How to tidy up a hole using a forstner bit.

This is a handy tip if you ever need to tidy up a hole in something wooden, in my case it was were holes had been made in the back of an Oak tv unit, I could have made things easier for myself by using clamps, but it worked out in the end.

If you don't have forstner bits then holes saw would work just as well.

Anyway have a look at the video -

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A video of a much needed repair to one of our sets of wood framed double glazed windows, the repair was carried out a while ago now and is holding up well, and I have since carried out a similar repair to one of the other windows on the house, which is the bonus of having wood frame windows, it's easy to carry out repairs like this, tends to be a bit harder on upvc windows.

You can see in the video that the bead that holds the glazed unit in has started to rot, so this is me carefully cutting out the rotten wood and replacing it with a new piece and making good.

The alternative to doing this kind of repair maybe to strip the paint off the wood and apply a wood plasticiser, there are products you can buy that essential soak into the wood and set hard, they also prevent further damage.

Here's the video -

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Replacing a failed sealed unit...

This is a job I've finally got round to fixing, basically one of the double glazed units (sealed units) in our wood framed double gazed windows failed a while ago, by that I mean condensation was building up between the 2 panes of glass and rather than replace the whole frame i decided to just replace the sealed unit.

I found a company near to us who can make sealed units to whatever spec you want so I ordered one, much cheaper than replacing the whole frame. The sealed units in upvc windows can also be replaced in a similar way and it's cheaper to replace them rather than the whole window frame, how to's can be found online and a few minutes searching will find companies near to you who can make replacement units, you will need measurements though.

Here's a video of the process, obviously this will be different for upvc windows -

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Homemade wire string holder...

How to easily make a string holder from garden wire (other wire could be used) this has come in quite handy because you can hang it up in the shed or greenhouse, or on a fence or even from a tree branch which is what I did the other day when I was tying our tomato plants to their canes.

I'm pleased with it and it has become quite useful, and it's such an easy thing to make, hopefully the video is easy enough to follow, and you don't need any special tools, just a pair of pliers will do the job.

Have a look -

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How to build a bean frame...

A quick guide on building a bean frame for climbing beans, I've used normal bamboo canes for this frame (I've been using them for years) but any straight stick would do, like hazel, or even lengths of timber just as long as it's relatively straight and the right height, for climbing beans you'll want canes at least two metres (about six feet)

Here's the video -

And in case you don't have time to watch the how to I've attached a few basic diagrams of how to make a simple climbing bean frame.

Step 1 -

Step two - 

Step three - 

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How to remove dock...

One of the perennial weeds found on allotment plots and in gardens is dock, it's a problem plant, but it can be controlled by removing as much of it as possible, this includes the roots, which can be very long as you can see in the video below.

You can just hoe the tops off, but I prefer to dig them up using a fork which helps loosen the soil so you can get as much root out as possible.

This is how we deal with them on the allotment, and some of the other weeds.

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Homemade garden fork handle...

It's the time of year where my thoughts turn to all things gardening and so I start making plans and lists of jobs to be done.

Trouble is I broke the handle of the only fork I have for use at home, I have a couple down the allotment, probably should get another for home use (how many forks is too many?) I broke the handle whilst trying to dig up some very old rose bushes that someone in our local area had put on a freecycle type website, in the end I got eight very large (rooted) rose bushes, which are now in the garden in various places, which is good, but it did leave me with a broken garden fork.

So off to the workshop to make a new handle, below is the video.

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How to sharpen forstner bits...

I use forstner bits quite a lot for various projects and after a while like most things used for cutting they get blunt, but you can sharpen them quite easily, so below is a quick video of how I go about sharpening my forstner bits.

This method has worked for me for years and the set of bits I use has plenty of life left in them it's a quick and cheap way of maintaining your forstner bits.

                                                           Hopefully you find this guide useful

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Repairing our 15 year old tumble dryer...

 This is a job I've been meaning to get round to, we've had the same tumble dryer for 15 odd years and it started to make a horrible grinding noise, it was an easy enough fix once I'd found the parts for it.

Cosmetically the dryer is looking tired, but it still works fine and honestly we don't use it that much as we prefer to dry clothes outside where possible, but for rainy days it's a handy thing to have.

We could have bought a new dryer, but didn't want to spend that much money and repairing was the cheaper option and fingers crossed it'll last a few more years now.

Here's a video of me fixing it - 

Thanks for watching.