Repurposing Household Items for the Shop

Article - October 1, 2013

In the world of woodworking and shop-ownership, creativity goes a long way. You can occasionally save time and money by simply pilfering your home for everyday household items instead of buying something online at an expensive woodworking retailer. Now keep in mind, this can and will get you into trouble. The time I used Nicole’s electric hand mixer to stir latex paint comes to mind. But if you’re careful about it and stick to using the things that are no longer needed in the house (or the ones that are due for replacement), you could very well find yourself with a treasure trove of shop helpers at your disposal.

dr brownsMy latest comes courtesy of my son Mateo. While he spent the first 7 months of his life enjoys nature’s perfect food, we eventually had to switch to formula. Mixing formula everyday is kind of a pain in the butt and I found the Dr. Brown’s formula mixer to be absolutely awesome! Mixes easily with no clumps and no bubbles and I can pour right out of the container. Fast-forward a year or so and we no longer use the formula mixer.

During a recent Guild project, I was mixing dye as per Darrell Peart’s formula and realized there was a better way. I headed into the kitchen, picked up the Dr. Browns mixer, ASKED PERMISSION (this is very important people!), and headed back to the shop with my new toy. As you can see in the photos, the mixer worked perfectly and gave me a very easy and clean way to transfer the dye to the spray cup.

dr-browns-mixer-1 dr-browns-mixer-2

I honestly don’t recommend you spend $13 on this formula mixer for your shop. But if you happen to have one and you don’t plan on having another kid, it’s a really good option.

I’d love to hear your ideas and stories about things you repurposed for use in the shop. And perhaps, let us know how much trouble you got into after the fact.

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