I was waiting for a Cappuccino at a coffee shop and asked the girl making it to also give me a glass of water. An incongruous conversation ensued: Girl: To drink or to smoke? Me: Huh? Girl: To drink or to smoke? Me (the sensible part of my brain trying to stop the engineer’s part … Read more
A major cause of accidents and frustration is trying to use the wrong tool for the job. Professionals usually know, and have available, the right tool. Amateurs and beginners may be blissfully unaware of it. When I was just starting into homebrew electronics in my teens, I actually used to drill holes in metal with … Read more
Another thing worth knowing is how to test a tool before you buy it. Different tools have very different methods… for example, I was saved from losing a lot of money because I knew how to test a Curta mechanical calculator before buying it (basically you start with all zeros, subtract a 1, then add … Read more
So, if quality is critical, how do we find the best tools? One simple method is to go for the best makers; the ones the pros swear by. In my case I did that by interrogating my machine shop teacher in university, a master craftsman with decades of experience. Basically it went like this: Me: … Read more
Of all the everyday objects you will own, Tools deserve a place of honor, since they are the ones you use to make other objects. In fact, tools are arguably what distinguished our hominid ancestors from the animals. For my part, as a maker of things for pleasure and work, tools – the workshop kind … Read more
And now, from the murky past, a serious lapse in designing for the intended user… When my son was a toddler, many years ago, he had this habit of going into my den in my absence, climbing onto the lab bench and wreaking havoc (here, I once captured him on film reaching for a hammer). … Read more
