Wooden Rings

Study group did the same Christmas Breakup party theme thing again this year as last; recycled / home made / fair trade etc... so I decided to try my hand at some hand shaped wooden rings for the semi-secret-but-not-really-Santa.

I ripped down some strips of timber of contrasting colors that I'd saved from a previous year's tear-down of pallet timber. I want to throw some aluminium into the mix for some shiny-bling.

Can only rip down to ~3mm on the table saw, so I'm sanding down to ~1.5mm with the sander as I don't own a thickness planer.

x2 boards = 3.4mm thick...that'll do.

Cut a manageable piece.

Proposed ring profile laminations. You can see here I've got x4 layers put aside in case the aluminium doesn't work out, and I have to revert back to pure timber assembly.

Some tools required to continue.

Araldite straight onto aluminium without roughing it up or anything. I have experience with this, so actually performing this step in this fashion is completely beyond my comprehension...it was a hot day...

Keep adding laminate layers. I'm running all the grain in the same direction for the aluminium version.

Clamp it up!!

Some tools required for the next step.

I don't have the drill bit sizes I need for the inner or outer diameters, so I'm gonna hog it out with a perimeter cut using a smaller drill bit.

Rough cut out with the band saw.

Really happy with the way it's coming out at this stage.

And not so happy at this stage. Every punch-out of the aluminium pryed it apart a little more.

Abort mission and try one of the little rings. The grinder bit was worthless against soft aluminium or wood.

So I wrapped some sandpaper around a 7mm drill bit. That was useless also.

...and then it all went even more pear-shaped. This laminate isn't going to work. I actually tried three times with the aluminium and various re-glue attempts. It continuously separated.

So I moved over to the backup laminate I'd prepared. Each layer has the grain running 90 degrees to the last. No aluminium core.

Rough cuts. The center holes are hogged out with an aggressive engraving bit. Worked really well, made smooth cuts. You almost can't tell they weren't cut with a correct drill bit.

I borrowed Wes's mini strip sander.

Rough sand vs. square cut.

More sanding to go. Right hand set are spares in case of crumble during final sanding.

So I finished sanding. Oiled them, and wax/polished them. I made a tiny black acrylic stand to set them into, and gave them away.

/tears.

Invisible wallet killer

I had a great result and achieved my lowest average kwH electricity use in my last bill. 5.3 is way, way below the average for 2 adults, even for conscientious users. We're in the range of 3-4 times less power used.

You'll notice the big dip after summer. Skev moved out at the end of December, and Jana moved in. We had a really hot summer so I did run the air-con pretty hard. However after that, lifestyles show a big result.

Back when Skev was working, we were averaging ~6+ kwH, however during this bill snapshot Skev was taking an extended break from work. Between 14-18hrs / day he used his PC. He's an online machine. The problem is, he's got an older monitor, and slightly older power supply. His system draws ~450 watts when fairly idle, and 550+ when gaming. For those not in the know, that's fairly normal for 3-5yr old computer devices, and on a par with running a small washing machine. By comparison, my 1+yr old monitor (LCD vs LED) draws 1/10th that of his monitor at only ~22watts, and I've paid extra for 80plus certified power supplies for some time now.

Given what I'd learned in 2008, his use is not really abnormal for any household. If anything, all he really did was offset on-demand-but-off-devices two fold which I'd worked out as ~200 watts back then.

So Jana's daily routine closely mimics mine. Work most days. Heavy online user at home. Mostly efficient, or portable devices.

The story here is that not Trav was bad. It's that lifestyle itself plays a DRAMATIC role in your participation in Global Climate control and the cost of your power bill. The options against Trav's use were abundant. Use the PC less (poor solution), or swap out older electronics. Of course, there are issues with simply dumping working electronics, and driving various levels of consumerism simply by upgrading, however the components could have been relegated to a lesser-used service in our house such as a secondary monitor or to one of my ...uhh...several old test machines which aren't used that often etc.

Moral of the story: Make some effort. Review your habits occasionally. Lower your bills. Learn Kung Fu.

Upgraded shoe shelves

I've moved house. The old set of shoe-shelves needed to be turned 90 degrees on their side to fit into the new entry space.

It previously had x6 long shelf cavities, but now they're oriented in an unusable fashion. I've added x12 shelves to make an 18 hole space. You can make out the original shape vs my additions by following the exposed faces. Lots of measuring and drilling required for the shelf support pins, but overall an extremely simple change. I'll run some white paint across the exposed shelf ends as I can't justify the cost of melamine strip for this old hard rubbish pickup.

Windows tablets and why you have no idea they're superior.

Microsoft have some genuinely powerfull PCs available in tablet form which you didn't even know existed. You're confused because...they're hopeless with marketing. Here's the breakdown.

*** EDIT: *** Surface 3 and Pro 3 have been released early 2015. Their naming convention has changed from the limitations of the prior versions. Note, these are now both full blown COMPUTERS in a tablet form factor. No longer is there a "phone" operating system in these devices as written blow. Full details here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/04/04/microsoft-surface-3-vs-surface-pro-3/

- Windows RT is a PHONE style operating system, the likes of which you've seen on Android and iStuff. You're locked into an "app store". It is not hardware. It's software. It's the "user interface" you'll be using.

- Windows 8 or 8.1 is regular Windows for a desktop computer. It's awesome. The "metro" or touchscreen interface is plainly stupid. but who cares, you can drop into normal desktop mode and do everything you've always been able to do forever and a day.

- Surface is a Microsoft hardware platform, typically a tablet or large presentation table display. It only runs a PHONE sytle operating system such as Windows RT (...almost exclusively RT). It's not awesome, and doesn't deserve your attention in any way...you can buy phone hardware in tablet sizes anywhere.

- Surface Pro (2,3,4) runs a different hardware subset, and is capable of running a full Windows 8 suite. However, it's often packaged with Windows RT, which makes zero sense for a consumer to blow money on. Fortunately consumers are stupid, and money is made.

- Surface 2,3,4. Don't confuse them with PRO 2,3 or 4. If it doesn't say "pro", it's only gonna run a phone style interface.

- Any Microsoft 8 tablet (not a surface device, not running RT), running an i3, i5, or i7 processor. BUY IT !!! These are full blown desktop computers in a tablet package. This is the product you want. It makes everything else look like a toy (which they are). Run regular desktop applications, or "phone-app" stuff as you please. A work companion. You don't need this if you're just checking Facebook and the weather though.

- Any Microsoft 8 tablet (not a surface device, not running RT), running any other processor. Buy it!! They run just like any other non Microsoft tablet you've ever gotten your hands on, except you're not locked into the phone-only-app environment. If you do a little more than check your email and social apps on your tablet, then think seriously about one of these. They're priced in between high end Android and Apple stuff, but their work-horse potential is waaaaaaay higher.

Summary:
- Windows RT is a phone style operating system like Android and iStuff. There's no reason to run it on a tablet. I don't know why you're buying it. We passed that with Windows-CE TWENTY YEARS ago. Yes 20 years ago!!!
- Surface is a weak computer that can only run phone software. I don't know why it exists in this era. We passed that on netbooks 6+ yrs ago with the 1st generation Atom processors...and frankly ARM processors up to a decade before that.
- Surface Pro is a hardware marketing fiasco, which is capable of running a full Windows operating system, but probably has Windows RT installed. Your IT guy needs to be fired if he buys one for your company.
- Window 8 Tablets are awesome. If the tablet you're looking at can "go to Desktop" then it's a genuine computer, and probably worth further investigation (price point etc...)
- Windows 8 tablets running i3,i5,i7 processors. If you can afford them, just buy one. It's a no brainer. It will do everything you'll ever want.

Good luck.

Ottumwa, IA, 52501

Geocaching on Anzac Day 2014

Did a few geocaches today, and revisited an old favorite so that Jana could do it.

Bed Bugs is a classic!!

We brought our own batteries as suggested by the cache information.

...and at a different cache, here's a really nice custom-carve-out hiding place. :)

Fuel valve fix and engine dampener

The fuel valve on my motor pushbike has been leaking horribly. About 2 litres flowed into the tank overnight. Not cool!!

Here you can see the tiny rubber seal is decayed quite badly.

So I'm making a new one from some recycled car-tyre rubber lying around. It's difficult to make nice clean holes in rubber.

Pretty ugly. Hope it works.

Nope, that didn't work at all. I'll try a thinner rubber seal. This time I'll use an old bicycle inner tube.

...and a proper hole punch instead of a drill bit.

Super tidy. That looks much better.

A dab of silicone should stop the new diaphram from moving around (rotating) inside the petcock. (ps: post-install, works like a charm. Problem fixed)

The motor vibrates like a beast. It's hard metal-to-metal bolted to the bike at every point. I think I'm going to pad everything with this recycled car tyre strip.

First I'll line all the frame-mount brackets with some rubber padding.

That should do it.

... I'll add some between the mount-plate and the engine also...when I get back into the shed. Updates eventually...

More "favorites" geocaches.

Did a couple really nice geocaches today. One being another of Muzza's electronic game geocaches. Well worth it. Check these out when you get a chance:

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4062J_national-treasure http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HWVE_who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-v-2

Super yummy Honey Mustard.

1 part seeded (wholegrain) mustard.
1 part dijon mustard.
1 part honey.
3 parts mayonaise.

Put it on everything chicken. And then everything else.

More spring

Dave scored himself an absurd mountain bike and we've been out a few times to Lysterfield Lake Park to run some of the trails out there. Part of our route takes us on the Commonwealth games track used in 2006. Dave has been killing me with his super-bike, and my road-hybrid just isn't cut out for the beating the trail dishes out.

So in the tradition of "Real men ride steel frame K-Mart bikes", I picked up some dual-suspension cheapo bikes for myself and Jana at KMart.

However, I was not happy with the front suspension bottoming out with little effort due to my excessively manly body weight. All muscle of course. Gizmology was called for.

The black spring is the original. There's one of those in each fork. The small silver springs are what I'm adding in addition to the original to both pre-load the existing springs, and increase the overall force required before they bottom out. They're some part that Wes had lying around his workshop from Yachting components. I found two springs stacked inside each other offered a resistance of ~10kg before fully compressed. (I pushed down on them on a set of scales) A pair, in each fork, should add ~20kg.

Tightening down the restraining bolt. This socketted screwdriver has a 1/4 inch drive socket in the back of the handle. Super handy for that last bit of torque by adding your 1/4' ratchet!!

Beware, stripping threads is now easier than before...

So, I'm super happy with the quick dirty mod. I rode a trial run on the full trail and had a blast. Didn't bottom out a single time. Cycling FTW.