We Can All Be Inventors

I’m an inventor. I’m an inventor in the same way most of us are inventors: I have a need and I jury-rig something that will get the job done. It’s not fancy, it’s usually not pretty, but it does what I need it to do. You probably do the same and, like me, you probably don’t think of it as invention, either.

Here’s an example: I do calligraphy. I’m not a master, but on most days I do OK. Sometimes, especially when I’m using a brush, I have an inkwell on my table. Understanding gravity like I do, I worry that I’m going to goof and that inkwell will accidentally demonstrate the incessant nature of that force and my carpet will bear the brunt of the inevitable result when falling transitions into crashing. Clearly, I needed an inkwell holder. I sallied forth to ye olde home improvement store and purchased a PVC drain (it’s like a cup with a grate on one side. Using some aluminum armature wire I had (me being an artist and all), I quickly make a loop that wrapped around the drain, put it near the top edge of my table, and bend the remaining wire around the tabletop to secure my new inkwell holder. It’s quite secure and fulfilled a need.

Things like this happen all the time in households around the world. There’s an inconvenience that you try to make less so with materials available to you. Invention isn’t all UAVs and iPhones, it’s also safety pins and, yes, inkwell holders.

[amazon_link id=”B003AL71FI” target=”_blank” container=”span” container_class=”alignright” ][/amazon_link] In the video below, William Gurstelle touts the delight of the hot glue gun when doing DIY inventing. For me, the most useful element is a two-part epoxy clay called Magic-Sculpt. This stuff works like clay for several hours and then cures hard as a rock. If you can create the shape, you can have a finished product (think of it as 3d printing without the expense — and replicatable precision — of a 3d printer). I also can’t underestimate the usefulness of a good epoxy (I like [amazon_link id=”B0006O1ICE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]J-B Weld[/amazon_link]), duct tape, and taking the time to learn both soldering and how to tie a dozen or so useful knots. (Yes, I like epoxies. They may not be fast, but they hold like nobody’s business, and that’s usually what I’m after.)