One engineer's project-log, thoughts and ideas.

Entries for the ‘DIY’ Category

Make: Aluminum foundry

Always seeking cheaper ways to source materials to cut with the CNC, I came across some tutorials on building a charcoal fired aluminum foundry. Some external resources if you want to try your hand at it! http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/bucketfurnace1.html http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-foundry-and-sand-cast-aluminum/ http://www.instructables.com/id/My-Second-Aluminium-Foundry/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Aluminum-Foundry/ Be extra careful if you decide to embark on this project! Here are some photo’s [...]

Make: The big swing

This summer (2011), we built this giant swing in our backyard — it’s over 20 feet tall and swings out over the hill behind the workshop. Total cost was under $40, but we had the pressure treated beam and some of the hardware lying around, we just had to buy the cable and some extra [...]

Sketchbook: Mechanical Systems

Make: Knex & Lego Plotter – The first attempt.

This was my first attempt at a Lego / Knex hybrid plotter — constructed back in 2008. And, as with many of my firsts I over engineered it quite a bit. While I got it to move successfully, I couldn’t get enough precision to draw anything legible for a variety of reasons. I had hoped [...]

Make: DIY Projector Build

During the Summer of 2007 I assembled a vertical projector with Lars Mobrand. It was a fun project to work on and only took a few days of solid work in addition to the time it took to source all of the parts. Over all I’d say I think it was definitely a success — [...]