The Do-it-Yourself Thread: A Home for Handymen and Artisans - General

I'm thinking about building a cinder block book shelf. Anyone do something like that? I saw on Home Depot, you get cinder blocks for like a dollar or two. So the wood boards would be the most expensive part, but I only need two or three of them. I think I could afford all the materials under one hundred dollars.

[QUOTE=cqbcat;44174835]I'm thinking about building a cinder block book shelf. Anyone do something like that? I saw on Home Depot, you get cinder blocks for like a dollar or two. So the wood boards would be the most expensive part, but I only need two or three of them. I think I could afford all the materials under one hundred dollars.[/QUOTE] You can afford all the materials under $50. Just buy some 1x10s, get them cut down to length, and buy your cinderblocks. Of course, it'll look better and less dormish if it's not made of cinderblocks... For a little bit extra, you can hammer something together from 2x4s and 1x10s.

I got the chance this weekend to redesign the controller board for my all-in-one keyboard project. [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62766551/Norseboard/P3090245.jpg[/t] I managed to shave 54% off the overall thickness and now it also looks really neat. I'm really liking Adafruit's perma proto perfboards. It's such a familiar layout that I can get my head around in seconds.

[t]http://imgur.com/qo62D6x.jpg[/t] I made a little desk buddy to replace the paper cranes. I think I'll call him Charles. (He's a paper Eames Elephant. That's why I named him Charles.)

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ZGZPvdtl.jpg[/IMG] ~artistic~ Instagram photo Made a few more leather goodies (iPhone cases, card case and keyrings) over the weekend with my new oxblood dye, rivets and threads. Hopefully going to start producing more to get a source of income for my poor student ass!

I've almost reached a feature complete design for the Norseboard. [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62766551/Norseboard/P3110246.jpg[/t] All that remains now (other than the case) are a switch to swap the keyboard output from to-the-pi to external USB cable and a 5v DC in jack. I think version 1 will be complete before the month is out with some time to spare :dance:

Anybody have any suggestions as to where I can find some cheap clamps? Lowe's Clamps are ridiculously expensive... Most are $30+. I can't really afford that. Also, I've got a big painted slab of a door sitting in the garage. I think it's made of 1/8" veneer. Any way I can tear that down and salvage it?

Harbor Freight. [editline]12th March 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Bread Dog;44200838][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ZGZPvdtl.jpg[/IMG] ~artistic~ Instagram photo Made a few more leather goodies (iPhone cases, card case and keyrings) over the weekend with my new oxblood dye, rivets and threads. Hopefully going to start producing more to get a source of income for my poor student ass![/QUOTE] Those look really nice, your stitches are getting nicer I can tell!

Thanks! After exams im hopefully going to start on bigger and better things! Mens belts and wallets/womens bags and purses are on the agenda for May/June! Hopefully business picks up by then :v:

Made several snake hooks this week. Started with gold clubs from a local thrift shop, I cut off the heads and used JB Weld to attach some hooks made from paint rollers. [t]http://i.imgur.com/34UHYTB.jpg[/t] After setting I tested them out. They roll large logs, flip stones, and can lift cinder-blocks straight up without issue. [t]http://i.imgur.com/rcmJh6T.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/EDhXuLx.jpg[/t] Hooks of this size and strength can run $30-$80, so I am quite happy with this method. Ended up at only around $5 a hook, I might end up making more to sell or trade to other herpers.

[T]http://i.imgur.com/cTBaPeK.jpg[/T] Here's all the projects I've made in wood working 1-4> nothing feels better than turning a bunch of unused lumber into something useful. Projects: Knife Caddy Wall shelf Corner table Ping pong paddles Tool box DVD cabinet Bench Lock box Mallet Colonial cabinet

Hey, maybe you can help me out. I'm planning a new project, and I'll need to route some dados into 3/4" plywood. The dados need to be 3/4" wide, since I'll be slotting the same 3/4" plywood into them. How deep should I cut them, and what's the easiest way to cut at a consistent depth across the entire sheet? Also, is there a way to get square ends on the dados? I'll be working with really big sheets, and I don't own a table saw, so I'm going to have to route them.

I'd say cut about 3/8" in, the pine we use in shop is 3/4" so that's what I've done for the shelves on my cabinets and I've always had access to a table saw and radial arm saw to cut dados so I don't know the best way to go about cutting them.

You can use a (compound) precision mitre saw to cut the dados if you don't have access to power tools. I remember my DT Teacher calling the mitre saw an idiot saw because you could never really go wrong with it.

[QUOTE=dead60;44235122]You can use a (compound) precision mitre saw to cut the dados if you don't have access to power tools. I remember my DT Teacher calling the mitre saw an idiot saw because you could never really go wrong with it.[/QUOTE] Don't have one of those either. I can set up a router guide, though, according to /r/woodworking.

This summer my buddies and I are renovating an old tree house for a place to hang out. We got a couple of free sofas that someone was throwing away, and in an attempt to get them into said tree house, through a series of wise decisions, my mate ripped open his ball sack, right down the middle. We literally saw his bare testicle. Needless to say, progress has halted.

[QUOTE=~ZOMG;44237048]This summer my buddies and I are renovating an old tree house for a place to hang out. We got a couple of free sofas that someone was throwing away, and in an attempt to get them into said tree house, through a series of wise decisions, my mate ripped open his ball sack, right down the middle. We literally saw his bare testicle. Needless to say, progress has halted.[/QUOTE] G... I... Wh... GOOD LORD.

[QUOTE=woolio1;44235298]Don't have one of those either. I can set up a router guide, though, according to /r/woodworking.[/QUOTE] Measure the distance from the straight cut bit to the edge of your router's table. Use that measurement to tack a strip of wood across your ply surface that distance away from your cut. The table will ride on the strip, and cut your dado. Just make sure you set the depth on the router to 3/8" or you can go less if your shelves are not going to be that wide, or have 3 sides to them that are supported.

[QUOTE=Serj22;44240870]Measure the distance from the straight cut bit to the edge of your router's table. Use that measurement to tack a strip of wood across your ply surface that distance away from your cut. The table will ride on the strip, and cut your dado. Just make sure you set the depth on the router to 3/8" or you can go less if your shelves are not going to be that wide, or have 3 sides to them that are supported.[/QUOTE] Don't have a router table. I've got a hand router, though. (I don't have a workshop, can you tell?) They're also not quite shelves, they're vertical supports/dividers. I'm planning a credenza.

I don't exactly know how this happened, but in the past 24 hours my keyboard project has gone from nearing completion to "the final hours" and I didn't even notice I was this close. Now "the final hours" is a tiny stretch as I probably have about 16 hours of case printing left and won't be able to do all that today/tomorrow due to work but I'm still in shock that this whole thing has suddenly just come together after 3 years of talking about it and never getting anywhere.

[QUOTE=HiddenMyst;44252599]I don't exactly know how this happened, but in the past 24 hours my keyboard project has gone from nearing completion to "the final hours" and I didn't even notice I was this close. Now "the final hours" is a tiny stretch as I probably have about 16 hours of case printing left and won't be able to do all that today/tomorrow due to work but I'm still in shock that this whole thing [B]has suddenly just come together after 3 years of talking about it and never getting anywhere.[/B][/QUOTE] This is quite common (atleast for me it is) [editline]16th March 2014[/editline] keyboard does look sweet as hell though, nice job.

I'm designing/building a cnc/x-y table, it's pretty fun! You can read about it here: [url]http://thingsiamdoing.com/[/url] Here's a vid of the current design: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-83Q8qmyzEM[/media] It's not really to scale, though, it's much taller in the video than it would be in real life.

[QUOTE=chaz13;44279072]I'm designing/building a cnc/x-y table, it's pretty fun! You can read about it here: [url]http://thingsiamdoing.com/[/url] Here's a vid of the current design: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-83Q8qmyzEM[/media] It's not really to scale, though, it's much taller in the video than it would be in real life.[/QUOTE] Very cool, interesting stuff on your blog as well!

I've found myself in possession of some 1/4" plexi; what's some cool shit I could do with it?

[QUOTE=seba079;44291331]I've found myself in possession of some 1/4" plexi; what's some cool shit I could do with it?[/QUOTE] You can paint the back of it and glue it to your walls... Or you can paint it and make an art mobile from the 60s.

[QUOTE=woolio1;44240895]Don't have a router table. I've got a hand router, though. (I don't have a workshop, can you tell?) They're also not quite shelves, they're vertical supports/dividers. I'm planning a credenza.[/QUOTE] The hand router has a table on it. What do you guys call them? I've always called the round part at the bottom a router table.

[QUOTE=Serj22;44304591]The hand router has a table on it. What do you guys call them? I've always called the round part at the bottom a router table.[/QUOTE] The guide?

[QUOTE=woolio1;44305124]The guide?[/QUOTE] Dunno. I call the guide the bearing on the router bit. That's the part that guides it. The table doesn't guide anything unless you clamp or nail a piece for it to use. Router is just an upsidedown shaper. On a shaper, that's the table. I dunno

[QUOTE=Serj22;44316538]Dunno. I call the guide the bearing on the router bit. That's the part that guides it. The table doesn't guide anything unless you clamp or nail a piece for it to use. Router is just an upsidedown shaper. On a shaper, that's the table. I dunno[/QUOTE] Maybe just call it a face or faceplate?

Built a new pc and thought I'd mess about with the case a little. I've installed an acrylic sheet on one side and an additional fan, I think it looks pretty cool and I'm content with it! Might fashion a little bit of plastic to put around the fan to hide the scuffed up edges where I cut out the plastic. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ZnhxtZu.jpg[/IMG]