Back in the day, Popular Mechanics was THE magazine for fellas like us. For whatever reasons, the publication kind of disappeared and folks just stopped thinking about it......
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.
- Thread starter Ryan
- Start date
Back in the day, Popular Mechanics was THE magazine for fellas like us. For whatever reasons, the publication kind of disappeared and folks just stopped thinking about it......
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.
I just wish they would call duct tape something other than duct tape. Ironically, the last place this stuff should be used is on ducting. If you are working on ducting you need to use foil tape as it won't break down or become brittle over time like duct tape will.
I have a roll of duct tape in the shop, but I'll freely admit it is rarely used. I think the last few times I used any of it was to tape up some boxes because it was handy, but for most things there are better products out there... no matter what Red Green tries to say.
I have a roll of duct tape in the shop, but I'll freely admit it is rarely used. I think the last few times I used any of it was to tape up some boxes because it was handy, but for most things there are better products out there... no matter what Red Green tries to say.
tatra
Well-known member
you diss red?..........man there's gonna be a lot of nasty emails coming your way..........
eborcim
Well-known member
Never seen Gorilla Tape, but have used the Gorilla Glue. It is truly nasty and tough stuff. Once on your skin it just has to wear off. You also have to be careful with product expansion when drying, it can really make a mess. Below are some plastic bee cages we have made with the GG.
yeah, don't dis the possum master
yeah, don't dis the possum master
Attachments
redsky49
Well-known member
I agree, duct tape is wonderful but a poor product choice for sealing ductwork.
Also referred to as gaffers tape, a slightly less aggressive adhesive version is known as racers tape, etc.
tatra
Well-known member
what do they grips and gaffers use on film sets?............anyone from the industry care to comment?......
scottg1952
Well-known member
Ahh man I miss Popular Mechanics!!
I was raised on it. I learned to read so I could decipher the captions as I was looking at the pictures long before that, and wanting to know what the hell they were talking about.
The shop editors were some of the heros of my life.
30's
Clyde Lammy - What a class act!! That guy could build a precision milling machine out of 2 of model A rearends and a used washing machine.
The 30's and 40's were the heyday of PM in its most glorious, to me that is. Before this they were still great, but the fine points of tuning a Studebaker, 2 horse drawn shay, were a little lost in the times.
30's and 40's were no holds barred though. When you could get a Southbend lathe for less money than an anemic 1/4" electric drill.
And everyone who was reading was expected to keep up in a world where there were no limits to what you could make and do for yourself.
I was turned down a couple years ago for an article because it included parts you couldn't go to Home Despot and buy off the shelf. Nothing a total ***** can't buy is welcome in today's climate.
No scrounging, no repurposing, no fabrication of any serious kind.
Consumer goods from something with Mart in the name, is all they will print now.
50-60's
Wayne Leckey - This guy was a little more wimp-i-fied, but could still rebuild a B&S in a blindfold with a sore arm. And he had Glen L. , greatest boat designer who ever came down the pike. Oh I know, there are plenty others, but few others who could figure it all out and get it to float and perform well, look good, on a tight budget, and do it all this month before the next issues deadline.
The 1952 golden anniversary issue has Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison just to drop a couple names. It was a tour de force for its day.
Then..... the worst times.
In this issue........
How to stand in the line like a veal, and --buy-- stuff.
Duh!
No meaningful advise or repair or maintenance of anything, just more and more and more consumer comparison shopping.
Kissing up to the advertisers in the back of the book with no shame at all. Most modern publications do this so badly nobody even notices anymore. Its considered ordinary business to round up advertizers products and play with them, neatly covering the pages with lots of color product photos so the ads at the end don't seem quite so glaring.
Shopping mall psychology curls my teeth.
When Rosario Campotosto took over briefly, it was better, but only for a little while.
They squeezed poor Rosario out way too quickly.
And back to your home shopping network.
Of course I miss Mechanix Illustrated terribly too.
Tom McCahill was a smart, funny guy. He wrote most of the magazine and used ridiculous pen names like Manly Bannister and such. Mimi was always darling or at least as cute and 1963 had to offer.
Comes down to this. Any ***** can sign a check.
But, I live for practical information on getting what you already have to perform and perform its best.
Taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.
Taking the life you are given, and making it museum grade.
Show me a guy who stands on his own two feet, and then helps others to stand on theirs.
This is the man I want to know.
yours Scott
I was raised on it. I learned to read so I could decipher the captions as I was looking at the pictures long before that, and wanting to know what the hell they were talking about.
The shop editors were some of the heros of my life.
30's
Clyde Lammy - What a class act!! That guy could build a precision milling machine out of 2 of model A rearends and a used washing machine.
The 30's and 40's were the heyday of PM in its most glorious, to me that is. Before this they were still great, but the fine points of tuning a Studebaker, 2 horse drawn shay, were a little lost in the times.
30's and 40's were no holds barred though. When you could get a Southbend lathe for less money than an anemic 1/4" electric drill.
And everyone who was reading was expected to keep up in a world where there were no limits to what you could make and do for yourself.
I was turned down a couple years ago for an article because it included parts you couldn't go to Home Despot and buy off the shelf. Nothing a total ***** can't buy is welcome in today's climate.
No scrounging, no repurposing, no fabrication of any serious kind.
Consumer goods from something with Mart in the name, is all they will print now.
50-60's
Wayne Leckey - This guy was a little more wimp-i-fied, but could still rebuild a B&S in a blindfold with a sore arm. And he had Glen L. , greatest boat designer who ever came down the pike. Oh I know, there are plenty others, but few others who could figure it all out and get it to float and perform well, look good, on a tight budget, and do it all this month before the next issues deadline.
The 1952 golden anniversary issue has Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison just to drop a couple names. It was a tour de force for its day.
Then..... the worst times.
In this issue........
How to stand in the line like a veal, and --buy-- stuff.
Duh!
No meaningful advise or repair or maintenance of anything, just more and more and more consumer comparison shopping.
Kissing up to the advertisers in the back of the book with no shame at all. Most modern publications do this so badly nobody even notices anymore. Its considered ordinary business to round up advertizers products and play with them, neatly covering the pages with lots of color product photos so the ads at the end don't seem quite so glaring.
Shopping mall psychology curls my teeth.
When Rosario Campotosto took over briefly, it was better, but only for a little while.
They squeezed poor Rosario out way too quickly.
And back to your home shopping network.
Of course I miss Mechanix Illustrated terribly too.
Tom McCahill was a smart, funny guy. He wrote most of the magazine and used ridiculous pen names like Manly Bannister and such. Mimi was always darling or at least as cute and 1963 had to offer.
Comes down to this. Any ***** can sign a check.
But, I live for practical information on getting what you already have to perform and perform its best.
Taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.
Taking the life you are given, and making it museum grade.
Show me a guy who stands on his own two feet, and then helps others to stand on theirs.
This is the man I want to know.
yours Scott
Torque1st
MEMBER EMERITUS
PM is still around, it is but a mere shadow of it's former self though.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/
tcianci
Well-known member
You know, I have hardly thought of PM until I saw your post. As a kid in the 60's I loved that publication, especially before they went large format. I was thinking of starting a thread about what type of breed we guys are, a dying one I think. The guys of todays generation are certainly well removed from the world we grew up in. Publications like that had wide appeal in the past, but I wonder what has changed more, the magazine or the readers.
tatra
Well-known member
look at the number of mags out there today...........comp., r/c, model r/r, wood............at one time the mag rack at the store was ten feet long and held all titles...........local bookstore mag section is now half the store in some cases..........also , today's mags give just a smattering of total info cuz ads require more space.............stopped buying mags once i got the net.........including al bundy's fave, big unns...........
JeepinMike
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2007
- Messages
- 67
Gaff tape of course!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaffer_tape
I've used countless rolls of it in theater & concert sound & light jobs in college. Great stuff, no residue.
-mike
Need4racin
Banned
I still watch Married With Children, if it's on. Good show. Al Bundy is actually from the same town I grew up in, Youngstown, OH.
Art From De Leon
Well-known member
Gorilla Tape is great stuff. We used it to seal a hole worn thru the groove by a Victralic clamp, I took a picture, and sent it to them, they sent me a T shirt.
The new Popular Mechanics magazine is a joke, but the sorriest excuse of what USED to be a really good magazine has to go to the 'new' Popular Science.
In the old days, up to basically the mid 60's, both assumed the reader had some signs of intelligence, now, from the way both are written, the assumption is that the 'reader' can turn the pages.
The new Popular Mechanics magazine is a joke, but the sorriest excuse of what USED to be a really good magazine has to go to the 'new' Popular Science.
In the old days, up to basically the mid 60's, both assumed the reader had some signs of intelligence, now, from the way both are written, the assumption is that the 'reader' can turn the pages.
Torque1st
MEMBER EMERITUS
Are you sure they assume the reader is that intelligent?
I have been a lifetime (since 1960) subscriber to PS and I have to agree.
Bobby B.
Well-known member
Used gaffers tape when "blocking" positions -- or where people move to then stop so they're in proper position in front of the camera -- on sets.
On some shows, they pull up and save the used tape each week, creating a ball. There's an old story that the nbc crew working on the long running Cheers show made a huge ball because the show was on so long. When Frasier came on after that, and the show looked like it might run even longer than Cheers, the crew was trying to see if they could make a new, record setting tape ball.
On some shows, they pull up and save the used tape each week, creating a ball. There's an old story that the nbc crew working on the long running Cheers show made a huge ball because the show was on so long. When Frasier came on after that, and the show looked like it might run even longer than Cheers, the crew was trying to see if they could make a new, record setting tape ball.
Woogeroo
Well-known member
Howdy folks.
Not to hijack this thread... but to share some knowledge... in the past week it was brought to my attention that all 105 years of Popular Mechanics are now scanned and online at Google Books.
google.com
more -> books
or just go to: http://books.google.com/
search for: popular mechanics
Or you can go to this convoluted URL here and go right to searching/browsing:
http://books.google.com/books?id=S98DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA93&source=gbs_toc&cad=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
make sure you click on "search all issues" on the left side for the most results....
It is really cool.
Tell all your wrenching/do it your self /tinkering buddies.
-W
p.s. if you are buzzing along and you find a page missing in the scanned copy, there is a button up at the top right I think where you can click 'report page missing' .
Not to hijack this thread... but to share some knowledge... in the past week it was brought to my attention that all 105 years of Popular Mechanics are now scanned and online at Google Books.
google.com
more -> books
or just go to: http://books.google.com/
search for: popular mechanics
Or you can go to this convoluted URL here and go right to searching/browsing:
http://books.google.com/books?id=S98DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA93&source=gbs_toc&cad=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
make sure you click on "search all issues" on the left side for the most results....
It is really cool.
Tell all your wrenching/do it your self /tinkering buddies.
-W
p.s. if you are buzzing along and you find a page missing in the scanned copy, there is a button up at the top right I think where you can click 'report page missing' .
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Jey
Well-known member
I have bought many of PM mags, at antique shops and flee markets. Great stuff in the older mags.
Now, about this testing they did.
Did they even bother to be scientific about it? How do we know the other products couldn't hold a 3 lb bar bell to the wall? Why does 1 brand get the benifit of this test but no others?
How was the weight applied for the shear test? Was it reproduced accurately each time?
This reminds me more of a 4th grade science fair poster board.
Now, about this testing they did.
Did they even bother to be scientific about it? How do we know the other products couldn't hold a 3 lb bar bell to the wall? Why does 1 brand get the benifit of this test but no others?
How was the weight applied for the shear test? Was it reproduced accurately each time?
This reminds me more of a 4th grade science fair poster board.
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BigMike782
Well-known member
Gorilla Tape is bad to the bone.Most duct tape has marginal strength and "stickyness" but if you really have to tape it use Gorilla Tape!
Down side?....it's pricey.
Down side?....it's pricey.
diggertodd
Active member
#1 - I can give you a PERFECT EXAMPLE of the demise of Popular Mechanics magazine. Look at the article on the lead page of Torque1st link to their site about the 'ROCKET' land speed car.... hey dumbo.... It is a JET car powered my thrust based turbofan engine... its not just a quick misquote, the entire premise of the article is wrong...
#2 - tatra is right - I owned a drag racing magazine for 20 years, getting space on the newsstand is brutal, by the time every different "middle man" that moved the magazine between the printer and Wallymart got their piece, you get 85 cents out of a $5.50 magazine. And now you know why a magazine's 12 issue subscription can be $10 (even with paying for worthless USPS delivery) and one newsstand issue can be $6 a pop. The internet is killing print profitability.
#3 - Popular Mechanics was previously all about subject matter that the reader could actually do.... kinda like this site.... now it is filled with mars rovers and nuclear reactors that are out of the realm (and interest) of a person who actually owns a toolbox...
.... now that I got that off of my chest....
#2 - tatra is right - I owned a drag racing magazine for 20 years, getting space on the newsstand is brutal, by the time every different "middle man" that moved the magazine between the printer and Wallymart got their piece, you get 85 cents out of a $5.50 magazine. And now you know why a magazine's 12 issue subscription can be $10 (even with paying for worthless USPS delivery) and one newsstand issue can be $6 a pop. The internet is killing print profitability.
#3 - Popular Mechanics was previously all about subject matter that the reader could actually do.... kinda like this site.... now it is filled with mars rovers and nuclear reactors that are out of the realm (and interest) of a person who actually owns a toolbox...
.... now that I got that off of my chest....
Tech Guy
Well-known member
Whatever happened to real duct tape ? The 200 mile an hour stuff ? The **** they sell now wont stick worth a ****. Even seen some on the shelf as Duck Tape and it doesnt stick worth a damn either
Thomarann
Well-known member
Nope.
The Gaffer is responsible for the execution (setup) and sometimes the design of the lighting and use gaffer's tape to secure the lights. The Gaffer's assistant is called the Best Boy.
It is the Director that determines the blocking for the actors and the Stage Manager that usually tapes out the blocking that the Director has decided upon.
Marc
Rocket
Well-known member
It's still here in OZ.
I love Duct Tape.
Always a roll in the shop & in the Pickup.
I use it to put a flag on long stuff on the trailer, tape stuff togther etc etc.
as it's usually only short term, the fact it is still strong when wraped a frew times, yet not too tough.
There is the (we call it 100mph tape) available for more perm. fixes, just as all of the other tapes shown in this thread. All have their uses.
(Fibre Glass tape is great for making paterns for body work
)cmciver
New member
Gaffers tape is one of the greatest things ever created. When I used to build airplanes we used a lot of it because it doesn't leave a residue behind (which is bad on airplanes and sensitive parts) but I've since moved to R&D and everyone that touches it loves it, and nobody has even touched our remaining roll of duct tape for years. We buy it by the case from McMaster Carr. Not cheap, but it sticks to everything and comes off easily with no residue. You can do something with gaffer's tape that you would never get away with using duct tape: peel it off of itself! It also tears beautifully and is very easy to work with it. I came across something somewhere that says it's also used to repair bus seats, which means I have something to fix the seats on my truck (except for the wrong color!)