The DIY-ers corner

[Rallywagon]

My main tips are; to use a stain prep. It helps pull stains and varnishes into the wood evenly. If the varnish is setting to quick, you can thin it some with denatured alcohol. That's better to know before the fact though
To fill the hole, get some of the saw dust, some wood glue, mix together, tape the bottom of the hole and then fill it with the mixture. Tamp some more saw dust onto the top. let it set up, dust off and sand down then varnish, stain or treat however. Again, maybe that's a tip better saved for next time.
Also. When doing the legs. I suggest adding a stout trim piece along the bottom perimeter to add some more support. Drill in some pocket holes on the insides of each corner, and at least two faces of each leg. With an offset, three faces would be best. This will make that table stand for a very long time.
Unless you want to have one fairly portable. Then use the threaded insert, and box in the leg as tightly as you can with some 1x4s. This will help further stabilize the legs instead of relying solely on the inserts to stand up to applied force.
Actually. In that case, creating a channel and using a bolt through it would probably work best. Sorry if my explanation sucks. I'm sure I am hardly clear about what I mean. But, if your curious, I can draw up exactly what I mean.
That said, I'm no pro though, so take all my advice as such. Just passing on things I've heard and learned along the way.

 

[sesselpupser]

@Rallywagon Thanks for the tips, but I'm just replacing the table top on the folding table I already have with the one I cut, for now anyway. I need a "quick" fix - "quick" because I think I brought this table top home in January or so and still haven't finished it - because I'm dying to get back into sim racing since I got my Vive, so building an entire table would take even longer.

I expect it to be extremely flimsy in terms of wobbling side to side because the existing table frame is just terrible, but if it's really bad I'll screw a piece of 2x4 (or whatever) to the wall and screw the table top into that. I assume it'll make more sense when I post a photo of it, hopefully I'll get it on the table tomorrow... I need to borrow my girlfriend's drill!

 

[Rallywagon]

Finally got to try the bowl gouge out. It's perfect for the smaller cups, bowls and alike I plan on making. Next tool to add to the arsenal is going to be an open air 3d printer that I can attach a laser too. Then I'll be able to engrave and possibly laser cut pieces.

That black piece, fyi, is a piece of wood cut from the blank while turning. I then stained it black and coated it with CA glue to help strengthen it. I have a couple more good pieces of spalted birch, which as you can see makes quite the stunning contrast in the light wood but nearly black grain. One is going to be a vase, as it's a fair sized crotch section. Not sure about the other blank yet though.
Tonight though, I think the kiddo and I are going to try our hand at making some rings.

 

[Dennisch]

Our olive tree had outgrown the pot it grew up in and seeing how much a big pot costs :

The planks were sourced from someone's obsolete fence, the beams I ripped off the garage wall, as they didn't do anything anymore.

2 layers of wood stain.

From a 30 liter pot to a 200 liter box.

Just need to trim and fasten the plastic and it should last for some time.

 

[Dennisch]

Rose 2.0.

 

[Rallywagon]

I would not like to thumb wrestle you...

Edit: that's my off handed way of saying nice work. That must take a fair bit of patience and hand strength.

 

[Dennisch]

I would not like to thumb wrestle you...

Edit: that's my off handed way of saying nice work. That must take a fair bit of patience and hand strength.

Actually, if your hammer is big enough it isn't that hard but even I feel it in my lower arm. And I'm used to working with my hands.

 

[Dennisch]

Rose 2.1 made of antique copper.

The source :


 

[Rallywagon]

Got some more time in on the wood lathe and finally got to use the new bowl gouge. It's pine, so it's soft, but it's good practice and less dangerous if i get a catch.
This is the piece I started with.

And this is what it ended up looking like.

 

[Rallywagon]

Got some more time in on the lathe, and poured my first hybrid blank for chess pieces. This is just a test piece so I can feel how it turns and see exactly how it comes out. I think I may pour a little more over the medallion looking one and make a button out of it. The bowl is some since spalted something. Maybe oak. Not sure. Making aye... Well, I'm making it anyway. I used a crotch section, hoping it would come out a little more heart shaped. Just finished the rough shaping, next up is some clean up cuts, sanding, staining and stabilizing.

 

[Jet Badger]

Did some progress on my soldering station project that has been sitting on the shelve for almost 2 years now. Previously I just couldn't have the PCB turn out decent, this time I tried some purpose toner transfer paper from chinabay and it turned out quite alright. Compared to previous attempts that is. It's still not perfect, but still the best result so far.

The little hand drill is the best tool I've tried so far for this purpose.

And it works! I was quite happy that nothing blew up at this point. I had to modify the transformer a bit since I got it, because it had a bit too much voltage at the output. Unwinding some 40 turns off the secondary is what took it.

I took the info on these heating elements and their feedback from the internet and had a 5-sheet excel file to calculate what sort of relation of temperature vs microcontroller input it should end up with. I think I got it somewhat close, but not having a tip thermometer I can only guess. It melts 63/37 solder, which has a melting point at around 183 degrees C pretty much in that range, so that's my only reference for the time being.

I'll add some more features, which are pretty much just a matter of coding. I want the buzzer to make noise, have an auto-shutdown, temperature memory and also sensing when the handle is in the holder.

 

[BobK]

The little hand drill is the best tool I've tried so far for this purpose.

View attachment 647350

Oooh, I like that! Where might one acquire one of those?

 

[Jet Badger]

Oooh, I like that! Where might one acquire one of those?

I bought it at the local electronics store, it was 4.5 eur or so. Found probably the same thing on ebay though: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Archimede...674751?hash=item544698d7ff:g:uf0AAOSw7NNUE0nS

 

[AOS-]

The employee badge protector/plastic sleeves issued at work tend to tear at the top.. so I wanted to be all cool about it and make my own.. out of acrylic.

The design copies the sleeve they issued, with a large flap at the top and a slot to slide the clip through.

It is 3 layers of (what I would like to think is) 1/16" thick acrylic, the 1st and 3rd being the surfaces, and the middle acting as the spacer.

All of it was secured with this Extra Thin Tamiya cement. It acts like super glue in that it uses water tension to draw itself between closely-spaced objects. So when I have two flat surfaces pressed against each other, that stuff just runs itself in there on its own. Dries clear too. I put in the screws originally for aesthetic reasons, but I can see it acting as extra reinforcement should the cement bond give in the future.


Sad story of it all is that the screw added too much stress to the acrylic. When I'm doing work and I'm leaned on the edge of a table, it got pressed against it. Acrylic can't bend, so it cracked and eventually the top flap broke off, unsurprisingly in the same way the company-issued sleeves did as well.

Luckily I didn't size the protector to fit my employee badge perfectly, so I had room to cut out another slot. It is still in commission to this day.

 

[Johnny1996]

Even though I haven't replied to this thread before, it's one of my favorites. Now I do have a reason to post here, so here goes.

Where I keep my three wheeler and dirt bike, it's an uneven surface. To make it easier to move the machines around, I picked up some Harbor Freight moving dollies.



An added issue I ran into with using these is the casters are too small to easily roll over the transitions in the ground, and I'd be left with having to continually put the machine wheels (meaning the wheels on the three wheeler and bike) on and off the dollies then repositioning the dollies. Despite the machines being relatively light, it was a struggle and just wasn't quite worth the effort. To fix this I got some hooks and put them in the dollies. From there I ran a bungee or two through the spokes of the wheels. Now the dollies will stay with the wheels instead of me having to do things the old hard way. I got a handful of carabiners in case I needed an extension beyond what the bungees could do.





This is the final result. I went with orange bungees so they'd be easier to see. The dollies hold 1000 pounds each and both machines combined weigh less than half of that. Plus with the added hooks, I may have a new way to store them when they're not in use.

 

[W3H5]

@Johnny1996, I scrolled down, saw that trike wheel and had to scroll back to your username to check you weren't @Slash. Lol

This week I made yet another board game, this one for my Games club at school on Tuesdays.

It's an open world nonlinier board game and I only have a few pics as there's still a bit more to do. I hope the kids appreciate it.

 

[TB]

New project for the theater room wall. Slightly less ambitious than the last one.

This is a small (approximately 3" tall) proof of concept for what I'm thinking will be around a 24" version.

Some unused pallet wood, a sketch of a movie projector, some carbon copy paper and a Sharpie. Obviously with the larger version the smaller details I left out will be a lot easier.

 

[Rallywagon]

As some may have seen it the latest purchase thread. I got a new trailer! And boy is it 🤬! It's going to be a doozy fixing er up. Here is what it looks like now.

As you can see, it's in rough shape. the shackles for the leaf springs were welded in place... Unevenly... So the right side tire is about 4 inch's further back. Made for a fun drive back home, driving as far left as I could in my lane and having the trailer ride the right side line. The tongue bar is bent and will need to be cut and capped. The leaf springs will need new shackles, and some other various odds and ends. I'm starting the tear down today. Then I'll take a wire wheel to knock down some rust and give it a good coat of Por 15.
So, as you can see it's a boat trailer, and that's sorta the plan now. Though far different boats. So I plan on making a "box" that will hold our camping gear. Cooking stuff, tent, chairs, etc. Then have a couple of posts across the top to put our kayaks across. Here's the idea.

The front portion of the box will follow the lines of the trailer. A few side hatches. Large one in the back. I'll make an update post or two as this progresses.

 

[Rallywagon]

Everything was borked! On quick examination, I thought the axle was so crooked because the shackles were welded up unevenly.... Nope, because whoever welded that burned out hunk of Jacked up pipe never got penetration into the frame metal. As such, it must have broke free while my father in law was driving it up. Luckily we got back safe!

The shackle job on the left side was only marginally better, but "better" enough. A few whacks with a 5 pounder took that side off to easily though. All of that mess has been hastily removed.
Now the frame has been wheeled and painted, tongue the same. In the process of making some new shackles and got the leaf spring hardware in a vinegar bath.
Sadly, I don't have the time or money to get the job fully done. For the time I'm going to get the thing cobbled back together, without getting the axle cleaned up. And I don't have time to build the box before our camping trip this weekend. Instead I'll be making the floor frame of the box tomorrow, adding in a sheet of plywood so I can throw our tent and some gear on it. When we get back. I'll have a deck to finish then I'll get to finish this.
This is as the trailer stands now.

 

[Rallywagon]

So, in roughly 3 days I took this...


Stripped it down, removed all the old welds and crap that were junk and cleaned it up a little too this!


I was on a serious time crunch to get at least road worthy for our camping weekend that started this past Thursday. The paint and weld prep took the longest to complete. The bed also was just a quick job. A test off sorts as well. It changes my ideas a bit on the "campster v1" i guess making it v2 now, but I got an idea to make the frame universal and making several different style beds to attach fit whatever is needed.
As it stands. This was the last big trip of the summer. I got a deck to finish, and a few of jobs. Then I'll be fixing the shackles. Cleaning up the springs and their mounts as well as add few more layers of paint. After that it's just a matter of whipping up a quick frame and kiting it out for whatever the need. I was a little worried at first, but all in all, this was a fantastic purchase. Definitely glad the FIL gave us a deal.

 

[AlvaroF]

Well, I decided to mod an old PC case to eventually build a new computer at some point. Right now I'm on the design phase, or just an excuse to use Solidworks. I have pretty solid idea of what I want to do, I'm just having trouble with cooling because I only have one inlet and one exhaust and they are both up to 90mm which sucks because I want to use an AIO system and they use a 120mm fan at least.

 

[Rallywagon]

Well, I decided to mod an old PC case to eventually build a new computer at some point. Right now I'm on the design phase, or just an excuse to use Solidworks. I have pretty solid idea of what I want to do, I'm just having trouble with cooling because I only have one inlet and one exhaust and they are both up to 90mm which sucks because I want to use an AIO system and they use a 120mm fan at least.

If you want smaller than 120, you gotta build it. There are options for that though. http://www.performance-pcs.com/radiators/shopby/radiator-size--92mm/

What's the case design so far?

 

[AlvaroF]

If you want smaller than 120, you gotta build it. There are options for that though. http://www.performance-pcs.com/radiators/shopby/radiator-size--92mm/

What's the case design so far?

So far I'm doing representative parts of the chassis of the thing. I have the top part done, the front chassis panel done and I started the motherboard tray.

The idea is to have kind of a sleeper. The case will be resprayed in black. I'll replace one of the side panels with an acryllic one. I found a solution for the radiator, I'll put it in the CD/DVD drivers tray, use a magnetic filter and cover it with a sloted piece of acryllic for improved air flow. Also on the bottom I have a 120mm fan half drilled . The PSU will remain on the same spot and now the challenge is the exhaust. I don't know if the PSU can aid in the process and I have only one small exhaust fan. Other than that it's fairly straight foward.

 

[TB]

I didn't have a spot to put my miter and table saws so they sat on the ground in front of my Pilot.



What I DID have was leftover plywood from the theater room wall so after purchasing a bit more odds and ends:



And a cut and a bolt here:



And there:



Saw storage!



I have that last piece of plywood marked but I didn't want to fire up the skillsaw that late last night so it'll be wrapped up tonight.

Not bad for $10!

 

[AlvaroF]

This is my very simplified chassis, there's a lot of details missing, like holes and drive trays, but I'll be adding them as ideas flow and solutions come to mind. Right now I'll test fit some components and then assemble the front panel because it'll suffer the most modifications.

 

[W3H5]

Board game prototype No. 7. (6 years in the making)

After years of creating table top games I think I've finally cracked it.

First test run yesterday with 8 players went well, positive responses all round. Board needs a few layout mods and some decoration as it's a plain hex board as of now and the player pieces are really DIY'd.

Would love to take some material to a laser cutting shop and have a real ready-to-ship prototype to play with.

Maybe one day I'll even submit it to company in the hopes of having one of my games go international.

Photos to follow when I have the next game session.

 

[AlvaroF]

Before:

After:

There are some paint errors, in the front, and some fitment errors with a screw hole, but otherwise it's finished. I only have to source all the parts as they are all chosen.

 

[Rallywagon]

Before:

View attachment 669159

View attachment 669160

After:

View attachment 669161

View attachment 669162

View attachment 669163

There are some paint errors, in the front, and some fitment errors with a screw hole, but otherwise it's finished. I only have to source all the parts as they are all chosen.

Not bad. Gonna add some plexiglass to the side panel and get some RGB in there? You can do some pretty cool things with a dremel. Also, be sure to check the measurements on the standoffs. PCs like that often used a " proprietary" style ATX board that has the mounting holes in different locations.

 

[AlvaroF]

Not bad. Gonna add some plexiglass to the side panel and get some RGB in there? You can do some pretty cool things with a dremel. Also, be sure to check the measurements on the standoffs. PCs like that often used a " proprietary" style ATX board that has the mounting holes in different locations.

The plexiglass is already added (thus the fitment mistake) side and front. In the front is a panel with a hole with 140mm to a fit a fan and a cool fan grill to spice thing up.

The system is not to old so the stand offs are fine, I checked it.
I'm not going RGB, just full white on the inside

 

[Rallywagon]

Oh I see! I didn't realize the whole side panel was replaced with plexiglass. What's the hardware that's going in to the case?