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I got a phenomenal response to my request for input on this newsletter. Thanks to all who messaged me. Turns out, an overwhelming number of you like the newsletter the way it is and simply offered encouragement. I also got several excellent suggestions for new features which I’ll be rolling out in the coming weeks. Keep those cards and letters coming!
How to Restore Yellowed Clear Plastic
In this quick Tested video, Adam Savage sets out to restore the lid of a gorgeous vintage Nagra IV-S audio recorder he recently acquired. The machine is in surprisingly good condition, but the clear plastic cover was scratched and badly yellowed. Doing research, he found many recommendations for using 12% hydrogen peroxide. He tried it with partial success. He discovered that finishing it up with plastic polishing compound returned it to something close it is original glory.
Making a Cheap, Simple Air Cleaner for a Small Shop
In this I Build It video, John shows how he made a simple and inexpensive air cleaner for his small woodshop. The air cleaner was made from little more than a small fan, a piece of duct piping, some scrap ply, and a several shop vac air filters. I love the way it can be expanded (with additional filters) via a threaded rod that holds the filters in place.
IKEA Wrenches on Your Pegboard
I just discovered a use for all of those hex wrenches that come with IKEA and other flat-pack furniture. They make perfect pegboard pegs!
Oil Can!
The tin man in dire need of maintenance.
The other day, while oiling a squeaky hinge with some lithium grease, I flashed on my granddad. A consummate tinkerer and inventor, Gramps was obsessed with maintenance. He frequently had his spring-bottom oiler in hand, blue shop rag tangling from his back pocket, going around the house, the yard, his backyard workshop, the car, lovingly maintaining the machinery of his life. I decided in that moment to try and be better at doing the same. Moments later, on Twitter, I saw this Kurt Vonnegut quote: “Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.” Exactly. OIL CAN!
Maker Slang
Slang, jargon, and technical terms for the realms of making things.
Crown pulley – A pulley designwhere the center has a larger diameter than the outer edges, thus a “crown.” Perhaps counter-intuitively, the belt on the pulley will always seek the area of highest tension, returning it to the crown. Via Maker Update.
Promptcrafting – In AI art, it’s all about the quality of the prompts you craft. The better your invocation, the better the magic that gets returned.
Rewilding your attention – Writer Clive Thompson has been promoting the creative benefits of exposing yourself to the novel, the offbeat, the serendipitous. Look beyond what the online algorithms feed you – rewild your attention!
Shop Talk
As stated in the intro, I received many fabulous emails from you, dear readers. Here is one from Paul Cryan. Look for some tips from Paul in a coming issue!
“Thanks for doing all you do. Your tip books [Ed: Vol 1, Vol 2.] are great and I’m really enjoying the newsletter. I bought and devoured both of your books, in Kindle and PDF formats. I refer to them often and having the search function (via either the Kindle app or iBooks, respectively) is really handy. Every few days, I find myself looking at objects in new ways and going back to your references. This past Friday, I didn’t have a clamp within getting-up-from-my-chair distance at my office desk, so I ended up using a pair of pliers and a rubber band to hold together a plastic part I was gluing. Thanks for putting that seed in my head.
“The only problem I have with the weekly newsletter is that it gives me way too many things to think about and try per unit of time!
“With your tips books, I’ve got months to read through them and try things out. This week, I experimented with the lanolin mineral oil mixture to rustproof tools out of your latest tips book and it seems to hold much more promise than Johnson’s Paste Wax for keeping my old restored Shopsmiths looking and working great. I still need to test whether the stickiness can be buffed sufficiently off the power-tool surfaces to avoid particles grabbing, but so far so good. And who doesn’t like that faint smell of ungulates on their metal? 😉
“With the newsletter, I’m interested in just about everything you cover, which leads me to a weekly frenzy of investigation and implementation. Within the past month I’ve upgraded our broken sink strainers to the OXO type (love them), picked up a Williams ratcheting screwdriver (my new favorite ‘good enough’ tool), and bought Fat Boy pencils and FastCap markers that have me wondering how I didn’t know about these things before. And now I’m browsing saw blades!”
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Back in Nomadico issue #218, I mentioned a men’s travel clothing article I got quoted in quite a bit. Another traveler who was featured mentioned a store I’d never shopped in, a Japanese one Uniqlo, and said it was great for inexpensive merino wool tops, shorts, and t-shirts. While I’m in Asia, I picked up a replacement for a fast-drying workout t-shirt that was getting worn out, an anti-odor wicking one that feels better-made than what you’d expect for $15. My last stop is Saigon, so I’ll probably snag a couple more before coming home.
Best Airlines for Economy Class
Skytrax runs the most respected annual rundown on top airlines because it relies on consumer surveys only, which tend to reflect the overall mood and service level more than obscure data points like on-time performance. The latest economy class report is dominated by Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. Anyone who has had one leg on Cathay Pacific (#2) and then a connection on American Airlines will give you an earful about the differences. Delta was the only North American carrier to make the top-20. Singapore won again, while others in the top 5 were Qatar, EVA, and All Nippon (ANA).
Toxic Haze in Southeast Asia
While there have been plenty of natural disasters happening around the world lately, the haze blanketing much of Southeast Asia for more than a month now is a man-made problem. The annual “Haze Season” is caused by farmers following slash-and-burn agriculture, including more than a few big Asian corporations. While the practice has long been squashed in most of the world, the rules in this region are poorly enforced, especially in Indonesia, so neighboring countries deal with dangerous air quality and poor visibility. El Nino is making it worse than usual: here’s the full story.
Disney World or a Luxury Tour?
According to a study that landed in my inbox from a company called FloridaRentals.com, it will cost a family of four an average of $4,064 this season to stay at one of the official Disney World resorts around Orlando. That’s already enough to put a family into a very nice house or apartment in much of the world, but if you pick the top option, Polynesian Village Resort, a week’s lodging will set you back $7,969. That’s before you pay the outrageous park entry fees or buy overpriced meals for everyone, so figure the total tab will be twice that. The things a mom and dad could do with that much money! It’s a dreamy travel list.
A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.
The tin man in dire need of maintenance.
