{"id":38214,"date":"2021-04-15T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=38214"},"modified":"2021-04-13T10:10:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T17:10:37","slug":"which-work-gloves-are-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/which-work-gloves-are-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Work Gloves Are Best?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you like this newsletter? If you do, spread the love. The more subscribers I get, the more I can afford to invest in this effort (like the Skill Set series we just launched). Please help.<\/p>\n

Which Work Gloves Are Best?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Todd

Todd puts heavy-duty work gloves to the test.<\/p><\/div>\n

On the\u00a0latest Project Farm<\/a>, Todd puts ten pairs of work gloves through their paces. He tests impact damage, grip, wear, and cut resistance. The bottom line: The\u00a0Milwaukee gloves<\/a>\u00a0performed the best, but at a cost of $35 a pair. The best performance-to-cost were the\u00a0Ironclad gloves<\/a>\u00a0at $26 a pair.<\/p>\n

Skill Set: Preparing a Mold Box<\/strong>
\nFor the second installment of our\u00a0molding and casting skill set series<\/a>, we\u2019re going to talk about mold boxes.<\/p>\n

First off, I hope you have chosen a small object for casting. You want something that either has a flat bottom or that you can embed in some modeling clay to create a flat bottom in the final cast. For the one-part molding we are starting with, you can\u2019t have any undercuts in your mold (see this Paige Russell\u00a0molding intro<\/a> to understand undercuts). Here are my two molding candidates.<\/p>\n

\"The

The two items I plan to mold and cast.<\/p><\/div>\n

The easiest of these is the sea shell. It is flat and has no undercuts. The New Rock keychain is rounded on both sides, so I will embed it halfway in clay (and if I want to fully recreate it, I will cast twice and glue together).<\/p>\n

\"Paige

Paige Russell prepares a simple mold box.<\/p><\/div>\n

For a simple and quick mold box, I will use some scrap foamboard hot-glued together. You want your box to be around \u00bc” bigger than the object, all-around. For the box, you can use any sort of non-porous material (wood, plasticard, blister packaging, etc.). And you want to make sure you glue it well so that the silicone molding rubber doesn\u2019t leak out. Hot glue is great for this. See\u00a0Paige Russell\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0detailed Instructable<\/a>\u00a0on creating a mold box for a simple one-part mold.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget, it you want to follow along with this series, you might want to pick up this\u00a0starter molding and casting kit<\/a>. And, if you are playing along, I\u2019d\u00a0love to see<\/a>\u00a0the object(s) you plan to cast.<\/p>\n

Should You Laminate Your Vaccine Card?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Hang

Hang on to this.<\/p><\/div>\n

Last month, my\u00a0Cool Tools<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Boing Boing<\/em>\u00a0compadre, Mark Frauenfelder,\u00a0posted on BB<\/a>\u00a0about whether it\u2019s a good idea to laminate your vaccine card. The short answer is no. You might need a booster shot. To protect your card (which you may need in the future for travel and elsewhere), store it in a plastic badge holder. I\u00a0ordered two<\/a>\u00a0for me and my better half on Amazon.<\/p>\n

Spray Layout Fluid<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Spray-on

Spray-on layout fluid.<\/p><\/div>\n

Last year, I wrote a bit on what I called \u201cmachine bluing,\u201d known to the rest of the world as blue layout fluid (used for dying metal so that you can scribe layouts and cut lines into it). The machinist who showed it to me (RIP, old friend) called it bluing and so have I ever since. I caught a lot of flak for that and at least now know what it\u2019s actually called. What is certain is that layout fluid is\u2026 well\u2026 fluid. You brush it on. At least that\u2019s the most common form. I just discovered that there is also\u00a0spray-on layout fluid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Recreating Adam Savage’s Loc-Line Lighting<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"You

You need one of these!<\/p><\/div>\n

I have written several times here (and in\u00a0Make:<\/em>,\u00a0Adafruit<\/em>, and\u00a0HackSpace<\/em>\u00a0magazine) about my love for\u00a0Adam Savage\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0LocLine LED light panel bench lights. One of these on my painting bench has been a game-changer. One of my readers in the UK,\u00a0Mark Hewitt<\/strong>,\u00a0created a tutorial\u00a0<\/a>on the process of building one of these and has links to all of parts on Amazon for UK makers. Thanks, Mark!<\/p>\n

Storing Retro Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A

A rare moment of surprising organization.<\/p><\/div>\n

I recent became separated from my phone for a few days. To be able to at least access email, web, and social media, I went hunting for an old phone that I could press into service. Now, generally, I\u2019m not the most organized person in gene pool, so I was pleasantly surprised to find my past 3 phones all collected in a nice zipper case. I was downright shocked to discover that I\u2019d even had the presence of mind to also store each phone\u2019s charging cable and a USB power adapter with them. Good thing, too, cause all of them have different connector types. This was a great reminder to always store cables, connectors, etc. with old tech, in case you want to revive it or sell it. BTW: That lovely zipper case was a gift from Make:. It was made by BradBags of San Francisco and features a recycled vinyl Maker Faire sign featuring my Mousey the Junkbot, a light seeking robot made from an old computer mouse.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotables<\/strong>
\n\u201cA grinder and paint make you the welder you ain\u2019t.\u201d
\n– YouTuber AvE<\/strong><\/p>\n

First-Aid Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Adam

Adam got a boo-boo. Again.<\/p><\/div>\n

In a\u00a0recent Tested Q&A<\/a>,\u00a0Adam Savage<\/strong>\u00a0answered several questions related to workshop organization. His best tip concerned shop first-aid: Always make sure your first-aid supplies are close at hand, organized so that you know where everything is without thinking about it, and that you can grab what you need with one hand (should you be bleeding with the other). I discovered the wisdom of this the hard way. I cut my hand badly several years ago and had to access my first-aid kit while my left hand was bleeding all over everything. I have a really nice kit (given to me ages ago by Cool Tools\u2019 Kevin Kelly), but it\u2019s stored in my bathroom closet in a zipper case. Trying to unzip it and get what I needed while mildly panicked and dripping blood all over was a real eye-opener. A much more sensible set-up I plan to put together is a plastic bin on a shelf in my shop that I can pull down one-handed. For supplies, Adam suggests having iodine, hydrogen peroxide, cloth bandages, gauze\u2028, dressing pads, butterfly closures\u2028, and triple antibiotic cream. He also has an eye-washer. I would add: tweezers, scissors, medical tape, aspirin, disposable non-latex gloves, and a decent emergency first-aid guide.<\/p>\n

This has inspired me. I will be putting together one of these easy access kits and will be giving it away in a drawing of newsletter readers in the near future. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Shop Talk<\/strong>
\nOn the subject of\u00a0<\/em>using diamond knots<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on a backpack for light pickpocket deterrence, and a follow-up suggestion to use\u00a0<\/em>S-clip carabiners<\/em><\/a>, reader\u00a0<\/em>KokoTheTalkingApe<\/em><\/strong>, had a great point:<\/em><\/p>\n

I thought the point of the original complicated knot business was to put up some initial resistance to would-be thieves, and to LOOK as if the knots would be difficult to undo. Which they do, even though they\u2019re quite easy to release. Also, the price is virtually nothing.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s obvious how s-biners work, so I\u2019d imagine they wouldn\u2019t deter thieves as well as the knots. If the s-biners lock and if the lock switch is underneath, then they might actually not be so easy to open, but the idea was to keep them from even trying, wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

If I wanted to make it actually difficult to open, then I might try some other strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #86<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":38215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2371],"tags":[2372],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38223,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38214\/revisions\/38223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}