Do not even touch wires that have fallen to the ground, said the signs on the power poles. As if to suggest that an untrained person should not touch any wires. And yet, more than one handyman tinkers with electricity at home.
He shouldn’t do it, there are sections for that, but when he needs to shorten an extension cord or twist a socket in a lamp, he probably won’t call an electrician right away. However, this is not possible without basic knowledge. For example, before you do anything with the electricity in the wall, turn off the breaker. Plug a light bulb into the socket, when it goes out you are sure that the circuit is not live.
Wires (cables) are marked with letters and colors. For alternating voltage (AC): L = black, brown (grey) – this is the so-called the outer conductor and there is a phase in it – it “kicks” you when you reach for it; PE = yellow-green striping – protective conductor, also called grounding; and N = blue – this is the middle conductor, popularly known as zero.
Terminal L is on the extension socket on the right when viewed from the cable and on the plug (fork) on the left when viewed from the cable; the PE terminal is always central. The wall outlet has an L terminal on the left when viewed from the room.
For direct current (DC), just know that the positive pole (L+) has a red wire and the negative (L-) is dark blue, black, or newly white, and that if you don’t connect positive to positive and negative to negative, it won’t work. Does it seem complicated? Then you better call the electrician.
Kutil’s observations
Fast loop
You can make a tight loop on both cable and thicker line when you use the insides from the terminal block. It’s fast and more accurate than making up some knots.
The cord will not fray
If you have at hand the so-called tear rivets, bend the rivet from the wire, put it on the end of the cable and press it in about three places with the pliers.
For dusty books
Dust settles on your books and you don’t want to keep wiping the spines with a damp cloth? Attach the brush to the vacuum cleaner tube with rubber bands, swirl the dust and vacuum at the same time.
Lining string
“Dip” the string in crushed colored chalk, stretch it, fasten it at both ends and strum. A straight line will appear. The so-called liner cords are also sold, they look like a tape measure and have powder or ink paint inside.
On permitted mothers
The vibration will sometimes loosen the mother, try sealing it with plumbing tape. If it works on them, it will work on a regular screw too.
Tweezers for small items
Sometimes it is unlucky to select one nail, screw or hook from the workshop case that has compartments that are too small for your fingers. However, all you need is a terminal block (so-called chocolate) and two nails, with which you can grind the tips into flats.
My tip – a drawer
It measures the external and internal dimensions (beaks at the top) as well as the depth (the planchet comes out on the right), with an accuracy of tenths, or hundredths of a millimeter. As? When the zero on the moving part (vernier) exactly coincides with the comma on the fixed part, the measured object is exactly a millimeter large according to its scale. If it doesn’t match, find a comma on the vernier to the right of zero that exactly coincides with one of the commas on the non-moving part, then read the tenths or hundredths on the vernier if the comma is between the numbers (it’s two hundredths). But if you find it as complicated as a logarithmic ruler, buy an electronic slide rule.
From my own experience
Suitcase or bag?
I prefer a stiffer and taller case (pictured) because I can sit on it, and that’s always handy. The disadvantage is that there are not so many compartments inside so that every tool can have its place. But either way, if the suitcase or bag is too big, it tempts you to store all the tools, which increases the weight disproportionately. So 6 kg is optimal, anything over 12 kg is difficult to carry.
It caught the attention of the Internet
Workshop in your pocket
Although this multifunctional tool is made for cyclists, it can also be used elsewhere on the road. And actually even at home, when you need to quickly tighten or loosen something somewhere and you don’t have real tools at hand.
Retrieved from the archive
Wastebasket
In the hobby markets near Pořez, they have the remains of solid-lithium boards for a few crowns. You need four identical rectangles, one square and four prisms. Drill holes of different sizes in the sides, glue the parts with wood glue and round the edges with a finer rasp. First, paint all surfaces with a base white latex paint, and then paint the outer surfaces with water-based covering colors according to your imagination.
Seriously not seriously – feuilleton
What is it called?
A craftsman certainly knows the correct names of the things he works with, even if he uses slang in practice. But does a handyman have to be forced into it?
I grew up on screws. There was simply no other way to talk at home, and dad was a handyman. He called everything that had threads and screwed on a screw, and so did we boys. He certainly knew the term screw, we just never heard it from him. Perhaps because screw sounds better. Vrut is a bad word, leave it alone.
In short, for many years there was only a screw verbally for me. And I used screws. But you can’t get by with screws all your life, I suddenly saw through and since then I make a strict distinction: a screw is anything that has a head, a thread and a nut, and those orphans, i.e. those without nuts, but with points, are screws.
The difference is also in the threads. Screw shafts cut into fingers, screw shafts are standardized so that every stepmother can embrace them. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the handyman knows what is used for what. They may not know the correct expressions. Especially today, when shopping is self-service – he reaches into the shelf for God’s sake and on the way home, he can hum to himself about what a nice purchase he bought.
About the author
Jiljí Záruba DIY ‘learned’ from his father. In the second half of his professional life – which was more than twenty years – he devoted himself fully to this area in the Recipe. During that time, he met a lot of smart people and discovered, collected and tested a lot of ideas that he doesn’t keep to himself.
