Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2013 i Popular Mechanics

To celebrate Father's Day we dedicate this issue to dads everywhere. Thanks for your help, old man. We read all of your comments, tweets, and letters. We haven't taken our contact lenses out in 111 years. TALK TO US Curated by Alyson Sheppard email popularmechanics@hearst.com snail mail 300 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019 subscribe subscribe.popularmechanics.com Readers weigh in on our April cover story, "Are You Prepared?" with their own tips for surviving a disaster. • Craig Sutter of Bowling Green, Ky., thinks we overlooked a critical piece of gear. "Your list was great, but a tourniquet could treat extremity hemorrhaging, which in combat care accounts for 60 percent of deaths in the field," he writes. Steve Kelmenson of New York's Long Island believes a life raft is…

INDUSTRY BORN AGAIN WITH A NEW ENGINE, A NEW MOTORCYCLE, AND A NEW OWNER, INDIAN IS READY TO TAKE ON ITS OLD CRUISER RIVAL. When Steve Menneto, vice president of motorcycles at Polaris Industries, unveiled Indian's all-new Thunder Stroke 111 engine at Daytona Bike Week in March, motorcycle enthusiasts were giddy with anticipation. Polaris bought the nearly dormant Indian Motorcycle brand in 2011. Would the company be able to revive it? The undeniably beautiful piece of engineering didn't disappoint. But Indian's new Thunder Stroke also represents something deeper for throttle twisters: the restoration of one of America's most iconic motorcycle brands. The original Indian motorcycle company was once a superstar. After its founding in 1901, Indian's bikes went on to win major international racing victories, and by the 1910s the…

In October 2012, Midshipman Abdussalaam Kako, wearing his summer white uniform, stepped inside a Boys & Girls Club in Annapolis, Md. A volunteer with the nearby U.S. Naval Academy's Midshipman Action Group, Kako had chosen to teach marine science in the club's mentoring program. "I was visiting for the first time," Kako, 20, says. "I looked around and saw the kids staring at me." Todd Womack, now 10, broke the ice. "He came up to me and said, 'Hey, who are you?'" Kako recalls. Kako is the son of a Kurdish Iraqi who, while in Saddam Hussein's army, plotted to oust the tyrant in the late '90s. After Hussein found out, Kako's family gained asylum in the United States, settling in Memphis. His father returned to Iraq in 2003, when…

Home      • PAINT OR STAIN?     • SAFER DRYER DUCTS     • RAFTER-SQUARE TIPS     • STRING TRIMMERS Don't let the potential hazards of hand and power tools keep your child from discovering the rewards of DIY competence. "Just because it's sharp doesn't mean it's dangerous," says Timothy Dahl, founder of BuiltbyKids.com. Demystifying the workshop is key. The more time your child spends there, the more quickly he or she will learn to respect tools. Mastering these 10 favorites will provide lessons in technique, maintenance, and safety. Just be sure to progress at a pace that's comfortable for you both. Hammer • Age 7 Any rambunctious kid should be comfortable swinging a hammer. Just be sure it's something light enough to handle correctly but sufficiently heavy to be effective. "No matter what the tool is, it…

     • CREATING YOUR OWN RINGTONES      • ZOOMING IN ON TABLET MAGAZINES      • CONSOLIDATING EMAIL ACCOUNTS When I was 14 years old I got my first computer. It was 1986, and my father took advantage of a deal with a local bank that was offering a Macintosh Plus in lieu of interest on a CD. My father had had computers in the house since 1980, when he bought a DEC VT180, and he encouraged my older brother and me to learn how to use them, but I think it all came to a head when he discovered us one Saturday morning hammering away at the keys of his Panasonic Senior Partner portable PC, trying to make the little green-screen athletes in the game Decathlon run fast enough to clear a pole…

A sea kayak can haul a couple of backpacks' worth of camping gear, fishing tackle, and wine boxes—and without a single pound weighing down your shoulders. The trick to keeping the boat handling well is to place the heaviest items low and centered. "A correctly loaded kayak can actually be more stable than an empty boat," says Lamar Hudgens, owner of the North Carolina adventure guide service Barrier Island Kayaks. "Just think before you stuff." Prep Arrange your gear in three piles: nighttime camp equipment, items you want during rest breaks on the beach, and everything you need to reach from the cockpit. Pack Use waterproof dry bags to hold your gear, and think small; any bag wider than a dinner plate likely won't fit through the hatches. lOAD…

MODERN MEDICINE Alas, Yorick Gets 3D-Printed Skull implants may not be considered cutting-edge anymore, but this March a man received one made to order by a 3D printer. Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) prints the inserts, which can replace up to an amazing 75 percent of a patient's skull. The Connecticut-based company forges replacement bone out of biomedical polymer, a thermoplastic that's lighter than metal but with bone-like density and stiffness. And, unlike metal, the polymer doesn't interfere with MRIs and X-rays. It also fits better: Currently, surgeons have to customize one-size-fits-all implants for each patient during surgery. But doctors can precisely tailor this implant to the patient by using computer-aided design files. "This has been the holy grail for a lot of surgeons for a while," says OPM CEO Scott…

Patent Abuse HOW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS GOT OUT OF CONTROL. "Too much of a good thing," Mae West supposedly said, "can be wonderful." Is that true? Maybe in some cases, but probably not where patents and copyrights are concerned. Just look at the controversy over a recent ruling that made unlocking your cellphone a felony punishable by five years in prison and $500,000 in fines. This twist on 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has encouraged people to rethink what, exactly, intellectual property laws should protect, and to wonder if they've gone too far. I think the answer is yes, and that a look back at the constitutional roots of our patent and copyright system can offer some useful guidelines. Software is becoming the most valuable part of many physical…

After my parents split, I spent occasional weekends with my dad a few miles away in Suffolk, in the East of England. I slept in his basement, which was also his wood-carving workshop. It was a curious place for a kid. A stuffed owl hung from the ceiling, frozen in awkward flight. On a shelf was a human skull etched with medical labels. He said Granddad had found it in a box on a train. Stacked in corners and under benches were hunks of wood of all different colors and sizes; some were half-finished sculptures of pheasants and other forest animals. The floor was covered in tiny wood chips that stuck to my socks. The place smelled of wood, and also of leather, metal, cigarettes, beer, and soup. My father,…

STEP OUTSIDE ON A SUMMER DAY, AND YOU'LL LIKELY HEAR THE WHINE OF A STRING TRIMMER CLEANING UP SOME SHAGGY GRASS ALONG A FENCE, DRIVEWAY, OR WALK. MOST OF THESE TOOLS USE A TWO-STROKE ENGINE TO SPIN A SMALL HEAD WITH PLASTIC CUTTING LINE. WE GATHERED 10 CONSUMER-GRADE MACHINES, EACH WITH A CURVED SHAFT THAT HELPS YOU MAINTAIN A RELAXED POSTURE AS YOU TRIM. WE CONDUCTED OUR TEST IN CHARLESTON, S.C., AT THE HISTORIC MCLEOD PLANTATION, WHICH DATES TO 1695. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO WORK AND PROVIDED FOUR DAYS' WORTH OF GRASS, VETCH, AND WEEDS TO CUT. OUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY? YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A LOT TO GET A CAPABLE TRIMMER.…

My family used to leave for our summer vacations well before dawn. My three sisters and I would curl up among the suitcases and pillows and promptly fall asleep. Waking up as the sun rose and watching my dad expertly guide us down the highway always filled me with excitement, mingled with a snug sense of security. That feeling remains the goal on any good family trip. You want the thrill of striking out for new territory but the confidence that no undue mishaps will befall you along the way. Getting that balance right requires just a bit of planning—and making the most of today's tech. Prepare Your Chariot The week before a trip is a good time to give your car a mechanical once-over: Check tire pressure and tread…

To make their fertilizing plans for the season, many home gardeners turn to store-bought soil-testing kits, which can help them determine whether to add chemicals such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. While these tests are helpful for large-scale farmers, soil scientists say they're often unnecessary for backyard gardeners. For example, nitrogen levels can fluctuate daily, requiring retesting throughout the growing season to gain information you can act on. University of Wisconsin, Madison, soil scientist John Parsen says the most common problems can be identified with very low-tech methods. "Many kits assume there's a problem with the soil, and come from a perspective of, how do I fix it?" Parsen says. "In fact, most home soil is probably okay and needs only minor improvements to complement what you already have." Parsen's…

SEVEN ESSENTIAL KNIVES When it comes to knives, the key is not quantity but rather quality and careful selection. The right metal is critical—that's a given. But the handle must also be comfortable, and the knife well-balanced for control and precision. With just seven of the right knives, you'll be equipped to take on steaks, branches, and even the occasional zombie. — RACHEL Z. ARNDT Seven? You probably didn't think you needed that many knives. But read on and we think you'll see why that's the magic number. SWISS ARMY HIKER ($35) It's just enough knife totake into the wilderness, no more and no less. The tools range from stout (cut-ting blades, saw, screwdrivers) to detail-oriented (remark-ably fine-bladed tweezers). LEATHERMAN REBAR ($55) There's no need to fear inadvertent gashes from…

To be a good father is to be a gifted teacher. Whether we grow up to become movie stars, aerospace engineers, or motorcycle mechanics, we are shaped by what we were taught by our dads and mentors, lessons we absorbed during our unquestioning childhood years, our rebellious adolescence, and beyond. Here is PopMech's homage to the old man. Ty Pennington, 48, carpenter, former host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Once when I was a kid, my dad and I decided to build a boat. We got the plywood, the glue, paint, hardware, and other parts. I learned how to use different tools and piece the boat together. But when we took it on its maiden voyage, we got maybe 20 feet from shore and began to sink. My dad just…

Whether it's writing code or honing handsaw technique, there's plenty for young DIYers to tackle this month—albeit with dad's help. DIY HOME Get the right tool for the right age. From hammer to chain saw, here are 10 key implements of construction that a DIYer should learn to use. p. 106 DIY TECH You'll never be as tech-savvy as your kids. Get over it, and help them become maximum geeks—safely. p. 116 DIY AUTO Are we there yet? Update the classic family road trip with our handy guide to tech, tactics, and sanity savers. p. 122 A BRIEF HISTORY OF… IF YOUR DAD OFFERS HIS GOLF CLUBS AS HAND-ME-DOWNS, ACCEPT GRACIOUSLY BUT USE MODERN STICKS. HISTORY SHOWS THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE THEM MUCH BETTER. p. 140 Our experts address your…

To Paint or to Stain? I just built a cedar deck railing. I was going to paint it and call it a day, but now my wife wants me to stain it to show off the wood's texture and color. That sounds like a lot more maintenance later. What do you think? Unfortunately, there's no simple this-or-that answer. Paint the railing and you won't have to refinish it any time soon, but you'll hide the wood's color, grain pattern, and texture. Stain it and you'll accentuate all these characteristics, but you'll be stripping it back and starting again sooner than if you'd used paint. Either way, finishing the railing is critical, because unprotected wood left to the elements gets ugly fast. Moisture is absorbed by wood, causing it to twist,…

First things first—$1600 is crazy expensive for a seat replacement. The bad news is that you can't get it from a scrap yard, because a replacement bladder needs to be calibrated and programmed into the occupant-sensing system to work properly. "Is the seat safe to ride in" is a far more iffy thing to answer. The cushion bladder is part of a pressure-sensing system built into the seat bottom and designed to more or less weigh the occupant. It tells the car if the seat is occupied, the approximate weight of the occupant, and, in some cases, the position of the occupant. The computer combines this data with information about whether the seatbelt is buckled, the speed of the vehicle, and the severity and angle of the impact to determine…

960–1279: Royals from China's Song Dynasty play chuiwan, hitting balls into holes with a set of 10 bejeweled clubs. 1400s: Despite earlier evidence of proto-golf in the Netherlands, Scotland gets credit for inventing the game. 1800s: Par for the course, golf makes its way to the United States. Players use 20 to 30 wooden clubs of various functions to hit featheries, hard leather balls stuffed with feathers. 1856: America's hickory trees get the shaft when Robert Forgan exports them to Scotland to make golf clubs. Harder persimmon wood is used for the club heads until drop forging allows for mass-produced iron heads in the late 1800s. 1931: Billy Burke becomes the first golfer to win the U.S. Open using steel-shafted clubs painted to look like wood. But there's no faking…