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Stienman's stuff
#1
strawman
strawman
#2
fade
fade
#3
Biannoshufu
Biannoshufu
#4
strawman
strawman
#5
strawman
strawman
Sandbox with integrated lid/bench:
We had an old sandbox that was just 4 five foot boards screwed and set on a sandy part of our backyard, with added play sand from the hardware store. While treated lumber has its place, I don't want to use it in the garden or where my kids will have regular contact with it, so the sandbox lasted about three years. During that time it became was also occasionally used by cats, which was less than ideal. Due to its alternate uses I've been reluctant to build another one. Tarps are annoying, collect water (breed mosquitos), and no one ever puts them back on. Prefabricated plastic ones are too small, too shallow, and also tend to collect water.
My wife wanted to have another one, though, and wanted it before the birthday of boy #6, who is about to turn two, and is currently really enjoying digging up plants in the garden. After a few days research she found this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038609BI
So I supersized it and made one:
Still need to dig out the center another half foot and add a bunch of sand, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The bottom is cedar to avoid rot, and the top/bench is pine (well, SPF anyway) which won't rot as quickly since it's not in the sand/dirt. We'll probably paint all the pine anyway. It's modified a bit - the whole thing is 6'x8', but the interior box is only 5'x8'. There are angled cuts on the outside for the bench supports to rest against, and half the bench is outside the box, which means there's only six inches of sand under the bench, rather than a foot. Uses less sand, and there's less area to collect leaves and other detritus.
I ended up changing the design after purchasing wood and hinges. Rather than two 8' benches I ended up cutting them in half and having four smaller 4' benches which should be easier to open, but I was 3 hinges short, so I still have a few hinges and boards to add to the far side of the box. It's usable as-is now, though.
Cost about $160, and I spent about 8 hours total building it.
We had an old sandbox that was just 4 five foot boards screwed and set on a sandy part of our backyard, with added play sand from the hardware store. While treated lumber has its place, I don't want to use it in the garden or where my kids will have regular contact with it, so the sandbox lasted about three years. During that time it became was also occasionally used by cats, which was less than ideal. Due to its alternate uses I've been reluctant to build another one. Tarps are annoying, collect water (breed mosquitos), and no one ever puts them back on. Prefabricated plastic ones are too small, too shallow, and also tend to collect water.
My wife wanted to have another one, though, and wanted it before the birthday of boy #6, who is about to turn two, and is currently really enjoying digging up plants in the garden. After a few days research she found this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038609BI
So I supersized it and made one:
Still need to dig out the center another half foot and add a bunch of sand, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The bottom is cedar to avoid rot, and the top/bench is pine (well, SPF anyway) which won't rot as quickly since it's not in the sand/dirt. We'll probably paint all the pine anyway. It's modified a bit - the whole thing is 6'x8', but the interior box is only 5'x8'. There are angled cuts on the outside for the bench supports to rest against, and half the bench is outside the box, which means there's only six inches of sand under the bench, rather than a foot. Uses less sand, and there's less area to collect leaves and other detritus.
I ended up changing the design after purchasing wood and hinges. Rather than two 8' benches I ended up cutting them in half and having four smaller 4' benches which should be easier to open, but I was 3 hinges short, so I still have a few hinges and boards to add to the far side of the box. It's usable as-is now, though.
Cost about $160, and I spent about 8 hours total building it.
#6
Chad Sexington
Chad Sexington
#7
strawman
strawman
#8
Chad Sexington
Chad Sexington
#9
strawman
strawman
#10
drawn_inward
drawn_inward
#11
strawman
strawman
#12
PatrThom
PatrThom
#13
strawman
strawman
#14
PatrThom
PatrThom
#15
strawman
strawman
#16
strawman
strawman
I've mentioned here and there about a project I recently worked on which used nearly a mile of LED rope lighting and a custom light sequencer, but couldn't give any details as to what it actually was.
It's an air hockey rink big enough to rollerblade on. The puck rides on a cushion of air, allowing for significantly faster puck travel than in an ice hockey game. Doesn't need tons of refrigeration, can be used outdoors in the summer, and has an underfloor lighting system for indoor, and outdoor evening play.
I'm not involved in the kickstarter, but in it you can see the prototype I worked on:
Since they finally started the kickstarter for the next prototype, 17 time larger than the prototype I worked on, I figured you might be interested in knowing what it was I was talking. All the filmed shots of the 24'x40' rink shows the underfloor lighting system I designed, built, installed, ripped up, and reinstalled with brighter lighting due to changing customer requirements. It uses standard stage lighting dimmers with a custom arduino controller I developed for it.
They asked me to help them build the 200'x90' regulation size rink they are kick starting now, but I've declined due to time constraints. I did a lot of the pre-design work, though, and it's massive, should be amazing assuming they can get someone to build it for them in a matter of weeks...
Anyway. Blinking lights, thought you might get a kick out of it.
Also, I have a half mile of incandescent warm white rope lighting to sell, send me an offer...
It's an air hockey rink big enough to rollerblade on. The puck rides on a cushion of air, allowing for significantly faster puck travel than in an ice hockey game. Doesn't need tons of refrigeration, can be used outdoors in the summer, and has an underfloor lighting system for indoor, and outdoor evening play.
I'm not involved in the kickstarter, but in it you can see the prototype I worked on:
Since they finally started the kickstarter for the next prototype, 17 time larger than the prototype I worked on, I figured you might be interested in knowing what it was I was talking. All the filmed shots of the 24'x40' rink shows the underfloor lighting system I designed, built, installed, ripped up, and reinstalled with brighter lighting due to changing customer requirements. It uses standard stage lighting dimmers with a custom arduino controller I developed for it.
They asked me to help them build the 200'x90' regulation size rink they are kick starting now, but I've declined due to time constraints. I did a lot of the pre-design work, though, and it's massive, should be amazing assuming they can get someone to build it for them in a matter of weeks...
Anyway. Blinking lights, thought you might get a kick out of it.
Also, I have a half mile of incandescent warm white rope lighting to sell, send me an offer...
#17
PatrThom
--Patrick
PatrThom
Don't think I'm not tempted!I have a half mile of incandescent warm white rope lighting to sell, send me an offer...
--Patrick
#18
Chad Sexington
Chad Sexington
HmmmAlso, I have a half mile of incandescent warm white rope lighting to sell, send me an offer...
#19
PatrThom
PatrThom
#20
strawman
strawman
#21
PatrThom
PatrThom
#22
strawman
strawman
#23
strawman
strawman
I made a rough thermal grill proof of concept:
Museums and educational institutions should be interested, so I'm doing a kickstarter this summer for larger, more complete versions. Should be interesting!
Museums and educational institutions should be interested, so I'm doing a kickstarter this summer for larger, more complete versions. Should be interesting!
#24
PatrThom
PatrThom
#25
strawman
strawman
#26
strawman
strawman
Okey dokey. I've not only made a web page, but spent a good chunk of time making an animated 3D rendering of it so people who want to make their own understand how it goes together. Since I made the rendering, you must look at it.
LOOK AT IT.
The webpage is http://thermalgrill.com if you are so inclined. It has more pictures and video. Feel free to freeze frame when my face looks funny and add derp text.
LOOK AT IT.
The webpage is http://thermalgrill.com if you are so inclined. It has more pictures and video. Feel free to freeze frame when my face looks funny and add derp text.
#27
strawman
strawman
#28
PatrThom
PatrThom
#29
evilmike
evilmike
#30
Ravenpoe
Yeah, I realize the original post was from 2 years ago, but since this thread is already necro'd, deal with it.
Ravenpoe
If you misbehave again, it's back in the hole!
Yeah, I realize the original post was from 2 years ago, but since this thread is already necro'd, deal with it.
#31
strawman
strawman
In 2014 we moved, I mounted the projector to the ceiling, and we bought a decent surround sound receiver. Since that time the receiver and all other entertainment stuff has been sitting on a too-large table, within easy reach of the toddlers, with difficult to get to cables and wires.
Today I finally made a little two shelf corner entertainment center for it. The bottom is for the bluray, tv tuner (projectors don't have tuners), and game console. The top has a swivel/sliding mechanism which I salvaged from an old entertainment center, meant to hold big CRT TVs. I added a bar and some bolts strategically located so when the swivel/slide mechanism was pushed in, it lined up with the front of the shelf, and when pulled out it rotates the receiver a little over 90 degrees so the back is easy to access. The cords and wires are then zip tied to the bar so you can pull the receiver out without worry over stressing a wire or pulling out a connector.
Used junk wood from an old shelving unit, so the only thing I purchased for this was the spray paint. Took most of the day, but it's done and we've recovered a lot of dead floor space in that room, which is good 'cause we've got a lot of people to fit in there when we're watching a movie together.
It's functional, but it doesn't look good. Visually unbalanced, too top heavy. I'm glad I used free materials and didn't waste good hardwood on this design. I'm probably never going to get around to upgrading it unless I add a lot more equipment, but it does what it needs to do, and lives in a dark corner of a dark room anyway. Given the size of the receiver and my desire for easy access I'm not sure what I would do to fix the unbalanced look anyway. Something to mull over the next few years I suppose.
Today I finally made a little two shelf corner entertainment center for it. The bottom is for the bluray, tv tuner (projectors don't have tuners), and game console. The top has a swivel/sliding mechanism which I salvaged from an old entertainment center, meant to hold big CRT TVs. I added a bar and some bolts strategically located so when the swivel/slide mechanism was pushed in, it lined up with the front of the shelf, and when pulled out it rotates the receiver a little over 90 degrees so the back is easy to access. The cords and wires are then zip tied to the bar so you can pull the receiver out without worry over stressing a wire or pulling out a connector.
Used junk wood from an old shelving unit, so the only thing I purchased for this was the spray paint. Took most of the day, but it's done and we've recovered a lot of dead floor space in that room, which is good 'cause we've got a lot of people to fit in there when we're watching a movie together.
It's functional, but it doesn't look good. Visually unbalanced, too top heavy. I'm glad I used free materials and didn't waste good hardwood on this design. I'm probably never going to get around to upgrading it unless I add a lot more equipment, but it does what it needs to do, and lives in a dark corner of a dark room anyway. Given the size of the receiver and my desire for easy access I'm not sure what I would do to fix the unbalanced look anyway. Something to mull over the next few years I suppose.
#32
DarkAudit
DarkAudit
Steve Hoffman forums or Audiokarma could give you tons of suggestions. Wanted or not. 
#33
strawman
strawman
#34
strawman
strawman
#35
strawman
strawman
Here's what it looks like right now:
[DOUBLEPOST=1464988277,1464988217][/DOUBLEPOST]That's about half a kilometer of wire on a 6" pvc pipe, with the bottom coil upside down so you can't see the copper primary coil.
#36
strawman
strawman
#37
strawman
strawman
A local neurosurgeon commissioned a custom thermal grill so he can see if it can replace more expensive non damaging pain devices for pain neural pathway studies. Should be done next week, here's what it looks like:
The head is 3D printed and the metal pieces are custom milled on my tiny hand controlled milling machine. Had a huge learning curve, and went several times over my original estimated time (fixed bid, though, so I earned experience more than money due to my poor estimation skills), and so I'm glad it's nearly done, and even happier that it works as well as the previous thermal grill I made.
The plastic head is a single 3D printed part with a floating cage inside that holds the grill. The floating is accomplished with springs built into the design so that pressure sensors can tell how much pressure is being used to hold the grill against the test subject's skin.
The head is 3D printed and the metal pieces are custom milled on my tiny hand controlled milling machine. Had a huge learning curve, and went several times over my original estimated time (fixed bid, though, so I earned experience more than money due to my poor estimation skills), and so I'm glad it's nearly done, and even happier that it works as well as the previous thermal grill I made.
The plastic head is a single 3D printed part with a floating cage inside that holds the grill. The floating is accomplished with springs built into the design so that pressure sensors can tell how much pressure is being used to hold the grill against the test subject's skin.
#38
PatrThom
PatrThom
#39
Denbrought
Denbrought
#40
strawman
strawman
#41
strawman
strawman
I've been wanting a good, large structure for a tire swing for some time now, so I've recently been noodling over the design and costs. My dad said he'd be visiting this previous week, and he asked if there was a project he could help with, since we tend to bond over building things. So I put the tire swing project on the fast track and we built this:
It's essentially an octagon, but two side opposite each other are 12 feet long, while the other six sides are only 10 feet long. The two twelve foot wide sides are for swings that go in all directions (aka, tire swings), as long as they only hang 6-7 feet from the top beam. So we have room for a tire swing, and a ring/net swing (already in place on the right). We will leave one side open, so the remaining five will be filled with other swings of various kinds. Probably a few bench swings, a few hammocks. Maybe we'll outfit one as a picnic table (that probably won't swing... probably). We intend to have multiple fasteners in each space (eventually) so we can reconfigure it as needed. So all hammocks for sleeping outside in the summer, or all picnic tables for a party, for instance. Would be interesting to make a double bench swing that faces each other with a table in the middle, but I'm guessing that would be strange.
The large bays use two 6x6 (140mm square cross section) treated posts each, with 4x6 posts for the remaining four posts, and all the posts go 4 feet (1.2m) in the ground with a suitable amount of concrete below and around the bottom of the post. The posts are notched so the headers rest on top of the notches and bolt into the posts. We will be adding some additional beams across top so the posts share side loads better, and the posts and a few other bits need more wood stain so it all matches the header color.
Eventually we'd like to put some sort of roof over it, but that's going to have to wait, at least until we can afford to fill it with swings. We will almost certainly have a fire pit in the middle.
We did run into one electrical wire during digging, but we're fairly certain it's an unused wire for a pool the previous owners had (only 12awg) , and I believe I've already located its termination inside the house (which was cut in a crawlspace) so I wired up an outlet on one of the posts, and if I'm correct then eventually I'll connect the cut wire in the house and have electricity out there.
Here's the area the morning after digging the holes. We rented a little stand-on mini skid steer with a 16" (40cm) diameter auger on it. By the time I got to the eighth hole I was able to do it in under 15 minutes. They have to be deeper than 4 feet (1.2m) to avoid the effects of frost heaving. Here in southern Michigan it's possible for the ground to freeze up to 42" deep, and if there's water under a structure, the freezing water may push structures out of the ground. So while I wanted deep holes to provide good support anyway, they needed to be this deep so none of the posts would be pushed out of the ground slowly over several winters.
Below you'll see the water that collected in them overnight (mostly groundwater), and consistency of the soil (all clay), and the cut wire almost in the middle of the hole.
That day we put 1 bag of concrete in the bottom of each hole, creating thick pads for the posts to rest on, preventing them from snicking into the ground. The following day we put the posts in, spaced them apart, plumbed them straight, poured another bag's worth of concrete in the bottom to hold each post down (the posts had screws in the bottom to embed them firmly into the concrete), and then fill the remainder of the holes with dirt.
We built a support structure around the middle to keep everything in place when we were pouring concrete, and left it there so we could stand on it while preparing the tops of the posts to receive the headers.
I didn't think through how I was going to notch the posts and connect the headers, so I spent nearly half a day working it out, and when we were planning the location of the set it took us over half a day to figure out where it was going to be and how it was going to be oriented. Reached a stalemate, in fact, until I realized we could take down a pine tree, then suddenly everything fell into place. This was supposed to be a 3 day project, but we finished it up this morning after about 5 days of work.
Learned a lot, would do a few things differently if I had to do it over. Still lots of little things to do - attach the swings, level and grass the area, put in a fire pit, etc, etc, etc. But the major portions are done and the rest can be done in little 1-2 hour projects here and there.
Lots of fun, but glad it's done![DOUBLEPOST=1494876210,1494875986][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and for those wondering, frost heaving is why basements are more common up north than in the south. If you have to dig a foundation 4 feet down to avoid frost heave, you might as well dig another 4 feet and have a basement. The cost isn't that much more.
It's essentially an octagon, but two side opposite each other are 12 feet long, while the other six sides are only 10 feet long. The two twelve foot wide sides are for swings that go in all directions (aka, tire swings), as long as they only hang 6-7 feet from the top beam. So we have room for a tire swing, and a ring/net swing (already in place on the right). We will leave one side open, so the remaining five will be filled with other swings of various kinds. Probably a few bench swings, a few hammocks. Maybe we'll outfit one as a picnic table (that probably won't swing... probably). We intend to have multiple fasteners in each space (eventually) so we can reconfigure it as needed. So all hammocks for sleeping outside in the summer, or all picnic tables for a party, for instance. Would be interesting to make a double bench swing that faces each other with a table in the middle, but I'm guessing that would be strange.
The large bays use two 6x6 (140mm square cross section) treated posts each, with 4x6 posts for the remaining four posts, and all the posts go 4 feet (1.2m) in the ground with a suitable amount of concrete below and around the bottom of the post. The posts are notched so the headers rest on top of the notches and bolt into the posts. We will be adding some additional beams across top so the posts share side loads better, and the posts and a few other bits need more wood stain so it all matches the header color.
Eventually we'd like to put some sort of roof over it, but that's going to have to wait, at least until we can afford to fill it with swings. We will almost certainly have a fire pit in the middle.
We did run into one electrical wire during digging, but we're fairly certain it's an unused wire for a pool the previous owners had (only 12awg) , and I believe I've already located its termination inside the house (which was cut in a crawlspace) so I wired up an outlet on one of the posts, and if I'm correct then eventually I'll connect the cut wire in the house and have electricity out there.
Here's the area the morning after digging the holes. We rented a little stand-on mini skid steer with a 16" (40cm) diameter auger on it. By the time I got to the eighth hole I was able to do it in under 15 minutes. They have to be deeper than 4 feet (1.2m) to avoid the effects of frost heaving. Here in southern Michigan it's possible for the ground to freeze up to 42" deep, and if there's water under a structure, the freezing water may push structures out of the ground. So while I wanted deep holes to provide good support anyway, they needed to be this deep so none of the posts would be pushed out of the ground slowly over several winters.
Below you'll see the water that collected in them overnight (mostly groundwater), and consistency of the soil (all clay), and the cut wire almost in the middle of the hole.
That day we put 1 bag of concrete in the bottom of each hole, creating thick pads for the posts to rest on, preventing them from snicking into the ground. The following day we put the posts in, spaced them apart, plumbed them straight, poured another bag's worth of concrete in the bottom to hold each post down (the posts had screws in the bottom to embed them firmly into the concrete), and then fill the remainder of the holes with dirt.
We built a support structure around the middle to keep everything in place when we were pouring concrete, and left it there so we could stand on it while preparing the tops of the posts to receive the headers.
I didn't think through how I was going to notch the posts and connect the headers, so I spent nearly half a day working it out, and when we were planning the location of the set it took us over half a day to figure out where it was going to be and how it was going to be oriented. Reached a stalemate, in fact, until I realized we could take down a pine tree, then suddenly everything fell into place. This was supposed to be a 3 day project, but we finished it up this morning after about 5 days of work.
Learned a lot, would do a few things differently if I had to do it over. Still lots of little things to do - attach the swings, level and grass the area, put in a fire pit, etc, etc, etc. But the major portions are done and the rest can be done in little 1-2 hour projects here and there.
Lots of fun, but glad it's done![DOUBLEPOST=1494876210,1494875986][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and for those wondering, frost heaving is why basements are more common up north than in the south. If you have to dig a foundation 4 feet down to avoid frost heave, you might as well dig another 4 feet and have a basement. The cost isn't that much more.
#42
PatrThom
PatrThom
#43
strawman
strawman
My wife is already trying to get me to work on a roofing solution, and that's definitely one of the contenders. Cost is higher, but there are many benefits.
I need to run a gofundme for this...
I need to run a gofundme for this...
#44
Dei
Dei
You aren't going to put solar tiles on a swing set are you? >.>My wife is already trying to get me to work on a roofing solution, and that's definitely one of the contenders. Cost is higher, but there are many benefits.
I need to run a gofundme for this...
#45
PatrThom
PatrThom
#46
strawman
strawman
#47
strawman
strawman
So I found a free 56 foot antenna tower on Craigslist, and took it home.
Had to disassemble it first, though.
After removing two antennas and three 8 foot sections I opted to tilt the remaining 32 feet over and disassemble on the ground:
Lots of work, but I got about $1,000 worth of ham radio antennas and a rotor, as well as the $1,700 tower for about $500 for the tools and materials I bought to take it down. Plus the 20 hours it took to do so.
It'll cost more in materials, permits, and repainting to put it back up on my property, but I expect it'll still be an overall savings and hopefully down the road I can use it to get real high speed internet wirelessly.
Had to disassemble it first, though.
After removing two antennas and three 8 foot sections I opted to tilt the remaining 32 feet over and disassemble on the ground:
Lots of work, but I got about $1,000 worth of ham radio antennas and a rotor, as well as the $1,700 tower for about $500 for the tools and materials I bought to take it down. Plus the 20 hours it took to do so.
It'll cost more in materials, permits, and repainting to put it back up on my property, but I expect it'll still be an overall savings and hopefully down the road I can use it to get real high speed internet wirelessly.
#48
PatrThom
PatrThom
#49
strawman
strawman
#50
PatrThom
PatrThom
#51
strawman
strawman
#52
PatrThom
PatrThom
#53
strawman
strawman
#54
PatrThom
PatrThom
#55
strawman
strawman
#56
PatrThom
PatrThom
#57
strawman
strawman
#58
Dei
Dei
#59
PatrThom
PatrThom
#60
strawman
strawman
#61
PatrThom
PatrThom
#62
strawman
strawman
#63
PatrThom
PatrThom
#64
PatrThom
PatrThom
#65
strawman
strawman
#66
PatrThom
PatrThom