Looks like a trip to HF. Awesome find.

great ! thank you i need to get me a set of those

HF has some neat stuff. I've gotten nice 3" and 6" mechanics' parts trays (magnetic, perfect for pins, etc.) as well as lovely scroll saw books, which have perfect patterns for many applique uses, especially baby quilts. My sewing parts cabinet is from there as well.

I use chenille stems with a drop of TriFlow on it - they're bendable, so you can reach around in tiny places. :)

I am a Harbor Freight junkie. :D The last time I was there, I got a bunch of ratchet clamps for $1.00 each. They're meant to hold things together, or clamp something down to a tabletop. I'm going to use mine as a "fence" the next time I'm quilting - apply them to the edge of the table to keep the puddled-up quilt from sliding off the table.

Those magnetic pin dishes are the bomb for holding pins or parts - and if you have to take the tiny screws out of your bobbin case, do it over one of these empty dishes so the screw won't get lost.

The wand magnets are a must have. (For when you take the screws out of your bobbin case without something underneath that will catch the screw. ;) )

A mechanic's stethoscope, so when you're refurbing an old machine, you can pinpoint the source of a grinding noise or a click or a thump.

Acid brushes for scrubbing with acetone or denatured alcohol. I usually cut the bristles down on these to make them "scrubbier."

HF is such a great place! :)

Totally agree! Just walking in and smelling that place makes me happy. Reminds me of my grandfather's shop when I was a child.

Would of never known, they had those. Next time, I get to Davenport, Ia, I'll stop and get me 1. THANKS FOR the INFO. Don-isewman

I'll have to try those to get the fuzzies out

Oh my dh will roll his eyes one more time when I tell him I got to stop by Harbor Freight! Of course, I got to get this!
He never buys anything there, but me I am on their mailing list. Don't forget your 20% coupon and free gift of scissors or little flashlight,etc. One of their little perks.

I need to check those out. Let us know how good they work.

Harbor Freight has some great stuff... I had not even thought of using those for cleaning out my machine. I use a children's paint brush - and I have a hand held vacuum with tiny attachments to suck out the fuzz...
My last trip to HF was a nice one... I left with a wheeled utility cart for taking my machine and bags of stuff to and from the car when I go to my sewing groups... for $33 I am now able to make one trip instead of two or three! I love my cart :)

Those look really useful, thanks for sharing.

FYI, I read somewhere that canned air is bad for sewing machines as it blows the lint into places you cannot reach to clean.

[QUOTE=Prissnboot;5415284]would you be able to clean out a mascara brush and use that? It would have a nice sized handle to make it easier to hold onto...[/QUO

Yep. That's what I use. Works great!

I find pipe cleaners work well for cleaning the lint from my machine. :)

What/where is Harbor Freight?

Hardware store, a lot of us quilters are finding some great tools we use in our sewing rooms. You can check their store locator on their website.

http://www.harborfreight.com/

I use a nickle to take my feed dog plate off with works perfect.

I used to use a penny but struggled with the grip. Then I found a set of stubby little screwdrivers at *drumroll please* Harbor Freight! They stand at 1.5" tall and have a wide handle that is easy to grasp. There are 2, one Phillips head, one standard head, and I think I paid all of $.99 for them.

I thought I was a weird one for wanting to wander around Harbor Freight looking at stuff. Lots of plastic storage boxes. Little small clamps that are good for closing bags of chips. Those little small brushes would be good for cleaning out the holes in our hummingbird feeders. We have lots and lots of hummingbirds.

pic of my stubby Harbor Freight screwdriver. Sorry for the icky cell phone pic.

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