No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift. Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip. It’s OK if you call me “cheap.”
If you are not fumble-fingered, you may want to skip this tip. Always unplug your table saw when working in or on it. I understand that some table saw manufacturers have figured out a way to make it harder to lose the nut and washer from a table saw’s blade arbor, but my 2005 Delta doesn’t have that feature. Thus, every once in a while those items land in the bottom of the cabinet. Few people have arms skinny enough or long enough to reach the bottom of where sawdust falls when the unit is operating. It’s a short reach from the dust port to the fallen item, but a big deal to disconnect and reconnect the dust hose.
I don’t fish as much as I used to since I got so deep into woodworking. For long stretches, fishing for the arbor nut or washer is as close as I get. Rather than dismantle the dust port to retrieve the elusive part, I try to capture it with this old Radio Shack speaker magnet.
Every time an audio speaker dies, there is a treasure hiding inside: a powerful magnet. Whether it’s a car or home speaker, save that magnet and store it on any handy steel surface. The best ones have a hole in the middle. Tie a string, or, better yet, fishing line to a big speaker magnet and you can retrieve anything ferrous from any hidden crevasse.
This particular magnet is stored right next to the table saw. Are you thinking it gets a lot of use? Like I said, if you’re not fumble-fingered, you might not need this tip!
I can’t seem to throw a magnet away. All sizes and shapes get stored on this rolling tool cabinet.
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Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home. Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.