{"id":40212,"date":"2022-08-30T11:40:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T18:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=40212"},"modified":"2022-09-01T12:41:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T19:41:12","slug":"a-users-guide-to-screws-and-tap-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/a-users-guide-to-screws-and-tap-die\/","title":{"rendered":"A User’s Guide to Screws and Tap & Die"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gareth\u2019s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales is published by Cool Tools Lab. To receive the newsletter a week early, sign up\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I want to thank everyone who subscribed last week or convinced others to. I had a satisfying little bump in subs. Let\u2019s keep it going! Please share with your social media feed and with friends. Thanks!****

Talk to\u00a0me<\/a>. Tell me a story. Share me a tip. A tool.
* Support my work by buying my tips books (Vol. 1<\/a>,\u00a0Vol. 2<\/a>).
* Take out an\u00a0Unclassified<\/a>\u00a0in this newsletter to reach fellow makers.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A User’s Guide to Screws and Tap & Die<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In these two clickclackclunk<\/em> tutorials on Instructables<\/em>, he offers an excellent beginner\u2019s class on screws<\/a> and tapping of screws<\/a>. Knowing how to tap threads for fasteners gives you a new kind of superpower for your projects. It\u2019s one of those skills that seems complicated and intimidating, until you do it. With a few specialty tools<\/a>, some lubrication<\/a>, and few important techniques, and you\u2019re in like Flynn.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Making a Camera Tracking Shot Slider from a Measuring Tape<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Via Maker Update<\/a> comes this very clever project<\/a> to 3D print a housing for a measuring tape and some ball bearing wheels so that you can use it as a non-motorized camera slider for creating linear tracking shots with your phonecam. You can even adjust the speed of the tracking by adjusting the pressure on the tape measure.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Which Rattle Can Paint is the Best?<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In this Project Farm<\/em> test<\/a> (which took a year to complete), Todd<\/strong> tested rattle can paints that cost from $1 to $15. The paints were tested on a vehicle hood and on metal panels kept outside for a year and then compared for chip resistance, paint fade over a year, scratch resistance, and rust blocking. In the end, the winners were Rust-Oleum Pro<\/a> ($6 at time of testing), Valspar<\/a> ($10 at time of testing), and Seymour<\/a> ($11 at time of testing). The big loser was the most expensive of the lot, Sherman-Williams ($15 at time of testing).<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How to Create a Steam Box for Wood Bending<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Xyla Foxlin<\/strong> recently made a cool bass guitar<\/a> that used steam-bent wood in its construction. In this video<\/a>, she shows how she created the steam box.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
TOYS! DiResta Ice Pick<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019ve written about Jimmy DiResta\u2019s<\/strong> ice pick before, but I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve never recommended it as a tool<\/a>. I use mine almost daily and am always surprised at the different uses I discover for it. There\u2019s even an Instagram tag<\/a> to document them. Sure, it\u2019s not cheap, and yes, part of the allure is the hip maker cred, but buying one supports an indie tool maker and they\u2019re beautifully made and hand-crafted by Jimmy and his crew. I\u2019ve given several as Christmas presents and my recipients enjoy them as much as I do.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Maker’s Muse<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A Roman \u201cSwiss Army Knife,\u201d some 1700 years old. Complete with three-pronged fork, spatula, pick, spike, and knife. Probably something of a luxury item, made of silver, and likely used by the wealthy Roman on the go.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Shop Talk<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
In response to\u00a0a question in the last issue<\/a>\u00a0about ready-made racks for portable storage cases, specifically Stanley cases, I got a lot of responses sharing projects on how to build them. The person asking the question wanted to buy vs. build, saving him time for more pressing projects. I swear I saw a project years ago to quickly modify baker\u2019s racks to use for this purpose. If anyone knows a link to such a project,\u00a0please share.<\/a>

In the meantime, for those looking to build a rack, here are a few projects that reader\u00a0Craig<\/strong>\u00a0shared:<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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