And please spread the word if you like what you see here. Thank you!
A Look at the Proxxon Motorized Angle Polisher
Last issue, I wrote about Adam Savage restoring the yellowed plastic cover of a vintage Nagra IV-S audio recorder. He ended up using a combination of a 12% hydrogen-peroxide bath and stages of a polishing compound to bring the cover back to its former glory. In this video, he talks about the Proxxon motorized angle polisher he uses while restoring the faded and scratched plastic dome on a spacesuit helmet replica and extolling the virtues of the tool.
Paint Coatings: The Great Weapon Against Rust
Grady of the fantastic Practical Engineering channel continues his series on corrosion engineering by looking at one of the great weapons wielded in the war against steel rust: paint (or more accurately paint coatings).
Next-Level Oscillating Multi-Tool Tips
Wow. James of Stumpy Nubs always brings the goods, but I learned so much from this video on improving one’s use of an oscillating multi-tool. I just recently bought my first cheap oscillating tool (to see how I like it) and am just beginning to learn how to use it properly. Even if you’ve had an oscillating tool for a while, I bet you’ll learn something here. How to angle your plunge cuts, pre-scoring cuts, holding onto the blade for better control (yes, it’s safe), using semi-circular blades for making straighter lines, so much more. Lots of tips for cutting metal with an oscillator, too. And, James has a good recommendation for an inexpensive blade assortment.
Quick ‘N Dirty Aluminum Casting
In this Daniel LupienYouTube short, he shows you how easy it is to create a simple sand mold and cast it in aluminum. All you basically need is a chunk of aluminum, a crucible and tongs, a source of heat, some kinetic sand (or regular casting sand), and something to press into the sand to create the mold.
No-Cost Stud Finder
When my wife and I moved to our new digs in Benicia, CA last fall, I needed to install a swivel-arm wall mount for our TV. I simply used a 1″ disk magnet I had on-hand to locate the stud. No fancy stud finder needed. In this Becky Stern tip, she shows the method of using a string and a magnet. Easy peasy. If you’re uncomfortable with this method and want to make sure to find the center of the stud and locate (and steer clear of) any wire runs, pipes, etc., sophisticated imaging scanners can be had for under $30.
Fixing a Leaky Faucet with a Ten Dollar Tool
We know that professional plumbing doesn’t come cheap. Doing your own basic maintenance and repairs may seem intimidating, but it shouldn’t. Jobs like clearing a trap, changing a toilet float assembly, or replacing faucet washers are relatively simple and easy. Years ago, I changed a toilet float kit. It was easy (after getting the very frozen-in old assembly out). And, I felt like I’d accomplished something and saved myself over $100. The replacement kit was $15.
Mark Frauenfelder of Cool Tools recently replaced the rubber washer in his shower. He writes in Recomendo: “Our shower head was leaking, even after I replaced the rubber washer. YouTube informed me that I had a scarred valve seat, which is the brass ring that’s supposed to form a tight seal against the washer. I bought a reseating tool for about $10 on Amazon, which smooths the surface of the valve seat. It worked, and saved me a $150 plumber visit.”
Notable Quotables
“Move carefully and fix things.” -Civic technologist, Bill Hunt
“Read your fear as excitement.” -Author and public speaking guru Scott Birkin [Said about public speaking, but applicable to many other, similar situations.]
Shop Talk
Reader Art Elliott shares this tip:
“My fav pencil is the tri-conderoga. It’s the best of both worlds. Three sided, so it doesn’t roll away, and thinner than a regular carpenters pencil, so you get sharper lines, but it’s also thicker than a regular pencil, so the lines are still nice and thick. My family got me a pack for Father’s Day and they’re my go-to in the garage.”
***
On the issue of CA glue curing accelerated by water or baking soda or baking soda and water, reader Josh Martin writes:
“Setting CA glue with water makes an inconsistent, often crumbly consistency to the set glue. Baking soda improves on this, but nothing works as well as accelerator (or just time).”
In reference to storing CA glue in the freezer, reader KX4WD enthuses:
“The money I could have saved on super glues over the years with this storage tip!”
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Cool tools really work.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
These $2.75 work gloves are better than you’d think.
In this episode of Project Farm, Todd tests 17 different pairs of work gloves, ranging in price from $2.80 to $32. He tests them for comfort, thickness, force required to bend glove fingers, puncture and abrasion resistance (wear), impact protection, cut resistance, and grip. The results are surprising, and as he points out at the end, it’s always so rewarding when some of the cheaper options come out on top. In this case, the $2.80 G&F gloves got As in almost every testing category. But sadly, they got a C and D in comfort and bendability. The glove with the best price/performance sweet spot was the leather $10 WZQH glove. You can see the final results matrix here.
The majority of lost objects are right where you figure-once you take a moment to stop and figure.
Others, however, are in the immediate vicinity of that place. They have undergone a displacement-a shift in location that, although minor, has served to render them invisible.
Some examples:
A pencil has rolled beneath a typewriter.
A tool has been shoved to the rear of a drawer.
A book on a shelf has gotten lodged behind other books.
A folder has been misfiled, several folders away from where it belongs.
Objects are apt to wander. I have found, though, that they tend to travel no more than eighteen inches from their original location. To the circle described by this eighteen-inch radius I have given a name. I call it the Eureka Zone. With the aid of a ruler, determine the Eureka Zone of your lost object. Then explore it. Meticulously.
Making a Mint Tin Storage Cabinet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXrMBVK6z3c
I just ran across this maker channel, Evan Monsma, and I’m digging the vibe. He had me at his mission statement: “I want to encourage everyone to build a shelf and change their own oil, that's all.” Subscribed!
In this video, Evan introduces his hardware system of color-coded mint tins for housing screws, nuts, bolts, washers, and misc. small parts. But his tins collections is getting out of hand so he decided to build storage shelving using a technique he’d never tried: dado joints. The way he talks through his planning and building process is very satisfying. And I enjoyed see him using a white Pentel Presto pen and drawing out the build directly onto his desk and the material. But I have to admit chuckling when I saw him drafting the dimension for the shelves on the shelf stock itself, thinking: “He’s about to cut those calculations up,” and then him admitting later on in the video that he had lost the dimensions in cutting out his parts. Oops.
I’ll Have a Shot of Drano, Please
Years ago, a plumber told me to never follow the directions on a bottle of Drano (where it suggests pouring as much as a half the bottle into your clog). “That’s marketing hype to get you to waste your money,” he told me. “Just use about a shot-glass worth at a time. Then a kettle of boiling water. And repeat as needed until the drain clears.”
I’ve been doing it that way ever since. A small amount of drain cleaner. Wait 20 minutes. Then pour of a kettle of hot water. Repeat. In my experience, it has worked most every time on the usual suspects: bathroom hair, sink sludge, and kitchen grease slowdown.
The logic, as he explained it, is simple. Most clogs aren’t epic blockages. They’re small, localized buildups. You don’t need half a bottle of caustic chemicals sitting in your drain trap. A small dose often begins the breakdown. The hot water helps move things along. Less chemical, less waste.
But there are caveats. Most chemical drain cleaners are highly caustic. Even in small doses, repeated use can stress older metal pipes. Boiling water and PVC don’t get along well, either. Extremely hot water can soften PVC joints over time.
There’s also the bigger truth: mechanical solutions are usually better. A simple drain snake will often solve what chemicals only nibble away at. And enzymatic cleaners, while slower, are gentler on pipes.
Still, for minor clogs, the shot-glass method has been a reliable trick in my house.
I now have well over 10,000 subscribers to this humble little newsletter. And I hover around paid subscribers. A million thanks to all of you. Doing this newsletters is a true joy for me and I especially like feeling like I’m connected to a community of fellow makers. Thanks to everyone who’s sent me an email, made a comment, shared a tip or tool with me. Let’s keep the ball rolling for another 200 issues!
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