Tips of the Week: Captain Obvious Edition

Workshop
Tips of the Week: Captain Obvious Edition

Tips of the Week is our weekly peek at some of the best making tips, tricks, and recommendations weโ€™ve discovered in our travels. Check in every Friday to see what weโ€™ve discovered. And we want to hear from you. Please share your tips, shortcuts, best practices, and tall shop tales in the comments below and we might use your tip in a future column.

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In my forthcoming book, Tips and Tales from the Workshop, I recount a conversation with toy inventor Bob Knetzger at Maker Faire Bay Area last year where I asked him for some tip suggestions. His response was: “Close your eyes when you’re blowing sawdust out of a hole.” This is the kind of safety reminder that may seem painfully obvious on its face, but it’s also worth being reminded of such things from time to time. I spend a lot of time trying to collect those glittering gems of “ah-ha!” tips, it’s nice to not neglect a few of the “duh-ha!” tips, too. I asked my Facebook friends to share some of their best Captain Obvious tips. Here are some of my faves. You can read the entire thread here.

  • No Machining Alone. -Lenore Edman
  • Change your sanding pad twice as often as you think you should. -Kaden Harris
  • Never try and catch a falling tool. -Barry Devenney
  • Always exercise caution, as if the circuit is live, even if you’re sure it isn’t. -Andrew Lewis, Jon Singer
  • Motors are stronger than muscle. If a tool starts to pull away, let it go, and hit the stop button. – Andrew Lewis
  • If you’re cutting more than 3, make a jig. -Andrew Lewis
  • You need more light! -Andrew Lewis
  • Don’t use your damn teeth! -Robin Moore
  • Close your mouth when you’re working on something above your head. -Rafe Needleman
  • You need more clamps – Lenore Edman
  • If you’re using a roll of tape, cut a few pieces off and stick them to the edge of the table. Otherwise, it’s impossible to tear off a piece of tape while holding your project with both hands. -Bob Parks
  • Sharpen. -Michael Colombo
  • Never put your nose over an open bottle to smell the contents of it. wave your hand over it to blow a bit to your nose and smell the vapors. -Miguel Valenzuela

Pre-Order My Tips Book!

My latest book, Tips and Tales from the Workshop, will be released by the first of next month. You can pre-order it on Amazon. Here are a few of the early reactions: “Gareth Branwyn is the Tip Master,” Kevin Kelly, Cool Tools. “Gareth has essentially created a magic book for makers,” Donald Bell, Maker Project Labs. “It’s “ah-ha” moment overload!,” Becky Stern, Instructables.

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn
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