kumiko from nails

Nail This Tricky Kumiko Pattern

March 11, 2022 by 4 Comments

[Pask Makes] has previously made Kumiko patterns in wood and was happy with the results, but he wondered if he could make something visually similar from metal instead of wood.

For that, he reached for nails as it is a cheap source of uniform small rods of metal. Kumiko is, funny enough, a technique known for joining small pieces of wood without nails. There are many different patterns that use the technique and most are inspired by nature. It is the pressure of the wood in the pattern itself that holds it together and requires dedicated planning and thousands of minute adjustments. Since [Pask] was using a MIG welder to hold the nails together, it isn’t technically Kumiko but rather a Kumiko pattern.

The first step was to take the coating off the nails, which is something a little acid does a wonderful job with. After dropping a little acid, his nails were prepped and he was ready to tack them together. He printed a template on a sheet of paper and used a straight edge and a palm router with a groove bit to cut little channels for each of the nails to sit in. The nails were trimmed to the correct width with the help of a small jig. After he had tacked the nails together, he came back and filled in the centers.

It’s a straightforward little project that creates a beautiful pattern and it’s a good reminder that simple materials can make complex things. If you prefer the wood look, this Kumiko guitar might be more to your taste. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Nail This Tricky Kumiko Pattern” →

Very Fancy Nail Is Actually A Secret Jewlery Stash

March 10, 2022 by 10 Comments

Typically, nails are purpose-built things made to hold bits of wood together, with their entire design focused on that purpose. However, [W&M Levsha] went in much the other direction, crafting one very fancy expensive nail in what we can only explain as a masterful demonstration of their skills.

The build starts with a piece of brass tube, which is engraved with a delicate pattern on an automated lathe. After clean up, the spiralling lines are attractive on the polished brass.A plug is then made for the end of the tube, which gets filed into a point to resemble a nail, hiding the seam between the plug and the tube.

The tube is then threaded to accept a nail head that screws into the top, allowing the “nail” to act as a fancy little stash, which [W&M Levsha] shows off by placing a bracelet inside. The project is finished by crafting a stunning wooden box to hold the fancy nail.

We’ve seen [W&M Levsha]’s handywork before; the cap-gun cigarette lighter was a similarly impressive feat of machining and craftsmanship. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Very Fancy Nail Is Actually A Secret Jewlery Stash” →

Short Circuit Tracer For A Buck

March 10, 2022 by 22 Comments

Almost every meter you find today will have a continuity tester. Connect the probes and it will beep if there is a short and won’t if there isn’t. But where is the short? That’s another problem when trying to measure a component that is connected to many other components. [Learn Electronics Repair] wanted to have a tool to find shorts on a board and wanted to build a tester that uses 4-wire resistance measurement to isolate the device under test without having to do surgery on the circuit. His $1 build appears in the video below.

The first part of the video talks about the theory behind resistance measurement with two and four wires. Let shows several diagrams, but he mentions that at one point he shows an incorrect schematic (at 12:03) instead of the early correct one (at 10:35) and mentions it, but if you are skimming the video, you might get confused.

Continue reading “Short Circuit Tracer For A Buck” →

Introducing The Universal Atari Keyboard Case

March 10, 2022 by 3 Comments

[10p6] wondered what it would be like if Atari had used a standardized keyboard across its 16-bit and 32-bit computer lines in 1985. Imagination is fun, but building things is even better, and thus they set out to create such a thing. Enter the Universal Atari Keyboard Case.

The case design is flexible, and can accept a keyboard from models including the Atari ST and Falcon. The keyboard can then be used with an Atari Mega, TT, or desktop-style Atari computers without mods. It also brings modern peripherals to bear on these old Atari platforms, enabling the use of modern USB mice while also using the two onboard joystick ports. Power and floppy LEDs are present, but subtly hidden beneath the case, only becoming visible when illuminated. It also includes 5-watt stereo speakers for getting the best out of the Atari’s sound hardware.

The final part, a full 473mm long, was 3D printed in resin for a high-quality surface finish. The results are so good it almost looks like a genuine factory keyboard.

If you’re regularly playing with your vintage Atari machines and you want a great keyboard to use with them, this could be the design for you. [10p6] has promised to soon upload the design files to Thingiverse for those eager to replicate the work.

We’ve also seen retro Atari keyboard converted to work with modern machines. Video after the break. Continue reading “Introducing The Universal Atari Keyboard Case” →

An electromechanical wall clock on a workbench, showing "8888"

Silent Stepper Motors Make Electromechanical Clock Fit For A Living Room

March 10, 2022 by 13 Comments

Large mechanical seven-segment displays have a certain presence that you just don’t get in electronic screens. Part of this comes from the rather satisfying click-click-clack sound they make at every transition. Unfortunately, such a noise quickly becomes annoying in your living room; [David McDaid] therefore designed a silent electromechanical seven-segment clock that has all the presence of a mechanical display without the accompanying sound.

As [David] describes in a very comprehensive blog post, the key to this silent operation is to use stepper motors instead of servos, and to drive them using a TMC2208 stepper motor driver. This chip has a unique method of regulating the current that does not introduce mechanical vibrations inside the motor. A drawback compared to servos is the number of control wires required: with four wires going to each motor, cable management becomes a bit of an issue when you try to assemble four seven-segment displays.

Continue reading “Silent Stepper Motors Make Electromechanical Clock Fit For A Living Room” →

How Fast Can You Spin A LEGO Wheel By Hand?

March 10, 2022 by 7 Comments

It’s not a question you ask yourself every day, but it’s one that the [Brick Experiment Channel] set out to answer: how fast can you spin a LEGO wheel by hand? In their typical way, they set about building an increasingly complex contraption to optimize for the very specific case of maximum RPM.

The build starts with a LEGO wheel fitted to an axle, supported in two LEGO Technic beams. A white flash mark is also attached onto a part of the axle for measuring the rotational speed with a photo-tachometer. A first attempt gets as fast as 1,700 RPM. Upgrades come thick and fast , and with a three-stage compound geartrain, the handcranked wheel reaches 6,300 RPM.  Adding a further stage introduces the problem that the plastic Technic axle begins to twist under the torque input by the hand.

Taking a new approach of pulling on a string to turn the wheel, the first attempt nets 8,300 RPM. Gearing pushes this further to 12,900 revs, but adding more gears again leads to the problem of axles bending under the strain. A bidirectional rope pull design helps, though, and the system reaches 13,100 RPM.

Some of the parts have been damaged thus far, but a rebuild with fresh parts that are nicely lubricated provides a huge boost. The now-slippery shafts run smoother and the wheel hits a blistering 19,300 RPM as the mechanism disassembles itself.

It’s a less complex pursuit than some earlier works from [Brick Experiment Channel], like the impressive pole climbing designs we’ve seen previously. However, it’s a video that shows the power of iterative design and the gains possible from that process.
Continue reading “How Fast Can You Spin A LEGO Wheel By Hand?” →

Remoticon 2021 // Vaibhav Chhabra And The M19 Collective Make One Million Faceshields

March 10, 2022 by 5 Comments

[Vaibhav Chhabra], the co-founder of Maker’s Asylum hackerspace in Mumbai, India, starts his Remoticon talk by telling a short story about how the hackerspace rose to its current status. Born out of frustration with a collapsed office ceiling, having gone through eight years of moving and reorganizations, it accumulated a loyal participant base – not unusual with hackerspaces that are managed well. This setting provided a perfect breeding ground for the M19 effort when COVID-19 reached India, mixing “what can we do” and “what should we do” inquiries into a perfect storm and starting the 49 day work session that swiftly outgrew the hackerspace, both physically and organizationally.

When the very first two weeks of the Infinite Two Week Quarantine Of 2020 were announced in India, a group of people decided to wait it out at the hackerspace instead of confining themselves to their homes. As various aspects of our society started crashing after the direct impact of COVID-19, news came through – that of a personal protective equipment shortage, especially important for frontline workers. Countries generally were not prepared when it came to PPE, and India was no different. Thus, folks in Maker’s Asylum stepped up, finding themselves in a perfect position to manufacture protective equipment when nobody else was prepared to help.

Continue reading “Remoticon 2021 // Vaibhav Chhabra And The M19 Collective Make One Million Faceshields” →