There is an alternative for working on ladders if you feel they are unsafe or wobbly. Pipe scaffolding provides a way to work at those heights with stability and a nice flat platform.

Pipe scaffold is a must for carpentry projects or painting your house. Pipe scaffolding can be assembled by one person. Simply start by attaching the diagonal bars between the end pieces. These cross braces lock into place on the scaffolds. The diagonal cross braces keep the scaffolding steady as it goes up in height. Be sure they are locked into place.

You can use 2x12 planks for platforms on the scaffolding. Or tool rental stores will have nice interlocking platforms. There are additional safety features and options available for your pipe scaffolding. They make great, safe and stable platforms.

Some projects, such as working on your aluminum gutters, will require you to connect two pieces of thin metal. An effective method is the use of a pop rivet gun. Most pop rivet tools come with an assortment of pop rivets and some 1/8" drill bits.

To hold the metal pieces while pop riveting them together, use a clamp to hold the pieces in position. Then, an 1/8" diameter hole must be drilled through the pieces. Use your power drill and the drill bits furnished. Place the pop rivet into the pop rivet tool, place the pop rivet head into the drilled hole and squeeze. The pop rivet is similar to a nail with a large head. As you squeeze the pop rivet gun, it pulls the shank of the pop rivet causing the head to mushroom on the back side of the metal.

These are great tools for connecting two pieces of thin metal together. To be politically correct, will they be introducing a mom rivet tool?

Adjustable pliers are the basic type in most everyone's toolbox. They have two positions for the jaws and have teeth on the jaws to grab and hold items. One disadvantage is if your grip slips when holding a nut, the corners could get rounded.

Linesman pliers have a special cutter at the base of the jaws. These are used by electricians to cut through wire or electrical cable.

Channel lock pliers can adjust their jaws in several positions to extend the capacity of what they can hold. The jaws also have teeth to grip that workpiece.

Needle nose pliers have a very long thin jaws. These are great for bending a piece of wire around a screw. Most also have a built-in wire cutter.

Your toolbox must have a selection of these pliers to be complete.

In this project, Tim wants to convert a copper bowl into a bathroom sink. The problem is there is no drain hole in the bowl. To get a perfectly round hole in a piece of metal, you will use a hole punch or knockout punch. Using a series of smaller to larger hole punches is the best way to make a large diameter hole.

First, drill a pilot hole at the center of the desired location. The pilot hole should be just larger than the bolt on your hole punch. Insert the bolt with the one side of the knockout punch through the hole and thread on the cutter side of the hole punch onto the bolt.

Use a wrench on the drawbolt to pull the cutter through the metal. Continue tightening until the cutter breaks through the metal. You can then, just lift the cutter through the hole.

The first hole should be larger then the bolt size on the next knockout punch. Repeat the process with the larger cutter. This will allow you to make the hole in the bottom of the bowl match the size required for your sink drain.