Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2016 i Popular Mechanics

PROJECT OF THE MONTH Our November 2014 Project, “A Table for Everyone,” was a relatively easy endeavor, at least for the average Popular Mechanics reader, including 37-year-old IT specialist Charlton Briers of Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. A few years ago Briers and his wife bought her grandparents’ homestead, which included a home and three barns built entirely from lumber felled on the property. While exploring the barns one day, Briers found some old rough-cut 2 x 4s and 2 x 6s. He knew exactly what to do with them. Using our plans as his guide, he got to work on the table. He stained the wood and filled the holes with clear lacquer, keeping the blemishes for a worn-in aesthetic. The tabletop weighs about 170 pounds and separates completely from…

FACEBOOK! You may have noticed live video streams popping up among the photos of friends’ babies on your Facebook feed since April. We’re taking full advantage of the new platform with a lineup of live video events to distract you at work. Just follow Popular Mechanics on Facebook and select “Live Subscribe” to tune in. A preview of what you’ll see: ASK ROY, LIVE You read the column (see page 50). Now you can watch it in real time. Longtime senior home editor Roy Berendsohn hosts a weekly Q&A session from the tool closet at Popular Mechanics headquarters. TESTS Log on and watch as we test the limits of plywood, hit things with a lineman’s hammer, and find out what liquid moves best through a Super Soaker. Things will be…

IN 2003, AN ODD house appeared in Urbana, Illinois. The walls were 18 inches thick. It was pieced together with the precision of fine furniture. And it included a device just for exchanging air with the outdoors, called a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). The house belonged to Katrin Klingenberg, the architect who, in 2007, cofounded Passive House Institute US (PHIUS), which certifies domiciles as passive houses, one of the most rigorous and increasingly popular green building standards in the country. About 50 percent of an average home’s energy budget involves space heating, cooling, and air conditioning. Passive houses can cut this by 60 to 75 percent just by tightly sealing the building envelope, using insulation with high R-values, and eliminating thermal bridges—structural pieces like windows that allow heat transfer even…

MODEL: XYLEM GOULDS GSP0311 PRODUCED: ZHEJIANG, CHINA TIME TO DISASSEMBLE: 31 MINUTES, 17 SECONDS NUMBER OF PARTS: 97 NOTES: If you grew up without a basement, you might be under the impression that a sump pump is some kind of fantastical Dr. Seuss contraption. In fact, the rhyme is a coincidence. A “sump”—the word comes from the same Dutch and German that gave us “swamp”—is a low point where water collects. In a home, a sump collects water that would otherwise flood the basement. There are two main varieties: pedestal and submersible. A pedestal sump pump has its motor mounted atop a long shaft to keep it above the water level. But the motor is exposed, so if water reaches it, the machine will fail. A submersible pump like this…

Recently, a few designers and product heads from places like Apple, Microsoft, and Nest created Eero, a router system that uses multiple units to repeat your Wi-Fi signal up stairs and around walls like a satellite relay. At $500 for a three-pack, they’re expensive. You could buy two $100 routers to produce a similar effect, but you would need to actively drop the weaker network and rejoin the stronger one every time you walk your iPad between rooms. Eero routers, besides being pretty enough to almost blend in with a countertop, automatically connect you to the strongest signal. We had two of them running in less than a minute, with immediate results: An aging iMac in a brick-walled home office loaded web pages like it was on a 56K modem.…

One Friday, after a pleasant workweek doing remodeling and repairs at a boatyard, I drove my truck, a 2005 Nissan Frontier King Cab, to meet up with friends, light a bonfire, have a few beers, and make plans for the weekend. We were standing around the fire talking when the sky began to blacken—quickly. The temperature dropped 15 or 20 degrees within a few minutes, and thunder rolled in the distance. Next thing we knew, the storm was on top of us, and we ran toward our vehicles. The wind was raging and three-quarter-inch hail began to fall, so I jumped in my truck, which was semi-protected by trees on both sides. One of those trees was a big cottonwood 50 feet high. From inside the cab I watched rain…

A friend just bought a 2016 Corvette Z06. Black on black, polished wheels, seven-speed manual—his dream car. He found it at a dealer five states away, agreed on a price, and drove out with a flatbed to pick it up. Deal done. When he arrived, the car was slightly different from the photos: It had a dealer decal on the bumper. “What is that?” he asked, gesturing to the cheesy plastered-on graffiti. “We thought you’d like it!” said the salesman. “Why would I want to drive around with someone else’s name on my car?” he replied. That’s the issue, car dealers. We, the buyers, go through quite enough. We negotiate the price, we dance with the finance guy trying to sell us floor-mat insurance, we politely listen to pitches for…

THE KIT On Cory Lane: Rapha jersey ($170), Rapha bib shorts ($235), Airnet helmet ($150), Engine 11 hat (his own), Specialized Tarmac Expert bike ($3,700) from Cynergy Cycles Santa Monica. THE HOME BASE The Santa Monica house where Lane and Pappanicholas have set up an office/crash pad where they can keep their cycling gear is conveniently equidistant from their new restaurant in Culver City and the curving rides in the mountains of Malibu. On Lane: Rapha trousers ($170). GEAR CHECK Say you're going on a three-day, three-hundred-mile journey, like the owners of The Cannibal do as part of Chefs Cycle, a fundraising ride to fight childhood hunger in the U.S. Gear is important. Specialized’s Tarmac Expert bike is constructed from a carbon frame, making it incredibly lightweight but still sturdy…

There’s probably no escaping taking the kids to an amusement park this summer— sweltering in long lines and paying for overpriced junk food. But when that torment is over, take them to a different kind of theme park, one you’ll both enjoy: an American factory. You’ll see how baseball gloves are made. Or how they print the posters for your favorite concert. Or how a guy at Harley-Davidson takes every bike up to 77 mph on what looks a lot like an automotive treadmill. Sometimes you’ll even get candy. And unlike at Six Flags, admission is often free. HATCH SHOW PRINT NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 75 minutes; $15 (adults), $10 (ages 6 to 12) Nashville’s recent “it city” status has our skyline so dotted with cranes that longtime residents have started calling…

When we bought our house— an old house, beautiful little place—it needed a lot of work. Still does. But it’s a sweet yellow house with a red barn out back and a creek running alongside. An endless field behind the barn gives the boys room to run, and the house has the original blown-glass windows, wide-plank floors, and the odd low door for whacking your head on. Early on, I had as many items on my to-do list as I do now. Replace the basement toilet. Install stairs to get to the attic, which was basically inaccessible. Paint all the mauve and Buick-blue trim. Weatherproof the windows. Spread mulch. Retile the upstairs bathroom floor. Figure out what kind of bugs are living in the barn. Fix the leaky shower faucet.…

TINY HOUSES, HUGE AGREEMENT I agree with your article on tiny houses (Stupid or Amazing? March). I think they are stupid too. I am originally from Minnesota and when I first saw a tiny house my thought was, Nice icehouse. I could never live in one—there isn’t enough room for the dog. They’re nice for a weekend in the woods, but a fifth-wheel or tow-behind camper trailer would make more sense and is cheaper all around. Jeremy Boltjes Colorado Springs, Colorado OUR LIST OF TOUGH GUYS: NOT LIMITED TO HUMANS, NOT COMPREHENSIVE I’m pretty disappointed that a G.I. Joe doll story was included in your list of “Tough Guys” (May). Why not a fireman or World War II vet? Or an emergency-room doctor in Chicago? A doll? It’s an inanimate…

Because I’m a chef, every so often someone asks me about the future of food: “What ingredients will we have in our pantries?” they ask. “What will our stoves and refrigerators do?” I don’t know the answers to these questions, so I usually handle them like a politician: I change the subject. But recently, I took five of 2016’s most futuristic kitchen toys for a test drive, and I got a glimpse of where we’re going in the process. Here’s what’s next. WE WILL GRILL INSIDE. Philips Smoke-Less Infrared Grill ($300; williams-sonoma.com) Every time I make a steak or burger for dinner, I have to disable my apartment smoke alarm. Philips’ new indoor grill is designed to save me from this insanity. On outdoor grills, most of the smoke is…

Q What causes that new-car smell? Is it bad for you? A YOU DON’T WANT to know. Seriously. Just enjoy your brand-new car as you revel in the sweet, sweet smell of conspicuous consumption. Definitely don’t think about the fact that you’re inhaling a potpourri of perhaps 200 different chemicals, including formaldehyde, benzene, and various other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). That would just spoil the mood. The aromas that make up your new car’s bouquet are the product of the off-gassing of the plastics, adhesives, and other components that make up the interior—dashboard, upholstery, rich Corinthian leather, etc. Offgassing occurs because many chemicals that are added to polymers to impart specific qualities (like, say, flexibility) do not bond to the other compounds and are therefore released over time in a…

A SOG PowerPlay FOLDED SIZE: 4 1/8 by 1 1/2 in. TOOLS: 18 LIKES: A lot of tool for the money. The only Chinese-made option we tested, the SOG displays good fit and finish and a powerful, geared plier head. A magnetic seat grips any of the tool’s 12 screwdriver bits. Knife-centric users will appreciate the two different blades, straight and serrated. DISLIKES: All of the tools and blades lock securely, but the button latch that unlocks them pokes directly into your palm. It can be uncomfortable to hold. $64 B Gerber Multi-Plier 600 FOLDED SIZE: 5 by 1 1/2 in. TOOLS: 14 LIKES: Designed for the industrial user, this knifeless tool is equipped with a replaceable carbide-grit jigsaw blade that allows it to function as a mini hacksaw. Triangle-shaped…

Q If we want to increase the shade over our pergola, is lattice our best option? LUELLA B., ATLANTA A Lattice works, but it does have some drawbacks. First, it will catch seeds, pods, and leaves. Second, it’s bulky and difficult to remove and store should you want more sun and less shade during cooler times of the year. If you are going to use it, go with a vinyl product and secure it with latches, even if each latch is nothing more than a block of wood with a single screw through the center. That way, you can easily take the lattice down for cleaning or removal. In northern climates, it also makes it easier to avoid snow and ice damage during the winter. For me, though, a precut…

You’ve been told that the Argo LX floats, so you stay on course toward the water, fighting the instinct to grab the brakes. You eye the bilgepump switch, just in case, then twist the motorcycle-style throttle and splash in. The jostle of the trail is replaced by the serene glide of buoyancy. The treads on the eight tires become paddles, churning like oars on a Viking galley. Congratulations: Your ATV is now a boat. Argo’s been building amphibians in Canada since 1967, catering primarily to commercial customers like power companies that need to access remote pipelines or municipalities that’ve experienced a natural disaster. New Jersey ordered some after Hurricane Sandy. But there’s also a brand of recreational outdoorsman—duck hunters and swamp-based survivalists, for instance—who prize a vehicle that can traverse…

Anytime I mention to someone that I ride a motorcycle, the first thing they do is tell me a story about a crash—some ghoulish tale filled with lip-smacking gore. Their implication is that riding a bike is about as safe as taking two sticks of dynamite with a glass of water to cure a hangover. And they’re not entirely wrong. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 92,000 riders were injured in crashes in 2014 (the latest year for which data is available). And 4,586 riders were killed. Wearing a helmet helps, but it is no guarantee: 61 percent of those killed were wearing one. Bikers are about 26 times more likely to die in a crash compared with people in cars. Of course, this danger is what attracts…

PAGE 88 A TRIBUTE: I LIKE STAR TREK. All of it. The original series, the movies, the various spinoffs, the rebooted movie franchise. Each version of Star Trek has filled some niche in my life. I watched the original show with my father, a guy who had little use for television otherwise. I went to the movies early and often as an aimless youth. Watched Next Generation as a young parent, holding one of two indifferent bottle-sucking infants when they were fresh off late-night crying jags. I took in Deep Space Nine in fits and starts while writing books, and Voyager during my divorce. I finally watched all four seasons of Enterprise on Hulu in a weeklong jag last summer. Star Trek matters. It is badass high adventure told in…

DIAGRAM PROJECT NOTES OUR FIRST INCLINATION was to make a ping-pong-ball shooter out of wood and rubber bands. The prototype was easy to build, but not very accurate. When the rubber band smacked the ball, the ball flew in any direction. The gun wasn’t powerful enough, either. Unless you used a very large rubber band, stretched to its limit, most balls flew no more than two feet. Plus, the farther back you stretched the band, the more unpredictable the flight of the ball. So we started over. Using PVC for the barrel greatly improves accuracy. And power is limited only by how much air you can pump into the chamber. This ping pong cannon can fire a ball up to 70 feet, but not with so much force that it…

In December, KONE opened a 36-story tower in Kunshan, China, containing a skydeck and 12 elevator shafts, but no offices, apartments, or retail space. The tower, one of eight facilities the company operates around the world, has a different purpose than most buildings: It—and its fully customizable elevators—exists solely to test the coolest new lifting technologies on earth. One of the concepts being tested in the Kunshan tower is UltraRope, a ribbon of carbon fiber embedded in epoxy and coated with highfriction polyurethane that could enable architects to design skyscrapers that are taller than ever. Traditional steel-roped elevators are limited to heights of about 1,640 feet, requiring passengers in super-tall buildings to change shafts halfway up. Limiting factors include not just the weight of the ropes but also building sway:…

With your host, Maika Monroe, star of Independence Day: Resurgence. THE BASICS FIRST, GET AN instructor. You can’t teach yourself to kiteboard without also taking a trip to the ER. First up is a trainer kite, a smaller kite used only on the beach, to get a feel for how you’ll be pulled in the harness. From there, full-size kites range in size from five to 18 square meters. The size you need is determined by your weight, the wind speed (the faster the wind, the smaller the kite) and your experience, so expect to start with something right in the middle. Every kite has inflatable support beams that help the kite spread to catch wind and also keep it (and you) from being pulled under when it hits the…

Years ago, when you flew you had to watch whatever crappy movie the plane was showing. Now we just bring our entertainment with us. Look around, and everybody is power-watching a show or movie on a tablet or laptop. Problem is, most video services are streaming only, which is an issue for anyone who travels. We think that Wi-Fi is going be everywhere soon, but it’s not. Trains, planes, hotels, and cars say they have Wi-Fi, and tablets and phones have data, but I don’t trust any of it. Even when the Wi-Fi works, airlines make it clear: You can email, but forget about trying to stream movies, even if you pay extra for the faster connection. What B.S. Until streaming is fully integrated and strong Wi-Fi is everywhere, if…

Curing your own meat involves seasoning, table salt, curing salt, and a whole lot of patience. The time between buying a cut of meat from the butcher to actually serving it at the table can be months. Or even years. That’s when the meat breaks down, unlocking flavor you could never cook into it. If you’re concerned about the wisdom of holding on to a slab of pork for two months before eating it, that’s good. You should be. But science will keep you safe. The salt and cure mix draw moisture out of the meat, and without moisture, bacteria and pathogens cannot germinate, and the meat doesn’t spoil. You just have to do it right. With thanks to Elias Castro of Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon, and Justin Severino…

Get Winter Tires. Now. My winter tire true-believer story: a Boston blizzard in my rear-wheel-drive ’98 BMW M3 fitted with Vredestein snow tires. Six inches of snow on the Mass Pike, cars stranded everywhere. It took three hours to drive ten miles, but I never came close to getting stuck. Winter rubber is formulated to stay pliant in temperatures that turn all-season tires into rocks. The treads, counterintuitive as it may sound, trap snow and use it to stick to the snow on the road for more grip. Expect to pay about $100 per tire and $100 per rim. If that price stings, consider that your nonwinter tires will now last twice as long, not to mention the accidents avoided with a shorter stopping distance. Buy in summer, be ready…

OW NERS: Alice Cho and Christian Amundson LOCATION: San Francisco, California YEA RS OW NED: Eight ALICE CHO: When we moved from New York to San Francisco, our mechanic told us that we should make it. So we set off. Things came up, but every time we would go onto TheSamba, a VW forum site. CHRISTIAN AMUNDSON: We’d do quick patches based on the advice we got, but by the time we got to Kansas, we were losing oil fast. We kept topping it off until we crossed into Wyoming— AC: It was hemorrhaging oil. CA: A waterfall of oil. We settled for a Volvo mechanic in Laramie and slept in the van outside the shop. He told us not to wander around since he had a guard dog. He…

TRACK AND FIELD MICHAEL JOHNSON “In ’96, I was six years into my professional career and Nike was making new spike plates for sprinters, which I didn’t like that much. I was still wearing a spike plate that had been developed back in 1984. So I started working directly with the designers at Nike and their sports scientists to create a sprint spike that was specific to my feet and events. A big part of my success as a 200-meter sprinter was my ability to run the curve very efficiently. You need to have dorsal flexion when you place each foot to get power on the curve. You want to be able to feel each foot placement and the interaction between the foot and the track. With the gold shoes,…

TROY NORRED WAS ON HIS WAY HOME for Thanksgiving in 1998 when he had his flash of genius. It was the middle of the night, his wife was driving the family car, and his four children were asleep in the back. He’d just finished his shift at the hospital, where his workweek often exceeded a hundred hours. Two days shy of thirty-one, Norred was a fellow in the cardiology program at the University of Missouri. For more than a year he’d been stewing over an idea, and so powerful was his sudden insight now—surface area in the aortic root!—that he told his wife to pull over. He made a sketch on a napkin. That sketch would become the breakthrough that led to U.S. Patent No. 6,482,228, “Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement,”…

Instagram on...TABLETS WHEN STEVE JOBS unveiled the original iPad in 2010, he proclaimed it a first-of-its-kind device that would “connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive, and fun way than ever before.” But the man in the black turtleneck overlooked one important thing. Everyone already had an intimate, intuitive, and fun relationship with a device they had on them at all times: their smartphone. Six years later, our favorite pocket-size assistant (and security risk) has become even more indispensable. Meanwhile, tablet sales have tanked—they were down 10 percent in 2015, hitting a low in the first quarter of this year not seen since 2012 (when they were on the way up). But that doesn’t mean the tablet is going anywhere. All the headlines proclaiming…