23 Reader Tips That Save Time and Money

Whenever you're working on old electrical wires, you risk damaging the insulation and exposing the copper. To avoid that, I thread some heat-shrink tubing over the wire and insulation, then hit it briefly with a heat gun fitted with a shrink-tubing attachment. The plastic tubing contracts to form a protective seal around the wire.

—Max LeBlanc
Windsor, Ontario, Canada