Gar's Tips & Tools - Issue #193

Access to tools, techniques, and shop tales from the diverse worlds of DIY

Organizing Your Organizers

Wesley Treat continues his efforts to build “the suckless workshop,” a smartly-designed space for efficient and more productive makery. In this video, he tackles one of his most persistent workshop headaches: finding a proper home for temporary storage solutions like his apple boxes, project trays, poly bags, and the magnetic parts trays he loves. The goal? Create an organized, adaptable storage system that keeps everything accessible, stackable, and easy to label (and re-label). Along the way, we see Wesley refine the design of the trays, add clever whiteboard labels for quick, temporary identification, and sneak in some handles for better portability. A custom-built storage rack pulls it all together, with slots for different box sizes, a dedicated drawer for baggies and small parts, and even space for overflow bins and parts shipment arrivals. In the end, Wesley is happy that he’s moved one step closer toward his elusive goal: a workshop that sucks less.

Polystyrene Basics

I love working with polystyrene. If you’ve never built anything out of it, maybe you’ll be inspired after watching this video. It’s not only a great material for modeling, but it’s great for prototyping, building project enclosures, cosplay accessories, and lots more. Once you have the basics down, and the right glue (he uses CA, I recommend Weld-On 3), you’re ready to jam. And that’s pretty much the approach used here. Modeler and diorama builder, Henrique Ventura, improvises a sci-fi crate using little more than some scrap styrene, CA glue, a razor knife, and some sanding sticks. Some really great tips in here and worth your time even if you’re only mildly interested in working with this material.

Best Stepped Drill Bit

In this Project Farm episode, Todd tests 19 different step-bits. The brands tested are Snap-On’s Blue Point, Mac Tools, Irwin, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Norseman, TEMO, Greenlee, Toolant, Diablo, EZARC, 1WANUE, KSEIBI, OXMUL, Hercules, PIT, Sharptool, Neiko, Anfrere. The bits are tested for speed and durability in mild- and medium-hardness steel, stainless steel, and very hard AR500 high carbon steel. In the end, Todd comes away impressed by the speed and performance of the Temo ($30 at time of testing). Shockingly, the $125 Snap-On Blue Point and Mac Tools ($100) did not fare well at all.

Tips on Shoveling

One of the most popular posts I’ve included in Gar’s Tips & Tools is Scott Wadsworth’s How to Climb a Ladder video. In the above video, Scott describes the functions of different shovels (round nose, square-point/transfer, trench spade), the differences between long-handled and D-handle shovels, and the best, most pain-free way to move a lot of material.

Maker Update’s Fave Projects of 2024

Our pals over at Maker Update share their favorite maker projects of 2024. Donald and Tyler look at 11 projects in total. Some fun stuff here like the Modular Macro Keyboard with its customizable, snap-together design featuring knobs, sliders, and magnetic connections. Equally cool and captivating is the Carpentopod, a walking coffee table inspired by Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest kinetic sculptures. And the Akira motorcycle replica turns heads on the street with its faithful recreation of Kaneda’s iconic bike, complete with innovative steering geometry that preserves both style and handling.

Makers Gotta Eat!

Food tips too good not to share

I married into one of these silicon pastry mats and I don’t know what I did without one. I’ve been a life-long bread baker (off and on, anyway). I’ve used flour on the countertop (messy) and baking parchment (fussy) in the past. The silicon mat is thick and sticky enough to confidently adhere to the counter, and when you’re done, you just sponge it off and roll it back into the tube. The silicone surface is a dream to knead on and the rulers, measurements chart, and sizing circles (pizza dough!) are handy. A highly recommended kitchen tool for $10.

Shop Talk

Readers offer their feedback, tips, tales, and tool recommendations.

My long-time maker friend, Steven K. Roberts (a.k.a. the High-Tech Nomad) sent this email a few issues back:

Loved this issue. The magnetic pencil reminded me that I may never have sent you this.

Back when I had the Nomadness sailboat, I replaced the salon table with a lab desktop. One of its features was an embedded 16x32 piece of 16 gauge steel just under the laminate. This allows magnetic fixturing, which was of course interesting in a sailboat for things like meters and parts trays, but I’ve since moved it into my mobile lab and use it along with my N52 inventory to keep things organized at the video production studio (even when not mobile).

This article details the fabrication process, starring my late friend Fred Westergaard, who remains an inspiration to this day. Working on fabrication projects with him had the twin benefits of superb results and deep learning curves.

---

Consider a Paid Subscription

Gar’s Tips & Tools is free, but if you really like what I’m doing here and want to support me, please consider a paid subscription. Same great taste, but more cheddar for me to help keep the lights on this enterprise. I will also pick paid subscribers at random and send them out little treats on occasion.

Special thanks to all of my paid subscribers so far and an extra special thanks to Hero of the Realm, Jim Coraci.