Plastic Shims

Use to stabilize and level various objects

OK. You’re on that dream date, the table is set and you know the restaurant has exactly the food and ambience you’ve been looking for. Uh-oh, you put a hand (or an elbow) on the table and everything shifts. You can ask the wait staff for a napkin or have he or she fold it in multiples and put it under the offending leg of the table (or your chair for that matter), or use these shims instead. They are inexpensive, lightweight (you won’t even know there’s one in your jacket pocket) and simple beyond their intended use of leveling furniture, shimming structural lumber, etc. While these are labeled “white.” They are actually translucent and can, of course, be used to level that filling cabinet, book shelf, work table and any other object that just does not meet the floor as it should. Only about four bucks for a package of six.

Fish Spatula

Slotted turning blade flips delicate foods

Nearly every morning for the past 2 years I’ve used this fish spatula to make breakfast for the family on a cast iron griddle (bacon, eggs, and pancakes). It has a wooden handle, so I never worry about it being too hot to the touch or melting if I am careless with where I rest it. The stainless metal blade is thin, sturdy, and flexible to easily get under and flip lightweight or heavy items. It’s easy to clean, just a quick wipe with a soapy sponge and a rinse restores it to perfect condition. It’s fairly short, which makes it easy to flip items in a small diameter, deep-walled cast iron pan. I’ve never used a better spatula, and for $6 it’s hard to imagine a better tool for the price.

Maker Update: Plastic Center Finder

This week's look at the latest maker projects

This week: Bluetooth controlled lights for your skateboard, tracking your hamster health, a classy Kaleidoscope, a tool for finding the center of a circle, beautiful circuit diagrams and Maker Faires. Our featured Cool Tool is the Robert Larson 800-2875 Plastic Center Finder.

I learned about this tool from maker Ben Light, who uses it to drill out the center in the tin can robots he builds. Online, I see a lot of videos of jewelry designers using these. Woodworkers use them on finding centers on dowels or centering up work to chuck into a lathe.

They also work for finding the center of squares. Using the side with the 90-degree angle you can mark out the center of a square. This is especially useful on smaller material (like small tiles where a speed square isn’t as helpful.

The smaller, 60-degree angle on one side of the tool is intended for use finding the center of hexagon shaped material. I’ve yet to come across any hexagons I need centered, but I can imagine it being useful around a geodesic dome build.

I also have to just say that this is one of those tools that I simply find aesthetically satisfying. I probably only break it out every couple months, but every time it catches my eye it makes me smile.

Microplane Medium Ribbon Grater

Versatile zesting/grating blade

Do you like grated cheese and grated chocolate? How about garlic on your garlic bread? These are a few things I’ve done with my microplane. The newest one is what they call a ribbon grater. This means it slices what you’re working on into kind of a flake. It works with carrots, radishes, parmesan and other hard cheeses, even chocolate shaved on top of ice cream. My other microplanes have small openings and create a much finer result. But I find the ribbons are much more aesthetically appealing and pack a lot of flavor in each flake.

Caution! This tool is wicked sharp you don’t want to run over a knuckle or a finger. Comes with a protective plastic cover and is machine washable.

Rösle Garlic Press

World's best garlic press

This is a reader favorite from 2003 – MF

Out of the dozen or more different garlic presses I’ve used, the Rösle is the absolute best. The Germanic precision of manufacture is very high. It has a built-in mechanical lever that presses the garlic significantly harder than you press the handle. Hence, it takes less physical strength and strain, which is especially helpful when you’re pressing a lot of garlic. The press is also much easier to clean because the screen where the clove is pressed can be removed. No more digging down into the “pit” to scrape out the fiber remains with your finger or a separate cleaning bristle. When I mentioned “the world’s best garlic press” in the office, two folks immediately knew I was talking about the Rösle.

Canning Funnel for Regular and Wide Mouth Jars

Double walled canning funnel fits wide and regular mouth canning jars

This high-quality funnel has a really wide mouth, allowing one to ladle or pour in food without spillage, even from a large pot (like my “Instant Pot”). It has an “outer wall” that surrounds the inner spout, projects below it, and fits around the top of the Mason jar. The result is that the funnel is stable on the jar and can sit on its clean outer wall on a countertop or shelf. It has inch and metric markings alongside a gap in the outer wall to let one measure the headspace above the jar’s contents. A loop handle at the upper rim is convenient for handling (and doesn’t transmit heat). It will also fit the Sistema microwaveable soup mug (and probably other mugs). It won’t stain or warp and is dishwasher safe. It has received 4.7 Amazon stars on 330 reviews.

What’s in My Bag? — Mark Slavonia