Make: Online: Toolbox Archives

Toolbox Archive: Toolbox

October 14, 2009

IFixit's sponsored blender teardown

Now this is a welcomed development. The company Blendtec provided iFixIt with one of their Total Blenders to take apart and document. As you know, we're always prattling on about "If You Can't Open It, You Don't Own It" and other litanies from The Maker's Bill of Rights. This is a company that apparently understands these rights. Looking at the teardown docs and watching the video, you can see that the blender is well made, with user-accessible parts, clearly marked circuit boards, etc. They obviously know they have a quality, intelligently-designed product, which is why they're not afraid to subject it to public inspection. Let's hope this starts a trend.

Blendtec Total Blender Teardown

October 13, 2009

The Day The Earth Stood Still toolbox

Paul Overton, of the most-splendid DudeCraft, sent us this mosaic toolbox project. He was asked by someone doing a book on "geek crafts" to submit something, and this is what he came up with, an homage to Gort and The Day the Earth Stood Still, accomplished via bits of paper cut from junk mail and magazines. Awesome idea. Stunning results.

Gort - Klaatu Barada Nikto

Help me write my next Toolbox column

The theme for my next Make: Online Toolbox column is "Maker Sartorial," looking at clothing and accessories as tools for makers. In other words, what shirts, pants, shoes, belt pouches/holsters, pocket-contents, etc. do you carry, either when you're at work, engaged in your hobbies, or otherwise doing makery type stuff, whether for work or pleasure. For some of us, the deeper geeks in the house, this might be what we wear and carry all the time.

I've already sent out an email to my local maker community, via the HacDC and Dorkbot DC e-lists, and to the internal Maker Media list. But I thought it'd be fun to ask you all the question, have you email me your answers (and links to pictures!). I'll assemble it all into a column to run next week. I'll choose my favorite submission and send them a Maker's Notebook.

So, send me an email and tell me what you wear and carry that you'd consider part of your "tool set"? Send me links to pictures of your gear or links to products you use.

October 12, 2009

Linear actuators without shafting

A major obstacle standing in the way of total self-replication by rapid prototyping machines, notably RepRap, is that certain of the components, particularly ground shafting (or threaded rod) for the Cartesian robot's linear actuators, require greater precision than the machines are currently capable of. Thingiverse user fdavies is engaged in a noble effort to design printable linear actuators that require no shafting and are instead based on the hinged Sarrus linkage (Wikipedia). Excelsior!

October 8, 2009

Tool smackdown: Pocket multimeters

Mm-Rs-Aa-1
Nice round up from Mikey @ Popular Science. He writes...

On any given day you can find a miniature multimeter in my pocket. These devices are the equivalent of a Leatherman for electronic enthusiasts. (The Leatherman would be in my other pocket.) Most of the time, I want to check the voltage of a deep-cycle battery in my electric-vehicle or troubleshoot a problem with a solar photovoltaic system. But multimeters do things like current measuring, resistance and continuity, which make them handy for solving problems ranging from home wiring to electronics repair. (For more on what do do with one, check out Ladyada's multimeter tutorial on adafruit.com). I've used a number of "portable" units over the years, and while many are anything but, one jumps out as my solid favorite. Here's my take on a few popular units.

Box stitch for large-gauge cable bundling

This week's Lost Knowledge column on cable lacing has generated a lot of great discussion, in the comments to the piece, and on Boing Boing. There's a dearth of info on the subject online, and almost no video on it. We'd LOVE it if someone who knows how to do it could do a how-to, post it to YouTube, and send us the link. Here's one of the few video resources, a telco tech showing how to do a box stitch for bundling large gauge cables.

More:
Lost Knowledge: Cable lacing

October 7, 2009

Lost Knowledge: Cable lacing

The twice-monthly Lost Knowledge column explores the possible technology of the future in the forgotten ideas of the past (and those just slightly off to the side). Every other Wednesday, we look at retro-tech, "lost" technology, and the make-do, improvised "street tech" of village artisans and tradespeople from around the globe. "Lost Knowledge" was also the theme of MAKE, Volume 17

One of the cool things about doing this column is discovering lost technologies myself, things I knew nothing about before bumping into them while poking about the virtual attics and basements of cyberspace, looking for things to write about. For instance, I knew nothing about stick chart navigation before covering it here. And I'd certainly seen timbrel vaulting before, but didn't know that's what it was called, or how it worked.

We got such a great response to my last column on wire-wrapping (which was awhile ago, thanks to a most unwelcomed medical absence). There were site comments, emails, tweets, and Flickr photo pointers of people fondly, or not so fondly, remembering this disappearing art of circuit assembly. Several people mentioned cable lacing and that I should do a column on that next. I had no idea what cable lacing was, but one of the commenters pointed me to the Wikipedia page and another to Impulselabs' amazing photos on Flickr. Impulselabs describes the practice very succinctly:

The bundling is done with a technique called "cable lacing". A series of knots and stitches from a continuous piece of wax impregnated cotton or twine are used to bundle cables together. It takes some practice, but it'll outperform zipties in that it won't crush the insulative jackets on wiring and that it's not going to shift axially on you if it's loose. Likewise, my bundles have a rectangular cross section. Zipties can't conform and keep bundle shapes other than ellipses.

Cable lacing was cable management technique before zipties, used in the telecom industry, aerospace, marine applications, and elsewhere. The thin cord used is traditionally a waxed linen. Modern materials used today in flat "lacing tape" include nylon, polyester, and Nomex. There are different methods of lacing, such as the common marline hitch, seen here:

Here's an illustration from an old ARRL Amateur Radio Handbook, showing the marline hitch:

This one is another common lacing method, the "NASA-style" spot tie. Not nearly as elegant as a marline, but I guess it gets the job done:

Here's a page from "Workmanship and Design Practices for Electronic Equipment," showing different lacing and tying methods.

And here's a how-to on the Historic Naval Ships Association website.

There's not much more out there on the practice. If you do a search, you will find some images on various discussion boards of computer modders and others trying their hand at cable lacing the wiring inside of their computers and between the gear of their home media centers. It's nice to see that at least some folks are keeping the art alive.

More:

October 6, 2009

Drilling square holes with a Watts drill

Interesting thread over on The Home Shop Machinist describing the use of H.J. Watts' 1918 US patent 1,241,176 drill, based on the Reuleaux triangle (Wikipedia), for drilling a (mostly) square hole.

Garrett Wade tool winners!

We've done the drawing for the winners of the tools that Garrett Wade so generously provided us with, namely a set of their Extra Heavy Duty Screwdrivers and one of their Push Drills.

The winners are:

Jonathan Fulton - Who gets the "tank screwdrivers"
Matt Kaake - Who wins the push drill

Congrats, fellas! Email sent. Please take some pics of projects you do with the tools and upload them to the MAKE Flickr pool. We'd love to see what you do with them.

We had over 270 responses to our drawing, and the question of what you would do with these tools. The comment thread is worth reading. It's a fascinating portrait of the diverse MAKE readership, the many different projects you're working on, or considering, and how you relate to your tools. There are even fond reminiscences of dad's and granddad's tools. All sorts of great stuff. As our editor and publisher Dale Dougherty said: "There are any number of tool makers out there who should read through these comments." It's definitely a decent peek at how a population of makers use and relate to their tools.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and thanks to the folks at Garrett Wade for these give-away goodies.

First Halloween Microchip giveaway happening now

Just a reminder that the first promotional giveaway from this year's Halloween contest sponsors is currently underway. First up for grabs is a PIC32 Starter Kit, shown above, with a retail value of $50, together with a PIC32 I/O Expansion Board, shown below, which sells for $72. To enter, leave a comment on the announcement page describing what cool Halloween-themed project you'd make with it. The winner will be announced this Friday, October 9.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Oct 6, 2009 03:00 AM
Announcements, Halloween, Toolbox | Permalink | Email Entry | Suggest a Site

October 2, 2009

First Microchip Technology Halloween promo giveaway

The sponsors of this year's Halloween contest will be providing us with a number of product samples to give away throughout October. First up for grabs is a PIC32 Starter Kit, shown above, with a retail value of $50, together with a PIC32 I/O Expansion Board, shown below, which sells for $72. To enter, leave a comment describing what cool Halloween-themed project you'd make with it. The winner will be announced next Friday, October 9.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

September 29, 2009

Don't forget our Garrett Wade tool giveaway

Don't forget we're running an awesome Garrett Wade tool giveaway. Two winners will be chosen to receive either a push drill or a set of old school heavy-duty ("tank") screw drivers Sean Ragan reviewed in the latest Toolbox column of MAKE.

To be eligible, just go to the original post and tell us what you'd do with the tool you're most interested in. Eligible comments will be closed tomorrow at 12-noon PST. We're loving all of the comments we've gotten so far and the interesting projects people are working on or thinking about.

Garrett Wade tool giveaway time

Soldering station strip heater

Michael Linnell e-mailed us these shots showing a clever hack he uses to bend small plastic strips at his soldering station. The soldering pencil is reversed in the holder to position its barrel near the surface of the strip held in the "helping hands." Radiant heat from the barrel softens the plastic along a parallel line for folding. Michael adds, "Just make sure you leave about 1/4 to 1/8 inch of air space between the pencil and the plastic. Both of the items used for this bender are standard Radio Shack items."

Tools I can't live without

Where would the maker be without his/her tools?? Here are some of the tools in my shop that I use every day. Read more about them here. I'd love to here from other makers. What tools can't you live without??

More:
Toolbox: Ten tools you won't want to live without

Fancy colored plywood

I like these integral-color plywood materials from Brookside Veneers. Pricey but neat looking.

September 28, 2009

Classic gear design text free on Google Books

If you are curious about the technical details of designing and laying out gears and gear trains, you can download a complete, free, public domain copy of the 1922 edition of the American Machinist Gear Book from Google Books right now.

Garrett Wade tool giveaway time!

GW_logo_newtagline[1].jpg

Ok, we admit it, we're tool junkies. Some people have it for gadgets, but who can resist a great-looking (and great-functioning) hand tool? Make: Online and Garrett Wade would like to give you some.

The Garrett Wade Push Drill is a special tool that drills holes by rotating as you push down on the handle. When you release, the handle springs back, clearing the hole. From the product description:

Remember the classic Yankee Push Drill that was once found in every shop and every jobsite tool bag? Made by Stanley for decades until they dropped it about 4 years ago, it was made of chrome-plated solid brass, and beautifully finished. Now we have had it custom-made for Garrett Wade in Taiwan.

Our own Sean Ragan describes the Extra Heavy Duty Screwdriver Set (which he reviewed in MAKE, Volume 19) as "military-grade awesome:"

These are full-tang, forged-steel, flat-blade screwdrivers that serve equally well in turning screws, prying stuff, and, you know, killing people who try to open your hatch. They're heavy and nigh indestructible, and they have an anomalously sleek, streamlined shape that feels great in your hand and is not bad looking in your boot, either.

And you can win one of these Garrett Wade tools! Just leave a comment on this post and tell us how these tools would help you complete a project you're working on, or one you've yet to start! Please be sure to include your email address in the comment form field (won't be published). All comments will be closed at noon PST on Wednesday, September 30, and the two lucky winners will be announced next week here on Make: Online. Good luck!

September 26, 2009

Uranium ore for sale on Amazon.com

Two used units, anyway. You need to move quickly if you want the cheap one for $23.99:

Cracked casing. Has caused dog to grow third pair of legs. Still adorable. Good product.

Because after that one's gone, the price jumps up to $2500:

Found this in some old abandoned village while on vacation. Older, Russian model (PU239)? Please inquire about shipping. Not responsible for damage due to radiation or explosions.

Or you could just visit the manufacturer's website and buy it there.
And no, it's not a joke, but you wouldn't know it from reading the reviews on Amazon. The 168 reviews are, in fact, the best reason to check out the listing. Highlights include:

So glad I don't have to buy this from Libyans in parking lots at the mall anymore. I bought this to power a home-made submarine that I use to look for prehistoric-era life forms in land-locked lakes around my home town in Alaska. At first I wasn't sure if this item would (or could) arrive via mail, but I was glad to see it showed up with no problems. Well, almost no problems.

Great Product, Poor Packaging I purchased this product 4.47 Billion Years ago and when I opened it today, it was half empty.

I bought it for my cat I bought this for my cat and put it with a flask containing poison, in a sealed box. Do you think he likes it ? I've not opened the box yet.

September 25, 2009

Combination grill/smoker from steel drum

I like the looks of these custom BBQ appliances by Steve Stealey of BARRELSMOKERS.net. [via Neatorama]

3D printing in glass

The Solheim Rapid Prototyping Lab at the University of Washington was in the news last March for developing a new 3D printing process that uses ceramic powder as an inexpensive alternative to the pricier substrates that are currently the de facto standard for powder-bed processes. Well they've done it again, this time with glass powder, which is formed into an object by layerwise application of a liquid binder. When the part is complete, it can be sintered in a kiln to produce a continuous glass object. The official UW online press release includes a telling quote from lab co-director Mark Ganter: "It became clear that if we could get a material into powder form at about 20 microns we could print just about anything."