Broken Leg on Furniture: I use Superglue gel, not the plain Superglue but the gel. I get it in Wal-mart and it's very reasonably priced.

Carol

Broken Leg on Furniture: I always peg a leg by inserting a small dressmaker's pin, then cutting it off with my wire cutters, or on larger pieces I use a thin toothpick. This provides additional strength in a joint that has been damaged. I use the smallest amount of glue I can apply (usually with the tip of a pin). Be sure to wipe away any glue that oozes out of the repair. I brace the repaired leg by taping with stencil tape to allow it to dry. Stencil tape or painter's tape will not damage surfaces or finishes and removes without a deposit of sticky stuff. I have never had a leg separate again after applying it this way.

Becky

I glue cording onto upholstered furniture with ordinary tacky glue and a toothpick. You must use the glue sparingly so it doesn't show, but even if it does, it dries almost clear. And as I've learned from later trying to remove the cording, it sticks really well.

Pat Molyneaux

Staining and Gluing: Try taping the glued surface before staining. Tiny strips of masking tape will work fairly well. Even normal Scotch tape helps. The stain will get under the edges a bit, but most of the wood will remain dry. When totally dry, remove the tape and glue as normal.

Judie

Chrysnbon kits- I buy these to use in "quicky" or inexpensive projects, because dollar for dollar they are the best looking and most affordable minis you can find. I use the individual pieces in a lot of vignette settings.

I often kit bash with them to make them different and I tend to paint them instead of using their stains. One TIP: use the liquid "plastic weld" type cement instead of the the glue that comes in tubes. You assemble the joint, and just touch with a bit of the liquid which will spread by itself. It melts and fuses the plastic without the messy strings and globs you get with the tube type cement.

Bonnie Gibson

Regluing Tape: I use Quick Grab to reglue the tape. We never bother to prime our houses.  If the house is made of very porous wood, a "spit coat" of diluted shellac (add 3 to 5 parts alcohol - denatured, not good scotch) will seal it nicely.

Tom

Wiring Foam Core: I hard-wired my half scale house. The house is shown on p.58 of the current issue of Dolls House and Miniature Scene Magazine (website is www.emfpublishing.co.uk). The problem is how to get the wire through the walls. For this I used a long drill bit which I believe is called an "aircraft extension" for some reason. It is an 1/8"bit with a long shaft, probably about 6". I used a cordless drill which is not as powerful as a corded one, and drilled through the foam wherever I wanted a wire to go. If the wall or ceiling is held up to the light, the path of the drill can be seen. In my house all the wires exit the walls or ceilings under the staircase where they are hooked up to barrier strips, and the lead-in wire joins on the other side of the strip.

As for fire, it is not any more dangerous than plywood. Regular Foamcore, which is covered with a paper, might be dangerous to wire. Gatorfoam is covered with a plaster-like material. If two wires do not touch it is unlikely there would be a fire. To add more wire to a lamp or bulb, for instance, stagger the solder joints. By this I mean to cut one wire shorter than the other and that will mean the joints are not near each other. Then insulate the joint. This can be done using silicone sealer to surround the joint, or use shrink tubing from an electronic supplier. Use a transformer that is rated for the number of bulbs being used. Count a fluorette bulb as 3 bulbs. If the transformer is not rated as having a thermal protector then it is safer to install a fuse holder in one wire of the lead-in wire.

My house was shown in La Musee de la Civilisation in Quebec City for a year with the lights on all day six days a week and only two burned out in that time. At least, I presume they are burned out as I haven't had an opportunity to check them.

June

Ott Light: If you want just the task light, Office Depot carries them for I think, $39.00 If you want the true color light, checkout Hofcraft at http://www.hofcraft.com they are the cheapest I could find at $59.00 For an explanation of the difference between the lights go to http://www.stitchers-paradise.com I recently saw the one with the magnifying glass at the A.C.Moore store for $99, so other craft stores may carry them also.

Rose Stout

Brads & Tools: A brad is the same as a nail only much smaller and a brad awl is a tool to make a very small hole for the brad to go into. When I'm doing electrical I take a very small piece of bond paper about the a l" x 1/2" and I put a tiny hole in the center or near the end then I make a slit from the hole out. I place my brad into the little hole in the paper then I put it in the hole where my electrical is going to be then after tapping it in with the hammer very lightly I then pull the paper where I made the slit and then bang my brad the rest of the way down.

Patti

Leaded Windows: Oh my, there are a gazillion ways to do this. It just depends on the effect you are looking for and the materials you have available. Here are a couple of ways to get you started.

Diamond leaded glass windows: Go to your nearest Golfer's Store where they sell and repair golf clubs, and buy a roll of the peel and stick lead tape they use to weight clubs. Don't worry, they'll know what you are talking about. Use a cork-backed ruler and a sharp knife to cut strips of the lead the width you desire for your leading. Make 2-3 passes with the knife to cut each strip so that it does not curl up on you. Put a piece of clear acetate (from a bubble pack, a report cover, etc.) bigger than your proposed window, over a diamond grid and tape it down so it won't move. Peel the backing paper from the lead strips and apply to the acetate, following the grid lines. When grid is finished, cut out your window and set it in your door. You can fill the grid with transparent glass stains if you wish.

Using Glass Paint Leading available in craft departments and stores: This is better for free-form designs than the lead tape which hates to make tight curves. Gallery Glass seems to be the most common brand but there are several. If the brand you get has a tip that makes a thin line, you can use it "as is" to follow the grid or design for your window, then fill in the design after it dries with the transparent glass stains. Otherwise, make a new tip with Scotch tape (cellophane tape) as follows: (this works also for glue bottles and other dispensers with chunky "^" shaped tips. Don't get frustrated with this, give it a few tries and you'll get it. It really works but I can't use my hands to show you exactly!)

Place about a 3-4" piece of tape against the tip of the bottle at just a slight angle off from straight up and down. Smooth the tape to the tip where it sort of curves around the tip. Keeping your smoothing finger in place, turn the bottle so the tape continues to wrap around onto itself. It will form a skinny, pointed tip - keep going - it will eventually start to wrap back down toward the bottle, making a skinny, tiny new tip. If the opening is too small nip off the end with scissors or close it up by pinching it. This tip is very handy as a disposable glue or glitter tip.

Sammy Smith

I make all my curtain rods this way. I suggest that you DO purchase a mini tube cutter. I have wasted a lot of frustrating time trying to get a clean cut without mashing the ends! *grin*
You can find a small, adjustable one at a home store, like Home Depot, in the plumbing supply aisle. It will cut very narrow tubing with just a spin! It is inexpensive and will be worth it.

Leslie

Cutting Plexiglass: From your local hardware store - Plaskolite CUTTER for acrylic sheeting or contact Plaskolite, Inc. 1770 Joyce Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43219. This is a hand held tool similar to an Xacto knife. Inexpensive and easy to use. Directions suggest, " Line up CUTTER with straight edge and press to score the material. Score sheet 3 times for best results."

Becky

Glue: We had to add our 2 cents worth to the glue discussion. Of course there are many ways to glue up a piece of miniature furniture. For full size furniture we use the yellow glue, but for the little "stuff" we recommend using SOBO glue.  The main advantage is that it can be easily removed with a wet toothpick.  Even the most careful person may get glue where you do not want it.  Pieces assembled wrong and this happens all the time in  workshops, can be taken apart up to an hour after the wrongful assembly.  Once the glue has set up and dried for a day the joints are very strong. We have never had a piece come apart on it's own.  We have been making miniature furniture for 20 years now and we also live on the Gulf Coast of Texas, a very humid place.  This even includes unfinished pieces such as scale solid teak outdoor furniture.

SOBO also works the best in the Judee/Nicole glue bottles with the fine tips.  The discussion of whether to stain first, before glue, is very fine if you do not make an assembly error.  Then if you have to sand, then you have to restain and then there are more problems.  You can always wax a piece for the finish but you still have to be careful of the glue, as wax will not cover the glue spot either.

Gary W. Elmer

Cutting Brick: The best tool for cutting mini bricks is an "end nipper" or end cutter. You can find them at most hardware stores.  Just place the brick between the jaws  (at any postion you like) and squeeze.

Tom Berkner

Cutting Brick: I am now an expert brick cutter (as well as maker and layer). The easiest way I found was with a tile nipper.  It is like a pliers with C-shaped head, flat across and sharpened.  Bad description but I haven't had my coffee yet.  If you really must cut them with a saw, you could use cut-off wheels and a dust mask (don't want to breathe that stuff!) and either way you may lose a few.  Earth & Trees/Tom has a great mortar to put between the bricks - I just got some and it was perfect.

Jacqui in Hilo, HI

Cutting Brick: I was able to cut my bricks for a herringbone pattern sidewalk with a wire cutter, the kind that looks and works like a pliers. Just position the brick in the cutter at angle you desire, and the brick snapped in two at just the right place.  This may not work with every kind of brick available, but worked great with the bricks from Hobby Builder Supply.

Dean Jenson

Cutting Brick: According to what type of bricks you are using, cutting them varies. Fired bricks are very hard and the suggestion of using tile nippers is an excellent way to cut. If you are using bricks cast of dense plaster, they cut easily by scoring with a craft knife. The bricks that I use are of the cast type and they are exactly to scale (5/32" thick x 9/32" wide x 5/8" long). That equates to 2" x 3-1/4" x 7-1/2" in scale which is very close to a common brick. These bricks are available from most miniature stores that buy from Dee's Delights. They are made by a man in Vermont who also makes cast chimneys, fireplaces and steps. I have laid many thousands of them in the past year and find they are as realistic as possible although it takes a lot of patience laying one at a time. I use 1/32" spacing between individual bricks and between courses, which equate to a 3/8" mortar joint in full size.

Garry Cosine In Lakes Region of NH

To glue net to wool (and many other odd fabric combinations as well as plastics and leathers) try Fabritac, available in most fabric stores, WalMart etc.

Alice Zinn in Pt. St. Lucie FL

Removing Glue: Kay Gale had a question about removing dried Carpenters glue from a polished coffee table top.

There are lots of adhesives that fall under the banner of "carpenter glues".

Common White Elmer’s Glue- or poly vinyl acetate (pva) can be removed while it is still moist, with just warm water. After it is dried, white glue is still very susceptible to moisture and heat. You could try a damp paper towel that has been microwaved hot (PLEASE be careful when handling) and trying to soften the glue for a few moments. Then use a blunt paint scraper to try and GENTLY lift the glue's edge. Once the edge starts, the whole blob should quickly follow.

Yellow Glue, or aliphatic resin- is another matter. While it is not yet fully dried, yellow glue can be removed quite readily with water. Once it has had a few hours to dry ( it will look dark orange) water doesn't have much affect on it. Since this glue blob is on a finished table top, I assume that the surface is either varnished or waxed. This is good because the glue won't have  as much of a purchase on the table's surface. If you have a blow dryer, set it on it's lowest setting and heat the glue for just a minute. We are looking for dry heat in this instance. Please be careful to only do this for a very short time, you don't want to soften the finish that the glue is on! (then you WILL have to refinish!) Take a blunt scraper of some sort-  a paint scraper that isn't sharp would be fine, and gently try to pry the edge up. Once the edge starts, the rest will follow.

Yellow glue is very tough once it has dried, please be careful when using any tools that you don't get hurt as you try to lift the blob. If you think that the glue blob is just too big for this to work, you may have to resort to sanding it off, but I don't recommend this because few people are adept enough with a sander to not scar the surface under the glue.

Brian Poor

Removing Glue From Magnets: A hair dryer set on high, directed at the magnet for several minutes, worked  for me.

Rose