Comfort by the Capful

Over the past several months, I've scrollsawn more than 30 Iwo Jima Flag Raising plaques for the guys in my Marine squadron. Each plaque has 132 internal cuts, so you can imagine the soreness in my thumb and index finger from loosening the blade for each cut.

While taking a break one day, it occurred to me that the twist-off cap on my plastic soda bottle fit my fingers better than the wing nut on the scrollsaw's blade holder. Inspired, I epoxied the bottle cap to the wing nut as shown above.

Not only is the round knob more comfortable, its knurled edges give me a better grip. A month after installing it, my thumb and finger have healed quite nicely, and I'm back at full speed.

—Steve Manzo, Okinawa, Japan