You have many ways to create strong joint between wood pieces

When joining pieces of wood together, there are some choices to make. Some of the options depend upon what tools you have and the size of the wood involved. You also need to consider the use of the joined wood.

One good, basic way to join pieces of wood together is with a nail or two. That's easy enough to do, and the only tools it requires are a hammer and nail.

Some people prefer to use screws, thinking that they form a tighter, more secure bond. If you use screws and a screwdriver, you might want to pre-drill the hole to make turning it in easier.

You can join two pieces of wood together with a third piece. Many times, this is done when you don't want to have exposed hardware or you have a difficult corner joint to deal with. In this case, the two pieces of wood are both joined to the third with nails or screws. This also can be accomplished with a metal bracket rather than wood.

Using dowels installed into both pieces of wood to bind them together also creates a strong joint. You can pre-drill the holes, glue the ends of the dowel into the holes and clamp the two pieces of wood together. In many cases, more than one dowel is used.

A similar joint can be made with biscuits. No, not the flaky kind, but the type made of wood and a special biscuit joiner. The biscuit is a small, oval piece of wood that is glued into the holes created in both pieces of wood to be joined.

Mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints are longtime favorites but require special tools and take some practice. Still, with precision tools, they are super techniques.

And, of course, there's duct tape and bailing wire. But we don't recommend these very often.

Safe siphon

It's magic! You may know that you can siphon liquid from a container by putting a hose into it, sucking on the end until the liquid has filled the hose and then placing the end of the hose into the draining area. There is another way, and it won't taste bad or poison you. Just place the hose end entirely in the liquid and allow it to completely fill and eliminate all of the air. Then place your finger over one end, leave the other end in the liquid to be drained and put the end you're holding into the draining area. When you remove your finger, the liquid will start to run out, pulling the rest of it as it does. Make sure your drain pan or area is lower than the original container.

Quick clamp

If you don't have the right clamp for a job, make one from a couple of scraps of wood and a couple of nuts and bolts. The two pieces of wood act as the "teeth" of your clamp. Drill holes through both of the pieces of wood in two places for the bolts to run through. Extra-long bolts might be required, depending on what you are clamping. The two scraps of wood will be placed on either side of the item to be clamped, and the bolts run through both of them. The nuts go on the bolts and are tightened to add pressure to the new "clamp."

Super hints

• To clean your outdoor air-conditioning coils, try using a blower or vacuum to get at the debris. Sometimes it can't be reached any other way and must be removed for efficient operation.

• Our closets are not very large, and we have clothes that need to be stored in the off-season. Rather than pack things in boxes, we installed some closet racks in our attic area. They went up with screws and brackets, and the clothes are put into dry-cleaner bags to protect them. They are safe, out of the way and easy to get to when we are ready for them.

• When painting over screws, loosen them halfway, then paint. Then screw them back into place. The screw will be painted but not sealed with paint forever.

Q. My carpet is coming loose in a corner. I am afraid the whole thing will start coming up soon. How can I stick it back in place?

A. If you have tack strips along the edges of your floor under the carpet, place it back into the corner and use pliers to pull the carpet back over the tack strips. If you don't, then you can use double-sided tape to hold the carpet in place. Make sure the subfloor and carpet backing are clean before using the tape.

Q. How can I get a large grease stain off my garage floor? It is from my car, but I have no idea what it is.

A. Pour mineral spirits paint thinner over the grease stain and use a brush to help dissolve the grease with the solvent. Thoroughly saturate the grease with the paint thinner, and then cover the mess with clay cat litter and give it plenty of time to absorb the grease. Sweep or vacuum it all up. Repeat if necessary. This will work on oil, grease, gas, brake fluid, antifreeze and a variety of other car liquids.

Q. Our garage isn't attached to our home, but we have a workshop as well as storage for our cars and tractor. How can we add heat and air to this structure without spending a fortune?

A. Adding insulation and weatherstripping would be a smart thing to do before adding any type of cooling or heating appliance. A room air conditioner, either the type that fits into a window or wall, or a free-standing unit, would be a practical choice. Some have heaters built in as well, and this would be a good choice for a small area.

Reader tips

• I have tried your trick of using beer in a plate to catch slugs in flower beds. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't. I had heard that cucumbers also would work as a deterrent, so I tried them. I put a few slices around the flower bed, and it really works. The smell drives them away, and doesn't bother me at all. I really like using natural methods rather than some insecticides. Plus, I save money doing it this way.

• I have a small fishing boat, and my son and I love to get in it on the weekends. I worry when I have to leave it in a parking lot or anywhere for too long, because I don't want to lose my equipment to thieves. I tied my tackle box, gas can and other loose items to the boat with small, heavy-duty cable. It's not burglar-proof, but as close as I can get. Plus, if it ever sinks or flips over, my stuff still will be hanging around.

• My leaf blower has been getting worse every time I use it. This last time, I just gave up and got the broom out. My wife suggested I try the shop vacuum - not to vacuum it up, but in reverse, to blow it out. I tried it, and although it's not as good as a regular leaf blower, it does work. I used it to clean up most of the leaves and grass in the front yard. I had to sweep the drive, but the rest was easier with the reverse-vacuum cleaner.

• Our new house is great, but we had a problem when we moved the refrigerator in: The door opened on the wrong side. I found out that you can easily correct this. The doors almost always are easily switched. You just remove the hinges and put them on the other side. The door handle gets switched too, and that's all you have to do. To find out if yours offers this feature, go to the manufacturer's website.

• I love to paint, and usually wear flip-flops because they are easy to clean afterward. When they broke, I realized I was down to my last pair. I didn't want to go barefoot, so I put on my sneakers and then put on a pair of old socks over them. The socks would catch any drips, and I always have drips. I just threw the socks away afterward, and the sneakers looked fine.

Shop talk

• You can get more heat or air into a conditioned space by adjusting the registers in that room. But if you have to do it a lot or the registers are on the ceiling or some other place that is hard to reach, you might take a look at the Activent. It's a battery-operated, thermostatically controlled register cover that takes care of itself. Since it runs on batteries, there is no wiring required. A small, wireless thermostat controls the vent or a series of vents to keep your home more comfortable and save you money on energy bills. To find out more, please visit the company online at www.theactivent.com. The vents come in a variety of sizes to fit most ducts, and they install very easily.

• A new robotic floor cleaner is now available for hard-surface floors. It's not a vacuum cleaner, like you may have seen. The Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner uses popular cleaning cloths like the ones for the Swiffer and Pledge mops. It has several different modes to get even the nastiest dirt off your floor, and you don't have to lift a finger. The battery is rechargeable and will run for two to three hours. To see the Mint in action and find a dealer, go to www.mintcleaner.com.

• Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or visit the Carrells' website at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2010, Cowles Syndicate Inc.