Popular Mechanics January/February 2023

RAFAEL O. QUEZADA, 72 General Contractor and Artist/Los Angeles, CA “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.”—William Hutchinson Murray FOOD FOR THOUGHT Humanity’s greatest deficiency is its basic nutrition. I’m the founder of The RootStock Foundation, which has worked with a local high school to develop Aquaponics and Spirulina greenhouses to impress on students the importance of nutrition. Knowing the difference between healthy and unhealthy diets can help improve social inequities and facilitate learning. ART IN THE PARK My early conceptual art sought to inspire action to preserve Earth’s nature in the face of industrial exploitation. One of my first projects involved weaving massive planar forms in warehouses. They were like fishing nets, but with large spaces between the filaments. Once the woven elements were built, I collapsed and folded them to carefully…

KEVIN FITZKE, 40 Wood Boat Builder and Designer/St. Paul, MN Sometimes you have to jump into the deep end to learn to swim. Current Passion Project I’ve started building my first boat design, called “Miss Moonshine.” It’s a torpedo-shaped boat that’s inspired by pre-war Grand Prix cars. My goal with Miss Moonshine is to redefine the Gentleman’s Racer boat. LEARNING TO BUILD I grew up in my dad’s woodshop building boat models and learning general woodworking. When I was a teenager, my dad bought me a boat design and building plans book that really opened the door to that world. For some reason, I’ve always been specifically fascinated with old wood boats. Top Tools With wooden boat building, so much is still done by hand, so investing in high-quality hand tools is worth every penny. My favorite brands…

WHAT SHOULD THE WORLD KNOW MORE ABOUT? Pry open any PopMech editor’s brain and you’ll find an over-stuffed assortment of fun facts, practical tips, interesting bits of history, and other insightful discoveries. But because there are only so many pages in this magazine, staffers don’t always have the space to share their favorite, most underreported nuggets of knowledge. Until now. RACING’S LIFESAVING INNOVATIONS As PopMech’s autos editor, I wish more people were aware of the impact that racing has had on road vehicles. Sure, it’s easy to dismiss the sport as just rich playboys having fun behind the wheel, but it’s so much more than that. Automobiles are much safer today, thanks to breakthroughs that were born at the racetrack. Think of disc brakes. Nearly all modern cars have them at all four corners,…

YOU’VE SEEN THE ADS AND CATALOGS HAWKING TRENDY FURNITURE featuring pseudo-repurposed materials for gobs of money. If you’ve ever wondered How hard could it be to make that? or How much would it really cost to make that? we’ve got answers: not all that hard, and not all that much. And we can point you in the right direction to build an industrial-style coffee table that will cost between $50 and $200—depending on your choice of materials or what you might already have on hand. The most specialized tool you’ll need is a welder. If you don’t have one, you can get a 110-volt welder that will do the trick for around $100. Welding takes a little practice, so get some scrap metal to warm up on before you start the…

POPMECH PRO It’s easy to lose track of all the perks that come with your PopMech Pro membership, like exclusive features, detailed plans for DIY projects, and a weekly members-only newsletter. Here are some of the best recent Pro stories you might have missed. (Not a member? Head to popularmechanics.com/join.) HOW TO USE A SPEED SQUARE We just named the Speed Square one of our “22 Greatest Tools” (page 55). In fact, gear editor Brad Ford uses it on practically every woodworking project. In a popular how-to guide, Ford shows you everything you need to know to use the triangular carpenter’s tool—including marking right angles, squaring up joints, and using it as a saw guide. Start measuring at popularmechanics.com/speed-square. A NEW POPMECH ISSUE JUST FOR MEMBERS There’s a brand-new, exclusive digital issue of PopMech available…

OH, JUPITER. IF ONLY the gas giant shifted its orbit slightly, becoming more eccentric (meaning oval-shaped), it could transform the shape of Earth’s orbit, too, causing parts of the blue planet to move closer to the sun. That, in turn, would mean less unlivable ice-covered regions and the potential for more habitable zones. That was the focus of a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal. Modeling data from our solar system as we understand it today, University of California, Riverside (UCR) scientists created a theoretical system that slightly altered Jupiter’s orbit. “Many are convinced that Earth is the epitome of a habitable planet and that any change in Jupiter’s orbit, being the massive planet it is, could only be bad for Earth,” Pam Vervoort, a UCR Earth and planetary scientist and…