Hello from Canada

[makeituseful]

Hi -

I've been checking the site out for a few weeks and finally got around to registering. I think this site is the best thing I'm probably gonna wish I never found. My build list was already out of control before I got here and I don't think it's going to get much shorter anytime soon.

Never thought about building my own tools until I was refinishing the oak staircase in our house earlier this year. I couldn't find a scraper to fit in a particular curve. Finally, in frustration, I sat on a stair and nipped and filed at a worn out scraper blade until I had coaxed it into the that shape. Suddenly I was grinning like a 4 year old, the proud owner of my first custom built tool. It kind of looked like a 4 year old made it, but it worked like a charm!

It was like my brain exploded after that. I love to tinker and repair things people mislabel as broken garbage but it can be hard to find parts or the kind of specialized tools that make it possible. Until now. What started as one rough looking scraper has become a whole set of sanding blocks, some complete with curvy bits, and all the perfect size for my hand.

Currently I'm making an induction soldering iron using the thicker graphite made for mechanical drafting pencils. Thankfully it's low voltage so I might even survive the attempt and be able to post the final result.

After that I'm planning on a rotary tool workstation - if i can keep from getting distracted by all the other great things I see here.

Thanks for all that gets shared. It's a nice change in today's world to find a place that's about building up and sharing lessons learned.

Cheers
Charles aka makeituseful