Elegantly Simple . . .

[SteveUnruh]

Hi ALL,
A lifelong fascination to me has always been the pursuit of the most simplest direct usage in designs of working tools and working machines.

Any damn-brainiac or idealistic-fool can make things complicated and expensive to make, and use. Just as long as he/she can get someone else to sponsor the constructions.
Here is a pictorial example of what I mean: vehicle hood props

Our newest. The wife’s 2022 Toyota Highlander hybrid. Six one-purpose specialized pieces needed to be designed, then manufactured to make this one purpose-use tool. Two of metal. Four of molded plastics. Experiences says the rod retainer plastic spring finger will later snap off allowing the rod to fall down loose; and rattle.

Because this breaking off did occurs on her previous 2007 Hyundai Tucson. This one much simpler: only one metal rod and two plastic molded pieces. The inner plastic spring retainer finger snapped off years ago and the rod end then rough roads rattles loose; and can even dislodge out of place.

The one on the 2017 GMC is equally simple with two metal pieces and one plastic. The white plastic anti-rattle retainer is as of yet unbroken.
It is hard to see in this picture; the black rod laying along the engine bay edge of the yellow fender.

There are other ways of course to hold an engine bay hood up.

My 2003 Toyota Camry uses a single gas pressurized strut. “Seems” ideal; as allowing one hand hood opening. Ha! This one over 20 years old still works. Most though lose pressure forcing you to use a third-hand, you-supply, rod clamp. Or a bring your own prop-stick.
The 1994 Ford F150 pickup truck keep-hood-UP holder is two; three piece metal hinge assemblies using large flat coiled counter balance springs. One-handed too. But experiences says best keep routinely spray lubricating these movements or they will go dry, rusty and not want to move. Then arm-strong forcing hoods opening/closing, bends things out of alignments.

Here is the elegantly simple in the 1994 Ford Edge

Just one long metal rod able to flex and spring. The across the front valance panel I do not count in the hood hold-opening pieces count as it would be needed anyways to direct air flow across the radiators below.
Using purpose edge molded retainer finger-guides and one hole; along with rod retaining flexing is the elegance in this design.

In a use-raw-wood gasifier I saw this evolved elegance of design on @Joni Yevgan Kolyvan’s 8th and 9th generations systems. His goal was a stated overall 40 kg system weights. He had to go simple with the fewest multi-purpose parts.
His evolved hearth reactor hopper lid using a simple metal spring rod hold closure shows just one visible Elegantly Simple in his system.
Anybody new here looking for the simpliest raw wood gasifier system should study the pictures and text on his two topics:
“Joni gas generator version 8.0 (GJ-8.0)”
And “Wood-fired gas generator Kolovan 9.0 version”

Joni himself has been tied up in the Ukraine-Russian war now for years. He reads some, and still follows, but is unable to promote his designs.
Here is me hoping for an inevitable Finland-Russian-like/North-South Korea-like peace to evolve out soon. So All can get back to the joys of working, living and loving.

I have many other Elegantly Simple evolved examples I can put up. From two piece screw drivers to self-loading firearms.

[SteveUnruh]

Good Morning All,
Another of set of examples of Elegantly Simple I use daily.

Our dogs walking leads.
Pictured up the oldest (35+ years) to the newest just three years old.
All different types of snaps; with different styles of leather leads attachments used.
They all work. Which is best?
Depends. Depends. Depends.
Depends on the rambunctiousness of the dog on attaching up. #1 push snaps on easy. Even with gloves.
Depends on the pulling-to-yard-chase-away, on unleashing. #2 opens up and release’s even with a pulling dog. But dang hard to finger or thumb that raised up, opening-horn with gloves on.
All and all #3 works consistently the same hot/warm/cold bare hands or gloves on.

What IS best is the oiled leather leads when hot warm or cold. Dry or wet. Try and you’ll see why I’d never go back to woven nylon leads. Leather across the palm just single overlapped give complete control with the least hands fatigue.

Attachment of the leather to the swivel eyes that is riveted AND stitched is best. You horses folk know this.
The only large head copper washer riveted is O.K., but to be best needs two rivets AND stitching to distribute out the forces. Look just above the 12 o’clock of the copper washer and see leather hole pulled elongation.
The now needs-must, overhand tied one came as just a flat turned back flap; with a rawhide 6-8 turns overlapped string. Failed. Failed. Failed.

Hmmm. Some day I’ll find my squirreled away jar of copper rivets and washers and fix it right. Gosh. If I only had a squirrels brain for re-locating my stashed treasures!
S.U.

[SteveUnruh]

Good Morning All
Maybe my last for now installment. I am reaching the end of my by ability to solo post on this forum format.

My best, elegantly simplest hand driven drivers:

All simple, just two pieces to make.
I have used others that were inserted wooden handled. Terrible. Took a third piece to make up with an insertion end cap metal reinforcement ferrule. And still they would handles split and break with torquing. Almost always handle crack and split if they landed butt end, dropped onto concrete shop floors. Impossible to just spray down and wipe clean with brake clean. The wood absorbing the brake-clean then later hands gripping driven deeply into your skin
I’ve even had the forged one piece with two wooden scales knife-like riveted onto the forged thinned sides. A five piece assembly then. Great for pry bars. Great for butt hammering. But why have grease and grime collecting wooden handle scales at all on a pry bar or a chisel?

The shape and form; AND THE PLASTIC USED; plus insertion depth is what separates the best left hand column ones from the will work giving you blisters, center column ones. The two far right hand solid colored ones are the worst. One USA made. The other China made. I’ve had many, many solid colored plastic ones break torquing or being dropped from under vehicle up on a lift at working over heads height, to the concrete floor.
Sure. Sure the solid colored plastic ones tool-truck from Snap-on; MAC; Matco do not crack or break. Just hard to torque grip. And harder to quick change jobs, clean. Those MAC surface micro grip edges need tooth brush cleaning.
My favorite decades proven:

Older style “Professional” Sear Craftsman end edge worn and ground back many, many times.

The same in a #2 Phillips tip. The shank actually a Snap-on replacement getting changed out ever 2-3 years for at least 30 years. You clamp the shank in a vise and pry up the handle with two pry bars. Vice clamping the new shank and gently tapping the handle back on.
These two in any given two hour period were underhood greasy; to under chassis dirty; cleaned and then used for must-keep-clean interior working.
The two made-in-USA Olympia branded in the L.H. row are almost the same. Non-aged still crystal clear handles.

Now a very limited use 5.5mm, made-in-USA Snap-On nut driver. Gee. Thanks GM. Note the great depth of insertion. And the too small modified square handle does not much matter given the size of the tiny headed fasteners.

Then what would be the best assembly if I could get it in all of the tip types
needed:

Full length, solid shaft back to front inserted. This one actually a 1/4" extension handle out of a Made-in-Taiwan Metinch tool set. Six shallow fluted easy to clean high quality plastic handle.

The far right two in the first photo are out of the Wife’s bought “homeowners” tool kit set:

Says ROSCO USA.
Painful to use with the deep square edged flutes. And obviously from the soft metal twisted tip bent metal quality was not a priority.

Finally a VACO brand, made-in-USA T-15 TORX driver.

Used underwood <-> transmission filters <-> interior working. Six deep flute requiring a plastic tooth brush to clean switching jobs. Hard chromed shafts are just so much easier to clean. And tool find&see, when laid down. Chemicals and hand skin acids chromed just do not later rust ugly and rough.

Yep. Yep. I know now the current fashion is the Euro style bulbous end three-colored plastics driver handles. I find then clumsy to finger tip spin in/out with.
And the inserted ended tips do-alls: the tips will fastener head stick . . .you will move on and have to go back to find . . .or not. Wastes a lot of time.
The fits-all double ended flip driver types the larger hollow shaft needed will screw you too often with deep inset fasteners. Modern all plastic vacuum cleaners; suitcase inverter-generator case halves, etc.
YMMV
Steve Unruh

[SteveUnruh]

I was wrong.
Three brands now do have a full line of full shanks through; can-tap-on-the-end screwdrivers:

Wiha vs Wera vs Vessel vs Milwaukee vs Craftsmen vs Harbor Freight vs Stanley Screwdriver Comparison

As the videoman says it is often very helpful to tap in a Phillips often times.
And a really stubborn one you hammer hard enough to actually stretch the screw head from the screw shaft releasing the under-head “stiction” then she will turn right out. Yes that is a real English word.
Ahh. Shucks. The Wera’s are in my favorite find-'em color too of black&yellow:

Just saying you fellows starting a good working collection once you limp along with what you have plan to treat yourself to better.
I’ll still love my old Professional Craftsman “palm’ers”.
S.U.

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

I am not completly sure if this will fit your topic of simple but here it goes anyway.
When I am in the workshop I like to be able to get what I want right away without looking for it or searching through a box or drawer to find things.

As a sidenote I just thought of, one guy in the same village has his tools to bring (i.e. toolbox) in a womans leather handbag from the fifties. Not the easiest to pick up the right tool from.
To be fair I am certain he does it to annoy people and start conversations.

Anyway, this is my hotel for drills, small taps, calipers and such.

It also holds a couple of center punches, there is punched in sizes in the block of wood to find the size fast.
If you notice, the blocks are also hung on left side doorhinges to swing away or get it close to the drillpress when needed.
The Morse cone drill block evolved to have a strip of thin brass plate with the punched in numbers for easy visibility.
They also got engraved with the size.

Looking at it now I could have made a more overview pic as well. The drillpress is to the left of the drills.

I hope this is what you meant with the topic Steve, and I have to say that it is not that easy to think of something elegantly simple.

[SteveUnruh]

Exactly what I’d intended JohanM.
What a fellow has chosen to use daily stripped down to as simple and direct use as possible.
You are at-the-ready, on-hands, safe storing, precision ground edged tools as compact and simple as possible. In edges protecting wood. A very elegant solution.

I’d of never thought of storing tips down. Makes sense though with ground cutting edges in-wood protected. Oils the pocket holes. ID markings up to be seen.

Ha! On portable storage tools tote systems I evolved to real simple as your friend too:

A very stout built 1680 denier nylon tool bag. Has a rigid center partition panel with sewn in central hand grip. And a heavy sewn reinforced padded shoulder strap.
As you can see I’ve given up on using most of the individual pockets. But just stack load with all of the handled tools on the one side.
Sockets. Extensions. Ratchets. All wrenches on the other side.
Fragile; short tools; punches& chisels and some handled tools in the center pouch slots.
Not exactly dump out to use. Dig out the one side as need spreading out onto cardboard to find the specific. Dig only as much as needed. Speed stack back in when job finished.
Make it not-obvious a tool bag by not festooning the outside with tools. The dark gray blends into trunk and vehicle interior colors.

All of my earliest red metal carry tools boxes always got stolen. Smashing glass, tearing up door locks to get to.
Wooden boxes held water caused rusting like the brown treated cotton cavas bag you can see peeking on the left. And it wore a hole in a bottom corner and would dribble out and lose tools.
The plastics box systems I tried would always latch break first. Then hinge crack. And I’d have to nylon straps cinched together to then move them.
Then slow to open. Slow get closed up to carry.
Rigid metal, plastics and even wooden ones loaded heavy would tear up, and scratch up vehicle interiors pulling in and out.

My current bag I load up stuff to be at least 75 pounds / 34 kilograms? To force the thief to have to run slowly; or unload lightening; dribbling out a trail of tools on the run.

Of course in professional auto shop I used tool boxes with drawers that locked. And used a dedicated plastic tool cart with the always used tools strip rack held; magnet bar rowed and off one edge, hung. All slammed-in, down-flat in the top tray space at nights. Then with a thick plastic, cable locked cover for overnights. Sure. Borrowing-weasels could weasel stuff out prying up a top cover edge.
O.K. As long as you put it back. And then “owing me” a borrow too, someday.
S.U.

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

Well, this is not necessary simple but pretty convenient for smaller jobs in the workshop.

A vice fastened to the leg of the worktable in an appropiate height for sitting down work with a metal tray/basket next to it for misc stuff like alu jaws, oiler or whatever tools you want. Very nice to have if I may say so myself

It also swings away under the table when not needed so your knees are safe but it is possible to lock it in the swinged out mode by dropping a bolt in the hole behind the vice (bolt is stored in a hole closer to the vice, it’s the shinier one on the first pic)

I guess I with these pictures also invite you all to have a good hearty laugh at all the crap leftover pieces under the bench. You’re welcome.
But they also serve the purpose of making the bench heavier so it doesn’t roll away so easily.

[SteveUnruh]

Elegantly Simple is an evolved into process.
Most of the time indeed by stripping away most of someone else’s brainiac better-ideas.

But as you show JohanM. Can be adding something simple, functional to where nothing else existed. As you did.

Ha! I am very much left-handed. You set up back-asswards for me.
I’d have to learn way back in the late 20th Century to CNC machines; and very unforgiving then computers to buttons push with my slower, have to think-it-through non-dominant right hand. You know. The one I smash with the hammer. The one I can endanger sticking into so-so situations. The one I back pockets stuff away whenever working with high voltages.
Regards
Steve Unruh

[r_wesseling (Rindert Wesseling (Louisville,CO))]

@JohanM

crap leftover pieces under the bench.

Looks like crap, I hear my wife’s words, but really extremely valuable resource.
Rindert

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

Definately Rindert, I have countless times used stuff from there as I am sure most of you guys use stuff from your own piles of obtainium

[giorgio (giorgio pastore)]

johan, today rain stops me in my outdoor workshop…
with a workshop and equipment like yours…where are the gasifiers???

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

Very good question Giorgio. I started my downsized wk gasifier for my Volvo 850 last year around this time and then spring came and I have been swamped in jobs fixing temporary stuff that doesn’t work and the normal jobs/chores.
Actually fixed the Volvo for inspection plus cut off the bumper with some metal to fit the 55gal drum in the trunk, it needed to be done first.
So the project is on the move again
I moved my thread to the premium side since it evolved into a wk.
Am planning on getting it checked this coming week, I would like to know that it is a workable car that will go through coming inspections before too much work is done.
So short answer is that I am a bit ashamed that I haven’t gotten further into gasification yet… Although I am reading up on the forum all the small inbetween times I can.
A few teaser pictures I intended for my thread next week.

[DennisP (Dennis Pecynski (Ohio))]

Its rather funny how life gets in the way sometimes.

[SteveUnruh]

Nice picture set JohanM.
Old way we used to say here was, “It appears you are caught between a rock and the hard place.”
( the hard place meant Hell)
That rear window glass edge your hell.
The tow hitch your rock.
You; a metals-smith, may I suggest you move the rock.
Drop the tow hitch, and cut’n weld change the mounting plates points, to move it out and back.
Then your gasifer barrel jacket will clear the glass edge. Then join the J.O. appearance.
Regards
Steve Unruh

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

Definately, Dennis

Steve. The metal lip under the window I can cut back a full inch, there is also half an inch or slightly more to move the barrel back when it will stand on some insulation and I was also considering adjusting the drum a bit since it is too big (partly on purpose) for this hearth, next move is the hitch if necessary.
But first see how the inspection goes, perhaps I have to look for another vehicle…

[sbowman (Steve Bowman)]

Johan,
Would a 30 gallon drum fit better and be large enough?

[JohanM (Johan Mattsson (Sweden))]

It would fit better in the trunk but it would be too small for the hearth unfortunately.

[Pelletpower (Joep Kruijssen)]

Just a cart. We dont need much. What doesnt fit in an inlay we make something. We were looking for a few screwdrivers last week. Searching two hours, expensive srewdrivers. In twenty years color changed from blue to orange. Good now we see flat/ cros.
Handtools on the side, t reps, kit , T allen wrench, etc. All we need.
Cart we renewed once in the last twenty years. Together with the screwdrivers. Only wrench 13 is not original.

[r_wesseling (Rindert Wesseling (Louisville,CO))]

These are keys in English.

These are wrenches.

Rindert

[Pelletpower (Joep Kruijssen)]

thanks Rindert. Please correct.