Marker manufactures electric winches suitable for use on any vehicle from a small ATV to a 12,000-pound truck, though, assembling the winch and mount system is generally standardized regardless of the model size. While Mile Marker provides mounting kits for its winches, other manufacturers also make mountings compatible with a Mile Marker.
A bandmill is a machine that cuts lumber out of logs. Similar to a sawmill with the exception of using a band saw blade instead of a circular saw blade. Most bandmills are portable so they are able to move to logging locations. Homemade bandmills are manually operated by cranking the head up and down, as well as pushing the band saw blade through the log while it cuts. You must have fabrication, mechanical and welding skills to build a bandmill.
Many vehicles have plastic molding along the doors, over fenders, on front and rear bumpers, on the side mirrors and on the windshield wiper cowl. When all of these pieces are new, they shine and look clean. Over time, sunlight and other natural elements cause the plastic to fade, making the trim look worn and old. You can get a new car shine on the faded plastic molding in a few short steps.
Sinking foundations can destroy the structural integrity of a house. Since the early 1970s, different methods have been developed to cheaply and easily raise foundations in the process of sinking. Usually poor soils or too much moisture are the main cause. “Mud-jacking” or “slab-jacking” can raise a sinking foundation in a way that is much cheaper and less invasive than the more common pier method of leveling. While not suitable for large or severe problems, it is an option that should be considered first before drilling piers into your foundation.
On Unix-based systems, you can use AWK scripts to affix time stamps to your log files. If you use "systime," the output is the seconds since the system epoch, which is usually the seconds since midnight on January 1, 1970. To fix this, use "strftime" to display a time stamp that humans can recognize. You can format your time stamps in different ways.
"Need for Speed: Most Wanted" was released by EA in 2005. The cross-platform racing game has a marker system for acquiring vehicle upgrades and other items to help you advance in the game. Selecting markers has an element of chance, depending on the types of items and upgrades you want to acquire for your vehicles.
Rubber ring molds are made of silicone synthetic rubber. Sizes run from the single cupcake pan to cake pans large enough to bake a wedding cake. They are easy-release because of their flexibility and nonstick surface, which also makes them easy to clean.
Casting cement with the aid of a mold within a frame is a way to create detailed copies of molded models that possess the strength of the concrete used in the casting. Mixing a concrete casting is little different from mixing any other concrete, though the components used to create the concrete differ slightly. Instead of gravel aggregates, casting concrete uses polypropylene fibers to add mass and strength to the cast. A latex mixture is used as a substitute for water to add even more strength to the mix. The result is a smooth concrete that forms into intricate designs…
The operation of oil rigs is closely monitored by state and federal government agencies. These agencies set specific regulations which influence operating procedures, allowed drilling and safety precautions. As part of regulatory adherence and charting of operation, drill rigs can measure the drill hole depth using ultrasonic borehole depth-gauges. These gauges are expensive and require complementing software to interpret the images and measurements.
Brother stamps are a must-have for offices that use the same type of wording and signatures for a variety of applications. Whether it's important that you stamp the date on documents or you need a custom stamp for your name and credentials, Brother stamps self-ink to save time and mess. When the ink runs out on your Brother stamp, refilling the reservoirs is simple work with a steady hand. Keep a bottle of refill ink on hand so you always have clean, crisp stamp lines.
Bells have their place in almost every culture in our world, and they may evoke any number of historical memories, nostalgic feelings and musical inspirations. Bells have often been made to commemorate or honor important occasions or people, and though they are often sturdy and long-lasting objects, over time, they may need to be replicated or replaced so that their symbolism and sound may live on or be more widely felt. Reproducing bells is not a casual undertaking, however. It requires a good knowledge of metal casting, along with all the attendant safety precautions.
You can protect your valuable camera equipment without spending a fortune by learning how to cut foam rubber and turn any old suitcase or bag into a durable camera case. You don't even need to be creative or have a steady hand, because foam rubber is a simple and hassle-free material that anyone can use. When you're finished, you can be sure you've constructed a secure and reliable housing for all your photography gear.
Shaker-style footstools have a simple form that gives them their distinctive look. Basic, thin legs support a plain wood or woven top with sideboards around the top between the legs. These footstools are generally kept in a natural wood appearance using stain rather than paint. Relatively easy to assemble and disassemble, these footstools can be broken down for moving. They can be made to any size of height, length or width and can even be upholstered if desired.
Concrete tiles come in many shapes, sizes and designs to match a variety of decorating situations. Although a number of concrete tiles are available for purchase, you can create your own tiles at a fraction of the cost by using some basic materials, such as coarse sand and dry concrete mix. Making your own concrete tiles at home allows you to express your individual personality and enables you to create interesting colors and patterns that match your specific style preferences.
A track carriage is the assembly of wheels that carries a load through a series of enclosed tracks. Garage doors use carriage tracks to raise and lower the garage door. Most enclosed track uses carriages to move a hoisting device horizontally across a room. Fabricating your own carriage track requires mechanical and construction skills. You must align the wheels to the frame of the carriage correctly or the track carriage won't move through the track smoothly.
Electronic drum kits use a sound module triggered by sticks hitting a velocity-sensitive pad. While the pads have an aura of mystery to them, the signal is created using the piezoelectric effect, the properties of which are used for microphones and instrument pickups. Piezos are inexpensive, commonly available and, with careful construction, reliable as drum triggers. Using a piezo element as a drum trigger requires expanding the contact surface and protecting it from direct impact, while allowing it to sense variations in stick impact.
