Post by captaininfosec on Nov 24, 2015 22:27:11 GMT -5
I've been looking for one of the large format X-carves on the used market - I keep hoping for a $1000 price point where it would make sense in my shop. I'm not sure I'm staying up until 1 AM for it though!
Post by captaininfosec on Oct 31, 2015 19:02:55 GMT -5
I've been wanting to add a laser cutter to my shop, but couldn't quite talk myself into the Glowforge. It's unreleased hardware with a cloud back-end, which means if the vendor doesn't succeed you'll have a laser with no interface. If they do succeed, I expect they'll drive prices down and features up, which means my entry to the market would be easier.
I suspect their delivery will be longer than they expect, and hopefully they succeed, and the market has to play catch up. For $2k (or $2500 with the filter, which makes a lot of sense), I'll wait!
Post by captaininfosec on Oct 26, 2015 9:50:46 GMT -5
This Instructable got featured on the front page, and was in one of the daily email updates. That made a huge difference in traffic - I had about 1500 hits in a few days, then quickly climbed to over 24,000 hits with 500+ favorites and dozens of subscribers.
It really emphasizes how much impact exposure has for an Instructable. Now I have to ponder what to do next!
An interesting note: there was a lot of panic because my handsaws were stored with the blade facing outward. They're not in a place I'm likely to bump, they're in a slot, angled back to the wall, and have a magnetic retention system, but people were absolutely convinced that I'd terribly injure myself. So far, none of their predicted doom and gloom has occurred.
Post by captaininfosec on Oct 26, 2015 9:44:40 GMT -5
Hm. I wonder if there'd be broader interest here. I haven't welded since 8th grade - if there's a chance to learn while someone is working on a project, it might be a good opportunity for some of us to pick up a new skill. Heck, I keep wanting to build one of the flower pot style aluminum smelters so I can do casting too.
Post by captaininfosec on Oct 3, 2015 20:10:45 GMT -5
I've spent a lot of my free time over the past month moving my workshop from my cluttered garage to a finished room in my basement. Along the way, I was able to document the build process for my french cleat system, and I built an Instructable with help from a talented photographer friend.
Instructables is running a pair of contests, so if you like what you see and want to help me out, votes for it in their shelving contest and their first time author contest help me get to the finals.
I'd be glad to answer questions for anybody who is interested in a similar setup for their shop or house!
Post by captaininfosec on Sept 18, 2015 12:37:14 GMT -5
I ran across Reflowster, a pre-built reflow add-on for toaster ovens today: reflowster.com/
For $130, it may be an easy solution. In essence, it appears to be a thermal control module with some logic to keep a consistent temperature for reflow.
Post by captaininfosec on Sept 15, 2015 20:43:07 GMT -5
If you really want to go all out there's a Bridgeport on the South Bend Craigslist - southbend.craigslist.org/tld/5218766257.html. No price, so who knows what you could get it for.
Last Edit: Sept 15, 2015 20:43:23 GMT -5 by captaininfosec
Post by captaininfosec on Sept 15, 2015 7:13:30 GMT -5
If you don't mind a bit of a wait, Harbor Freight runs a 25% off coupon a couple of times a year - usually one on the Black Friday weekend. For a $25-30 savings, it may not be worth waiting.
There's a lot of documentation on converting the HF mini-mill, but they can also take a lot of work to upgrade. From what I've read, they're still not a bad starting point at the price they're available at.
Post by captaininfosec on Sept 2, 2015 21:00:16 GMT -5
That's why I keep buying Ryobi, even though the tools aren't always as nice as the Hitachi/Dewalt/other brands for specific purposes - the darn batteries have been compatible for over a decade. This would be enough motors to make a serious set of projects though!
Post by captaininfosec on Apr 7, 2015 19:35:26 GMT -5
This looks like it may be something folks would enjoy playing with at the Arduino classes (especially for free and a chance to win a printer) - 1sheeld.com/makerspaces/
Their sales pitch is: "Sheeld turns your smart phone capabilities into a generic Arduino shield, you can sense the environment and grab the data with the sensor shields, trigger the Arduino and communicate remotely with it using the communication shields, use the smart phone touch screen and capabilities with Arduino with the special shields, and have fun on Facebook or twitter with the social media shields."
Post by captaininfosec on Mar 22, 2015 21:33:35 GMT -5
Jim, I'm interested. I think I might prefer a propane torch build as I don't have convenient 220 anywhere near where I'd want to run the setup. Brian B might also be interested.
Post by captaininfosec on Jan 7, 2015 21:14:44 GMT -5
My money was just sent. I've talked to a number of people who may want to come, so if you identify a second date soon you may get them signed up quickly.
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