Gar's Tips & Tools - Issue #212

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

The Accessible Workshop

I’ve had severe spinal arthritis since I was 13 years old. Over the decades, it has done its level best to impede my ability to live my life and do the things I enjoy. By and large, it has failed. I have managed to compose a meaningful and active life around my physical limitations. And now there are the realities of aging, and the limitations that it wants to impose.

Throughout my life, as an appropriate-technology enthusiast, I’ve turned to various technological solutions to improve my quality of life, from reacher-grabbers, “sock buddies,” and garment hooks, to wheel chairs (before my hip replacement) and cutting-edge pharmaceuticals.

As I age, I realize that that I’ll be increasingly looking to more adaptive tools and technologies to keep me going. Since I imagine that many of you, my dear readers, are increasingly facing similar challenges, I thought I’d create this new column to share adaptive technologies I’ve discovered and to get your input about the tech that you might be using.

For my first installment of “The Accessible Workshop,” I thought I’d cover the first few universally useful things that immediately sprang to mind.

Gilhoolie Jar Wrench
When I bought my house in Virginia, in 1999, the previous owners did a wonderful thing: They left a collection of kitchen and maintenance tools (and all relevant service manuals) in the kitchen junk drawer. One of these was a strange-looking device that I initially had no idea what it was for, the oddly named Gilhoolie. It’s a jar wrench and I’ve loved this thing ever since. I have never had a jar (if the lid fit inside these jaws) that I couldn’t open, even with swollen, arthritic wrists. Everyone needs one of these in the kitchen and shop. Much better than rubber gripper pads. Amazon sells knock-off versions of the Gilhoolie. You can get an official one at The Vermont Store.

Grabber-Reacher
For anyone with spinal issues, or the inability to bend down or reach over their head, a grabber-reacher is an essential everyday tool. There are all kinds of models available. I’ve always been partial to the type that have rubber-cup ends on them. I have managed to pick up pencils/pens, sheets of paper, even coins using one of these. The brand I’m partial to is the ArcMate heavy-duty model. I’ve had these for decades with no issues.

Anti-Fatique Mats

My first job was as an acquisition manager for an outdoor furniture (aka hammock) company. I was in charge of researching and ordering all the tools, materials, and supplies. As part of that job, I was asked to buy a set of anti-fatigue mats for the wood and machine shops. I’d never even heard of such a thing, but I did my research and ordered a bunch of mats from the Graingers catalog. The moment I stood on one (especially being someone with spinal arthritis), I was sold. I’ve rarely been without such mats in my life since. If you stand, in a kitchen, shop, or office, for any length of time, you need one of these mats under your feet.

So, what are some of the “assistive technologies” that you use? Please send me any ideas or recommendations.

Making Your Own CA Glue Applicators

Cut Transform Glue is one of my favorite trash-bash modeling channels. Brazilian modeler Henrique Ventura does such an impressive job of turning old electronics and plastic waste into the most impressive sci-fi models. I learn a lot in watching each of his videos. In this episode, he shows how to heat-stretch plastic Q-tip tubes to create your own precision super glue applicators.

Virtues of the Mechanical

My Arlington, Virginia home came with a very tricked-out washer and dryer. High-end Maytag models from the 1980s, they had all sorts of push-button switches, lots of LBLs (little blinkin’ lights), and features that no one ever used.

When the dryer broke (a component on the electronics panel burned out), the appliance repair guy said I’d have to replace the entire panel and that it wasn’t likely worth the multi-hundred-dollar expense. “Do yourself a favor,” he said, “Get a new unit with the least amount of features possible and mechanical dials — the less electronics, the better.”

I did, and that cheap replacement dryer was with me until I sold the house, over 20 years later. We laughed when we saw the washer and dryer in our house here in California. Also from the 1980s, they are mechanical Kenmore models. We’ve been here since 2021, run countless loads through them, and they’re still working away (knock on wood). And you’ve got to love that ratcheting sound when you dial in your load.

Mechanical.

Zip Tie Aha Moment

The No Way Guy on Instagram is a car and profanity enthusiast. In a recent Instagram video, he shares his discovery that you can chain zip-ties together to keep them organized. Just nip off the lock on a tie and thread the others onto it. If you want to hear a lot of salty adult language, you can watch the video, but that’s the basic tip.

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Thanks to All My Subscribers!

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A very special thanks to Hero of the Realm subscribers: Moses Hawk, Jim Coraci, Donobster, Peter Sugarman, and Will Phillips for your generous support.