Classic table gutter "life hack" of absurdity - video and photo

[Jon]

The "life hacks" culture on the net is a classic. Just search around for "best life hacks" or some such - stuff like "10 Crazy Hacks You Can Make With a Rubber Band!"

Some of them are genuinely clever, but the vast majority are...still clever. Until you stop and think about them for a few seconds. I fell into that trap this week with a life hack for turning a sandwich ziploc bag inside out so that you can zip it to another similar bag. Kinda didn't really work with the corners of the bags. Then I wondered what I would ever use this for, and why I wouldn't try another solution. Because the novelty (whoa! joining two ziploc bags into one!) outshines the utility.

Life hacks do expose non-technical people to physical ingenuity, which is a societal bonus. But they engender this weird DIY culture, in which the novelty of a physical alteration is prized above all else.

I can sum this all up in one photo:



Is this...a joke? Perhaps, but I don't believe so. I think it's a VERY kludgy, painfully cringe-worthy attempt by a mainstream tool manufacturer to hop onto a viral internet craze.

2:05 video:

Previously:

Garage organization madness

[ranald]

Wouldn't want to be an oak or Aussie Red Cedar table. EVERYTIME I CUT MITRES THE LUMBER/TIMBER/ GUTTER NEEDS TO BE LONGER (to allow the 45 or other degree cut to fit snugly as the outside of the mitre is longer than the inside, of course; and you all know that anyway) rather THAN THE ITEM " A BIT SHORTER".
UTTER STUPIDITY in this; so i guess they want it to go viral. Besides the table wasn't on carpet but concrete. Imigane your spouse wanting such crap in your home!
Even the mitres dont line up & the Goop would prevent circulation & no down pipe & bucket.
How dangerous is cutting a round object with only one fence to boot etc etc etc
LOL.

[12bolts]

EVERYTIME I CUT MITRES THE LUMBER/TIMBER/ GUTTER NEEDS TO BE LONGER (to allow the 45 or other degree cut to fit snugly as the outside of the mitre is longer than the inside, of course; and you all know that anyway) rather THAN THE ITEM " A BIT SHORTER".

Yeah, I've found that even after cutting something 2 or 3 times its still too short...... Thats why I like working with steel. Its easy to make short stuff longer again

[Frank S]

I'd like to see him try that on my wife's glass table LOL

[PJs]

Pretty Sad but it's happening. Think these guys need some of those iron base rings and sippy cups. Too bad Craftsman has fallen off the table into Stanely's hands.

PJ

[KustomsbyKent]

hmmm, a bit of a clunky idea.... However, he is correct in "a bit shorter" for the miter. In this case, the gutter sits below and slighty back from the edge of the table. That was as liquid dribbles off the edge of the table, the gutter is under it to catch it.

It would really only fit for a man-cave or basement, definitely not the wife's immaculate table that she spent a lot of money on! I will NOT be suggesting this "hack" to my wife!

I think a machined trough near the edge would be better, at least on solid wood table tops. Most cutting boards have a similar feature to collect the juices from meat, or fruits, and it works until it over flows!

Doesn't look like this video has exactly gone viral tho... only ~15,000 views in ~2 years.

[ranald]

Yep. Many years ago I made a compound mitre(miter) jig for my RAS. The idea was to keep the blade accurately set at 90 deg to both table & fence & place jig on table to make the compound cuts. Easy Peasy. but then came the accurate measurements with the wood stuck up in the air. Ok for short items but not so with items about a yard or metre long. Sometime (soon i hope) I will make one for my table saw (now I have replaced my contractor one) as it will be much easier to gain accuracy in measuring length. The best mitre measurement cutting machine I have seen in action & used was a manual picture frame cutting guillotine. VERY ACCURATE & NOTHING TO BREAK DOWN except your knee if doing heaps in one day=doesn't happen very often. Arni would have been ok.

[threesixesinarow]

I did it wrong

[Jon]

Still on a spilled liquid theme, but this one tops the gutter table. Recipe for disaster here; look at those bottles jiggle!

[PJs]

I don't know why but Johnny Rivers theme song from Secret Agent Man popped into my head...

There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow...