{"id":38710,"date":"2021-07-15T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T16:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=38710"},"modified":"2021-07-13T11:05:56","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T18:05:56","slug":"using-jumper-wires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/using-jumper-wires\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Jumper Wires"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am now 7 newsletters away from my 100th issue! It has been such a pleasure doing this weekly newsletter and I\u2019m looking forward to the next 100 issues after that. One ambitious goal I would like to set for issue 100 is 4,000 subscribers. You can help by sharing this newsletter across your social media and sending it directly to friends you think might enjoy it. If you have\/know of a popular maker podcast\/channel, suggest having me on to talk tips and making. And if you have any clever ideas for promoting the newsletter and increasing its exposure, please\u00a0let me know<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using Jumper Wires<\/strong>
\n\"jumperwires\"
\nI had to chuckle at\u00a0this Donald Bell video<\/a>\u00a0where he dates himself (these youngsters today!) by arguing the wisdom of using a\u00a0stiff jumper wire kit<\/a>\u00a0instead of\u00a0flexible cable-style jumper wires<\/a>. Why, when I was coming up as an electronic hobbyist in the late 80s\/early 90s, we didn\u2019t have no stinkin\u2019 cable connector kits! But he\u2019s right. For complex breadboard circuits, preformed 24 AWG jumper wires make things much easier when it comes time to transfer your design to a permanent circuit medium such as perfboard. You can also easily cut your own jumper wires to any desired lengths. In\u00a0this<\/a>\u00a0old Make: article and accompanying video, Charles Platt shows how to cut perfect jumpers every time.<\/p>\n

Kitchen “Hack”<\/strong>
\nHere\u2019s one from the Duh Department. If you\u2019ve ever tried to remove a hot bowl from a carousel microwave and found yourself struggling to get pot holders or oven mitts around the bowl, just pick up and remove the carousel plate itself with the bowl on it. I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve lived this long without figuring this out. Don\u2019t judge.<\/p>\n

Why You Want to Cut TOWARD Yourself<\/strong>
\n\"cuttowardyourself\"
\nIn this brief\u00a0Midwinter Minis video<\/a>, Guy explains why, when using a sharp hobby knife (or other small knife) for cutting\/carving into small parts (like plastic model pieces), it\u2019s actually safer to use your fingers and thumbs like a small vise around the object and to cut toward yourself. You have far more control this way and even though you\u2019re using a razor or super-sharp scalpel toward your precious digits, with the proper grip and short cutting action, you\u2019re not applying the kind of motive force that\u2019s going to cut you. The worse thing you might get are little pressure-nicks in your thumb.<\/p>\n

Mess Kit Coolant Plunge<\/strong>
\n\"plunge\"
\nMy pal Sean Ragan made this handy coolant basin for his pedestal grinder by hose-clamping a\u00a0camping canteen mess kit cup<\/a>\u00a0to the base. See more pics\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do You Prefer Robertson Heads Over Phillips?<\/strong>
\n\"phillips\"
\nJimmy DiResta is finally back with another of his popular\u00a0tool tips videos<\/a>. In this one, sponsored by\u00a0Acme Tools<\/a>, he runs through tips for sanding, grinding, using a chop saw, impact driver, and other tools using the DeWalt products that Acme provided. In the segment on\u00a0impact drivers<\/a>, Jimmy again professes his love for Robertson (Square head) screws (and his dislike of Phillips) and why he thinks Robertsons are the best screws on the market. I\u2019ve never used Robertsons with any regularity, but I\u2019ve recently heard several other respected YouTube makers (e.g. Scott of\u00a0Essential Craftsman<\/em>) extolling their virtues. I think it\u2019s time to\u00a0give them a serious try<\/a>. Thoughts from others?<\/p>\n

Shop Talk<\/strong>
\nReader\u00a0<\/em>Carolyne Darimont<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0responds to the idea of\u00a0<\/em>color-coding moving boxes:<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been using the packing box tip for almost 20 years. Thought I invented it \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

One change: I purchase a\u00a0package of coloured construction paper\u00a0<\/a>and using a knife or ruler slice it sideways into various coloured strips. I tape those to the opposite box corners. Then the movers don\u2019t even have to read.<\/p>\n

With a full sheet of the same paper taped to each door they just have to colour match.<\/p>\n

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

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #93<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":38714,"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\/38710"}],"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=38710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38715,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38710\/revisions\/38715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}