Finder Control is an FKEY that lets you quit and restart the Finder. You can install it in your System file using ResEdit, if you’re careful. To invoke it, press cmd-shift-n, where n is the single-digit resource ID of the FKEY (this would be 6 if you didn’t change it). A dialog will come up, telling you whether the Finder is currently running or not, and offering to let you quit it if it’s running, or restart it if it’s not.
That’s all there is to it. Feel free to contact me with any comments or bug reports.