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Last week, I forgot to include a link to the oscillating multi-tool tips video I included. Thanks to those of you who kindly pointed out the omission. In the future, if this happens, you can always go to the channel I mention, search on the subject, and find the video. My apologies for the hiccup.
Tips Busters: Amazingly Stupid Tape Tricks
Months back, I proposed the idea of doing a “Tips Busters” section where I deputize readers to try out a tip, any tip they see that appears too good to be true, to determine whether it works, doesn’t work, sorta works. I’m still hoping to put such a series together. If you want to bust a tip or have a tip to bust, message me. In the meantime, I’m going to start running pieces from others who are testing and evaluating tips. On this episode of Stumpy Nubs, James looks at a number of dubious (at best) painter’s tape “hacks” as found on YouTube. There are many such tips. As James points out, lots of them are just plain silly.
Understanding Tolerances for 3D Design and Printing
Via Maker Update comes this gem of a video on Practical Alchemy about understanding parts tolerances when designing in Fusion 360 (and other CAD programs) and how to ensure that your 3D designed parts will properly fit when sent to a 3D printer. They also show you how to create a 3D printed “Fit Guide” to better understand and accommodate tolerances for your particular printer.
A User’s Guide to H-Bridge Motor Drivers
Anyone with even a casual familiarity with hobby electronics is likely familiar with H-bridge motor drivers. So named for the H-like configuration of the circuit schematic, with its 4 switching elements, these drivers allow you to control DC motors for speed and moving forwards, backwards, left, and right. In this DroneBot Workshop, they look at a number of popular H-bridge drivers (e.g. L298N, DRV8871, and the MX1508) and the types of DC motors they can control. At over 1-hour, this is a useful crash course in understanding and using this common drive train controller.
Animations of 75 Different Knots
Via the Tools for Possibilities newsletter comes this amazingly useful resource. Knot-tying is a fundamental maker skill. But learning to tie them from a text, or looking at still images, can make them seem unnecessarily confusing and complicated. I don’t know about you, but seeing these knot animations immediately makes me want to grab a rope and go to lashing school.
Maker Slang
Slang, jargon, and technical terms for the many realms of making things.
Surface profile – The 3-dimensional tolerance zone around the surface of an object, often one that’s a complex curve or shape. This profile requires that every point along the surface lies within a specified tolerance range.
Slush casting – A form of casting where material is “slushed around” inside of a mold, creating a thin layer on the outer walls of the casting. This technique is most often used to create a lightweight, hollow castings. It can also be done as the first pour in a highly-detailed mold, with a second pour finishing a solid cast.
The Rule of Cool – In making anything from realms of the imagination (e.g. sci-fi, fantasy, other fiction), the overriding of realism, the laws of physics, and practicality in the service of sheer cool factor.
Shop Talk
In response to my piece on toilet floats and valve reseating tools, I got an interesting message from a reader. He was taken aback by the fact that doing this sort of basic household plumbing was even a question for me. He assumed that any maker/handyperson would do this type of maintenance/repair work without even thinking about it. This led him to ask: “Is there anything you look at and think: ‘I cannot fix THAT!’ I’ve never once thought that. Am I in the majority or minority?”
My situation might be somewhat unique in this regard. I have severe spinal arthritis. So, many maintenance, repair, and DIY projects are outside my reach. Even to replace the float tank, I couldn’t reach down and shut off the very frozen water intake valve on the toilet. I had to get a friend to come over and do that for me.
But even for the more physically able, I’m sure there are preferences. I know plenty of people who loathe house painting, and others who would never think about doing electrical work. And I know plenty of electronics nerds who build robots, microcontroller projects, and all sorts of other high-tech makery who wouldn’t think about doing traditional shopcraft (woodworking, metalwork, etc). And vice versa.
Different strokes for different folks. And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby.
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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.
Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden by Niki Jabbour, illustrations by Anne Smith, Elayne Sears and Mary Ellen Carsley Storey Publishing 2014, 272 pages, 8 x 10 x 0.8 inches (softcover)
Fittingly, the layout of Groundbreaking Food Gardens is similar to a community garden. Within the landscape of this one book, readers find 73 distinct plots, each neatly contained, each with its own character in the beds of text and image. In it, edible gardening expert Niki Jabbour curates 73 thematically diverse illustrated plans contributed by master food growers and writers with unendingly fresh perspectives. Each mini-chapter opens with three or four cornerstones of the design therein, and these points become headers for each section, like garden markers for the reader.
Even the most bibliophilic gardener has to admit, it’s hard to find a good gardening book that says or does something new. But within the first 24 hours of bringing home Groundbreaking Food Gardens, I had filled it with every bit of scrap paper in our bookmark pile. Though more of a design lookbook than a how-to, it still offers plenty of information. Woven throughout the plans, there are both practical tips and historical gardening factoids to appeal to new and seasoned gardeners alike. You wouldn’t use a bean pole to support a squash, and so the scaffolding of each design chapter changes slightly to reflect the 73 unique concepts. Colby Eierman’s “Backyard Orchard” walks you through espaliering a fruit tree while Wendy Kiang-Spray’s “Asian Vegetables” chapter focuses on familiarizing us with 28 varieties of, you guessed it, Asian vegetables. Because each design focuses on a particular interest or challenge (lack of space, lots of space, kid-friendly, wildlife-welcoming, one of everything, all garlic, all the time), I’ve been having fun daydreaming about taking bits and pieces of each plan to fit my particular gardening needs and wants (which are, let’s be honest, all the gardens).
Practically speaking, for those of us who don’t have the time or money to completely transform our outdoor spaces all at once, starting out with Jayme Jenkins’s ingenious “Hanging Gutters” garden or improving current plots with Laura Henderson’s tips on water collecting and succession planting will keep our hands dirty while dreaming of recreating Mac Mead’s half-acre “Biodynamic Farm.” Whether you have a perennial green thumb or just some dirt under your fingernails from the basil on your window sill, you’ll find inspiration in Groundbreaking Food Gardens. – Mk Smith Despres
WORLD OF WARCRAFT CHRONICLE TAKES YOU TO THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WOW UNIVERSE
World of Warcraft Chronicle by Blizzard Entertainment, Peter Lee (artist) and Joseph Lacroix (illustrator) Dark Horse 2016, 184 pages, 9.3 x 12.3 x 0.7 inches
Real chronicles for imaginary places are nothing new. I’m pretty sure my first one detailed all the secrets of Krynn. But it might have been Pern. Or maybe Thra. It’s hard to remember. And these days, the market boasts a surfeit of atlases, histories, dictionaries, and art books big enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fan.
Dark Horse’s World of Warcraft Chronicle Vol. 1 fills all these roles beautifully. Formatted as a history (hence “chronicle”) the book takes the reader from the very beginning of the WoW universe to a time 45 years before the Dark Portal, when a young boy named Medivh awoke from a long coma…
WoW is famously lore-dense. It is one of the most captivating things about the game for many players. Each new expansion brings new races, new characters - each with their own complete story - as well as new back stories for old favorites. And then, too, WoW has a nifty habit of either adding new locations (and new stories!) or completely destroying the old lands and kingdoms and rebuilding in the same spots for, you guessed it, new stories!
This book is an attempt to corral all those stories into something coherent and readable. Two things help the book achieve its goal: the history is laid out chronologically (chronicle!) and supported by numerous maps and stunning artwork. The maps show the same locations again and again, noting how things have changed since the last time they were presented. And the art…Blizzard’s own Peter Lee illustrated Chronicle with lush paintings that depict key scenes instantly familiar to anyone who has spent time in World of Warcraft.
As a physical object, Chronicle is another in a long line of beautifully constructed books from Dark Horse. The covers are sturdy (and sans jacket, instead having fixed illustrated panels on the front cover) and the paper is heavy enough to survive being leafed through repeatedly without tearing. Likewise, though glossy, the paper resists being smudged or marked by skin oil. The font and typesetting is clear and easy to read. As I said, it is a beautiful book.
With the (hopefully first of many) Warcraft movie set to debut this summer, World of Warcraft, the game, is sure to gain a bunch of new fans as well as see the return of lapsed players like yours truly. This book is the perfect companion piece for those new to Azeroth and those whose recollection may have faltered a little and even those who are already experts because, if nothing else, this book will make you want to take up your sword, climb on your mount, and join the battle. For the Horde! (Alliance!) – Joel Neff
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.
