Gar’s Tips & Tools – Issue #183

Access to tools, techniques, and shop tales from the diverse worlds of DIY

Gar’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up here.

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Tool Tourism? Road Trip!

Oh my word. If you’re as “oddly fond of tools” as I am, I dare you to watch this video and not start thinking about how you can get to this little store in Colorado. Charlie’s is a 2nd hand tool store in downtown Denver, CO that’s been in business since 1928. From this video on Last Best Tools, the place looks heaped, floor to ceiling, front to back with all manner of used (and new) tools, machinery, and miscellaneous vintage treasures. The video made me dizzy, both with the swift and jittery camera work and the tool riches before the lens. I love how Mark of Last Best Tools narrates with a combination of quotes from Charlie’s website, newspaper clippings, customer reviews, and his own in-store experience. Have any Tips and Tools readers ever been there? I would love to hear your experiences. If I ever get to Denver, this will be the first place I’d go. BTW: “We are oddly fond of tools” is what it says on the Charlie’s t-shirts. I think I need one.

The Art of Sprue Stretching

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A post shared by KK (@life_in_plastic_model_kits)

I’ve been involved in hobby modeling, in some capacity, for most of my life. Over that time, I’ve gotten pretty good at many things. One of them is not sprue stretching. A sprue is the plastic frame that holds the model parts in place — it is used as channels in the injection molding process. For decades, modelers have figured out how to use this scrap material for scratch building, melting it in acetone to create gap filler and modeling putty, and many other uses. In sprue stretching, you create model antennae, cable runs, welding seams, and other detailing by heating up a piece of sprue with a candle and stretching it to the desired diameter and shape. This Instagram post above shows how it’s done and how it can be applied. Here’s a video on how to stretch sprue from FineScale Modeler magazine.

The Weird Wonders of Mecanum Wheels

In this video, Jeremy Fielding ponders the fascinating Mecanum wheel, a unique device that allows vehicles to move in multiple directions, including sideways, thanks to its ingenious design. Jeremy demonstrates how these wheels function using a remote-controlled car and explains the physics behind their movements, emphasizing the impact of wheel orientation and force vectors. He also discusses practical applications of Mecanum wheels in environments where maneuverability is critical, such as warehouses and hospitals, and explores the trade-offs involved, including higher costs and maintenance needs. If you want to experiment with Mecanum wheels, you can buy cheap plastic hobby set (of 4) on Amazon.

How to Use Vernier and Digital Calipers

Proper use of calipers, both the analog vernier and digital calipers, is something that intimidates a lot of people. In this under 8-minute video, James Gatlin runs through proper operation of both versions of this common and super-useful measuring tool. While most of this info is basic, there are some good tips in here and clear explanations of features that likely flummox some users (like how the vernier scale works with the main scale on vernier calipers and how the step feature works on calipers).

Jig for Dowel Jointing

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A post shared by Takurou Seino (@takuwoodcraft)

Takurou Seino, of Takuwoodcraft, is known for the beautiful and useful jigs he makes. In this Instagram video, he makes a cool little jig for perfect dowel placement in dowel jointing. As someone in the comments points out, this jig is only good for one thickness of material and you’d need a different jig for other lumber, but if you’re doing, say, a lot of picture frames… Nice tip here of marking lines in plexi by scribing the desired lines, covering the lines with Sharpie, and then wiping away the excess.

How Concrete Pipes Are Made

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A post shared by Engineer Construction (@engineer_constructions)

If you’ve ever looked at large concrete pipe and culverts and wondered how they are made, here ya go. Cool.

Shop Talk

Readers offer their feedback, tips, tales, and tool recommendations.

Reader Rex Burkheimer writes:

Used toolboxes – I’ve bought a few toolboxes from estate and garage sales, and scored some valuable tools in doing so. By far the best deals I have found are from business auctions, particularly from manufacturing shops. I love those that offer “Lot## Contents of shelf” with a photo showing a greasy, grimy jumble of “things.” I have bought many of these for a pittance and found literally hundreds of dollars worth of usable or salable tools. The fun is identifying them and determining the best place to sell: eBay, CL, FB Marketplace, etc.   The best example ever was the shelf I bought for $8.56, including tax. I was the only bidder. I sold the contents for ~$1200 over a 3 month period, and kept one item, a Mitutoyo toolmakers microscope. I later sold that for $600.

And, one of your regular readers commented that the Tub-O-Towels product contains lanolin. I verified. Lanolin is the best rust-preventative I know of. I credit it with keeping my valuable machine tools free of rust for over a decade in an unheated steel building. Those towels may have enough lanolin to make them useful in cleaning precision tools, firearms etc.  I’ll buy a tub.

Kevin Baker says “Let’s talk more about vintage tools:”

I have two favorite vintage tools.  Both were given to me by my grandfather.  Two Craftsman Starter and Manifold wrenches.

Kevin also recommended a really great vintage tool site, Alloy Artifacts Museum of Tool History. This is the kind of site, done in old-school, early web style (18 years and counting!) that you could spend hours poking around on.

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Consider a Paid Subscription

Gar’s Tips & Tools is always free. But if you if you find it truly useful to you, consider a paid subscription ($8/month). This keeps me in chai latte and tortilla chips while I’m working on this labor of love. If you really want to show your patronage, consider becoming a Hero of the Realm. I will send custom packages of goodies (books, tools, zines, and more) to all my Heroes.

Thanks to all those who’ve already subscribed. You are the fuel in my butane torch.

09/4/24

Burning Man / Capture Your Style

Books That Belong On Paper Issue No. 30

Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

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THE FIRST CHILDREN’S BOOK ABOUT BURNING MAN

Burning Man — The World’s Biggest Playground
by Peter Armenia
2016, 56 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, Hardcover

Buy on Amazon

If you agree with Plato’s assertion that life should be lived as play, then what better place to test that idea than a playground? Playgrounds have sadly been remaindered to the province of schools, parks and childhood memories. Play is typically associated with children, yet thinkers and creators as diverse as Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Sigmund Freud affirm the value of play for everybody.

Photographer and author Peter Armenia vividly addresses this same truism with his children’s picture book, Burning Man — The World’s Biggest Playground. The Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada is an annual gathering that attracts all types of artists, musicians and anyone else with something unique to build, share or express in a celebration of virtues such as creativity, individuality and “radical inclusion.” All are welcome to stay and to play, creating a temporary community in which everyone contributes to a shared experience of active imagining.

Armenia succeeds in conveying the essence of Burning Man to young readers with vibrant images and friendly, accessible text in a variety of fonts and colors that emphasizes the essential joy and whimsy defining Burning Man. This attractive and engaging book stands as a simple invitation for child and adult alike: come out and play.

– Lee Hollman

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CAPTURE YOUR STYLE: TRANSFORM YOUR INSTAGRAM PHOTOS, SHOWCASE YOUR LIFE, AND BUILD THE ULTIMATE PLATFORM

Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Photos, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform
by Aimee Song
Harry N. Abrams
2016, 208 pages, 8.0 x 0.5 x 8.1 inches, Paperback

Buy on Amazon

With over 4.3 million followers, Aimee Song is certainly the Instagram expert. Her debut book, Capture Your Style, aims to teach readers how to transform their Instagram photos, showcase their life, and build the ultimate platform.

Whether you’re into snapping stylish outfits, delectable food, awe-inspiring architecture, or wanderlust-inducing travels, this book covers them all. With sections about editing photos, hashtags versus geotags, curating the ultimate grid, working with brands, and pricing (just to name a few), Song’s publication is the all-in-one guide for those wanting to ‘up their Instagame’.

Add-in pages upon pages of beautifully curated photographs from Song’s own Instagram feed and you’ve got yourself a publication that isn’t just educational, but pretty inspiring too.

This is a must-read for individuals interested in pursuing the platform more seriously, particularly those who are bloggers or wishing to become social media influencers.

– Melanie Doncas

09/3/24

Portable Boats

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 102

Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

Boats that fit in a closet or trunk

Folding Kayaks

Kayaks are cool tools all by themselves… small, simple boats that give you access to virtually any waterway, big or small. Simple enough for a novice to enjoy, but with skill and experience, kayaks can also used for thousand-mile expeditions far from support.

Folding kayaks are a special breed among kayaks in general. They typically consist of a wood or aluminum frame inserted into a fabric skin, and assembled boats are reminiscent of the bone-and-hide baidarkas used by Inuit hunters. The obvious advantage to a folding kayak over the far more common plastic or fiberglass boats available is storage. When not in use, a folding kayak can be stored in an apartment or car trunk. But the boats are also serious performers–they are truly in their element when the seas get rough–and they tend to last much longer than rigid boats. Cracks in plastic and fiberglass can retire a rigid boat in 6 to 10 years. Folding kayaks can last for decades, not only due to the materials, but also due to the fact the individual pieces can be replaced.

Klepper of Germany has been in the business the longest, since 1909, and their boats have been around the world, including across the Atlantic, twice. They are also used by Special Forces. They are also expensive, but not quite as expensive as Feathercraft of Canada, a relative newcomer. Feathercraft makes boats using a high-tech approach in materials and design. Their boats pack down smaller, but they also cost more. Folbot is an American-made folding kayak that enjoys good reputation, in part due to their absolute commitment to standing behind their products, pretty much for life. Their boats are highly regarded, and they are significantly cheaper than the competition. They are Ford to Klepper’s BMW.

I just took delivery of a newcomer in the folding kayak world, a Longhaul Mark II made by Mark Eckhardt of Colorado. Eckhardt started his business repairing Kleppers and making accessories. He was an official Klepper dealer and service center for time, but has now struck out on his own making his own boats, that are in many respects are identical to Kleppers–a Longhaul frame will actually fit a Klepper skin and vice versa. But Eckhardt has addressed a number of what he sees as design flaws of the Klepper in his new boat.

Folbot Cooper

For an inexpensive folding kayak suitable for a novice, I recommend a new boat just announced by Folbot called the Cooper. Small and light, the Cooper fits into one bag, and has nice profile. And it comes in at a price that is 2/3 the price (or better) of other reputable folding singles, at $1400. As I mentioned, Folbot has been around for decades. A brand new model from them is a boat that has a lot experience behind its design and manufacture. Additionally, Folbot has an unbeatable guarantee… they guarantee that it will be free of manufacturing defects for life, and they’ll give you 100% of your money back within 60 days if you don’t like the boat and return in “like new” condition. That’s a tough deal to beat. — Alex Gray

A fine enthusiasts website for tracking the latest in folding kayaks is foldingkayaks.org. For reading I recommend:

The Complete Folding Kayaker Ralph Diaz, 2003, 256 p.

• Folbot Aleut I
  The Aleut is the least expensive foldable kayak on the market today. Like the double in the Folbot family, the Aleut is designed for the mass market, for people who aren’t performance-minded but simply want to enjoy paddling without much fuss. For that market, the Aleut I delivers the essentials of any folding kayak–foldable convenience and stability.
  The Aleut’s frame consists of aluminum long pieces and polycarbonate ribs. Its hull is Hypalon, and its deck is coated polyester.

Assembly and Portability
Assembly is a snap; the Aleut has only three ribs and only about fourteen parts. Some parts are already held together in subassemblies. You can get the Aleut either in one or two bags, but take the convenient two-bag option because the single bag is awkward to carry.

• Stability and Seaworthiness
  The Aleut’s stability cannot be overstated. No kayak can be termed untippable, but the Aleut goes a long way in that direction. It handles well in open water, and its nose refuses to dive in all but the highest waves and wake.
• Bailers and PumpsBailers and pumps are necessary safety items for any kayaker. They’re doubly important in a foldable because, in the event of a capsize, the relatively large interior space could fill with a huge amount of water.
  A bailer is a handy way to extract water quickly, but you won’t find a single one on the market. Make your own from a pail, plastic bleach bottle, or almost any large, unbreakable beverage container made for refrigerator storage.

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Foldable skiff

Porta Bote

This is a very cool tool. Its a boat that folds up. It really works great. I wanted a little boat I could keep on my larger 24-foot boat so I could take me and my dogs ashore. This boat is perfect. Very stable and folds up when not in use. I tie it down on the bow when not in use. I have seen a lot of people use these with RVs, mounted to the side. You can use paddles or a small electric or gas engine to get around. It handles great and is easy to plane with a small engine like mine — a 4-horsepower gas engine. The other great thing is that I know the hull is not going to be punctured by my dogs or anything else. Its very stable with 2 people and two small dogs.

It’s very easy to fold up, takes less than 5 minutes. The seats act as braces to hold the boat open, so when you take them out the boat folds up. The boat is made of Polypropylene and has a 10 year warranty. I have the 8 foot model (smallest), which I got for $900 years ago but now goes for $1,250. — Bart Snyder

09/2/24

Pet hair roller/One Useful Thing/Official Stick Reviews

Recomendo - issue #425

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Reusable pet hair roller

I was burning through lint rollers like crazy to remove cat hair from my office chair. I ended up buying an Odora Pet Hair Roller. It’s a reusable device that removes pet hair from upholstered furniture, bedding, and some clothing. It uses a back-and-forth motion to pick up hair and deposit it in a chamber. Because you have to move it back-and-forth, it doesn’t work well on loose blankets, which is something to keep in mind. — MF

AI news

Keeping up with the advances in AI is almost a full-time job. The most reliable single source for understandable and useful news about consumer-facing AI that I use is Ethan Mollick’s substack called One Useful Thing. You can read it as a web blog or as an emailed newsletter. He is quick to thoroughly try out the newest thing and report on what it is useful for. — KK

Joyful social media 

I’ve intentionally cut down on my social media time, but there’s one account I never scroll past because it always makes me smile: Official Stick Reviews on Instagram. It’s the internet’s go-to spot for stick reviews submitted from around the world. Initially, I thought it was satire, but I soon realized the enthusiasm for finding cool sticks is both genuine and contagious. Here’s a good example. — CD

Best extension cord

I’ve struggled every which way to store and deploy very long extension cords in our garage. A year ago, I splurged on the ideal solution which I had seen in hi-tech company workshops: a retractable cord stationed on the ceiling or wall. Like the retractable cord in a vacuum cleaner, you pull it out to the length you need and then when done, a quick yank will instantly wind itself back up. I got an 80-foot one to reach into the yard, as well as the garage or workshop, and it’s so easy now that I don’t hesitate to roll out the cord. Innumerable generic brands make various lengths and gauge of wire. A 45-foot 12-gauge Suraielect Retractable is $90, and totally worth it to me. — KK

Velcro fasteners 

I have an old ugly couch in the basement that I’ve covered with a throw blanket. To prevent it from shifting or being pulled off, I used Velcro Brand Heavy-Duty Fasteners. It’s not a permanent fix, but it spares me from unnecessary fussing with it. — CD 

Stackable soup savers

I learned about silicone freezer trays during a visit to my parents’ house. They use them to store leftover soups and stews. The flexible silicone makes it easy to pop out individual frozen 1-cup cubes, and the rigid lids make them stackable in the freezer. — MF

09/1/24

Book Freak 168: The Idiot Brain

A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To

Get The Idiot Brain

You probably feel normal most of the time, but below the surface, your brain is doing some extremely weird things. In his fascinating and funny book, The Idiot Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett guides us through the bizarre workings of our “idiot brains,” which often seems to work against us — from motion sickness to memory quirks to irrational fears. He reveals the latest research on how our gray matter functions (and malfunctions) and provides guidance on how the brain can help itself be a little smarter.

Four key pieces of advice from the book:

Memory is Egotistical

“Your memory often tweaks and adjusts the information it stores to make you look better, like a doting mother pointing out how wonderful her little Timmy was in the school play, even though little Timmy just stood there, picking his nose and dribbling.”

Our memories can be unreliable and biased towards making us look or feel better about ourselves. Be aware that your recollections may not always be as accurate as you think.

Embrace Randomness

“The brain really doesn’t handle randomness well. The brain seems to struggle with the idea that something can happen for no discernible reason other than chance. It might be yet another consequence of our brains seeking danger everywhere – if there’s no real cause for an occurrence then there’s nothing that can be done about it if it ends up being dangerous, and that’s not tolerable.

Recognize that our brains often try to find patterns or meaning where there may be none. Be aware that this tendency can lead to misinterpretations or false beliefs.

Depression Defies Logic

“Depression is not logical. Those describing suicide and depression as selfish apparently struggle with this concept, as if those with depression make a table or chart with the pros and cons of suicide and, despite there being more cons, selfishly opt for suicide anyway.”

Have compassion for those struggling with depression. Their experiences and decisions may not seem logical to others, but their suffering is real and shouldn’t be dismissed as selfishness.

Love is a Neurochemical High

“Being in love seems to elevate dopamine activity in the reward pathway, meaning we experience pleasure in our partner’s presence, almost like a drug. And oxytocin is often referred to as ‘the love hormone’ or similar, which is a ridiculous oversimplification of a complex substance, but it does seem to be elevated in people in relationships, and it has been linked to feelings of trust and connection in humans.”

Appreciate the powerful neurochemical effects of love and relationships. They can bring great joy, but also potentially cloud our judgment at times.

08/31/24

Danny Kim, Inventor

Show and Tell #406: Danny Kim

ABOUT DANNY KIM:
20+ years of vehicle architecture & prototype development. Inventor w/ 65 issued int’l patents, 22 USPTOs. Focus of HBS case study: Industrial design & sustainable transportation. Former Land Rover mechanic, machinist, woodworker, welder, and vehicle integrator. Reed College, UCB, RISD, & Media Lab.

LINKS:
LIT Motors
Wefunder
Flickr
Instagram
YouTube

TOOLS:
0:00 – Intro
1:19 – 48″ Margining steel lead screw shaft Rockwell 52 (AKA Handy File)
7:48 – Spectrum 375 Plasma Cutter (1/2″ lightsaber “Scissors’)
14:35 – Edwards 65 Ton Ironworker
16:07 – Miller MIG Welder
23:58 – Maybe cardboard would be a prototyping tool
23:49 – LIT Motors prototype

To sign up to be a guest on the show, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/qc496XB6bGbrAEKK7

08/30/24

What’s in my NOW? — Sheryl O’Bryan