random household object tools thread. PLEASE READ!

If you have a small space (like myself) use baby wipe
tups for,paints,parts,knives , ect.
And if you can get baby fingernail clipers for getting parts.
Now I am a smoker so I use the tin foil from the pack for
ditailing parts. For fake fingernails I have used them for mine plows.
Just cut to shape. I also have long hair cats so when I was doing some tracks
and one cat sat on the track will it was wet the hair that was left (when I riped the track off) worked has grass (when painted that is).
One thing about nails cat claws work good for scale hooks.
djw1
ARTE ET MARTE

Pantyhose or nylon works great for straining paint for airbrushes. Also cheese cloth makes good camo netting. Paint it any color you want

Artist brush handles. The brushes are usually way to long… up to a foot long. I cut the handle off for other uses. The coating is very smooth and hard and the rounded end is great for prodding decals, burnishing tape edge down forming curves in PE parts. A pic of 2 of my favorite tools is below. I cut the top of the eye of a needle off to make a tiny 2-prong fork and mounted it in a handle for place very tiny drops of accelerator on CA glued parts. I keep a cleaned out Testor bottle filled with accelerator handy as well. The other has a sandpaper disc made with a hole punch and glued to the end for sanding tight spots. Peel it off sand it a bit and do it again as needed.

When I drop a small part that takes that wierd bounce, I replace the filter in the Dustbuster with with a paper towel and vacum the area where I think the part went. Works great.

Here's my list of household stuff:

- Cutex/Nail Polish Remover - has acetone in it, so it's great for thinning putty
- Medicine Droppers/Syringes - from the local drug store-- it came with a multi-size bottle adaptor that you put in the opening of the bottle. You can then turn the bottle upside down and pull liquid out like a doctor about to give someone a shot.
- Glycerin - while it's great for dry skin, it's even better for lubricating the needle in an airbrush. Next time you clean your airbrush, put a tiny touch on the tip before you reinsert.
- Bamboo Skewers - for holding parts while I airbrush
- Glad Press N Seal - for masking areas off
- MagicCover - Decorative adhesive vinyl from the dollar store or home depot. I can't really tell the difference between it and expensive actual masking frisket.
- White bathroom tile - makes a suberb palette for hand brushing

dont forget the protecters that come with blank cds and dvds they make great mixing pallets

Metal toothpaste tubes like those that Tom's of Maine toothpaste comes in. Cut them open and clean out the remnants, and you have heavy metal foil that is easy to shape (but stiff enoough to hold its shape) that is great for panels, doors, and clothing on figures. And it's already primed and ready to paint.

The metal over the ends of wine bottles (if you drink the expensive stuff) is also good for this.

Drafting pencil sharpener for sharpening toothpicks or similar items.

Those contact lens containers, the plastic ampules type, make great mixing containers for epoxy, and can sometimes be reused.

Contact lens solution plastic bottles: peel the label, rinse, and you have a handy, airtight, container for most water compatible solvents, mineral spirits, (but not lacquer thinner) that also makes it easy to dispense.

Cartridge brass: If you are or know someone who is a shooter, ask them for any brass cartridge cases they don't want: instant tubing, rings, and small brass wheel-like objects. Be sure to wash them in a high phosphate detergent before you cut them up. This is to remove lead compounds from either the (now long gone) bullet or the lead styphnate primer. For your sake, don't mess with loaded ammunition.

Speakiing of tubing: aluminum arrows come in a a wealth of sizes. When one gets too bent or beat up to refurbish, I keep it for tubing. You can also get scrap from an archery supply shop if there is one near you. These are usually short, from 1 to 6 inches long.

Wound guitar strings for O2 hoses or BX type conduit depending on scale.

I have 3 children who love "Snack-Pack" style pudding. I've found many uses for the plastic cups that used to contain pudding. Mix paint, putty, etc. Hold parts. Use for resin casting: either attach part to bottom of cup and cast a single piece mold or "suspend" the part to be cast using pins pushed through the sides of the cup for a 2 piece mold. The uses go on and on. Plus, I occasionally get to eat the pudding to get a clean cup.

QUOTE: Originally posted by RadMax8 If you know somebody who wears braces, use the rubberbands they put in them to mask off those pesky yellow stripes on bombs!

oh yeah! that's an awesome idea![:0]

QUOTE: Originally posted by eizzle Refrigarator magnets, pick up metal parts, hold pictures up by you workbench, and to throw at the wall when you just can't take it anymore!

nice one

thanks all for contributing! I should get this stickied. what do you say?

B.B's.............Like the kind you use to shoot the neighbor's cat with........ drop two or three in a freshly opened paint jar, and you have a spray paint sort of rattler to help the mixing process for next time. This helps speed up the shaking time, AND keeps the paint more even and consistent.

Rubbing alcohol........ WAY cheaper than acrylic thinner.

Pump pliers, full size........ makes opening stubborn paint jars easier. If you can get the lid the to twist off, they're heavy enough to smash the jar.

lol!
the huge milkshake straw you get at Starbucks.
good when decanting paint from spraybottles into the a/b paint jar.
little ones make the spray paint go all over your hand, and if one's foolish enough, their model
I got the idea from Swanny

Bamboo Forks are great for holding parts while painting, especially road wheels on tanks.

I have a small peice of metal tubbing that I superglue to an object that I am airbrushing. Usually on a spot that wont need any paint. This keeps my hands clean of paint, and the peice clean of finger inpressions in the paint. I will put the other end of the tube in an old soda or beer bottle so the peice can dry without being placed on any surface. When it's dry I carfully break off the tubbing where I glued it and scratch off the extra glue.

If you have paint lids stuck on jars and no pliars around, just do what I do and use your teeth! Its a bit hard on the dentist bills though.

Those pill containers with mon,tues,wens,thurs,fri,sat,sun those work good for mixing paints and to keep small deacls and parts.

aluminum foil
nail clippers
solder
resistor/capacitor leads
metallic jello container lids and the plastic from the container itself
clay working tools for shaping+applying putty
lighter/cigar torch
stove
fresh produce containers
bottle-caps
hair (creepy)
vice
clamps
rubber bands
hammer
hack-saw
styrofoam (cut slots for rudder/wing/whatever to hold planes in place without scratching paintjob, useful for adding decals)
guitar string
box-cutter
bigger hammer
dremel (put piece of sprue into the chuck to turn symmetrical round parts)

I have a good one, if you live on the coast or recently taken a vacation to one, you have lots of sea shells. The small ones make great paint mixing containers. I glued 10 to a piece of wood. It works great! And about the toothbrush sander, is fantastic to use while wet sanding!  Thanks for all the tips

Somw of you guys are to young to do this but if you have a family member or no someone who chews tobacco like skoal ask for the empty container works great for storage of small PE parts and othe stuff.

warning

Tobacco couses cancer

Along this same line, I use a lot of products that come with the warning:

"this product is known to cause cancer in the state of California"-

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I consider this another good reason not to move back there!

  Tom T

goat monkey wrote:

aluminum foil nail clippers solder resistor/capacitor leads metallic jello container lids and the plastic from the container itself clay working tools for shaping+applying putty lighter/cigar torch stove fresh produce containers bottle-caps hair (creepy) vice clamps rubber bands hammer hack-saw styrofoam (cut slots for rudder/wing/whatever to hold planes in place without scratching paintjob, useful for adding decals) guitar string box-cutter bigger hammer dremel (put piece of sprue into the chuck to turn symmetrical round parts)

goat monkey;

Hair? Yes that is creepy but only if your method of collection involves one of the following statements.

1. "It rubs the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again!"

2. "I say, how often do you see a 17th century well in the middle of suburbia these days?"

Sorry couldn't resist

Cheers;

Gregory

If you go to your local MAC cosmetics store, they have empty testors they give out that are glass with plastic lids and are about 1/4 oz.

I also cut up plastic fruit and vegetable containers and use the parts that snap together (the cup looking things) for paint wells, when I'm mixing a few drops to make a color.

For those cat owners: I've created very fine brushes by gluing a single cat whisker to a thin wooden dowel. Poking a hole in the end of your handle of choice with a pin will give you a great place into which to glue the whisker. The whisker brush works very well for precise painting or gluing. Just make sure your cat has shed the whisker first. They don't enjoy you're taking it straight from the source.

goat monkey wrote:

dremel (put piece of sprue into the chuck to turn symmetrical round parts)

Now that is a nifty idea.

Good reading and some really good ideas in here...I'll add a few...

I saw "pliers" for removing stuck on lids for paint jars, I use an old fashioned nutcracker.

If you fish..."Plano Stowaways" make great organizers for everything from part's to paint and tools, most of them are clear but you can also buy them in various colors.

Sharpening Steel (most knife sets come with them), one quick swipe and your X-acto/Excel blade is good to go for a few more hours of cutting.

Broken Electronics? Where to begin? I've used chips and resistors to simulate a variety of things from "LCD" screens to fuel filters...same with the wiring inside; which can be used to dress up any engine bay. After all it's already broke...

I'm sure I'll remember some more or come up with some later.
Rob

I knew I was forgetting one...

If you have a nice fine zester/grater used for grating fresh soft cheeses and zesting various citrus fruits...confiscate the one from the kitchen, claim it was lost or whatever and add it to your modeling toolbox. It makes quick easy work of "grinding" down weathering chalks/pastels into a nice powder without wasting too much energy or any sandpaper.

If you don't know what a "zester" is just do a google image search, you'll turn up plenty. My zester's surface is about 4 inches long, has a nice soft comfortable handle and has really fine holes for grating...Some zesters have larger holes. Mine is an OXO...

I just found this out today. I always for some reason didn't like using paper strips as straps for securing tarps and other stowage items; it just never cooperated. Instead, I just started using the little tie-down things that come with loaves of bread. They are the same size, and with a coat of paint or two, look the same as the paper strips, without all of the frustration!  

Anyone tried white toothpaste to cut brush marks?

Easier to handle than rubbing compounds. And leaves a fresh, minty aftertaste on the model.