Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
[Laura Kampf] found a new use for an old Zippo lighter by turning it into a carrier for her screwdriver bits. There are several multitools out there which can accept standard screwdriver bits. The problem is carrying those bits around. Leaving a few bits in your pocket is a recipe for pocket holes and missing bits.
[Laura's] solution uses her old Zippo lighter. All she needs is the case, the lighter element itself can be saved for another project. A block of aluminum is cut and sanded down to a friction fit. Laura uses a band saw and bench sander for this. The aluminum block is then drilled out to fit four bits. Small neodymium magnets are taped into the holes with double-sided tape. These magnets retain the bits, ensuring none will fall out when the lighter is opened.
Does this mean we can start calling four bits a Zippo instead of a nibble now?
Source: https://hackaday.com/2018/04/20/zippo-keeps-your-bits-safe/
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday April 23 2018, @06:43AM (1 child)
On the contrary, let the nibble as it is, we have enough language abuses.
But I'll let you have one bit of satisfaction; you can start calling a Zippo as half-a-byte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @01:32PM
4bits is $0.50!
Don’t they teach history anymore?
(Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Monday April 23 2018, @07:08AM
one lights fires (mostly small ones)
The other.. is just as useful as any other multi tool..
and likely, neither will get past the TSA.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday April 23 2018, @07:14AM (8 children)
There you have [youtube.com]
If not, why bother with something that trivial?
You know, [Laura] needed a Zippo and heaps of tools to make this.
Others just use an empty box of TicTac mints for the purpose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @07:32AM (2 children)
Really, one of the most vapid posts even for weekend.
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Monday April 23 2018, @07:42AM (1 child)
FTFY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @11:28PM
At least it wasn't an aristarchus submission. We might have had something to discuss, then.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Monday April 23 2018, @08:08AM (4 children)
Sure, it's not actually useful. I mean, who has only four bits for their tools? I have at least a dozen that I use semi-regularly.
That said, it's a cute little project. And I really like the idea of the small magnets. I made a wooden holder, and the bits are held in place by friction. Of course, the most frequently used holes loosen over time. The magnets would solve that problem.
Maker videos are always nice :-)
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 23 2018, @10:29AM (3 children)
What I would try in a hurry if in a need:
1. Take a travel-sized hand sanitizer bottle with screw-on cap. Something like this [traveluniverse.com.au]
2. cut it on the side on length, less the bottom. On the bottom, only score a groove to act as a hinge. Now you have a good-enough hinged "box", with the screw cap acting as a lock.
3. start filling half of the "box" with hot glue. When you have enough for your first number of bits, stick them in that glue (while still warm/hot enough). Maybe a good idea to spray a bit of WD40 on the bits before sticking them in, it will stop the glue adhering too hard on the bits. If sticking the bits on an angle, I bet one can fit more than 4, probably 8.
Time for the job, probably 30 mins, no metal working needed. And with the advantage of saving a Zippo ligher (I just love them).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 23 2018, @11:12AM (1 child)
Yeah, I thought something like "What a waste of a Zippo!" TFS says "an old Zippo". I wonder if the Zippo was rare, and maybe worth a couple thousand as a collector's item. And, she just destroyed the damned thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @12:52PM
How was it destroyed? I saw nothing permanent she did to it. It looked to me like she just took the shell and put in her own insert.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday April 23 2018, @12:08PM
Or the classic altoids tin with fridge magnet material glued/stuck to the bottom of the open box.
These bits tend not to be the best material and the whole situation is very fiddly; I'd rather spend the time with better screwdrivers. At the official desktop lab its all Wiha screwdrivers but I use cheaper stuff in other areas (toolbox, etc)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @12:17PM
By making the aluminum block smaller, she could have had 8 bits instead of 4: 4 on top and 4 under. She would then lift out the block to reach the bits under.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23 2018, @02:12PM
or you could just buy the kind of screwdriver that stores the bits in the handle and free up your time to make something interesting
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday April 23 2018, @02:42PM
Eventually the lip of that lighter will plane or deform and lose its shape enough to become loose. The more it is used, the more that will happen.
That's why Zippo uses its armature instead of friction fitting the lid.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Monday April 23 2018, @07:41PM
A 1/2 lb. container for 1/8 lb. load. What the hell was she thinking?