Below 265 SQ/FT TwoBytes Stuff

[TwoBytes]

Thanks guys,

Did a big workshop cleanup today and posted this pic on the "Lets see your workbench" thread...
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That's a "during" shot. I don't have an "after" pic yet because it's still a mess. A lot better than it was though.

I pulled everything out of the little store room in the back corner of the garage that's under the internal staircase. Lined all the walls in there because it was just bare insulation sitting in the wall frames before. It's much more organised in there now, less dusty and I chucked a heap of stuff out. Very happy with the result but it's one of those jobs where nobody will ever notice except me!

 

[Bob Heine]

Mat, just stopped by to wish you a Happy Birthday!

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Bob!

 

[Terrick down Under]

OMG, how many Christmas babies are there around here, hope you had a great day.

 

[TwoBytes]

Haha, thanks Rick!

M.

 

[TwoBytes]

Had a bit of a win with the 9 year old washing machine.

The pump crapped itself, and the service guys wanted a $185 callout fee, plus parts and any extra labour to fit them.

I can get the brand new version for $699, so unfortunately, I was ready to take it to the tip.

I found the pump, that I was pretty sure was the suspect, for $69, so I thought it was worth a shot.

about 45 minutes of wrangling...
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And, it VERKS!!!
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[TwoBytes]

And I've been playing with a few of my remote control cars now that the kids are getting a bit older.

View media item 101587We're enjoying replacing the bits they break with nice shiny aluminium upgrade parts!

It's an expensive slippery slope, but the original parts are no longer available for these old models, so what else can I do!

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[TwoBytes]

I've also been working (for some time) on building a decorative garden bridge for my mother in-law.

It started with an idea to use up some of the leftover timber from the cubby house, and grew from there.

The treated pine decking boards won't span that far without significant bending, so...

 

[TwoBytes]

Incidentally, can people see the photos in the post above?

I'm trying something new, sharing them from Google Photos. It seems to work for me, just hoping I'm not the only one that can see them.

 

[Bob Heine]

Mat, I can see them but something seems off in a couple of them. Looks like your little boy has been replaced with a bigger model. Or is that one of your remote control people?

 

[TwoBytes]

Haha, yep, not sure where my little boy went, he's definitely been replaced by a much larger version.

He's currently nursing a broken arm actually. He worked out that if you get your mates to push you on the rope swing then jump off, you can go much further than swinging under your own steam.

He won that competition, but now has some nice stainless steel hardware holding his elbow together!

 

[TwoBytes]

Bridge update.

I might finally finish it now that COVID-19 has us in lockdown and we can't leave the house!

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[TwoBytes]

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Might put a larger screw in there with a washer on top when I reassemble it after staining it all - in case the kids decide they want to swing on the rope!

 

[TwoBytes]

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[TwoBytes]

Making curly woodchips...

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Shaping a peak on the post caps to stop rain water pooling...

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[TwoBytes]

And I wanted to put a "drip groove" underneath, so that capillary action won't draw rain water under there and rot the tops of the posts.

So I thought this would be a good opportunity to build myself the ghetto router table that I've been thinking about for a while...

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[TwoBytes]

The router table worked great, but I got a bit of tear-out when rounding the edges over on my test piece, so I moved the drip edge in a bit

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Final step is to pull it apart and stain it all, then transport to my mother-in-law's place and reassemble (once we're allowed to leave the house anyways)

 

[HOTFR8]

WOW, some creative timber work in all that.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Simon!

Hope you're well mate.

 

[ajohno]

Great work Mat.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Aaron!

 

[Bears Fan]

Awesome job on the bridge

 

[Grumblebum]

That bridge is way cool TB.

Not much QST yet for me, trying to get the home school routine going, talk about a new challenge.

Take care.

GB

 

[bj383ss]

The bridge looks awesome! The next time you are routing to avoid tearout sometimes it is in the sequence you do the end grain. It doesn't like to be milled or take finish properly. It is stubborn as a mule sometimes.

That being said the planks are just a beautiful color.

Bret

 

[drivesitfar]

TB: not only did you make and show a great project I learned a few things while reading how you did it.

I was wondering how I would make a rope rail along my path and i think you nailed it. also I didn't know water weeped under the caps hence your routering some grooves there and i'm sure some day I might need to make a curved platform which you did an amazing job on.

WELL DONE SIR!!

also looks like the SUPERVISOR tested and approved the project.

 

[Lyndon]

Mat

That did turn out well!

And I like that router table idea. Are the side boards the only thing holding the router in place?

(Coming to you from home.... as are most people).

Lyndon

 

[TwoBytes]

Awesome job on the bridge

Thanks Bears Fan!

That bridge is way cool TB.

Not much QST yet for me, trying to get the home school routine going, talk about a new challenge.

Take care.

GB

Thanks GB, yeah, home schooling and trying to work from home is a major challenge alright!!

My kids are getting plenty of outdoor education.

The bridge looks awesome! The next time you are routing to avoid tearout sometimes it is in the sequence you do the end grain. It doesn't like to be milled or take finish properly. It is stubborn as a mule sometimes.

That being said the planks are just a beautiful color.

Bret

Thanks Bret, thanks for the tip, I think you're right, the order of operations makes a massive difference! I found out that rounding the edges before I did the groove made it much nicer.

TB: not only did you make and show a great project I learned a few things while reading how you did it.

I was wondering how I would make a rope rail along my path and i think you nailed it. also I didn't know water weeped under the caps hence your routering some grooves there and i'm sure some day I might need to make a curved platform which you did an amazing job on.

WELL DONE SIR!!

also looks like the SUPERVISOR tested and approved the project.

Thanks Drives!

Mat

That did turn out well!

And I like that router table idea. Are the side boards the only thing holding the router in place?

(Coming to you from home.... as are most people).

Lyndon

Thanks Lyndon!

Yep, those boards on the sides are the only thing holding the router up, I recessed a profile around the curve to match the shape of the router base, they've got plenty of coverage, and seem strong enough.

I've actually got the plunge base for that router that has a replaceable plastic plate screwed on to it.

In retrospect, I think it would've been much better to unscrew that and use the holes to screw it onto the table. Oh well!

(Not my photos, just random ones I found on the internet. It's wet outside and I don't want to go out to the shed and take my own, haha)

And yeah, we're home until further notice, like most of the world. Strange world we're living in, but trying to make the most of it.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Great job as always! Just a FYI the link to your thread isn't working for me.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Sean!

And thanks for the heads up about the links not working, I think I've fixed it now.

Not sure what happened there. I wonder how long that's been broken!

 

[Terrick down Under]

great wood work. good read for me.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks Rick, hope you and the family are well mate.

 

[TwoBytes]

My COVID-19 induced home schooling with the kids has been very focussed on outdoor education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)!

Our latest project was to take an old Nitro powered RC car that I built 20 odd years ago and convert it to electric.

The old motor was well and truly worn out, so it, along with the fuel tank, exhaust, throttle linkage and servo, and disc brake calipers all came off...
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And got replaced with an electric motor, modified motor mount and electronic speed controller off another old RC car I had in the attic...
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The pinion gear on the electric motor didn't match the pitch of the spur gear on the old centre diff, so I had to get creative.

We took a spare plastic spur gear from the donor car's parts bucket, and sandwiched it between the two old disc brakes. I lockwired it together, and filed out the middle so it would fit over the rear driveshaft drive cup...
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It wasn't pretty, but it worked!

Old school RC car goodness...
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[Grumblebum]

That sure beats spelling lists and the other paper/pencil work they need to do.

Great result.

GB.

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks GB, sure does!

 

[TwoBytes]

So the spur gear disc brake sandwich didn't last long.

Too many sudden transitions from full forward to full reverse!

Found a pinion gear on eBay with the right pitch for the original centre diff, but the hole in the middle was the wrong size.

I filled the gap with some brash shim stock and filed it smooth to make it spin right...
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Modified the motor mount for clearance and relocated it to mesh with the original spur gear.

Conversion version 2.0 ready to roll...
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[TwoBytes]

It's 4WD again, and runs great!

It's big and heavy because it's built to support the old nitro motor, so it drains the battery pretty quick, and it's not super fast.

It's very strong though, so it's great for my son to learn to drive before I buy him a new car for his birthday.

Once my son gets his new car, I plan to upgrade the motor and speed controller to a high power brushless system and get some higher capacity batteries.

I can't do that too soon though, I don't want this old one to be "better" than the new one I've got him for his birthday!

I MAY have already procured said brushless motor and speed controller...
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The original transmitter in this photo was playing up too...
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So I had to resort to the one on the left here...
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Until the upgrade one on the right turned up!

The new one came with a new receiver too (old one on the left)...
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[Guster]

That brushless motor upgrade is going to turn it into a low flying object!

I don't feel to bad seeing someone else using an old analogue FM Tx/Rx too. I have 2 old Hitec ones with a few receivers and more than adequate for what I use mine for. Though the fully configurable digital stuff like the Taranis kit is nifty.

Just reminded me of another project I need to get out before the kids get too old!

 

[TwoBytes]

Thanks for stopping by Guster!

It's my son's 8th birthday today and he got a brand new RC car of his own, so he doesn't have to play with my old ones any more.

He also got a Lego Technic crane that reaches almost 800mm high when it's complete. He wants to build the whole thing himself too, with no help from anybody. I'm very proud, but I'm itching to get in and help, haha.

 

[TwoBytes]

Here it is...

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He's about half done already. Over 4,000 pieces apparently!

I'll post a proper pic when he's finished it.

 

[Guster]

Thanks for stopping by Guster!

It's my son's 8th birthday today and he got a brand new RC car of his own, so he doesn't have to play with my old ones any more.

He also got a Lego Technic crane that reaches almost 800mm high when it's complete. He wants to build the whole thing himself too, with no help from anybody. I'm very proud, but I'm itching to get in and help, haha.

Half the fun is playing with the old RC gear and making it work again!

Glad to hear your boy is doing well after the surgery. That is a very nice Lego kit.

Funny my son got the tracked loader from the same series - https://www.lego.com/en-nz/product/tracked-loader-42094