Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, but the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.
The endless summer
Work Your Way Around the World, $6 It’s many a graduate’s dream — pay your way as you travel around the world. I lived the dream myself when I was younger, so I know it is possible. Since then I’ve been tracking this subject faithfully, and have read through scores of books and websites offering how-to advice on the dream. They won’t hurt, but this fantastic book — now in its 14th edition! — is really the only one that will give you much help before you leave.
Most of these kind of books are a bunch of hand-waving generalities, or out of date particulars; this one is very specific and very current. It is massively researched, with tons of incoming gossip on where the easily-gotten jobs are this year, and what to do about paperwork and visas in that particular place, and how to land the job, and what you should expect, and letters from those who just did it. It’s all very helpful, practical and inspiring. But don’t get your hopes too high. There are really only two kinds of dependable quick jobs to be found “around the world”: 1) In the service industry in Europe — working at hotels, resorts, bars, camps for other tourists; and 2) teaching English in Asia. For most kids, that’ll be enough. There are hundreds of exceptions to these two, and this book will do its best to point you to them, but they are far fewer, and more dependent on chance. But even that skill — cultivating chance — is tackled with great intelligence in this meaty book, which I can’t recommend too much.
The author Susan Griffith is very prolific and at the center of a number of other related ongoing books, also recommended: Teaching English Abroad, Your Gap Year, and Summer Jobs Worldwide. – KK
How to sell your crafts
The Handmade Marketplace, $13 The giant crafts website Etsy makes it easy to list homemade stuff to a potential audience of millions. But the hard part is getting anyone to pay attention and actually buy it. That requires some basic business and online marketing skills, which are reviewed here, with the home crafter in mind. – KK
What best advice would you offer a crafter who is looking to gain national attention for their work? Invest in great product photography. Great work sells itself, so you need to do everything possible to make sure the beauty of your work comes through in a way that’s apparent to people reading about you online or in print because most people won’t see your work in person.
Are you getting some really great feedback about something in particular that you’ve made? Consider posting these compliments in the description of your item.
Keep these customer service practices in mind at all times: The customers may not always be right, but they do deserve your full attention and respect regarding the matter at hand. Apologize first. What if you didn’t do anything wrong? you may ask. Well, while that may be the case, that’s not really the point. You can, in fact, regret that your customer is upset in any regard. Simply recognizing that your buyer has a problem and has had to take the time out of a busy day to alert you to it is reason enough to apologize. Ask what will make the situation right. If what the customer wants is reasonable and you can do it, you should consider it. Taking a hit on a sale is a small price to pay when it comes to your overall reputation and the trust you are trying to build with your market.
Everyone is in sales
To Sell is Human, $16 Dan Pink argues that hard selling no longer works as it once did; what we need in this new information economy is soft selling. Soft sales are not just for sales people; everyone now is in the business of selling. Soft persuasion techniques are useful to anyone sending an email, writing a resume, doing a kickstart project, even twittering. A seller – either professional or citizen – can no longer rely on the old tactics such as “overcoming objections” and “closing an offer” but must shift to new skills such as improvisation, attunement, and service. Pink arrives at the radical idea that selling well makes us better humans, and better humans sell better. This book accomplished two things: it persuaded me that I am in sales, and it gave me some new tools for gently selling what I have to offer. – KK
Successful negotiators recommend that you should mimic the mannerisms of your negotiation partner to get a better deal. For example, when the other person rubs his/her face, you should, too. If he/she leans back or leans forward in the chair, you should, too. However, they say it is very important that you mimic subtly enough that the other person does not notice what you are doing, otherwise this technique completely backfires. Also, do not direct too much of your attention to the mimicking so you don’t lose focus on the outcome of the negotiation. Thus, you should find a happy medium of consistent but subtle mimicking that does not disrupt your focus.
After someone hears your pitch … 1. What do you want them to know? 2. What do you want them to feel? 3. What do you want them to do? If you’ve got strong answers to these three questions, the pitch will come together more easily.
One way to do better is with what I call “emotionally intelligent signage.” Most signs typically have two functions: They provide information to help people find their way or they announce rules. But emotionally intelligent signage goes deeper. It achieves those same ends by enlisting the principles of “make it personal” and “make it purposeful.” It tries to move others by expressing empathy with the person viewing the sign (that’s the personal part) or by triggering empathy in that person so she’ll understand the rationale behind the posted rule (that’s the purposeful part).
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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.
Every tool has two functions. One is the job it was designed to do (aka the business end). The other is how it interacts with you, the user. Manufacturers optimize the first and often don’t give enough thought to the second. For those with ability issues, it’s often on you to buy or DIY a better human interface.
The goal isn’t just comfort. A larger, softer handle spreads the force across more of your hand, reducing the amount of squeezing your fingers have to do. That means less pain, less fatigue, and, perhaps most importantly, more time spent making things than recovering from making things.
There are all sorts of ways you can create custom, ergonomic handles. Here are a few approaches worth exploring.
Foam Grip Tubing
This is the simplest place to start. Occupational therapists have been recommending foam tubing for years. The tubing slips over existing handles, instantly increasing their diameter while adding a layer of cushioning. It’s inexpensive, easy to cut with scissors, and available in different sizes and colors. It works on everything from screwdrivers and paintbrushes to knitting needles, gardening tools, kitchen utensils, and pens. It isn’t glamorous, but offers a real comfort upgrade for only a few bucks.
Self-Adhering Wrap
You’ve probably seen the stretchy wrap used to wrap hockey sticks and other sporting equipment. That same material makes an excellent custom tool grips. Add layers until the handle feels right to you. It’s inexpensive, washable, and gives you complete control over the final shape. And when it wears out, you just remove and re-wrap. Self-stick bandage tape also works. Here’s a video of that approach in action.
Heat-Shrink Tubing
For a cleaner, more permanent solution, consider heat-shrink grip tubing. Slide it over the handle, warm it with a heat gun, and it contracts into a snug, durable covering. It looks surprisingly close to a factory-installed comfort grip and stands up well to regular shop use and abuse.
Mold Your Handle to YOU
This is where things get truly personal. Several products let you create a grip that’s custom-shaped to your own hand.
Sugru is a moldable silicone putty that stays workable for about half an hour before curing into flexible rubber. Wrap it around a handle, grip the tool naturally, and your fingers create a perfectly fitted handle. The next day, you’ve got something that feels as though it came from a custom orthopedic workshop.
Another option is moldable thermoplastic pellets, sold under names like Polymorph, InstaMorph, and Polly Plastics. You just drop the pellets into hot water and they become soft enough to mold like clay. Here’s a quick video on making a basic handle with Polymorph.
One of the great joys of being makers is that we have the knowledge and wherewithal to modify our environment to fit our needs. Our tools deserve the same attention. If a handle hurts, don’t assume you’re the problem. Redesign the handle.
Have you modified a favorite tool to make it easier for you to hold? Did you invent a grip using something unexpected? Send me a photo and tell me what worked. I’d love to see your solution.
DiResta’s CNC Tips
I always love when JimmyDiResta does these tips videos and he hasn’t done one in a while, so I was thrilled to see this latest installment on CNC Tips. In it, he covers a broad range of tips, from the basic to “woah!”-level ideas. Some of what he covers: Cutting a shallow placement outline into the spoilboard first, drawing the cutter diameter into your CAD drawing before machining to check for clearance, modifying the Z-zero plate with multiple stepped reference depths, using wedges for work-holding instead of elaborate fixtures, inspecting V-bits with a cheap digital microscope, and raising or lowering Z-zero by a business-card thickness rather than immediately changing toolpaths.
And my favorite of the video, a real “Why didn’t I think of that?,” marking “TIGHT —>” on your collet wrench.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNsoRWza7G4
Building a Dream Desk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ul9iBhpVM
Most of us electron wranglers spend the majority of our waking lives at a desk, our eyeballs glued to a screen, our fingertips softwired to a keyboard. Like when you realize that you spend a third of your life in bed and decide to invest real money in a great bed and bedding, Morley Kert, in this video, realizes that, given all the time he spends at a computer desk, it’s worth building himself the ultimate workspace. And for him, besides a generous L-shaped desk, that meant drawers, drawers, and more drawers.
The video walks through every step of his process, from planning and building the desk to constructing over 80 drawers (he built the cabinet bodies and then 3D printed the drawers themselves), through the final finishing and assembly.
My biggest takeaway from this video was the inspiration to seriously rethink my own work desk setup and to not be afraid to invest real time and money in my desk’s comfort, convenience, and usefulness.
I now have well over 10,000 subscribers to this humble little newsletter. And 50 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. Let’s keep the ball rolling for another 200 issues!
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A very special thanks to Hero of the Realm subscribers: Moses Hawk, Jim Coraci, Donobster, Peter Sugarman, and Will Phillips for your generous support.
