Tips of the Week: Carpenter’s Pencil Tricks, Buying a 3DP, String Dispenser, Chamfering Welds

Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers

Tips of the Week is our weekly peek at some of the best making tips, tricks, and recommendations we’ve discovered in our travels. Check in every Friday to see what we’ve discovered. And we want to hear from you. Please share your tips, shortcuts, best practices, and tall shop tales in the comments below and we might use your tip in a future column.

Using a Carpenter’s Pencil

In this video on See Jane Drill, Leah runs through some of the features of a carpenter’s pencil you may not be aware of. Like, did you know that a carpenter’s pencil has set width and thickness (1/2″ x 1/4″) and is designed to be used for things like deck board space? And that you can cut the ends to different lead shapes for different types of marking?

Intro to 3DP

Bob Clagett continues his excellent Bits series of tips videos with this introduction to 3D printing and the basics of what you need to know as you begin to research buying a printer.

In Bob Clagett’s latest project video, on building a metal and wood hexagonal table for his gazebo, he shares several good welding tips. On the legs, where he’s attaching the square metal tunes to the metal frame, he chamfers where the leg will be butt-welded to frame. This way, there’s a little extra bit of weldable surface to ensure a solid, sturdy weld. He also recommends spot-welded around your entire workpiece first and then completely beading the weld. This can help prevent warping of the metal as the surfaces are unevenly heated.