unSCREW the Rules

As a rebel and freethinker, I fearlessly mod, hack and repurpose everything that comes within easy reach. So, when I found myself hesitating to simply remove one unneeded part from a donated piece of furniture, I had to ask myself why. It gave me some insight, not very deep but still an insight, into how the minds of normal people work and how that discomfort can control their ability to mod, hack and repurpose disposable commercial items.

Smoke That Alarm

I just spent six hours on a frustrating search-and-destroy mission. It started when I awoke an hour earlier than usual to the beep of a smoke alarm with a low battery. The beep wasn't very loud, and it only chirped once every ten or fifteen minutes. But it was enough to prevent me from falling back asleep. So, I sighed, flung the covers off and stumbled to the kitchen.

I never actually hit this, or any other smoke alarm with a hammer. However, the image does illustrate my frustration at trying to change the batteries in multiple smoke alarms that all seemed to be beeping at me all at the same time.

As I was making coffee, the alarm beeped again. Luckily, it was the kitchen alarm located directly above where I was standing - or so I thought. The beeping already had me so on-task that I replaced the battery before the coffee had finished brewing, As I poured myself a large mug of magic elixir, I congratulated myself on accomplishing an onerous task before I had even had my first sip of coffee. I was on point, and it felt good, surely a great start to a productive day

That should have been my first hint. Never, ever do anything that even remotely resembles thinking or deciding before caffeination. As I trundled towards my morning sipping and contemplation spot, it beeped. The new battery had not worked.

Tool List for Cricut Maker

Our MakerSpace got an almost new Cricut Maker machine. But it came without the tools or mats, so we had to figure out how to provision it. Since the Cricut brand machines are new to us, we wanted to start with all original Cricut Equipment.

Basic Starter Kit:

We didn't fully understand all the different options, so we opted for Cricut's official Starter Bundle basic toolkit. (affiliate) It seemed like it had all the required tools and materials and we seemed to even save some money over buying each tool individually. 

The bundle includes a Fine Point tool and blade, a Deep Cut tool and blade, a Bonded Fabric tool and blade, plus a 3x mat selection and marking pens. Add some transfer-tape and you can start working with a huge variety of materials right away.

Cutting Mat 3x Variety Pack (affiliate)

Transfer Tape 2-pk (affiliate)

Fine Point Tool w/Blade plus some Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Deep Cut Tool w/Blade plus some  Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Bonded Fabric Tool plus some Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Scoring Stylus (affiliate)

Combo Embosser/Engraver Tool (affiliate)

Sweep Command Twisting and Path Placement in Fusion 360

Fusion 360's Sweep command has a "Twist" option. The Twist option rotates the Profile as it travels along the Path. Using the Twist option can create useful shapes that would be difficult to create with any other tool. It can also create odd but interesting shapes that are great for decorative flourishes.

Although these shapes have few applications in basic mechanical design, they are seen frequently in ornate architectural columns and facades.

Fusion 360's Sweep with Twist command can produce amazing and complex shapes like spiral columns, springs and coils with just a few clicks. However, understanding where to place the path and profiles to get the desired effect takes some understanding as well as a bit of practice.

You can radically change the result of the Sweep/Twist command just by changing the location of the Path in relation to the profile. A slight change in the location of the path can dramatically alter the result and produce effects like a double twist or springy coil. When the path is more complex than a simple straight line, the results can be very dramatic.

A collection of possible shapes using the same profile and path. Only the location of the path changes between each example.

The shape of the profile can also change the result. For instance, twisting a circle along a centered path does not produce any noticeable twist. But when the path is set at the edge of the circle, the result is a spiraling column.

Remove Galvanized Coating with Vinegar

You can strip galvanized coating off steel using regular household vinegar. I saw a video that used muriatic acid and another that used citric acid. Muriatic acid only took a few minutes of bubbling and smoking to clean the metal, but it required rubber gloves, eye protection and a respirator. The citric acid took several minutes long with less bubbling and less protective equipment required. 

But I don't have either of those substances, so I wanted to see if I could use a weaker acid like vinegar to accomplish the same thing.

It worked. It took several hours instead of mere minutes, but it did work. Household vinegar removed all the galvanized coating off washers, nuts and screws down to the bare metal. And more importantly, I didn't have to wear rubber gloves or a respirator to use it.

You can see the bare metal at the bottom of the washer. The top is still galvanized. All I did was submerge half the washer in regular 5% household vinegar for a few hours. This is a simple and safe way of making galvanized metal safe to weld and sand.

I already use vinegar for a lot of things, so I usually have a couple of gallons on hand. I use it as a weed killer, glass cleaner and rust remover. I use it to etch copper for my craft projects, and I've even made a circuit board by etching with vinegar.

Repair Stanley Fat Max Flashlight Reed Switch

After years of steady usage, my big powerful Fat Max rechargeable flashlight suddenly stopped working. I was bummed because it had been a dependable waterproof tool that had thrown a bright beam of light for a quarter mile or more; just the thing for checking the creek level during storms or to see what was making that noise along the fence-line.

The front lens and bumper screw off and the internal components slide out as a single unit. A plastic end is held in place with three screws. When you remove that end cap you can also remove all the internal components. 

I thought the rechargeable batteries had probably died so I took it apart to see if I could replace them. While taking it apart I accidentally triggered the light. It was still very, very bright. The batteries were obviously not the problem, so I started looking for for the real cause of the problem.

Control a Bare LCD with Just an Arduino

Yes, you can control simple bare-bones LCD displays using just an Arduino. No driver boards or additional chips are required. If you have controlled a 7-segment LED display directly from an Arduino, you can do the same with an LCD. 

However, there are a few tricks to doing it correctly. It's easy really. But I was trying to do it with mystery, undocumented displays. As you might guess, much fun and hilarity ensued.

This LCD is being controlled with just an Arduino. There are no additional chips or driver boards, just the bare LCD and an Arduino. The LCD was scavenged from an old CD player. It has a 7-segment display as well as icons and animations. Using salvaged LCD screens can lead to all sorts of surprises. This tiny display, with only nine pins, is actually quite complex to control. It has multiple layers of displays that are controlled by changing which pin you use as the common pin.

Why a Bare LCD

I have plenty of working LCD displays in all sizes and types. They are easy to hook up and simple to control with an Arduino. Why would I want to use a bare LCD instead? 

Well, because I have them and because I didn't know how to use them. It was a challenge.

Over the years I have scavenged a large collection of LCD displays out of broken electronic devices. They still worked when I salvaged them, but I had no idea how to

DIY Two-Needle Dial with Arduino

Just learned about a great device called a "Biaxial Stepper Motor." It's a pair of stepper motors driving two separate shafts that are nested concentrically inside of each other. This allows you to mount two indicator needles, one on each shaft, and operate them independently.

It functions something like the shafts that move the hands of a clock, but with one very important difference. 

You can easily make a dial or gauge for your flight sim or other game. These biaxial stepper motors move each needle arm independently. Each hand can rotate at different speeds or directions. Easy to control with any Arduino or Raspberry Pi.

In a clock, all the shafts are linked by gears and they rotate with a set ratio (for example: the hour hand moves 1/12th of a rotation for every full rotation of the minute hand). Wikipedia calls the gearing mechanism a "wheel train" (note the illustration) with the "hand shafts" being the part attached to and  moving the hands.

By contrast, the two shafts of a biaxial stepper operate completely independently, so you can

Slow Filling Gas on Simplicity Riding Mower

PROBLEM: Slow filling gas tank on a Simplicity riding mower. 

SOLUTION: Park the mower with the nose pointing downwards on a slope.

This is not a "fix" for the problem, more of a workaround. But the only real solution I have found is an online post saying the gas tank needs to be replaced with an improved version. The owner of the mower is not going to do that, so I figured out this workaround.

It's a Simplicity Regent S with a 48" deck that they purchased in 2019. The problem seems to be that the fill-neck is constricted to about a 1/4" where it joins the tank. When you pour the fuel in too quickly (normal speed) the passageway becomes vapor locked and you can't put more fuel in until the the neck empties. This can take several seconds or even minutes. If you shake the mower, you can break the vapor lock, but that's a pain. It can take 10-15 minutes to fill the mower.

Park the Simplicity mower with its nose pointed downhill. This can make filling the gas tank happen more quickly. Even a slight slope helps, but a nice 15 degree slopes really helps speed up filling the tank .On a flat slope the gas goes in too slowly. Be sure to use your parking brake.

I thought I must be doing something wrong, so I checked

Supporting Makers during Social Distancing

Now is a great time to support your local artists and crafters. Buy that handmade item you always intended to buy. The malls are closed, but most of your friendly local makers and creators have a way for you to purchase directly from them. You could buy one-of-a-kind handmade items made by people you know for about the same price as a mass produced object made by machines and strangers.

LIKE WHAT EXACTLY?
Jewelry, paintings, pottery, quilts and potholders, stained glass, clothes, woodwork and furniture, photographs and music... people nearby, possibly right next door, are creating all manner of beautiful and unique items.

WHY LOCAL?
Not only will you have a new thing of beauty in your life, you will have a lasting emotional connection to that object because you know the creator. And you can feel good about yourself because you supported the artist financially.

Make a Shop Water Heater out of an old Humidifier

On cold days I really want a warm water source in my shop. I don't need a whole tank full and I don't need it every day. But on cold days it would be nice to wash my hands with warm water, or keep my fingers from freezing when I'm doing wet-sanding or cleaning.

I've used a hot plate, crock-pot, electric kettle and a coffee maker to heat water. They all heat up the water and it's nice to have a pot of warm water to dip things in. But I always found them inconvenient because there is no dispensing mechanism. I had to pour the hot water into another container, maybe  mix in cool water, then dip the objects or my hands into the water. That's too much trouble, I wanted a hose and spigot so I could just spray down the dust and wash my hands easily.

I finally found a solution when someone donated their broken home humidifier that had a water heater built in. I just added an old spray hose to the humidifier, and now I have warm water whenever I need it.

Post More in 2020 Please

Made this as a reminder to myself - "Do a better job sharing and posting your projects and research with your community this year." Even though I am always working on projects and compiling research, I realized I only post about them once a month (at best).

I recently shared a project with a friend and they were startled. They had never seen the project even though I had been working on it for several weeks. Apparently all the information bouncing around in my head doesn't magically get sent out to the rest of the world. So I had to really think about why I don't post more frequently. I help people with their own projects in the forums and in real life. But I never write about my own. Why is that?

I started with excuses.

Lamp Adapter for USB Arduino Projects

How can I power an Arduino from a light socket? Can I retrofit an old lamp for a USB power supply? And can I adapt exiting screw-in fixtures to power my NeoPixel light shows without rewiring the lamp?

I thought this would be a simple, inexpensive purchase so I looked online for an existing solution. They have all kinds of plug-in USB adapters for wall outlets so surely they must make a version that screws into a light bulb socket. Something that I could just replace the bulb with, then plug my Arduino with NeoPixels into the shiny new USB port and have instant power for my project. Surely I'm not the only one who wants to make a light show for an old lamp.

You can easily provide 5v USB power for your Arduino project from a screw in lamp or light socket.

But I could not find a version like I wanted. They do have big, bulky awkward looking versions, but not the simple, small ones like I was envisioning. They also have pre-made remote control adapters that turn the light bulbs on and off with WiFi, Bluetooth and even LORA. Then there are the popular HUE and other RGB light bulb systems.

But I wanted to make my own custom light show, so none of these commercial solutions worked for me. All I wanted was to change the screw-in socket to a USB power supply.

Had to resort to some antique technology to adapt an existing light fixture for USB power. I wanted to turn a screw-in light bulb socket, the kind you see in any lamp or ceiling light, to provide USB power for an Arduino. I wanted to use the Arduino and some RGB LED neopixels with Bluetooth or WiFi to make the lamp into a remote control light show. I finally had to use an ancient light socket to wall socket adapter and one of those tiny USB wall chargers to create a workable power system.

Luckily, I still have lots of electrical adapters from my days of being a budget-sensitive-photographer.