Gar's Tips & Tools - Issue #201

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

Maker’s Gotta Eat

Food tips too good not to share

Ramen noodles are often a punchline in jokes about poor college students, singles eating over the sink, and starving artists. It may sound a little corny to admit, but for me, they’ve become a daily restorative ritual that I’ve come to rely on. Every day for lunch, I microwave a cup of Dr. McDougal’s Vegan Miso Ramen Noodle Soup. I take it out to the back patio and sit quietly in front of our little pond waterfall and savor this simple bowl of noodle soup while soaking in the soothing sights and sounds. I’m not vegan, but I did a pretty wide test of other ramen brands and Dr. McDougal’s was, by far, the best tasting and lowest in sodium. The broth is amazing; the whole experience is relaxing and satisfying…to the point where I’m a little sad every time it’s over. In the middle of a hectic, mentally-taxing work day, I’m amazed at how helpful this little lunch break is. For a little extra depth of flavor, I add a splash of low-sodium soy sauce and a squirt of Sriracha.

Books: The Machinist’s Bedtime Reader

Every now and then, a book comes along that captures a whole subculture within the pages of a modest paperback. For the world of manual machining, that book is The Machinist’s Bedside Reader by Guy Lautard.

First published in the early 1980s, The Bedside Reader is a legendary collection of machining lore, shop tips, clever workholding tricks, and war stories from the world of lathes, mills, and surface plates. It's a quirky little masterpiece of practical knowledge, passed from machinist to machinist like a whispered secret. The tone is friendly, personal, sometimes even philosophical. It’s as much about the why as the how.

What makes Lautard’s book special isn’t just the tips (though there are hundreds of excellent ones), but the way it invites you into the mindset of a maker always looking for a better, smarter way. Think of it as the pre-internet equivalent of a maker forum, except bound in a spine and written with dry wit and decades of shop experience.

If you like building tools, repairing old machines, or just enjoy reading about people who approach their work with care and precision, The Machinist’s Bedside Reader belongs on your bookshelf… right next to your calipers and tap and die sets.

Note: The Machinist’s Bedside Readers are published by Dale Glover and Little Lake Technology. Dale is the person (along with Tom Root) behind the highly-recommended Intentional Makerspace: Operations book (which I covered back in Issue #116). If you’re involved in a makerspace, you should definitely check that book out, too.

Do You Need $250 Mitutoya Calipers?

Seeing a shoot-out between cheap brands of digital calipers and high-end ones like Mitutoya (the gold standard of the category), you’d think the results would be obvious. Spoiler: Not exactly.

In this Project Farm video, Todd tests dozens of digital calipers, checking for smoothness, consistency, accuracy across various dimensions (including tricky groove and depth measurements), even battery life. The high-end models like the Mitutoyo ($250), Fowler ($120), and Starrett ($144) do perform like the champs you’d expect – that part was obvious.

But, the real shocker? The Werka calipers ($27 at time of testing) held their own against the premium brands, for smoothness, reliable accuracy, and even beat several calipers brands double their price. These vastly more affordable calipers scored just behind the big dogs in most categories. If you’re looking for performance without draining your wallet, Werka looks like a great choice.

I’ve been a huge fan of the iGaging IP54s (and have written about them several times) and was disappointed to not see them tested here. At $27, I might pick up a Werka to replace my $10 Harbor Fright that lives in the garage (and is far from reliable).

Inside a Japanese Used Tools Hardware Store

What tinkerpaw worth their multitool doesn’t love to wander through a hardware or tool store? Besides doing this in person, I get a big kick out of watching YouTube store tours. I especially enjoy tours of second-hand tool shops. In this video, we get a look at a typical day at a Kirakuya, a Japanese second-hand hardware store, in the quiet neighborhood of Ichikawa, Chiba. Since 1948, this shop has been a go-to for local construction workers and DIYers. It’s fascinating to see how a different culture approaches tools and tool maintenance and repair.

Working with Tiny Parts

In this episode of Matt’s Models & More, Matt takes on one of the most frustrating parts of scale modeling: dealing with teeny-tiny parts that go flying the moment you look at them sideways. He shares a smart batch of affordable, accessible tips and tools to keep your parts steady, your tools ready, and your sanity intact.

He starts with a reminder to invest in true precision tweezers, sharp, well-aligned, and able to actually touch at the tips. (Additional pro tip: Keep glue off of them! I’ve ruined high-end tweezers with glue gunk!) Toothpicks also get a shout-out, especially when paired with a micro drill. Matt drills holes into tiny parts, inserts a toothpick, and uses it as a stable painting handle. He also swears by beeswax. Grab a puck from the jewelry aisle of the craft store, drag a toothpick through it, and you’ve got yourself a homemade wax pen for picking up the tiniest of parts.

Another standout is the dual-ended sticky jewelry picker, great for placing parts with more control than tweezers. He pairs that with a sticky bead mat (also from the jewelry section) which can hold all your micro parts in place. For painting, he wraps tape, sticky-side-out, around a Popsicle stick to make a simple but effective tool for airbrushing or touch-ups.

For gluing, Matt uses BSI’s Maxi-Cure Extra Thick, a fine-tip applicator and BSI’s fast-set accelerant (never Starbond, which can melt plastic). A tiny drop on a toothpick gives you instant, precise adhesion. And, to see all these details clearly, he DIYed a set of head-mounted magnifiers using Dollar Tree reading glasses and lenses from an Amazon kit. He finds them way more comfortable than the clunky visor ones.

Shop Talk

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

Reader Tom Marshall sent a link and a high recommendation for Manning Krull's blog where he covers his amazing papier maché projects. “Lots of creative tips in each post,” say Tom.

In response to Issue #200’s tips on garbage cans and storing supplies as close to the tool as possible, reader Owen Sinclair sent the above two photos. “Keeping my workshop rubbish bin on a stool is surprisingly easier on my back and frees up a little space.” The second pic shows how Owen keeps relevant tools and supplies right on his table saw.

Consider a Paid Subscription

Gar’s Tips & Tools is free, but if you really like what I’m throwing down and want to support it, please consider a paid subscription. Same great taste, more cheddar for me to keep me in precision tweezers and hobby glue. I also pick paid subscribers at random and send them little treats from time to time.

Special thanks to Hero of the Realm members: Jim Coraci, Donobster, Peter Sugarman, Will Phillips, and Moses Hawk. You are the wind beneath my wings.