Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Popular Mechanics March 2016
Popular Mechanics March 2016
Is Your
Family
Prepared?
14 Pages of
Real-World Advice That
Will Keep You Safe
PL U S:
Less apocalyptic
,
just as useful!
A BEAUTIFUL THING
10 American Shine Co.’s shoe-shine box:
The tool kit for great-looking shoes
R
COVE
Y
HOW YOUR STO R
WORLD WORKS
68
15 How Amazon knows what you want
before you do
18 The Interview: The MythBusters say
goodbye
22 Small-batch spirits go large scale FIGHT OR
24 The ladder that lifts March Madness FLIGHT: A
winners up SURVIVAL GUIDE
26 The work jacket. Now with Kevlar. FOR 2016
28 Things Come Apart: 3D printer
30 Great Unknowns When things go
haywire, you can
KNOW-HOW
either stick it out
33 The bike that has no off-season or run for the hills.
36 Baba Booey (of Howard Stern fame) Here are the skills,
teaches you to talk to your devices gear, and shining
38 Tool Test: String trimmers, hatchets, examples you need
and vacuum bottles in order to make it
42 How to crowdfund the right way either way you go.
44 Shop Notes
45 Getting Started In: Furniture
restoration
48 Ask Roy
DRIVING
PLUS
51 McLaren’s factory is as immaculate
76
and well crafted as its cars. And it
has more carp.
54 My Ride: A beloved 1972 BMW 2002
55 Putting car racing into the hands of
the masses—legally MAROONED IN
56 A lesson in keeping up with routine T H E A R C T I C (W IT H
auto maintenance P O L A R B E A R S)
58 Reviews: The latest from Aston
Martin, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus After a forced landing into
▼ NEW COLUMN! the icy waters of the Arctic
82 88
Circle, a Russian helicopter
60 Buzz Bissinger becomes a biker pilot could fit his remaining
supplies in two hands:
▼ NEW SECTION! a few protein tablets and
THE LIFE a half-liter of water. THE CABIN THE ICE MEN
He pulled himself up onto
63 The Early Anglers
an ice floe, but a polar When my friend died Each winter the Great
A weekend in upstate New York in
bear soon joined him. and I inherited his Lakes transform into
the season’s best fly-fishing gear
He shouldn’t have survived. sawmill, I got the frozen obstacle courses,
PROJECT BY JUSTIN NOBEL opportunity to mill threatening a $33.5 billion
my own logs to build shipping business. For a
95 Transforming the family car through my own house. And he, small fleet of Coast Guard
paint, patience, and a forgiving wife. in a way, could help. ships and their crews,
By Chad Stokes clearing the way is as much
BY BEN HEWIT T
about outthinking ice as
POPULAR MECHANICS FOR KIDS
it is outmuscling it.
99 Pencils made out of twigs! BY TIM HEFFERNAN
STUPID OR AMAZING?
100 Tiny homes
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 3
From the Editor
A MEASURE OF CONTROL
I DIDN’T KNOW where to put my woodpile. house (woodpiles can draw termites), in a
This is a strange problem, and one not spot where it gets direct sunlight and where
many people will relate to, and not actually the winds can pass through the spaces in
a problem at all. But I’ll explain. between and keep it dry, because you don’t
This is our third winter in the country want mold and funk in there. The first spot I
after 15 in the city. We bought the house tried, that inaugural winter, was under a huge
and immediately—before we closed, even— maple. Too much shade. For a while now I’ve
had all kinds of plans. This wall would come stacked it along the back side of the house,
down, that table would go but it blocks the outdoor fau-
there, and the first thing we cet and it’s too close to where
needed was a deck. But then we park the cars.
you spend some time living To own a house I’ve spent hours moving
in the house, and you get to is to relinquish wood around. Which is prob-
know it, and you learn how control. So you ably dumb, because it doesn’t
to use it. The priorities get really want to nail matter all that much. But you
rearranged as unexpected those rare tasks get these things in your head,
needs assert themselves.
that are wholly in you know? For some reason, I
For example: The first had to have the perfect wood-
thing we needed was defi-
your hands and pile in the perfect location.
nitely not a deck. The first bendable to I can’t explain it. Probably
thing we needed was work- your will. because to own a house is
ing toilets. to relinquish so much con-
Long lists of jobs and trol—you become a servant to
tasks and goals have marked every day of wonky pipes, a temperamental furnace, sick
these three years. We’ve done a lot and there shrubs, broken windows. So you really want
is plenty left to do. But where to put the wood- to nail those rare tasks that are wholly in your RYAN D’AGOSTINO
pile—that has vexed me. We like to build hands and bendable to your will. I want my Editor in Chief
fires in the fireplace, and in the fire pit in the woodpile in the right place. Sometimes I feel
backyard, and in the chiminea some neigh- like that’s all I’ve got.
bors gave us for the patio, and soon in the I think I’ve got it now. There’s a concrete
woodstove we’re thinking of buying. Wood slab behind the barn, about nine feet square.
needs to be stored outdoors, away from the It gets sun, it gets breeze. It’ll do.
Editor in Chief Ryan D’Agostino • Design Director Michael Wilson • Executive Editor Peter Martin • Managing Editor Helene F. Rubinstein
• Deputy Managing Editor Aimee E. Bartol • Editorial Director David Granger • Editorial: Articles Editor Sean Manning • Senior Editors Roy
Berendsohn, Jacqueline Detwiler • Automotive Editor Ezra Dyer • Senior Associate Editor Matt Goulet • Associate Editors Kevin Dupzyk,
Alexander George • Editorial Assistants Cameron Johnson, Lara Sorokanich • Editorial Intern Caroline Randmer • Copy Chief Robin Tribble
SINCE 1902 • Research Director David Cohen • Assistant to the Editor in Chief Katie Macdonald • Art: Art Director Alexis Cook • Photography: Director of
Photography Allyson Torrisi • Assistant Photo Editor Ida Garland • Contributing Editors: Daniel Dubno, Wylie Dufresne, Kendall Hamilton,
Francine Maroukian, Nick Wicks Moreau, David Owen, Joe Pappalardo, Richard Romanski, Joseph Truini • Imaging: Digital Imaging
Specialist Steve Fusco • PopularMechanics.com: Site Director Jake Swearingen • Executive Features Editor Andrew Moseman • DIY Editor
Timothy Dahl • Associate Editor Eric Limer • Assistant Editor Ramy Zabarah • Mobile Editions: Mobile Editions Editor Tom Losinski • Popular Mechanics Interactive: Producer Jeff Zinn • Published
by Hearst Communications, Inc. President & Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Swartz • Chairman William R. Hearst III • Executive Vice Chairman Frank A. Bennack, Jr. • Hearst Magazines Division:
President David Carey • President, Marketing & Publishing Director Michael Clinton • Editorial Director Ellen Levine • Publishing Consultant Gilbert C. Maurer • Publishing Consultant Mark F. Miller
Publisher, Chief Revenue Officer Cameron Connors • Advertising Director Adam C. Dub • Executive Director, Group Marketing Lisa Boyars • Executive Director, Digital Advertising Sales Deirdre
Daly-Markowski • Advertising Sales Offices: NEW YORK: East Coast Automotive Director Cameron Albergo • Integrated Account Managers Sara Schiano, Loren Black • East Coast Digital
Sales Managers Drew Osinski, Brett Fickler • Assistant Vincent Carbone • LOS ANGELES: Integrated California Sales Director Anthony P. Imperato • Integration Associate Michelle Nelson •
Assistant Michael Okubo • SAN FRANCISCO: Steve Thompson, William G. Smith, Mediacentric, Inc. • CHICAGO: Integrated Midwest Director Kim Skipper • Integrated Sales Manager Paul
Fruin • Assistant Yvonne Villareal • DETROIT: Integrated Sales Director Mark Fikany • Assistant Toni Starrs • DALLAS: Patty Rudolph PR 4.0 Media • Hearst Direct Media: Sales Manager
Brad Gettelfinger • Account Manager John Stankewitz • Marketing Solutions: Senior Marketing Director Jason Graham • Associate Marketing Director Amanda Luginbill • Marketing Manager Michael
Coopersmith • Associate Integrated Marketing Manager Holly Mascaro • Integrated Marketing Coordinator Scott Topel • Digital Marketing Director Kelley Gudahl • Digital Marketing Manager Anthony
Fairall • Creative Solutions: Executive Creative Director, Group Marketing Jana Nesbitt Gale • Art Directors Elena Martorano, Michael B. Sarpy • Administration: Advertising Services Director Regina
Wall • Advertising Services Coordinator Rebecca Taroon • Executive Assistant to the Publisher Sara Blad • Centralized Billing Services Coordinator Christa Calaban • Production: Group Production Director
Chuck Lodato • Group Production Manager Lynn Onoyeyan Scaglione • Associate Production Manager Celeste Madhere • Circulation: Consumer Marketing Director William Carter • Hearst Men’s
Group: Senior Vice President & Publishing Director Jack Essig • Associate Publisher & Group Marketing Director Jill Meenaghan • General Manager Samantha Irwin • Executive Director, Group Strategy &
Development Dawn Sheggeby • Senior Financial Analyst Naiobe Mayo
4 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
WHY SETTLE FOR A SINGLE
Keurig, the Cup and Star design, Keurig Brewed and K-Cup¨ are trademarks of Keurig, Incorporated. Used with permission. © 2016 Kraft Foods.
Calendar MARCH How to get the most
out of your month.
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Get a head start
IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE The Geneva Inter- Eye in the Sky, a South by South-
on your sum- We go into the field with national Motor political thriller west combines
mer garden by the world’s most daring Show takes place featuring drones music, movies,
germinating and adventurers. this week. Our as weapons of and technology
planting seeds Plus, there aren’t many women pals at carand- warfare and star- in Austin, Texas.
inside. in technology. Should we be driver.com will ring Aaron Paul You can stream
concerned? An investigation. be keeping you and Helen Mirren, panels and shows
updated. comes out today. at live.sxsw.com.
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Daylight saving The favorite day March Madness The liquid-fueled Celebrate St.
time starts today. of the year for tips off in Dayton, rocket (the type Patrick’s Day
Spring forward. middle school Ohio. One of the used in space with a locally
You know the drill. math teachers few days you travel) turns 90 brewed beer,
and interpretive know your bracket years old today. like Bell’s
Instagrammers won’t be busted. Kalamazoo
everywhere: Stout.
Pi Day.
20 21 22 24 25 26
The first day of Ten years Peyton Manning If you can get
spring. Start plan- ago Twitter turns 40. Prob- over the idea of
ning your national cofounder Jack ably feels 80. Ben Affleck as
park trip for late Dorsey sent the Batman, go see
next month, first tweet: “just Batman v Super-
before they get setting up my man: Dawn of
crowded and hot. twttr,” setting the Justice, out today.
bar pretty low.
27 28 29 30 31 1 2
Easter Sunday
6 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
The Reader Page
FREE MONEY: We give $100 for reader
projects that we publish, and $50 for original
reader tips that we run. You can send both to
editor@popularmechanics.com.
LETTER OF
THE MONTH
Regarding Elliott Woods’s
story on the Iraqi fighter
pilots being trained to fly
F-16s in the U.S. (“Baghdad,
Arizona,” December/Janu-
ary): Iraq is smaller than the
state of Texas. ISIS has no
aircraft. Why the heck does
the Iraq government need a
1,500-mph air-superiority
fighter? Instead, they could
get six A-10 Warthogs for
the price of an F-16. The
PROJECT A-10 is better at ground
OF THE attack and support, and far
less demanding of its pilots.
MONTH It also has better pilot sur-
A HEAVY-DUTY PEDAL CAR vivability from ground fire
than the F-16.
W
hen Ray Hulse built this vehicle for
his four-year-old grandson, he built Jon Kutz
it to last. Which explains the body Lake Crystal, Minnesota
made of solid recycled oak and red-
Woods responds: The A-10
wood and the copper and brass
Thunderbolt, a.k.a. the
bushings. The steering knuckles and wheel are
Warthog, may have been the
from an old lawn tractor, and the pedal rod is
better option if the Iraqi Air
made of iron. Altogether this child’s toy weighs
Force were merely looking to
more than 100 pounds, which means, unless
support ground troops in the
Hulse’s grandson is Paul Bunyan, the toy is
fight against ISIS. But they
heavier than the child. Hulse first got the idea
also needed to defend their
from a newspaper article he came across 30
airspace against the threats
years ago. At the time he’d planned to build the
of neighboring countries,
car for his then-young son, but life got in the
all of which have long-range
way. Last year he decided if he didn’t make it
fighter aircraft. The F-16 was
now he never would. Using more than 50 years
the obvious choice—excelling
of expertise as a professional builder, Hulse
at high-altitude surveillance,
constructed his grandson’s car using just a
adaptable to many weapons
30-year-old memory of a pedal-car design.
and imaging packages, and
Thanks to quality parts and craftsmanship
capable of air-to-air com-
the car actually provides a smooth ride, and its
bat. But there’s still another
sturdiness means Ray’s grandson can pass it
reason why the A-10 wouldn’t
down to the next generation.
be the Iraqis’ first, second, or
even third choice: It’s not for
sale to foreign militaries.
YOU’LL HAVE TO REWIRE YOUR HAND Letters to the editor can be emailed to
SO THAT IT DOES NOTHING BUT SPOON
TALK TO US! editor@popularmechanics.com. Include
You can always get your full name and address. Letters
HÄAGEN-DAZS DIRECTLY INTO YOUR MOUTH. our attention and may be edited for length and clarity.
share your questions, CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUBSCRIPTIONS
“Popular Mechanics for broken hearts projects, or smoked online: service.popularmechanics.com;
could help me now.” meats on Twitter email: popcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com;
and Instagram using mail: Popular Mechanics, P.O. Box
—@Joycelular, via Twitter #popularmechanics. 6000, Harlan, IA 51593; subscribe:
subscribe.popularmechanics.com.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 7
EVE RYWHE RE What We’re Up To Beyond These Pages
T H E W E BS I T E !
YOUTUBE!
SCOTT KELLY COMES HOME
We’ll be posting regularly on popularme-
chanics.com with the fervor of a mission
control room as Scott Kelly returns to Earth
T H E P O D C A ST S ! after a year in space.
Todd McLellan,
above, the pho-
tographer and
disassembler behind Should our survival PLUS! Check out
“Things Come feature on page 68 our other podcast,
get you in the prep- How Your World
Apart” (see page 28), per spirit, be sure to Works, for deep-dive
records time-lapse download our spe- explanations of life’s
video of each of his cial survival edition
of the Most Useful
curiosities. Including
how one man spliced
meticulous decon- I N STA G R A M !
Podcast Ever (avail- together the 70-mm
structions. They able at the iTunes IMAX footage for a
store). Host and Star Wars: The Force
are mesmerizing senior editor Jacque- Awakens screening.
HOW TO SEE
displays of the guts line Detwiler helps Which, yes, we’re still
WHAT ROY’S
of everyday objects, you make the most
out of your post-
excited about. Our
podcasts come out WORKING ON
and they’re all on apocalyptic life—like on alternating weeks, Check our
our YouTube channel how to start a fire so you’ll always have a Instagram feed,
with your expensive new episode cued up. @popularmechanics,
(youtube.com/pop- smartphone once where you might see footage of home
mechshow) for cell service (and editor Roy Berendsohn testing five chipper-
your viewing plea- electric heat) is only
a memory. And we’ll
shredders at once. And don’t forget to
show us your own handiwork by using
sure. Watch this test out some gear. #PopularMechanics.
month’s edition
backward, and see
if you can figure
out how to put a 3D
printer together. OTHER PLACES TO FIND US
8 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
K I T A N D A C E . C O M
Y O G A
F O R
N O T
Every Man Needs a Shine Box
And It Should Be This One
COMPANY: LOCATION: FOUNDED:
American Shine Co. Haddonfield, New Jersey 2015
A
ll men once wore shoes. Not He was not impressed.
sneakers. Shoes. Fine leather “The challenge of shining your shoes is the last
with intricate broguing. Works part, where you have the cloth and you’re trying to
of art. And men treated them as get some friction going,” Matt says. “It’s really awk-
such. Sometimes, while waiting ward to do it by yourself. The standard box has a
for a train or for a barber chair, they indulged in raised footrest, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
a professional shine. More often they would do it So the Golia men headed into the basement
themselves at home. And as they did, their young shop and got to work. What they managed to
sons would sit close by, watching, learning about produce is a shine box as exquisite as any pair
the mysterious business of being a man. of Italian wing tips—and at less than $200,
Starting in junior high, Matt Golia would sit much more affordable. The pine glows from six
in his family’s New Jersey living room watching a rounds of sanding and five coats of lacquer. And
ball game with his dad, Steve, while they shined. In the stainless-steel rails—actually, repurposed
recent years, they added a little whiskey to the pas- kitchen-cabinet pulls—are ingenious. Just thread
time. But it wasn’t until a couple of Christmases ago the cloth under and buff with ease, all by yourself.
that Matt, now twenty-seven and the owner of some Though of course it’s more fun with your father, or
fine shoes himself, finally got his own shine box. your son. And whiskey. —Sean Manning
P H O T O G R A P H B Y B U R C U AV S A R
PA G E 1 0
ABOUT
THE
MAKERS
A lifer in the
surety-bond
business, Steve
Golia (above
left) dedicates
his off-hours
to the shine
boxes. “Before,
he really didn’t
have a hobby,”
says son Matt,
who works for a
Manhattan tech
startup. “My
mom loves it.”
DODGE.COM
DODGE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FCA US LLC.
S M A RT E R, ST R O N G E R, FAST E R. T H E 2 0 1 6 C H A R G E R, V I P E R A N D C H A L L E N G E R .
Saving People
Money Since 1936
... thatÕs before there were
modern turn signals.
Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees
Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2015 GEICO
LAR MECHAN
O PU IC
P S
ESTD 1902
O
n the island of forgotten toys
that is the average Amazon cart,
there are a few certainties. One:
You’ll leave your mother’s birth
day gift in there so long you’ll end up having
to pay for expedited shipping. Two: Amazon
knows which items you’re likely to buy—and
which ones you’ll jettison. A couple years ago
Amazon was granted a patent for Antici
patory Shipping, a program to predict what
products people will purchase before they
purchase them. It analyzes shopping his
tory, demographics, and, ominously, “any
other suitable source of information” to gain
insight into your buying patterns, so Amazon
can ship potential buys to a location near you.
Though Amazon hasn’t said how much of
the technology outlined in the Anticipatory
BY
Shipping patent is already in use, the rapid
K EVIN DUPZYK
rollout of superfast shipping options like free
sameday delivery and Prime Now onehour
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 15
service suggests the company has already research that demonstrates how advanta- first in more than 100 years.
honed its ability to know what you want geous data analytics can be: She and her The part of data science that unnerves peo-
before you want it. It’s just one example of the team fed years of articles from The New ple is not work like Radinsky’s—the more help
growing power of data analytics: companies, York Times, Wikipedia entries, and other we can get to combat the caprice of truly irra-
police, and government agencies mining the streams of Web data into a computer, after tional actors, such as diseases, terrorists, and
ever-expanding digital corpus of information which the computer tried to predict global weather, the better. It’s that computers don’t
online for data that can, in essence, predict events like riots and epidemics. In a recent understand people. Humans can consider the
the future. Data analytics (see chart below) test, news articles from as far back as the impact of free will and emotion with a degree
has the power to radically alter shopping, 1970s indicated that in countries with high of subtlety that computers are not yet capa-
medicine, science, and terrorism. It also population density and low gross domestic ble of. As capabilities outpace regulations,
makes a lot of people vastly uncomfortable. product, drought years followed by floods there are sure to be moments in which the
Kira Radinsky, a computer scientist could trigger outbreaks of cholera. These thud-headedness of data algorithms leads to
from Israel who collaborated with Micro- criteria allowed Radinsky’s computer to pre- problems. Recently, Radinsky and her fellow
soft Research while earning her Ph.D., does dict a cholera outbreak in Cuba in 2012—the researchers fed their computer news items
WHAT What’s going to happen Which workplace will That you’re probably Whether you are likely to If you are a criminal—or
next in this football game. make you happy. going to quit your job. be a terrorist. a victim.
WHO
FIGURED Transportation Security Police departments
Booz Allen Hamilton UnitesUs Workday
IT OUT Administration around the country
THE BlitzD, an app that uses An algorithmic approach Software that can tell Risk-based security, mak- “Predictive policing,”
TECH game tape to predict NFL that matches job seekers who is planning to leave ing the airport-security the use of algorithms to
play calls. to employers based on a job, and recommends experience easier for develop crime hot-spot
more than just skills and ways to retain unhappy low-risk people. maps and intercede
previous employment. workers. before crimes happen.
HOW IT Ninety columns’ worth Job seekers upload a An algorithm uses more TSA has developed a list There are two kinds of
WORKS of play data, including résumé, then fill out a per- than 100 variables to of types of people who predictive policing: Hot-
down, distance, location sonality survey or give the assign a worker a “reten- don’t need to be vetted spot policing involves
on field, score, and time, is software access to online tion risk” rating. The because of their low prob- focusing police in areas
fed into Microsoft’s Azure profiles. IBM Watson’s software then points ability of being a security where there is a high risk
machine-learning engine. Personality Insights tool out the biggest issues: risk. This includes elderly of crime. Cops used to
The engine figures out uses text from the profiles whether the worker has people, very young people, make the maps them-
tendencies, then gives a to develop a personality been in a single position members of the military, selves, but now they can
breakdown of the percent assessment. If the seeker’s too long, commutes too and those who have been be created algorithmi-
chance that the next play skill set and personality far, etc. Based on the qualified ahead of time cally. At the individual
will be a run or a pass, to match an employee with employer’s historical data, through the PreCheck level, police use previous
the left, right, or center of an opening with more the software then sug- program. arrests, social networks,
the field. than 50 percent certainty, gests the best thing to do and drug use to generate a
UnitesUs introduces them. to retain the person. list of at-risk people.
STATUS BlitzD was 78 percent Up and running since April Retention recommenda- As of June 2015, nearly According to John Holly-
accurate at predicting run 2015, it has achieved a tions are available as of one million daily travelers wood of the Rand Corp.,
versus pass during a dem- 7.5 percent callback rate, September 2015. have an easier trip through studies have shown a 10
onstration using the 2015 compared to less than security—but TSA recently to 20 percent improve-
Super Bowl, and accuracy 5 percent for standard failed a variety of security ment in crime prevention
is expected to improve job-search sites. tests and is overhauling its by focusing police on algo-
with more, higher-quality processes. rithm-derived hot spots.
data. Meanwhile, the NFL Individual interventions
is evaluating the fairness are considered promising,
of advanced technology on but it is difficult to prove
the sidelines. their effectiveness.
niques, they still had to UNNERVES PEOPLE “You’re not ready yet.” All
my heroes used a Leica—
lot of light, there’s no visual
noise or pixelation as on
figure out how to differ- IS THAT COMPUTERS Cartier-Bresson, Robert other cameras. The image
DON’T UNDERSTAND
entiate a legitimate bomb Frank. I got my first one in has a powdery feel. That’s
threat from a disgruntled 1982. It’s how I learned to something my Canon can’t
football fan casually sug- THE IMPACT OF be a photographer.
Leica’s reputation for
do. It looks like a film photo,
but without filters, which
gesting that a bomb in the
stadium might be the only
FREE WILL AND being the best you can never look quite right.
way to keep his team from HUMAN EMOTIONS. get is well deserved. It
always has the best lenses.
A few weeks ago, I
brought the SL to a wed-
losing the next game. The glass is ground to ding I was shooting in
To improve the system’s the finest specifications, Uruguay. We were in a
sophistication, they brought in humans. which means that colors car going about 50 mph.
are very, very accurate. I was shooting down the
After identifying a suspect based on social
streets, perpendicular to
media usage, the team treats each case like the direction we were mov-
a police investigation. “We’ll look into their ing. I was shocked at how
other social media,” says Sara Pierce, a detec- fast it focuses. You click,
tive from the Longmont Police Department. it focuses, it shoots. It’s
“We’ll see what other profiles they have, if this incredible. It’s the best digi-
is a common topic.” It’s traditional detective tal camera I’ve ever used.
work, using a computer, yes, but also using
years of human police experience.
As data science races toward a future in
which Amazon will just buy things for us, it Add an adapter
will be fascinating to watch computers leap to the Leica
SL to fit old
this last hurdle on their own. And they’ll have lenses, which
to: Human vicissitudes are what make people produce sub-
tle, appealing
prone to crime, rioting, and fickle changes of imperfections
mind in the first place, and these are the things that make the
images look
that we most need computers to help predict. like old photos.
We built computers so that they would under-
stand us, not the other way around. They’re
getting better at it.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 17
MythBusters
Superlatives
Even after 14 seasons
and 248 episodes, a few
experiments stand out.
MOST DANGEROUS
Inverted Underwater Car
Season 8, episode 19
After showing that you can’t
open a car door underwa-
ter until the pressure has
equalized, Savage agrees
TELEVISION
to try to escape a car that
Goodbye, MythBusters
has flipped upside down in
a later episode. It proves
nearly impossible.
SAVAGE: “This one spooked
After filming their final episode, Jamie Hyneman and both of us, for great reason.
Adam Savage reflect on the series that redefined science. We knew that there were so
many unknowns. We ended
B Y M AT T G O U L E T up with six levels of safety,
and we used five. We would
ask: ‘Do you still feel wiggy
about this one? Let’s talk it
POPULAR MECHANICS: The stitches, and one loose cannon- PM: Can handiness be taught?
through.’ ”
show’s over, and the last ball that caused no injuries to JH: We’ve thought a lot about
episode is airing this month. our name, and we’re both quite it over the years, in particular MOST COMPLICATED
How does it feel? proud of that. because of what’s happened to Swimming in Syrup
ADAM SAVAGE: I can’t speak That said, I was sure we were us. Not just in teaching other Season 7, episode 6
for Jamie, but for me it’s been gonna have a car accident one people, but we have changed The MythBusters test
whether the added thrust
a very intense year. I didn’t day. We do many driving sto- dramatically since we started you’d get from swim-
even work in special effects as ries in each season, and the part making the show. Having a ming through syrup
long as I’ve been making Myth- that never shows up on camera breadth of experience gives would cancel out the
drag from its viscosity.
Busters. We did the show for is moving the car around. You you a foundation to extrapo- AS: “Every single day
13 years. I’ve gone through all say, “Okay, 3, 2, 1. Go.” Press on late solutions to problems with the results we came up
the Kübler-Ross stages of grief. the gas and it turns out you’re which you have no direct expe- with were different than
what we thought they
JAMIE HYNEMAN: I don’t feel in reverse and you run over rience. I like to think of it as a would be, so we had to alter
that way so much. It’s funny. a cameraman or a $100,000 stable pile of stuff that gives you the next day’s experiments
I’m relieved that it’s over. And high-speed camera. That’s the a place to put your feet when you completely. Every day for
four days was like that.”
I’m looking forward to what’s dumbest accident there could reach out and grab new ideas.
next. At the same time, doing be. And yet it’s probably the PM: Do you think about how MOST LIKELY TO
something for so long, I’ve one we were most in danger of much of an impact your show ANNOY A CAR COMPANY
found myself almost tearing having if you looked at actuar- has had on people’s assump- Dirty vs. Clean Car
up at times when we go out on ial scales. tions about the world? Season 7, episode 14
stage [for the final national PM: Even the simplest things JH: What was profound is that it Is a dirty or a clean car more
tour]. There’s something emo- can get you. said to people at large that sci- fuel efficient? To find out, the
MythBusters cover a sedan in
tional lurking there, but it was AS: I’m still terrified every ence isn’t just for guys in lab 1,082 golf-ball-like dimples.
time for us to move on. time I fire up the table saw. You coats. It’s not some mystical AS: “One of the Big Three
automakers carved dents in
PM: It’s surprising how few use that tool wrong and it lets thing that you have to be edu-
a clay model, put it in a
things went wrong, except you know in a hurry. It’s very cated to be able to do. When we wind tunnel, and said
for that cannonball that you unforgiving. showed up on MythBusters, we they didn’t get the
same result we did,
shot through a house. PM: You guys aren’t engi- were persistent and methodi-
which I thought was
AS: Jamie is fond of saying, neers by trade, right? cal about the experiments and, f---ing great. Like we
“At a certain point you feel like AS: Jamie has a degree in Rus- hey, who knew, that’s science. wasted, what, three
days of their time and some
your number’s up” when you do sian linguistics, and I have a Now everybody’s going, “You wind-tunnel hours? That’s
s--- as dangerous as what we do. high school diploma. But we’ve guys are encouraging people awesome.”
I am so grateful that our num- both been in the “learn while to do science.” It’s more like I’m
ber never came up. We have five you earn” program by hosting a bear and I’m s----ing in the
broken fingers, about 30 or 40 a television show. woods. Like, that’s what I do.
18 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
Limited Time Offer
Watch Sling TV Instantly for 7 Days FREE!
4 The process
continues, with 2 A heat source at the
more impurities bottom of the column
falling away in the heats the distiller’s beer to
third column as 212 degrees. The alcohol and
the alcohol vapor water vaporize and rise to
continues to the the top of the first column,
fourth column. where they are transferred
to the second. Any grains or
impurities from the distiller’s
beer (called tails) remain at
5 In the fourth the bottom of the column
column, the purified and are removed.
alcohol (“hearts”)
condenses, allowing the
toxic methanol vapors
(“heads”) to exit via the
top of the system. The ARROW KEY
alcohol is drained out of
the bottom of the still. Vapor
Waste
Methanol
▶ WHY BUTTE?
22 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S I L LU S T R AT I O N BY S I N E L A B
Ò You bet
I have
WeatherTech Ó
®
Acura · Audi · BMW · Buick · Cadillac · Chevrolet · Chrysler · Dodge · Ferrari · Ford · GMC · Honda · Hummer · Hyundai · Infiniti
Accessories Available for Isuzu · Jeep · Kia · Land Rover · Lexus · Lincoln · Maserati · Mazda · Mercedes-Benz · Mercury · Mini · Mitsubishi · Nissan
Oldsmobile · Plymouth · Pontiac · Porsche · Saab · Saturn · Scion · Subaru · Suzuki · Toyota · Volkswagen · Volvo · and more!
AT HALFTIME
SHOWS
A Werner tech-
nology called
FiberGraphix
prints a team’s logo
directly in a ladder’s
rail as it’s being
formed.
WITH RECYCLED
PERCUSSION
The acrobatic band
prefers Werner’s
12-foot twin lad-
ders, so musicians
Duke coach Mike can climb both sides.
Krzyzewski, a five-
time champ, shown
last year atop a
familiar perch.
FOR GOD
M
The Immovable
Ladder at the
UPGRADE arch 8, 1947. North Carolina State has just won the Southern
Church of the Holy
Conference men’s basketball tournament. To celebrate, the
The March
Sepulchre in Jeru-
Wolfpack’s second-year head coach Everett Case proposes salem is considered
something strange: He wants to cut down a net. That’s what a symbol of divi-
Madness
sion in Christian
state champs used to do back when Case coached high school history. The ladder
in Indiana. A fun idea, but damned if anyone at Duke Indoor Stadium can find a has remained in
ladder. So Case and his boys simply lift one another up on their shoulders. the same spot for
Ladder That’s how the college tradition continued until the mid-1980s, when some-
one realized a ladder would be more humane after the athletes had spent an
more than 200
years because of
disagreements
A Pennsylvania company hour sprinting and jumping. Since 2008, that ladder, for both the men’s and among the Chris-
tian denominations
builds a better way to the women’s NCAA tournaments, has been built by Werner.
This year, the 94-year-old Greenville, Pennsylvania–based company is making
who claim rights to
top. B Y S E A N M A N N I N G
the historical site.
the ceremonial snip even easier for players—swapping the traditional ladder In order to move or
for a customized Podium model, whose oversize platform has been enlarged alter any property,
including the ladder,
to better suit size-19 high-tops. The guardrail is also elongated and, as on all six Christian sects
Werner Podium ladders, features a magnetized “locktop” to secure scissors. have to agree.
24 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
Laser Measured, Custom-Fit
FloorLiner™
Available in Black, Tan and Grey
for over 900 Applications
Also Available:
All-Weather Floor Mat
By adding in the same material that allows flak jackets properties—is spun into the
yarn of Tidal’s moisture-wicking
to stop bullets, one company is giving duck cloth—the T-shirts, making strange but
effective use of the aftermath
sturdy standard-bearer of work-wear fabrics—a marked of your next surf-and-turf night.
improvement. B Y M AT T G O U L E T
I
n 1965, a chemist at DuPont named Stephanie Kwolek
was searching for a lighter alternative to replace the
steel used in reinforcing racing tires. In the lab, she
discovered a liquid crystal polyamide that when spun
into a fiber was five times stronger than steel at the
same weight and lighter than nylon—DuPont’s first com-
mercially successful synthetic fiber. The chemical name for
Kwolek’s compound was poly-para-
phenylene terephthalamide. DuPont
called it Kevlar. Walls built its
reputation making
Since then, it has become synony- coveralls for oil-
mous with the tactical bulletproof rig workers. Now
it’s on to basic
vests worn by military and SWAT work jackets and
teams, saving thousands of lives since hunting gear.
toyota.com/prius
Prototype shown with options. Production model may vary. ©2015 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
T H I N G S C O M E A PA R T A P H O T O G R A P H B Y TODD MCLELLAN
PRINTING AN OBJECT
The print jets and the platform perform
coordinated movements to lay down hot
D I S A S S E M B LY R E P O R T
filament in the precise pattern needed for
3D PRINTER
a given object. Three stepper motors [10]
move the parts, one for each direction:
The print jet moves side to side, and the
platform moves both up and down and
front to back.
Different filament materials require
different temperatures and speeds, so
MODEL: 3D SYSTEMS CUBE TIME TO DISASSEMBLE:
NUMBER OF PARTS: a printed circuit board [19] in the car-
5 HOURS,
ROCK HILL,
PRODUCED:
SOUTH CAROLINA
17 MINUTES,
47 SECONDS
677 tridges communicates with the printer to
tell it what material is being used. The car-
tridge motors [6] feed the filament out of
the cartridge accordingly. The filament
NOTES: “It seems kind of like magic,” began a science segment on the
January 30, 1989, episode of Good Morning America, “but it’s called passes through the print jet tubes and into
stereolithography.” Onscreen, a machine shoots UV light into a vat of the print jets, where an aluminum heat-
liquid, causing the liquid to harden. Later in the segment, Chuck Hull, ing element [3] heats it to between 210
the inventor of stereolithography, describes the process as “a three- and 260 degrees Celsius, depending on
dimensional printer.” Hull founded 3D Systems to create prototypes of what material it is, and pushes it through
industrial parts. Today it also sells a line of hobbyist printers that ditch the the nozzle and onto the object being made.
vat of liquid in favor of materials that harden as they cool. The Cube from
To clean out material from the previous
3D Systems is currently in its third generation, and 3D printing has come a
long way too: The Cube is recommended for kids as young as eight.
cartridge that might hang around and con-
taminate the 3D-printed item, the print
head moves to the far left or right and rubs
the nozzle against a wiper [16]. Old fil-
ament falls into a purge bin [15] in the
LOADING THE MATERIALS nozzle [18]. When a new cartridge is loaded, inner wall of the printer, which must be
The Cube can print designs using two dif- each tube is fed through a channel between periodically emptied.
ferent materials simultaneously. These the front housing [21] and rear housing [7] After printing is complete, the user
materials are loaded into the printer in of the printer, and each nozzle is locked into lifts the print pad out of the printer. The
material cartridges [5]—one on the left position in a hole in each print head [4]. printed object will still be glued in place,
side of the machine and one on the right. but after a ten-minute soak in warm
Inside each cartridge is a spool of fila- PREPPING THE PRINTER water, it can be separated easily with the
ment [22]. Hanging off its side is a print jet Designs can be sent to the printer through scraper [13]. The glue will wash right off.
tube [17] ending in a print jet [20] and a a USB connector [9] or wirelessly from a —Kevin Dupzyk
3D-PRINTING
MATERIALS
IN ORDER OF
STRANGENESS 1 ABS filament 2 Recycled wood 3 Spinach paste 4 Living tissue 5 Vegemite
28 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
1 2 3 4
22
21
20
19
18
17
16 7
15
14
8
13
9
12 11 10
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 29
1,000 miles, starting in Canada and ter-
minating at various Gulf Coast and eastern
seaports. Notably, no pipeline crosses the
country from east to west, which is proba-
bly a good thing as it would likely clog with
aspiring screenwriters.
30 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY G R E G C H R I S T M A N
PROMOTION
THE GADGET
REVIEWS YOU LOVE.
(NOW ON EVERY GADGET)
Subscribe to the Popular Mechanics enhanced digital
edition and we’ll show you how things work…
whenever it works for you!
Available anytime, anywhereÑon any device
The upgrade ideas, plus auto, tech & space news you love
BEFORE THEY HIT NEWSSTANDS
DIGITAL-ONLY features let you share articles & access back issues
TABLET-EXCLUSIVE videos, interactive animations & photo galleries
A Bike
for All
Seasons
Thanks to fat, under-
inflated tires, biking no
longer has an off-season.
BY C . J. CH IVERS
T H E W I N T E R M O R N I N G would
hardly seem right for a bike ride.
A fresh snow had fallen overnight
atop the old, refrozen sheets and
piles of snow all around. A chilly
wind blew fine, stinging grit. The
sidewalks were mostly invisible, the
roads an uninviting mix of brown
slush and salt. And yet there was
my 14-year-old son, Jack, on the
walkway beside our shed, checking
the tire pressure on a thick-framed
black bike. The driveway was to his
left. A knee-high bank of snow was
to his right. He took his seat, swung
the front tire to the right, lunged
down on the pedal and crested the
snowbank and set off across our
snow-covered yard. I followed him,
listening to a crust of frozen snow
break beneath my weight as my own
bicycle moved easily along, across
my neighbors’ property, down a
short but steep snowy hill, and then,
with a little jump, past a dock and
out onto the surface of a frozen lake.
The access we were experiencing
was a triumph of thoughtful design.
Aided by a strikingly simple con-
cept—that a bicycle atop soft tires of
outsize width will acquire traction
on all manner of shifting terrain—
we were riding where we had not
conceived of riding before. Old hesi-
tations fell away. I remembered a
A WORKOUT ON TWO WHEELS If a bike is your only method of exercise, here’s a good way to put it to use,
from Jay Dicharry, a physical therapist at REP Lab in Bend, Oregon.
Find Hills Ride Far Remember Your Core And Your Upper Body
▶ Twice a week, go to the hill- ▶ Once a week, raise your ▶ Buy a bike stand for 20 ▶ Intense mountain biking
iest area you can and conquer gear and ride for a longer bucks, then use it to perform does activate the muscles in
it for 45 minutes. If you live time—at least an hour. The single-leg pedal drills. Lift your upper body but only to
in a flat area, crank your gear higher gear will force you to your butt off the seat and a small extent. There is no
to a lower setting than you’re make more pedal revolutions roll your tailbone backward. great way to get an upper-
comfortable with and ride the per minute for a more aerobic Remove one leg from the body workout on a bike.
same 45 minutes, with small cardio workout. This is high- pedal and the opposite hand You’re going to need to do
breaks. If possible, do it into cadence training. from the handles. Hold for 30 push-ups or find those old
a headwind. This method, seconds. Switch leg and hand, dumbbells you still keep in
called high-intensity train- and repeat. That’s one set. Do the garage.
ing, gets more muscle fibers five sets.
active to help build muscle.
34 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY A R T H U R M O U N T
on. Soon he was riding up the steep hill would say unequivocally, was cool. Once
and then down it, jumping out onto fat bikes achieved that kind of psychic
A FAT BIKE FOR
the ice for a ride like no other. For him, stature—revolutionary in utility, spar- EVERY RIDER
the very nature of biking had changed. kling with style—their popularity was
The local bike trails, typically off-limits inevitable. “They aren’t just snow bikes
until plowed, now held the allure of fresh anymore,” Bodziony says. “They are
powder, but with a feature uncommon to labeled as all-purpose adventure bikes.
ski slopes: near solitude. They are really finding their own as all-
This meant an opportunity for exer- around bicycles.” What this means is
cise without inflammation, and in clear: If you have not noticed fat bikes
almost any weather at all. A looping yet among you, you will soon. With time,
ride on the main bike path near our you will only see more.
house is roughly 12 miles long and But it always comes back to the ride. Felt DD 70
provides (when pedaled hard), a fast, On my most recent fat-bike mini
lung-expanding outlet. Jack found adventure, on a Sunday morning in
when biking that his November, I pedaled the
A ▶ An aluminum frame
makes this bike affordable
and relatively lightweight.
legs did not suffer, and The local bike over a beach parking The fork legs are formed
his baseline fitness could lot, past a dune fence and with high-pressure fluid
be maintained. Osgood- bike trails the spot where a row of instead of heat, which allows
for more intricate shaping.
Schlatter disease can be now held lifeguard chairs stands in
persistent, however. Like summer, and then almost
a teenager’s growth spurt,
the allure effortlessly across a wide
$1,499
BONTRAGER RALLY
▶ The Rally is equipped with MIPS (Multi-
C ▶ Thanks to its carbon-fiber
frame, the Farley experi-
ences less road vibration
directional Impact Protection System), and weighs less than some
which means the liner and shell are sepa- traditional mountain bikes.
rate, so you have two layers protecting your Even with those huge tires.
brain from a fall instead of just one. $120
$4,800
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 35
TECHNOLOGY WITH BABA BOOEY
body. It’s not that I care that somebody
knows. But it’s odd to yell your per-
sonal information. When possible, I
dictate in my car.
Apple TV
▶ The newest Apple TV (32 GB/$149 or
64 GB/$199) has Siri, but not the Siri
that we know from our phones. This
Siri takes an already invaluable TiVo
button—the one that takes you eight
seconds back when you press it—and
improves it. With Apple TV, you can
push the button on the remote and
say, “What did he say?” It takes you
back 15 seconds, replays the scene, and
runs subtitles for those 15 seconds.
That’s unbelievable. Somebody at
Apple really understood what we need.
Amazon Echo
▶ I’m a big, big Mets fan and previ-
ously I would get up, bleary-eyed, go
to my computer, put in my password,
and go to MLB.com. Now, I walk to
my kitchen and call out,“Alexa” to
activate my Echo speaker (pictured).
Then I ask, “Who won the Nationals
game last night?” It’s brilliant: “The
Nationals were beaten by the Los
How to Use Voice Recognition Angeles Dodgers 4–2. They will play
again tonight at 10:30.” Since you’re
What initially felt like a gimmick—the ability not staring at a screen as you wait for
to tell your car, phone, or TV what to do—has become quite useful. the answer, you don’t notice the time
And it will only get better. it takes to process your command. I’m
B Y G A R Y D E L L’ A B AT E
usually distracted getting the milk out
of the refrigerator.
FOR SOME PEOPLE, voice recognition is too weird, iPhone Alexa has a sense of humor too.
too complicated, or just not good enough. I get it. ▶ On my phone, all I have to do is hit Once, just for fun, I said, “Alexa, you’re
My friend Matthew Berry, a fantasy football guy on the little microphone on the keyboard such a b----.” She goes, “That’s not very
ESPN, is in my phone as Berry. My wife’s name is Mary. I’ll to write texts or emails. Saying “I’ll be nice.” I go, “Alexa, I’m sorry,” and she
hit the button on the steering wheel in my car to activate there in 20 minutes” is so much easier goes, “That’s okay.” Stupid as that
voice recognition and say, “Call Mary.” “Call Berry?” the than typing. You do have to proof- exchange may be, it’s also frightening.
car usually responds. “No, call Mary.” “Call Berry?” “No!” read once in a while, but it saves me I’m actually starting to have an emo-
Now I’m yelling at my car, looking like an idiot to anyone a ton of time. The only issue is how tional bond with a machine.
who happens to see me. It’s frustrating. The most dialed self-conscious I get while using it. If
numbers in my phone are my office, my sons, and my wife. someone’s in my office and I dictate Gary Dell’Abate has been the
executive producer of The
The car should know that. a text to tell my son “I just put $100 Howard Stern Show since 1984. He
Considering how amazing the technology is, this is a in your account, go buy those shoes,” can be heard on Sirius XM.
crazy complaint, but these innovations are so incredible it’s weird saying that in front of some-
that you just want more. Think about your first flip phone.
Compare it with your iPhone now. You were so happy with
that flip phone, but if you had to go back, you’d say, “This is
archaic!” That’s what happens. When there’s a really good
THREE 01 02 03
YOUR
alarm clocks, only conversation. If vice might make
voice recognition with the classic video game Pong. Who- recognize specific they can’t under- a phone call, but
ever invented Pong never envisioned Call of Duty, but that’s DEVICES programmed com-
mands. “What time
stand you, rephrase
the question
it’s probably not
enough for Siri to
what it led to. Voice recognition now is so basic compared BETTER is it” may work,
but “What is the
instead of enunci-
ating or pausing.
turn your voice dial
into an action.
with what it will be. But it’s already amazing, and it’s going time” won’t. Between. Each.
to be even more amazing soon. Here’s how I use it. Word.
vw.com Simulated image. *Driver Assistance features are not substitutes for attentive driving. See Owner’s Manual for further details and important limitations. For more information, visit www.iihs.org. ©2016 Volkswagen of America, Inc.
TOOL TEST
THE PROVING GROUND FOR EVERY THING YOU NEED
String
Trimmers It’s the indispens-
Echo GT-225L
ENGINE: 21.2 cc R PM
7,500
able tool for bring- NOISE: 76.8 dBA at idle/
ing order to over- 91.4 at full throttle
grown areas and WEIGHT: 10.68 lb
LIKES: A lot of trimmer for the money, with
putting a crisp edge
more than enough power for residential
where mowers can’t
needs. The machine feels very smooth,
reach. For each of
thanks to good vibration dampening (the
these trimmers most effective we tested) between the
we cut the lawn’s engine and handle, and a cutting head that’s
boundary, then mounted on ball bearings. A simple wing nut
walked into a jungle fastens the front handle, making it easy to
of tall grass, over- adjust for optimal balance.
grown weeds, and DISLIKES: Gas cap access is a bit tight.
woody stalks.
BY JOSEPH TRU I N I $200
R PM R PM R PM
7,500 8,500 10,600
Hitachi CG22EABSLP Jonsered GT2228 Stihl FS 40C
Hatchets
Drive nails, pound stakes,
split wood. All with the
same tool.
Hardcore Survivalist
B
A LENGTH: 17 ½ in.
WEIGHT: 1.8 lb
▶ Aptly named, its light
weight makes this hatchet
ideal for lashing to the
outside of your pack on
overnight trips. Comes
sharp enough to shave with
straight from the factory.
$135
B Axe
LENGTH: 16 ¾ in.
WEIGHT: 2.3 lb
▶ Forged from a single block
of tool steel, the Estwing
is indestructible. Its rubber
handle provides a good grip
in cold and wet weather or
when wearing gloves.
D
$60
C LENGTH: 18 in.
WEIGHT: 1.8 lb
▶ Has superb workman-
ship, despite being made in
Taiwan. The Plumb’s balance
gives it an effortlessness that
we found perfect for making
kindling.
$25
Vaughan RB Rig
D Builders
LENGTH: 18 in.
WEIGHT: 2.2 lb
▶ A superb, American-made
tool. The steel sleeve where
the handle joins the head pro-
vides protection from missed
blows, and a taper on the han-
dle makes for an easy swing.
$35
P H OTO G R A P H / I L LU S T R AT I O N BY T E E K AY N A M E
39 MARCH 2016 P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 39
_ POPULAR ME-
TOOL TEST
THE PROVING GROUND FOR EVERY THING YOU NEED
Heavy-Duty
Thermoses
Because cold jobs—
A and cold hands—
deserve warm drinks.
D
B
A B C D E
Duluth Trading Zojirushi Thermos Stanley Isosteel
Shotshell Tuff Boy Work Series Classic VA-9552Q
25 oz 32 oz 40 oz 45 oz 25 oz
ANYWHERE. ANYTIME.
WITH ANYONE.
Got a sudden stain on your perfect white dress shirt—just before an important
meeting? Need to order a drink for your date? Concerned about how to manscape,
buy the perfect gift, leave a dull party gracefully, or navigate the intricacies of
any kind of social event? EsquireÕs The Biggest Black Book Ever shows you
how to do everything right, in every area of your life.
AVAILABLE
WHEREVER
BOOKS $24.95 ($27.95 CAN) IN HARDCOVER
ARE SOLD
SHOP NOTES E A S Y WAYS TO D O H A R D T H I N G S
Pillowcase
Cleans
Ceiling Fan
Fan blades are
dust magnets, and
Pipe Insulation Props
cleaning them is
a hassle: Half the
Paintbrushes
dust you wipe off When working a job with a variety
the blades ends up of paintbrushes, use a utility knife
in your face. Swap to cut slots in lengths of pipe insula-
the feather duster tion, then hook the insulation over
for a pillowcase.
the edges of a paint tray. The slits hold
Slip the pillowcase
over the fan blade,
the brushes in place, right where you
and as you wipe want them.
off dust it stays
contained.
Decrease Your Odds
of Splitting the End
The Best Tool of a Board
for Sanding A sharp nail can split wood. Near the
Is a Pencil end of a board, the odds increase. To
A Cheap, Easy, and Clever When sanding a make it less likely, before driving the
nail, flip it over and hammer the tip,
Alternative to Jacking wood surface, use a
pencil to keep track blunting it slightly. The blunter tip
RENOVATIONS OFTEN REQUIRE replacing load-bearing posts, which of progress: Draw crushes wood fibers, rather than push-
means rigging up a 4 x 4 or a 2 x 8 as a temporary support. If a jack is a line over the sur- ing them apart.
face. Sand until it
not readily available, use felling wedges. Cut the temporary support
has been removed.
about two inches shorter than the floor-to-ceiling distance. Set it on Make heavier
top of a piece of scrap lumber, which protects the floor and facilitates marks when work-
setting the wedges. Now position wedges on opposite sides of the sup- ing with coarser
port and hammer them into place, raising it and the load. For extra sandpaper.
security, stop blocks can be screwed into the scrap lumber to keep
the wedges in position. When the permanent post has been installed,
remove the wedges by tapping them from the side. Toothpaste M
FRO E—
Cleans —TH IVES
H
Permanent ARC 72!)
Marker ( 9
1
44 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY K AG A N M c L E O D
PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
UNEXPECTED
INNOVATION
Anyone who saw Kripa Varanasi’s 2012
video of ketchup slipping effortlessly from
its bottle (without a single tap or shake)
knew they were witnessing game-changing
coating technology.
Going viral, it resulted in thousands of
inquiries before there was even a business—
shattering the traditional startup model.
And today the product of LiquiGlide™, the
MIT professor’s company, “is to liquids what
the wheel was to transportation.”
What inspired LiquiGlide’s development?
Originally, we were trying to solve a range
of sticky problems (like buildups in oil and
gas pipelines) by using liquid-impregnated,
slippery surfaces.
ÔÔ
It lets us change materials to create a custom
slippery surface. Coatings for food products,
for example, can be made entirely from food
Our mission ingredients. (We can even control a liquid’s speed.)
is to change What are its green benefits?
LiquiGlide eliminates consumer waste and
the way viscous can mean less rinsing when recycling. And
it enables manufacturers to create thicker
liquids f low formulations (reducing packaging and the
and to eliminate amount of fuel needed to ship products).
CHEVROLET MALIBU
Rethink what a midsize car can
be. And how everyday driving can
feelÉwhen you experience the
exceptional efficiency, seamless
connectivity and ingenious
technologies of the all-new
2016 Chevrolet Malibu. More at
allnewchevymalibu.com.
SHOWN: MALIBU PREMIER WITH AVAILABLE 2.0L TURBO: EPA-ESTIMATED MPG 22 CITY/33 HIGHWAY
PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET Standard 10 air bags
and an innovative
360-degree sensor
EVERYDAY.
that can measure
the severity of an
impact and adjust the
inflation of the air bags
REINVENTED
accordingly.†
*MYLINK FUNCTIONALITY VARIES BY MODEL. FULL FUNCTIONALLY REQUIRES COMPATIBLE BLUETOOTH AND SMARTPHONE, AND USB CONNECTIVITY FOR SOME DEVICES. ** VEHICLE USER INTERFACES
ARE PRODUCTS OF APPLE AND GOOGLE AND THEIR TERMS AND PRIVACY STATEMENTS APPLY. REQUIRES COMPATIBLE SMARTPHONE AND DATA PLAN RATES APPLY. APPLE CARPLAY IS A TRADEMARK
OF APPLE INC. ANDROID AUTO IS A TRADEMARK OF GOOGLE INC. ANDROID AUTO IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WITH OPTIONAL CHEVROLET MYLINK RADIO WITH 8-INCH DISPLAY. ***REQUIRES A
COMPATIBLE MOBILE DEVICE, ACTIVE ONSTAR SERVICE, AND DATA PLAN. 4G LTE SERVICE AVAILABLE IN SELECT MARKETS. VISIT ONSTAR.COM FOR COVERAGE MAP, DETAILS AND SYSTEM LIMITATIONS.
†
ALWAYS USE SAFETY BELTS AND CHILD RESTRAINTS. CHILDREN ARE SAFER WHEN PROPERLY SECURED IN A REAR SEAT IN THE APPROPRIATE CHILD RESTRAINT. SEE THE OWNERÕS MANUAL FOR MORE
INFORMATION. 1 MALIBU HYBRID GM-ESTIMATED MPG 48 CITY/45 HIGHWAY. OFFICIAL EPA ESTIMATES NOT YET AVAILABLE. FUEL ECONOMY BASED ON GM TESTING. 2MALIBU WITH 1.5L TURBO ENGINE:
EPA-ESTIMATED MPG 27 CITY/37 HIGHWAY.
AVOIDING STICKY ONE MILLION
SITUATIONS TONS OF FOOD
When VaranasiÕs Òcould be saved
famous ketchup from being thrown
bottle video went out every year.Ó
viral, it proved how
powerful solving
everyday problems
could be.
WHY
BOT TLE S? TRULY LIFE SAVING.
VaranasiÕs ÒLiquiGlide will reduce
team estimates (and even resolve) the
WITH 30 CLIENT S FROM 7 C OUNTRIE S , sauces alone challenges of clogged
LiquiGlide is developing custom coatings are a $17 billion stents or implanted joints
for glue, paint, mayo and more. market. that lose their lubricity.Ó
DonÕt Keep Your Curiosity Bottled Up. Explore the many ways Malibu redefines everyday driving at allnewchevymalibu.com.
Getting
Started
In . . . FURNITURE
RESTORATION
With a little work, some stain, and a respirator, that old dresser in the basement
can earn its way back upstairs. B Y K E V I N D U P Z Y K
Find the
Right
Piece
You don’t want to buy a fixer-upper
that’s going to cost a fortune
to restore, and you don’t want to
invest time and money in
something that was never that
great to begin with.
Take Care
of Major Issues Remove
If the piece has cracks and breaks and will require a lot of gluing, do that
first. The mess made by sanding and stripping can interfere with the the
Old Finish
tight fit required for a good glue job. Otherwise, skip to step 3 and sand the whole thing so
you have a bare wood surface for other repairs.
W H AT Y O U N E E D W H AT Y O U N E E D
SANDPAPER
(150-, 180-,
220-grit)
46 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY S T E V E S A N F O R D
Reupholster
Although most reupholstery is best left to professionals, one of the most
common upholstery jobs, a dining chair, is quite simple. Here’s how to do it.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Unscrew the fasten- Flip the seat over. Cut a new piece of Add extra batting if Working front to Reattach the seat to
ers attaching the The edges of the fabric using the old necessary. back, then left to the chair.
seat to the chair fabric are attached one as a guide. It right, staple the
body and remove with staples. Use a should stretch over overhanging fabric
the seat. staple remover to the seat and its bat- to the bottom. Start
remove them or a ting (the cushion) in the center of each
utility knife to cut with one to two side. Keep the fabric
the fabric free. inches of overhang. taut.
EASY
Wait at least 24 hours after strip- 1 Pour finishing oil on the Easy to paint on,
but tends to look
wood, then spread with a
ping and repairs, then it’s time to plasticky. Check
lint-free cotton cloth. Apply that it is compatible
start the finishing process. excessively—it should look with your stain, if
like there’s too much. you’ve applied one.
W H AT Y O U N E E D
Q
POPULAR MECHANICS’ SENIOR HOME
E D I T O R S O LV E S YO U R M O S T P R E S S I N G P R O B L E M S .
BY R OY B E R E N D S O H N
Mice are getting into our house, We had a terrible ice dam on
our house last year. Could
most likely through the garage. this be due to a problem with our
gutters? One guy said that putting
I can’t seem to find a way to a heating cable in the gutter will
keep them out. What can I do? solve the problem. Will it?
DAVID W., HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
FRANK N., WAUSAU, WISCONSIN
No. Gutters do not cause ice
The garage is the biggest opening into your house, so it’s not surprising dams, and heating cables do
that that’s where mice would go. It’s bigger than any window or door, and not prevent them. The culprit is heat
exponentially larger than some tiny gap around a badly fitting piece of siding. escaping through the attic, roof sur-
Furthermore, there’s often a meal on the other side of the door—pet food, bird- face, and eaves. Insulate the attic and
seed, even garbage. A mouse would be crazy to try to enter any other way. ventilate the eaves. By keeping heat
Fortunately, the fix is simple. I used it several years ago when mice nearly inside the house, instead of allowing
overran our little neighborhood. Take a trip to a hardware store and buy some alu- it to escape through the attic, you keep
minum flashing. It’s available in small rolls and individual rectangles. Cut each the roof surface cold. This prevents
piece to size so it fits between the garage-door guide rail and the weather stripping the freeze–thaw cycle that creates ice
(Fig. 1). Bend the piece into an L shape that will stand on its own, wedged between dams. (The snow melts on the warm
Fig. 1 flashing the rail and the wall. It should be tall enough that a mouse can’t climb over it. roof, then refreezes when it hits the
When you’ve got these barriers in place, take other precautionary measures: cold eaves.) It’s the only permanent
Store animal food in its bag, inside a gnaw-proof container, like the ones made solution to the problem.
from galvanized steel at behrensmfg.com. If you can, keep this container off
the floor. All trash should be stored in tough, tightly sealed cans. Finally, clean How early can I put down
guide rail and sweep the garage regularly. That way, if the mice do return, you’ll be sure grass seed?
to see any signs. JACK E., MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA
weather stripping We have a sinkhole against The cool-season grasses that cover
the foundation of our house. most of the continental United
We’ve filled it in and it comes back. States require soil temperatures of
It’s not big enough to be danger- about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You need
ous, but it’s ugly. What’s the fix? sustained air temperatures in the 60s
CHERYL P., ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS to 75 to produce that. Don’t start right
I suspect you have a high water after temperatures rise, otherwise you
table (the level to which ground- risk planting too early. You may have
water rises), and the sump pump stays soil temperatures that produce ger-
busy moving a water–dirt mixture mination, and the seed will sprout,
away from the foundation in an end- but a frost can kill or damage the seed-
less cycle. Furthermore, the gravel lings. It’s best to check with a nursery in
surrounding the foundation drain your area for specific advice or contact
might not be sealed with a geotextile a state cooperative extension office.
fabric filter. (Homes built as late as the If you live in the south, you can
1960s may have salt hay as a filter over apply grass seed anytime from late
the gravel.) This allows water to wash spring to early summer when sus-
soil through the gravel and into the tained air temperatures reach 75 to 90
sump pit. It’s also possible that there’s degrees. This will produce a soil tem-
a large gap between two foundation perature of about 70 degrees, which
drainpipes, which would permit more is perfect for southern grass species.
groundwater to move through. The gap
occurs from sloppy installation, or per-
Call 212-649-2828 and leave
haps one piece of pipe has caved in. a message with your home or
To find the cause, dig down to the yard question. You could be featured
on a new Popular Mechanics podcast.
foundation drain and investigate. Questions can also be emailed to
Replace damaged pipe or add a piece askroy@popularmechanics.com.
of filter fabric to stop the problem.
48 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
New year. New roads to conquer.
ALL-NEW
Leave all of your worries behind with the all-new Beltronics GT-7,
the most wicked high-performance radar / laser detector on the road.
Powerful Digital Signal Processor | Instantly clear voice alerts | Convenient magnetic mount system
Conquer the road ahead with the new GT-7. Order Now!
Call 800.852.6258 or visit Beltronics.com for details.
©2016 Beltronics 5442 West Chester Road West Chester OH 45069 Department: PMECH
P R O M O T I O N
The employee
cafeteria at
McLaren head-
quarters is kept
at a negative air
pressure rela-
tive to the rest
of the factory,
so food smells
don’t escape.
Y
ou know you’re at McLaren when the trees change. At the round-
Inside about exit for the factory and world headquarters, the forest
next to the road isn’t like the surrounding countryside. On
McLaren’s McLaren property, the trees are in rows, the hedges are square,
and the grass has been recently mowed. Order replaces chaos.
Automotive Before you’re even through the gate, you’ve got a sense of the McLaren worldview,
a perspective that accounts for the main criticism of its first real production car,
Perfectionism the MP4-12C: It was too perfect. Excessive competence is not a typical problem
for startup car companies, but McLaren isn’t a typical startup. It’s a Formula
One race team with decades of history that’s learning the road-car business. I
wanted to visit while it’s still in the ramp-up phase.
McLAREN ISN’T LIKE A lake flanks walls of glass while the rest of the complex disappears into the
OTHER AUTO hills, modern architecture fused with a Tolkien hobbit hut. Peer into those win-
MANUFACTURERS. dows and you see a row of Formula One cars on display in a corridor named the
I WENT TO THE Boulevard. Unlike, say, Ferrari, which has a dedicated program to shill its retired
HEADQUARTERS race cars, McLaren still owns every Formula One car it has built since 1980. The
Boulevard feels like a morale booster for employees and a delightful surprise for
IN ENGLAND TO
visiting customers. A P1 GTR is the only road car parked here, awaiting its owner’s
UNDERSTAND WHY. arrival. She would later get the keys to her new hybrid hypercar 100 feet from the
1929 Austin 7 that founder Bruce McLaren raced as a teenager in New Zealand.
I’m greeted by Amanda. Last name: McLaren. She’s Bruce’s daughter and
an ambassador for the company. She doesn’t remember much of her father. In
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 51
WITH EZRA DYER The lake out-
side dissipates
heat generated
when McLaren
engineers supercar realm, there’s a degree of art
run the wind involved. At the paint examination
tunnel to test
aerodynamics. station, technicians identify exte-
rior blemishes that, even after they’ve
been marked with tape, are invisible
to my untrained eye.
Completed cars go to a dynamom-
eter to assess the powertrains, but
McLaren’s dyno is, of course, differ-
ent. When testing a rear-drive car like
a McLaren, typical dynos keep the non-
running wheels locked. But McLaren’s
machine has powered rollers under the
front wheels so engineers can test trac-
tion control and other systems that
draw data from the front wheels’ speed
sensors. McLaren goes deeper.
That means that by the time you
drive a McLaren, a lot of people have
spent a lot of time making sure it all
works. Back in 2010 when I drove a
12C for the first time, a representa-
1970, while practicing at the Good- where green lasers flit over what look tive emphasized that the stereo’s FM
wood Circuit about 40 miles away, he like carbon-fiber coffins. “Those are tuner needed improvement.
crashed and died. Modern McLaren, Formula One cars,” Amanda says, The brand’s early missteps in
the company as we know it, is the prod- “next year’s tubs.” The lasers are selling to consumers weren’t due to
uct of Ron Dennis, who took over in counting the layers of carbon fiber performance or quality so much as
1980. Dennis is an autocrat, which is and recording the assembly progress to marketing. McLaren added new
a good thing, because autocrats build of each one. She leads me down a white FORMULA ONE models so rapidly—the 12C gave way
the best cars. And he’s an interesting hallway. “Before I came here, I was a HUMOR to a more powerful 12C, then a 650S,
brand of autocrat: one who might care registered nurse,” she says. “And these then a 675LT—that its early customers
In 1993, video-
about the symmetry of hedges outside halls are cleaner than some of the sur- game-maker Sega got aggravated. The company seemed
his building but doesn’t need his name gical rooms I’ve been in.” She opens was flush with genuinely surprised by the fact that
profits from its
on the building itself. a door, and after we walk through, hit game, Sonic nobody wanted a 12C once it intro-
As a company, McLaren seems to I reach back to pull it closed, but it the Hedgehog, duced the superior 650S.
and every F1 team
welcome unforeseen problems. Its doesn’t move. “That’ll take care of was gunning for McLaren is still trying to under-
on-site wind tunnel draws a massive itself,” she says. Sega sponsorship stand the psychological profile of its
money. McLaren
3 megawatts of power, so the lake out- We enter the production cen- didn’t get it, and audience. Like Tesla, McLaren has
side was designed to function as a giant ter from the second floor and are that year, McLar- no use for traditional product cycles
en’s driver Ayrton
radiator and dissipate the heat gen- confronted with a sprawling, factory- Senna drove an or ensuring that you’ve got a four-year
erated while testing aerodynamics. foreman view of car building. The MP4/8, running a guarantee that the valet will park your
Ford engine that
The first year, though, the warm water operation lacks an assumed element reportedly had 80 car out front. McLaren is accustomed
attracted mayflies that bred and filled of the modern car factory: robots. less horsepower to a different sort of timetable. The
than his Sega-
the lake with writhing larvae. McLaren Unlike robots, “People can do mul- sponsored rivals. kind with two-second pit stops.
researched fish that could tolerate wide tiple jobs,” Amanda says. “They can But, being Ayrton Perhaps, as the years go by,
Senna, he won five
temperature swings. Now, carp eat the spot flaws.” Producing only 4,000 cars races. After, he
McLaren will learn to behave like a
insects and keep the water clean. a year, and subcontracting the engine had a decal put on normal car company instead of like an
his car: a hedgehog
Behind the Boulevard, windows and gearbox assembly, this facility plastered with
F1 team holed up in an underground
look in on an immaculate workshop can get away with that. Besides, in the tire tracks. spaceship. But I hope not.
The 570S’s doors are dihedral, meaning that they swing up and forward,
THE ENTRY-LEVEL McLAREN
a rare move in the under-$200,000 realm. McLaren cut some of the 650S’s
more expensive hardware (bye-bye hydraulic antiroll suspension), but they
were smart enough to keep the rad doors.
Fancy features aside, the 570S retains the key components that define
a McLaren. It’s got a high-revving 3.8-liter turbocharged V-8, seven-speed
dual-clutch transaxle, and carbon-fiber tub, same as its big siblings. There’s
less power than the 650S but also lower weight. The 570S weighs as little as
2,895 pounds, only 70 pounds more than a Mini Cooper S automatic. Lower
weight, less money—at $184,900, this is now the least expensive McLaren
you can buy in the U.S.—and it still feels crushingly quick. If you don’t need to
have the biggest number on the badge, this is the McLaren to dream about.
52 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
Create Your Own Outdoor
Room...In Just Seconds!
& DVD
FREE Info Kit & DVD Ext.
Call Toll-Free: 1-800-876-8060 31568
✔ Yes! Please send your FREE Info Kit & DVD...including
a $200 Savings Certificate...TODAY!
©2016 SunSetter¨ Products
Name_________________________________________________________________________
Address_______________________________________________________________________
City______________________________________ State_______ Zip _____________________
Email ________________________________________________________________________
(Important: Be sure to give us your email address to receive our best deals!)
184 Charles Street, Dept. 31568, Malden, MA 02148
$200 Savings Certificate Included! Visit us today at www.sunsetter.com
with doing things the right I’d take out all the seats,
54 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
WITH EZRA DYER
S
ter, shaving time off my previous laps.
o you want to go racing? You’ll need a car, spare $7,000 for tires, transportation, and I’d improved, and that’s what counts.
parts, a fire suit, and a helmet. Then you’ll need a hotel room. (Though you might be That day wasn’t completely repre-
to find a race series, a league, most of which only able to get through it for slightly less sentative of what EXR sells because
allow expensive cars. Then you need to trans- if you embrace camping and a diet of I didn’t compete against anything
port everything to the track, which might be on Hamburger Helper.) For the experi- except my own ego. When it’s a fender-
the other side of the continent. It’ll be deep into six figures, ence of swapping paint and executing to-fender competition, adrenaline is
but it’s better if you can spend an even million. that pass low into turn three, EXR is flowing and you’re glad for that man-
Or...you can just show up and drive. That’s the promise a pretty good deal. datory insurance. But in the most
of something called arrive-and-drive racing: Pay a flat fee, But if a business is going to host its important way, my time with the
get in a real race car, and go wheel to wheel for first place. own races, it needs a real race car. The LV02 was completely realistic. When I
When you’re done, you go home. EXR LV02 is not just a modified road pulled back into the pits after the final
Arrive-and-drive is popular in Europe. For around car, but a proper tube-frame racer, all lap, I didn’t start loading a trailer. I got
$9,000, you can drive a loaner Audi RS4 in the 24 Hours flared fenders and a big spoiler with in my rental car and drove back to my
of Nürburgring or an Aston Martin in the GT4 Chal- a bare, purposeful interior. The car hotel. That’s the reason anyone who
lenge. So it figures that EXR Racing Series, a new business weighs only 1,653 pounds and uses dreams of chasing the checkered flag
based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, was founded by two a 230-hp Renault engine driving the in a real race should pay $5,890 for
Frenchmen, race driver Romain Thievin and investment rear wheels through a sequential man- this experience. You’re not just pay-
banker David Perisset. EXR provides the cars and the ual gearbox controlled by the steering ing to get into a race car and overtake
tracks and takes care of every detail, from postrace data wheel shift paddles. The only reminder the guy in front of you. You’re paying
analysis to finding a pair of foot-hugging Pilotis in your that you’re not a Le Mans champion to leave it all behind when you’re done,
size. The base price for a race is $4,990 plus $990 for the is the driver’s-ed brake pedal in front fond memories untainted by the reali-
mandatory insurance. Whether or not that sounds expen- of the passenger seat. Which, in my ties of storage charges or a blown rear
sive depends on your race-car frame of reference. For case, will be occupied by Alexandre differential. And that, ultimately, is
instance, Mazda estimates that after you’ve bought its new Prémat, a French race driver who’s the best part about arrive-and-drive:
MX-5 Cup Car (below), a race weekend will run you about run Le Mans and, most recently, the the departure.
If you want to buy a factory race car that has a series in which you can actually compete,
A RACE
the options tend to be crushingly expensive: Ferrari Challenge, Porsche 911 GT3, Lambor
C AR YO U ghini Blancpain Super Trofeo. Or you can buy a 2016 Global Miata MX-5 Cup Car and race it
C AN BU Y in up to 12 events each season. Built in North Carolina, the $53,000 MX5 Cup is a Miata that’s
been redesigned as a race machine, complete with a roll cage, a firesuppression system, and
beefedup cooling, brakes, and suspension. But the key parts are sealed with tamperproof
stickers, so you can’t spend money on performance parts. That way, talent is the only variable
on race day. Want to spend money on something? Spend it on driving lessons.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 55
WITH EZRA DYER
THE RESOURCEFUL
CAR OWNER
HOW TO THAW
A FROZEN LOCK
When I was in college,
I took out a loan to buy a
Lamborghini and start an
exotic-car-rental company.
We later got a Ferrari 360
Spider in the fleet, and
one morning, after a night
when the temperature
dipped below 20 degrees,
I got to the garage where
I’d left it, planning to drive
it back to our warehouse.
When I hit the unlock but-
ton on the key fob, I could
hear the locks straining
to rotate, but the doors
wouldn’t unlock. The car
also had this security fea-
ture where both doors
had to unlock before
Don’t Ignore Your Brakes either one would open,
which meant I couldn’t use
a physical key to muscle
A STORY OF MECHANICAL my way in. I called the local
them from UV degradation. The
NEGLECT FROM THE dealer. They had no idea
covers’ lining, however, wicked
ONE GUY WHO SHOULD that the locks could even
water off the ground, making
KNOW BETTER. freeze. I called a Ferrari
everything inside even wetter. dealer in Canada. They
A
told me to pull back the
Get mechanical assistance weather stripping at the
guy, let’s call him me, decides to buy a solar array ● Getting solar panels meant base of the window and
for his home. The solar technician tells me, you reversing the damage. I jacked pour steaming hot water
gotta get rid of those two trees because they shade up one of the trailer wheels to into the body of the door
open it up and assess the situa-
the roof where the panels will go. I call the tree guy, around the lock. Know-
tion. But I’d never tended to the ing that Italian electronics
who comes to take a look. The tree guy says he needs lug nuts. One now appeared to
to get a bucket truck into the yard to take out the trees, and to make could be volatile, I was
be welded to the stud, the screw terrified to do it, but wait-
it fit, he’d need to remove a section of my fence. But next to the fence that holds the tire. I eventually ing for the temperature
sits an unforeseen obstacle to glorious, renewable solar power: my muscled it off, destroying the to climb meant getting
boat trailer. stud in the process and reveal- towed. I found a coffee
As you’ve probably seen on cars, iron brake rotors rust. But then ing a rotor that had the color machine nearby and got
you start driving, and every tap of the brake pedal scours the rotors and texture of a meat-lover’s some water. I pulled back
pizza. I actually felt sorry for it.
clean. Motion keeps brakes healthy, and knowing that, I’d intended the rubber and poured,
I doused both rotors in then waited a few seconds.
to move the trailer once every couple of months, ideally by actually Liquid Wrench, repeated the I clicked the key fob, and it
using the damn boat. But you know how that goes. The boat and its process on the other side, and actually worked. The doors
trailer sat for three months, then four, the axle’s rotors and calipers hoped that sheer force would unlocked and I got the car
calcifying into an oxidized mass. Now I had to move it and couldn’t. convince the brakes to func- back to the warehouse.
Slacking on maintenance had made it inconveniently clear how dis- tion. I hitched the trailer to my —Ed Bolian, sales director
parate machines are interconnected. Bronco, and crawled across at Lamborghini Atlanta
my driveway for ten feet, front and record holder for
If you’re not using it, lift it Keep them dry wheels locked and dragging fastest cross-country
● What I should’ve done is put ● The trailer wasn’t the prob- through the gravel. Then the drive (28 hours, 50 min-
the trailer on blocks to take the lem, really. Just its brakes. weight of the boat coaxed the utes, 26 seconds; set in
weight off the tires. Then I’d give Trailers, simple as they are, left caliper to release. A few October 2013)
the brakes a bath in anticorro- require upkeep—bearings feet later, the right wheels
sion spray. When the trailer is greased, tires rotated, elec- broke free. We were in busi-
lifted, even spinning the wheels tric connections cleaned. And ness. I drove down the road,
like a Price Is Right contestant trailers with disc brakes (like stopping hard to grind the
helps. But I didn’t do any of that. mine) add another level of crud off the rotors.
I left my trailer on its own, and fiendishness. Rusted rotors can I kept driving, all the way
it developed a grudge. One completely lock the wheels, a to the boat dealership. The
that threatened to postpone problem I exacerbated when I, outboard motor needed its
my magnificent renewable- with good intentions, put tire three-year maintenance, and I
energy future. covers on the wheels to protect wasn’t going to wait.
56 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
QUALITY TOOLS LOWEST PRICES EVERYDAY R
PE ON
SU UP
SAVE
54%
60 LED SOLAR
SECURITY LIGHT
WOW
CO
LOT 62534
69643 shown
How Does Harbor Freight SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER
Sell GREAT QUALITY Tools COUPON Customer Rating
at the LOWEST Prices?
We have invested millions
of dollars in our own
state-of-the-art quality test 20% FREE WITH ANY PURCHASE
$3199
comp at $69.99
LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling
800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior
purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt.
Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be
labs and millions more in 1" x 25 FT. $60
presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day.
OFF
R
our factories, so our tools TAPE PE ON
7 FT. 4" x 9 FT. 6"
ALL PURPOSE WEATHER
SU UP
will go toe-to-toe with the MEASURE LOT 69252
68053/62160 CO RESISTANT TARP
62496/62516
top professional brands.
60569 shown SAVE LOT 69115/69137
69249/69129/69121
$5999
ANY 57% 877 shown
Customer Rating
And we can sell them for a SINGLE
ITEM
fraction of the price because Limit 1 coupon per customer per day. Save 20% on any 1 item
$497 $399
we cut out the middle man purchased. *Cannot be used with other discount, coupon or any
of the following items or brands: Inside Track Club membership,
LOT 69031/69030 shown
$8999
extended service plan, gift card, open box item, 3 day parking lot VALUE comp at $9.38
and pass the savings on to sale item, compressors, floor jacks, saw mills, storage cabinets,
chests or carts, trailers, trenchers, welders, Admiral, CoverPro, LIMIT 1 - Cannot be used with other discount, coupon or prior purchase.
comp at $119.99
Coupon good at our stores, HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567.
you. It’s just that simple! Daytona, Diablo, Franklin, Hercules, Holt, Jupiter, Predator, Stik-Tek,
StormCat, Union, Vanguard, Viking. Not valid on prior purchases. Non-
Offer good while supplies last. Shipping & Handling charges may apply if not
picked up in-store. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. LIMIT 7 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling
transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day.
Come visit one of our LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot
be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original
4-1/4" grinding
wheel included.
$ 2999 comp at $49.99 comp at $29.99
3/8"
1/2"
807/61276
62431/239
$ 31999 comp at $952.99 $ 5999 $259.99
comp at LOT 61258 shown
61840/61297/68146
LOT 68525/69677 LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot LIMIT 6 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot
63087/63088 be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling
purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior
CALIFORNIA ONLY coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day. coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day. coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day. purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt.
Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be
¥ 76 dB Noise R 1500 WATT DUAL ER 2.5 HP, 21 GALLON, 125 PSI ER 1 TON CAPACITY presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day.
Level PE ON TEMPERATURE HEAT GUN UP PON VERTICAL AIR COMPRESSOR UP PON FOLDABLE
SU UP (572°/1112°) S OU S U
LOT 69091/67847 shown SHOP CRANE
R
PE ON 29 PIECE TITANIUM
CO C CO SU UP NITRIDE COATED
SAVE
$149 SAVE
61454/61693/62803
CO
$459
LOT 62340/62546/96289 shown 99 SAVE LOT 69445/93840
61858/69512 shown 76%
HIGH SPEED STEEL
DRILL BIT SET
Customer Rating Customer Rating 169 $
$540
LOT 5889
59999 $999 comp at SAVE
8
$ 99$29.97
SAVE
$349
$17999 $ 9999 62281
61637 shown
$1399
$ 70% comp at ¥ Includes Ram,
comp at $499 Hook and Chain comp at $269
LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot
be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original
purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original
coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/9/16. Limit one coupon per customer per day.
3
BASE PRICE:
$55,645
E PA M I L E A G E :
31 mpg city/
30 mpg highway
1
BASE PRICE:
$105,000
E PA M I L E A G E :
13 mpg city/
19 mpg highway
1 2 3
Cars get more expensive every year, and A word about Mercedes’ nomenclature: Looking at the spec sheet, Lexus’s new
now we have a Hyundai that costs more From now on, crossovers all begin with hybrid crossover looks lame. You can’t
than a year at Harvard. That makes Aston’s “GL,” followed by a letter that corresponds to plug it in, and instead of standard lithium it
strategy with the Vantage GT unusual. When a Mercedes sedan. So the GLC is small, like a uses a (cheaper) nickel–metal hydride bat-
the Vantage came out in 2006, it cost about C-Class, the GLE is one size larger, and so on. tery. Its EPA numbers are solid, 30 mpg
$100,000. The 2016 Vantage GT coupe costs Typically, wholesale name changes confuse— combined, and the electric motor and gas
$105,000. Granted, Aston hasn’t done much see Infiniti’s Q-everything move—but in this V-6 team up for 308 horsepower. But the CVT
to justify charging more, but its restraint is case you can understand the logic. Especially transmission means that full-throttle accel-
refreshing when other manufacturers bump since the GLC300 is very much like a C-Class eration feels like a hot-rodded Prius, as if the
prices just because they can. It’s still not a car that grew a few inches taller. V-6 is asking, “Why are you doing this? We
for the people, but thanks to inflation, it’s a Like the C sedan, the GLC aims high were getting 30 mpg!”
car for more people. when it comes to equipment and technology. The performance contradicts the interior,
Back in 2006, the Vantage’s main compe- There’s available lane-keeping steering, air which asks you to mash the accelerator. The
tition was the Porsche 911. Now, the $100,000 suspension, and a really elegant interior. And seats, deeply bolstered and available in an
market is crowded. The Corvette Z06, Nissan while every competitor seems to offer a 2.0- audacious shade of red, would be appropri-
GT-R, Jaguar F-Type, and Mercedes-AMG liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes ate in something with 600 horsepower. Lexus
GT, to name a few, all have customers willing 240 horsepower (BMW X3, Range Rover makes them using a new process, “integrated
to spend six figures. While the 430-hp Van- Evoque, Volvo XC60), the GLC300 has a 2.0- foaming.” Rather than upholster pieces of
tage GT includes raucously loud sport exhaust liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes foam, Lexus injects the foam into the uphol-
and firmed-up suspension, it won’t beat a 241 horsepower. Take that, BMW! stery, allowing it to create heretofore unseen
Vette on the track. What the Vantage will do, The GLC’s predecessor, the GLK, was complex curves, with no sagging or bunching
though, is be an Aston Martin. It has doors a stylistic oddity in this segment. It was of the leather. Cool.
that swoop slightly upward when they open angular and chiseled, like a pugnacious The RX is always a big seller for Lexus,
and that signature crystal ignition key. The Geländewagen understudy. The GLC is sleek perched on the edge of affordability while
standard transmission is, well, a standard, so and coupe-like, but retains the GLK’s rear- bursting with that trademark feeling of end-
you can gratuitously blip the throttle, enjoy- wheel-drive powertrain setup—if your GLC lessly finessed attention to detail. The F Sport
ing the V-8’s raspy chortles in slow traffic. isn’t all-wheel drive, it’s rear-wheel drive. hybrid is a little bit confounding: It’s a sporty
And most importantly, at a time when That’s an asset. Rear-wheel drive gives you a version of an inherently unsporty thing, like
you might be sharing the road with more trimmer front overhang, better proportions, an optometrist’s waiting room stocked with
$100,000 cars than ever, yours is probably and sweet handling. If you care about driv- Red Bull. But sometimes, the veneer of sport-
the only Aston for miles. ing, that’s reason to care about the GLC300. iness is all you really need.
58 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
Cell Phone Inspires Chicago Doctor to Design
Affordable Hearing Aid
Outperforms Most Higher Priced Hearing Aids
Reported by J. Page
¥ Designed by a Board-Certified Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Doctor
CHICAGO: A local board-certified ¥ Doctor-Recommended, Audiologist-Tested
Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) physician,
¥ Top Rated Hearing Aid Online—
Dr. S. Cherukuri, has just shaken up the Thousands of Satisfied Customers
hearing aid industry with the invention of
a medical-grade, affordable hearing aid.
¥ Batteries Included! Comes Ready To Use
This revolutionary hearing aid is ¥ FDA-Registered
designed to help millions of people ¥ Save Up To 90%
with hearing loss who cannot ¥ Free Shipping Available
affordÑor do not wish to payÑthe
much higher cost of traditional ¥ 100% Money-Back Guarantee
hearing aids.
affordable device like an iPhone¨ for
“Perhaps the best quality-to- Doctors and patients agree:
about $200 that could do all sorts of
price ratio in the hearing aid things, I could create a hearing aid “BEST QUALITY SOUND”
industry” Ñ Dr. Babu, at a similar price.” “LOWEST AFFORDABLE PRICE”
Board-Certified ENT Physician
Affordable Hearing Aid “I have been wearing hearing aids
Dr. Cherukuri knew that untreated for over 25 years and these are the
hearing loss could lead to depression,
with Superb Performance best behind-the-ear aids I have
social isolation, anxiety, and symptoms The high cost of hearing aids is a result tried. Their sound quality rivals
consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. He of layers of middlemen and expensive that of my $3,500 custom pair
could not understand why the cost of unnecessary features. Dr. Cherukuri of Phonak ¨ Xtra digital ITE.”
hearing aids was so high when the concluded that it would be possible ÑGerald L.
prices on so many consumer electronics to develop a medical-grade hearing
“I have a $2,000 ReSound ¨ Live
like TVs, DVD players, cell phones, aid without sacrificing the quality of
hearing aid in my left ear and the
and digital cameras had fallen. components. The result is the
MDHearingAid PRO in the right
MDHearingAid PRO, under $200 each
Since Medicare and most private ear. I am not able to notice a
when buying a pair. It has been
insurance plans do not cover the costs signi�icant difference in sound
declared to be the best low-cost
of hearing aids, which traditionally quality between the two
hearing aid that ampli�ies the range
run between $2,000-$6,000 for a pair, of sounds associated with the human
hearing aids.”
many of the doctor’s patients could not voice without overly amplifying
ÑDr. May, ENT Physician
afford the expense. Dr. Cherukuri’s goal background noise. “They work so great, my mother
was to find a reasonable solution that says she hasn’t heard this well in
would help with the most common Tested by Leading years, even with her $2,000
types of hearing loss at an affordable
price, similar to the “one-size-�its-
Doctors and Audiologists digital! It was so great to see
the joy on her face. She is 90
most” reading glasses available at The MDHearingAid PRO has been
years young again.”
drug stores. rigorously tested by leading ENT
ÑAl P.
physicians and audiologists who have
He evaluated numerous hearing devices unanimously agreed that the sound
and sound ampli�iers, including those
seen on television. Without fail, almost
quality and output in many cases
exceeds more expensive hearing aids.
For the Lowest Price
all of these were found to amplify bass/ Call Today
low frequencies (below 1000 Hz) and
were not useful in amplifying the
frequencies related to the human voice. 800-873-0680
Inspiration from a Phone Lines Open 24 Hours
Surprising Source EVERY DAY
The doctor’s inspiration to defeat the www.MDHearingAid.com
powers-that-be that kept inexpensive
hearing aids out of the hands of the Use Offer Code CL21 to get
public actually came from a new cell RATING FREE Batteries for a Full Year!
phone he had just purchased. “I felt
that if someone could devise an FREE Shipping Available
©2016
Welcome
to Biker
Land
THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS TO START
RIDING A MOTORCYCLE—THE THRILLS,
THE CLOTHES, THE COMMUNITY. BUT THE
BEST IS THE SIMPLEST: THE GIRL.
M
y wife, Lisa, has been a biker for more
than 40 years. As a teenager, she had
a boyfriend who rode a Hercules. He
was a maniac, prompting Lisa to get
off the back of his bike and teach her-
self how to ride on a 1969 BMW R60/2. She is impossibly
cool and sexy when she rides. The leather jacket with just
enough jagged scuffs. The well-worn gloves slipped over
the cuffs. The way she shakes her luscious mane of jet-
black hair after she takes off her helmet. Every man who
does not ride is a sucker for a woman who does.
We met in 1998 in Seattle. After copious amounts
of booze and cigarettes at the hip late-night spot Palace
Kitchen, she took me back to her house to see her bike,
another ’69 R60/2. Without going into detail—although
this is a magazine dedicated to detail—it turned out to be
a very dazzling night, the equivalent of a 1,200-cc V-twin.
I knew Lisa loved me when several weeks later she let
me try the bike. It had a kick-starter that
would not budge. Lisa gently asked me to step it still hadn’t happened. I hadn’t touched a The brotherhood and sisterhood of bik-
aside and turned it in one downward stroke. motorcycle since. ers was definitely a little weird. But there
She then carefully showed me the basics: the I always felt terribly left out. Lisa often was also something beautiful about them,
clutch and shift levers, the front brake lever described to me the singular feeling of being an entire culture dedicated not only to their
and back brake pedal, the throttle. I pulled completely in the moment on a motorcycle, bikes but also to each other. They were indi-
in the clutch and revved up the throttle. I did every fiber of focus on the ride to the exclu- vidual and idiosyncratic, the last gasp of
not stall out. I was impressed with myself. sion of all else, the way in which the seasons American renegade, the essence of existen-
Lisa was not. change in the course of a single mile—the tial freedom, hitting the road and passing
“Why are you revving the throttle?” she summer heat of a straightaway, the autumn minivans in which families headed for some
asked. cool as you slice through a shade of trees. crowded vacation spot already were trying to
“Isn’t that what Sal Mineo did in The She belonged to Seattle’s Vintage Motor- kill each other.
Wild One?” cycle Enthusiasts club and had a coterie of I got tired of wondering what it would
“Sal Mineo wasn’t in The Wild One.” male biker buddies. They rode Indians, Ariel be like to ride a bike. You only live once—
“Anyway, that’s what all bikers do in biker Square Fours, Norton Manxes, and Aer- although many would argue that bikers don’t
films.” macchis. And, as far as I could tell, they had even live that long, given the danger. That was
“You realize revving the throttle like not shaved since 1967. When Lisa got on the part of it too: a way of feeling young and dar-
that is pointless unless you ride a Harley- phone with one of them or saw them in per- ing, a late-life crisis where the red sports car
Davidson and think you’re required to make son—usually at Seattle’s legendary repair wouldn’t work because I had already done the
a lot of noise.” shop Poke’s Cycle, which has since closed— red sports car in the midlife crisis.
Lisa told me it was all about timing: clutch they might as well have been speaking in So in the summer of 2014, I told Lisa I was
lever slowly out, throttle slowly open, smooth- tongues: pistons and pushrods and crank- going to learn how to ride. She supported and
ing into first gear, and then clicking it up the cases and camshafts. Since the only method encouraged me, although she thought I had
ladder. Her last words were “Just don’t tip it.” of propulsion that had ever made intuitive little shot of staying upright. I was deter-
Well... sense to me was the car Fred Flintstone drove, mined to prove her wrong.
Lisa came running. the language was intriguing. So was how they
“Are you okay, baby? Is anything hurt?” all seemed much happier when their bikes NEXT MONTH
Just for the record, I was fine, too. Thanks did not work than when they did. Discus- Buzz Bissinger is a Pulitzer Prize–winning
for asking. sions became animated as each expressed journalist and the author of Friday Night Lights.
In next month’s issue, he takes his motorcycle
Lisa promised another lesson soon. Six- their own diagnosis with absolute convic- license test . . . on a Yamaha scooter.
teen years later, with me on the cusp of 60, tion—even after being overruled.
CHRONICLEBOOKS.COM
ADVERTISEMENT
Photographs by
M AT T K I E D A I S C H
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 63
P
ulaski, New York, is about
three and a half, maybe four,
hours from just about any
where. It took that long for
two collectives of fly fisher
men—the guys of Pigfarm
Ink Nor’eastah from New
England and the Vermont Fly Guys
out of Highgate Springs, enthusi
ast groups of men and women who
found each other on Instagram and
Facebook and meet in real life on
weekends—to get up here on Friday
evening. They gathered at the Tail
water Lodge, an old school that’s
been converted into a resort for the
modern outdoorsmen who flock here
when the steelhead run strong, Octo
ber through May. The two groups had
sponsored and organized a local fly
tying competition for Friday, a small
event for themselves, the locals, and
a couple of teens from the area to
trade ideas, stories, and tips. Brian
Price of the Vermont Fly Guys issued
challenges suited to a realitycooking
competition: Tie a fly blindfolded, tie
a fly in the opposite direction—from
its rear end to its mouth.
When they convene at seven the
next morning, some more groggy
than others, the talk is of where and
what others had caught Friday and
where the best chances will be today.
They brag about their gear, stow away
some beers for later, and drive off to
their favorite holes. As they quietly
space themselves out along a couple
hundred yards of the Salmon River,
the meditative rush of the water and
the zip of casts take over. A fish pulls,
and “Fish on!” telephones down the
river. Everyone pauses their own
casting, a few gather on the bank
near the guy who’s snagged a bite.
Someone will man a net. If things go
right, the angler will get a round of
pats on the back. He’ll hand his
phone over to one of his buddies for
the photo op. They’ll all marvel at
the fish, determined now to go get
one themselves. And the guy who
caught it will take one more look at
the chromedout steelhead, log it
in his cache of stories to tell back
at the lodge, and set the fish back in
the water. —Matt Goulet
64 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
A
(A) SOMETIMES
YOU SWIM
The reason those
waders look wet:
Chris Samson, a
veteran member of
the New England–
based crew Pigfarm
Ink Nor’eastah, is
not afraid to go deep
when he needs to.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 65
D
66 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
E
P H OTO G R A P H / I6L7LU S
MARCH 2016
T R AT I O N BY_ TPEO
EKPAY
U LN
AARMM
E ECHANICS P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 67
A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR 2016
Many survival guides talk about preparation—if you’re going to live through
an apocalypse, you need to have the right equipment. But
maybe more critical is the mindset of the person using that equipment, the
strength and skill to make the correct decision when the situation
most calls for it. There are many choices that will need to be made after
the virus hits or the storms begin or—God forbid—the Wi-Fi goes out.
But the first decision is the one that could save your life.
D O YO U S TAY W H E R E YO U A R E ? O R D O YO U R U N ?
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y H E N R I K O LU N D
PA G E 6 8
When a hiking buddy
slid down a rocky
cliff in Alaska’s Denali
National Park, Chris
Scruggs, twenty-
eight, spent the next
eleven hours search-
ing for help.
THE
DECISION
To have any chance of saving
his friend, a hiker
has to leave him behind.
BY KEVIN DUPZYK
Stuff to
pack if
you want
to live.
70 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
ARE YOU NECESSARY?
A helpful quiz.
THE REAL
Which of these best describes UTILITY
BELT
your day job?
○ A. I’m a desk jockey.
○ B. I’m an outdoor instructor.
○ C. I’m a doctor.
ITEM PRICE
Mophie Powerstation 8x $150
BEST FOR A TSUNAMI BEST FOR A BLIZZARD BEST FOR AN BEST FOR AN
In addition to recharging an ARMED INSURRECTION EARTHQUAKE
iPhone 6s eight times, this sup- GIBBS QUADSKI RAM ECODIESEL 4X4 ON
plementary battery will hold its In front of you: a traffic TRACK N GO MERCEDES-BENZ S600 HONDA CRF1000L
charge for years without degrad- jam. Behind you: a rap-
SNOW TRACKS GUARD AFRICA TWIN
idly approaching wall of
ing, which means stashing one in When the peasants get When landslides block
death by seawater. You’re You want the diesel for
their pitchforks, flee to the road, you need a
case of emergency is a hell of a glad you’ve got a Gibbs range—you can’t count
your private bunker in bike. Honda’s big adven-
lot more efficient than pulling a Quadski, an ATV that on gas stations being
comfort and safety. The ture cycle has knobby
can hit 45 mph on either open. The Track N Go
tiny solar panel out of your pack land or water. Retract system is like truck snow-
S600 Guard looks like a tires and long-travel
and waiting for it to charge. Put regular S-Class, but its suspension, and its
the wheels, fire up the shoes. Bolt one on each
armor stops common torque management
your phone in Airplane Mode jet drive, and keep head- corner and your pickup
small-arms fire and the and available dual-clutch
ing inland. Or out to sea. is now a snowmobile.
while it’s plugged in and it’ll It doesn’t really make a
underbody is designed automatic transmission
Now let’s quit this talk of
charge faster. to thwart grenades and will help you escape the
difference at this point, the Donner Party. It just
mines. To the helipad! epicenter. —Ezra Dyer
does it? started snowing.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 71
PURIFY WATER WITH USE HIDDEN WATER
SHOP REGULAR, UNSCENTED
BLEACH SAVE YOUR
If your faucets aren’t work-
FAKE AA BATTERIES
CRAYONS CAN
sutures.
If your flashlight or radio
needs AA batteries and REPLACE CANDLES
you only have AAAs, ball up Close the tank’s supply valve.
some aluminum foil and use
it to close the gap between If you run out of candles, a
the end of the smaller AAA crayon will burn for up to half
battery and the terminal. an hour, and a piece of cotton
!
CAUTION
AAAs used in place of AAs string in a can of shortening
will die faster, but they’ll such as Crisco will burn for
work. much longer—up to 45 days. Laptop chas-
sis are made
partially of mag-
nesium. Flake Put a bucket under its lower
START A FIRE WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE some off with a
knife, pulver-
drainage valve.
HOMEMADE LANTERN
MADE OF
STORED SUPPLIES
To start a fire with have.) With gloves will create sparks.
your smartphone, on, cut off the ends You can also just Crack open your
take out the battery. of the battery with a stab the battery to tablet and prop Turn a headlamp into a proper
(If it’s an iPhone, knife to expose the expose the lithium the metal back lantern by wrapping it around
break it open. The terminals. Place the to oxygen, creat- casing over a a clear two-gallon milk jug full
only other option is knife or steel wool ing heat and sparks. fire. Now you of water, which bounces the
to use a pentalobe along both termi- In either case, hold have a griddle. light in all directions.
screwdriver, which nals to short-circuit over kindling to
you probably don’t the battery, which start a fire.
With thanks to ifixit.com
I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY T E D S L A M P YA K
72 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
S U R V I VA L
GUIDE
2016
Stuck on the side of a highway in the middle of a New York me a tractor-trailer had flipped onto its side far-
blizzard, an army veteran has to make a decision to stay or go. ther down the highway, blocking traffic. My tow
And no one is coming to help. BY ROBERT VRABEL truck was trying to find a way around. The sky
grew darker. The snow fell harder and harder,
and even harder still.
N H A L L O W E E N I N 2011, the snowstorm I now faced a major decision: Walk for help or stay in the car? I’d made it to
O
in the forecast was so severe that the hol- within eight miles of my parents’ home, which under normal conditions is a
iday was effectively canceled. Every town walk I can manage easily. I had done twenty-five miles many times in the Army,
around was either advising against trick or with an eighty-pound rucksack on my back. I stepped outside to assess the con-
treating or outright banning it. The snow ditions. It took about nine seconds for me to determine that my clothing—a
and ice weren’t supposed to start pounding until sweatshirt under a light North Face jacket, jeans, and hiking shoes—wouldn’t
the evening hours, so I felt confident driving to pick keep me safe from frostbite or hypothermia. As a private, I once spent a partic-
my kids up from a sleepover at my parents’ house— ularly harsh winter in Bosnia, and I remember the higher-ups drilling it into
about a forty-minute drive. our heads to keep our socks dry or else. My hiking shoes were not waterproof.
The nor’easter came even faster and harder than I examined the SUV. I had no food and a single bottle of water that I had
the forecasters said it would. By the time I reached grabbed before leaving. The gas tank was only an eighth full. I decided that, to
the interstate, it was approaching whiteout. But my avoid freezing to death, I’d turn the engine on to warm up and then shut it off
2004 Chrysler Pacifica had all-wheel drive, so I still until I was cold enough to need it again. The SUV was tilted at such an angle that
felt I could make it to my parents’ place and just I periodically ventured out into the knee-high snow to clear out the tailpipe in
spend the night there with the kids. That’s when case I fell asleep, so I wouldn’t die of carbon monoxide poisoning. That would
some jackass in a Honda Pilot veered into my lane be a pretty stupid way to go.
without looking, slamming into my front fender After six hours or so, day began to fade into night. My phone allowed me to
and sending me careening into the car next to me, call my family and the police, but then died around 1 a.m. I was too focused on
which happened to be a New York State Trooper in an staying alive to sleep. I turned on the headlights and watched the snow tumble
unmarked car. The officer and I both smashed into through the beams of light. At one point, must have been around 4 a.m., I walked
the highway’s side barrier. into the middle of the highway. There was something surreal about standing in
After the accident, neither car was drivable but the center of a major interstate and not hearing a sound other than the wind and
the trooper’s car had taken much more damage and the ticking of snow against my jacket.
the engine wouldn’t start, so he lit a couple of flares Eventually a hint of sun on the horizon lit up the snowfield around me. I had
and sat in my SUV with me because I had heat. He used all of the gas starting and stopping the car for
turned out to be a nice guy. The driver of the tow heat, but the sun would warm things up, so I finally
truck that came for the trooper told me a second felt relaxed enough to try to sleep. As soon as I dozed
truck wasn’t far behind. I watched traffic pass for Vrabel, photo- off there was a knock on the window. I opened the
graphed recently in
nearly an hour in the warmth of my cab until, slowly his driveway, was
door to find another trooper, who told me a truck
and then all at once, the highway was empty. My cell- less than an hour was finally coming. Thirty minutes later, the SUV
from home when
phone had 17 percent battery power left. I called the he got trapped for
that had saved my life was loaded onto the flatbed. I
towing company, and the guy who answered told eighteen hours. had been in the car for eighteen hours.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 73
Do you know where you’ll ride out the apocalypse? The members of Vivos do.
O SAY THAT Robert Vicino has thought of everything would be a colos- dred-thread-count sheets on queen-sized mattresses,
T
sal understatement. The website of his apocalypse-shelter company, hydroponic vegetable gardens, a movie theater with
Vivos, contains links about pets, social hierarchy, clothing, and reli- more than five thousand films. There will be active and
gion. He’s created a free vault for human DNA to which anyone can former military officers to provide security, doctors to
submit a sample. The following sentence appears in the advertising tend to the wounded, and engineers to keep the shelter
copy for his seventy-six-acre bunker somewhere under Europe: “If you believe in running properly. Members are handpicked to create
the prophecies and predictions of the Bible, Nostradamus, the Third Secret of a balanced society, like a freshman class at Harvard.
Fatima, the visions of Edgar Cayce, and all of the current signs of an economic col- If the apocalypse does occur, there won’t be a formal
lapse, future nuclear war, WW3, a pandemic, an EMP power outage, a Yellowstone “World seems to be over, stop by when you can” invi-
eruption, a potential asteroid collision, Nibiru, Planet X, Fukushima’s eventual tation. The members will just make their way toward
meltdown and widespread global radiation, the coming pole shift and/or major the bunker whenever they feel it’s necessary, and a full-
earth changes, it is time to prepare.” time attendant will let them in. That is, assuming they
Since founding Vivos in 2008, Vicino, sixty, has built dozens of secure dooms- can get there: Vivos offers biannual retreats to help
day shelters all over the world that charge $35,000 to $5 million for a berth when everyone get acquainted, but only about a quarter of
the end times come. “I’ve been on this mission for thirty-five years,” he says. “I the members make it, and that’s with the Federal Avi-
had this inspiration that I needed to build shelters ation Authority and the interstates running smoothly.
for thousands of people for something that’s coming The retreats are one way Vicino hopes to avoid any
our way that’s going to be an extinction-level event.” eschatological unpleasantness. Though haven seek-
Vicino sees himself as a twenty-first-century Noah. The bunker known ers will have a large incentive to behave themselves,
as Vivos Indiana
His goal: building enough shelters for seven thousand contains exercise the crushing realization that everyone and everything
people, one for every million on earth. equipment, ATVs, a they’ve ever known is gone is likely to be stressful. Will
theater, and a work-
Vivos Indiana, a shelter that, were it a hotel, would shop and costs there be power struggles? Will everyone get along?
win awards from AAA, is located somewhere beneath $35,000 a spot. “Nobody knows how they’re going to act under such
its eponymous state. (The exact location is, under- stress,” Vicino says, but he also says the members
standably, secret.) It contains eighty spots, most of will absolutely survive. “We’re going to do whatever
which are filled. The handful of berths that remain are being reserved for elec- we have to do. We’re going to be a society that’s either
tricians and plumbers, necessary professions that so far haven’t ponied up the going to get along or we’re not, but I can guarantee
required $35,000 a head. Inside the complex, a Cold War bunker built to withstand we’re going to be a much better society than the one
a twenty-megaton nuclear explosion, the amenities reflect the price tag: six-hun- that’s struggling on the surface.” —Cameron Johnson
74 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
THE ULTIMATE 3 HOW TO S U R V I VA L
GUIDE
SURVIVAL PANTRY 2016
Proteins
EVEN COMPARED TO Florida’s usual propensity for get-
Canned ham ting clobbered by tropical weather systems, the 2004
green chiles
canned beans
Canned salmon + hurricane season was ludicrous. In six weeks, four
+
Dried bottarga
hurricanes (categories 4, 2, 3, and 3) slammed into the
state, flooding central Florida and demolishing towns
Grated Parmesan on both coasts. By September, the cities were so littered
Barbecue jerky with leaves and tree branches it looked like the streets
vegetable broth barbecue jerky had been drawn in green crayon. No one’s hair had
Carbs +
been straight in months. School officials postponed the
Jasmine rice BARBECUE season-opening football game between Miami Univer-
CORN sity and Florida State, which I think requires a special
Canned beans
(black, kidney, garbanzo, refried) dispensation from God.
pumpkin purée 4 I don’t remember which of the four storms occa-
Dried beans +
(mung beans, Rancho Gordo mixed sioned the slip-and-slide, only that it must have been
varieties) toward the end because we were getting restless. Every
Pasta new hurricane had brought the same routine: Replenish
pasta the stockpile of water and food, fill the car with gas, and
Bread crumbs
chili seasoning + go to a hurricane party, a tradition among residents of
Broths/ Liquids/ Veggies the southeast, where hurricanes hit so often everyone’s
THREE-BEAN got a friend who’s rebuilt a house at least twice. Usu-
Really good olive oil CHILI ally, someone who lives on high ground offers shelter in
Canned tomatoes exchange for conversation, games, and booze. You show
canned peas
Low-salt vegetable, 2 up, drink beer. Wait for the power to go out. Repeat.
+
chicken, and beef broths A hurricane party is sufficient entertainment for a
single natural disaster, but by the time of the slip-and-
Pumpkin purée
(for thickening soups) slide we’d told all our best jokes. Everyone was out of
white beans stories, and if one more person suggested a game of gin
Evaporated milk canned ham
+ rummy it was going to come to blows. The task of staying
Carrot and tomato juice +
alive, when it’s your only responsibility, can be grating.
(to add acidity)
Behind my apartment was a tantalizing hill—long
Canned corn and high with a double dip in it. The day of the slip-and-
Canned peas evaporated slide, my roommate’s boyfriend and his friends from the
milk track team stood outside, sweating in the humidity, sur-
Spices/ Flavors chicken stock veying it. If only they had some roofing tarp, they said.
+
(In addition to pantry staples) + The boys went to Home Depot. We recruited an old
Curry mattress as a splashdown pad. When a hundred yards
Chili of thick tarp were splayed down the hill, we smothered
seasoning Parmesan it in dish soap and waited for the swollen clouds to let
+ loose again. The rain began, and the track stars, one
Canned green chiles
canned ham after another, sprinted across the parking lot to launch
Harissa + themselves onto the slide.
Tomato sauce The lightning flashed off our Solo cups. Stop signs
wagged in the wind. The rain came harder, which made
Salsa
rosemary bread crumbs our slide slicker. People began to slip off the tarp too early
Ketchup and race across the lawn on their backs. There were grass
Pastes WHITE-BEAN PASTA AND burns. Someone did a backflip. One of the runners cut
(tomato, garlic, onion, pesto, SOUP PEAS a foot on a previously lost (now found!) wineglass. We
chipotle)
were not safe, but safety, we decided, was not so impor-
tant. We had all the supplies we needed to survive right
Charlie Palmer, an avid outdoorsman, is a celebrity chef who oversees more inside the apartment. What we had found was some-
than a dozen restaurants. He is also the author of Remington Camp Cooking.
thing to survive for. —Jacqueline Detwiler
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 75
Last July, a Russian helicopter pilot had
nearly completed a record-breaking
trip around the globe when he crashed into
the icy waters of the Arctic Circle.
By JUSTIN NOBEL
Photograph by ALEXANDER GRONSKY
Ananov in
the Rob-
inson R22
during his
record-
setting
attempt.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 79
bout three thousand set up camp on an ice floe, a few hundred feet from the edge. In
miles away, in San the morning, they were wakened by a thousand-pound polar
Francisco, a Russian- bear ripping apart their tent. Arnauyumayuq quickly reached
American friend of Ananov’s for his three-inch hunting knife, stabbed the bear in the face,
named Andrey Kaplin is one and then tried to flee the tent. But the bear pounced on him,
of those tracking the journey clawing open his back and gobbling his head.
online. They connected on a Rus- “I could see inside its mouth,” Arnauyumayuq later told the
sian Web forum for private pilots, local newspaper Nunatsiaq News. “It was all black and smelly.”
and first met just weeks ago when The bear flung Arnauyu-
Ananov passed through on his mayuq aside and went after his
journey. Kaplin sees that one of brother-in-law, fracturing his
the GPS trackers indicates the collarbone before Arnauyu-
helicopter’s speed has flatlined. mayuq could grab his rifle and
He makes a call to another of shoot the bear dead.
their pilot friends in Moscow, The Arctic is full of these
Michael Farickh. It is the mid- kinds of stories. They blow
dle of the night there, but Farickh around in the wind, drift with
jumps out of bed and makes the the tide. It has always been this
call that counts: to the Joint way, ever since the Tuniit peo-
Rescue Coordination Centre in ple arrived five thousand years
Halifax, Nova Scotia. ago with bows and arrows.
Halifax dispatches two C-130 Mostly these stories end not
Hercules aircraft to the pilot’s in survival but disaster.
last known position. But it is Top: The Canadian icebreaker Pierre Radisson, which led the search. Sergey Ananov has no rifle.
too late in the day for a thorough Above: The ship’s crew members pose with Ananov (seated at center). He has no knife. About four
search. Halifax also radios the hours after falling out of the
Pierre Radisson, a 323-foot sky, he is still on his stomach
Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker commanded by Captain inside his makeshift tent when he hears the sound of heavy
Stéphane Julien. Though here too, a snag. The vessel is at least breathing and crunching snow. He peeks out from under the
a day away, in Frobisher Bay, escorting a freighter into Iqaluit. raft and sees the bear, its fur wet and glistening after swim-
With no other icebreakers in the area, Captain Julien cannot ming from floe to floe—a task it can do for days without stopping.
abandon his charge. Ananov hides beneath his raft and hopes the monster leaves.
But Julien knows how dire the situation is for Ananov. He It doesn’t. The creature bobs its snout up and down, sniffing the
became fascinated with the Arctic at six years old, watching air, and lopes straight for him. The bear is about five feet away,
Super 8 films of polar bears and ice floes with his uncle, who so close that Ananov can see the black of its footpads and toe-
sailed with the Canadian Coast Guard in the 1960s. At sev- nails. Biologists will tell you that at this point the bear has one
enteen, Julien signed up, and by 2003 he was commanding a of two motives: hunger or curiosity. Both are bad for the pilot
medium-class icebreaker used for research. From polar scien- since polar bears often satisfy their curiosity with their teeth.
tists and Inuit guides, Julien has learned the Arctic’s secrets. If I meet the bear face-to-face I will die, Ananov thinks. And
He has done twenty-nine Arctic tours, sailed the Northwest that death seems imminent, guaranteed. Then, from some-
Passage seven times, rescued several human beings from an where deep in his core, a primeval and spontaneous urge is
icy death. He decides he will not let the stranded pilot per- unleashed. Ananov bolts up, flings off the raft, and rushes the
ish. Safely depositing the freighter in Iqaluit, he battles back beast—his arms flailing, roaring as loud as he can. And it works!
through the treacherous passage he has just traveled and heads The bear actually gallops away. But Ananov does not stop. He
for the Davis Strait. chases the bear to the very edge of the floe, with the raft still
Ananov knows none of this—and hopes only that the GPS attached to his leg and bouncing behind him. The bear nim-
trackers, waterproof to one meter, somehow communicated his bly launches across to a neighboring slab, then looks back at
desperate situation before sinking six hundred feet to the sea bot- Ananov, who continues to scream furiously. His eyes are black
tom. Or that the buoyant distress beacon became unsuctioned coals of rage. He is roaring. The bear jogs a bit, sits down on his
from the helicopter’s windshield and bobbed to the surface. He backside, and looks right at the pilot, examining him mutely.
also knows nothing of the predator now tracking him. For some- Ananov still roars. But now it is not only directed at the bear. It
where in the strait, one of earth’s great hunters has stood upright is directed at the cruel fate that put him here. It is directed at
and is waving its head back and forth. It can smell a ringed seal his utter helplessness.
under several feet of snow and a rotting whale carcass from For a full minute, the strange encounter continues. Man
ninety miles away. But this scent? It draws a blank, having never roaring, beast watching. Then the bemused bear gets up and
encountered a middle-aged Russian—a 176-pound salami on an trots off into the Arctic fog.
ice floe. Moving in its pigeon-toed walk, swinging its front paws
out with each step then turning them inwards and landing heels he euphoria and adrenaline from the encounter with
first, the polar bear heads off to inspect. the bear do not last. The hours lumber on, minutes that
feel like years. Then the sound of a plane.
he summer before, in nearby Arctic Bay, thirty-one- Ananov cannot see it because of the fog, but with his clumsy
year-old Adrian Arnauyumayuq and his twenty-six- mitts he seizes one of the three flares, aims it at the noise and
year-old brother-in-law loaded up a snowmobile and pulls the cord. A dazzling orange-red flame leaps into the air.
ventured out on their annual hunting trip. The first night, they Ananov hears the plane arc directly overhead and continue on.
80 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
The flare burns for thirty seconds, then fizzles. in the icy brutality of the Arctic has rendered S U R V I VA L
Evening approaches. The cold is deep, raw, gnawing. The Ananov’s mind a gelid mass of fear and uncer- GUIDE
2016
temperature is hovering right at the freezing point. Ananov tainty. He does not want to be devoured and
rations his protein tablets, about two thousand calories’ worth, digested by a polar bear. He would rather die
into three-day portions. After that, he figures, he will be dead. on his own terms. As he shivers violently on
Humans can go without food for more than three weeks— the ice, he contemplates how he might execute the task.
so long as they have water. Ananov has only the half-liter that
came with the raft. His shivering is so fierce and constant that wenty-five hours after leaving the freighter, fighting a
it causes him to sweat. He has also been urinating frequently one-knot current and narrowly avoiding twenty-story
in the survival suit—a liberating release that provides brief icebergs and submerged ice hunks called growlers, the
moments of warmth and happiness. He is losing water simply Pierre Radisson chugs into the ice-floe-flecked region of the
from breathing. If all this bodily fluid is not replenished, the Davis Strait where Ananov went down. Halifax has drawn up
corresponding drop in blood pressure will be fatal. It seems a a plan based on Ananov’s last beacon point, the wind, and the
bit of cosmic ridicule: quite literally dying of thirst while sur- weather. But the wind is light, and Julien suspects their calcu-
rounded by water and even sitting atop the stuff,
yet unable to drink a drop of it. Ingesting saltwater
would only speed up the dehydration.
Ananov does not sleep. He listens for bears. He A THIRD POLAR BEAR WALKS TOWARD HIM,
thinks about his wife, Jane, and his children. His SNIFFING THE AIR, SMELLING THE HUMAN
twenty-two-year-old daughter, Daria, has just grad-
uated with a degree in journalism from Moscow
BODY BENEATH THE NEOPRENE SUIT.
State University. His twenty-year-old son, Andrey, is
studying economics at Moscow State Institute of Inter-
national Relations. At least they are grown, Ananov thinks. And lations are off. Instead of beginning the search eight miles from
thanks to the trash business, at least they will be taken care of. the beacon, as Halifax proposes, he focuses on a two-mile radius.
About a hundred miles away, the Pierre Radisson finally All available hands are on deck. The mood is tense. In a
reaches a section of open water and Captain Julien fires all six few hours it will be dark, making a rescue impossible, leaving
engines, 40,000 horsepower in total, plowing forward at the Ananov to spend another night on the ice. He might not make
ship’s top speed: nineteen miles per hour. it. He already may not have made it—not all of him, anyway.
The overnight low could drop below freezing. And that is with-
n the morning, another plane. It is still too foggy to see out the windchill. In such conditions, frostbite can occur in as
the craft but Ananov, hopeful, lights his second flare. little as thirty minutes. And even if he does make it, by tomor-
No luck. However, the still-hot flare casing does him row his body will have diverted most of its blood from the brain
some good: He uses it to burn holes in his survival suit at the tip and other organs to the heart, leading to confusion, lethargy,
of each foot. Now the urine that has been pooling in the feet and slurred speech—a revived infancy that will slowly, inevitably
legs of the suit can drain directly onto the ice. The small things fade to black. Loss of consciousness, coma, death.
that enable man to survive. Then, miraculously, the fog lifts. And in that moment, as the
Later that same morning, Ananov hears a helicopter. It is at sun magnificently sets across the Davis Strait, the brutality of
least a few miles away. Ananov knows there is no way the pilot the Arctic also evaporates. In that moment, there is no more
will be able to see the minuscule twelve-inch flame. So he decides beautiful and peaceful place on earth.
to save his last flare. The helicopter disappears. Captain Julien calls Halifax to convey the suddenly favorable
Then another bear. Again Ananov flails, roars, chases the conditions, but their planes are more than two hundred miles
beast, scampers across the ice screaming like a fool. It works away in Iqaluit and won’t be heading out again until morning.
again, but without food and sapped by the constant shivering— There is one hour of light left. Again acting on a hunch, Julien
the only thing keeping his body warm enough to function—he orders a GC-366 helicopter with two observers into the air. Back
is even more worn-out than the first time. on the bridge, a third lieutenant spots a red light on the ice surface.
Morning passes into afternoon. There is a depression in the Julien takes a compass bearing and steers toward the point.
ice near the floe’s edge filled with dazzling aquamarine water. The rescue helicopter is notified. They spot the final splinter
Ananov sets his life raft down, creating a sort of water bed. He of light from Ananov’s last flare. They spot Ananov. There are
lies down and dozes, memories spinning backward, until he no bears on the floe but he is once more running and waving
hears the familiar crunch of snow. and screaming.
A third bear walks toward him, sniffing the air with its mas-
sive snout, smelling the human body beneath the neoprene hat night aboard the Pierre Radisson, thirty-six hours
fabric, a body that is weakening, ripening. Ananov scares it off after the R22 hit the ocean, the pilot is fed salad with
in the same manner, staggers back to the raft. He flips it over olive oil and freshly smoked salmon. Everyone wants to
and crawls beneath. shake his hand and take a photo. He obliges, even though this is
He does not have the energy to fight off another bear, or he not anything like the adulation he was looking for. This is not how
tells himself he doesn’t. He has never thought of suicide before. he wants his name to live on. This is an insufficient immortality.
But when we humans find ourselves in desperate situations, per- As he smiles for the camera phones, he is already thinking
spective—our unique ability to view our own situation within about the new R22 he will buy. He is already thinking about how
the full context of human suffering—has a way of disappearing. he will pack it differently—the emergency equipment, every-
Time collapses in on itself. The power to think clearly, the way thing within reach. And he is thinking about next summer,
we would back home, where everything is okay, becomes a vital when he will once again lift the helicopter into the sky and point
piece of equipment to be preserved at all costs. Being marooned it in the direction of the other side of the world.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 81
To build a house for his family, the author felled the
trees, milled the lumber, and drove the nails. A story about
shelter, memories, and the endurance of friendship.
B Y B E N H E W I T T
PG
82
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y D Y L A N G R I F F I N
The author nails shiplap
sheathing on a gable end. His
plan was to build a house and
barn in only six months.
Jim and I had known each other since reminded of him. This was excruciatingly
N OV E M B E R 2 015 high school. We’d been close then, and we’d hard. It was also wonderful.
remained close over the years, bonding first I think of Jim frequently, maybe even
H E S AW M I L L I S Q U I E T. It over our shared affection for too-fast motor- every day. The mill is a reminder, of course,
rests on a patch of fallow ground cycles and classic Rush and later over the but so are many other things: a Rush song
at the fringe of our woodlot, the pleasure we derived from home projects. Jim coming on the radio, a rare sighting of one of
gas drained, the engine covered had helped my wife, Penny, and me build our those funny little low-slung Pontiac Fieros
with a heavy tarp to protect it from inclem- first house, and we’d helped him with his, and like the one he owned in high school, the same
ent weather and nesting mice, the battery I think everyone understood that Penny and one we spent hours in, driving too fast, the
removed and placed on a trickle charger. I got the better end of that deal. Not only was heavy bass lines from 2112 thrumming in
I should pull the blade too. Hang it in the Jim exponentially more skilled than us, the our ears. Even this project. He would’ve loved
barn so it doesn’t rust. But I haven’t yet. I’ve guy had more tools than a Home Depot. this project. He would’ve been here helping
been busy. In adulthood, Jim and I came to embody all the time.
The sawmill used to belong to my best some very fundamental differences. He
friend, Jim. Five years ago, at the age of forty- became a strict vegetarian, while I am a
three, he died in his sleep. Heart failure. This connoisseur of animal flesh, raising and
happened without warning, a mere two weeks personally slaughtering my family’s meat. S E P T E M B E R 2 015
before he and his wife were to adopt newborn He was meticulously neat and methodical,
twin girls. It had taken them years to line up whereas I am chronically disorganized and E D E C I D E T O insulate
this adoption. They’d come close to becoming almost allergic to forethought. He attended the upstairs of the barn.
parents before, to babies that, for one reason church regularly, while I can sort of remem- This wasn’t part of the
or another, had become unavailable at some ber squirming through a sermon during a original plan—or the orig-
heart-wrenching last minute. But they’d visit to my grandparents’ when I was six. inal budget—but we’re drastically behind
never come this close. They had a stroller. But our friendship thrived in the manner schedule. This will benefit us twofold, first
They had a crib. They even had diapers. This many of the best friendships do—in some by providing a warm, if rustic, space to reside
time, it was going to happen. ways despite itself. When my oldest son was while we finish the house, and second by
Shortly after his death, Jim’s wife gave us born, Jim was the first person other than serving as a heated workshop once we’re
his sawmill, the very mill he’d used to build Penny and me to hold him. Our second son ensconced in the house. It will add a few thou-
the house that sits a hundred or so feet from took his first steps with his soft fist enclosed sand dollars to our overall expenditure, which
where we buried him, the heavy shovelfuls in Jim’s big, work-calloused hand. Every- is no trifling detail, considering that our
of clay soil thumping with almost metro- where I look in our house, there is evidence total budget for house and barn is less than
nomic rhythm against the simple pine coffin. of Jim. The door we built together. The solar $100,000. We make a conscious decision not
Two weeks later, I sat at the hospital with his panels we installed. The drywall we hung. to dwell on the sad fact of this unanticipated
family, waiting for his children to be born. In the days following his death, I remem- expense and resolve to scrimp in other areas.
His widowed wife was determined to follow ber thinking that there was not a place on This is made much easier by the simple fact
through with the adoption. our property I could cast my gaze and not be that at this point we essentially have no choice.
84 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
six months? And saw the lumber? It suddenly
J U LY 2 015 seemed outrageous.
What’s more, with the barn finished, I am I felt a lingering
Y T H E M I D D L E O F the
summer, at least one thing is
now enlightened as to just how much lumber
it’s going to take to build the house, a measure sense of obligation
abundantly clear: At the pace
we’re on, there’s no chance we’ll
I’ve bestowed with the technical moniker
shit-ton. Sure, I’d run some numbers and
to my departed
have a habitable house by the end of October, made some calculations, and according to friend. This was
when we need to be out of our current home.
This is entirely our fault. In a fit of outra-
my crude math, I’d sawed more than enough
to at least frame both structures. But math
ridiculous, and
geous optimism and an inflated sense of our is only as good as the numbers that go into it, I knew it. Jim
own capacities, we’d actually started with the
barn, so that we’d have a roof under which to
and my numbers are off by at least a quarter
shit-ton, if not more. For instance, I’d failed wouldn’t have
store the hay we’d need for our small herd of
cows by the time it came off the field. In this
to include the horizontal nailers for the barn
sheathing. And I hadn’t anticipated the sheer
thought one iota
regard, at least, we can claim success, but quantity of jack-and-cripple studs necessary less of me if I’d
now we realize just how audacious our origi-
nal plan was. Build a barn and a house in just
to frame the window and door openings in
both the barn and house. An entirely predict-
thrown in the towel
and ordered up a
modular home.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 85
Almost everyone we know has built or someday plans
to build their house with their own hands. This DIY ethos is due,
in part, to simple economics and also, I think, an
ingrained sense of Yankee thrift. It’s as if hiring someone
to build your house were somehow a display of excess.
friend. This was ridiculous, and I knew it: feet of accumulated snow. “Stuck?” Penny eleven hundred for the house. Used windows,
Jim was one of the least judgmental people asks, before I’ve even closed the front door old doors, roofs of simple screw-down metal—
I’ve ever known, and wouldn’t have thought behind me. I just nod, shucking boots and modest structures, befitting budget, taste,
one iota less of me if I’d thrown in the towel insulated overalls. My fingers are painfully and skills. These buildings would not soar,
and ordered up a modular home with steel chilled from the half hour I spent pawing nor astonish with displays of old-world crafts-
studs and vinyl siding. But I couldn’t quite uselessly at the snow in a feeble attempt to manship. They would be simple but sound,
shake the sense that I was letting him down. extricate the tractor, so I hover my hands a built by our hands and those of friends. Cru-
In the end, I was able to produce approxi- few inches above the hot iron of the wood- cially, they would be unencumbered by debt.
mately 50 percent of our total lumber needs. stove, saying nothing. Penny says nothing We would own the structures materially, but
I purchased the remainder from two local, too. She’s smart like that. also familiarly, knowing them inside and out.
family-owned mills at shockingly reasonable Earlier in the day I’d warmed up the saw- Every stud, every joist, every rafter, every last
prices. It wasn’t without pride that I noticed mill, filled the tank, and swept the bed clean nail and screw.
that the quality of my homegrown lumber in preparation for the logs I planned to pull That was the plan, and in our rural, work-
compared favorably with that of more expe- from the woods—fat, arrow-straight lengths ing-class community of cash-strapped,
rienced sawyers, at the helm of exponentially of balsam fir, sawed into sixteen-foot lengths skills-rich men and women, it is hardly
more capable and expensive sawmills. from trees I’d felled two weeks prior. This was unusual. Almost everyone we know has built
before yet another in a long series of storms or someday plans to build their house with
covered my skid path, making it difficult to their own hands. This DIY ethos is due, in
discern where the tractor would find solid part, to simple economics and also, I think,
F E B RUA RY 2 015 footing along the previously traveled route, an ingrained sense of Yankee thrift. It’s as
and where it would flounder. if hiring someone to build your house were
T R U D G E B A C K T O the house, The plan was to saw enough lumber over somehow a display of excess.
sputtering and cursing, my brow the winter to build my family and myself a Still, as I defrost my aching hands over
beaded with sweat despite the sin- small barn and an even smaller house, sit-
gle-digit temperatures. We’re in uated on a hundred mostly wooded acres Left: Ben (left) and his wife with a neighbor, one
the midst of a historically cold and snowy just off a little-traveled gravel road in the of the many self-reliant residents of Vermont’s
Northeast Kingdom. Right: Half of the project’s
northern Vermont winter, and I’ve gotten northeastern quadrant of Vermont, known lumber was milled by hand. Opposite: While the
the tractor stuck yet again, the machine’s big colloquially as the Northeast Kingdom. Four- finishing touches were put on the house, the
author and his family lived in the barn.
lugged tires rendered impotent in the three teen hundred square feet for the barn, another
86 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
the woodstove on this frigid February morn-
ing, I begin to grudgingly accept that the
plan might soon come up for revision. Thus
far, I’ve sawed about five thousand board feet
of lumber. It is a good amount, to be sure,
comprising head-high stacks containing
hundreds of 2 x 6s and 2 x 10s. It is also maybe
20 percent of our total lumber needs, and the
building season is fast approaching. I need to
get the tractor unstuck pronto.
I take some solace from my belief that at
least I have a sense of what to expect once the
building begins in earnest. Penny and I had
built one house already—the one we currently
occupy—and, in defiance of every cliché ever
uttered about building with your romantic
partner, we had actually enjoyed the process,
despite our first son being born into the cha-
otic midst of construction. (Penny went into
labor at the lumberyard.) The prospect of
building another house didn’t feel as much like
a burden as an opportunity. An opportunity
to build smarter, smaller, simpler. An oppor-
tunity to start with a clean slate, to improve
upon the myriad errors of our first effort. And
this time, thanks to Jim’s sawmill, we could
build with lumber milled by our own hands.
M AY 2 011 only a few hours’ practice. After a summer days in Vermont that can almost make you for-
of mill ownership, sawing intermittently, I get winter will ever arrive. We set up on the
M I L L M Y F I R S T S T IC K of lum- would find that I could produce somewhere living room floor: lumber, glue, clamps, saw,
ber shortly after Jim dies. Like most on the order of a thousand board feet in a long drills, screws. It will be a simple door, a minor
of the lumber I would eventually mill, day. Around here, that’s about $600 worth of project, little more than tongue-and-groove
it is from a log of balsam fir and redo- lumber, which sounds like a decent payday— planks screwed into a frame to hold them true.
lent of a certain earthy sweetness I soon come until you consider the time spent harvesting But we’re not looking for high-end craftsman-
to associate with freshly sawn lumber. It feels the logs and the investment in machinery (in ship today; we’re looking for a weather break
cool and just a little prickly in my hands. I my case, chainsaw, tractor, and winch). But on hinges.
hold it for a few seconds longer than strictly efficiency increases with repetition. At least, As always, Jim and I fall into a comfort-
necessary, a little stunned to realize that less that is my hope. able rhythm. We’ve worked together so much
than an hour before the tree had stood tall that it sometimes seems as if we become
among a dense copse of its own kind, stretch- extensions of one another, able to anticipate
ing skyward for twenty-five yards or more, a the other’s needs almost before he does. A tool
good sixteen inches across. O C T O B E R 19 9 8 at the ready, or a measurement taken and cut
I’d been the architect of this tree’s demise, line scribed before the question is even posed.
dropped it hard and fast to the ground with H A S E O N E O F O U R first We chat and laugh in the quieter moments
the brutal efficiency inherent in a 65-cc house—a simple, t wo-stor y between the clamor of saw and drill. The low
chainsaw, and in truth this made me feel a 16 x 32 cabin we’ll eventually add sun streams through our untrimmed, south-
little sad. But I’d also been the architect of onto—is nearly habitable. Habit- west-facing windows.
its transformation from standing timber to able is not the same as finished, as evidenced By the time the sun has sunk below the
functional lumber, ushered it through a door by the exposed insulation, the aluminum lad- mountains to our west, the door is built. We
into the realm of human usefulness, and this der that serves as stairs, and the lack of a front remove the blanket and hang the door in the
makes me feel both happy and competent. It’s door. Penny and I lived in the doorless struc- rough opening, working in the waning half-
a potent, addictive combination. ture for the entire summer, hanging a blanket light of dusk. There are no stops yet, no latch
From a technical standpoint, it’s really over the opening to thwart the worst of the to keep it closed. I’ll add those later.
not that hard to mill your own lumber. Of biting insects and then, as the season turned, Jim stays for dinner. We always eat
course, there are certain risks to be mind- the chill night air. But “chill night air” means together before, during, or after work. The
ful of, particularly during the tree-felling one thing in October and another in Decem- two of us sit on the sill of our just-made door,
stage. But assuming proper technique and ber, which no longer seems very far away. the air going cool around us, plates of food on
a modicum of common sense, it’s possible Jim stops by to help with the door on a too- our laps. The late-day sun slants across our
to produce lumber to a high standard with warm afternoon, one of those halcyon autumn faces. It feels good.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 87
BY
TIM HEFFERNAN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
RICKY RHODES
P. 88
2 0 1 6
WHEN THE GREAT LAKES FREEZE OVER EACH WINTER, THE $33.5 BILLION SHIPPING BUSINESS THAT
SUPPLIES THE REGION’S INDUSTRIAL CENTERS LOOKS TO A SMALL FLEET OF STALWART
COAST GUARD SHIPS AND THEIR SEASONED CREWS TO KEEP AMERICA’S HEARTLAND MOVING.
The oil/chemical tanker
Algocanada makes its
way through ice broken
by Katmai Bay.
L IEU T ENA N T MIK E PAT T ER SON, command- “Good,” Patterson said. “This is
ing officer of the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Katmai exactly what we want to see.”
Bay, took in the frozen scene from the wheelhouse of Katmai Bay is based in Sault Ste.
his ship. Out the windows, freighters pointing up- and Marie (“Soo Saint Muh-REE”), Mich-
downriver stood still. The little ferry to Sugar Island was igan—350 miles due north of Detroit
trapped in port and calling for help. None of them looked across the St. Marys from Canada. All
like they’d be moving anytime soon: The St. Marys River told, the U.S. Coast Guard operates
was iced up. nine icebreakers on the Great Lakes.
The ice had moved in overnight. It blew south out of The American industrial centers of
Lake Superior and piled up in Whitefish Bay, then slid Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Mil-
out of the bay and into the St. Marys. In blocks and bergs waukee line the shores and rivers of
it tumbled down the rapids and through the stone raceways Huron, Erie, Superior, Michigan, and
of the Soo Locks. Then, two miles below the locks, where Ontario, and their mountains of ore,
the river funnels into a narrow channel called Little Rap- coal, steel, and grain mostly come and
ids Cut, the ice got stuck. It piled on top of itself, jammed go by ship. Beginning in mid-Decem-
tight, and turned the smooth-running black water of the ber, the lakes begin to freeze over. If
river into the jagged white parking lot that was stalling the the ice gets too thick, the ships stop,
freighters and ferries. and if the ships stop, a big chunk of the
economy stops. Someone has to keep thing more strategic: to loosen the traffic jam of ice just started leaking. Though, as one crew-
it moving. Despite five-month winters enough to let the river do the hard work of carrying it away. man fairly pointed out, “If you beat the
and subzero temperatures, Coasties A lot of ice breaking works like that. It’s as much about piss out of [a ship] for seven years, you
volunteer to serve here and break the outthinking the ice as outmuscling it. After Little Rapids can’t really complain.”
ice year after year. Cut, Patterson ordered Katmai Bay farther downriver to Last winter, Katmai Bay ended
Patterson, who has broken ice for where the St. Marys widens to more than a mile. Here the up working until early May. The one
five winters and is based at Coast shipping channel had become a narrow strip of water sur- before that, in 2013 to 2014—the most
Guard headquarters in Washington, rounded by vast prairies of fast ice, solid ice frozen to the savage in living memory—ice lingered
D.C., ordered Katmai Bay into action. river bottom or shore. But it was only wide enough to let a in Lake Superior well into June. In the
From the pier in Sault Ste. Marie, the single ship pass. The last thing Patterson wanted to do was worst of that winter, the St. Marys was
crew of sixteen revved up the ship’s break off a huge piece of ice and have it jam the channel, so choked with van-sized bergs and lit-
twin 2,500-hp Fairbanks Morse diesel he directed the helmsman to “scarf the edge”—shave down tered with stranded ships, and a trip
engines to deliver maximum torque the lip of ice with the ship’s hull. that in clear water would have taken
to Katmai Bay’s eight-foot-diame- It’s tricky work, scarfing. Katmai Bay may seem like a five hours took her eight days. “Very
ter propeller. Her bow lifted above floating bulldozer—implacable force, unbending steel— seldom in a craft this capable do you
the water and her stern sank into the but, as you try to carve a straight line down the edge of come up against ice that is your better,”
hole the propeller was churning in the ice, the ice keeps flicking all 662 tons of the ship back Patterson recalled. “It was humbling.”
the river. Katmai Bay kicked in sec- into the channel. Try to swing back in, and the tail slips But on this April day, Katmai Bay
onds from a dead stop to near her top out from beneath you and the ship slides out into the soft humbled the ice. As we turned north
speed of fourteen knots—not exactly water. Steering Katmai Bay then is done more by feel than for home, the oil tanker Algocanada
Ferrari-like, but more than enough by thought, like riding a surfboard. The trick isn’t brute steamed past heading for a refinery
to knock a greenhorn on his butt. force. It’s balancing your force against nature’s. south of Port Huron. Back in Sault Ste.
The crew, though, all of them veter- Still, you do need muscle. The Great Lakes experience Marie, the Sugar Island ferry was back
ans of at least one full winter aboard some of the worst winter conditions in the country: The up and running. The St. Marys River
the Katmai Bay, didn’t even reach for freezing temperatures and arctic storms can produce ice was open to traffic again—until the
handholds as the helmsman turned five feet thick—and twice that where drifting sheets crash next slew of ice rode in from Superior,
her toward the ice in a tight, smooth and form pressure ridges in the same way that mountains clogging the narrow waters on which
arc, straightening just before she hit. rise at tectonic seams. Last April, the Coast Guard’s heavi- the country’s steel and grain travel.
The impact hardly registered to est icebreaker, Mackinaw, was put out of commission when Then the crew of the Katmai Bay
those aboard. But the ice below scat- one of its propulsion units was holed by the ice and a seal would start its engines once more.
tered like a clowder of frightened cats.
Chunks the size of milk crates pinged
off the inch-thick steel hull and rolled
away in the wake, grinding together
like huge teeth. Table-sized plates of
ice, a foot thick or more, splintered THE ICE
against the bow. Some pieces got sucked Ice may just look like ice to the average citizen, but there are
into the prop and exploded out with wet big differences for the ice-breaking crew on the Katmai Bay.
bangs. Whipping the ship’s wheel back
and forth as if he were driving slalom BRASH P L AT E FA ST GREASE CANDLING
in a BMW, the helmsman made Kat-
mai Bay’s rudder swing left and right,
or sally. She rolled violently side to side,
sending huge waves shoreward, shak-
ing up the locked ice as she went.
Katmai Bay spent two hours run- Broken-up Flat sheets Ice attached to Packs of free- Smooth vertical
chunks of ice of solid ice the lake bot- floating ice grooves that form
ning a half dozen loops through the ice about the size of floating on still tom or shore—it crystals called on the edges of
pack, a maneuver called racetracking. milk crates. water. doesn’t budge. frazil that give melting ice, and a
water an oily sign that the ice-
The goal wasn’t to plow open a channel appearance. breaking season
through Little Rapids Cut, but some- is nearing its end.
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 91
CREDITS
渀瘀
Getty Images; James Bay: Amanda Stronza;
beer: Bell’s Beer; Eye in the Sky: Obscured Pic-
tures; Batman v Superman: Warner Bros.; p. 8
3D printer: Todd McLellan; Kelly: Getty Images;
p. 15 shopper: Getty Images; p. 17 camera:
Allyson Torrisi; p. 18 Discovery Channel; p. 24
圀䄀 䰀 䰀 ⴀ 䴀 伀 唀 一 吀 䔀 䐀 刀 伀 伀 䴀 䠀 䔀 䄀吀 䔀 刀 Getty Images; p. 28 ABS filament: Coex LLC;
recycled wood: Polymaker LLC; spinach paste:
Natural Machines; heart: Cornell University;
Vegemite: Shutterstock; p. 34 Chivers and son:
Suzanne Keating; p. 35 Felt bike: Felt Bicycles;
Surly Pugsley bike: Surly; Farley bike, helmet:
Trek Bicycle Corp.; p. 44 paint tray, hand:
Devon Jarvis/Studio D; p. 48 mouse: Getty
Images; pp. 51–52 McLaren headquarters:
McLaren Technology Group; p. 55 racetrack:
EXR Racing Series; p. 56 Bolian: Ed Bolian;
p. 70 multitool: Leatherman; UCO kit: UCO
Gear; p. 71 belt: Devon Jarvis/Studio D; gear
courtesy of Atmotube, Wasatch Outdoors,
Mophie; p. 74 Terra Vivos; p. 75 food products:
Devon Jarvis/Studio D; Charlie Palmer: Getty
Images; pp. 76–81 ice lettering: Ben Goldstein/
Studio D; p. 79 Sergey Ananov; p. 80 Fisheries
and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard;
p. 91 brash ice: Shutterstock; plate, fast ice,
candling: National Geographic; p. 99 pencil:
Ida Garland; p. 100 house: Macy Miller.
New!
national Publications mail product (Canadian distribution)
sales agreement no. 40012499. CANADA BN NBR 10231
0943 RT. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM
707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send
address corrections to Popular Mechanics, P.O. Box 6000,
Harlan, IA 51593. Printed in U.S.A.
WeatherTech.com · 800-441-6287
offers by email.
Put Up to 24 Drawers
Under Your Beds With a certified outdoor wood furnace DR® RAPIDFIRE™
from Central Boiler, you'll save money FLYWHEEL LOG SPLITTER
ultimatebed.com and have peace of mind knowing you're ¥ So simple, no hydraulic NEW
heating your home and more with safe, pumps, valves, pistons, Models
hoses or fluids to leak Now at Our
even, clean and comfortable heat. or replace. LOWEST
PRICES
¥ So strong its cast iron fly- EVER!
Outdoor wood furnaces starting at
90013X © 2016
wheel and steel components
$6,490 (for a limited time). show almost no wear after splitting
hundreds of cords.
See your local dealer for details. ¥ So fast, splits anything a hydraulic splitter
will in one-sixth the time!
FREE SHIPPING 6 MONTH TRIAL
SOME LIMITATIONS APPLY
Call for FREE DVD and Catalog!
TOLL-FREE
CentralBoiler.com 800-395-2725
or call 800-248-4681 DRlogsplitters.com
©2015 Central Boiler ¥ ad7018
Do You Have
ONE BUSINESS DAY ¥ MIRROR POCKETS ¥ FRONT & REAR REFLECTOR STRIPS ¥ PATENT PENDING DESIGN ¥ FREE FABRIC SAMPLE
MICROBEAD SELECT-FIT AND SELECT-FLEECE CAR COVERS FEATURE PRACTICALLY CUSTOM-FIT FOR LESS THAN HALF THE
I THINK IÕVE
MET MY COVER
ÑDodge Challenger owner
Big Projects?
Practically custom SELECT-FIT In t ro d u ci ng . ..
outdoor/indoor car covers and
SELECT-FLEECE indoor car covers
are complete kits that include
M A G N AT R A C ® M H 8 0 0 0
free storage bag, adjustment
straps, cable and lock.
Free 2-Day
Shipping Code
PM2DAY
FREE INFO!
Mention Code:
PM316
GREAT FIT!
ÑMercedes-Benz ÑTesla Model S
CLA250 owner owner
90012X © 2016
material.
8
"1Ýİğ þŁ
,! "Υ
FREE SHIPPING 6 MONTH TRIAL!
&< &*"
&*&1"!
REIMAGINED
kids back to my small hometown in Mas-
sachusetts to see the parade and go for a
fire-truck ride. As we waited in line, volun-
teer firefighters handed out stickers to the
kids. We rode the fire truck. Fun day.
At home, I noticed that one of our kids had
A time-challenged dad transforms his stuck a sticker on the driver-side door of my
old Scion into an homage to classic wife’s car, a 2006 navy blue Scion xB (the last year
Land Rovers, testing his nascent DIY Scion made its signature box). I carefully peeled
skills—and his wife’s patience. it off...and centered it in the middle of the door.
BY CHAD STOKES I thought it looked cool.
96 MARCH 2016 _ P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S
D.I.Y. PAINT JOB
Clockwise from right: Two-foot swaths a classic case of husbanding: The steel
from ten inches away; after overspray
problems, taping became increasingly
wool scratched the hell out of every
meticulous; cream-colored wheel wells window (in the wrong light the wind-
enhanced the Land Rover aesthetic.
shield is unusable) and there’s still
paint on them. I go back to the Inter-
(two). I run back home. Conditions net and watch the five-minute tutorial
aren’t perfect—the wind is fickle and about how to get paint off car windows.
restless. Nevertheless, I quickly empty I run to the hardware store and buy
the cans and then tear off my painstak- a razor-blade scraper. It works like a
ing tape, cardboard, and newspaper. charm. (If only I had listened to my
Voilà! dad.) The rest of the paint disappears
Cue the descending muted-trum- from the windows but there are still
pet line of universal disappointment. little scratches from the steel wool. I
There’s overspray pretty much every- try a bunch of compounds to get rid
where. The sun sheds fine light on new of them, but nothing works.
evidence of my willingness to cut cor- I move on and order a new bumper
ners. To make matters worse, the other on eBay ($70). It’s primed black. It
brand’s reed green is not the same (and shows up and I remove the old cracked
doesn’t spray as well). My wife is non- bumper, the banged-up detritus from
plussed and mutters something about a record-setting Boston winter and
having to go to work in a clown car. snowbanks that lasted into June. The
Days pass as I mount my next offen- removal is intuitive. Six screws and
sive. I need another coat on there badly. some plastic push rivets that a flat-
Finally there’s a window between kids head screwdriver pops off. I snag the
and work schedules and I run out- two grilles from the old bumper and
side, furiously taping again. I’ll deal paint them with shiny silver interior
with overspray later. With newfound spray paint. It’s the shiniest, most
attention to detail, I carefully tape chrome-looking paint the hardware
headlights, sunroof, grille, windows, store had, so I optimistically dismiss
mirrors. I’ve stockpiled cans from the “interior only” specification. I also
Lowe’s and Home Depot. I’ve bought take off the Scion emblem on the front
more tape. I put toothpicks in the and back—no disrespect to the brand,
windshield-washer sprayers on the but I like that it’s becoming its own
hood, a trick I picked up on YouTube. I thing. The black bumper looks good.
assume a wide stance and start spray- The car’s looking much better. But
ing: two-foot swaths from ten inches the streaks! I try wet sanding, the art
away, depressing the nozzle as my arm of going over the whole car with 1,200-
is in motion and letting go while still in grit sandpaper soaked in a bucket of
motion with a little flick of the wrist. water with a little soap, to even it out. I
(Your enemy is overlapping too much wet-sand and I wet-sand but I can’t tell
I RIP OFF THE TAPE AND PAPER.
so that the paint pools and drips.) I if it’s making a difference. And some-
spray like a madman in the dark, jump- THE CAR LOOKS LIKE IT WAS times I forget to keep it nice and lubed,
ing around the car in sequential order PAINTED TOO QUICKLY, WITH so I leave tiny scratches on the finish.
to let paint dry in one spot while I’m SPRAY PAINT NOT MEANT FOR I tape the car up again and try a faint
second-coating on another. dusting from 15 inches. I put rubbing
I rip off the tape and paper. The AUTOS, AT NIGHT. WHICH IT WAS. compound on a Velcro circular bit on
car is looking well covered but really my drill and wax on and wax off. The
streaky. There’s paint all over the win- results are far from astounding.
dows. The whole thing looks like it was It’s getting close to September
painted too quickly, with spray paint and my wife is threatening to go buy
that isn’t meant for autos, at night. I need to fix the painted windows and the streakiness. a new car, which we can’t afford. I buy
Which it was. I consult the Internet. I ask folks at the hardware store. I four cans of clear coat and a can of lac-
I
ask my dad. I ask my neighbor. Someone tells me to hit the quer. I’m pretty sure I don’t need the
t’s now August. My wife is using windows with steel wool. I get at it, gingerly at first, but soon lacquer. I set to taping the car up one
the car but she’s not pleased about I’m bearing down with all 165 pounds of myself to get the last time. I do a loose job because I’m
it. I’m stealing out when I have the stubborn paint off. It’s working! I go at the windows fever- thinking, Hey, it’s clear, so I can relax
time to fix trouble spots. I hold a ishly, trying to get them cleaned up. My wife just started on the overspray. The whole point is
piece of cardboard in one hand as her career as an interior designer and needs her car to look that it’s invisible! This stuff is nasty,
a shield and spray with the other so I professional and humorless. a different breed of toxic. I’m feel-
don’t have to retape the whole car—a Turns out the wool was the worst thing I could’ve used. ing bad about my neighbors and the
handy trick, but dicey. The glass now has tiny circular scratches everywhere. It’s air I’m polluting (and a bit dizzy in
P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S _ MARCH 2016 97
D.I.Y. PAINT JOB
the head). I burn through the four cans in rying the kids into another store—they’re
an hour. The car still looks streaky. I take out. I switch over to Routes 9 and 16 and
a bath and consult YouTube again about stop in Wellesley. Two more cans.
applying clear coat. The dude in the video is I find a respirator on my dad’s workbench
going over and over the back bumper of his and start spraying. I pull the car halfway into
Accord. First coat is an intentional dusting the old horse shed to minimize the wind fac-
of long strokes. By the fourth he’s overlap- tor. After a few hours I’m out of paint. It’s
ping quite a bit, concentrating on a small 4 o’clock. I borrow my mom’s car and go to
area at a time. He is really good at it, goes Holliston Hardware for a quick fix, but they
through a handful of cans, and mentions at don’t have the Rust-Oleum I need. (What-
the end that by the way, a bumper is about ever brand you choose, stick with it.) I speed
as big a surface as you’d ever want to tackle to Millis and find two hardware stores that
with a rattle can. have three cans each. I race back home and
When the autumn leaves start changing spray while the light fades. Even though I’m
color, I’m given an ultimatum: I have one switching hands and alternating between
more day. Actually, it’s not an ultimatum. my index and middle fingers, my hands are
More like a statement of fact. It’s a Satur- cramping up. The tip of my right index fin-
day. By Monday I have to finish. I need more ger is slightly numb to this day.
clear-coat cans and fast. My wife arrives at 8. I’m finished because
On the way back from a bachelor party I have to be. Two days later, after the paint
that evening, I convince the party bus to has cured, I install a roof rack—critical to
I AM
NOT
A RUG After the
finishing
touch—a
replica air
vent—Stokes’s
As few as 3,200 wild wife finally got
her car back.
tigers remain. Poaching
for their skins, bones and
other parts is the greatest stop at Lowe’s, and I run in and clean them the Land Rover look. By a small miracle, the
out: three cans. (I’m using Rust-Oleum for car looks as beautiful as I could’ve hoped for.
immediate threat to
the clear.) Sunday, my wife wants to stop at The many clear coats helped the paint look
their survival. Panera. I spy a True Value hardware store less streaky and more uniform. A few weeks
across the parking lot. While my wife goes later, out on tour with my band, I buy a 1940s
in for sandwiches, I sprint to the store. Five grille emblem from a guy named Johnny
Find out what you can
cans—jackpot! Before they can say “Have a at a salvage spot near Taos, New Mexico.
do to stop wildlife crime. nice day” at Panera, I’m back in the car. I snag a Toyota emblem for the back and a
Monday morning. I run to my own faith- V-6 emblem for the side from my mechanic
ful hardware store and grab all they have, friend Brian at BDR Automotive in Hollis-
four cans. I now have 12 cans of clear coat, ton. I believe the first Scions in Japan were
a two- and three-year-old in their car seats, Toyotas, so it’s not a total fake-out, and it con-
and until sundown to wrap this puppy up. jures the FJs too. Now I await the last touch,
I’ve secured my mom to look after the kids. a two-inch lift kit to complete the transfor-
On the way out to my folks’ house I hit up mation. Should be coming in the mail from a
worldwildlife.org/wildlifecrime every hardware store I can find, like a clear- renegade dude in Arizona. I’ll take it to Brian
coat junkie. In Roslindale I pull over, grab a and we’ll put her up.
kid in each arm, and run in. A nice woman Oh, and as I was driving into Boston the
gets out a stepladder and grabs three cans. other day, a giant acorn fell from an old oak
In Needham I park, run across the street car- and shattered the windshield.
CHANICS FO
ME
RK
TWIG PENCILS
POPULAR
IDS ★
A project to build with your children.
★
D E S I G N E D B Y J A M E S S C H A D E WA L D
Shopping List
QTY DESCRIPTION
parent only
Instructions parent and kid
kid only
1 2
1. After finding a few suitable twigs, use
a pruner to trim each to about 6 inches.
The dryer the wood, the easier it will be
to drill into.
Avoid pine and other conifers, which are often sticky with sap. We found that any hardwood Start a child you know on a lifetime
branch will do. If the wood you find is freshly fallen, bring the branch inside and let it dry out
for a few days. The glue used to secure the lead works much better on dry wood.
G IV E of projects with a gift subscription
to Popular Mechanics. Go to
popularmechanics.com/gift.
D
AMAZING . . .
S
or
G
A
M N
A ZI
EDWIN
THE DUCK
This Bluetooth-
enabled rubber
ducky plays
music, makes
funny sounds,
and checks that
the bath water
isn’t too hot. Isn’t
that what
parents are for?
STUPID AMAZING
House? Or not
a house?
MEATER
sible to as many people as possible. Camp stoves
TINY HOUSES
THIS MONTH Enter what
are handy for weekend getaways in the woods, but you’re cooking
in this modern age you can cook on four burners. into the app and
There is nothing noble about denying yourself this. a wireless ther-
STUPID AMAZING Lots of tiny-house people say they want their mometer pings
lives to be one long weekend getaway in the your phone
A T I N Y H O U S E is exactly what you think it is, woods—more power to them. Just don’t preach when the meat
is done—so
but if you need a visual aid, just turn on the TV. about it. Don’t shove it in our faces, holier-than-
you don’t have
The cable channels HGTV and FYI, apparently thou, as if you are somehow saving the planet, and to, like, actu-
engaged in some sort of tiny arms race, air a total we should feel guilty for owning a shower. By the ally know what
of seven different shows devoted to tiny houses. way, many of these twee cottages are sold by com- you’re doing.
Tiny House Nation, Tiny House Hunters, Tiny panies charging well into the five figures for what
House Builders... are essentially wood-frame camp trailers that STUPID AMAZING
The basic idea: An excitable person or couple can be moved. An aluminum RV would be more
or family expresses a desire to live in a very small energy efficient than burning the gas it takes to
home—usually between a hundred and four hun- tow around the weight of a small home. (Inter-
dred square feet and probably on wheels. A home esting to note: Putting their “homes” on wheels
is then built or located by tiny-house experts, and allows tiny housers to skirt building codes and
the person, couple, or family proceeds to fawn over some taxes associated with permanent dwellings.)
its cuteness and ingenuity. A three-in-one couch/ The American Dream is nowhere to be found in
bed/desk! A composting toilet! A bedroom with a wide-open space crowned with a house so small NORA,
four-foot ceilings! They don’t show the part where that you can prepare dinner while sitting on the THE SMART
everyone keeps bumping their head, or where the toilet. Last summer, Colorado Springs hosted the SNORING
husband loses it one day because there’s no place first annual National Tiny House Jamboree. Orga- SOLUTION
for the *%$#@! record player, or the kids grow up nizers expected ten thousand people, but forty When the bed-
and never come home to visit because they have to thousand showed up. Some attribute the popular- side monitor
sleep on a dog bed. ity of the so-called movement to modern ills like senses a certain
It’s true that regular houses have become the great recession and growing concern about the decibel level, an
too big. The median size of a new single-family environment. But in the shadow of Pikes Peak, a inflatable pillow
insert adjusts
home reached 2,453 square feet in 2014 even as famous symbol of westward expansion, you could
the snorer’s head
the average family size has decreased. But that’s see a crowd of people pulling their lives around so he shuts up.
because Americans have worked since the end of in tiny wooden dwellings for what it really is: an
World War II to make a high quality of life acces- anachronism.
STUPID AMAZING
®
SWITCH TO THE SPARK CASH CARD FOR
UNL D2 C H B CK ON EVERY PURCHASE
w u iness credit card that meets your high standards.
G t t e t il by visiting us at CapitalOne.com/SmallBusiness.
Credit approval required. Offered by Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. ©2014 Capital One