For weeks, I’ve been avoiding the big pile of boxes that the restoration vapers left in the basement in front of the layout. My darling wife, understanding that neither they nor she would put everything back where it belongs, instructed them to leave the boxes. Of course, unpacking boxes takes little effort. Running the cables and reinstalling all the tech on my two desks, on … Continue reading Small reward, big effort
Doesn’t everyone prefer homemade gifts? This year the kids teamed up to create enough Mark II Stock Keepers to keep me quiet for a while. Mark II and Mark III (fewer staples but more labour) both enable me to reach small pieces easier than the original Mark I version, pictured here. The Girl even decorated the Stock Keepers with holiday-themed drawings, and a poem. Stock is awesomeStock … Continue reading Awesome gift under the tree
Readers of this blog will know that it is unusual for me to admit defeat. Usually, I will doggedly pursue an idea until everyone has pretty much drifted off to cat videos, except for a few readers who check back to shake their heads and mutter such things as “he had so much promise.” However, after two containers and countless attempts at creating gaskets to … Continue reading Wanted – pressure vessel
A couple of weeks ago, as I was setting up to demonstrate at VTE, I realized I didn’t have anywhere for my puddle of glue. I normally use an old CD for this purpose, and for years AOL provided me with an almost monthly supply. I still have a lifetime of CDs ready to receive globs of paint or glue, but they may never get … Continue reading Necessity invents a palette
The past couple of weeks have been all Christmas gifts all the time, but tonight I finally managed to get few minutes to spend on my projects. With the heavy shop out of action until we rebuild from the flood, I’m reduced to the crowded garage floor for heavy shop work. I’m still working toward a pressure vessel for casting, and I came across a … Continue reading Perfidious air
I’m still grappling with the problem of bubbles in my castings. The accepted wisdom indicates that you want to set polyurethane castings under pressure so the bubbles become very small. I think the Smooth-on site suggests 60 psi (413 Kia). Not having anything that holds pressure, and not wanting to spend a lot of money, I took a trip down to the local Sally Ann … Continue reading A good effort at pressure
My first plastic vacuum chamber for evacuating rubber Moldavia never held much pressure. For this attempt, I poked around at the local thrift store and ultimately came away with a pot and a tempered glass lid that will enable me to see what is going on inside. Until I got hold of it, there was absolutely nothing wrong with this pot; I’m certain it had … Continue reading Vacuum chamber
