Category Archives: making

Buy extension cords, not wire

Posted on March 1, 2017 by paulwallich

When you’re in the sticks, your supply options are limited. That’s why the other day I bought a couple of extension cords instead of the bulk wire that was right on the other side of the aisle at the hardware … Continue reading →

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Solder first, Trim Headers Later

Posted on January 26, 2017 by paulwallich

I had a bunch of Adafruit Metro Minis to solder up for a workshop I’m teaching, and –as usual — almost all the header strips were longer than they needed to be. I guess it’s much quicker to pack a … Continue reading →

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The gift that never ends

Posted on March 22, 2016 by paulwallich

This winter I had the idea of donating my old Cupcake CNC to the local library. Get it out of the basement, I thought. Put it where other people can use it. Find a home for all that extra 3mm … Continue reading →

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I like Octoprint

Posted on February 15, 2016 by paulwallich

So I was sitting upstairs where it’s warm, instead of down in the cold basement, and suddenly I had the idea to print something I’ve been noodling on for a while. Click. Click. Click. Move the Octoprint browser window so … Continue reading →

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Who needs a laser cutter?

Posted on February 5, 2016 by paulwallich

Well, I do. Or at least I want one. But cutting out a bunch of parts on a scroll saw in the past few days has given me new appreciation of what can be done with simple tools. The kerf … Continue reading →

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Progress is Bad

Posted on February 1, 2016 by paulwallich

I’ve been working for a while on a wearable accelerometer/datalogger project, and I came up with a nice breadboard prototype using a spare Seeduino Stalker plus a bunch of other parts. But that’s kinda big to actually wear. Next up: … Continue reading →

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A child of the 80s

Posted on January 21, 2016 by paulwallich

Sometimes I wonder if the 11-year-old is too retro. His current hobby is playing an emulated version of Street Fighter 2 on his PC. And now that a vintage-gaming store has opened in the next town over, he pretty much … Continue reading →

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more heated chamber

Posted on January 13, 2016 by paulwallich

I think this is a pretty good indicator. Both prints using the same spool of ABS (which my friend Tyler at filabot dropped off for playing with because of the nonuniform color). Right without a chamber, left with chamber. The … Continue reading →

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printrbot metal plus heated chamber

Posted on January 12, 2016 by paulwallich

I think I could make this one a little better, but only at the cost of making it much harder to watch prints in progress. It’s got an outer frame of bent 3x12mm aluminum strip that clamps itself to the … Continue reading →

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Downcycling

Posted on January 8, 2016 by paulwallich

Those random pieces of plywood that had a bunch of stuff lasercut out of the middle? Save them. You never know when they might come in handy. For example: the other day I needed to make a simple camera mount … Continue reading →

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