c/everyday-tool-hacks

My old cordless drill was dying after 15 minutes, so I tried a freezer trick.

The battery wouldn't hold a charge, but I saw a video saying to put it in a sealed bag and freeze it overnight. It actually gave me another 30 minutes of work time the next day. Has anyone else had this work for them, or did I just get lucky?

Honestly, I kept stripping Phillips screws with my old drill until a guy at the hardware store told me to just use a hand driver for the last few turns.

Ngl, I used to crank every screw in with my cordless drill on high speed, but after snapping the head off a $3 cabinet hinge last month, I finally started hand-tightening the final quarter turn to avoid over-torquing everything, so has anyone else switched to this two-step method?

Watching a guy at the county fair fix a popcorn machine with a zip tie and a dime

He bypassed a broken spring on the agitator by looping a heavy-duty zip tie through the mechanism and wedging a dime in the gear to keep tension, which got it running for the rest of the event.

Showerthought: the cheap dollar store putty knife vs the $12 hardware store one

I bought a flimsy dollar store putty knife for a small patch job last year, and the thing bent like a noodle on the first scrape. Grabbed a heavier gauge one from the hardware store for about twelve bucks, and it's been solid for a dozen projects since. The difference is all in the steel thickness and the handle being riveted, not just glued on. That cheap one lasted maybe 20 minutes before it was trash. Anyone else find that with some tools, the slightly pricier version is just way less frustrating to actually use?

Threw out a whole can of spray paint because I didn't shake it enough

I was in a rush to finish a patio chair and the paint came out all splotchy, ruining the job. That was a $12 can down the drain (and a wasted Saturday morning). Anyone have a good rule for how long to shake those things?

Question about a weird trick for a dull utility knife

My uncle in Cleveland said he sharpens his on the unglazed bottom rim of a coffee mug. Tried it on a cheap one and it actually worked for a few more cuts. Anyone have a better method for a quick edge?

I used to think a drill was just for holes, then I saw a drywall anchor job go sideways.

My buddy was putting up a shelf and tried to hammer in those cheap plastic anchors with a regular hammer. He cracked the drywall in two spots. I grabbed my cordless drill, set it to the lowest clutch setting, and slowly screwed the anchors in like they were big screws. It took maybe 30 seconds each and they went in perfectly flush without any stress on the wall. Why do people still sell those anchors with the instruction to hammer them? Has anyone else ditched the hammer for a drill on this job?

My cordless drill battery died for good last winter and I had to get creative

I used to just toss the old battery and buy a new one, which felt wasteful and expensive. Last January, when my main 18v pack wouldn't hold a charge, I opened it up and found two of the cells were shot. I ordered a cheap set of replacement cells online for about $25 and soldered them in. Now it works like new, and I saved over 60 bucks. Has anyone else tried fixing their own tool batteries, or is it not worth the hassle?

I was sharpening my kitchen knives wrong for a decade until a YouTube video paused on the angle

I always thought I was doing a good job with my pull through sharpener, just running the blade through a few times. The knives would cut okay, but never great. Then last week, I was watching a video on how to fix a wobbly chair and an ad for a sharpening stone came on. The ad showed a close up of holding the knife at a 20 degree angle against the stone. I paused it and grabbed my cheapest paring knife to try. I used a quarter as a guide to get close to that angle, like the video said. After just a few passes on the coarse side of the stone, that old knife sliced through a tomato like it was nothing. I had been using way too steep of an angle all this time, which was just wearing the edge down. Has anyone else found a simple trick that totally changed how a basic tool works for them?

Finally got my old shop vac to stop smelling like a wet dog

I was at the local hardware store in Springfield last week and saw a guy buying a bag of activated charcoal for his fish tank. It made me think to try it in my vacuum's filter box. I put a small mesh bag of it in there, and the musty smell was gone in two days. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with that damp vacuum odor?

I was cleaning my drill bits with a paper towel for years until a guy at the hardware store in Austin told me to use a cork

Rant: My neighbor in Portland swears by using a hairdryer to fix a loose hammer handle, but I think it's a bad idea.

He said he heats the old wooden handle with a hairdryer for about five minutes to make the wood expand and tighten up in the head. I tried it once and the fix only lasted a couple of weeks before it got loose again. I think you should just use proper wood glue or replace the handle. Has anyone else tried this heat trick, or is it just asking for trouble?

Vent: My cordless drill battery died right in the middle of a fence repair and I had to get creative

I was putting up a new section of fence in my backyard last month when my drill battery gave out, and the spare was dead too. For a solid twenty minutes, I tried using a manual screwdriver, which felt like trying to dig a hole with a spoon. Then I remembered an old trick my dad showed me: you can use a regular socket wrench with a hex bit adapter. I grabbed my 3/8 inch socket set, popped the bit in, and finished the last fifteen screws in half the time. It's not fast, but it gets the job done when you're stuck. Anyone else have a weird backup plan for when power tools quit on you?

I thought the 'freezer trick' for cordless drill batteries was a myth until my neighbor proved me wrong

For years I heard people say putting a weak lithium-ion battery in the freezer overnight could bring it back to life, and I always dismissed it as nonsense. My neighbor Mark tried it on his old 18V Ryobi battery that wouldn't hold a charge for more than 5 minutes. He left it in a sealed bag for about 12 hours, let it warm up, and charged it fully. The next day, it ran his drill for a solid 25 minutes on a medium load. I was shocked it actually worked, even if it's just a temporary fix. Has anyone else had a battery revival work, or is this just delaying the inevitable replacement?

PSA: The 'rubber band on a drill bit' trick for stripped screws actually works

I saw a video about putting a thick rubber band over a stripped Phillips head and drilling slowly, thought it was total clickbait. Tried it on a cabinet hinge screw last weekend, the bit grabbed right away and backed it out clean. Anyone got other ways to deal with stripped hardware?

Just watched my neighbor's drill burn out from a simple mistake

Honestly, it happened over a weekend. He was using his cordless drill to mix a big bucket of thinset, the kind you use for tile. He kept the trigger pinned for like 5 minutes straight, no breaks. The motor got so hot you could smell it. By Sunday, the drill just made a humming noise and wouldn't spin at all. Has anyone else had a tool overheat from pushing it too hard on a single job?

Had a real fight with my old shop vac over a $15 filter vs. a $2 pantyhose hack.

The filter for my 12-gallon vac clogged up again after cleaning my garage last week, and a new one was 15 bucks at the hardware store. I saw a tip online to use a cheap pair of pantyhose stretched over the filter cage instead. Tried it, and honestly, it catches all the fine dust just as well and you can just shake it out. Anyone else done this, or is it a dumb idea that'll wreck my motor?

Hot take: I thought the 'freezer trick' for a dead cordless drill battery was total nonsense until my 18V Ryobi pack held a charge for a full 30 minutes after a night in the deep freeze.

Has anyone else had a specific tool or battery model where this actually worked, or did I just get lucky with a particular kind of failure?

Just realized my old cordless drill is still going after 8 years because I picked the right battery type

Back when I bought it, I had to choose between a cheap drill with a NiCad battery pack or a pricier one with lithium-ion. I went for the lithium-ion model, even though it cost about $30 more at the time. That was in 2016, and the thing still holds a charge for most of a day of light work (unlike my friend's NiCad one that gave up after maybe 2 years). I think the key was I always stored it with about half a charge, never full or empty. Anyone have other old tools that just won't quit because of one good choice?

Finally figured out how to keep my drill bits from wandering on metal

I used to just push hard and hope for the best, but after ruining a piece of sheet metal last month, I started using a center punch first. Anyone have a different trick for keeping starter holes accurate?

My neighbor's garage sale in Phoenix showed me the real use for a rubber mallet

I was helping him move an old freezer and he just gave the stuck door a solid, careful whack with his mallet right on the hinge side. It popped right open! He said he's done it for years on sticky appliances instead of forcing them and breaking the seal. Now I keep one in my kitchen junk drawer just for that. Anyone else have a weird tool they keep in the house for appliance fixes?

My old shop vac hose split right down the seam yesterday afternoon

I wrapped it tight with two layers of that heavy duty foil tape and it's holding air better than new. Anyone got a better fix for when the plastic gets brittle?

Thought the 'freezer trick' for cordless tool batteries was total nonsense

My Milwaukee M12 died after two years, but leaving it in a freezer bag overnight actually got me one more full charge cycle. Anyone know why that works or if it's safe for the battery long term?

Appreciation post: Found out my old drill's chuck key works on three different brands

Was helping a neighbor fix his deck last weekend. His drill battery was dead, so I grabbed my old corded one from the truck. He had a different brand drill, a newer model. Went to tighten a bit and realized I didn't have his chuck key. Out of frustration, I tried mine. It fit perfectly. Tried it on another buddy's drill later that day, a third brand. It worked there too. Did some digging online and found a forum post from a tool repair guy. He said a lot of older chuck keys from the 90s and early 2000s share the same basic tooth pattern. They just stamped different brand names on them. Saved me from buying two new keys I didn't need. Anyone else have a universal tool part that surprised them?

The time I tried to fix a lawnmower with a kitchen knife

My mower's pull cord snapped last spring, and instead of buying the $15 replacement kit, I thought I could carve a new notch in the recoil starter with a paring knife. I spent two hours and broke the knife blade before I gave up and bought the kit anyway. The whole thing cost me a good knife and a Saturday morning. Has anyone else tried a truly terrible tool substitution that actually worked?