David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
Blackout curtains help to keep light out, making them useful if you have a lot of light pollution at night or need to sleep during the day. But do blackout curtains help with heat? Do blackout curtains save energy? And how much?
Blackout curtains can have an R value of up to 5, depending on how you use them. Considering most windows have an R value between 1 and 5, and your walls have an R value of at least 13, blackout curtains do help with heat, and can save you hundreds of dollars per year.
If you want a good paint job, you need to make sure the paint dries thoroughly and completely before disturbing it. So how long does oil based paint take to dry? And how long does it take oil based primer to dry?
It varies depending on the paint formula and the temperature, but it typically takes 8 hours for oil based paint to dry. The general time can range from 2-24 hours, so it’s best to check your instruction label for your paint’s specifics. Oil based primer can be ready for a topcoat within 1-2 hours, but that may or may not be what you mean by dry time.
Does baking computer chips fix them when they’re broken? Can you fix computer chips in an oven? The answer is sometimes. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know when it will help, and when it does, we may not know why. But, when faced with a broken chip, we don’t exactly have anything to lose, either.
Baking computer chips does seem to fix them, at least sometimes. Whether it works depends entirely on why the chip failed in the first place, which isn’t always possible to know.
The Mizuno East-West battery operated train set has all the hallmarks of postwar Japanese trains. It’s made of tin. It runs on batteries. It was cheap. And it carries an aura of mystery. Fortunately time unraveled a number of those mysteries.
You could be reading some DIY instructions and see something that calls for mineral spirits, or white spirit if the instructions originated in the UK. But what are mineral spirits? Let’s dig in.
Mineral spirits are a solvent sold in hardware and paint stores. They are a petroleum distillate, useful as a paint thinner, and also for thinning or removing grease and oil. In the UK it’s called white spirit, and in Australia and New Zealand, it’s called mineral turpentine.
Read more
In the early days of USB, the majority of hubs had power. Today, the market is flooded with cheap hubs that don’t have power. That raises a legitimate question. Does a USB hub need power? Why or why not?
Kobalt is Lowe’s house brand for power tools and hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Kobalt power tools good? And who makes Kobalt power tools for Lowe’s? I did some digging to find out.
Kobalt power tools like drills and saws are made by Chervon, one of the 10 largest OEMs of power tools in the world. Kobalt outdoor tools like lawnmowers and chainsaws are made by Globe Tools Group.
Sometimes you need to fill a space on your layout that no off-the-shelf length of track will fit. The advantage of tubular track is that you can cut custom lengths with little to no difficulty. Here’s how to cut Lionel tubular track.
Lionel tubular track, both O and O27 varieties, cuts relatively easily with a hacksaw. If you have a lot of track sections to cut, you can use a miniature chop saw as well.
Elmer’s Glue is an iconic product. Or, should I say, pair of products. Elmer’s Glue All and Elmer’s School Glue look a lot alike, and stores often sell them side by side. And Wikipedia says there’s no difference. But is there? Let’s look at Elmer’s Glue All vs School Glue.
Although the two glues share the same ingredients, the formulation isn’t identical. Elmer’s School Glue is easier to wash out, and forms a more flexible bond than Elmer’s Glue All. Depending on your use case, each can have definite advantages.
Husky is one of Home Depot’s house brands for hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Husky hand tools good? And who makes Husky hand tools for Home Depot? I did some digging to find out.
Most Husky tools are made by Apex Tool Group, a company owned by Bain Capital. Apex also makes several brands you may have heard of, including Wiss, Allen, and Weller. Apex also makes tools for numerous Home Depot competitors, including Lowe’s, Menards, and Sears.