Gluing Glass: To glue something to glass, drop into your local auto supply store and get the glue that is used to adhere the rear view mirror to the glass windshield. Good stuff and not too costly. No roughening the glass required.

Bob

Gluing Agate: The lapidary shops and Lapidary Journal magazine suggest using two part epoxy to glue agates into settings, so that would probably be your best bet for the little agate tables.

Tere Perry

Cutting Tubing: I bought a very inexpensive tubing cutter made by KS engineering (same company that makes the brass and aluminum tubing you see in hobby shops).It has a circular blade on one side. You slide your tubing in, tighten a thumb screw up to the tubing and then rotate the tubing.You may have to retighten the screw once, but the tubing snaps off perfectly every time, even the soft aluminum stuff.I use mine a lot and find it much easier than sawing. I cut zillions of pieces of brass tubing to make the mini marimba in the percussion studio, and it worked great.

Bonnie Gibson - Tuscon, AZ

Gluing Agate: I would suggest using a little dab of 100 percent silicone glue at each corner or a line on all points of contact. Thick stuff so kind of hard to use sparingly, but worth the effort as no roughing up and thus marring the finish. Plus, if you decide to remove it in the future, it will just peel right off.

Debbie

Gluing Agate: Jack Blackham suggests three dots of white glue to attach his marble to furniture so I assume it would be the same for agate.

June

Oily Rag Disposal: I have learned in industry to dispose of all oily rags in fireproof containers. I use the wood stove but a coffee can with water in it will work as well. Some oils will just evaporate, some will spontaneously combust if all conditions are just right. Please don't take a chance and treat all oily rags and papers as if they might cause a fire. Not worth taking a risk.

Pete

Roo Glue: It is now available from: Sandy's Lace & Trim, 7417 N. Knoxville, Peoria, IL 61614 (309)689-1943 www.sandyslace.com Or from your favorite miniature store.

Dean Jenson

Tacky vs. Elmers Glue: A question was asked about Tacky and Elmers and can they be interchanged. On some things the answer is yes on others no. Tacky and Sobo dry flexible, while Elmers dries brittle. So, if you want the joint to be rigid it is best to use a glue that stays rigid. If you want to have a connection that can take the wobbles then use Tacky. Also Tacky is thicker so it doesn't run or bleed through on some materials. You don't want to use Tacky on a butt joint for a piece of furniture for instances as it would have give to it.

Shannon Moore

Gluing Agate: I used regular tacky glue for a stone tabletop - a rectangular sheet of sky-blue swirly stone on a plain wood table It's held for 2 years, and moved 25 miles, without falling apart.

Tacky vs. Elmers Glue: The Thomases' taught us to use regular Elmers glue for gluing all of the parts of their projects. I personally like tacky for everything because it is thicker and grabs faster, and they can be interchanged.

Roz Weitzman

What You Can Buy At The Hardware Store

1. A Dremel rotary tool with accessories: One I saw had 72 accessories for about $70 and another with 30 accessories for about $50.

2. Sanders, grinders, cutting wheels and drill bits in every size and shape were about $3-$10.

3. Utility knives and blades for under $10.

4. Small precision screwdrivers for about $4.

5. Small vises - small clamps or a light duty bench vise for under $13.

6. C-Clamps - small 2" ones start about $2.

7. Quick Grip Clamps are adjustable in small sizes for about $9.

8. Power Sanders start at about $30 or a contour sander for about $80.

9. Sandpaper - Another thing you can never have enough of. Focus on the fine and extra fine grades, or choose an assortment with a little bit of each.

10. Glue - No matter how much we have, it's never the right kind. Small tubes of wood glue, contact cement, epoxy, super glue, household cement, etc. will always be welcome.

11. Glue Gun - Extra glue sticks or glue gun holder.

12. Masking Tape - Yet another thing we can never have enough of. Buy an assortment, from wide to narrow.

13. Stair Treads - make great asphalt driveways.

14. Nuts & Bolts - make great table legs, findings for lamps, etc.

15. Formica Kitchen Samples - great countertops or if you have access to a saw - can be cut in squares for flooring.

16. Paint Chips - mat board for pictures, also flooring and counter tops.

17. Of course, paint and paintbrushes.

18. Also, near holidays they have mini decorations, Dept. 56 items, trees, etc.

19. If they have hot tubs, you might be able to talk them out of the samples when the new ones come out -ours had a 3 x 5 sheet of different hot tubs they carried and I was able to get 18 different hot tubs/ponds and 1 swimming pool. They will work for 1/2" and 1" scenes.

20. Furnace filters - make great netting for trees and shrubs.

Cindy

Gluing Agate: Try: If you are looking for bases for the agates, look in shops where they do Eggery. The bases are metal to hold the eggs and they come in all shapes and sizes. I put a dolphin base under a mirrored circle and have a wedding cake sitting on top. I was really pleased and since you don't see through the top, I used silicone seal.

Maria

Cutting Tubing:Tubing cutter vs. sawing tubing: I have used tubing cutters for many years in the refrigeration business and for plumbing. Also the midget one for cutting mini brass tubes. If you can find a really sharp one for many situations the tubing cutter works ok on mini brass tubing. But you can not cut very thin or short sections, say a sixteenth or even an eight inch long.The tubing cutter will crush or distort the tubing. You will not get a clean cut.

The tubing cutter works by pressing a sharp wheel into the tube as you screw it down with the knob. This action causes compression of the tubing and will leave the inside diameter of the tube smaller than normal, requiring reaming or cleaning it out with a file in order to telescope another piece inside.

You can do the same thing with a number 11 X-Acto knife blade. Much cheaper than buying a cutter.Just align the knife blade at 90 degrees across the tube and roll the tube back and forth on the table or cutting board, with your hand while pressing the blade down on the tube with the other hand until you nearly cut through. Snap the tube at the score. With a little practice you can make some very short cuts and still not crush the tube.

Here at home I have a little jewelers ring cutter saw which I use to cut tubing. I turn the crank and pass the tube against the circular blade to cut the tube. It works great. Otherwise, I still find sawing with the fine tooth X-Acto saw the best way.

The other advantage of the saw is that you can make miter cuts in the tubing. If you practice enough with the X-acto saw you can cut other shapes, squares, angles, U, etc. with it that you could not even think of cutting with a tubing cutter.

Bill Hudson

Cutting Tubing: I use an abrasive cutoff wheel (4" diameter 0.010" thick, 1/2" arbor) in my little table saw.  It will cut through almost any diameter of tube, rod, or thin sheets.  Even cuts real slate roofing.  It almost polishes the cut end, and doesn't leave any burr.

Tom

Dremels:  I used my Dremel with flex-shaft sitting in my lap for years.  When I finally got the stand to hang it from, it was like being liberated from a box!!  I also have it connected to a pedal on the floor that is multi-speed. I love this also, (unless I have to stand on tiptoe to reach the top of the house)

I use the router with another Dremel to cut the grooves in a house floor (before it's put together) for wiring, using this on top with a guide so that I can cut straight.

I use another Dremel in a drill press to cut shapes, drill holes, etc, and anything repetitive.

I use a cordless Dremel for numerous projects. It is much slower so I don't have as much trouble using it for minor furniture projects. I have a right angle drive that attaches to a Dremel and allows me to drill holes in tighter spaces (as in 1/2"rooms that are only 5" high.

If I had only one, it would be the Flex-shaft.This is not the flex shaft that you buy and connect to your Dremel, it is all one tool.

Fannye in TX

Airbrush and compressor: An airbrush is just like using a small control-able can of spray paint...wonderful for those large even surfaces, for blends, for backgrounds, and once you get a bit of control, super detail! All the car ads used to be airbrushed to make them look good. You are not limited to special paints, you can even use your acrylic paints once you have diluted them a bit. Most of the paints now have a medium to add into the diluted paint so that the paint doesn't lose it's adhesion when diluted.

I have even sprayed paint and glitter through mine... though you do have to be sure it is the super duper ultra, ultra fine glitter. A grungy old airbrush will spray ultra fine sand for creative sanding. Your compressor sounds fine to me... and a lot better than the blown up inner tube we used as students... you controlled the air pressure by how hard you stepped on the tube. I find the cans of compressed air annoying to use because they tend to ice up if you work for a long-ish period of time. You can put the can in a bowl of tepid water which delays the ice-up problem if you want.

There are a number of good books for beginning airbrush. Check the library but to be honest, you are going to want to buy one to keep on hand. Start at page 1 and just play... get to know the airbrush... how to get an even spray...how to use a stencil, make a quick mask, cut a bit of frisket for super detail...you'll be hooked in no time! The only reason for you to be scared is that once you get the hang of it, you will not stop with minis... any wall in your real house will become fair game... a person standing still will find their shirt decorated... the doghouse will suddenly sprout elegant renditions of Snoopy and the Red Baron flying over the Cafe... suddenly the rest of your family will be borrowing the air brush and you won't be able to find it...

Sammy (I'm a girl) Smith

Dremels: I haven't seen anyone mention one of my favorite Dremel accessories.  I have a Dremel drill press, and I use the special router bits that Dremel makes with the Dremel tool clamped in the drill press.  The bits have a self guiding edge so you just push your wood up to it and it cuts only so far and no farther- no jigs required.  (You can adjust the depth of the cut by raising or lowering your drill press.)  I have the other standard router bits too, but you do need some fences to clamp to your drill press in order to use these properly.  If you've ever used a full sized router table you will know what I am talking about.

Bonnie Gibson -Tucson,AZ

Airbrush: I have several different airbrushes. The only one that I have found useful in minis is the Visions system by Testers. They use a special water clean-up paint that costs about the same as Builder's Choice. Lots of colors and of course you can mix them. It is useful for general painting, not for artwork; it only has general control, kind of like the one you would use to paint your car, only smaller and neater.

Tom

Airbrushes: It's one of the most interesting and fun painting tools I know, and I've been using them since the mid 70's. I have 6 now, mostly Thayer & Chandler, plus a couple of Paasche (Including the Paasche AB, the absolute best instrument made) and a Badger. The Paasche AB is what I use on miniatures, giving smooth color gradients on some of my critters, such as the Cedar Waxwings I make. They have 6 colors each and most are very smoothly blended on the bird. And the AB is super easy to clean, and can run virtually any airbrush medium...including lacquers. But enough about that. I use the previously described air compressor -- the one with the reserve tank that goes on every now and then, wakes the neighbors, keeps me awake on late illustration jobs, and was cheap at the time. Works fine. You can also use CO2 tanks...I even knew an artist that used oxygen! When he came in with a hangover, he'd take a couple whiffs of that and was just fine! LOL

Dave Pierce

aluminum flared glasses: There is a tool at the hardware store designed to flare the ends of copper tubing for water lines. It also works on aluminum and brass. Get a piece of 1/4" tubing, flare the end, use a tubing cutter to cut it off at 3/4" long, and put a bottom in with a dab of glue. You can have all the flared glasses you want, even colored with glass paint.

Rebecca in Texas

Dremels: My favorite "Dremel" is one I got from Sears during one of their many sales and at a much lower price than you can buy them for at a most other places. Their tools are Sears brand - supposedly made by Dremel but with the Craftsman name on it. It came in a nice carrying case with slots for accessories. All Dremel accessories fit the tool.

It has some great features. The one I find the most important to have is variable speeds. Woods, plastics, metals all should be cut at different speeds. The second feature (that is an-add on available for many Dremel models) is a keyless chuck. I used to get impatient switching from bit to bit and searching for the chuck key, the right sized collet, etc. Now it is a snap to switch from drill bit to cutter, etc.

I use my Dremel tool almost every day! I do multiple kinds of crafts and find this to be one of those "can't live without" tools. I use the high speed steel cutters to carve on gourds and wood, the grinding stones for working on metal, the sanders for anything wood, the cut off wheels for metal, buffing wheels for jewelry, plastic etc, etc. You are only limited by your imagination. The expression that office people use is "thinking outside the box" or something like that... (sort of like seeing minis in a button or other weird things.)

I also own a Foredom tool with a flexible shaft. The Foredom has lots more torque than a Dremel, so it seems to work better with a flexible shaft. (I don't use the flex shaft on my Dremel.) I use the Foredom for woodcarving and stone carving, working on things that require me to run the tool for multiple hours. It keeps your hand from getting cramped or overheated. It costs much more than a Dremel, so it isn't a tool for a casual user.

Bonnie Gibson