gadgetsandgrain

How to Replace the Battery on Your iPhone (with the help of iFixit)

January 5, 2017February 1, 2020Home Tech7 Comments

I’ve been a loyal iPhone owner since the release of the very first one in 2007. I’m currently on the iPhone 6, and when Apple announced the iPhone 7 back in September 2016, I wasn’t super-compelled to upgrade. My 2-year old iPhone 6 still takes great pictures & video, feels snappy, and arguably stands toe-to-toe with the iPhone 7 from a technology standpoint. The only issue I have with my iPhone 6 is its poor battery performance that has gotten worse and worse over the last several months. This is not an issue with the iPhone 6 per se, but rather a reality of charging and draining the phone’s lithium-ion battery over the years. It has reached the point where my phone can’t even make it through until lunchtime without needing to be charged – and I charge my phone every night!

So what is one to do?

The obvious answer is to replace my iPhone’s battery, but Apple doesn’t make it easy for consumers to change out the batteries on their own iPhones. Luckily, the good folks at iFixit sell replacement batteries and kits to help you crack open your iPhone. With very little technical knowledge on the inter-workings of mobile and zero experience working on electronics, I decided buy iFixit’s $40 iPhone 6 battery replacement kit. I’m not going to give you the detailed step-by-step instructions on how to replace your iPhone’s battery, but rather show you how easy it can be with some courage and iFixit’s easy-to-use kit.

So does this work?

Continue reading ➞ How to Replace the Battery on Your iPhone (with the help of iFixit)

Cheers! Create Your Personal Wall-Mount Bottle Opener

December 3, 2016February 1, 2020DIY Projects18 Comments

Workshops have their essentials: work bench, table saw, power drill, but there’s one tool I’ve been wanting to add for some time: a wall-mounted bottle opener. Sure, I could just use the opener in the kitchen drawer, but there’s just something satisfying about cracking open a cold one with one hand. With a little work, hardware off of Amazon, and some tricks I’ve learned along the way, here’s how you can make your own wall-mount bottle opener.

Continue reading ➞ Cheers! Create Your Personal Wall-Mount Bottle Opener

How to Print on Wood (Sort of)

June 5, 2016February 1, 2020DIY Projects41 Comments

You might not know this, but the inkjet printer sitting around your house still has a few tricks up its paper tray. It can print on wood – well, sort of.

In planning for my daughter’s first birthday party, I attempted to track down a vintage sign related doughnuts (it was a doughnut-themed party). Rather than spend a bunch of money on Etsy, I thought, “Why not just make this sign myself?” The only problem was that trying to paint anything by hand would look not so great, so I took to Google to find a way to transfer a digital design from my computer to a piece of wood. It turns out that trusty wax paper sitting in your kitchen drawer makes this all possible. Let’s get to it.

Continue reading ➞ How to Print on Wood (Sort of)

Oxidize! Getting A Vintage Wood Look

April 8, 2016February 1, 2020DIY Projects163 Comments

Update 8/2/19: After receiving hundreds of questions about this topic over the years, I made an updated version over here: Check it out.

When it comes to home decor, vintage is definitely in. But if you have ever done some DIY woodworking projects, you’ll know it can be hard to obtain that aged wood look. You can either buy pricey “barn wood” from a boutique lumber supplier or let your new lumber from Home Depot sit in the backyard, exposed to the elements for a couple of midwest winters – or perhaps you may want to use this easy, inexpensive method for aging your wood in just under a week.

Continue reading ➞ Oxidize! Getting A Vintage Wood Look

Apple’s New iPhone SE: Is It For You?

March 23, 2016April 8, 2016UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Apple made an unseasonal addition to the iPhone family on March 20th with the announcement of the iPhone SE. With its 4-inch screen, this iPhone is positioned as the entry level model in the iPhone family, but it offers great performance and a killer camera to put it on par with its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus siblings. So with a price tag of $399 (or free with a 2-year service contract with your carrier), is the iPhone SE for you?

iPhoneSE-4ColorFan-PR_US-EN-PRINT

Continue reading ➞ Apple’s New iPhone SE: Is It For You?

Watch Them Grow: A DIY Growth Chart for Kids

March 7, 2016February 1, 2020DIY Projects1 Comment

I keep lovingly telling me 3-year-old son: “Stop Growing!” To which he aways replies, “No! I want to get bigger so I can chew gum.” Sounds logical.

While we can’t freeze time, all we can do is cherish every moment the best we can, and keep record of all the important milestones. One thought I’ve had lately is to keep track of how my kids have been growing. When I was little, this was usually done by my mom or dad charting my height on a door jam. For my kids, I wanted to create something different, and build a chart that can be moved in the event we ever change homes.

I took to Pinterest to find some inspiration, and many folks had a do-it-yourself take on this growth chart from Pottery Barn Kids which looks like a giant ruler. This seems simple enough, and I knew I had the right materials sitting around in my garage.

Continue reading ➞ Watch Them Grow: A DIY Growth Chart for Kids

So What Are We Going To Talk About?

January 23, 2016January 23, 2016Chit-Chat9 Comments

I’m one of those suckers that buys into the idea of starting a new year with big plans. Call it optimism or call it buying into the hype of resolutions, but one thing that popped into my mind when I awoke on January 1, 2016: I should start a blog. But why? Well, there are lots of little reasons, but it pretty much boils down having a little soapbox in this world to share the things I create and am passionate about. And if I can create something that connects with someone – well, that will just be icing on the cake.

On this blog, called “Gadgets and Grain”, I’ll be taking you through my never-ending little projects around the house and show you how I do them. The projects will run the gamut from building a mail catcher box for my mail lot in the garage to repainting my electric guitar. You’re probably wondering “Building a mailbox catcher? Sounds amazing.” I know – thrilling. But I’ve put up with using a makeshift cardboard box for three years and it’s time my family receive its mail with a little class. We’re changing the world here people!

I’ll also offer my perspective on the consumer technology industry and try to make sense of it from the everyman perspective. There are plenty of places like Gizmodo and Engadget where one can geek out on specs, but I hope I can offer some insight which can help friends and family. Along the way, I might even review a few tech products that come into my life.

So let’s have some fun as I meander my way through this whole blogging thing. Truth be told, I don’t really love writing, so I hope Gadgets and Grain will stretch my brain a bit. The writing aside, I’m looking forward to doing what I think God put me Earth to do: create things that make people good. That’s really it.

Welcome to Gadgets and Grain.