TOOLBOX
Gadgets and gear for makers
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Jeffery Braverman
TIPS TO SNAKE A REPLACEMENT CABLE
When changing a wire, tie a pull string to the faulty line to help feed in the replacement. Sometimes, however, you'll need to send the string through manually. It’s often tricky to do, but these pointers can help.
Use a Shop-Vac to suck a cotton ball tied to fishing line through the conduit.
Drive an RC car across ceiling tiles with the string tied behind it.
Shoot a crossbow or airgun dart across a gap with a string tied to it (just like the movies!)
James Burke
Throw a baseball sewn to fishing line over ceiling-mounted pipes or crossbeams.
T3 Innovation Snap Shot Spread Spectrum TDR SS200
When a project grows beyond the workbench, difficult wiring problems may arise. If the cable is very long, hidden, or buried, troubleshooting becomes onerous and time consuming. Instead of using an ohmmeter and potentially cutting into the cable at regular intervals, the T3 Innovation Snap Shot TDR (Time Domain Reflectometer) peers inside the cable for you and measures the distance to a fault. Press the “test” button to display distance to a short or open circuit, or total cable length on the backlit LCD screen. Using spread spectrum technology, the Snap Shot tests powered lines up to 60 Volts, CAT5/6, telephone, coax, and speaker wire up to 3,000 feet while in use. Except for safety reasons where necessary, there’s no need to disconnect the gear attached to the cables under test. The kit comes with adapters to connect F-type connectors, BNC, RJ-45, and alligator clips. Snap Shot can also broadcast a tone signal for use with an inductive wire tracer.
—Mike Outmesguine
Karma Controller
The Karma Controller is an electronic controller kit for navigating through the internet discussion board Reddit. It’s a PCB with 7 buttons and resistors, with pins to accommodate a Digispark (a tiny Arduino-compatible microcontroller that is included in the kit).
To the computer’s eyes the controller is recognized as a mouse, and the buttons are set to move you from one story to the next, upvote and downvote, and scroll through comments. Intriguingly, the controller could be used for other purposes — all you have to do is reprogram the Arduino. The controller kit is an extremely easy soldering project, so if you’re looking to get your feet wet this will do it.
—John Baichtal
True Temper 8-Pound Forged Steel Wood Chopper’s Maul
Hatchets are irresistible. A nice old hatchet has all the tame-the-west romanticism of an ax in a charming little form factor. The only downside to hatchets is the harsh reality that they just don’t work. Too puny, too light.
Always intimidated by wood splitting, I was certain that a perfect wood pile was the domain of Paul Bunyan-types with burly physiques built from a lifetime of salisbury steak frozen dinners. Eventually, the aesthetics of wood chopping — a maul, a hardy stump, leather gloves, and head-to-toe flannel — proved too compelling to ignore and I bought the cheapest, 8lb maul from Lowe’s.
It proved to be absolutely devastating to wood. One of the most satisfying purchases ever. The only strength required is the ability to swing it overhead, then momentum and gravity do the work as you guide the head to the log. When it connects, it is explosive. A nice, dry log just blows apart. Practice in the backyard, then split logs where the neighbors can see you. They will stop hassling you about your barking dog.
Hatchets still have their place — under the pillow for zombie apocalypse scenarios.
—Mister Jalopy
The Angel-5 resembles an old-fashioned wall pencil sharpener from any classroom but is not wall-mountable. How can an unmounted classic crank pencil sharpener be used with only two hands? (I don’t have one hand to hold/anchor the unit, another to turn the crank, and a third hand to push the pencil in!)
The answer is in its unique feature: The sharpener, after being extended, grabs your pencil, maintains good pressure, and self-feeds it into the sharpener. You let go of your pencil and use one hand to hold the base while the other hand turns the crank. When the crank starts turning freely, your pencil is sharp as a tack.
These are made by Carl, whose name I recognized from high-end paper cutters. I purchased the basic one, available widely for $25, even though I really want the $45 one that lets you select from five different tip sharpnesses (I really prefer a blunter tip), but I wasn’t ready to spend that much on a new technology. Now that I’m familiar with it, I’ll look for an excuse to buy the preferred one, called the CC-2000.
—Craig Wilson
Gunther Kirsch
Gunther Kirsch
Cuttlebug
The Cuttlebug is a nonelectronic die-cutting and embossing tool for paper crafts. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and compatible with embossing folders and dies from most manufacturers. I am an avid papercrafter and scrapbooker, make all my own greeting cards, and use my ‘bug more than any other tool.
YouTube shows lots of ways to use it for various techniques, including letterpress. I’ve had mine for about 10-12 years, use it at least weekly, and am still using the same cutting plates it came with. It’s more intuitive to use and more compact when folded up than competing brands I’ve tried. Dies and embossing folders are available in any craft store, but you can also create your own embossing designs with leaves, lace, etc., using rubber mats made by the Spellbinders and Scor-Pal companies.
—Polly Robertus
Jake Spurlock
Badland 12,000 Pound Winch
The Badland 12,000 pound winch is a serious tool, and coming from Harbor Freight, its feature set comes at a fraction of the price of other competitive models. The ⅜" cable can tow in 12,000 pounds at a meager duty cycle of only 5%, (meaning that for every 45 seconds of full load towing, you will need to allow the winch around 15 minutes to cool), the winch will probably pull a car, tress, fence posts, or anything else that you need pulled quickly and effectively. For only $29 you can add a wireless remote so that you can start pulls from inside a car. There are often Harbor Freight coupons for 10-25% off, making a purchase a little easier on the wallet.
—Jake Spurlock
Specwise, the Hero3+ is a nice little bump over the Hero3. What really stands out, though, is the size — it’s 20% smaller then its predecessor. Video can now be shot at up to 4k resolution, and still can be shot at 12mp at 30 frames a second. What really shines is the new Super-View, a mode that shoots an immersive wide-angle video that captures more of the user and the surroundings. The camera kit also includes: a wi-fi remote (making helmet camera operation much easier than before), a battery, waterproof housing, and a variety of mounts for curved and flat surfaces.
—JS
The HQ Power PS1503SBU is a great addition to any hobbyist’s or maker’s bench. It has large easy-to-read digits for the voltage and current. The dials are smooth and easy to adjust to a specific value. The unit does not produce any excess heat or odd noises. The only downsides are: It does not ship with banana plugs and cables (you have to create your own); and it only has one positive and negative voltage terminal. This unit provides up to 15 volts, which is plenty for any microcontroller and most hobby/project circuits. It also provides 3 amps of current — ample for any small electronics project. The HQ comes in a compact portable case that makes it perfect for busy workspaces or ones with limited room. It provides clean power to noise-sensitive circuits and a steady reliable voltage that does not vary.
—Eloy Salinas
HitCase Pro
This is the ultimate “extreme sports” mounting system for an iPhone 5/5s. Use it to record your next longboarding expedition or dune buggy race. At its core the HitCase is a shock- and water-resistant case with a screen protector and mounting lug that allows you to plug the case into a variety of mounting devices, sold separately.
These GoPro-compatible mounts include a roll-bar attachment that tightens to the bar with the help of metal clamp bands, a handlebar mount, adhesive mount, as well as a chest-harness mount giving skiers and other nonvehicle daredevils a chance to record their stunts.
—JB
Gunther Kirsch
Colored Hot Glue sticks
Hot glue is something everyone should have in their tool kit. Quickly build structures and secure parts or wires with it, and you can find glue sticks for various different materials from rubber, metal, and wood. Unlike other adhesives, you can undo hot glue: Just peel it off. Normally available only in translucent white, glue sticks for crafting are available in a rainbow of colors and are compatible with standard hot glue guns. Make custom-colored bumper feet for projects (like blue to match an Arduino board). Make matching repairs to frayed colored wires. Get the sample pack to try out a bunch of different colors. Or get bundles of a single favorite color. And if you’re feeling really awesome, get the colored glitter sticks!
—Tod Kurt