https://youtu.be/knq_MPpfKsQ

Recomendos:
Artbreeder:
FriXion Clicker Pen
Stori Drawer Organizers

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Next big thing
I’ve been predicting that the next big thing after smart phones are smart glasses at work in a Mirrorworld or a Metaverse. That still has not happened, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen in the next few years. But I’m sticking with my prediction that it will be the next big thing. The best case I’ve seen for how this will be built is this very long technical essay by Matt Ball, which serves as the Metaverse Primer. — KK

Play the Terms & Conditions game
In this web-based game, Evil Corp attempts to con you into accepting its terms and conditions with 29 sneaky tricks (e.g., “Would you like to not receive our newsletter? Yes or No”). I managed to successfully outwit 27 of Evil Corp’s dastardly tricks. Let’s see if you can beat me! — MF

How to eat
I am enjoying Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s Mindfulness Essentials series of small “How to” books. How to Love is one I revisit often. Right now I am reading How to Eat — short meditations on connecting with the Earth, enjoying your food and eating with others. Below are three excerpts. — CD

• Wait without waiting — Standing in line at grocery store or a restaurant, or waiting for the time to eat, we don’t need to waste our time. We don’t need to “wait” for one second. Instead, we can enjoy breathing in and out for our nourishment and healing. We can use that time to notice that we will soon be able to have food, and we can be happy and grateful during that time. Instead of waiting, we can generate joy.
• Our ancestors are in the soil — In the soil are many people who have died, have been transformed, and have become part of the soil. Maybe in this mouthful of rice are also the bones of hundreds of generations as well as many leaves, worms and animal’s bones. Maybe in a previous life you had been there and died there, and your own bones have disintegrated in that land. During the time of eating, your practice is to look deeply into that grain of rice and enjoy all that has gone into its creation. There are so many things to enjoy and to discover in each bite.
• Eating and smiling — Sitting at the table and eating with other people is a chance to offer an authentic smile of friendship and understanding. The most important part of the practice is to look at each person and smile. Upon finishing your meal, take a few moments to notice that you have finished, that your bowl is now empty, and your hunger is satisfied. This is another opportunity to smile and be grateful that you have had this nourishing food to eat, supporting you on the path of love and understanding.

Inexpensive stock photography
I use a lot of stock photo images on the various websites I work on. I recently discovered Scopio, which is offering a lifetime subscription for $29. I like the selection of photos, and the fact that they don’t look as generic as a lot of stock photos. Here’s a sample for a search for “red and white books.” — MF

Tape adhesive
Often the best way to secure one object to another is with heavy duty double-sided tape. The bond may be as strong as screws or nails, without the need for holes. And unlike a glue joint, its tidy, and kinda removable. Put the two-sided tape on, zip off second coating, and squeeze together. Fast. I use this tape for mounting gear, electrical devices on walls and tables where I don’t want screws. The best brand is 3M Heavy Duty Mounting Tape. I am always surprised by how much weight it will hold. — KK

Reader recommended note app
After last weekend’s favorite note app recomendo. Multiple readers replied and recommended Simplenote as an alternative to Apple Notes and as a universal note-taking app. Reader Titus said, “I really like Simplenote. It provides a web interface as well as iOS and Android apps.” — CD

https://youtu.be/OH1f6cdFkGs

Recomendos:
Rubberbands
Linkclump
Stanley Surform Shaver

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https://youtu.be/3S8d6AjJsJo

Tool:
Beadsmith 1-Step Looper Pliers, 3mm

Also shown:
KNIPEX - Long Nose Pliers, Round Tips

Transcript

https://youtu.be/bmKA5Up53P4

Recomendos:
Countersink Drill Bit
Rainbow Maker
Teeny Turner Screwdriver

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Cool Tools reviews

[Welcome to a surprise (to you and me both) weekend edition, brought to you by a newsletter app hiccup that caused me to lose a bunch of content on Friday.]

***

I hope you’re all having a good summer. If you’re working on any fun projects, I’d love to see them. I may share some with the class.

***

How many people were actually participating in the Molding and Casting Skill Set series? I will be going back to that ASAP, but I wanted to get some idea of how many people were actually following along. Please let me know.

Restoring and Re-Creating an "Intimate Contact" Vise

It may sound like something from an entirely different realm of human interaction, but in this Hand Tool Rescue video, Eric restores a rare 1913 vise for “obtaining intimate contact with, engaging, clamping bodies of any shape” [Patent here]. Eric calls it a “fractal vise.” Whatever you call it, it’s really a cool gadget and his restoration is fascinating to watch.

And if you look at this device and pine over the fact that this tech never caught on, fear thee not. By way of Maker Update comes news of a 3D printable version of the vise, created by Chris Borge, inspired by Eric’s video.

Using Surface-Mount Components in Through-Hole Circuits
This Twitter edition of Collin’s Lab Notes demonstrates a brilliant idea for adapting surface-mount (SMT) components for use on a breadboard or other through-hole circuit using a couple of header pins to hold the soldered SMT component so that it can plug into a breadboard or other through-hole circuit.

Surface mount meets through hole courtesy of a few header pins #adafruit #collinslabnotes
Shop tack flux at Adafruit:https://t.co/QWeqhq6yDG pic.twitter.com/99dEPnyQNy

— adafruit industries (@adafruit) July 23, 2021

Removing a Splinter in a Pinch

Got a nasty splinter and are without tweezers?⁠ The Acme Tools Instagram page has this suggestion: “Simply use three washers, as shown, to remove the little annoyance.” Seems like thinner washers would work better, but you get the idea.

Design for Disassembly (DfD)

Mark Frauenfelder posted this Core77 piece on Boing Boing about the concept and practice of DfD:

Design for Disassembly (DfD) is the straightforward design method and philosophy that ensures that all elements of a product can be disassembled for repair and for “end of life.” This allows for and encourages repairs, with the result that a product’s life cycle is prolonged; and it allows for a product to be taken apart at the end of its life so that each component can be reclaimed as a technical nutrient (i.e. recycled) or biological nutrient (i.e. composted). Among other shifts in thinking and making, this means minimizing materials, using simple mechanical fasteners instead of adhesives, clearly labeling components with their material type, and ensuring components can be disassembled with everyday tools.

When I broke the glass vessel of my French press this weekend, I ordered a replacement vessel instead of purchasing an entirely new coffee maker. This was only possible because my French press was designed so that it could be easily disassembled. On the other hand, my electric kettle has started to leak. There are no small screws for me to open it – in fact, it’s mostly glued together. This means that when I finally cave and admit that this kettle is broken, I have no way to repair it and no way to recycle its parts. In contrast to the French press, the product was not designed for disassembly. My only option is to throw it out, and to buy a new one.

Read the full article here.

Adam Savage's Guide to Drill Bits

Adam Savage’s tool tips videos are always a treat. You get an education on the design and function of the tool, Adam’s recommendations for his favorite products in the category, and you get great stories – ‘cause tools always come with stories. In this video, Adam looks at drill bits, describes the physical science of how different bit-types cut and remove material, and he makes the case for step and Forstner bit sets (among other recommendations).

Crowdsourced Tools
A new, periodic feature where I ask YOU for tool recommendations and some collective B.S. detection.

Spray chalk marking pen: I saw a video on Instagram of one of these spray chalk marking pens and thought it was an interesting idea. They’re for marking a drilling target through a deep hole. You place the barrel of the marker over the hole and press to fire. All good, but this tiny marker, a mere .6 ounces, is $18 on Amazon! Currently, I use a FastCap long-nose pattern marker for this sort of thing, but I’ve encountered several instances where it was too shallow for the holes I wanted to mark. Has anyone here tried one of these or a cheaper alternative? An airbrush blow pen?

Apartment tool kits: A gift that I’ve given several friends and relatives moving into a new home or apartment is one of those all-in-one tool kits with cheap versions of all of the essential starter tools one needs (hammer, pliers, tape measure, socket set, driver and bits, level, etc.). I’ve also put such kits together myself as gifts and but that’s a lot more expensive. Many of these kits are in the $50 price range, and I know from experience, the quality and design of the tools varies dramatically. Is there such an “apartment toolkit” you recommend?

Silicone Mixing Cups and Stirrers

Working on the Molding and Casting series reminded me how many plastic cups and wooden stirring sticks you use when working with casting rubber and resin. In this short Cool Tools video, Tyler Winegarner extols the virtues of reusable silicone cups and stirring sticks for resin work. When the waste material on the cup and stick is dry, you just peel it all off. This set of cups, sticks, and other accessories costs only $11 on Amazon.

Notable Quotables
“The top question I get asked after every video is ‘Where did you learn this stuff and how can I (or my kid) do this?’ Here’s what I say. Find a project that drives you. Seek lessons only for what is needed to finish that project. Repeat. The things I do are not taught, they are discovered.” -YouTuber Jeremy Fielding

Shop Talk
Even more moving advice from reader Mark White:

“My wife and I just moved after being in our previous home for 17 years. The best tip we got was to mark off the attached garage with masking/painters tape into areas and label with room names (living, den, etc.). As your movers/friends are bringing in the boxes, have them leave the boxes there. This method has multiple advantages such as not having to live among boxes, and if you are paying your movers/friends by the hour, this shaves off time because they don’t have to take the boxes all of the way into the house. This also allows you to unpack at your leisure and to go get what you need at any particular time and in ‘ I need this now’ order. Thanks again for a e very informative newsletter.”

***

Doug Pocius, responding to jumper wire kits:

“The 26 gauge solid copper wire used in telco cables makes dandy prototype board jumper wires, and scraps are usually free! A long time ago, I came across a 1 foot piece of 3” diameter cable in the trash with maybe 200 pairs of this wire in many different solid/stripe color codes. Never had to buy jumper kits after that. ”

***

I got a resounding yes from many readers on the superiority of Robertson/square head screws. Steve Roberts writes:
Yes on Robertson bits! I was first exposed to them when I bought a Canadian boat, and have preferred them ever since. Being able to stay locked into the head EASILY, with my Magapro multi-bit driver, is fabulous… even when I can’t see what I’m doing. I wish they would become the dominant standard.

https://youtu.be/cB_shp6zy9E

Recomendos:
Heavy duty mic
Spoon carver
Can dispenser

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Cool Tools reviews

Sign up here to get Recomendo a week early in your inbox.

Chart of world history
For 50 years this chart has been hanging on my wall. The Histomap of History is a 5-foot long diagram that visually displays the relative power of ancient nations over the last 4,000 years in 50-year increments. At one glance, this colorful chart gives you the gist of world history. Since it was made in 1950, some of the historical details  may be considered old-fashioned now, but this is the chart I use to get a rough idea of our past. Visitors to my studio will usually remark on its ingenious design. Long out of print, you can get a reproduction of a vintage copy for $48. — KK

Sample newsletters
The Sample is a newsletter that lets you sample other newsletters by forwarding you a different issue each day based on your interests. If you like the issue, you have the option to “Subscribe in 1 Click” within the email. You can also rate the issues 1-5 stars so that The Sample learns your preferences. I love this effortless way of discovering new things. — CD

Batteries that can be recharged via USB
I’ve been using these micro-USB rechargeable lithium-ion batteries from Pale Blue. Each pack of AAAs and AAs came with a USB cable that branches into four micro-USB jacks so I can charge four batteries simultaneously. It is easy to know when batteries are fully charged because the LEDs turn green once they are fully charged. — MF

100 wishes on a post-its
I spent some time writing out 100 wishes of mine on post-its inspired by this post: How and Why to do a Life Audit. The idea is to brainstorm your life goals, values, dreams and then categorize them based on themes and timeframes. The process allows for your priorities to come to light and helps you to see the patterns of your life. I could only fill 50 post-its in one sitting and as I discover new dreams of mine I go back to my remaining post-it pack to add more. I found that once I had written down all the desires inside of me and, in a sense, got them out of my system, it freed up space for completely new and weirdly fun wishes to show up. — CD

Movie Poster Archive
I used to buy books for visual references, but nowadays websites can serve up fabulous collections of visual materials.  So instead of buying a big coffee table book of old movie posters I go to the Harry Ransom Center Movie Poster Collection. Housed at the University of Texas at Austin it displays 10,000 movie posters from the 50s, 60s, and 70s in America for free. Many amazing designs. — KK

Restoring a defaced Rothko painting
Mark Rothko’s painting, Black on Maroon (1958), was defaced with a black graffiti marker in 2012. “Restoring Rothko” (on YouTube) is a 17-minute documentary that shows how the expert restoration team at the Tate Gallery in London tested solvents and cleaning methods for nine months to find the optimal cleaning strategy for removing the ink while preserving Black on Maroon’s delicate paint layers. Rachel Barker, lead restorer, spent nine more months painstakingly removing the surface ink and carefully touching up the painting’s surface with oil paints. — MF

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I am an information specialist who enjoys her work, but enjoys leaving it behind at the end of the day as well. I read and review books, help people find what they need, and dream of bookstores. — Geri Diorio

My bag is a V1 Sling Backpack from Sipsey Wilder ($50), a small, women-owned, original design, vegan business in Alabama. It holds a surprisingly large amount of things in an organized way and never hurts my back. I love all their bags and own several.

BIC Cristal Stic Ball Pen ($15, 60pk)
I am never without a pen, specifically a Bic Cristal Stic in blue. While many people feel these pens are too skritchy, I find the haptic feedback of writing with one a feature, not a bug.

Leatherman Squirt ($40)
The little Leatherman Squirt was a gift years ago and it has proven to be so useful, practically every day. Sure Swiss Army knives are fine, but I find the addition of needle nose pliers to be game changing.

Suprus rechargeable lighter (varies)
This little arc lighter is very stealthy; it really looks like a USB memory stick. Although I am not a smoker, I find it comes in handy for candles, and makes a fun conversation starter. I am not certain that Suprus makes this specific USB rechargable lighter any more, but they make similar ones.

Checkbook
Although it may seem to be completely anachronistic, I never travel without my checkbook. I was able to secure a place in pottery class at the local community center because they did not take credit cards but they do take checks! My hand-tooled leather checkbook cover is also an object I find beautiful to look at and touch.

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I’m a retired band/music teacher (32 years) now pretending to be a visual artist and also wrapping up a term as the president of our local arts guild — which is both a business and a nonprofit. No office space there; the gazebo is the office! (At least in spring through autumn.) My personal art related website is here: https://www.visualrealia.com. For Facebook folks, you can find me at www.facebook.com/VisualRealiaStudio. — Andrew Smith

When the pandemic hit, we knew we’d be spending a lot of time at home, so the installation of a nice 12'x12’ gazebo with power, strong wifi, and good lighting put our intended vacation budget to good use—one of the best decisions we’ve made for the house. We even have an Amazon Echo on the underside of the roof for news, music, reminders, etc.

reMarkable 2 ($399)
The reMarkable 2 is a very specific gadget that some will scratch their heads and wonder why someone would pay for an electronic legal pad, and others will love and not leave home without.

When I’m outside working, the wind is an enemy to loose papers. Having all of one’s notes on the tablet is quite handy. Editing and rearranging notes and scribbles later is handier than many would suspect.

The pad also allows you to write over the top of pdfs and documents, giving you access to both your work and the untouched original. Pages can be emailed to yourself or others.

Anker PowerPort Cube ($19)
I need power for my computer and phone, but I don’t want a clunky extension cord and power strip on top of the table. The Anker PowerPort Cube provides 3 traditional AC outlets and 3 USB ports. (And a RAVPower charger lets me hook up my laptop, as well as my spouse’s.)

The great thing about the Anker Cube is I can drop the cord through my table’s center umbrella hole. The cube is large enough not to go through, so I have the outlets on the table, but the cord goes under the table. (Anker’s warranty and customer service have always been excellent for me, as well.)

Planet E Reusable Grocery Shopping Bag ($25)
I need to store my small office stuff in something that will keep them from blowing away, and also convenient enough to grab and move when the gazebo goes into supper or entertainment mode! I use a Planet E Reusable Grocery Shopping Bag. These are both sturdy and light, and have held up well over time. These foldable baskets are the substitute for desk drawers.

Plastic plant pot
I’m also right near our plants and gardens, so I have scissors for work and shears and ties for the plants. That stuff is all sharp, but I need them handy. A wide plastic pot from a plant purchase has proven to be perfect for keeping things close but safe.

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I’m a Hong Kong–based writer, photographer and diver. Each activity has a separate bag, but commonly used items are carried in a mesh pouch that moves from my briefcase to my scuba kit and the backpack that carries my photo gear. — Christopher Dillon

My briefcase is a WaterField Designs “Muzetto” [pictured], the backpack is a 5.11 Tactical “Rush” and most of my dive gear fits into a Pelican “Air 1615”.

Johnson & Johnson oil control film. Perfect for unexpected video interviews and portraits.

Audio Technica ATH-IM50 earphones tick all the boxes: Good sound quality, durable construction, comfortable and good background noise isolation. A wire “hanger” keeps them in position when you are in motion. Cheap enough that I don’t worry about losing or damaging them. Japanese import.

Zebra Airfit ballpoint pen. Pre-Covid, I used to travel regularly to Japan. No trip was complete without a visit to Itoya to stock up on pens and other supplies. It’s “kid in a candy store” territory for me, because Japanese manufacturers understand the tactile nature of writing, even with inexpensive pens.

The mesh pouch was originally a Scandinavian Airlines in-flight amenities kit. The snap, which lets me hang the pouch from a loop inside my briefcase and backpack, was re-purposed from packaging from an underwater fiber optic cable.

https://youtu.be/V9qEyvfLdwQ

Tools:
Astro Pneumatic Tool ADR14 XL Blind Rivet Adapter Kit

Aluminum Rivet Assortment

Aluminum Rivet Assortment (Black Core)

Transcript

This is going to be a somewhat brief newsletter. Still in the throes of moving and have little time, but I wanted to get something out.

The final installment of the block mold skill set is postponed again. Thanks for your patience.

Edge Gluing Tip

[caption id="attachment_38580" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Smear the glue over the edge, not down along it.[/caption]

North of the Border is a YouTube channel where crafter Adam makes really clever book nooks (little dioramas that go on bookshelves). During this Mines of Moria infinity mirror episode, he shares a great tip. When gluing two pieces of material together (especially something you want to keep clean and glue-free, like mirror glass), don’t apply the glue all the way to where the two pieces will join or smear the glue down along edge (as it will accumulate as you go). Apply a thin bead of glue along the edge and then smear it out and over the over the edge. This way, when you join the two pieces, there will be no glue squeeze-out along the seam of the join. (See the video if this to too confusing).

The Virtues of Vacuum Forming

[caption id="attachment_38584" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Mattel Vac-u-Form toy flashbacks.[/caption]

In this Tested Tools video, Adam Savage talks about the utility and wonders of having a vacuum forming machine in your shop. In specific, he talks about a 5" x 5" budget dental vacuum former which you can get for around $150 online. This device is perfect for scale modelers, terrain and prop makers, prototypers, and anyone who wants to reproduce small plastic parts.

Upping Your YouTube Game

Packing Box Tip

[caption id="attachment_38582" align="aligncenter" width="600"] See what's inside from all 4 sides.[/caption]

Moving. It’s something most of us hate doing. So many boxes to pack, move, and then unpack. You can makes things go a little smoother with a few simple improvements. Using uniform, reasonably-sized boxes, such as banker boxes, can help in easier moving and efficient stacking. And clear and smart labeling. Often, people write on the box lid, but the lids can get mixed up, or they write directly on the box (and cross out and write over the labels for a subsequent move or other reuse). I find the best way is to use two 3x5 cards per box, folded over the two opposing edges of the box. This way, a box label is visible regardless of how the boxes get stacked. The cards can then be removed or new cards taped over the old ones for future moves or other uses.

Yard Sales: Arrive at the End
Everyone knows the yard sale wisdom of getting there at the very beginning of the day to snag the prime pickins. But showing up at the very end of the day has its rewards, too. Most people don’t want to haul everything back into the house, so they’re in the mood to sell super cheap or just give stuff away. We had a yard sale last weekend and after it closed, people were still coming. We didn’t want to deal with any of it (we were so exhausted), so we just told people to take whatever they wanted.

Shop Talk

[caption id="attachment_38581" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Dummy Centaur rocket tank wired by newsletter reader Dave Porter.[/caption]

Mistakes were made [my mistake, not Fran’s]. Dave Porter writes:

Thanks for the piece on WD-40. Just a correction, it was used on the Atlas rocket program (not Titan). I was a rocket technician at General Dynamics Space Systems division in the 80s and we heard about WD-40, though I don’t remember ever using it. Atlas was a General Dynamics rocket, Titan was not. GD also built an upper stage rocket called Centaur that was often paired with Atlas, and also with Titan.

The part about the tanks being balloons is what really blew my mind when I started working there. When we were testing tanks we had to have a 24-hour watch on them to make sure the pressure never fell or they would collapse. Also, when working around them every tool we used had to have a tether on it because one little ding in the tank from a dropped tool could be a disaster.

I included a photo of a dummy Centaur rocket tank that I wired with strain gauges and thermocouples for a stage separation test. The white blocks on the tank are where the rocket motors would attach.

When I worked there, it was at a short-lived commercial division of the company that sold launches.

For two decades Cool Tools has published reviews written by readers and fans of this site. To continue this tradition, we are now inviting reviews in the form of videos. The technology for taking a simple video is now accessible on phones, and the apps to edit them are easy enough for us to use. We are now ready to take user-made videos that recommend cool tools.

We will take very short (3 minute max) reviews, edit a few of them together, and post them on our YouTube channel.

Here is an example of what we are looking for:

https://youtu.be/BjSly6DoZz8

The important details: Record your review with your phone in HORIZONTAL (landscape) mode. This ensures it transfers to YouTube easily. We can not accept portrait mode (tiktok) videos. Avoid showing your face, or talking facing the camera. Point the camera at the tool, your hands, or torso of someone else using it. The focus is the tool, not the reviewers.

1. Show us what the tool does, and how you use it.
2. Tell us why it is better than similar things.
3. Tell us why we should believe you. (How long have you used it, did you buy it yourself, what experience do you have with these kind of things?)
4. Keep it brief. 3 minutes or less.
5. Review only tools easily available to others, and include purchasing information/link in your email submission.
6. Upload your videos into this form.

As we have always done, we pay for anything we end up publishing. After reviewing all submissions, we pay $25 for any video review we post.

This will be a lot of fun. We don’t have a fixed format for these video reviews, so we look forward to your version of what a great review should look like.

Show and Tell us about your favorite tools. To begin with, it’s okay if we may have already reviewed the same tool in the past on the website. We are broadcasting to a new audience, and they would like to know about the best tools. Tell us about the really great stuff.

Grab uncopyable text
I often come across text on my computer that I can’t copy, such as error messages, screenshots, PDFs, or Kindle Cloud reader pages. I bought a $4 optical character recognition utility called TextSniper that lets me grab uncopyable text that’s on my display and save it as plain text to the clipboard. (It also reads QR and barcodes!) I quickly have become dependent on it. (It’s Mac-only.) — MF

Strange Autobiography
Charles Platt is a science fiction writer who was also a staff writer for Wired magazine. He is not well known, and does not have an extravagant life story, but for some reason I could not put down his multi-volume self-published autobiography which is subtitled: “How I Failed at Almost Everything.” I found his nearly day-by-day memoirs of his struggles to be a writer and zine publisher to be page-turning exciting because he had just enough success so that his inevitable personal failures would make a rollicking roller coaster ride, like a good sitcom. How will Charles screw up next? Despite the stack of unread bestsellers on my table, I’ve read Vol1, Vol 2, and Vol 3 of his An Accidental Life, and look forward to the soon to be published Vol 4 and 5. — KK

Coupling pleasures with chores
I beta-tested one of Clearer Thinking’s mini-programs to help identify my greatest sources of pleasure, which is important to know, because “positive emotions are one of the pillars of well-being. By identifying your Sources of Pleasure, you can pursue them on those times you are feeling a bit low, our use them as a reward for engaging in other activities you do not feel like doing.” My sources of pleasure were mostly sensorial and not surprising to discover: animals, nature, humor. But what was surprising was the genius advice that could apply to everyone: “Coupling” to come up with ways to incorporate pleasure into your daily life. “Couple boring activities, like vacuuming your home, with something you really like to do such as listening to your favorite podcast or singing out loud.” I do love listening to standup comedy while stuck in traffic, I had never thought of listening to it while I cleaned the house. — CD

Take a "golden hour" photo any time of day
I try to veer away from using filters on photos, but there are times when the scene I am seeing is so much more vibrant than what comes out in a picture. I tried out the “TikTok” iPhone photo hack, which is a specific formula for making a photo taken in natural light look like it was taken during the “golden hour,” and I love the effect. Here is a before and after picture of my dog Pablo wading through water. The exact formula is: Exposure and brilliance to 100. Highlights to -32. Shadows to -26. Lower the contrast to -30. Brightness to -15. Black point to 10. Saturation to 10. Vibrance to 8. Warmth to 10. Push the tint up to 29. Up the sharpness to 14. Definition feature to 23. Finally, slide the exposure back down to 0. — CD

Web-based music toy
Beepster is a website that lets you make synthesizer music through experimentation. It has four tracks. You can change the waveform, speed, volume, pitch, and scale by clicking buttons. It’s configured in such a way that anything you do produces a pleasant tune. — MF

Art to follow
Instagram has become one kind of art museum for me. I like to get my art in diverse small doses. Among the artists I follow, I seek these accounts because they keep me surprised.

• https://www.instagram.com/ifyouhigh/ — Different, odd, unexpected, weird. My favorite.
• https://www.instagram.com/vikmuniz/ — Always surprising bits of beauty.
• https://www.instagram.com/rawvisionmagazine/ — Select folk art from magazine.
• https://www.instagram.com/geometriasagrada/ — Geometrical / mathematical art worldwide.
• https://www.instagram.com/ememem.flacking/ — Creative public tile mosaics.
• https://www.instagram.com/okudart/ — Colorful polygon master.
• https://www.instagram.com/studioolafureliasson/ — Star artist’s tech sophisticated installations.

If you have a favorite art follow that always surprises you, let me know. — KK

Our guest this week is Paul Boswell. Paul is co-founder of Turing Tumble. He’s been an analytical chemist, a software engineer, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and a healthcare researcher. Four years ago, he progressed to the next obvious step in his career: becoming a toymaker. His Kickstarter for Spintronics, a puzzle game where players discover electronics in a tangible way, using the first physical representation of electronic circuits, launches on May 20.

Subscribe to the Cool Tools Show on iTunes | RSS | Transcript | See all the Cool Tools Show posts on a single page

Show notes:

Best chemistry demonstration to whip out: Magnesium burning in dry ice
This is a cool chemistry experiment that anyone can understand, and it's a blast to watch. You can whip it out for a birthday party or whatever, and it's really fun to watch. Magnesium metal is a very light, sturdy metal, and it really, really likes oxygen. It wants to bind to it very badly. And you can light it on fire, and it just rips oxygen out of the air and binds to it. It burns super hot and super bright at 3,000 degrees, and at the end, you're just left with this hunk of white material that's magnesium oxide. People normally buy magnesium to start campfires. You can get it on Amazon. So here's what you do. You take two slabs of dry ice — you can get the dry ice from your local grocery store. You drill a little hole in the bottom slab of dry ice. So you have two slabs, and you have one on the bottom, one on the top. And you drill this hole, and maybe it's like two inches diameter, and you put magnesium shavings in the hole. You don't fill it to the top. You leave a little empty space on the top, and then you make sure that the second slab of dry ice fits over the top slab and the hole before you continue. Then you take the top slab off. You light the magnesium on fire, and maybe you need to use a propane torch to get it hot enough. And then you quickly cover it again. Dry ice is made of frozen carbon dioxide. And carbon dioxide, if you don't know, is made of a molecule with one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. It's a stable molecule, and it doesn't react with hardly anything. Now, the magnesium wants to burn, and it wants to pull oxygen off of something, but there's no oxygen there when it's inside this carbon dioxide block. So how does the magnesium burn? The way it does it is it binds with the oxygen that's in the carbon dioxide. So it actually rips the oxygen out of the carbon dioxide, and what's left is carbon. So the magnesium burns inside the dry ice until it all burns out. And then you open it up, and you see this nugget of burnt magnesium. And you crack open the nugget, and it's just black inside because all that's left is carbon from the carbon dioxide. It glows brightly while it's burning.(image taken from thought.co)

Elmer’s Wood Repair System
If for whatever reason you happen to have little burned holes in your wood flooring or table or whatever, you can actually repair a lot of problems in your wood flooring without having to refinish or replace anything. So we were trying to figure out how to replace or how to fix these little black marks in our wooden floor. And we stumbled across this guy who fixes wood floors for a living, and he came by, and he had this tackle box just full of different types of paint. And the first thing he did is he got this wood repair epoxy, like Elmer's Wood Repair. First, he filled the hole with the epoxy and let it get hard. And then the next thing he did is he painted the grain of wood very carefully with acrylic paint. It turns out the guy was actually an art major who just got really good at painting wood grain and went into doing this full time. So he filled the holes. He painted the grain that was missing. And when he was done, we couldn't even see where the holes had been. So the first half of this you can buy, which is the Elmer's Wood Repair System. The painting is going to be up to you.

Ultimaker 3
I'm an educational toy maker now, and the type of toys that I make are very mechanical in nature. When I make prototype parts, I use this machine constantly. I’ve tried a lot of 3D printers. The Ultimaker 3 is by far the most reliable machine I’ve used. I can send files to print and they work 9 times out of 10. The dual extrusion lets me print virtually any object and then I can dissolve and wash away the supports with water. It’s expensive and it’s slow, but the time I don’t have to spend troubleshooting problems and the ability to wash away supports makes it totally worth it to me.

PocketNC
Pocket NC is kind of a miniature CNC mill. CNC stands for computer numerical control. And basically, what it means is that you have a mill, which is just like a router blade spinning really fast on the end of a tool. One way to think about it would be a router blade on a robotic arm that goes around and cuts material out of some block. Whereas 3D printing, you're adding material to build something, with a CNC mill, you're actually subtracting material. You're cutting it away from a block of that material. So most CNC mills are three axis. That means you have like a blade that's spinning, and it can move forward, backward, left, or right, or up and down. And that's great if you have a flat surface, and you're cutting or engraving something from it. But a five-axis CNC mill, like the PocketNC, can not only move forward, backwards, side to side, up or down. It can also rotate along two axis. So you can cut out pretty much anything you want out of a block of material, as long as the blade can get to it to cut out that spot. Usually, these machines are very expensive. They run for well over $100,000. But this little PocketNC is only $6,000, and it's shockingly precise. It only does small objects, so maybe a six inch by six inch by six inch, probably even a little smaller than that. Maybe five by five by five. But it's pretty incredible.

About Spintronics:

Spintronics! It’s the world’s first mechanical equivalent of electronics. Ever wonder what technology world would look like if electricity was never discovered? Would there even be computers and smartphones? Yes there would. And they would be fabulous and steampunk and the world would be way more awesome.

Spintronics lets you build mechanical circuits that run just like electronic ones. Electronic circuits are invisible and abstract, but spintronic circuits are tangible. It finally lets you feel the voltage and see the current flow. You can use your fingers to mess with a circuit and watch what happens. As you build circuits to solve a series of puzzles, you develop an intuition for electronics without getting tangled up in the math. Even kids can understand university-level concepts.

The Kickstarters launches on May 20.

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I’m a software engineer, writer, maker, and huge Tolkien nerd. As is true for many makers, I’m fanatical about the tools I use. I’m happy to share a few of my own go-to solutions for common life problems! — Nathan Baker

About the desk

I’ve been working from home since March of last year. My home study is not large enough for two full-size desks, so one of my first pandemic projects was building a second desk for myself. That way I could guarantee it would fit precisely in the space I had available and could maximize surface area and minimize cost and wasted space. The only tool I needed was a drill, and I was able to pick up all the supplies I needed at Home Depot. It paid off that I did my homework beforehand … knowing the exact lengths of 2x4s I needed, they were willing to cut them for me.

What's in the desk

reMarkable 2 ($399)
This writing tablet has dramatically decreased my clutter and increased my organization. Billed as the “world’s thinnest tablet”, it does one thing very well: hand-written documents (ok, it actually does two things well: hand-written documents and annotating PDFs, but I don’t use the latter functionality). Thanks to this device, I no longer find myself scrabbling through endless sheets of paper trying to find the one I took those all-important notes on.

AmazonBasic writing pads ($10, 12pk)
For stuff that I know I’m going to write down and then throw away, these cheap 5x8 writing pads can be bought in bulk. I put them everywhere in my house — I’m rarely out of arm’s reach of one. For jotting down quick thoughts, making temporary lists, doodling, or a hundred other tasks, these are my go-to.

Pentel EnerGel 0.35mm Needle Point pen ($3)
I grew up being told not to waste paper, so I learned to write very small. As a result, I like very, very fine points on my pens. And I absolutely require my pens to write the first time — no scribbling in the margins to get the ink flowing. I carry one of these pens in my pocket everywhere I go, and I keep a couple of them close at hand in my desk drawer.

TuTuShop under-table drawers ($14, 2pk)
I found these in Recomendo issue 223, and they are the perfect addition to my simple, homemade desk. If I find myself needing to store more things than can fit in one of these sliding pencil drawers, I know I need to take some time to declutter. They have a simple adhesive on top that, once stuck, has not failed me yet, and though I’m quite tall they don’t hang down low enough to hit my knees when I swivel in my chair.

A really great chef's knife is insanely sharp, yet retains its edge easily and feels well-balanced and welcoming in your hand. These days, a decent high-grade chef's knife can cost $100-$200. Several cooking publications, including Cook's Illustrated, recently tested a bargain chef's knife that rated just about as good as the $100-plus knives. It's the Victorinox Chef's Knife; the one we use.

The Victorinox is a hybrid of a thin Japanese blade with a 15-degree edge (western knives have a 20-degree edge), but with the longer, broader blade of European knives. It is lightweight, nicely balanced, and lethally sharp. It has a comfortable, grippy handle that won't slip even when wet. There are five cooks in our household. This is the knife they all grab first. It may not be quite as super great as some of the other previously-reviewed chef's knives, but considering the price, it can't be beat.

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I have been a full time pipemaker for almost 12 years. My pipes are fully handmade using mostly traditional methods and materials in my home workshop and are sold around the world. — Chris Askwith

About the workshop

I use a lot of power tools in my pipemaking but all of the fine detail is done with hand tools, knives, files and sandpaper for the most part. I have tried having all my tools within hands reach as is commonly done by jewellers but found this crowded and encouraged me to get stuck in one position. I now keep most tools just out of reach so I regularly get up from my chair and take the opportunity to stretch and move around a bit, it seems to work well for me even if it is less efficient.

What's in the workshop

Gluing some sandpaper to a bit of wood is an age old trick for making sanding easier, especially for small, flat surfaces. These sandpaper handles or sticks however are so much better. A simple clamp holds the paper in place and it pulls the paper quite taught, it takes just seconds to change the grits (though I prefer to have one for each grit if possible) and the handles make sanding both easier and more comfortable thanks to the file style handle. Quite inexpensive too. Best used with cloth back abrasives I find.

The Shinto saw rasp is a fast and efficient way to remove material without clogging and leaving a smoother surface than a traditional rasp. It has a coarse side and a smoother side and I have found it effective on softwoods, hardwoods and many kinds of plastic and resin.

I have found the Click 2000 Puggy gloves to be the perfect compromise between dexterity and protection in a light duty work glove. They keep my hands warm, allow me to perform reasonably fine tasks, increase my grip and give me a reasonable level of protection against abrasion, scratches and dirt. I wear these pretty much all day in my shop and each pair lasts for several weeks and will handle a couple of cycles through the washing machine as well.

I’ve tried every style of safety glasses/googles over the years and they all have their pro’s and con’s but these from UCI are the best I have found. They are comfortable, fit my face well, give good visibility and seem to be pretty scratch resistant. The foam padding is easily removed if you need more ventilation. Most importantly for me I have found I like the included strap that can be used to hold them just snug to my face, safety glasses slipping forward is big annoyance and danger when using a power tool so this feature is essential for me but way more comfortable than elasticated goggled which are often too tight for long periods of working. Very reasonable price for the quality as well.

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See a satellite tonight
A Google engineer made this cool website where you can track satellites that crawl across your neighborhood sky. It will give you times and names of the satellites that are coming your way and even show you how it’ll appear in the night sky with Google Street View. I’ve been setting alarms on my phone to go outside and look. Of course, it’s made me realize how much light pollution we have. Hopefully, you don’t have as much. — CD

Nesting bowls with airtight lids
Now that my wife and I are vaccinated, we’re enjoying backyard visits with friends. I bought this set of 6 nesting stainless steel bowls. They’re good for bringing food to a backyard barbecue. The largest one is 7 quarts — capacious enough for a large salad. The lids form a tight seal, too, which means they won’t fall off in the car ride over. — MF

Ultimate workshop course
The best course I’ve ever taken in workshop skills is a series of YouTube episodes by the British inventor Tim Hunkin. In his Secret Life of Components he goes through all he knows about the “components” you’d use to build something: glues, fasteners, hinges, bearings, switches, springs, etc., and he knows an awful lot. Every minute is crammed with the practical advice of a master craftsman gained over decades of experience. I’m wowed by how much I learned. — KK

Turn your smartphone into a Game Boy Camera
My daughter bought a vintage Game Boy Camera and thermal printer on eBay. It takes very low resolution photos that have a nostalgic charm. Recently I came across this web-based simulation of the Game Boy Camera. It’s fun to see what things look like in a two-color palette of blocky pixels. Here’s sample. — MF

How to wake up early advice
Here is a 5-step plan for waking up earlier and with more energy shared by u/FrankOppedijk on Reddit. The key advice I found is once you decide how many hours you need for sleep and develop your relaxing bedtime routine, you start by shifting your wake up time by 5 minutes each day, and you energize yourself using various techniques like natural bright light, drinking water, an activating breathing exercise like Bellows Breath, or quick heart-pumping exercise. I found it very encouraging. — CD

The stories of colors
“I love it when someone wakes me up to see what I was sleepwalking through. Adam Roger does that in this book. He showed me that the colors we see everywhere today are technologies we invented! Invented colors! Head explodes!” That’s the blurb I wrote for Roger’s new book Full Spectrum. Reproducing the colors of nature is not easy, yet despite being surrounded by manufactured colors in our modern lives, the story of these inventions are invisible. This is one of those books that opens up a world right in front of my nose. — KK