Tag: PVC

DIY Shop Towel Bar

Nick Momrik1 Comment

With my big shop table done and a lot of storage space to fill, I finally started to tackle the boxes and piles of things that have been sitting in the corner for nearly a year and a half. First up was towels, rags, cleaning supplies, and first aid. We had an unused plastic shelving unit, so I put it to use. It went between my Ryobi cordless tool wall and the utility sink.

Finally trying to pick things up!

I’ve been draping a hand towel over the edge of the sink since moving in and now I had a place to mount a towel bar. I quickly cut some 2×4 to size, so it would fit between the edges on the side of the top shelf.

Truss head screws, so they’re less likely to pull through the plastic.

Then I drilled four holes in the edge of that shelf and mounted the piece of wood. I drilled two more holes in a piece of PVC and mounted it to the wood.

Ignore the sand marks.

This was a quick project and it’s extremely useful. I love simple shop builds where functionality is the most important requirement.

Several years ago my aunt made me Lions and Red Wings towels that I use in the shop.

If you’re looking for a much nicer towel bar/rack, check out the rustic ones with hooks I made for Brandi’s old house or the combo of black walnut and railroad ties for our old previous house.

DIY Snow Blower Brush & Clean-Out Tool

Nick Momrik2 Comments

My new Ryobi snow blower didn’t come with any kind of tool for clearing out the chute, so I came up with my own solution. I also wanted a brush to clean off the snow before storing the machine in the garage, so I grabbed a clearance car brush/scraper from Meijer for just about $4.

I took it to the band saw to remove some of the scraper. I might cut more after using it.

I picked up a couple of 1/2″ PVC couplers from Menards for 29¢/each, so I’d have a backup in case my first idea didn’t work.

I cut out about 1/4 of the PVC, drilled some holes, spray painted it black, and grabbed a couple of zip ties.

It was quick work to figure out where to attach it to the snow blower handle so the brush wouldn’t interfere with it folding open or closed.

Works great! Here’s a quick video showing how it snaps in and pops out.

Update

The foam grip on the brush handle was useless; out in the cold all it did was twist in your hand. I removed it, giving me more surface area to use a second clip, which makes it snap in more securely.

DIY PVC Cap

Nick Momrik1 Comment

After taking down the sunroom (still a work in progress, which I’ll eventually post about), this pipe for a downspout was no longer needed. I temporarily covered it with a bucket to keep the critters out.

I needed a PVC cap to fit either the inside diameter of 4.5″ or the outside 5″. None of the local hardware stores carried the right size though; their inventory jumped from 4″ to 6″. I took a scrap piece of treated lumber and made my own cap.