Freshly Shelled Pecans

This is sort of a tradition in the South, Freshly Shelled Pecans for Christmas..

Here are the shelling tools, Nut cracker, Nut Pliers, and a Nut scribe...

It's wood you can eat.  Nuts are Awesome.  I need to use some Pecan wood to smoke meats...

3D Printer 2

Today was mainly wire routing electrical assembly. When running wires over an mechanical assembly you have to take care to avoid transitions that might cause the wire to be damaged by vibration.  Velleman provided very detailed instructions to avoid such potential wire damage and subsequent intermittent operation.  We have finished the Extruder Head wiring at this point, and are working forward to the Z Axis wiring.

Velleman's instructions are very explicit, and easy to follow, however there are a couple math errors.  The Photodocumentation is very helpful.  My friend is already starting to add features, LEDs, an Alarm Siren, and Custom 3D printed covers.  I can tell custom software is coming too...

New Toy, gotta play...

This is the Extruder Head Assembly, wired.  It's a Marvelous Mechanism, with Servo Control.  You can also see the Heated Assembly platform.  There are levelers underneath to square up the table.  The fan is to cool the extruded material.  The actual extruder is not installed yet.  Below the Heated Assembly Platform is the X/Y Grid Mechanization, and the Z Axis Mechanization this the vertical piece at the left.

Still very excited, yet gotta take a break from this to do other stuffz...  Big Puppy Sigh...

 I dream of Harley...

3D Printer

After attending a Maker Faire at Tanner Electronics we were all very excited about robots, and 3D printers.  The allure of robotics is very intoxicating, especially after attending an Expo where all these things are successfully demonstrated.  Velleman is an Electronics Kit maker that has been producing DIY electronic kits for decades, and this year they are offering a 3D printer kit for a surprisingly low price of only $799.  Well, one friend has succumb to the allure of DIY 3D printing.  He is a Mechanical Engineer, and has been dreaming of a device like this for a long time, and now that this low cost, kit form, 3D printer was available it was just irresistible to him, me too...

He had received the kit the night before I arrived, and spent most of the night assembling his freshly delivered Christmas present.  When I arrived the next morning he had that crazed mad scientist look in his eyes, and was guzzling coffee.  So, we spent most of yesterday building his new robotic toy.  By the end of the day we had all of the mechanical assembly done, and are about to start doing the electrical wiring.  We were slightly disappointed when we found there were missing parts.  But we found the Velleman Tech Support was very responsive about the missing parts and they are on the way now.

The missing part was the X Axis limit switch, not a big deal, but we have to wait for it, and are eager to start building parts.  Overall I think this is a high quality robotic machine, and I am very excited to see it in action.  Today we are going to wire all the stepper motors, and limit switches to the controller.  Then we need to program the controller, and test all the electromechanical functionality.  We are definitely having a Christmas Morning experience.

Stay tuned, Mo Later...

Food Prep Set

Here is where we were going.  The finished set...

I started staining the top of the Rough Cedar Table before decided exactly what I wanted to do.  I liked the contrast of the red to the brown in the leg posts, and wound up going with staining all the new light colored cedar, and leaving to posts their aged brown color.

In preparation for the stain, I used the surface plane and sandpaper to smooth the rough Cedar on the top, and sides of the top, but left the rest of the wood rough.  I've put three coats on the top so far and think I am happy with it.

Maybe the best part of getting to this point is being able to get all the construction materials off the patio.  After this I am going back to the Shed, and the Garden Fence to get it finished off...

All this work is making me hungry, I think we're going to put these tables to work next.  Barbeque?

Block Table

I had a stack of scraps after building the Garden Fence, also here Garden Fence 2.  The fence is four feet tall which means that I needed to crop the eight foot Cedar posts to six feet.  So, I have this stack of 2 foot long, 4x4 Cedar posts.  I thought about making a mammoth chopping block, but Cedar is to soft and porous for a chopping block.

So, maybe a tabletop is what I wound up with.  I went round and round about what hardware I could use to connect the pieces for the top.  At one point I was going to use a 1/2 inch bolts through all the top pieces.  But, also trying to be frugal and only use what was already here I wound up gluing the top together.

I spread I piece of plastic over the saw table to keep from gluing the Block Table Top to the saw table.  Also, I'm using Gorilla Wood Glue.  I looked at the post material a long time trying to get the clearest surfaces on the top of the table, and hide the knots.

Then we'll apply a generous amount of glue between each piece, keeping them in order and aligned simultaneously.  I'm impressed with the glue, it has good adhesion immediately.  Once all the pieces are glued I'll clamp them with the bar clamps.

When you put the squeeze on the stack glue squirts out of every joint, and I spent another couple hours cleaning up the excess glue.  Gorilla Glue expands as it cures, co you have to keep after it for a while.  The pieces are stuck together well, but I am going to give it another 24 hours to cure before removing the clamps.

In the meantime I made the frame and leg pieces.  I'll glue and screw the frame to the top, and then likewise, glue and screw the legs to the frame.  The entire thing is glued now.  It should act as a contiguous piece, very rigid.

Its a short table, 28 inches.  I'm not sure where to integrate it yet.  I'm thinking that it should go with the Rough Cedar Table since they are made from the scraps from the Garden Fence.

The posts are Rough Cedar, so they are not perfect.  I spent a while working the top with a surface plane to make it flat and bet get the ridges out.  I also needed to square the ends with the saw a bit.  Then I sanded the top with 100 grit sandpaper.

Then finally adding the weather proofing stain, the same we used on the fence, so it matches.  I'm thinking that this set is going to look good when its done.

Workmate Renovation

I've had this Workmate since 2002.  It has had a part in everything I have built over the last decade.  It has endured all the projects.  It even held the Baby Q for a while.  The particle wood tops took most of the punishment.  So I had a couple leftover 2x6 pieces that were about right to replace the tops, so I thought its a good time to renovate the Workmate.

The original tops of the Workmate were particle wood, and I never liked it.  Particle wood is great for indoor furniture that never gets wet.  For a tool that lives outside?  Never.  I tried OSB (Oriented Strand Board) for exterior wall on the shed, and within five years they were trash.

Another thing I wanted to change about the Workmate is the surface area, so the replacement tops will be larger than the original tops.  Some times the Workmate gets used as a small table.

The original tops have recessed bolts, so I needed to make a relief for the head of the screws, and washers.  I used a hole saw to a specific depth, then used a chisel to clean out the holes.

There is also a half inch peg which actually anchors the top, and the screw just locks the assembly together.  I make another three sets of holes like these to mount the new tops...

Here you can see the contrast between the new and old tops.  It only takes a little water to make the particle wood come apart.  The new tops will get a sealing stain that will make them water resistant.

 ...and now we'll put it too work.

Rough Cedar Table

I've had it in my mind for a while to make a food preparation table for the patio.  I've been using the Workmate to hold the baby Q, and there is little space to put the food, sauces, utensils, etc.  I've also been working on fences lately, and I've got some extra Cedar hanging around.  So put the two together and we get Cedar food preparation table to hold the baby Q.

The legs are 6 inch by 6 inch Cedar posts, and this idea was hatched when I found the posts.  Someone was throwing them away, and I spotted them while I was out walking Harley on the morning of the trash pickup.  So after we finished the walk I went and retrieved them.

I had some spare 2x4s and 2x6s from building the Garden Fence, here also Garden Fence 2, and the wood type matches, so I figured they would work together.  Also had some leftover 3 1/2 inch screws to put it all together.  This type of construction I call Hatching, and I use it a lot for the Rustic Furniture I build.  There is no formal plan.  I use recycled, or scrap materials.  It goes together as the available materials allow.  This one is more uniform than most.

Here I'm piecing together the frame.  The 6x6 posts were different lengths, so the upper frame is above the top of the posts to make the top straight.  Then there is a shelf on the bottom.  I make the gap between the posts six inches so I could use a single 2x6 between them as a shelf.

Then there are two smaller 2x6 pieces adjacent to the center shelf 2x6.  The rough Cedar helps the Rustic Furniture appearance.  I'd like to put some accent pieces on there like Texas stars.  I should get a brand so I can brand my logo onto it.  I'm thinking "Texian" brand, but still thinking about it.

Finally for the top I used four 2x6s.  The whole thing has a big, blocky feel.  It is also higher (37 inches) than the average counter top which is good for me, a tall counter is easier on my back.  I may need to make some more like this.  I can see adding some features to make them look better like mitering the corners of the frame boards and the top.  Well, I'm off to build more stuff.

Samurai's Organic Garden

I am always excited to encourage organic gardening.  My buddy, Samurai, wanted to learn how to grow teh foodz and I used this opportunity to make another organic garden.  This one is starting from zero.  We have a dead Bermuda lawn that has a sandy loam base soil.  From what I saw when we were preparing the bed it is basically sterile.  I saw very few weeds, and no insect life, no worms.  What this indicates to me is this is a chemically dependent lawn which, at one time, had regular pesticide, herbicide, and chemical fertilizer treatment.  The soil is basically dead from an organic gardening perspective.

Above we dug the primary hole to evaluate the soil and drainage.  We found a sandy loam soil which surprised me.  I was expecting Texas Black Clay, which is very difficult to work with.  So this was a good thing, and we found, eventually, that the sandy loam is a lot easier to work in, and till than the clay.

Here we are excavating the Bermuda grass.  We started this process with shovels, thinking that it was necessary, as I assumed that it would be too tough for the tiller.  Then after trying the tiller we found that the tiller could cut through the dead Bermuda, and cut into the sandy loam easily.  This speed up the process a lot.  The second half of the excavation process went a lot faster.  After tilling the full 6 foot by 12 foot garden we spent a while pulling out Bermuda roots to try and prevent the Bermuda from growing back.

Mixing in the soil amendments was next, and we used composted lawn clippings, and Chicken Manure.  We found a sack of organic Miracle Grow fertilizer at the Home Labyrinth store.  It was pelletized Chicken Manure and its odor reminded me of the Fish Emulsion I used to use on my garden.  So we sprinkled the soil amendments on top of the garden, and mixed them in with the tiller.

After mixing in the soil amendments we smoothed out the bed, placed the plants, and started planting them.  We chose winter vegetables to populate Samurai's first garden.  I wanted to get some Tomatoes, but we couldn't find them this year.  We did plant Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, green Onions, Rosemary, Sage, Carrots, and Lettuce.  All of these plants will grow in the Winter in Texas.  Now we have to focus on watering on a regular schedule, and weed control, and we should have a happy garden.

The Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, green Onions, Sage, and Rosemary were seedlings, while the Carrots, and Lettuce were planted as seed, the two rows in front.  We have about three months before the first freeze, so this garden can potentially make some delicious Nomnoms before Winter...

 Tilling new organic gardens make Harley very tired, me too...

Fence Post Repair

I've got an old Cedar fence which not treated with any weather repellant.  Its probably about 15 years old.  The Cedar is in pretty good shape for its age.  There are some rotted out boards here and there.  The biggest problem with this fence is where it meets the ground,  When the Cedar is perpetually moist it rots, and attracts parasites like fungus.  Termites don't seem to like it though.

This is the hinge post for the gate, so there is extra stress on this one as well.  When I noticed it was getting weak I added a brace to it, which is a 2x4 at an angle in to the ground and secured to the post with deck screws.  One way to do this repair is to take apart the fence, pull the post and the concrete slug out of the ground, plant the new post, and reassemble the fence.  I was looking for a more efficient way.

Eventually I am going to replace this fence, and really only need something to prop it up for now.  So instead of replacing the hinge post I am adding a support post about a foot away.  When I go back to replace the fence I can pull the old hinge post and replace it, and still use the support post for extra strength.

This also gives me a chance to use up those partial bags of concrete hanging out in the garage.  Rather than using stake to hold the post in place I have attached it to the fence where I want it to be.  Then made sure the fence was positioned where I wanted it.

I mix the concrete in the Orange Bucket using a Sharpshooter shovel.  Its not easy, but it is cost effective.  These support post repairs are cost effective too.  The pressure treated Pine post is around $7, two sacks of concrete $5.50, and some deck screws.  If I was to replace the hinge post I might have spent 4 hours doing this.  With the support post I only disassembled the fence as necessary to attach the support post.  So I saved some time there.  I only had to pull two boards.  The time I spent installing the support post was about 2 hours.

 A couple days later the concrete is fully cured.  The post and the fence are solid again.  Now I'll remove the brace and replace the ground cover.  There were another two support posts I added in this time, so the east side of the fence is solid again.

The next project for this part of the fence is to add dog boards, and add some planks to close the gaps so a certain very loud dog, Harley, can't see out.