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Which Ratcheting Screwdriver is Best?
There are few hand tools that people seem to have more opinions about than ratcheting screwdrivers. And, now we have some decent testing of this everyday tool by Todd at Project Farm. Todd tests 14 different brands for efficiency, precision, and durability. Tests included working arc swing, ratchet back drag, magnet strength, bit retention strength, build quality (shaft wobble), shaft rotation in the locked position, bit failure load, and screwdriver failure load. Bottom line? The PB Swiss screwdriver, at a whopping $144 (at time of testing, now $178!), performed the best. This was followed by the $70 Linus Tech Tips driver. The Megapro and Williams also performed well, at $34 and $36, respectively. I have the Williams driver and have no complaints.
Tips on Quickly Learning a New Skill
In this video, engineer Jeremy Fielding drops a ton of wisdom via 26 strategies for learning a new skill, fast. Many of these might seem obvious (you must be motivated, mistakes will happen), but it’s in the unpacking of these ideas and the case examples he uses that make this video most valuable. And, there are a number of tips that one might overlook or not consider, like asking family and friends if they have resources related to the skill you wish to learn, not being afraid to ask someone to teach you what they know, and the idea that you only need to learn the essentials first, then you can dive in and learn by doing.
Making Clay Out of Common Soil
As my Southern mamma used to say: “Put a new wrinkle on your brain every day.” Here’s today’s wrinkle: I had no idea that you could derive clay, suitable for making pottery, from common soil. I thought you had to find a vein of red clay and harvest that. Sure, such clay is obviously preferred, but you can also render out clay using reddish soil (which has high clay content) or really any type of soil. All you need to do is suspend the soil in water and filter out the heavy materials. After straining through a cloth, you are left with clay.
Maker Slang
Jargon, slang, and tech terms from the diverse worlds of DIY.
Hero prop – In movie-making, a detailed prop designed for close-up shots and closer scrutiny from the audience. In contrast, action props are used where the audience will not see the prop in close-up.
Scumbling – In painting, to soften (the color or tone of a painted area) by overlaying opaque or semi-opaque color applied thinly and lightly with an almost dry brush. I learned this one from my artist wife, Angela White.
Weeding – In vinyl cutting, the act of removing all of the unwanted vinyl around your cut design.
TOYS! Better Sink Strainer
I watched a video a few weeks ago on Cool Tools where Donald Bell extolled the virtues of this OXO sink strainer. Like him, I hate the design of most metal-basket strainers. I ordered one of these and was so impressed with it that I wrote a Boing Boing post about it. Hundreds of BB readers followed suit and many of them are as happy with theirs as I am with mine, so I thought I’d share it here, too.
I made two racks for my Stanley and Harbor Freight sorting boxes. One I welded and later decided it was way overbuilt. Too heavy especially once loaded with full trays of screws, etc. The second one I built a simple frame from 2 x 4s, then slid small shelves out of thin material like Masonite across both sides. It may not be as easy as baker racks, but I’m pretty sure it’s the cheapest way to build a rack in terms of materials. Plywood would be nicer all around, but 2x4s are cheap new, and almost free used.
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Reader Jim Landis wrote:First, thanks for all the fascinating information you keep publishing. I’m a big fan. I’m sure others have discovered this, but some readers might find it useful. When I’m knocking together a quick model out of soda straws and paper clips, etc to get a feel for a project, 1 centimeter to 2 inches is a very convenient scale to use.
1. It’s easy to double or halve numbers without too much mental effort.
2. There’s always a ruler nearby with both inches and centimeters marked in parallel.
3. It’s very close to a 1:5 scale, so models are a nice size for desktops. For context, the original GI Joe dolls, -ahem- action figures, were 1:6 scale.
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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.
The Magus is a labyrinthine novel about Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who takes a teaching post on a remote Greek island to escape a failed relationship. There he meets Maurice Conchis, a wealthy recluse who draws him into an elaborate, ever-shifting psychological game that blurs the line between performance and reality. As the game escalates, Nicholas is forced to confront uncomfortable truths about freedom, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves.
Core Principles
The questions that matter most are yours alone to answer
No guru, no teacher, no book can answer the questions that matter most. Others can create conditions for insight: they can confuse you, challenge you, strip away your illusions. But the actual seeing must be your own. The danger is spending your life waiting for someone else to tell you who you are.
A new enviroment work like a mirror
“Greece is like a mirror. It makes you suffer. Then you learn.” To live alone? “To live. With what you are.” Sometimes you need to be removed from your familiar environment, stripped of your usual distractions and self-deceptions, before you can see yourself clearly.
Guard your own integrity above everything else
The self must not be betrayed. Millions lack the courage to be good, far more than the few who dare to be evil. Each compromise with your own integrity, each time you go along with what you know is wrong, is a small betrayal of yourself.
Freedom means giving up your need to know the rules
Throughout the novel, Nicholas keeps demanding explanations: who is real, what is staged, what the game actually is. Conchis never tells him. Eventually, Nicholas stops waiting for the rules and starts acting anyway. Most of life works the same way. You rarely get the full picture before you have to decide, and waiting for certainty often becomes a way to avoid deciding at all.
Try It Now
Identify a question you’ve been waiting for someone else to answer for you. What would it mean to stop waiting and decide for yourself?
Notice where you’re performing a version of yourself rather than being yourself. What would you do differently?
Think of a time you betrayed your own values to fit in or avoid conflict. What did it cost you? What would courage have looked like?
Pick a decision you've been postponing until you have "enough information." Ask yourself whether more information is actually coming, or whether you're stalling.
If you like Book Freak you might like the Deep Cuts Reading Club, a paid-subscriber benefit where each month I dig up a forgotten, public-domain book and turn it into a clean ebook edition, with a cover, a foreword, and a discussion thread. This month’s pick is Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island, H. G. Wells’s strangest and most overlooked novel. Join the club for $5/month or $45/year.
“The most important questions in life can never be answered by anyone except oneself.”
