Bushmans
Smoke Dragon Herder
Ok well they may not be free to you but to me they were to me!
I like to find ways to do things without spending money. Call me cheap if you must but with the second child moving off to college in a few short months there isn't much mad money laying around.
First in my bag of tricks was this Makita soft side drill combo case. We ordered this combo set at work that came with a cordless, drill, impact and flashlight. It was split up between 3 different work centers in the shop so the case was left sitting there. I thought it would make a fine accessory case for my equipment.
It holds a gallon of bar oil, all my files, extra chains, wedges, 2-cycle oil, ear plugs and a few rags.
Next on the list is something my wife bought our daughter to carry her lunch to school. It was a soft sided lunch bag that came with a plastic sandwich holder. She never used the sandwich holder and it was tossed around the kitchen forever until I came up with a bingo! This also goes in the soft case seen above. It will hold 3 of my 20" chains.
Next is something my Dad sent to me last summer. He was going through some oddball tools that he said he would never use and sent me a 50 pound box full of them. Most of them I will never use either but this one in particular, when I pulled it out of the box, I thought,"what in the heck will I ever use this for?"
Mind you it was summer and my chainsaw was hibernating and firewooding was the furthest thing from my mind.
Until the other day.
I run a 4 chain set on my saw. When one gets dull I swap out for a new one. When they are all dull I bring them into the shop and sharpen them all. I do it by hand as I feel this gives me the best edge with the least amount of tooth waste. Another "Bingo" moment as I recalled the "useless" gift my Dad had sent me. They work great for seeing all the fine details on the chain tooth. No more squinting over the bench.
There is a strap that goes around the back of your head but you can't see it in the picture.
How about you? Any re-purposed gadgets to make your job easier?
I like to find ways to do things without spending money. Call me cheap if you must but with the second child moving off to college in a few short months there isn't much mad money laying around.
First in my bag of tricks was this Makita soft side drill combo case. We ordered this combo set at work that came with a cordless, drill, impact and flashlight. It was split up between 3 different work centers in the shop so the case was left sitting there. I thought it would make a fine accessory case for my equipment.
It holds a gallon of bar oil, all my files, extra chains, wedges, 2-cycle oil, ear plugs and a few rags.
Next on the list is something my wife bought our daughter to carry her lunch to school. It was a soft sided lunch bag that came with a plastic sandwich holder. She never used the sandwich holder and it was tossed around the kitchen forever until I came up with a bingo! This also goes in the soft case seen above. It will hold 3 of my 20" chains.
Next is something my Dad sent to me last summer. He was going through some oddball tools that he said he would never use and sent me a 50 pound box full of them. Most of them I will never use either but this one in particular, when I pulled it out of the box, I thought,"what in the heck will I ever use this for?"
Mind you it was summer and my chainsaw was hibernating and firewooding was the furthest thing from my mind.
Until the other day.
I run a 4 chain set on my saw. When one gets dull I swap out for a new one. When they are all dull I bring them into the shop and sharpen them all. I do it by hand as I feel this gives me the best edge with the least amount of tooth waste. Another "Bingo" moment as I recalled the "useless" gift my Dad had sent me. They work great for seeing all the fine details on the chain tooth. No more squinting over the bench.
There is a strap that goes around the back of your head but you can't see it in the picture.
How about you? Any re-purposed gadgets to make your job easier?
