Building some cheap train shelves
Needing a place to store my trains, I decided to build some shelves so I could simultaneously store and display them when they're not on the track. I used materials that I had on hand, exclusively....
View ArticleRefinishing without refinishing
As I was walking through the paint section of my local hardware store, I spied a product on the shelves that claimed to work miracles. It was called Howard Restorafinish. The can shows a picture of...
View ArticleA cheap and lazy way to make insulated track sections
An old trick for automating a Lionel or Marx train layout is to power accessories off an insulated rail section. Run one wire to the center rail, then run the other wire to a rail that's been insulated...
View ArticleMaking a curtain rod on the cheap
The boss, er, fiancee, is redecorating. Among the casualties: the curtains that came with the house when I bought it. Along with them, the curtain rods are going, since the new curtains don't fit on...
View ArticleCheap, effective terrain scenery
Most traditional toy train layouts feature painted scenery: After plopping the 4x8 sheets down on some 2x4s to make a table, the hobbyist grabs a brush and some dark gray and green paint and paints...
View ArticleNobody respects craftsmanship anymore
The New York Times laments the decline of craftsmanship and its side effects in the United States. A generation ago, it wasn’t terribly uncommon for men to make their own kitchen cabinets. And those...
View ArticleMy recent experience with vinyl planks
Because of my nearly-new job, I needed home-office space in a hurry and without spending a lot. A few weeks ago I spotted some stick-down vinyl planks at my local Lowe’s store, sold under the Style...
View ArticleSpeed-painting figures for train layouts in five easy steps
Painting figures for train layouts is a task that few toy train hobbyists relish, but we can borrow techniques from other hobbies to solve that problem. The model railroading and toy train hobbies have...
View ArticleHow to remove unsightly black marks from hardwood floors
I had some mysterious black rings on my wood floors. I traced them to metal ends of furniture legs. The long-term solution is to put the furniture on leg cups, but one still has to contend with the...
View ArticleNot quite a new floor in a bottle, but…
There are several acrylic floor finishes–sometimes mistakenly called wax–that promise they’re like a new floor in a bottle. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if you have reasonable expectations,...
View ArticlePlywood floors for a hardwood look at around $1 per sqft
A comment over at Lifehacker got me thinking about plywood as flooring, which led me to a blog post at Quarry Orchard. The author is one of many people who have had success making floors out of strips...
View ArticleHow to cut corners on baseboards by not cutting corners
Cutting baseboards can be tricky. Rooms are rarely perfectly square, so just cutting baseboards at 45-degree angles on the ends doesn’t usually yield a perfect corner. So instead you usually have to...
View ArticleCheap, effective terrain scenery
Most traditional toy train layouts feature painted scenery: After plopping the 4x8 sheets down on some 2x4s to make a table, the hobbyist grabs a brush and some dark gray and green paint and paints...
View ArticleNobody respects craftsmanship anymore
The New York Times laments the decline of craftsmanship and its side effects in the United States. A generation ago, it wasn’t terribly uncommon for men to make their own kitchen cabinets. And those...
View ArticleMy recent experience with peel and stick wood planks
Because of my nearly-new job, I needed home-office space in a hurry and without spending a lot. A few weeks ago I spotted some peel and stick wood planks (made of vinyl) at my local Lowe’s store, sold...
View ArticleSpeed-painting figures for train layouts in five easy steps
Painting figures for train layouts is a task that few toy train hobbyists relish, but we can borrow techniques from other hobbies to solve that problem. The model railroading and toy train hobbies have...
View ArticleRemove black marks from wood floors
I tried to remove black marks from wood floors with Bar Keeper’s Friend recently, and I’m happy to report it worked pretty well. Here’s the story: I had some mysterious black ring-shaped marks on my...
View ArticleNot quite a new floor in a bottle, but…
There are several acrylic floor finishes–sometimes mistakenly called wax–that promise they’re like a new floor in a bottle. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if you have reasonable expectations,...
View ArticlePlywood floors for a hardwood look at around $1 per sqft
A comment over at Lifehacker got me thinking about plywood as flooring, which led me to a blog post at Quarry Orchard. The author is one of many people who have had success making floors out of strips...
View ArticleHow to cut corners on baseboards by not cutting corners
Cutting baseboards can be tricky. Rooms are rarely perfectly square, so just cutting baseboards at 45-degree angles on the ends doesn’t usually yield a perfect corner. So instead you usually have to...
View Article
