Alan Kaufman wrote a nice introduction-to-the-tools-of-sewing piece on ThreadBanger.

A few weeks ago, the good folks over at Black and Decker sent me a ReadyWrench to review. I wanted to use the tool a few times before writing about it. This week I saw that they started promoting it as a christmas gift idea so I decided that it was time to write the review before the holidays are over!

Let’s get down to it. What is this thing? Basically it’s a handle with 4 box wrenches on each end. To select which size you want to use, just turn the boxes at the end of the tool. The packaging says there’s 16 different sizes, but in reality, it’s 8 sizes which are close-enough matches between SAW and metric: This means that your half-inch box is really a 13mm (0.51 in.) box. A notch every 45º prevents the box from spinning and jerking off the bolt while you’re using it. That mechanism is well done.

The tool feels good in the hand: it’s not too light and doesn’t feel flimsy, although I wouldn’t whack it with a mallet to get a stubborn bolt unstuck. The plastic grip is comfortable, but I feel they could have went with a higher quality material. Also, I didn’t see any markings that would indicate which grade steel alloy it’s made of. In my opinion, at 30$, it should be high quality chrome vanadium steel. Then again, it’s not designed to be a heavy-duty tool — which is fine since it isn’t pretending to be.

I’ve tried it around the car and I must say that it was frustrating at times: without ratcheting action and with 60º teeth, the tool needs a lot of space to work — space that wasn’t always available under the hood of my Volvo. For working on the car, nothing beats a good set of box wrenches.

Around the backyard and in the shed, the ReadyWrench felt more at home. As much as I love to use my extensive tool set when I work on the car, as much I hate taking it out just to tighten a few bolts in the backyard. That’s where the ReadyWrench really shines.

Sure, I have other tools that tighten bolts. But, I don’t leave those in the shed. Having the ReadyWrench handy when you need it is really practical. In fact, the Ready Wrench prompted me to assemble what I call a “satellite tool kit” that I leave in the shed. Nothing fancy, just a multi-bit screwdriver, some pliers, a utility knife and the ReadyWrench. That way, I don’t need to run to the house when I need to tighten a bolt.

So — where does this tool stand?

What they got right:

• Handy all-in-one design
• For noobs, less likely to strip a bolt than an adjustable spanner
• A nice addition to any toolbox
• Lifetime Warranty

What can be improved:

• Somewhat ill suited for tight spots (a 30º bend would help)
• Better quality plastic grip
• Plastic Blister Packaging is annoying

The verdict:

The ReadyWrench is a good addition to any tool kit. For beginners, it’s easier to use than an adjustable spanner. If you’re a seasoned DIY person with a full toolkit, don’t dismiss it too quickly: you can always use it in a secondary toolbox that’s closer to the action! At around 30$, it’s the perfect stocking stuffer.

[ part 1 ] [ part 2 ] [ part 3 ] [ via ]

“Artists Chris Reilly and Taylor Hokanson appear to be getting some impressive results from their DIYLILCNC. They certainly aren’t the first to develop an open source CNC mill, however their build looks particularly nice. They claim that the whole thing can be assembled for around $700, including the stepper motors and drive electronics. Want to get in on the action? CAD drawings for the parts and build instructions are available on their site, under the Creative Commons license.”

[ link ] [via ] [ via ]

Arman Bohn sent me a couple of links to his projects – and I took forever to put them online. Sorry about that, been busy.

The first one, the Magical Toolbox, is a multi-effect generator built into a tool box. It has a stereo phase-cancelling reverb, fuzz box and ring modulator – All in stereo. It sounds really nice too.

Arman also built a Transmission Electron Microscope. It doesn’t quite work as intended, but it still looks cool, and the sountrack to the demo clip is pretty nice as well.

“The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.”
- Lloyd Jones

Magical Toolbox [link]

Transmission Electron Microscope [link]

This is my first Instructable, and my entry for the Instructables pocket-sized contest. It’s a Pocket-Sized Watercolor Box in an Altoids tin. I’ve seen people make similar ones and I’ve decided to make my own, using what I had: Fimo clay.

For once, instead of just linking to an Instructable, I wrote one. About time!

Please vote for me!

Altoids Tin Pocket-Sized Watercolor Box [link]

I’ve never been a sys admin or a network technician, but I bet that when you need your punch down tool (a.k.a. Krone tool) the most is when it’s most likely gone missing. This clever hack is a useful one for anybody that does a lot of wire patching.

Don’t let the title fool you, I’m quite certain you can also do this with your Victorinox Cybertool or your trusty Wenger camping knife. Just make sure you measure carefully before cutting your tool.

Leatherman Punchdown Tool [link]

I swear, I didn’t see this until I posted yesterday’s post: it’s basically the same thing, but mono (so much for stereo separation anyways), and amplified! I’ll definitely build myself one of these. They’d also make great gifts for guitar playing friends. Refer to yesterday’s project for installing felt in the tin, as it probably helps with the overall sound quality.

Altoids Tin Amplified Mini Speaker [link]

I love just about every project that’s built around the Altoids tins. This one is no exception: mini speakers made of recycled headphones. You could also use those cheap mini-speakers that they sell at your local electronic parts store.

Altoids Tin Mini Speakers [link]

«In this day an age of lightweight backpacking, many hikers are turning to alcohol stoves because they are super-lightweight, inexpensive, simple to use, and alcohol can be shipped in bounce boxes along the the trail. Since most commercial backpacking stoves have an integral pot stand, someone who uses an alcohol stove needs to provide one. But the same criteria for choosing the alcohol stove in the first place must also apply to the pot stand-windscreen too.»

Pot Stand-Windscreen [link]

«So I’ve been doing a lot of story boarding recently and in an effort to sharpen up my drawing skills I’ve switched from using a pencil to a pen. The only problem has been it’s much harder to do even fills with a pen than a pencil, so I needed a fat marker, too. But I hate carrying around more junk than I need, and most of the art markers out there have two or more points (prismacolor, tria, copic) but none of them have a point fine enough to do real line work. What’s an art director to do? Hack a tria of course…»

Extra Fine Dual Point Tria Art Marker [link]

Thanks to Bold Lentil for this submission:

« You’ll never look at a screw the same way again. Starting with an
anecdote from a bar in Brazil, this post has a simple DIY to make
your own bottle opener. From there it’s simple to consider how
to fill your world with built in bottle openers and a decent example
of extreme re-use. »

Simple and elegant. There’s no excuse to go thirsty!

World’s simplest bottle opener [link]

A well done, straightforward Instructable that shows you how to sharpen your chisels. After all, well cared-for tools will perform better and last you a lifetime.

How to Sharpen a Chisel [link]

This is a great find. I love to drink water and hate having piles of crap everywhere (I really need to clean my office). This upcycling project reuses 2 gallon water jugs and turns them into a brilliant (and modular) storage system.

Modular Storage Bins made from Water Jugs [link]

A very interesting project from KipKay (you might have heard of him through Metacafe): recycle a broken or obsolete camcorder and make a night vision camera out of its viewfinder. You’ll also need a few other components for this build but all the parts are reasonably inexpensive, considering the result. Best of all, you can output the video to record on a camcorder.

DIY Nightvision Headset [link]

Although I never really needed a kit like this, I still find it’s a good idea to tag one along in your car. It contains everything you need for basic survival: water, food, warmth, basic tools, etc. Even if you’re not in a survival situation, it still might come in handy, considering it packs a lot in a little package.

If you never leave the city, this Field Soldering Kit might come in handy. It contains everything you need to fix up some wiring when you don’t have access to proper tools. I actually have one in my car and used it once to fix some wiring on a headlamp while camping – far from a soldering iron.

Survival Kit in an Altoids tin [link]

Field Soldering Kit [link]

A nice piece on how to make a sharp knife out of a plain strip of metal (or a butter knife) without any tools. Interesting because it’s so simple, yet still useful.

Knife Making Without Tools [link]

How to makw a primitive, yet functionning airbrush out of household items. Nice hack and much room for improvement. An interesting start to a potentially cool project.

DIY Airbrush [link]

Please  use responsibly.

Make your own Lock Picks [link]

Simple but useful, these helping hands will do when you need help keeping your projects in place when you need a steady hand to help you. Even better than a real hand, you can use these for stuff you wouldn’t want to do near fingers: spray painting, soldering, etc.

Coat Hanger Helping Hands [link]