Any Shaped Hole with a Regular Drill?<\/strong> Here\u2019s some fascinating proto-CNC cutting from the 19th century. The parser (or passer) drill was a bow-type drill, held against your belly, that used a template to cut a shape into wood (for things like inlay work). In\u00a0this\u00a0Pask Makes<\/em>\u00a0video<\/a>, he forges his own parser drill and tests it out on several template designs (that he also fashioned). I especially appreciate that he uses simple tools (blow torch, belt sander, anvil) to create the drill. And the resulting drill bit, which can be chucked into any electric drill, works beautifully.<\/p>\n The parser drill profile.<\/p><\/div>\n Tip Reminder: Tape for Holding Small Parts<\/strong> Here\u2019s an oldie but goodie. When you\u2019re disassembling many small pieces of hardware, use the sticky side of a wide piece of\u00a0painter\u2019s tape<\/a>\u00a0to hold the parts securely on your bench. You can even organize and label them to make reassembly easier. And don\u2019t forget the trick of sticking wide painter\u2019s tape to your benchtop to act as a disposable palette when mixing epoxies. [Image from the\u00a0Acme Tools\u2019 Instagram<\/a>]<\/p>\n App for Nesting Vector Files<\/strong> Via Donald Bell\u2019s\u00a0Maker Update<\/a>, I learned of\u00a0SVGnest<\/a>, an open-source, browser-based app for figuring out how many parts you can fit onto a sheet of material for laser- and CNC cutting. It can set shapes within shapes and you can even adjust for the kerfing width between objects.<\/p>\n Protecting SD Cards for Use in Raspberry Pi<\/strong> On Andreas Spiess\u2019 YouTube channel, the ever-clever Watch Your Step<\/strong> Doodling on a Theme<\/strong> In\u00a0a recent video<\/a>, Bill Mullaney of the YouTube channel,\u00a0Bill Making<\/em>\u00a0Stuff, offered up some useful advice on what he does when he wants to spark and sustain his creativity. In talking about the joys of\u00a0keeping a sketchbook<\/a>, he offers a fun drawing exercise. He creates a grid across two pages and starts anywhere on that grid by doodling a creature or object (he likes drawing robots). After doodling the first robot, he picks some aspect of it that he particularly likes and carries that over to the next square. Drawing the second bot, he carries a favorite part of that into a third square, and so on, until the entire grid is full. Wonderful idea.\u00a0Cool Tools<\/em>\u2018 Mark Frauenfelder does similar\u00a0doodling on a theme<\/a>.<\/p>\n Noteable Quotables<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t fight forces, use them.\u201d – Buckminster Fuller<\/p>\n \u201cLet glue dry!\u201d – Laura Kampf<\/p>\n Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #101<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39286,"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\/39280"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39280"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39305,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39280\/revisions\/39305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"regulardrill\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/regulardrill.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/parserdrill.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n![\"tapeparts\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/tapeparts.png\")
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\n![\"svgnest\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/svgnest.png\")
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\n![\"sdcards\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/sdcards.png\")
<\/p>\nSwede<\/del> Swiss\u00a0looks at options<\/a>\u00a0for protecting\u00a0SD cards<\/a>\u00a0used in Raspberry Pi computers. SD cards are a cheap and common storage solution, but they\u2019re not really designed for constant write cycles. Also, the cards can be corrupted if the Pi loses power and is not properly shut down. To overcome these issues, Andreas looks at several solutions and the option of using an SSD (solid-state drive) instead.<\/p>\n
\nSeveral lifetimes ago, I was a manager in a hammock-weaving shop. One of the other managers was absolutely obsessed with efficiency. At the time, his constant examination of every footstep, arm gesture, and repetitive motion seemed over-the-top and compulsive. But I\u2019ve never forgotten the basic idea he harped on: to be mindful of the steps you take, the order and location of tools and materials around you, and your execution of the task at hand \u2013 always asking yourself: \u201cIs this the best way to do this?\u201d This was also the guy who used to say \u201cWork the cube,\u201d meaning to consider and utilize the full volume of a give workspace. I\u2019ve never forgotten that, either.<\/p>\n
\n![\"doodling\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/10\/doodling.png\")
<\/p>\n