{"id":36844,"date":"2020-08-20T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=36844"},"modified":"2020-08-18T10:32:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T17:32:54","slug":"simple-trick-for-determining-2-1mm-or-2-5mm-barrel-jacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/simple-trick-for-determining-2-1mm-or-2-5mm-barrel-jacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Trick for Determining 2.1mm or 2.5mm Barrel Jacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simple Trick for Determining 2.1mm or 2.5mm Barrel Jacks<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"If

If it fits, you must equip.<\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s a tip I learned from Donald Bell\u2019s\u00a0Maker Update<\/a>. It\u2019s from an old DigiKey\u00a0\u201cTeaching Moment<\/a>.\u201d Many barrel jacks have a consistent 5.5mm outside diameter. But the inside diameter can vary, usually either between 2.1mm or 2.5mm. If you don\u2019t have your digital calipers handy, you can determine this inside diameter with common objects: a toothpick, a ball point pen, or a test probe. The brass housing on a ball point pen is usually 2.2mm. If it doesn\u2019t fit inside the barrel of your jack, then the jack is 2.1mm. If the pen easily fits inside, the jack is 2.5mm. A standard toothpick is 2.1mm. If it fits snugly in the jack, it\u2019s a 2.1mm jack. Also, a common multimeter probe needle with fit closely inside of a 2.1mm jack and be very sloppy inside of a 2.5mm jack.<\/p>\n

Yet Another Method for Removing a Stripped Screw<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Wrap

Wrap that rascal.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are at least a dozen ways of removing stripped screws. Many of them involve getting rubber material (say, from a rubber band) between the screw and the bit. From the\u00a0Instagram<\/em>\u00a0page for\u00a0Tradecktory<\/a>\u00a0comes this idea on using a disposable rubber glove wrapped around the bit to do the trick.<\/p>\n

Creating a Level from a Carpenter’s Square<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Getting

Getting on the level in a pinch.<\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s an oldie but goodie from the\u00a0Acme Tools<\/a>\u00a0Instagram<\/em>\u00a0feed: If you don\u2019t have a level handy, wrap a chalk line over the top of a carpenter\u2019s square at the 90 degree angle. When the string lines up with the 45 degree mark on the square, your surface is level. I recently bought the classic\u00a0Swanson Tools Speed Square<\/a>\u00a0and couldn\u2019t love it any more. A great tool for under ten bones. It even comes with the iconic (and very handy)\u00a0Speed Square Blue Book<\/a>\u00a0[PDF].<\/p>\n

Using a Shop Weight as a Temporary Stop Block<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Weights

Weights and measures.<\/p><\/div>\n

In this\u00a0recent Laura Kampf video<\/a>, where she builds a sweet little geodesic dome greenhouse out of trash, she employs a tip every maker should store in their mental toolbox. She uses a shop weight as a quick stop block for repetitive cutting of material to the same length. What she is cutting is ingenious, too. She used metal strapping bands as the struts for her wee dome.<\/p>\n

Making a Quick Plastic\/Laminate Cutter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Making

Making the knife you need.<\/p><\/div>\n

In a recent\u00a0Jimmy DiResta Instagram<\/a>\u00a0story, he shared a useful tip. He was cutting a bunch of Formica and didn\u2019t have a\u00a0plastic\/laminate cutter\u00a0<\/a>handy. So, he simply cut a hook in a utility knife to achieve the same basic effect.<\/p>\n

Using the Pomodoro Technique to Fight Distraction<\/strong>
\nMy long-time pal (and\u00a0Cool Tools<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Boing Boing<\/em>\u00a0colleague) Mark Frauenfelder has just launched a new newsletter, called\u00a0The Magnet<\/a>. There is a free version and a paid subscription version.\u00a0More info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his\u00a0first issue<\/a>, he talks about the Pomodoro productivity technique. This is a method for trying to focus on the work at hand in our extraordinarily distracted modern world. The basic idea is to set a timer for a set interval of time (say, 25 minutes), come up for air for a set interval (say 10 minutes), set the timer again, rinse, repeat. When under the timer, you do\u00a0nothing<\/em>\u00a0but the work at hand. No checking your phone, email, FaceFart, etc.<\/p>\n

I had no idea it had a name, but I\u2019ve used the timer technique for years. Sometimes, it\u2019s the only way I can get anything productive done. I set my timer for 56 minute sessions (don\u2019t ask).<\/p>\n

If you have similar distraction issues, consider giving this method a try.<\/p>\n

Sketchplanations has a good, short guide to the\u00a0Pomodoro Technique<\/a>..<\/p>\n

Shop Talk<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The

The Stanley Butt Gauge No. 93<\/p><\/div>\n

Reader\u00a0Chris Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0sent this response to\u00a0last week\u2019s piece<\/a>\u00a0on cool specialty tools and the antique Stanley ruler with calipers: \u201cI\u2019m a fan of old tools, too, having inherited a bunch from various relatives past. Here\u2019s one\u00a0from my Uncle Soren, a Norwegian carpenter who worked in Brooklyn in the 20s through 60s. It\u2019s the Stanley Butt Gauge No. 93 (used for installing doors). I\u2019ve hung doors, but have never thought to use it. It generally sits on my desk as a reminder to occasionally get my hands off the keyboard and onto a physical project of some sort.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

In response to last issue\u2019s piece on using wine bottles to irrigate plants when you\u2019re away, I got a bunch of responses. Here\u2019s one:<\/p>\n

John Seiffer<\/strong>: \u201cMy wife tried the wine bottle plant watering and said the dirt just clogs it up. She\u2019s a big fan of using wine bottles stuck\u00a0in these<\/a>. Apparently the terra cotta works the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also\u00a0plastic ones<\/a>\u00a0that have valves with an adjustable drip rate.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #58<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":36850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2371],"tags":[2372],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36844"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36851,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36844\/revisions\/36851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}