Hi Tammi,

That is exactly the rubberband I used. I save those because I never know when I am going to need to use one. I slipped the rubberband around the column and positioned it over the screw head. I will also say that I had put some oil on it earlier because it wasn't budging. Then I put the screwdriver into the screwhead that had the rubberband over it and tried unscrewing it. It worked! So maybe it was the combination of oiling it AND the rubberband trick? Either way, I was a happy girl.

Gail

Archaic, thanks for the link.

Gail, Some of us ssssssooooooooo need a picture of how you did it.

Hahahaha Miriam, I promise to take one or two this evening when I get home from work and post them. I was so proud of myself, I about broke my own hand patting myself on the back.

Gail

I tried that same wide rubberband today around a collar type screw holding a light switch in the headpiece of my White sewing machine. It was stuck tight and neither hubby nor I could get it to budge even after Liquid Wrench. I didn't want to scar it up with a wrench so I wrapped it with a rubberband and carefully used a wrench watching it all the while to be sure it was actually moving. It worked! Thanks for the idea!

Pictures of the Rubberband Trick
 

The first attachment is the face plate. The problem screw head was the lower one. The second picture is the face plate with the rubber band over the screw head.

Christy, I am so glad this worked for you. The idea was sent to me in an email from a friend regarding clever household tips. Since I was having problems with that darn screw head, I thought I would try it. It worked like a charm.

And I swear I flipped those two pictures before I attached them. :-p

Gail

The longer the cord, and the smaller the guage, you can waste some power in the form of heat. More of a concern with higher power items, like the iron, a hair dryer, a heater, a microwave or toaster, etc. Small items like non-commercial sewing machines, light bulbs , etc aren't usually adding up to enough to cause a problem. A 15 amp breaker, you can multiply times the 120 volts and get what the Maximum load can be to trip the CB. But you wouldnt really want to load that heavily, maybe half that.

Where I work there are several 4 square drop boxes to put them down where you can reach. Basically they are metal boxes large enough for 2 double outlets, hanging from junction boxes, with a strain relief at each end of the SJ cord between them.

I've been doing a lot of soldering lately and am tired of my helping hands's alligator clips biting too tightly into the wire insulation and making holes or deforming it. I cut the hem part off an old T-shirt I am using as a rag and wrap it around the wire before clipping it. That pads it just enough to keep those nasty teeth from damaging the wire. The only time I don't use this method now is when using the clip as a holder and a heat sink when re-wiring a motor.

Good tip! I do silver brazing as part of my job, so my fingers are used to heat. I hold onto em. This does sound eadier tho, have to admit! (my fingers move things if due to heating they start to come apart. I dont recommend it. ;-)