Ode to an Ancient Vise
I know a number of makers who have a problem. “My name is Jimmy and I have a vise addiction.” If you have an old vise or have gotten up close and personal with someone else’s collection, you probably understand the appeal. There is just something about old iron: the history, the heft, the patina, the encoded memory of all the work that has been through its jaws. This video, a countdown of 15 legendary American vises, gets at some of what makes these old beasts so addictive. Again and again, we see design decisions that seem almost quaint today: enormous amounts of cast iron used simply to make a vise stiffer, replaceable jaws and nuts, beautifully machined slides, massive screws, parts designed to wear out and be replaced rather than condemning the whole tool to the scrapyard. These companies made their vises too well. A tool that lasts 80 or 100 years doesn’t create a lot of repeat customers — but definitely attracts a community of devoted obsessives who hunt, restore, collect, and put these old monsters back to work.
Tricking Out Your Harbor Freight Mini Toolbox
I still have not gotten one of these odd little Harbor Freight Mini Toolboxes, but I will eventually, and I remain enamored with them. I was tickled to find out, via this video, that there’s an emerging aftermarket of upgrades and add-ons. You can add a mini cart and a shelf to your box to turn it into a miniature version of the full-size U.S. General cart. You can add brackets for stacking multiple boxes. You can turn it into a speaker system? And you can add tiny caster wheels. This mini toolbox is one of those products that instantly generated so much love and hate. It’s inspiring to me to see people finding clever uses for it.
Home Brass Etching
I have always had a thing for the ultra-creative Laika Studios (especially after they gave me a Weird Hero Award :-) ). In this video, Laika model maker, Keith McQueen, shows how relatively easy it is to do brass etching at home. All you need is a toner-based printer (not inkjet), a cheap thermal laminator, some ferric chloride etchant, some brass stock, and patience.
For the Love of Pens
While some folks’ vice might be vises, mine is pens. This Tools for Possibilities issue on pens reminded me of my own obsession. I concur with Kevin Kelly’s recommendation of the Pilot G2. My go-to pen for the past decade-plus has been the Varsity disposable fountain pen. For art and concept sketching, I’ve recently been using the Staedtler Pigment Liner .5. And I get packs of the Ohuhu Fine Line Drawing Pens (which come in eight different sizes from .005 to .07 and a brush nib) for drawing with my granddaughter. It’s a really decent set of art pens for under $10.
Makers Gotta Eat
Food tips too good not to share
A recent piece about Cookers on Cool Tools reminded me about Zojirushi rice cookers. I don’t have one anymore, but years ago, I was a convert. I spent a summer staying in a Vietnamese man’s house, and he had one going all day, serving up rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I went home, ordered one of these Zojirushi cookers, and ate a simple diet of rice, fresh veggies, and simply cooked meat, fish, and chicken for a year or so before I lost the discipline of it. Some may laugh at needing a fancy cooker with “neuro fuzzy logic” to cook rice, but it’s that particular feature that keeps the rice warm and moist for hours after it’s been cooked. And the timer allows you to set it with oatmeal or similar at night for breakfast the next morning.
During COVID isolation, my wife and I discovered the restorative powers of the Old Fashioned. For a sipping whiskey drink like this, you want a large ice cube and a slow melt. We tried a number of different large square cube trays before settling on these ball cubes. It takes a bit of practice to get them perfect. They come with a tiny funnel you’re supposed to use to top them off. I don’t bother with that. I overfill the tray and let the excess water squirt out of the vent holes in the top.
BTW: Here’s our recipe for the best Old Fashioned we’ve ever had:
1-1/2 shots of Bulleit Rye Whiskey
1/2-shot simple syrup
4-5 shakes of chocolate bitters
1 - dark cherry
Thin slice of orange
Maker Slang
Slang, jargon, and technical terms for the many realms of making things
Purge poops — On multi-material or multicolor FDM printers (such as the Bambu Lab, Prusa MMU, or tool-changing printers), the printer has to purge the old filament from the nozzle before printing with a new color or material. It extrudes a small blob or coil of molten plastic (commonly referred to as the purge poop) that’s discarded before resuming the print.
Screw jacking - Using threaded screws to precisely lift, separate, align, or adjust a part by applying controlled mechanical force. I.e., using a screw as a tiny jack.
Thocky - Among mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, thocky describes a deep, muted, weighty key-press sound. Not to be confused with: clicky – crisp, high-pitched, clacky – louder, harder plastic sound, creamy – smooth feel and soft, rounded sound, and Marbly – a slightly hollow but pleasant, resonant sound.
White whale tool - A tool you’ve been searching for, coveting, or trying to acquire for years. Same as a Holy Grail tool.
Thanks to All My Subscribers!
I now have well over 10,000 subscribers to this humble little newsletter. And 50 paid subscribers. A million thanks to all of you. Doing this newsletters is a true joy for me and I especially like feeling like I’m connected to a community of fellow makers. Thanks to everyone who’s sent me an email, made a comment, shared a tip or tool. Let’s keep the ball rolling for another 200 issues!
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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.