Category: Random Projects
Random projects that I do to improve my life, try out an interesting new technology, learn a new skill, etc.
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In a recent science fair project, I used a drill press as a press for strength testing. Drill presses are designed to exert fairly high forces while keeping the spindle perfectly straight. Pretty much all drill presses also have some provision to measure downwards travel, allowing the measurement of strain. Additionally, the self-holding Jacobs taper…
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In this blog post, I detailed several ways of using backyard clay. The method that produced the best results was levigation, in which clay was suspended in water while impurities floated to the top or settled out. The clay-water was poured off and allowed to settle for a long time, after which the water was…
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Introduction I’m trying to get better at casting, and this involves building a proper furnace to melt metals like aluminium and copper instead of just ones that can melt on a stovetop, like zinc. This mainly involves two things: the furnace’s body, and a burner. There are a few different types of burners that are…
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I know I’m definitely not the first person to think of this, but I tried it yesterday and it works so well: using PVA glue (Elmer’s glue-all) to stiffen fabric. The back-story is this: I finally needed a proper wallet, so I made one myself using some denim from old jeans. Unfortunately, it was way…
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A problem that I’ve had is that I keep forgetting to close the garage door at night, which lets in the elements (and also rats). After being pestered for some time by my parents to find a solution, I finally came up with this. The solution is to turn on the overhead lights any time…
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Part of my bicycle-lighting project involved crimping a splitter cable to split the output of the dynamo to the front and rear lamps. I used a DuPont connector for that because I had recently bought, after 4 years of consideration, a proper DuPont crimper. The input and output wires were 24 AWG solid wires with…
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Recently finding the need to bike home in the dark, and not wanting to regularly charge a battery-powered light, I decided to buy a used bicycle dynamo (for $40) to power a front and rear bike light. The dynamo is a bottom-bracket dynamo, which means it’s meant to be mounted on the bottom bracket (where…
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I recently bought a used cross-slide vise on craigslist for $35. It is a machinist’s vise mounted on two ways at right angles, with leadscrews controlling the vise’s movement along each way. It’s meant to be used on a drill press so holes can be located in the same manner as in a vertical milling…
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Soldering iron tips are made of copper plated with a very thin layer of iron. Unfortunately, this plating can oxidize if you don’t clean and “tin” it (that is, coat it with solder to protect it), and this can be very annoying because the oxidation is difficult to get off and prevents the solder from…
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A spinning gyroscope can balance on a pivot, defying gravity by remaining horizontal while resting just on the tip of its axle. Instead of falling off the pivot, the gyroscope circles around it. The explanation for this amazing feat lies in the effects of precession. Like all other objects, the rotating wheel of the gyroscope…
