Maker Project Lab
August 11, 2022 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just Read the Instructions [Maker Update]

This week on Maker Update: sticking the landing after 7 years, the zen of robotics, a cardboard house for cats, cordless heat guns, measuring radiuses, and go big or stay home for your 3D printer.

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September 27, 2019 AUTHOR: Christine Cain CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , ,

10 Hobby Knife Upgrades

Tools:

X-Acto Gripster Knife, https://amzn.to/2TQ24uD
Soft Grip Hobby Knife, https://amzn.to/2D8HJvp
Fiskars Craft Knife, https://amzn.to/2ANKa4G
Fiskars Easy Change Knife, https://amzn.to/2Dac5gX
Fiskars Heavy-Duty Knife, No. 2 Blade, https://amzn.to/2ST1RXN
Excel Blades K47 Hobby Knife, https://amzn.to/2M8YCc2
Replacement Excel Blades, https://amzn.to/2M8YE3E
PenBlade, https://amzn.to/2TRLxGR
Slice Precision Cutter, https://amzn.to/2D9kAZH
Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife, https://amzn.to/2M9Uk4e
Fiskars Circle Cutter, https://amzn.to/2AKA6t8

Transcript:

… Let’s start off by quickly going over the pros and cons of a classic X-Acto brand hobby knife. These are easy to find, inexpensive, and they use a standardized system of replacement blades.

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August 3, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wearable LED-lit magnifying glasses

Tools: LED Light Weight Magnifier with 5 Lenses
http://amzn.to/2uDdG90

Transcript

For this week’s Cool Tools review, I’m going to show off these wearable magnifying glasses. These run around $14 on Amazon, and by using the link in the video description you help to support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.

I bought these a year ago looking for a way to get a better look at soldering up small stuff. They really are perfect for those times when you’re wiring or painting or glueing up something tiny and delicate. Plus there’s a little LED on the front that helps put a little extra light on things.

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July 6, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide Review

The Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide (Amazon link) is a $32 guide for a circular saw. It’s great if you have a small workshop, or no workshop.

If you have a table saw, there’s probably no reason to buy this. But if you have a small garage like mine and you don’t want to surrender the space and money to have a table saw, this and a circular saw are an effective way to accurately break down sheets of wood.

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July 5, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dremel Versa Tip Precision Butane Soldering Torch Review

This is review is for the Dremel Versa Tip butane soldering torch (Amazon link). It’s sells for around $38 on Amazon Prime. This is a portable soldering iron/heat gun/hot cutter/wood burning tool, that runs on butane. You click to light it, use the lock to keep the flame on, and then you adjust it for the temperature you need.

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June 12, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Poster Tack for Electronics

If you do any soldering you probably have a pair of helping hands, or some bulky heavy thing like this that can hold your project or components steady while you wire them. They’re useful, but a little clunky to travel with, and often overkill if you’re just splicing a wire or two.

In terms of price and portability, poster tack (a.k.a. poster putty) is a great alternative.

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May 4, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MagnoGrip Magnetic Wristband Review

Have you ever held screws or nails in your mouth as a way to keep them nearby while working on a project? This week for my tool review I’m going to show you a better solution. This is the MagnoGrip (Amazon), it’s a $14 magnetic wristband available on Amazon. I found it through the Cool Tools blog

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April 30, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Tools Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Portable Soldering Irons Compared

We’re going to take a quick look at three very different options in portable soldering irons. The point here is really just to give you a demo of each on the same table and you can draw your own conclusions on what might work best for you. 

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