The Annual Winter Is Coming Ritual As the weather gets colder, the annual ritual of “winterizing” begins. For me, the first task is always dealing with the outdoor faucet (or “spigot”) that my wife uses for her garden. It sits dormant all winter, becoming a prime target for a freezing disaster. You can buy those…
A Technician’s Disclaimer: I’m No Neuroscientist Let’s get one thing straight before we begin: I’m a self-proclaimed clumsy technician, not a brain surgeon. I have zero medical knowledge, let alone a grasp of complex neuroscience. I’m just a regular middle-aged guy who, like many, misses the sharp memory of his youth. This is simply a…
Why bother making your own cables? Flat ribbon cables with IDC connectors are everywhere in the world of electronics—inside computers, CNC machines, 3D printers, you name it. Most of the time, they come bundled with the products, and you just plug them in. But every so often, a project comes along—a repair, a prototype, or…
The day my angle grinder revealed more than just rust. It started as a typical weekend warrior project: routine maintenance on my container roof. The plan was simple—grind off some surface rust, slap on a new coat of paint, and call it a day. But as the grinder sang its song, the rust gave way…
The Problem No One Else Seems to Care About As a self-proclaimed “clumsy old technician,” I often find myself making custom servo motor cables. While the expensive crimpers for the signal pins are a necessary evil, I’ve always been annoyed by the tool for the cable shield. It’s a one-piece shield shell featuring an integrated…
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support. A Gem I Found on TV Ipoh, the capital of Perak, Malaysia, is a city on the rise. Its beautiful natural surroundings, the…
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support. Ipoh, My Second Hometown Ipoh, located in the north-central part of Malaysia, is often called the country’s third-largest city. With traces of its…
This is a story from a while back, when my daughter was in elementary school. One day, she came home with a school assignment: a plain fabric pencil case and a few sheets of what looked like ordinary colored paper. She said, “Dad, if you heat this, the design will transfer to the fabric!” Honestly,…
A long while back, I bought a mini lathe. It mostly sits in a corner like a forgotten relic, but sometimes, it becomes the most essential tool in my workshop. Like when I had to machine a servo motor shaft that didn’t fit. The problem was that the motor to be replaced had a 12.7…
We’ve all been there. That sinking feeling when you finish assembling a perfect connector, only to realize you forgot to slide the heat shrink tubing on first. It’s one of the most frustrating mistakes in any workshop. For a lazy technician like me, disassembling the entire connector is simply not an option. A long time…