{"id":37662,"date":"2021-01-07T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=37662"},"modified":"2021-01-08T12:20:32","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T19:20:32","slug":"using-paper-towel-and-wood-glue-to-seal-up-molds-for-casting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/using-paper-towel-and-wood-glue-to-seal-up-molds-for-casting-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Paper Towel and Wood Glue to Seal Up Molds for Casting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using Paper Towel and Wood Glue to Seal Up Molds for Casting<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"DL,

DL, droppin’ the science.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve been loving David Lynch\u2019s channel on\u00a0YouTube<\/em>, with his daily weather reports and project updates. In\u00a0this video<\/a>, he shows off a wooden tripod-mountable iPhone holder that he made along with a mold for casting some pieces for a sculpture. He shares a great tip about the mold. To close up a block mold for casting (so that the resin doesn\u2019t leak out), wrap it with paper towels soaked in wood glue. I\u2019ve heard of using plaster-impregnated gauze for this, but paper towel and glue is cheaper and more readily available.<\/p>\n

Chain-Stitching Extension Cords<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"No

No more kinks in those links.<\/p><\/div>\n

In my book,\u00a0Tips and Tales from the Workshop<\/a>, I showed this method of chaining cords.\u00a0This video<\/a>, by the always thoughtful and patient\u00a0Scott<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0The Essential Craftsman<\/em>, is the best tutorial on chain-stitching cords I\u2019ve seen to date. In the video, Scott also recommends that you invest in\u00a0lighted extension cords<\/a>. I\u2019ve never used these, but think I\u2019ll pony up for one. [H\/t\u00a0Kevin Kelly<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

Tactile Marking with Hot Glue<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A

A little dab’ll do ya.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you find yourself forever plugging in a USB cable upside down, holding your Apple TV remote backwards, or otherwise dealing with a device with an ambiguous plug orientation, you can add some tactile feedback by placing a spot of hot glue to indicate the top side.<\/p>\n

A Little Nut Magic<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"That's

That’s nuts!<\/p><\/div>\n

From\u00a0Machinist\u2019s Workshop<\/a>: \u201cWhen I find it difficult to place a ferrous fastener in an awkward position or in tight quarters, I slip a small, flat (\u00be\u201d diameter x 1\/8″) neodymium magnet into the index finger of a thin mechanic\u2019s glove. When I put on the glove, I place the pad of my finger on the magnet. Now, the fastener will stick to the glove because of the magnet inside and I can position it where needed.\u201c [H\/t\u00a0Sean Ragan<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

Old Art Brushes Just Become Another Type of Brush<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Once

Once it was a basecoat brush. Then it became a drybrush. Stippling brush here we come!<\/p><\/div>\n

In\u00a0this video<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Midwinter Minis\u00a0<\/em>about reviving old acrylic brushes, they share several good tips. One of them is to use a\u00a0matt clay hair product\u00a0<\/a>as a brush conditioner. Another is to always see an old brush as a new brush waiting to happen. An old basecoat brush can be repurposed as a drybrush, and a drybrush can then be given a spiky punk rock haircut to become a stippling brush. And you can always re-purpose old brushes to use as glue applicators. THEN you get to throw them away.<\/p>\n

Using Rubber Bands to Create Temporary Clamps<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Image

Image via FamilyHandyman.com.<\/p><\/div>\n

Don\u2019t forget the power of the rubber band to do simple things like creating a temporary small-parts clamp.<\/p>\n

Making a WD-40-like Penetrant<\/strong>
\nEveryone loves to reach for the WD-40 when a penetrating oil is called for. But did you know that you can cheaply and easily make your own? There are dozens of recipes out there (do a YouTube search). Here are two that get high marks from many basement penetrant chemists:<\/p>\n

Recipe 1:<\/strong> 4 parts charcoal lighter fluid, 4 parts mineral spirits (or paint thinner), 1 part lightweight motor oil.<\/p>\n

Recipe 2:<\/strong> A 50\/50 mix of acetone and transmission fluid.<\/p>\n

Annealing 3D Prints in Salt<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Salt

Salt parts to taste.<\/p><\/div>\n

In response to the item in\u00a0issue 64<\/a>\u00a0about annealing 3D prints in plaster to increase their strength, reader\u00a0TokyoSpark<\/strong>\u00a0pointed me to\u00a0this video<\/a>\u00a0on treating printed parts with powdered, baked table salt(!) It not only increases part strength, but it makes them water- and gas-tight.<\/p>\n

Europium Glow Paint<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Glow

Glow paint to light a light in the night.<\/p><\/div>\n

My pal\u00a0Jason Babler<\/strong>\u00a0sent me a link to\u00a0this Reddit thread<\/a>\u00a0on Europium-based glow-in-the-dark paint. This stuff will allegedly glow all night after only a few seconds of light exposure. Sayeth the Redditor:<\/p>\n

\u201cI order the paint from\u00a0Unitednuclear.com<\/a>. I let the can sit for a couple of days until the glow particles settle to the bottom. Then I pour off most of the carrier fluid, and first Prime the object with a couple coats of white nail polish. Then a couple coats of glow particles, then a couple coats of clear polish. Works great. That\u2019s my headlamp in the photo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazon carries\u00a0glow-in-the-dark paints<\/a>\u00a0that also claim to glow all night on a several-second charge. They are Strontium- rather than Europium-based. No idea if they work as well.<\/p>\n

Tips on Measuring, Marking, and Math<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A

A Perfect Circle<\/p><\/div>\n

Laura Kampf<\/strong>\u00a0has an\u00a0excellent video<\/a>\u00a0on measuring, marking, and math shortcuts in the workshop. I found a few tricks in here I didn\u2019t know about. I already knew about using tape to create a template for a circle. But what I\u2019ve never done is sand off the excess tape around the edge. The result is a perfect copy of the original or opening. She also shows how you can easily divide a cylinder into, say 5 pieces, by wrapping tape around the circumference of the stock, removing the tape, marking out five equal spaces along it, reapplying the tape, and then transferring the marks.<\/div>\n
\"Five

Five Easy Pieces<\/p><\/div>\n

3D Print a Pocket Hole Jig<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Save

Save yourself some dough and 3D print your next pocket jig.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you do woodworking and have access to a 3D printer, you can save money on pocket hole jigs (used to drill angled holes in wood for fastening to another board).\u00a0This 3D printed jig<\/a>\u00a0is equivalent to the\u00a0heavy-duty jig<\/a>\u00a0that Kreg sells for $70 (including bit and driver). Besides the few bucks in printer filament, the jig uses two \u00bd” ID bushings.<\/p>\n

Using Tool Auto Switches in the Shop<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mr.

Mr. Miyagi says: Switch on, switch off.<\/p><\/div>\n

On\u00a0this Cool Tools video<\/a>,\u00a0Sean Ragan<\/strong>\u00a0gathers up his sizeable collection of shop vacs(!) and decides to create dedicated tool vacuums for each machine rather than building a central dust collection system. To make this approach more workable, he installed\u00a0auto switches<\/a>\u00a0on each tool\/vac. These are current-sensing power boxes that have a plug for the tool and one for the vac. When the box senses a current draw on the tool, it automatically switches on the vac. Obviously this could be used to auto-switch other tools (lights, power feeders, fume extractors, etc.).<\/p>\n

Life Hack: Celebrate the Living<\/strong>
\nI had a friend pass away recently. As he was transitioning, his friends did a very wonderful thing. They created a private Facebook group where friends and family could share stories and pictures. These were read to him at his hospice bedside. An internet-connected picture frame was also set up by his bed so that folks could send images to him. What a lovely way for family and friends to celebrate someone while they\u2019re alive and to share that celebration directly with them. This seems especially perfect during this pandemic period when many wakes and funerals are being held online. This is also a good reminder to us all to tell those we love and care about what we think about them NOW. Never forget to celebrate the living!<\/p>\n

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

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #74<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":37674,"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\/37662"}],"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=37662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37689,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37662\/revisions\/37689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}