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Articles by David Frane
What Happens When You Crash a Work Van?
I will admit to having once been the kind of tradesman who drives a work van with nothing but a seat between me and the tools, material, and debris in the back. I might have behaved differently if I had seen what could happen to the contents of a van in a crash. Metal shelving racks may absorb impact better than wood The wooden shelves you built may feel solid, but that doesn't mean they will remain so if the vehicle suddenly decelerates.
Structural Insulated Panels
JLC subscribers have access to the Jan-Feb 2024 print edition at this time. Articles will be published online soon. In the meantime, you may browse the digital edition.
Milwaukee Packout Modular Storage - Core77
Long popular in Europe, modular storage took a while to catch on the U.S. Festool, Bosch, and DeWalt have offered it for years, and now Milwaukee is entering the category with its soon-to-be-released Packout Modular Storage system. Enter a caption (optional) Like other modular systems, Packout offers contractors the ability to stack and connect components—making them easier to store and transport.
Factory Tour: Lie-Nielsen Toolworks - Core77
A few summers back during a trip East I decided to visit Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in Warren, Maine. As luck would have it, they were holding their annual open-house, so I was able to tour the factory where they make hand planes, chisels, saws, and other traditional woodworking tools. Nearly everything Lie-Nielsen sells is made right there in Warren.
The Two Best Videos of the Eclipse and Where You Can Catch the Next One - Core77
The internet is awash in self-shot eclipse footage, most of it pretty sucky. If you missed the live event itself, leave it up to the pros--NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA--to give you the best views. First off, here's what the eclipse looked like from space, time-lapsed into four seconds: And here's a clip shot in Beatrice, Nebraska, which shows you what it looked like from the ground, with that crazy false sunset.
Game of Thrones Recap: "Beyond the Wall" - Core77
The episode starts with Jon Snow trying to give the Mormont family sword back to Ser Jorah. Ser Jorah knows how to travel in comfort. He's the only member of the group that's lined the straps of his backpack with animal fur, for ergonomic purposes. North of the Wall is supposed to be quite cold, and the ragtag group's cold-weather clothing is, well, ragtag. Not so Daenarys, who has a rather bad-ass cold-weather outfit.
Klein HVAC 8-in-1 Hex Head Slide Driver - Core77
Multi-bit drivers used to suck but have been greatly refined in recent years. Case in point—Klein's HVAC 8-in-1 Hex Head Slide Driver. To look at it you would think it's a nut driver, which for some reason has a knurled sleeve behind the head. But why? The sleeve is a threaded lock for the magnetic head.
Tools & Craft #60: Do You Really Need an Adjustable Mouth on a Handplane? - Core77
For the past couple of decades, the adjustable mouth has always been on the laundry list of features a plane should have. For example, in an article in Fine Woodworking #171 by Chris Gochnour on shoulder planes, one big complaint he had about the Clifton shoulder planes is that they do not have an adjustable mouth. What he doesn't explain is why it matters. The real question is not if a plane has or doesn't have an adjustable mouth but what, if any, advantage are they to the user?
How to Hand Drill Holes in Stone and Concrete - Core77
A star drill is a specialized chisel used to make holes in stone, concrete, and masonry. Drilling holes with this tool involves hitting it with a hand-held sledge, slightly rotating it, and then hitting it again. Do this enough times, and you will eventually create a hole. You can still buy star drills but few people today would consider using one, not when electric rotary hammers are available for drilling concrete and masonry.
You Have Less Than 3 Days Left to Get a Discounted Lifetime Membership to Public Goods - Core77
Public Goods is the tiny company hoping to make a huge impact on our personal finances. Entrepreneur Morgan Hirsh's mission is to manufacture common household consumables—shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, cleaning products, et cetera—and sell them directly to the consumer at cost. By eliminating middlemen and retailers they can sell, for instance, a $12 bottle of shampoo for $3.25.
<b>Makita LS1019L Miter Saw</b> - Core77
Makita recently announced the LS1019L, a new10-inch sliding compound miter saw with cutting capacity similar to that of many 12-inch models. Among its more notable features are a dual inlet dust collection system, a bevel lock that can be accessed from the front, and a slide mechanism that allows the saw to be used against the wall. On most sliding miter saws, the motor is attached to rails that slide back and forth through linear bearings.
Game of Thrones Recap: "Eastwatch" - Core77
In last night's episode of GoT we were treated to this rather epic shot of Daenarys and Drogon presiding over a defeated army. Since dragons are not large and intimidating enough, Daenarys has placed Drogon up on a hill, to give him that couple of extra feet that make all the difference. We also see that the Dothraki are a bunch of slobs. You guys can't wipe the blood off of your weapons? Do you realize how much harder it will be to clean off after the blood has congealed?
Hilarious Stop-Motion Animation of "Evil Legos" Violently Dismantling a Laptop - Core77
This looks like a scene from The Lego Movie—if it were rated R for violence. Animator Reto Hochstrasser armed a bunch of Lego figures with pickaxes, machine guns and explosives to give this laptop the business:VIDEOEnter a caption (optional) The latest design news, jobs & events. Straight to you every other week. Join over 300,000 designers who stay up-to-date with the Core77 newsletter...
A' Design Award and Competition Results - Core77
What's better than the thrill of designing a good product? Actually getting recognized for it. On that note, the results of this year's A' Design Award & Competition, one of the most well-known international annual juried competitions for design, have recently been announced. The A' Design Awards cover a wide range of creative fields to highlight the very best designers from all countries in all disciplines.
How Thick is the Line from a Sharpie? - Core77
How do you even measure such a thing and why would you bother? Machinist Tom Lipton shows how and then explains why it might be useful to know the thickness of various colors and types of ink. Different colors have different thicknesses? That's right—red, blue, and black Sharpie lines are not equally thick. In the video below Lipton uses a Johansson Mikrokator to measure the thickness of various lines. A mikrokator is like a dial indicator only far more precise.
Hand Block Printing Wallpaper - Core77
I dislike wallpaper, but this 1963 film almost makes me like it. It's not the aesthetics that appeal to me but the artistry and craft that go into making the product. Except for reproductions of William Morris designs, I don't suppose much wallpaper is made this way anymore. I particularly enjoyed seeing the woman using a router to cut patterns into the wooden printing blocks.
Michelin's 3D-Printed Non-Pneumatic Tire Concept - Core77
If you buy a reliable car, it'll last you for more than 100,000 miles. But your first set of tires will only last for a fraction of that. Then they're off to the landfill, or an energy-intensive recycling process, while you buy a new set. Rinse and repeat.
Behold the Wonder of the Wooden Wagon Wheel! - Core77
I'm a big fan of the desert and have been to Death Valley a number of times. At the ruins of the Harmony Borax Works, not far from the visitor center at Furnace Creek, are two of the original wagons used to haul borax to a railroad 165 miles away. I never paid much attention to them because they looked pretty basic, axles and wheels with heavily built cargo boxes on top. It was not until recently that I realized what a sophisticated thing a borax wagon is—particularly, the wheels.
Tools & Craft #59: The Incredible Work of David Esterly - Core77
These days our basic furniture needs are met very economically by factories, so if you are making furniture the reason is usually a personal challenge, a desire to work with one's hands, and a desire to push the envelope of what can be made with wood. This entry is about someone who's really pushing the envelope. Some time ago I caught an exhibit of work by carver David Esterly, at the W. M. Brady Gallery on 80th Street.
Mazda Achieves Engine Design Breakthrough - Core77
You could be forgiven for thinking all cars in the future will be electric. But chances are there will still be diversity when it comes to automotive propulsion systems. That's because engineers are constantly tweaking the efficiency of the internal combustion engine; turbochargers, superchargers, variable valve timing, direct fuel injection and other tricks all increase efficiency and power by a few percentage points each.
We Asked DIY Designer Ben Uyeda 5 Questions - Core77
Over the past few weeks, we've been fielding questions from our Core77 audience for a favorite YouTube maker of ours, Ben Uyeda of HomeMade Modern. Founded in 2013, Uyeda has managed to build up a collection of videos showing anyone how to make simple yet elegant DIY projects. In the meantime, he has gained a number of sponsors, which means his biggest passion can also be a full time job.
5 Ways to Hack Your Chucks - Core77
My friend Gary showed up at our book club wearing a pair of Chuck Taylors. Nothing unusual about that except that he's in his 70s and had no idea they were in style. He's been wearing Chucks since the 1950s—just the way they come out of the box. But what about people who like customized gear? Here are 5 ways to hack your Chuck Taylors that go beyond painting them, drawing on them, or lacing them in an unusual manner.
Behind the Scenes of Game of Thrones' "Loot Train Attack" - Core77
HBO typically releases an "inside the episode" video after each episode of "Game of Thrones." These behind-the-scenes vids are typically just a few minutes long. But after Sunday's epic episode, fans were treated to an extra-long behind-the-scenes look at how they created, among other things, the crazy sequences of a dragon strafing everything in sight.
Bollinger B1 Electric Sport Utility Truck - Core77
We're so accustomed to the design constraints imposed on vehicles by the need to accommodate engines and transmissions that we sometimes fail to see the possibilities when those mechanical elements are no longer required. That can't be said of the folks at Bollinger Motors, a Hobart, NY startup that is developing the Bollinger B1, an all-electric on-and-off-road sport utility truck (SUT).
SOG Baton Multitool - Core77
Most multitools look like what they are—a bunch of tools cobbled together. Not so much the SOG Baton series multitools. Sleek and minimalist, they don't look like tools until you open them up. None of them have the macho aesthetic favored by Rambo; they're designed for the person who wants an everyday carry multitool that's discrete enough to carry in the office or city. The Baton Q1 model resembles a rectangular pen with a pocket clip on back.
A Conversation with Raymond Loewy, the Father of Industrial Design - Core77
It's hard to imagine a designer who had a greater influence than Raymond Loewy, whose contributions include streamlined vehicles, iconic logos, a broad array of consumer products, and the interior design of NASA's first space station. His designs were ubiquitous over a period of decades. Loewy died 30+ years ago and yet one still sees things he designed or products inspired by things he created.
World's Most Hilarious Sleeper Car? - Core77
The Chevrolet Sprint, which some of you may know as the Suzuki Swift, the Geo Metro or the Subaru Justy, was a dinky little econobox from the '80s, produced by Suzuki and re-badged by GM and other brands. It had a 3-cylinder engine and produced just over 50 horsepower. My buddy had one in college. I drove it once and it was awful. 95 Octane spotted this '88 Sprint for sale on eBay—for $35,000. Why such a high asking price? And hey, what's up with those suspiciously large rear wheels?
Kreg Accu-Cut Saw Guide Review - Core77
The Accu-Cut Saw Guide is aimed at the woodworker who wants to make clean accurate cuts in sheet goods but can't afford a dedicated plunge cutting track saw setup. Its main components are a two-piece aluminum track or rail and a plastic sled that can be attached to any standard circular saw. The sled, which mates with the track, guides the saw in a straight line as it slides along the rail.
The Kirk Wrench, Designed For Getting Into Hard-to-Reach Places - Core77
In my Auto Shop class in high school, we learned to perform basic automotive maintenance on a 1982 'Vette. (Sadly it was a Chevette, not a Corvette.) The benefit of the old clunker was that you could easily reach everything in the uncramped engine compartment and undercarriage. The crowded innards of today's cars, in contrast, seem designed to make it impossible to reach every last fastener. Enter the revolutionary Kirk Wrench.
The "Science" That 1930s Automotive Designers Used to Determine Car Shapes - Core77
Here's a fascinating look inside Chevrolet's research facilities circa 1936. This is an era when the shapes of cars came from pencils wielded by designers operating on intuition, not market research or computer simulations. In order to promote their design savvy, General Motors and Chevy developed a rather interesting water-based contraption to illustrate the benefits of streamlining.
Tools & Craft #58: You Should Definitely Read This Japanese Book on Craft - Core77
A lot of us talk about the importance or relevance of craft objects in our lives. The most important thing I ever read about this topic was in Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's "In Praise of Shadows." It's a thin volume, only 73 pages long, and was first published in 1933 in Japan by Tanizaki who was a well-known novelist at the time.
Suso Caamanho's Workshop in a Box - Core77
Suso Caamanho is a woodworker in Spain who has attracted a sizable following on YouTube. One of the more interesting things he has built for his shop is a compact work station that opens to reveal a table saw, router table, and scroll saw It's not one of those builds where everything in it is made from scratch; Caamanho sensibly makes use of existing corded power tools.
141 Best Designed Products - Core77
Proving design is truly a universal language, the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) 2017—hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)—attracted hundreds of entries from 54 countries on six continents. Top winners and the 64 Bronze winners are revealed. Which 25 designs won Gold—and which 52 designs won Silver—will be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Atlanta. The IDEA Ceremony will be free and open to the public at The Rich Theatre.
Makita XDS01Z Cordless Cutout Saw - Core77
Earlier this year, Makita announced a jigsaw-like alternative to the recip saws and spiral cutout tools typically used to cut holes in walls and ceilings. Unlike earlier tools, the Cordless Cutout Saw is easy to control, captures cutting, and can be set to just barely cut through the surface. The XDS01Z looks like someone took a d-handle jigsaw and bent the grip away from the base at a 45-degree angle.
AeroMobil 4.0 Flying Car - Core77
The idea of cars that can fly has been around since at least 1940 when Henry Ford said flying cars were on the way. What he didn't know was that it would take until now for one to get beyond the prototype stage and go into production. If Slovakian company AeroMobil is correct, that barrier will be broken when its model 4.0 flying car goes into production later this year. With space for a driver and one passenger, it will be capable of speeds up to 100 mph on the ground and 240 mph in the air.
Game of Thrones: "The Queen's Justice" Recap - Core77
As per usual, last night's episode of "Game of Thrones" was so visually dark that you couldn't see how much work the set designers put in. An example: Here's another. It's so dark in this scene that you can't even tell there's a guard standing behind Jon Snow and Ser Davos: You just know that the extra who played the guard told all of his friends and family to watch the show, then it aired and he was like "Goddammit." So here's some things you may have caught and some you may have missed.
A 3D Router for When CNC is Overkill - Core77
CNC routers are great but not everyone can afford one, and according to woodworker Suso Caamanho, "unless the project is very repetitive, sometimes you can spend more time preparing the CNC than working on the project itself." The desire to do 2D and 3D routing with analog controls is what motivated Caamanho to build a device that uses home-made linear slides to move a drill or CNC router motor on the X, Y, and Z axes (left/right, forward/backward, and up/down).
Convenient Desk Accessories That Will Make Your Life Easier - Core77
If you are an avid note taker who often litters their desk with ephemeral Post It notes and sheets of paper, this notebook could be for you. A smart notebook that you can easily scan onto your computer and automatically categorize using its connected app, the other perk to this product its resusability—just pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, and you can erase all the contents and start anew.
Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #341: Men's Sani-Glasses for Camping - Core77
Unlike warehouses on the outskirts of town, these multi-story distribution centers will be located in cities and manned by robots and drones. Amazon's vision for the future includes multi-story automated distribution centers sprinkled throughout urban areas. Goods will arrive by truck and be delivered to customers by fleets of drones issuing forth from ports or doors in the building. Few humans will work there because robots will perform much of the
Tools & Craft #57: "Cheap - The High Cost of Discount Culture" - Core77
I am too darned depressed to write a cheerful blog today. My wife got a copy of Ellen Ruppel Shell's book "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" from the library for me to read and well so far it's a real downer. We all know about the drive for the cheapest possible price on any product and the consequent long slide in industrial and craft wages during the past 40 years. Actually it's been going on for centuries.
Four New Objects We Didn't Expect to See From Ikea - Core77
Ikea's getting ready to release their 2018 catalog. While it won't be available until August, we got a look at a pre-release version, and went through it to see if anything jumped out at us. We found the new furniture offerings to be standard fare, but there are four new objects that we didn't quite expect to see: Made from glass and powder-coated steel done up with a brass finish, this visually arresting, Art-Deco-ish clock speaks of the designers being given some leeway.
The Baseball as Folk Art - Core77
Umpire George Sosnak was good at his chosen profession but he was better as a folk artist, chronicling the history of the sport by inking highly detailed drawings and text onto baseballs. Baseball people knew and valued his art during his lifetime and it has become highly sought by collectors since his death in 1992. Sosnak first used a baseball as a canvas for art in 1956, when a fan who knew he was an amateur painter asked him to paint her favorite player on a baseball.
Porsche's Production Process: Assembling the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series - Core77
This is some fantastically up-close footage of a Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series being assembled. The quarter-of-a-million-dollar car is assembled largely by hand with machine assistance, and it's fun watching the various parts come together, and seeing anal touches like the testing guy checking the hood tolerance with a feeler gauge: Porsche is only making 500 of these, so you'd better ring your local dealership today.
Hacking a Miter Saw Stand - Core77
Brian Way is a cabinet and millwork installer in Connecticut who specializes in commercial projects. The work is frequently spread out over large areas—as it was on the hospital project that inspired him to hack his miter saw stand. The crew was installing trim in long corridors and faced the prospect of walking great distances to the cut station or breaking the station down and moving it multiple times per day. Neither was ideal so Way devised a wheeled plywood base for the stand they were using.
Lenovo Shows Off Folding Tablet Prototype - Core77
We all know flexible LED screens are possible, and that someone will eventually come out with a folding smartphone/tablet. The question is, who? Apple? The newly-resurgent, design-focused Microsoft? Judging by the video below, it looks like it may be none other than Lenovo. Take a look at the prototype they revealed last week: This is exciting because we see a simple, practical application for folding LED screens, rather than an illuminated Wonder-Woman wristband.
These Ingenious 2,500-Year-Old Chinese Wood Joints Make Buildings Earthquake-Proof - Core77
Over thousands of years, the building science of timber framing developed independently in both Northern Europe and China. But one big difference between the regions is that China, by virtue of its size and geological traits, is prone to devastating earthquakes. Ancient Chinese builders thus needed a way to create wooden structures that could not be shaken apart, and that were not so stiff that its support members would shatter.
A Vending Machine for Luxury Cars - Core77
We've seen "car vending machines" before in the U.S. and China, but now a dealership in moneyed Singapore has one-upped both of them. Autobahn Motors, which sells Porsches, Bentleys, Ferraris, Mercedeses, Lamborghinis, McLarens, etc., stores their inventory in this rather ostentatious automated structure: "We needed to meet our requirement of storing a lot of cars," Gary Hong, Autobahn Motors General Manager, told Reuters.
Urushi Ratchet Handles - Core77
Looking for a gift for the tool user who has everything—and I mean everything—how about an Urushi Ratchet Handle? For a mere $2,000-$4,000 you can get one of the handful of these things made each year. Urushi is obtained from the sap of the lacquer tree and is so central to the art of Japanese lacquer work that the term Urushi is used to refer to both the material and the art. Applied in multiple thin layers, Urushi produces a semi-transparent finish with incredible depth and radiance.
Wera Kraftform Kompakt Pistol RA - Core77
With so many cordless tools to choose from, it's easy to forget what it's like to drive fasteners by hand—or why it's frequently preferable to do so. German hand tool company Wera has not forgotten and continues to develop new and better hand drivers. The Kraftform Kompakt Pistol RA is a bent-handle version of the company's Kraftform Kompakt 27 RA straight-handled ratcheting driver.
A Super Organized Work Van - Core77
When Zack Dettmore replaced his old work van he went to extremes to organize the interior of the new one, outfitting it with a manufactured bulkhead and home-made shelving designed for the tools he carries. I've seen a video of the setup he once used in his contracting business and his tools have changed a lot since that time—at least insofar as how he carries them.
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