Non woodworking hints and tips

[Brian Deakin]

I thought it may be interesting to start a thread on none woodworking hints and tips

My tip told to me by an old locksmith

Powdered graphite is the traditional material for lubricating pin tumbler locks. You can even buy powdered graphite that comes in a little tube with a thin nozzle specially designed for squirting the graphite powder into the keyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G11XUvtPWD8

[Jon Grider]

Let your wife pick the paint color. When you paint it the second time over, at least it won't be your fault.

[Jim Koepke]

Some canned foods are difficult to remove from a can without digging them out. Things like some canned dog food, refried beans, cranberry sauce and others. The problem is the solid contents create a vacuum as they are being coaxed out of the can.

This device helps:

429939

It is basically a nail with a handle. The handle was drilled with a hole just a hair smaller than a 16d nail. The head was removed from the nail and the flat end inserted in the handle. The point was sharpened.

To use, remove the top of the can, turn the can upside down over a bowel or plate. Then hold the can firmly and strike the bottom of the can (like you mean it!) to make an air hole.

This procedure could be done before removing the top of the can, but be sure to have something under the can to catch any stray liquid in the can.

Be careful doing this, incorrect method can cause injury.

jtk

[Bill Dufour]

Just use the can opener on the bottom to make a short slit vent.
Bill D

[michael langman]

Just use the can opener on the bottom to make a short slit vent.
Bill D


I usually do this Bill, but last night I opened a can of cranberry sauce and the bottom of the can was formed without a shoulder like the top was.

Jim, your tool would have come in handy then.

[Jim Koepke]

Just use the can opener on the bottom to make a short slit vent.
Bill D


I usually do this Bill, but last night I opened a can of cranberry sauce and the bottom of the can was formed without a shoulder like the top was.

Jim, your tool would have come in handy then.

Bill's suggestion used to work until the cans started being made without the shoulder on the bottom. The cans stack better in the cupboard with the new bottom.

jtk

[Roger Feeley]

When sautéing kale, use olive oil which makes it easier to scrape into the trash.

[Frederick Skelly]

When sautéing kale, use olive oil which makes it easier to scrape into the trash.

Spit! Sputter! Spit! Spit! SPLAT!!!!!
(Just spit my drink just went all over the monitor.)

That was pretty dang funny Roger!

[Lee Schierer]

Never stand up in the cockpit when coming about.

[Dave Anderson NH]

How many times did it take to learn that Lee? It took me 3, I'm a slow learner.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Never stand up in the cockpit when coming about.
In a similar but lower class vein here's one that I learned the wet way: Never try to get out of a canoe when your legs have gone to sleep.

[Lee Schierer]

How many times did it take to learn that Lee? It took me 3, I'm a slow learner.

Fortunately, it was another midshipman that also demonstrated a technique for rapidly abandoning ship at the same time.:rolleyes:

[Kev Williams]

Never drive on the driveway, and never park on the parkway...

[Bruce Wrenn]

Some canned foods are difficult to remove from a can without digging them out. Things like some canned dog food, refried beans, cranberry sauce and others. The problem is the solid contents create a vacuum as they are being coaxed out of the can.

This device helps:

429939

It is basically a nail with a handle. The handle was drilled with a hole just a hair smaller than a 16d nail. The head was removed from the nail and the flat end inserted in the handle. The point was sharpened.

To use, remove the top of the can, turn the can upside down over a bowel or plate. Then hold the can firmly and strike the bottom of the can (like you mean it!) to make an air hole.

This procedure could be done before removing the top of the can, but be sure to have something under the can to catch any stray liquid in the can.

Be careful doing this, incorrect method can cause injury.

jtk

We've had one of these for years, it's called an ice pick. My wife buys large jars of cherries, which are impossible to get the lid off of. Punch a hole in top, and presto, lid unscrews with no problem. Put a piece of tape over hole before putting into fridge. Boiled eggs. Place cold eggs in a pan with water covering them by about an inch. Place on burner, with lid on pan. When they start to boil, wait one minute and then turn burner off. Wait 16 minutes, the remove lid and run cold water over eggs till they are cool enough to handle. Leaving enough water in pan to cover eggs, replace lid and shake pan to crack shells. Using a tea spoon, peel eggs which they are still warm.

[Jim Koepke]

My wife buys large jars of cherries, which are impossible to get the lid off of. Punch a hole in top, and presto, lid unscrews with no problem.

They must be screwing jar lids on tighter these days. It used to be everyone would ask me to remove jar lids, no problem.

Now they are so tight the only way for me to get them off is to use those rubber gripper thingamajobbies they sell in the grocery stores. It must be some kind of plot to sell us stuff we didn't used to need.

One nice thing though is they come in a four pack. Well there is no way for me to use all of them at the same time, my shoes are staying on for now, so the extra ones work nicely in the shower for a small anti-slip pad.

jtk

[David Bassett]

They must be screwing jar lids on tighter these days. ...

Yeah, that's it. They were a *LOT* looser 40 years ago! ;)

[Edwin Santos]

They must be screwing jar lids on tighter these days. It used to be everyone would ask me to remove jar lids, no problem.

Now they are so tight the only way for me to get them off is to use those rubber gripper thingamajobbies they sell in the grocery stores. It must be some kind of plot to sell us stuff we didn't used to need.

One nice thing though is they come in a four pack. Well there is no way for me to use all of them at the same time, my shoes are staying on for now, so the extra ones work nicely in the shower for a small anti-slip pad.

jtk

Another technique is to stretch a wide rubber band around the lid and it will give you the same grip as the thingamajobbies.

It's the vacuum packing that makes the lid so tight. Sometimes you can use a church key type can opener to pry the lid just enough to break the vacuum at which point you can usually twist it off pretty easily.

[John K Jordan]

They must be screwing jar lids on tighter these days. It used to be everyone would ask me to remove jar lids, no problem.

Now they are so tight the only way for me to get them off is to use those rubber gripper thingamajobbies they sell in the grocery stores. It must be some kind of plot to sell us stuff we didn't used to need.



I don't use a gripper. I tap-tap-tap around the top with the handle of a butter knife or something and if that doesn't work, run the lid under hot water for a bit to expand the metal.

But I have piano-playing hands - maybe that helps too.

JKJ

[Jim Koepke]

But I have piano-playing hands - maybe that helps too.

Interestingly piano-playing hands have found their way into a few murder mysteries. Strong fingers and strangulation go together.

jtk

[Kev Williams]

Lids? Run hot water over the lid for 10 seconds. If it's an old bottle of Bailey's or Kahlua you found hiding somewhere-- 20 seconds ;)

I used to have my own recipe for boiled eggs, till I got one of these:
430109 It's cheap, it works, it's almost idiot proof and you can peel the eggs when they're done.

[Jim Barkelew]

Learned this from a bartender. He did it to open liquor bottles in a flash. To get a metal lid off a jar with liquid type contents, hold the jar so the lid is down and smack the bottom of the jar with the palm of your other hand. This causes a hydraulic ram that pops the lid enough to un-screw it. You can hear the lid pop. Works almost every time and takes seconds to do.

Jim

[Lee Schierer]

I just saw this one on tv yesterday:

To get perfect soft boiled eggs. Put a pan of water on the stove bring it to a boil. Turn off the burner and put in your eggs. Cover the pan and walk away. When the water is cool the eggs are done.

[John K Jordan]

I just saw this one on tv yesterday:

To get perfect soft boiled eggs. Put a pan of water on the stove bring it to a boil. Turn off the burner and put in your eggs. Cover the pan and walk away. When the water is cool the eggs are done.

The shell usually sticks to hard boiled eggs that are too fresh, such as directly from the chicken today or in the last day or two. Eggs from the grocery store from commercial processors are rarely fresh and don't have this problem. We "age" eggs intended for boiling.


(I have 175 eggs in the incubator if anyone nearby wants chicks. I'll trade a few for a nice piece of wood or a good story.)

[John K Jordan]

Interestingly piano-playing hands have found their way into a few murder mysteries. Strong fingers and strangulation go together.

jtk

I'll keep that in mind.

[Bill Dufour]

I can not remeberthe exact numbers but vacumn in a can should be 7-10PSi.. Anything less is rejected.
Bil lD

[Doug Garson]

Quick way to remove labels, a couple seconds with a heat gun and the label peels right off. Might not work in all cases but just removed one from a cardboard shipping box and it just took a few seconds.

[lowell holmes]

When SWMBO tells you to do something, just do it. Every thing runs better when you do.

[Jim Koepke]

I can not remeberthe exact numbers but vacumn in a can should be 7-10PSi.. Anything less is rejected.
Bil lD

For 'canning' in jars and in commercial products the lids are made with a 'button' that drops in when the vacuum is achieved and seal is holding.


Quick way to remove labels, a couple seconds with a heat gun and the label peels right off. Might not work in all cases but just removed one from a cardboard shipping box and it just took a few seconds.

For bottles and jars a few seconds in a microwave oven will soften many of the adhesives used to attach labels.

jtk

[Bill Bukovec]

Never offer to help someone who uses rusty tools.
Or loan them one of yours .

[Jon Grider]

I like to wear button down shirts but my aging fingers don't do buttons so well any more. Solution is to just unbutton the top two buttons when taking them off and laundering. Pull them on as you would a tee shirt.

[John K Jordan]

I like to wear button down shirts but my aging fingers don't do buttons so well any more. Solution is to just unbutton the top two buttons when taking them off and laundering. Pull them on as you would a tee shirt.

A few years ago I bought a quality Carhart shirt with snaps instead of buttons. I look for those now although they are hard to find. They are easy to snap and real easy to take the shirt off - I just pull apart at the bottom and all the snaps come loose in an instant.

[Jon Grider]

A few years ago I bought a quality Carhart shirt with snaps instead of buttons. I look for those now although they are hard to find. They are easy to snap and real easy to take the shirt off - I just pull apart at the bottom and all the snaps come loose in an instant.

I see Amazon has a couple of offerings with snaps. I'm leaning toward the Carhart over the "cowboy fit" Wrangler. It's been a few years err decades since my midsection would fit into anything but a relaxed fit shirt.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Two ingredient pizza crust, Greek yogurt and self rising flour. Saw this on Shotgun Red's cooking channel this weekend. Tried it today, and it was delish! Got some milk going sour, add vinegar to it to make it into buttermilk for baking.

[Peter Kelly]

I just saw this one on tv yesterday:

To get perfect soft boiled eggs. Put a pan of water on the stove bring it to a boil. Turn off the burner and put in your eggs. Cover the pan and walk away. When the water is cool the eggs are done.Per ATK (https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/77-foolproof-soft-cooked-eggs): 1/2" - 3/4" of boiling water in a medium saucepan, carefully lower cold medium-sized eggs in, cover and cook for 6 minutes. Take off heat and shock eggs with cold tap water. Comes out perfectly soft-boiled every time.

I’ve gotten into poaching lately: start with medium saucepan 1/2 full with water just under boiling at about 180º, strain loose parts of egg whites off through a fine mesh and transfer into a small dish or ramekin, carefully lower ramekin and egg into water and cook for 3:30 to 4:00 min, remove with a slotted strainer. This works best with very fresh eggs as the whites tend to loosen over time and don’t hold together as well. Amazingly, eggs can be poached way ahead of time and just reheated for a few seconds prior to serving.

[Derek Meyer]

You can make two-ingredient bread with self-rising flour and ice cream, probably similar to using Greek yogurt.

[Bruce Wrenn]

My stationary generator uses 36 oz of oil in the crank case. I buy my oil in the five quart jugs. When I change the oil, I use a quart bottle, with filler spout from a grease bottle. Put in the first quart, then refill bottle to four ounce mark and add to crank case. No over filling or spillage, plus don't have to check oil level to see if it's full yet. My generator has a pulse fuel pump, so I added a disconnect between tank and carburetor. Using a second disconnect, I made an adapter that allows generator to pull fuel directly from fuel cans. No waiting for generator to cool before refilling. For two cycle engines (using a 50:1 mix) I refill those little bottles ( 2.5oz) that you can buy oil in. It's the right amount for a gallon of fuel. To tell what kind of gas (ethanol, or non ethanol) I make a tag from a bleach bottle and zip tie it to the handle of gas can. Using a Sharpie, list the date and type of fuel. FYI, I buy my fuel line disconnects from "Bay Area Power Sports." About eleven bucks each, delivered.

[Brian Deakin]

To make a free funnel simply cut of the bottom of a plastic bottle

[Phil Mueller]

Now that we have can opening solved, has anyone EVER been able to actually peel open a bacon package? I now just use kitchen scissors and cut the darn thing apart.

[Stan Calow]

I use a sharpie to write the sizes of wrenches and sockets needed for oil changes on mowers, chain saw, etc. Also spark plug numbers, fuel mix (for 2-cycle), and model/serial numbers on machines that I might need parts or service for. It beats looking through manuals or guessing.

[Peter Kelly]

Yes if you throw the package into the freezer for an hour or so. Also helps firm up the bacon if you're slicing it up for a recipe, much easier to dice.

[Jim Koepke]

Sometimes Candy just cuts the pack of bacon in half. Makes it easier to cook the whole pack when making BLTs.

jtk

[Bruce Wrenn]

I write the mileage for next oil change on lid from filter, and file it in dash pocket. Not only do I have mileage, but what size filter at my finger tips. Also write oil capacity of vehicle.

[John K Jordan]

I write the mileage for next oil change on lid from filter, and file it in dash pocket. Not only do I have mileage, but what size filter at my finger tips. Also write oil capacity of vehicle.

You are a smart guy.

I write the wrench size I need to remove the drain plug in the manual and/or somewhere on the machine. I have at least more than 10 machines that need oil changes. It's almost a full-time job. I never thought of writing down the capacity - I get out the manuals each time.

[Brian Deakin]

Identifying usage of items

When I first qualified as a pharmacist one job we had was to check the contents of drug cabinets against a stock list ,then reorder the missing drugs
I found if you simply looked in the returns box which the nurses placed the empty drug containers there lay a evidence trail of what they had used

This principle of identifying what has been used by looking in a returns box /bin is a simple way of compiling a list of what has been used and could be applied in other situations

[Keith Outten]

For years I have been using a china marker to record the oil change date, mile or hours, amount of oil, filter number and wrench size under the hood or on the engine of every vehicle. For remote access I can take a picture with my phone so I don't have to look at any machine directly and now that my memory is full of cobwebs I use my phone calendar to alert me to check the information periodically.

[Bruce Wrenn]

When cooking waffles,we put a 12" square tile from the BORGS under waffle iron to catch the drips. Easy clean up. When using slow cooker, we place it on top a burner on the stove, with tile under it to prevent rocking. To speed up slow cooker, place a folded towel over lid. It helps retain the heat. Everybody likes nice soft and fluffy towels, but towels dried without dryer sheets dry better. The dryer sheet coats them, preventing water take up. Greek yogurt is expensive, but using your slow cooker, you can make it CHEAPLY. All you need is slow cooker, milk (regular, or unleaded,) and a starter of Greek yogurt. Be sure starter has live bacteria in it. If a recipe calls for eggs (beaten) and milk, beat them together. Keep a spray bottle near the sink, filled with a dish washing detergent and water mixture for those quick clean ups of just a couple items.

[Doug Garson]

If you shave in the shower (I didn't used to but I've trimmed my beard to a goatee so I can wear a mask), a drop of soap on your finger rubbed over the mirror prevents it from fogging up. Same principle divers and snorkelers use to keep their masks clear.

[Edwin Santos]

If you want to turn your oven into a pizza oven and you don't care to spring for an expensive designer pizza stone from Williams Sonoma....

Go to any home center and pick up a box of the inexpensive 6x6 red unglazed quarry tiles. Lay them across the oven rack. Trim them to fit with an angle grinder if necessary. Voila, you now have a pizza oven. Preheat for longer than normal to allow the tiles to heat fully and of course, slide the pizza directly onto the tiles with a peel.

Make your own peel(s) too. I have two nice large ones I made in one afternoon 20 years ago, and they're still going strong.

[Jim Koepke]

Make your own peel(s) too. I have two nice large ones I made in one afternoon 20 years ago, and they're still going strong.

My peel was made to sell at the farmers market:

430621

It was made of two pieces of 1X8 with a narrow piece down the center for the handle.

jtk

[Peter Kelly]

Go to any home center and pick up a box of the inexpensive 6x6 red unglazed quarry tiles. Lay them across the oven rack. Trim them to fit with an angle grinder if necessary. Voila, you now have a pizza oven. Preheat for longer than normal to allow the tiles to heat fully and of course, slide the pizza directly onto the tiles with a peel.Many inexpensive options for pizza steels on Fleabay as well, usually around $45-$50 for a 1/2” one big enough to cook a Neapolitan style pie. I switched to steel a while ago and would not go back to a stone or tiles. The difference is amazing.

[Bill Dufour]

I bought a big marble tile cheap and use it on the barbecue for piazza. It cracked into several pieces. This season I will put a tin tray under it to hold it all together. Only reason for the tray is to remove it for direct heat cooking.
Bill D

[Brian Deakin]

This is a tip I have posted before and John Jordan indicated he would action the idea with locks at his home

We all have may locks and keys.To provide a visual reminder of which key fits a lock I use my daughters nail varnish and put a spot or number of spots on the key

Examples
All external porch keys have one spot of white nail varnish
Front door keys 3 spots red nail varnish
Garage key green nail varnish

You could put the nail varnish on both the key and lock example ,padlocks

I use the same principle to match spanners to woodworking machines and to highlight commonly used Allen keys

I also used the same principle at work to help prevent staff retaining possession of keys they were not authorized to have
All external keys to the shop premises had 3 green spots all till drawer keys had 3 red spots

This allowed me to have a simple reliable visible indicator when performing staff searches It allowed me to see if staff had keys that were not authorized to posses

[Jim Koepke]

I use the same principle to match spanners to woodworking machines and to highlight commonly used Allen keys

For my bandsaw the Allen keys are kept on a magnet on the inside of the storage door of the base.

jtk

[Kev Williams]

We have a maltepoo that won't eat regular dog food. She'll eat chicken and sometimes beef, and that's only sometimes. What she likes is treats, but only those that are mostly meat for the most part. Walmart sells chicken jerky, duck jerky, and one jerky strip that's chicken, duck and beef (I call beduckin ;) )-- There's others, but these 3 she LOVES, and I buy huge bags of each, which dry out badly way before she's done with them.

For fun one day I rolled up a half a paper towel, got it wet, not dripping wet, just wet, and put it one of the bags. Worked like a charm, next day the whole bag's nice & pliable again :)

[Peter Kelly]

We all have may locks and keys.To provide a visual reminder of which key fits a lock I use my daughters nail varnish and put a spot or number of spots on the keyOr have a locksmith re-key everything with the same cylinder in all locks. One key for the whole house.

[Jim Koepke]

Or have a locksmith re-key everything with the same cylinder in all locks. One key for the whole house.

When we purchased our home we bought a lockset with two door knobs and two dead bolts all keyed alike.

jtk

[Doug Garson]

Or have a locksmith re-key everything with the same cylinder in all locks. One key for the whole house.
Or buy a set of keyless entry locks and program them all to the same code.

[Bill Dufour]

Or buy Kwikset Smart Key locks and rekey them yourself to all the same key. For the shop I bought them from the bay for about 1/2 the price of new.
It is stupid that Ford locks can not be rekeyed. To match you have to buy a complete new set of cylinders for the vehicle. About $150 for a set.
You can buy locking gas caps that all use the same key but no one knows were their company got them and the auto parts stores are no use. I had a part number at one time from Stant? for a matched pair for Fords made around 2001.
Bil lD

[Peter Kelly]

Sorry, I should've phrased the above as "have a locksmith come by and replace all of your exterior door deadbolts with Medeco ones, same key for all". The majority of consumer-grade keypad locks and deadbolts (Schlage, Kwikset, Defiant, etc) have a low-end cylinder that can be picked within a few seconds even by an amateur like myself.

[Bruce Wrenn]

The majority of consumer-grade keypad locks and deadbolts (Schlage, Kwikset, Defiant, etc) have a low-end cylinder that can be picked within a few seconds even by an amateur like myself.
A lock only keeps an honest man honest. Once on one of the storage sites, tenant moved out leaving a fancy German lock on door. Locksmith couldn't pick it open, but my B&D 4 1/2" angle grinder did in less than ten seconds.

[Keith Outten]

Wipe your glasses or face shields with a used dryer sheet to reduce static electricity and keep dust off of the surface. This works best on plastic lenses.

[Lee Schierer]

Wipe your glasses or face shields with a used dryer sheet to reduce static electricity and keep dust off of the surface. This works best on plastic lenses.

Be sure to clean your glasses/face shields with a wet solution to remove any dust or dirt first otherwise you will get lots of scratches on the plastic.

[John K Jordan]

Be sure to clean your glasses/face shields with a wet solution to remove any dust or dirt first otherwise you will get lots of scratches on the plastic.

Good tip. Another is not to use facial tissue, reported to sometimes contain bits of recycled materials that can scratch. In the optics lab if needed we cleaned with pure grain alcohol after blowing off dust with gentle puffs of air and an optics brush. Same for camera lenses. Clean only when needed!

The best I've found for plastic glasses and sunglasses, safety glasses, etc, is hold them under running water to wash off any grit then wash with soapy fingers and rinse with "fairly" hot water. Shake to remove most water drops and wipe dry with a soft cloth. With the hot water they dry almost instantly. I've been cleaning this way for 50 years.

Hmm, if they are not make of glass anymore, why do they call them "glasses"? Excuse me while I go clean my sunplastics.

[Andrew Joiner]

The best I've found for plastic glasses and sunglasses, safety glasses, etc, is hold them under running water to wash off any grit then wash with soapy fingers and rinse with "fairly" hot water. Shake to remove most water drops and wipe dry with a soft cloth. With the hot water they dry almost instantly. I've been cleaning this way for 50 years.


I do this too. I don't even wipe them dry anymore and the last tiny drops don't leave any spots.

[Lee Schierer]

Put a UV filter on your camera lens and leave it there. You will never have to clean the camera lens again and if you get finger prints on the filter, clean it. If it gets scratched, filters are pretty cheap to replace.

[John K Jordan]

Put a UV filter on your camera lens and leave it there. You will never have to clean the camera lens again and if you get finger prints on the filter, clean it. If it gets scratched, filters are pretty cheap to replace.

True that! And might provide some impact protection for the clumsy, at least to the threaded rim of the lens. Won't fit on a microscope lens or laser optics or front-surface mirrors or my image-stabilized binocs.

I'm getting very close to finally ordering a camera drone to play with around the farm. (The Mavic Air 2 looks good.) I notice UV filters to fit those little cameras are readily available now.

JKJ

[Brian Deakin]

When I searched on the internet for the Material safety data sheet (MSDS) for a propriety lens cleaner I discovered the product was a 33% Isopopropyl alcohol solution. I now make my own ,purchasing the alcohol from the internet diluting it and then poring it in a small spray bottle

[Roger Feeley]

Or buy a set of keyless entry locks and program them all to the same code.
A quick plug for the Schlage digital deadbolt. Very reliable and simple. The best part is that the battery lasts a long time. You enter the code and a little pin allows you to operate the bolt. We have a different digital lock on our daughter’s house where the battery must move the bolt. That sounds good on paper but we have to replace the batteries all the time.

[John K Jordan]

A quick plug for the Schlage digital deadbolt. Very reliable and simple. The best part is that the battery lasts a long time. You enter the code and a little pin allows you to operate the bolt. We have a different digital lock on our daughter’s house where the battery must move the bolt. That sounds good on paper but we have to replace the batteries all the time.

I agree, I have good quality Schlage deadbolt locks on my shop and house. The 9v battery does last for years, far longer than I imagined. I disassembled one once to see how it worked. (It was about 6 years ago so I may forget some of the detail!)

Instead of moving the high mass and friction of the bolt the battery only turns a low-mass worm gear screw (made from a spring) which moves a lever into place, enabling hand power to move the heavy bolt. I think they use the spring instead of an solid screw to eliminate any possible binding or friction since the spring has some “give”.

You can set any code, of course. I really like not having to carry a key when walking down to the shop.

The company seems good too. I have maybe 8 of these and one gave problems. They sent a new lock and didn’t require returning the malfunctioning one.

As for the comment someone made about some Schlage locks being easy to pick, I haven’t been able to pick one with my set of lockpicking tools, although I don’t have trouble with many locks.

JKJ

[Mel Fulks]

John, I heard they are going to stop making 9 volt batteries. Haven't seen anything about why. Will you still be able to use
the locks you have now?

[Jim Koepke]

John, I heard they are going to stop making 9 volt batteries. Haven't seen anything about why. Will you still be able to use
the locks you have now?

Mel, if you have a link to information on this surely many of us will be interested. A quick search turns up nothing. So many things use 9v batteries it would be loss of a good money maker to stop making them.

jtk

[John K Jordan]

John, I heard they are going to stop making 9 volt batteries. Haven't seen anything about why. Will you still be able to use
the locks you have now?

Where did you hear this information? Try to find the reason given for the decision? A temporary halt or some proposed ban? Maybe because kids could stick their tongues on both terminals at once?

9 volt batteries used to be made of a stack of 1.5v flat carbon cells and not usually a bundle of 6 AAAA alkaline cells. They are so widely used by consumers equipment, industry, military, scientific instruments, medical industry, and aircraft I find it difficult to believe the production would stop - billions of devices would have to be redesigned. That would be almost as bad as banning the batteries used in cell phones, tablets, and hearing aids!

I use 9-volts in dozens of things here besides locks. Even the small aircraft I flew had 9v batteries in the Emergency Locator Transmitters, although "aircraft rated" batteries were many times the cost of normal 9-volts! I read that concerns with hazardous materials like lead and cadmium caused some types of batteries to be banned in some countries but other technologies filled the gap. With new flat battery technology available and more being being developed I suspect 9 volt batteries with the same physical size but with different internals will doubtless be developed if the current battery technologies went away.

If the standard 9'volt battery went away I'm sure a replacement

I tend to go to the Battery Universary to research battery issues: https://batteryuniversity.com/ Maybe search for "banned"?

[Edwin Santos]

Put a UV filter on your camera lens and leave it there. You will never have to clean the camera lens again and if you get finger prints on the filter, clean it. If it gets scratched, filters are pretty cheap to replace.

Good tip, just make sure you use a high quality UV filter if you're going to put it on a high quality lens.

The chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and if you put a crappy UV filter on the front of a good lens, you've just turned it into a crappy lens. Good brands of filters include Hoya, Tiffen, B&W and Heliopan.

[Jim Koepke]

Maybe because kids could stick their tongues on both terminals at once?

That used to be my way of telling how good a battery was. Now some exercise walking out to the shop for a volt meter, that uses a 9v battery, is worth it.

jtk