All posts by Maximum Chips

Quick Review: Jaycar Digital Vernier Calipers

When I was making my original Drill Bit Block video, I forgot I also made this little quick tip video about the Vernier Calipers I used to measure my assorted mixed-up drill bits. Fantastic for going through them quickly.

I’ve had these calipers for a few years now and get used every so often. Still on the same battery that came with so not too concerned about it going flat in a woodworking emergency. It’s just a standard CR232 battery which I usually have a couple of in the battery box.

Continue reading Quick Review: Jaycar Digital Vernier Calipers

Updated 2.0 Workshop Tour 2020 #aussieworkshops2020

Decided it was time to post an update to my workshop tour. Inspired by all the other Aussie makers who posted theirs for #aussieworkshops2020​

Firstly – thank you to those that supported me in #movember​ over at http://bit.ly/MQ-Mo​ I raised $1000 which personally was pretty amazing really. Hopefully next year with lessons learned, better prep, we can hit our goal of $999,999.

The workshop / shed is a bit of a complete mess at the moment with so much tidying to be done after several projects and tools just left stacked on the center table. Plus keep buying new stuff and not putting things away. I know…

Has been an insanely busy 12-18 months. The video stuff was taking up Uni time so needed to readjust there. Plus my work as a teacher’s aid went from 1 day to 3 to 5 days full-time so pretty much everything else got put on hold. Good for $$ and buying new toys though…

Continue reading Updated 2.0 Workshop Tour 2020 #aussieworkshops2020

Movember 2020 – Doing it for ALL the Woodworkers. Let me be your sacrificial beard!!

Let my Mo be your sacrificial beard. Share as if it was your Movember.

Donate and find out more at http://bit.ly/MQ-Mo​

Movember is about raising money and awareness of men’s health issues. And an excuse to finally see if you can grow a mo in a few weeks. (spoilers: Yes).

1/ Please help me towards my $999,999 goal.
2/ Share this video and let my missing beard be your missing beard.
3/ Let’s meet back here in 2021 and do it together!

Quick Weekend Project: Drill Bit Block

A quick project for the workshop: Making a couple of drill bit blocks from some pine timber and using some olive oil to stain it.

I wanted a better solution for my drill bits – the plastic “home DIY” kit thing we bought 15+ years ago has actually done a decent job but it can be a bit fiddly and my olde eyes find it harder to read the numbers on it. Not to mention reading the numbers on the drill bits themselves. Plus it only caters to one of each sized drill bit – not always ideal.

For the video I used some basic pine timber offcuts I picked up at Bunnings for $2. I also used some olive oil to stain the drill blocks. As a “shop project” they probably don’t need finishing – but it was also a good experiment to use some of that timber and see how it came up using the oil as a stain / finish – I thought it looked great!

I’ve been using this now for a few months and it’s been a great addition to the workshop. Certainly helped organising my drill bits and being able to find the right size and special drill bits as needed. Good workshop storage solution.

Continue reading Quick Weekend Project: Drill Bit Block

Cleaning up leaky batteries / corroded battery terminal with household items. Battery disposal tips.

Cleaning up some old clocks that have been sitting out in the “Fix It Pile” in the shed for a while and came across some batteries that had leaked and corroded the terminals. So I wanted to show how easy it is to clean up and recover items if you have had a leaky battery in them.

(also – as far as I know, vinegar is just vinegar. No need to pay for “brand” on the label. I even found out my IGA is about 1/2 the price of the Coles brand)

The second clock didn’t quite work out – but it’s been pretty dodgy since it was given to us so I was pretty happy to get rid of it finally. So it was edited out and as such made the end a bit odd.

Hang around for the end to get my tips on disposing of old batteries.

Despite what I do / say in the video. When working with leaky batteries and battery acid corrosion – it’s probably not great to get it on your skin etc. Wear gloves / eye protection with this stuff.

Continue reading Cleaning up leaky batteries / corroded battery terminal with household items. Battery disposal tips.

Part 2: Montgomery 4 Shelf Metal Storage Unit. Shelf Build & Wall Attachment.

The second and final part of the final shelf builds for the studio. Overall really happy with the new storage in the studio room, I guess we have been living with it for a few months now between filming and posting this video and it’s been great to just walk in and find stuff fast.

In part 2 I show the new power boards I found for the room and explain why I picked them over some cheaper ones. The shelf build itself was pretty quick and easy – about 12-15 mins each. We try the supplied wall mount again…. and I show you the better way I worked out for actually attaching the shelves to the wall which was the whole reason for doing another set of shelf videos I think. Finally, we wrap with a look at how the whole project came out and compare to where we started

  • 0:00​ Start and new power boards.
  • 4:12​ Shelf build (time-lapse most of it)
  • 6:55​ Take 2 on using the supplied mount kit – and the clever new bit.
  • 13:45​ Review of the shelves and looking around our new space and storage.
Continue reading Part 2: Montgomery 4 Shelf Metal Storage Unit. Shelf Build & Wall Attachment.

Part 1: Montgomery 4 Shelf Metal Storage Unit, from Bunnings. Unboxing and some tips and ideas.

OK firstly – Hello :) Been ages since I have had the time to edit and upload a video. (don’t really have time now but it’s either this or do a uni assignment so…) Had loads of fun launching the channel a few months ago but got behind in everything else so had to take a “little break”. I’ve got about 6 or 7 videos recorded and ready to edit / publish, plus plenty of more ideas to come over the summer break – including a couple of new additions to the family for everyone to meet.

Wanted to do another shelf build incorporating all the ideas and mistakes made doing the first ones. In Part 1, I go over the unboxing of the Montgomery Shelves, connecting the sides with pins and brackets, and talk a bit more about anchoring these types of things to the wall securely.

And yes – I spelled Montgomery wrong in the new video title card….

Apologies for some of the sound in this video too. Kids were playing outside in the swimming pool, had a different audio setup along the way. But I think it came out OK. I did a course on iMovie a few months ago so hoping to work on those skills a bit over the holidays.

Continue reading Part 1: Montgomery 4 Shelf Metal Storage Unit, from Bunnings. Unboxing and some tips and ideas.

Packing Shelves, Hanging Mirror, plus Bonus Entertainment Feature!

Here I simply pack the shelf we have been building the last few days, as shown in the last couple of videos. What I didn’t know about until editing the video was the bonus entertainment feature… I’ll let you find out for yourself. Absolutely cracked me up.

Montgomery Shelf Unboxing & Build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9×554…

Hanging Picture with a Fork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1267…

Continue reading Packing Shelves, Hanging Mirror, plus Bonus Entertainment Feature!

Attaching a DIY shelf unit to a plasterboard wall. Parts 1, 2 and 3.

How NOT to attach a shelf to a wall… followed by How TO attach a shelf to a wall…

Here I explain how I attach the Bunnings Montgomery shelf I assembled earlier to a plasterboard wall. This is really important as many kids and adults get severely injured or die each year from accidents involving pulling shelves and bookcases down on top of themselves.

As you will see in the video – it doesn’t go so well the first time using the provided kit that came with the shelf. But I’ll let you discover why – as I did watching this video back and seeing the mistake.

Ultimately you can do this fairly easily for about $2-$3 a shelf and takes 10-15 minutes. So really there is no excuse to not secure things like this. Actually in a future video I have planned I have an even easier way to do this for other types of shelving or if its already in place and full.

I also cover the basics of using a stud finder.

This is Part 4 of our Studio update series. Keep watching till the end for a surprise visitor!

  • 0:00​ – Part One: Using the included shelf kit.
  • 6:00​ – Part Two: Ruh Roh.
  • 7:45​ – Part Three: Using the Ramset Wall Anchor
Continue reading Attaching a DIY shelf unit to a plasterboard wall. Parts 1, 2 and 3.

Unboxing the Ryobi Cordless Impact Driver

Unboxing of Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Impact Driver R18ID1-0 – skin only.

Took some time off from the shelf build to do a quick unboxing of the Ryobi cordless impact driver I will be using. Picked this up from Bunnings late last year but haven’t had an excuse to use it yet.

Talked about the difference between a regular drill and an impact driver, as well as brushless motors and their advantages. Added some links below which you might find useful.

Continue reading Unboxing the Ryobi Cordless Impact Driver