Another Chopstick Jig, Sprinkler Stand

For making hexagonal chopsticks. Made of beech, on commission. Nicest one yet, very hefty and accurate.

I also made a collapsible sprinkler tripod:

It's been sprinkling away the last month or so. I made it because our usual reciprocating sprinklers only lasted about a year each. This style should be a lot more durable, and it covers a wider area too.

I've been posting less because I'm spending more time building this mess, and doing larger projects. I will share them all when they are complete. Slow and steady-

Letter Opener

A simple letter opener made of hickory, on commission.

Backdrop Winch

I'm setting up an area for photographing items we make for sale. I bought different colored 9' wide paper backdrops. As the area for photographing is in the living room, the rolls need to be easily retracted off the floor when people are living nearby. Some of the items are tall, so the backdrop needed to be hung near the ceiling. I decided bevel gears would work well for the application.

Both left and right spindles are slightly tapered to fit in the backdrop core tightly. I made them on the lathe. They both stick into the core about 3".

The left spindle slides inwards and outwards on a snug cherry dovetail. This allows for changing the roll, and allowed the hanging screws to go into the studs.

I wanted to make this quickly, so I didn't bother too much with visual details. The entire thing is made from scraps: maple, cherry, hickory, walnut, birch for the gears. Above is the indentation from the lathe drive center. It will be nice to have the centers marked in case I ever need to modify it.

Here is the rod that spins the gear. I figured two pins mated with oversize holes used like this would be a sort of universal coupling.

The gear is held to the spindle with two setscrews in case I ever want to take it apart. The only glue I used was to connect the parts of the handle (below)

60 degree dovetail.

Greenhouse Frame

I made this little greenhouse frame of Douglas fir scraps. Is is 4' deep by 8' wide by 3.5' tall.

Plastic hinges and stainless hardware.

This arm locks the flaps open or closed. They are for ventilation on hot days.

Longboard Gloves, Chair Drawings

Gloves for attaching plastic pads to, for longboarding. I just sewed the velcro to the mechanic's gloves. For a friend.

Below are some drawings I did of wooden chairs, to be made by my dad.

Taig Lathe Box and Motor

I bought a Chinese brushless sewing machine motor and controller for ~$140.00 USD, from Atlas Levy. They are all over Aliexpress and similar for about the same price. I don't know how long it will last, but so far it seems like a great match for the Taig. A similar arrangement with VFD and three phase motor would be in the neighborhood of $500, though it would likely be higher quality.  RPM range is 300-3000 rpm, or about 150-1500 rpm with the pulley attached.

The box is made of 18mm birch plywood. All the joints are rabbeted for good luck.

Cable tie hooks:

In the above photo you can see the speed control potentiometer (actually an optical sensor, I assume) and its actuation lever. The lever has a big socket at the pivot, press fit onto a nub on the lever, as well as the two screws and nuts you can see at the bottom. In other words, it is very rigidly attached. This lever is normally connected to a sewing machine foot pedal via ball ends and an adjustable linkage.

 

Above two photos are the lathe mount, made of hickory. It doesn't match the lathe like the old aluminum one, but it is SO much more functional. The screws which attach it to the surface underneath point inwards for easy screwdriver access.

Here is the accidental bird speed selection lever. It has a spring about where the operator's thumb goes to keep the beak pawl engaged. It works really well. I feel it's good to be able to turn machines off quickly. This design is what I came up with to be able to shut it down faster than you can say pileated woodpecker polycrystalline boron nitride. The maximum RPM and rotation direction is adjustable at the controller.

Rebuilt Drafting Machine

I bought and rebuilt a Vemco V-track 612. It was made in the 70's. I completely cleaned and lubricated every component, protractor head included. It's very smooth and solid now. I replaced all of the carriage bearings, some screws, and a brake pad, but everything else was in good working condition. I understand replacement parts are no longer available for these machines, but I'm sure I could make a part from scratch if ever necessary... unlikely though. Many of the parts are standard--it's built like an old airplane.

These machines are really cheap now for how well they're built. Useless to most people I guess, but I hope to use the heck out of it for 1:1 pattern making, general design, making containers/envelopes, and drawing for fun.

I covet the Civil Engineer's protractor head for its appearance but it seems they're pretty rare. The Type 4 head on mine is a treat itself. The manual says not to disassemble the Type 4 because re-assembly is difficult, but it really wasn't too bad. Pretty complex unit for its job though!

Above, gluing the new brake pad on

I sketched out and cut this gift box for my brother with the machine in record time. The charcoal lines on the outside were just done on the floor, with the charcoal I made.