Algemeen's Electronics and Bicycle Tinker Blog

We live in Apocalyptic times, where we are facing large challenges for the future. Some counter the problems of our wasteful society e.g. by restoring some great finds from the local scrap yards and posting very well narrated repair videos about those finds on YouTube. (Cheers to TPAI! ;)) Some react and cry where to find such gems, but the point is: those are usually right under your nose! What I usually find on my bicycle ride work are empty half liter PET bottles or empty energy drink cans of a certain unnamed Austrian brand sponsoring a Formula 1 team with a Dutch rookie driver (or half empty cans of similar undrinkable liquids). Occasionally, there is the odd tossed-out-of-car-window CD-R with some downloaded whatever music. I tend to archive those in the correct litter bin, and surely not bother to try and play them. However, last week there was clearly a real music CD shining between the roadside grass, in a very nice state. On closer inspection this seemed to be a BBC music ...

And Now for Something Completely Different: the kruishout (Dutch), or you might know it as a marking or scratch gauge. This is an essential measurement tool in woodworking! Note the sharp needle or point on the left side of the beam. This is used to scratch a line in the wood. This specific one was from my grandfather. He was a carpenter specialised in making ship interiors. Carpenters can own multiple of these gauges on a project, so they only need to set them to a specific size and have less work re-adjusting constantly. Some variations may even use the tip of a knifeblade to actually cut a deeper line, e.g. when the grain is too strong to make a proper straight line. Or to actually cut very even widths of veneer. The Japanese or Chinese variants seem to use the knife tips. I’m not so much into woodworking at the moment, but this surely is a keeper! It’s also fairly easy to make some of your own. If you know a special use of this tool other than most uses shown on youtube, please...