Mister Steve’s Stuff
by Mister Steve Golden
Hi! I’m Mister Steve!
I do all kinds of stuff! Some of you know me as a Web developer. Some know me as Mr. Steve, the Piano Tuner. Others know me as Guitar Player/Singer/Songwriter. Still others know me as one who repairs cheap metal jewelry and a tinkerer and fixer of many things that might otherwise be thrown out. During my many activities I encounter useful things and sometimes come up with useful ideas. Some of these ideas might be of use to you as well. So, that’s the purpose of this website. I plan to continue adding many ideas and products I find useful, so don’t forget to visit often.
Mini-Hardware Kits
I was at the hardware store the other day wanting to buy a selection of brass screws, not just one or two, but about 8 or 10 of several sizes. I was faced with the choice of buying either a couple or four screws in little plastic bags for about $1.00 a bag, or boxes of 100 screws of each size. Since some of the bags had only two screws, each of those screws cost more than $0.50 each! Well, I thought I could save some money buying the 100-count boxes and maybe I'd use the screws eventually. Then I discovered the store didn’t even have all the sizes I wanted in the 100-count boxes. I also realized that if I bought more than a couple of each of the bags, I'd need someplace to keep them; a way that that’d be handy to find the screw size I needed when I was working around the house or whenever I needed them.
I thought, “What if someone would put together sets of screws in little compartment boxes? If it's something I'd use, I think others might also!” So that's how Mister Steve’s Mini-Hardware Kits came about.
A the moment, I have Brass Flathead Screws available because these are what I needed. More kits will be available as people tell me what kind of kits would be useful to them.
Laptop Boards
The portability of notebook or laptop computers is terrific! Being connected and getting work done from the family room or watching a movie on the spur of a moment in bed are wonderful features. But in the family room, with the computer on my lap, I don't have any place for my external wireless mouse to run. (I hate that touch-pad thingy.) And when the computer is on my lap or sititng on the bed, it tends to get very warm because the vents get blocked.
Then I got an idea. I’ll make a board just big enough for the computer to sit but wide enough to have a little extra space on the side to drive the mouse. Enter: The Laptop Board!
Tablature/Guitar-Fingerboard Stamp
Learning to play guitar? Know how to play a guitar but don't remember all the chords or notes? Tired of drawing six little vertical lines on your lead sheets to represent the guitar fingerboard so you can put in your own dots after you look up the chord or drawing a similar set of vertical lines for tablature marks so you can remember what notes you're supposed to play at that part of the song? Have trouble getting the lines straight or uniform enough to be able to put in your dots or numbers? Here’s a solution! A tablature stamp! A rubber stamp, available in 1/2”, 1”, and 1-1/2” lengths so you don’t have to keep drawing those lines. Order yours today from Mister Steve’s Tablature Stamp page.
Miracle Polishing Cloth
Available through Mister Steve
As a piano tuner I regularly read the Piano Technician’s Journal, and one month, I found a short article describing a cloth that works wonders on brass, sterling sliver, and many other surfaces. It works so well, I thought I'd offer it here on my site.
So, I present the Miracle Polishing cloth.
HP Replacement Keys
I dropped a small paperback book onto my HP Laptop computer. It broke the “T” key. I was bummed. I had to order a whole keyboard just to replace one tiny broken part in the key mechanism. It wasn’t cheap. I’ve got a lot of keys left over, so if you've broken an HP key, I can save you a bundle! Just check it out here!
I even have photos to help you see what needs to be done to get it properly installed.
