Pivoting Nutcracker Jig
A two-board jig on a single nail pivot: a bored hole holds the nut for the hammer, and swinging the top board dumps the shell into a bucket.
Take Two Wheelie Bins Down the Drive in One Trip by Hooking Their Lids Together
Technique: Move Two Wheelie Bins at Once
The Problem
Bin day with more than one bin means walking the drive twice. Each wheelie bin needs two hands to tip and steer, so there's no carrying one in each hand, and dragging one while pushing another puts them at different angles and jackknifes both.
The Technique
Link the two bins with their own lids, then move them as one.
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Line the bins up nose to tail, the second one directly behind the first.
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Open the lid of the rear bin and stand it up vertically.
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Open the lid of the front bin, lay the rear bin's raised lid over its back rim, and close the front bin's lid down on top of it.
The rear lid is now clamped between the front bin's lid and its rim. The two bins are joined.
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Tip the front bin back onto its wheels as normal and pull. The rear bin tips and follows, tracking behind like a trailer.
Pro tip: This only holds with the rear bin empty or nearly so. The whole connection is a lid pinched under another lid, and it's holding against the weight of the second bin as it tips — a full bin either pulls the lid free or drags the front bin over backwards. Coming back up the drive with two empties is the case it fits.
Pro tip: Pull rather than push. Pulling keeps both bins trailing behind you at the same angle, and you can see the rear one in your peripheral vision. Pushing puts the linked pair ahead of you where a wheel catching the kerb tips the whole train before you notice.
Safety note: Don't do this down a slope or a stepped drive. Two linked bins have a lot more momentum than one and no brakes, and the only thing holding them together is a lid — the point at which they separate is the point at which one of them is already rolling away from you.
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