As the title says there is not a whole lot for me to write about this week. I try to update this Blog once a week or so but I have not really hit a 'mile stone' in any of my projects worth writing about... One thing that I did do is work on a picture for my Blog Template. I didn't add it to the template because after looking at it I don't think it will work too well in the overall visual scheme. I have included the picture below because I know everyone likes pictures. Also I included it because pictures are more interesting than my boring writing style which has been compared to Lorem Ipsum on occasion. Here is the picture for your enjoyment: (and an exciting LINK to Lorem Ipsum)
I created this little collage in SolidWorks, it's my favorite CAD program and a continuing source of employment for me. (Click on the picture for a better view - it's worth it!!!) The planetary gearbox is from a bicycle project that I was working on a few months (a year now??) ago that never made it past the conceptual stage. The concept there was to create a novel way to add motor power to pedal power summing the two for a speedy and pleasurable biking experience. After messing around with it and building some working scale models I opted for the Electric Wheel Hub approach. You can click HERE for a post on that project. Interestingly that post also had the words "nothing much to write about" in it and the reader was asked to focus on the pretty pictures - much like this post. I guess I am repeating myself a bit but the old saying "stick with what works" may apply... Anyway back to the picture. I added a few other things in there as well that pertain to this overall Blog - the wood pieces cut at odd angles, a bolt and of course a wrench to adjust the gears. I thought that some circuits, binary numbers, strange formulas and a drill bit add to the overall projection, and fill in space. The revolved pot / vase looking thing was a neat idea but after I did a model of it it looked really boring. The cross section helps add some interest and the idea is to reflect the lathe work that i do. Click HERE for a link to various turned wood things that I have done. I thought for fun I'd add the robot leg model that was used in construction and calculation of the robot (LINK) that I did... the robot is still out there in the garage awaiting time for me to work on it. I have some ideas and no time right now to hook it up and play with it but like so many other projects once the weather warms up and I have time...
I did do some work on the TABLE that I am messing around with... well stripping paint off of anyway. I did do some of that today actually. One discovery that I did make is Klean-Strip KS-3 Premium Stripper pretty much burns holes right through those blue Nitrile gloves so don't use them if you are using Klean-Strip KS-3 Premium Stripper! Actually it's not that bad, it takes some time for the stripper to work through the glove so you have a few minutes of stripping fun before you start to feel that ominous burning sensation. The cool thing about doing this on a hot day is your hands sweat so much in the gloves that when you take them off it pretty much neutralizes the burning. I would post a new picture of the table but it would be just as boring as the last picture which you can see by clicking HERE. The table base looks pretty much the same but with a little less paint on it. Have a look at that picture and use your vivid imagination (close your eyes if necessary) to imagine it with less paint. That is exactly how it looks now. I think because this time I pretty much followed the instructions on the paint stripper can and worked in the warm sun it took off even more paint. Now the table is ready for sanding. I cleaned the base off with rags and water once I was done with the stripper stuff. The can recommends using mineral spirits to get the stripper off but I don't have any so I used water. There is a thin film of dried paint / stripper goop all over it but that should sand off nicely. What I am going to do with this table base I am not sure but because sanding will take some time I have time to figure something out. As I mentioned in other posts I am considering a cantilevered top for it but now I am not sure. The nice thing about working on something when you don't have a real plan or time frame for finishing it is you are never in a hurry to get anything specific done. This is strategy that has worked well for me over the years but in saying that I'm not endorsing it nor is it meant to be taken as investment advice.
Lastly there is all the certifiably crazy Excel crypto math stuff that I have been doing. I could add some updates to that as I have been playing around with it over the last week... but again there isn't a whole lot to mention. I have some new ideas and they have given me the opportunity to write barely functional Visual Basic code that just manages to do what I want it to do. If I had anything interesting to write about I would - believe me. One thing I can say is I have been playing around with multiplication tables that use multiplication Mod a prime number. These are cool and fun and interesting and neat and all that stuff but I don't have any working code examples worth mentioning... in following the above stated "when you don't have a real plan or time frame for finishing something you are never in a hurry to get anything specific done" I don't have anything to post.
I suppose I could mention here that daylight savings is coming up in a hurry so I have made it a priority to clean the garage so once it's warm and sunny in the afternoon I can get back to cutting and drilling stuff. So there you go another post about nothing....
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