The tip on using super glue to place hinges before nailing was good, but be sure to put only the smallest amount possible on the edges farthest from the actual hinge. I have gotten glue inside of the swivel and that is the end of THAT hinge, especially the little mini ones!

Bonnie Gibson

Basic tools: Usually, a 'basic' miniaturist's tool box will have the following items:

small scissors (for paper and/or fabric)
a 6-12" metal ruler (metal is my personal choice; better accuracy than the wooden ones)
pencil
notepad
sharp-pointed tweezers (curved or straight ends, whichever works best for you)
an X-Acto (brand; also called 'craft knives') knife with #11 blades (this being the 'standard' size for most minis work)
some toothpicks (good for all sorts of gluing jobs, etc.)
some misc. grades of sandpaper
some craft glue (I like Bond brand, Instant Gripp, but a lot of us use Aleene's Tacky - in the gold bottle)
maybe some small clothespins (great clamps)
some sewing needles (along with some white thread, usually)
a small pair of pliers
a small wire cutter (or a decent nail clipper)
maybe even a small hammer
a couple of decent, fine-line paintbrushes
a 'junk' brush for spreading glue
I try to keep a zip-lock bag with Baby Wipes around, to clean off my fingers, get glue/paint off tweezers, and stuff like that.

Laura

Paintbrushes: Since it is so hard to find paint brushes small enough for some of our work, I buy the smallest I can find then cut off all but a hair or two.

Pat

Styrofoam glue: I saw a special glue just for styrofoam at Pearl Art and Craft.  I tried to find their web site but couldn't access it.  Maybe you have a store near you, but there IS a glue that is just for styrofoam.

Judy

Cutting moldings: When you place the molding in the miter box, place the part of the molding that goes against the floor or ceiling against the back (upright) part of the miter box.  It also depends of whether you are cutting an inside corner or an outside one.  One is cut with the wood to the left of the slot, the other with the wood to the right of it.  I have my miter box marked with masking tape to remind me which way to place the wood but don't have the box with me so can't tell you which is which.  Experiment with plain stripwood to determine the correct way to save wasting any more molding.

Rose

Kemper Double-Ball Stylus: I discovered a wonderful modification through Maritta Rucker (Nimble Fingers) when I bought a couple of her kits a few years ago. With a Dremel (or similar rotary tool) and a grinding attachment, gently grind down one end to a point.  USE PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR, Please!   Lightly smooth that point just a bit with a nail file, emery board, whatever.   You'll have a great 'veining' tool for flower leaves, and still have one end for shaping flower petals, too.  Maritta 'pointed' the smaller ball-end in her kits.

Laura

Bandsaw: Have fun with your bandsaw.  I have had one for 20 years and am on my second motor.  I use mine for rough cutting woodcarving blanks and fast cutoffs.  You can do lots of things on it including rough ripping blocks of wood into mini thicknesses.  Be sure your guide is adjusted as low as possible towards your work to keep the blade from "traveling" and cutting crooked.

When cutting an angle, you piece stays flat on the table even if the table is tilted.   You just can't move the blade on a bandsaw so they fixed it to move the table instead. I didn't really understand what you were trying to do with your twigs, write me privately and maybe we can figure it out together.  And by the way, it IS a good idea to keep your fingers away from the blade...LOL.

Bonnie

Cutting Circles: You can get a hole saw to cut your circles. This resembles nothing as much as a nest of cookie cutters! Maybe six or seven round, toothed 'cups' in various diameters, which attach to an electric drill. Perfect for making birdhouses, openings for Housework's attic windows, etc. The one I have belonged to my dad, but you can ask at Home Depot or such. "Adjusting the guide"...Let me see if we can do this with drawing pictures! The blade on my band saw (a Skillcraft) comes down through a sort of box that has a sticker on it "Warning: Keep fingers Away From Blade". This 'box' can be moved up and down by loosening and tightening a knob on the back of the saw; if I want to cut a 1/2 inch board, I can raise the guide, and if I am working on thin stuff, I can drop it to within a quarter inch of the table.  Check the instruction book, as your saw is probably set up differently, but the idea is the less space you have, the less play or wobble there will be in the blade.

Dani

Precautions: I agree, you should NEVER, NEVER use a steel saw blade in a Dremel for a freehand cut. There are trim and rip saws out there that use Dremel tools as a power source, and you can be very accurate and get a square cut with them. They involve putting the Dremel into rather elaborate jig and clamping it down to the table. Then the tool stays still while the wood is controlled with your hands and moves past the blade. Bob Scott makes them, I believe, and I have seen him at the Seattle Show. Anker Rasmussen used to make them, but he has retired. Dean Jensen of Rainbow Designs took over a number of the things Anker used to make, but I don't know if he continued with the trim and rip saws. His address is RainbowDJ@AOL.com. I don't know Bob Scott's e-mail address but check with Helen at MindStorm helen@mindstorm-inc.com

If you want to use the Dremel freehand, it is great for engraving, sanding, grinding and other applications that do not involve a steel blade. However, remember that the tool can move up to 30,000 RPM, and when it gets too close to a corner can catch and either hurt you, or damage your piece. Practice with scrap - it's the only way to learn how.

Jeanne

Eyescrews: Someone asked about small eyescrews.   MicroMart has them in their catalog.

Another person talked about trying to crochet and having the DMC floss coil. This solution works for doing cross stitching - which is to thread your needle with floss and before making the "waste knot",  run the needle and floss through a sheet of laundry anti static material.  It works like a charm and gives off a nice scent.   Perhaps it would work with crocheting also.

Jeanette

Cutting Plexiglass: Use a table saw to cut plexiglass but apply a cutting and drilling fluid to the blade first. Caution: unplug the saw before applying the fluid. The fluid is sold by tool supply shops.

June

If I could only have one saw it would be a band saw. I love its smooth cuts and make lots of furniture with it. Micromart has a really nice one in its new catalog for not much more than a good scroll saw.

Sue Thwaite

Cutting Plexiglass: I have always used a power saw for this - either a band saw or a jig saw. You have to remove the 'fuzz' from the edge, but it comes off without even using sandpaper. There are folks who score it - with an X-acto knife, I guess - and then snap it along a straight edge, but since I have the saw I go ahead and use it, as it is quick and easy.

Dani Rice

Cutting Plexiglass: cut plexiglass using one of two tools: Use a corkbacked ruler and
1) a sharp exacto knife or
2) an inexpensive plexiglass cutter purchased in the hardware store

The method is the same.  Score the plexi on several passes, cutting deeper with each pass until you are about half way through.  Then break the plexi on the line by placing the cut line on the edge of a table, and pressing down on the plexi until it snaps.  It takes some pressure, but if it doesn't break with reasonable force, score some more!

Roz Weitzman

Cat's Whiskers Paint Brushes: Seriously.   Cats shed their whiskers just as they moult the rest of their fur.  Any shed whiskers I notice lying around when doing the housework (NB if done rarely enough this becomes an intriguing experience as opposed to a bore), I collect and keep in a box. Whiskers become the finest paintbrush you will ever have, excellent for mini painting on ceramics, pictures, bird's eggs, toys etc etc, when the finest detail is required.

Never remove one before it's ready to fall.  Cats use their whiskers to navigate the world, and are lost without them.

Helen Cottrell

Hemostats - long skinny clamps with handles like a pair of scissors - are also very useful for turning doll sleeves or placing objects into a room without knocking over everything else. Sometimes, factory seconds can be purchased for a few dollars. The nice long wooden handles in cotton swabs are good for curtain and closet rods, too.

Dani Rice

Scroll Saws: After burning out two Dremel saws, I turned to a Delta scroll saw purchased at Home Depot. With the Delta, you can get a spiral saw blade that permits cutting in all directions.

Olivia

Rulers: MicroMark has several rulers with the slots that you can place your pencil in for exact measurements. Go to their web site at http://www.micromark.com and order their catalog online, or order direct from the web.

Also, a quick way to measure 1/12 scale, get a ruler with pica markings. One "line" equals one inch. Any place with supplies for printers has them, as this is a printer's measure.

Olivia

Mitre / Miter Cutters: Brooke Tucker recommends a hand held mitre cutter. I purchased the German made one and it is pricey and so are the replacement blades but what a wonderful tool! Since then I've found you can get one that is just as good and A LOT less money and the replacement blades are a 1/4 the cost of the German one and YES, the quality is the same. You can get them from Lee Valley tools. They have a web site. I think it's www.leevalley.com - just request their hand held mitre cutter. They have free catalogues too and are well known throughout Canada for quality. They ship internationally also.

Debi

Hand Held Mitre Cutters: squashing wood - Is your blade dull perhaps? Mine cuts neatly and finely. If you are cutting a piece that has a lip on it - like picture molding - you need to put a small piece of wood the same size as the cut out bit, under it to support it when you cut. That way it doesn't crush or break off.

Debi