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Sincere apologies to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.
Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at bad batteries, good recycling, and a mustard cap.
Tool News Quick Bites
No new tools this week! Guess nobody wanted to compete with Prime Day.
Cheap Crap: Dangerous Knockoff Edition
Speaking of Prime Day, I scrolled past a lot of poorly made crap this week, which was frankly upsetting. I think one of the most egregious offenders are knockoff batteries. They often look pretty much like the real deal, until you start looking closer.
Even the 9.0Ah is weird; nobody makes a battery that size.
I learned a lot about the engineering that goes into tool batteries back when I was researching this article. So much work goes into heat management, ability to survive repeat charge cycles, and safety. These knockoffs at a fraction of the cost just feel like a ticking time bomb. First, there’s the very real and dangerous risk of a lithium-ion battery fire. Secondly, these batteries will last a shorter amount of time between recharges and have a much shorter lifespan. And you can’t just throw a bad lithium-ion battery away, it needs to be recycled properly. Third, they can damage your tools, which are more valuable than the batteries anyway. The short-term savings are just not worth the long-term costs.
Random Reddit: Unexpected Compatibility
I’m not sure anyone needed to know this, but I’m certainly glad I’ve had the opportunity to learn. (Here’s the link, in case the embed doesn’t load.)
Today I learned these caps are 100% interchangeable.
byu/PanicRev inwoodworking
Video of the Week: Recycling Time
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a moxon vice with dumbbell hardware. Jason runs the Epic UpCycling YouTube channel, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Classic finding something old and turning it into something new, but done at a very high level. In this case, the final product is indistinguishable from one with purchased hardware. A very impressive feat.
Anything interesting I missed this week, or that you want me to highlight in a future Splinter Report? Let us know on social media or drop me an email at cknoff@aimmedia.com.
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