Drafting

A small drafting board I made around august 2012.

Many drawings, designs, and paper constructions start as a sheet of paper taped to this.

Alcohol Lamp

This was an alcohol lamp I made around August 2013. It was a hard-learned lesson in engineering. The O-rings expanded when saturated with alcohol, and the slip-fit connections were too tight to get it apart once they swelled. Corrosion also formed on the interior of the reservoir. It was fun to look at while it lasted, though.

I don't plan on making another. The amount of work that went into it was not rational.

Robot Parts

A post for the robots.

This was part of a FIRST robot, 2010. The weight relief was milled with a rotary table.

Part of the same robot, also made with manual mill. It's a battery mount. I remember making it very quickly; I don't actually remember how long it took. 

The box on the left is the last thing I made for FIRST, 2011. Manually machined from a block of 3/4" aluminum. 

Mostly wooden pen plotter made 2011-2012

Pen head. A small 24v solenoid pushes the lever to lift the pen.

Unconventional toothed belt tensioner. The pulley inside the block is nylon with an internal 3/8" OD ball bearing. Very smooth.

Not Hostile

Unusual tree ornament

December 2012

Cog Necklace

Necklace: 303 stainless and C385 brass. Copper Rivet.

Made almost entirely with hand tools, July 2013

Cog spins smoothly.

Earrings pre-hook, 316 stainless. Sorry about white balance. Turned on mini manual lathe.

The earrings remind me of REAL machine handles. None of this CNC willy-nilly.*

*I wouldn't be surprised if this sentence provoked the first comment. Yes yes, I know. Save it for your friends at hackerspace.

Sewing Awls

About two years ago, I discovered the type of sewing awl with a bobbin built-in. I was intrigued by the concept, but disappointed by commercially available awls. Why should such an elegant concept be executed so poorly? So I set out to make my own. I machined it of aluminum bar stock with steel for the needle bar. 

I then took what I learned in the year of using that awl and applied it to the design of a second one. The second one had an integrated thread tensioner to keep the bobbin from unwinding, as well as to make tensioning of the stitches easier. The thread tension is adjustable for different weights of thread. The bobbin holder was modified for speed and ease of use. It fits nicely in the hand, placing the sewing thread right at the fingertips for control. The thread exits the bobbin holder through a small steel tube to prevent wear on the aluminum body. The first awl was made to last a century; the second was made to last three.

I sold it late Jan. 2014, but I may make more if people show interest. v2.0 was made of 6061 aluminum, 316 stainless, 12L14 steel, and C360 brass. Accepts DBx1 needles and standard industrial bobbin.

Dimensions 5" OAL x 1.125" x .875"

Here it is next to the original:

First Post ~ About This Blog

This is a blog of my peculiar creations and how they are constructed.

I hope you enjoy it!