Make: Volume 52

IN RESPONSE TO MAKE: VOLUME 50

“Use a meter to measure the resistance ...

which should be zero.” (“Sound Squeezer,”

Volume 50, page 81.) No, it should read

infinity, not zero. Zero resistance is a dead

short, which you do not want in a capacitor.

—Gordon Martin, Mississauga, ON

Love your magazine, but on

occasion its accuracy leaves

something to be desired. Case

in point: screw nomenclature

(“Turning Heads,” Volume 50,

page 34). The head of the screw

is the shape of the head, not the

screwdriver shape (flat head, oval

head, fillister head, button head,

etc.). Flat blade, Phillips, hex head,

square or Robertson, torx, hex-

socket head, or Allen is the type

of drive. And those are not wood

screws in the illustration those are

a high root, trumpet head screw for

soft material. Wood screws have a

larger unthreaded shank under the

head that allows the materials to be pulled

up tight as they are screwed together.

—Frank Wright, via the web

I’d like to point out that in

the article “Metal Zone”

(Volume 50, page 24),

where the properties of

metals are discussed, the term “temper”

is used when describing the use of a

torch to restore the ductile qualities after

work-hardening copper. I believe that

the correct term should be “annealing”

when you need to make a piece of metal

malleable after it’s been hardened. This is

an important distinction that makers should

understand — so often one can hear people

misuse these terms and get confused as

a result. Understanding the qualities of

metals as they are manipulated can have

a very fundamental effect on the success

of a project during the process of making

something, and even while choosing the

appropriate material based on the intended

use. I often refer to Machinery’s Handbook,

and also Tim McCreight’s book, The

Complete Metalsmith for guidance regarding

annealing, hardening, and tempering.

—Mark Simmons, Beaverton, OR

I’m writing about some concern over the

advice given for a severe burn (“Accidents

Happen,” Volume 50, page 58).

As a first-aider and community

responder, the training given in

the U.K. would be to irrigate the

burn with running cold water

for a minimum of 10 minutes

as quickly as possible after

the incident. Once irrigated,

the injured limb should be

wrapped in cling film and the

casualty taken to hospital. A

burn of the size shown in the

picture, especially on the hand

(or foot) needs to be seen by a

doctor to ensure that there is

no long-term loss of mobility.

—Paul Whitby, via the web

In Make: Volume 50, Digital Calipers

(“Accuracy is Everything,” page 54), the

single most critical thing has been left out!

Before zeroing, the outside jaws must be

absolutely clean. The slightest bit of shop

dust can throw you off by 0.0005" to 0.002".

I use only my thumb (reasonably clean, of

course), as I have found errors from fibers

when using a cloth.

Also, as I have learned the hard way,

stay away from dollar store versions of the

button batteries; they are alkaline, and have

about 1/10th the life of the proper silver

oxide cells.

I love Make: magazine; I’m 72 and have

been a maker/hacker since about 3 years old.

—Gordon Martin, Mississauga, ON

INSPIRATION TO THINK

COMPUTATIONALLY

»

This is an incredible write up

(“Programming Is Expression,” Volume 50,

page 42). Really opened my eyes to the

philosophy of computational thought. I’m a

photographer who has been flirting with the

idea of learning how to code. This just

convinced me to act on it, so thank you.

— Spencer Bentley, via the web

This is such an interesting and uplifting

article; I came away with a different

perspective on the “art form” that

programming really is. I find it so fascinating

that I have used many of [author Tom Igoe’s]

basic code samples as the building blocks

for working projects that I use every day.

Thank you for being a part of what I have

grown to enjoy so very much.

— Bob Durk, via the web

Ryan Huddle

KNIFE TOOL TIPS

DRILL AND

ROTARY TOOL

TIPS

DUST EXTRACTION

SKILL SCHOOL

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KNIFE TOOL TIPS

DRILL AND

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DUST EXTRACTION

SKILL SCHOOL

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6 makershed.com

READER

INPUT

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A New Perspective on Programming and

Make: Readers

Show Their Skills

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