Tag Archives: building_stuff

Home, Life, Photography

a pocket full of power – of photos and computers and getting a handle on them both

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I mentioned in my last post that I was doing some server work here at the house – and actually somewhat enjoying it this time around. Though truthfully, it’s likely as much about seeing things I’ve wanted to do for ages finally come about.  As of this writing, it’s about 85% complete and I’m taking a small break to write a couple of posts. As I write, data is being copied from one drive to another, so it’s sort of wasted time anyway if I don’t do anything else.

See, when it’s projects that disrupt the house or my daily procedures, I tend to get obsessed.  Shocking, I know! 8 days straight of obsession like this though and I need to reset my sleep schedule so I can go out and run errands / see clients during the day.

I’ve spent too many very long nights lately working on this and an adjacent project.  Most mornings, I go to bed around the time Ryan gets up for work but last Wednesday night, I ended up doing an accidental Continue reading a pocket full of power – of photos and computers and getting a handle on them both →

3D Printing, DIY, Spinning

Mechanical Heart – version 2 of the eSpinner

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I mentioned back in August that one of the next projects on the list was the next version of the eSpinner.  Well, September wasn’t the month for it.  Mostly, I wasn’t really in the mood for CAD work and I knew there would be a lot of it.

The first week of December though – I was all over it. We had a brief cold spell and it seemed like a great time to take advantage of the time in.

I started the modifications on December 2nd and ended up doing the bulk of the CAD work over the next four days.  At the same time, I began the printing.  There were a couple of parts redesigned from scratch but most were modifications of the designs I’d created for the first version back in 2019 when I was learning CAD.  This of course has its own pitfalls because how I design has changed a lot and what I did when I was learning was very inefficient.  So in updating the files, I had a lot of things I needed to modify other than just dimensions of the drawings.

Here was the wish list for V2.0: Continue reading Mechanical Heart – version 2 of the eSpinner →

3D Printing, DIY, Spinning, Weaving

The DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – a tale in two acts… Act 3

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Mostly a little update really.  Earlier this summer I finally got out to the garage and spent a little time in serious negotiations with my router.  In exchange for it not killing me, I promised to… well not get hurt, I guess? I mean really, what’s my bargaining chip here?

The wood pieces look better now – though far from perfect.  The router and I don’t get along well.  Continue reading The DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – a tale in two acts… Act 3 →

3D Printing, DIY, Sewing Machines, Weaving

A DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – Act 2 – Double Ended Winder

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The other day, I posted about a DIY singled ended electric bobbin winder.  In November – couple of months after I built that first prototype – I found 4 used End Feed Shuttles (EFS) which suddenly made the single ended winder a little less ideal.

By responding a little too slowly, I just missed out on a used double ended electric winder from the same seller.  Having missed out on that , I decided to start plotting a way to modify my winder into a double ended bobbin winder.  Naturally, winter in central Alberta isn’t an ideal time to be trying to go outside into the unheated garage to woodwork, so the project got put on hold until January – which is still not an ideal time for wood destructor shed projects! January is when I started my next weaving project (the one I talked about in the last post.)  That project showed me that while the current winder could wind pirns, I didn’t enjoy it (I mean, as much as you’d ever enjoy winding bobbins/pirns?)

Once again, the point my mind was stuck on was the mandrel portion of the winder.  Additionally, it needed to be very smooth turning – which is why Continue reading A DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – Act 2 – Double Ended Winder →

3D Printing, DIY, Sewing Machines, Weaving

A DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – a tale in two acts – Act 1

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I know a few people who read this blog are weavers or spinners who rewind their spinning bobbins before plying and feel like I do that electric weaving bobbin winders in Canada are a little pricey – so I did an experiment this summer. How much would it cost me if I built one?  At first, I opted for the single ended winder.  It looked simpler to build and I didn’t have pirns that needed the support on both ends. I’ll call this prototype #1.

The part that had me stumped for a while was the metal mandrel that the bobbins fit on. Continue reading A DIY electric weaving bobbin winder – a tale in two acts – Act 1 →

3D Printing, Home, Life, Pets, Spinning

2019 Year End Wrap up, part 2 – everything else

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Well, I put this post off for a little longer than I should have – but I had what I think is were understandable reasons mixed with a little procrastination.

In mid-December of 2018, Stormi began spending almost all of her time in the bedroom which meant more time for me in the bedroom taking care of her.  That put some projects and some of my usual stress relievers on hold because I wouldn’t leave her alone for more than a few hours at a time . Continue reading 2019 Year End Wrap up, part 2 – everything else →

Home, Life

Throwback Thursday – Project F-250 Revamp

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Here’s my version of “Throwback Thursday” 😉 This is a post I made back in 2009 when I was still in charge of BanditAlley, as a blog post there. Recording it here on AA for posterity.

Seeing that I can do this, you’d think I could polish up a sewing machine like nobody’s business, wouldn’t you? Not so. Though a lot of the process is the same, I just can’t seem to bring up the shine on a sewing machine the way this truck finally shone. It’s probably because I can’t use a power polisher on the machine like I can with a car or a bike.

The victim: A 2000 Ford F-250 Diesel. Previously dark green in color, but likely painted when it was recovered as a roll-over in the first year of its life. Continue reading Throwback Thursday – Project F-250 Revamp →

Sewing Machines

First Date – First frame quilt, a charity quilt

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As I mentioned earlier this week, there’s a new machine in the house.

I’ve had a chance to play with it, and I’ve got a sort of preliminary review mostly of the frame. The machine in question is a Juki TL-98Q, it’s on a B-Line frame.

After a couple of mis-starts, things are going well. I managed about an hour on it each Tuesday and Wednesday, in a couple of small sessions , then about an hour and half on it on Saturday. No pain so far, which is good.

We’ve begun to bond, and I’ve discovered a few things so far: Continue reading First Date – First frame quilt, a charity quilt →

Sewing Machines

Followup to the Universal adjustable sewing desk

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I had a couple of questions asked in PMs the other day on the Quilting board about the Universal Desk I built a couple of weeks ago, and am posting them here with permission.

when you have your machine in it… does your machine ‘vibrate’ backwards? I see you have a gap at the back/right side of it and am wondering if you have something you insert in there or if you just leave that spot open. (to the right of your wheel)