Handy Garage Tips-

Do you have a smaller garage or do you have a garage that needs some straightening up? Here are some good ideas to get your shop in order and some ideas to re-use scrap and trash and save money.

1. Save your baby food jars and other small jars with screw on lids. These come in handy for holding screws and small nails or anything else that will fit in them. If you have any wooden shelves, using a wood screw, screw the lid of the jar right to the underside of the shelf. Then fill your jar with whatever you desire and screw the jar to the lid.

2. Save all your sawdust. Saw dust is free and it works well as a sweeping compound and as oil dry. Just sprinkle it on oil or a wet spill and let it soak up the moisture then just sweep it up.

3. Buy a 120v AC output thermostat for your multi-fuel forced air heater (salamander). If you add a thermostat to your salamander it will make a tank of fuel last at least twice as long by not running the heater once a comfortable temperature is reached. This will also save you from worrying about unplugging and plugging in the heater all the time.

4. Save all your old laundry soap containers, these are great for getting rid of all your old oil. Just fill them up and take them to your local place of oil disposal. Most auto parts stores will take it and most auto repair shops love to take it because, they usually have an oil burning furnace that they can burn it in. They will filter it and burn it up as a free fuel source.

5. Save an old oil bottle for use as a funnel in a pinch.

6. If you happen to get gasoline on your hands and want to get the smell off of you, wash your hands with Listerine. It will take the smell completely away.

7. Save your old toothbrushes. Old toothbrushes are great as parts cleaners and for cleaning hard to reach crevices in projects.

8. Save an old serpentine belt for making a handy strap wrench. A strap wrench comes in handy for a lot of things, namely round hard to grip objects like an oil filter. Just take an old belt and a pair of vise grips or channel lock pliers, wrap the belt around the object you are trying to loosen and grab it with the pliers and turn.

9. I f you are going to have to mess around with fiberglass insulation or any thing with fibrous fiberglass, coat your arms and hands with baby powder. The baby powder will prevent the fiberglass form getting into your skin.

10. If you have a hard to turn screw, use a pair of pliers to turn the screw driver while applying downward pressure.

11. If you happen to strip the screw file the round edges into two flat edges on the head of the screw and use an adjustable wrench to remove the screw.

12. For extra leverage when using a standard open and box end wrench use a slightly larger wrench and lock the box end of it into the open end of the wrench you are trying to turn.

CHARCOAL LIGHTER

A Chimney Charcoal Grill Starter

Using an old piece of steel dryer vent or a piece of wood burning stove pipe you can create a charcoal starter and start your grill without using any heart burn causing charcoal lighter fluid.

Cut off a piece of at least 4" (6 inch works best but 4 inch will work as well) diameter steel dryer vent tube or stove pipe about 15* inches long or so. In the bottom 3 inches of the tube, drill about 4 or 5 one inch holes around the tube spaced evenly.

Put two or three sheets of newspaper wadded up in the bottom of the tube. Pour your charcoal on top of the newspaper and through the holes in the perimeter of bottom light the newspaper. In about ten or fifteen minutes your charcoal will be ready to use.

* If using the 4 inch tube make the tube a few inches longer to hold more charcoal.

Going To Your Stand

When heading to your deer stand you should always spray the bottom of your feet with a masking scent such as red fox urine or skunk scent.  I usually spray myself down with a scent elimination spray also.  It is a good idea to avoid stepping on broken branches or crunchy leaves.  Walk in slow putting your toe of your foot down gently first to feel for sticks. Stop every once in a while as you walk, most animals do this as they walk through the woods. This will make you sound and act more like an animal to the animals in the area so as not to spook them.

Once you have arrived at your stand stay still for a few moments and let things calm down.  When climbing into your stand never carry your weapon leave it unloaded and hoist it up into the tree with a rope or cord.  There are many camo colored cords on the market just for this purpose. 

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I will be posting survival skills, huntind tips and tricks and general outdoorsy stuff.