Patches, Boots, Bat, I'm Back-

Hex pants patches. After moving away from the wood shop, I'm back to thread, needle, and small machining. I have a few bigger sewing projects in the making which will be posted here as they are finished-

 I made this patch for a talented friend to sew onto something.

Another friend needed me to reinforce some new soccer boots for him. He's worn the same ones for five or six years, and they discontinued making them; quite a let-down as they fit his odd-shaped feet better than everything he's tried. His current pair is held together by a fine wisp of leather and a wish. After searching the internet up and down, he found a pair that's a half-size too small, but good enough.

I've done this before to new boots for him. He claims it doubles or triples their life. As this is the last pair in existence, he told me to go FULL SEND on the stitching this time. This is kevlar V-346 thread with a 130 lb break strength, which will be epoxied over.

The .020" music wire is the trick to sewing inside shoes:

Also drew a watercolor bat for my girlfriend's sister's birthday:

<kvetch>
I haven't posted in a while due to moving house--we had a frustrating exchange with enturyCay inkLay (paranoid... perhap): basic internet was advertised as $30/mo, they bumped it up to $40/mo after we signed up, and by error or design, the first bill was to be $189. Cancellation fee before the 1 yr contract was over was supposedly $250, but after many hours on hold we learned that we would only pay for the days of service provided if we cancelled in the first two weeks (and sent back the proprietary router). We got two days of service which should have cost $2.60 by their claim. They sent us a bill for $56, making it look like they didn't process the cancellation. More hours on hold to find out we weren't supposed to pay that bill. Then a $13 bill came, which was as close to $2.60 as we dared to hope for. Paid it immediately, and got a letter a week later saying they hadn't received payment for the $13 bill. That letter was a mistake too it turns out. Total time spent navigating their labyrinth was easily 12 hours. We are now free from their slimy talons as far as I can tell.
</kvetch>

After that, we decided to live without wired internet. I can use my phone (republic wireless, a bit more honest) as a 3g hotspot. Photos from now on will be low-resolution for that reason-

Bench + Microscope

Pardon the poor photos. I finally have the big parts made of a bench I've had planned for six months. Top is 24" long and o'all height with microscope stand is 45".

I wanted something heavy, low to the ground, and stout. I find myself often trying to coax precision out of a hacksaw or file. A jiggling, walking, insecure bench has caused me much anguish and injury in the past. This bench and vise combo isn't going anywhere fast.

I also wanted a versatile vise which would hold onto parts with confidence. I decided on a 6" Kurt for ease of jaw change and robustness. It's not as ergonomic as other options, but I can easily hold other more delicate workholding fixtures in it if necessary.

I recently started sharpening surgical tools, and got a binocular microscope for the purpose. Couldn't stomach the cost of a commercially available stand right now, so I built one. While lacking a fine-adjust for focusing on fixed surfaces, it works great. The counterweight portion of the lower arm envelops a few blocks of metal to help balance it. I thought this bench would make a nice station for sharpening.

The microscope mount accommodates an acrylic shield to prevent my unworthy troglodyte implements from damaging the lens.

These handles lock down the two attachments. Both bases have shallow concavities in the bottom, to ensure they clamp securely. The screws are mortised into the bases so they don't spin.

Here are some wooden jaws I made for the kurt. They are held with the "dovelock master jaws".

I made this wooden piece to adapt some cheap 5v LED lights to my noga mag base, for lighting under the microscope.

Below is a rendering of how I expect to use the table for precision work. The wooden stick will probably be replaced with more complex shapes and fixtures suited to the task.

Prototype Stand

For a friend, made of hickory

Recumbent Trike Flag Mount

I made a little wooden clamp to hold the safety flag on a Catrike. The mount that came with the trike originally was pretty weak, relying on the tightness of a single m5 screw to keep the flag upright.

My dad puts the trike in his car often, so the flag needed to be easily removable. I mortised in a hex head screw which threads into a brass thumb nut to clamp the flag shaft. The little pin above it keeps the clamping plate from flopping around when the flag is removed.

Works great!

Prototype Stand

Made of hickory for a customer.

Toolbox

Japanese style toolbox made of fir to support my tool problem. I milled the fir sides from a tree.

Some of this style have a locking wedge. The lid fits snugly enough in both directions; a wedge doesn't seem necessary. Who knows what will happen as it ages though.

Feet (underside):

Also made a wooden prototype eggiknobule for someone:

Honey Pot Lid

The knob broke off the honey pot lid, so I made it a new one of cherry: