Light Box: My son John suggested that I use one of the round plastic kitchen light fixtures. I bought a "big" one! He wired it to a cord for me and I now use it upside down on a table. Works great but it does get hot after a while, so I only turn it on when I am using it.

Joy in Midland, Ontario

Roto-Zip: I bought one for my husband so HE could cut out all my craft things and he really likes it. I tried it and it does take awhile to get used to it because it cuts really really easy. And another good thing about it is you really don't need to sand your project after you're finished.

Laurie M.

Gluing jig: Made my own. 1 foot square piece of scrap metal. Cover with plastic wrap so glue does not stick to metal. base. Assorted strong magnets both round and square cornered. I rub some candle wax on the part of the magnet that may come in contact with the glue so it will not get stuck. The magnets go on the fridge when not gluing my minis.

Bob...Delray Beach, FL

Marsha uses her heat tool in Fimo work; I use mine to dry paint on bits of paper, fabric, or plant life. Unlike a hairdryer, it doesn't produce a blast of moving air to send stuff in all directions. Useful.

Mary (Oregon)

Glue for Plastic: The only thing that I have found that will hold on the plastic or photo print bags is" Duro Quick Gel". It has to be "gel". But be careful, because it glues fingers much better than the plastic!

Mark and Sharon Stockton

Hinges: I use Roo Glue for Metal & Plastic for hinges. It doesn't run like super glue or string like epoxy. I sell Roo Glue or get from your favorite miniature shop.

Dean Jenson

Glue plastic box: In general, don't use any glue that has any odor. (Solvents have an odor, and that is what clouds the plastic) I would suggest Alenes Tacky--used sparingly, you could pop it off later for repairs or additions to the scene.

Dean Jenson

Cutting Shield: When I was in Walmart's quilt section, I found a plexiglass angle which is about 18" long and has a strip of adhesive down one side of it. It is designed to protect your fingers when you are using the rotary cutter. I cut mine into shorter lengths and put a 12" piece on an 18" metal corkbacked ruler, and the shorter piece I put on a 12" ruler.

Jean

Sander:  If you need a great "small" electric sander, for dollhouse, roombox etc. building try the Black & Decker "Mouse". It's a small hand size sander with a tip area for getting into small areas.

Joyce

Glue for Chrysnbon kits: Go to the toy department in most stores, where the airplane and car model kits are, and you'll find "Plastic Model Cement." It’s the same thing that used to be called "Airplane Glue" but without the fumes that the kids used to sniff to get high. It will work perfectly to glue your Chrysnbon. If you have a Michael’s in your area, they also have models and glues and carry a Glue Pen that is made specifically for models. It will give you great control over your glue on small seam lines.

Tere Perry

Gluing plastic: My personal preference is Methyl Ethyl Keytone (MEK) it smells right strong and probably kills brain cells by the millions so use it with good ventilation. dries very fast and holds great I have plastic I glued 30 years ago and it's still strong. You can get it a any hardware or Home Depot type store just use a small brush to apply.

Rik Pierce

Shingle-glue/tape wire paint: I used Liquid Nails for my cedar shingles.  It comes in a tube and you just apply it to the roof, and then sort of put the bottom of the shingles in it.   I did also stain all my shingles before putting themon.  I put some stain in a plastic container, put as many shingles as I could in the stain, let them sit for the allotted time, and them strained the paint into another container.   Put shingles in the second container and wiped off the first batch and did that until all that I needed were done.    The roof is on my website below on my Little house on the prairie post office. Traci, I also stuccoed over the roof and the tape wire in the post office and the electricity still works! So paint should be no problem!

Isabel Allen

Light Box: I would like to pass along a rather simple idea or two.

1. Set a small lamp on the floor (no shade), between your legs, then hold a piece of Plexiglass or regular glass on your lap and trace away! (It won't work if you wear a skirt, especially one of those long ones that are in fashion right now.

2. Put 4 cans on a table (fruits/veggies, whatever, as long as they are the same size) and lay a piece of Plexiglass or regular glass over them with a regular light bulb (like a trouble light) underneath.

Linda

Tool Recommendations: I'm a miniature woodworker and much prefer power tools to hand ones (I have 3 nice stitches in my finger to remind me of the utility knife slip!). Check my website http://members.tripod.com/miniwizz I have a page on "tools and supplies" and a detailed list of tools I have. They were purchased over a period of years, so start small (no pun intended) and add to your toys over time.

Jan in Charlotte

Making Jigs for Minidrills: About a month ago I picked up a book from Amazon.co.uk. called 'Minidrill' by John Everett. There are 15 projects telling you how to use the various drills, burrs, etc; and at the beginning of the book there are three attachments to make using the minidrill itself to build them. A lathe, a drill stand and a router table. The cost of the book was very reasonable and would repay purchasing even if you only made one attachment. A great help if you mini on a mini-budget.

Maureen in Hemel, UK

MINI STUFFED ANIMALS: I've only made a couple of these, but along with tweezers, I used a stylus? Embossing tool? Maybe someone can help with the name of this-it's got a wooden handle with metal, ball-shaped tips on either end. I know it's a Very Important Tool in my mini toolbox!

Cheri

Glue Recommendation. I use E6000 for a multitude of things. It really bonds well for unlike surfaces, china, glass and resin.

Deb

Hot Glue: I agree with not using hot glue in constructing dollhouses. Not too long ago, I helped refurbish an old dollhouse. In that case, I was glad it was constructed with hot glue, because EVERYTHING popped off with a little pressure from a screwdriver. So, I guess if you plan to rebuild your house someday, then by all means, use hot glue. If not, then use a good carpenter's wood glue or QuickGrab.

Anita Myers

Hot Glue: I have heard stories of people redoing dollhouses that had been partially assembled with hot glue. To start over and redo them, they just used a blow dryer and the hear softened the glue and the houses came apart very easily. I know some kit manufacturers recommend hot glue (Corona and Greenleaf), but no experienced dollhouse assembler does!

Anne Gerdes

Blind Cut: A blind cut is a cut started away from the edge of the wood being cut. It can also be called a "plunge cut." Example; As I used a plunge cut, using a power saw, I would pull back the blade guard so the blade was rotating unprotected (Not to be done by neophytes) I would take the saw in this fashion and lower the blade onto the line I drew for the cut. A much safer demonstration is to take a piece of paper or thin card stock and poke a scissors in the middle of the material and start to make a circle-cut. Of course you can always fold the paper and cut the center hole in that manner but its impossible to do that with wood.

Bob

Danger of shop made circular saws: Unless you are very careful how a Dremel tool is mounted and how the circular saw blade turns relative to the work, a shop made circular saw can cause accidents. Think of how all the miniature table saws are made. A portion of the blade extends through a horizontal table and the work is guided by either a sturdy rip fence which is parallel to the blade or a miter arm which is perpendicular to the blade. These hold the work solidly against the rotating teeth.

Among woodworkers it is universally understood that pushing lumber through a table saw without either a secure fence or a miter arm guiding the work is inherently dangerous and can cause kickback and nasty cuts. Kickbacks cause accidents.

Incorporating the elements of fence, miter arm and flat, secure table into a shop made Dremel jig is a difficult undertaking. Unless you know how to do this safely, I don't recommend making a table saw out of a Dremel Moto-Tool unless you have a lot of mechanical experience and understand all the forces at work.

If you can't afford to purchase a miniature table saw, either cut by hand or buy an inexpensive scroll saw. Learn to plane the edges straight and square. That's how all the great 18th century furniture makers worked in full scale. I think it makes more sense than getting stitches.

Many of you know we conduct many workshops using Preac table saws. We sell exclusively Preacs which we like the best for making furniture. The Jarmac, Micro Lux, Unimat and Dremel table saws are also safe to use and cut effectively. Personally, I leave the design of such things to the experts.

Someone mentioned using a larger table saw. I use a 10" Delta Unisaw to re-saw lumber, cut ply wood and occasionally cross cut miniature lumber. The thinnest blade available for a full size table saw is 3/32<.093> inch thick. I regularly use a 2-1/4 inch Preac blade .020 or .028 inches thick. This requires much less power, much thinner throat and is very safe. Making miniature with a full scale saw may be perfectly safe, also, if done properly. The margin for error is less than with the smaller, less powerful machines and the consequences of a mistake are likely to be much more damaging.

Pete