Cool tools that

Adam also extols the virtues of numbered wire marking tape. These are little labels, numbered , that you can use to mark and ID corresponding connections. Also, my parents would not be too happy with me if my jointer and band saw were in the dining room. The boards can be expensive at stationary stores. They are thin but sufficient and cheap. Transporter accident — A 3D print that has failed, creating a tangled mess of plastic where your object was supposed to be.

I gathered up all of the entries I published in and did a post on Boing Boing. You can see the entire list here. I sometimes think about how I would start from scratch. First thing is a sturdy bench with a good vise attached to it. Amazing things can be done from here. The first machine I would buy is a drill press; again, amazing things.

Yes, I have three Bridgeports, but this is a working shop so they are often all in use. Having them has become so ingrained into my thingmaking skills that I have a hard time thinking about doing without. Nicole Harkin is a writer and a photographer living in Washington, DC.

Her first book, Tilting, A Memoir , was about her childhood growing up in Montana with a pilot and a flight attendant for parents.

Gram also made a great gin-and-tonic. This little jar does both. I pop my rings into it with a drop of dish soap and hot water. Close it up and shake, and then I have sparkling clean rings. Next time you have room service, save one of these little glass jars. It is sturdy and shaped almost like a flat spatula. The thumb divot is great, you can really get some leverage on your frozen treats. The set comes with more spoons and these are nice too. Long handles make them perfect for ice cream sodas.

Yamazaki seems to be a generic Japanese goods company. I like how almost all of their products look. My youngest is in that group.

Is it a bit precious: yes. With this centuries-old tool, planing a rabbet is fast, simple, accurate, quiet, and fun. The router is the most versatile hand-held woodworking tool you can own. It makes decorative edges, rabbets see above , grooves along the grain or across it. It can shape a part to exact size if you rout around a template screwed in place. Routers rock.

The router we keep in the PM shop is this amp Bosch. Its plunge base accessory allows the router to cut straight down into a workpiece, carving out a space like a miniature swimming pool. The gold medal winner in the reciprocating saw Olympics is the Milwaukee Super Sawzall.

It cuts wood, metal, asphalt shingles, plywood, flooring, and all other common materials alone or together. Make clean straight or curved cuts in flat-rolled sheet or corrugated sheet steel faster than you can say master craftsman using a sheet metal nibbler. If a table saw is a great tool, then a SawStop table saw is even greater. Rip and crosscut accurately and, heaven forbid, your hand or finger makes contact with the blade, the blade stops instantly and retracts beneath the table.

This saw is an award winner and a finger saver. They hold metal together for welding, clamp metal to a work surface, hold a garage door on its tracks while you repair it. Whether fixing a conveyor system, building a robot or testing a fuse, a multimeter might be just what you need to get the job done safely and effectively.

On the next page, we'll examine a similar tool with other important functions. Oscilloscopes are a lot like multimeters, but in most cases, they're much more powerful and take measurements and analysis to the next level.

One important distinction, too, is that oscilloscopes focus solely on electrical signals, and when we say focus, we mean it. They actually let a user view the signals they're monitoring. An important tool to have on hand for designing and testing anything dealing with electronics and electrical systems , oscilloscopes are used by people across a large cross-section of industry. You might find one in an aerospace-defense testing facility, another in an automotive factory or still another in any number of research labs.

An oscilloscope can display the wave pattern of an electrical signal, and this allows someone to analyze whether or not it's the appropriate pattern and strength. Agilent Technologies is one company that makes oscilloscopes.

Let's take a closer look at what one of those more affordable oscilloscopes can accomplish. It's capable of providing measurements to a high degree of accuracy, and performing several mathematical functions on the results in order to manipulate and study them. It has four analog and 16 digital channels which can be used to view and compare all the separate signals on its You can watch your waves come in at a maximum rate of 4 giga-samples per second with a refresh rate of up to , waveforms per second, providing great detail and accuracy.

The InfiniiVision also has a fair amount of memory, so you can record sample signals and play them back for comparison and study. Now that we've looked at some cool tools for design and testing, let's move onto the factory floor. Laser engraving machines also known as laser etching machines, laser cutters and a variety of other similar names which describe their various functions have been gaining in popularity, both for the precision clarity of the results and the speed at which they operate.

In the process, a laser beam is programmed to create a design on a range of possible materials. Those materials can be organic, like paper, stone, wood, rubber and leather, or they can be plastic or metal.

Lasers create a nicely polished edge as they vaporize or cut controlled portions of the material in your designated pattern. Lasers engravers can be called upon for cutting, engraving, scribing, drilling, marking and other related modeling techniques. They can be used for pretty much anything you can think of that's etched or imprinted, whether it's a picture frame, trophy, printed circuit board, jewelry, you name it. Laser cutters can also be handy in industrial settings, either for mass production, prototype production or anything in between.

This diverse and incredibly precise machine weighs in at to pounds 50 to 56 kilograms and needs a computer all to itself to run, operating on either Windows XP or Windows Vista. It requires an exhaust system, and while the laser engraver isn't that expensive to run, it is expensive to acquire. A basic way to understand laser engravers is to look at how similar they are to printers. Only instead of working by adding a material to a surface, they create details by taking it away.

Let's look at a machine with a somewhat similar function on the next page. A CNC machine -- that stands for Computer Numerical Control -- is a type of computerized workshop device that replaces more conventional workshop machines. CNCs are able to perform many common shop jobs such as drilling, milling and turning -- and they do it all by themselves, making the shape that you define.

CNC machines are computer programmed to perform all the tasks a human would have had to do on a manual machine, as well as many tasks that humans simply aren't able to do. Whether it's cutting a sinuous curve into a heavy steel plate, or engraving a miniature image on the back of a gold watch, CNCs can do it faster and with greater accuracy than any other type of machine. Moving on a number of linear and rotary axes, most CNCs can perform a variety of complex tasks -- the more axes, the more versatile the tasks and the more complex the shape that it's possible to cut.

One CNC in particular, the Tormach PCNC Mill that's personal computer numerical control , stands as a leader in the field and can be just the thing you need whether you're an engineer, an entrepreneur or a hobbyist.

The machine can cut through anything, from wood and plastic up to and including steel, iron, titanium and chromium alloys -- and shape them into whatever final 3-D product you're looking for.

The PCNCs 1. Want the complete package? And it's not as expensive as it could be; During the design process, the people at Tormach worked to keep this personal CNC affordable, as well as easy to use. Read about another type of tool that can be found in the "Prototype This! When two metal surfaces need to be joined together and they can't be melted, you'll be reaching for your trusty soldering iron. Soldering makes use of the fact that different metals have different melting points -- using a metal alloy with a lower melting point than the two you're joining does the trick.

Soldering can be tricky, though. Getting just the right amount of heat and solder onto your project can be challenging, especially if you're using a solder that needs a lot of heat like some of the lead-free ones. Then there's the wetting and the fluxes and the danger that you haven't formed a strong enough bond between what you're trying to connect. All that comes without the irritating inconvenience of gas.

Its chain speed features 2, RPM for efficient trimming and cutting, plus it has its protection from overloading. The automatic chain oiler is just one more feature that makes this electric chainsaw such a great product that all dads will love. Introduce your dad with the future! Powered by incredible volt battery, this cordless walk mower is stealth, easy to use, and very durable. DWS is one hell of a miter saw that can make your dad cry from joy when he sees it.

It packs 15 amps and can chunk out up to 3, RPM. There isn't much to get done around the house without a good old ladder, and every father knows it. This Flip-N-Lite stepladder is every dad's dream.

All wrenches have slim and short bodies, which makes them perfect for workplaces where there isn't much room to work. Their open end is angled at 15 degrees to minimize the working swing arc. Furthermore, the wrenches are compactly placed in a store-and-go wrench keeper. Dads that like to fix things on their own have plenty of tools. Typically, they always lack the storage space for all tools to be fitted. It doesn't only offer a ton of space for storing all sorts of dad's super tools and materials, but it's completely mobile as it has wheels and a telescopic handle.

This mobile storage deep box features several units that are stacked upon each other and joined by durable latches. Buy your dad a sweater for Father's Day, and he will be thankful. Otherwise, buy him a good old twill coverall and watch how his eyes spark from joy. Every time he will wear it, he will remember who got it for him and appreciate it hugely. Sometimes, the biggest joy is in the little things. This hot glue gun is one of those small tools that everyone needs to own.

It runs on a powerful li-ion battery, which can last for up to three hours, and it features an LED indicator that will let you know when it's active and when not. It's trigger is big enough so that it can be squeezed with two fingers, which is excellent as it gives the user maximum control of the glue gun. This swiss army pocket knife from Victorinox is every handyman's best man and one of the few things they carry everywhere they go.

It's small, compact, and can do many jobs. Plus, it got the American flag painted on it. What's not to like about it? Can't get too much done without a solid set of drills? Not only it can go through any wood, but also a variety of other materials as well. Its steep flutes and super-sharp cutting edges are exceptionally effective and are designed for advanced performance. If your dad is continuously trying to improve something around the house, then this matt will save him a lot of time from continually cleaning and worrying about keeping the workstation clean.

Nothing sticks on this mat, even the hardest glue, and it can be cleaned in no time. Whatever it is, it can be piled off. The word universal seems to resonate with every handyman out there. This universal socket is something worth considering as it can fit all sizes from 7mm to 19mm screws. It is made from super-strong, and highly durable chrome vanadium steel material featuring 54 pieces of steel rods.

It can be used for all sorts of purposes, from DIY projects by home decorators to manufacturing.