Worst. Winter. Ever.

A few practice dovetails, surrounded by proud chisels and a wheel marking gauge.
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I guess Winter is going to mostly pass us by this year. Yes, we've had a little snow and some ice occasionally. But nothing like I'm used to. It's OK, though - I'm sure the snowstorm of the century is right around the corner.

Family Updates
M had his sixth grade band concert last week. I was impressed - I wasn't expecting the depth and difficulty of the pieces they played. The auditorium at the middle school is so small, they have the band parents listen to the band, then everyone has to leave to make room for the choir. Then everyone has to leave to make room for the orchestra. When I was in middle school, we took over the gym for these things, and everyone had to sit through everything whether they liked it or not.

Science Olympiad practices have started, and this year we have 95 students and over 30 coaches and assistant coaches guiding our children through their enrichment activities. The competition is April 21 at Pioneer High School.

Woodworking
I've been doing some woodworking lately, including some practice for dovetails and box joints. I thought it would be a good idea to look around on the web again for advice and techniques for better sawing and chiseling, and I found some good ideas out there. There is a lot of junk on YouTube, but every once in a while, a gem can be found.

Sawing the tails. You can see the lines I drew, and how close I got with the saw. After doing many of these, it's still a little hit or miss, but I'm consistent.

The tails are clean - I removed the wood where the pins will eventually fit with chisels and a knife.

A Few Links
Turning a toolbox into a boombox. If that guy doesn't want that nice toolbox, I'll take it!

I'm considering buying some Red Wing boots and wrecking them just so I can have the factory do this. I love it! (More Red Wing repair here.)

A homemade guitar effects box. From the comments, it appears this design has some drawbacks. I'll wait to build it until they work them out.

And last, but not least, the gift for the man, woman, child, or small gorilla who has everything: the bullet-proof polo shirt. When you need to play tennis in a dangerous neighborhood.

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The Air Hockey Table Electrification Initiative

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For Christmas, J gave the family a small air hockey game. It runs on batteries. M and I decided that batteries were not an acceptable power source and set out to update it.

Here is a picture of the underside of the game. The round part is the fan that blows the air up through holes in the playing surface. The rectangular part is the battery compartment.

Our goal was to add a power jack for a 9V power supply, and a switch to turn it on and off. (Thanks to Grandpa B for the spare switch!)

Our first task was to add some wires to the fan. These wires will be attached to the switch and power jack.

Next, we drilled holes for the power jack and the switch. We soldered the wires to the connections after testing the fan to make sure we had the right polarity. The fan needs to run in the right direction to blow air out the top of the game, as the puck floats on this air. If the fan ran backwards, the game wouldn't work at all.

Then, we used a heat gun to shrink the plastic tubing around the soldered connections. Here is the bottom in its finished state.

This is what the game looks like now, with the power jack and switch.

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Happy New Year!

Two sides and two ends of a box for a magic wand.

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Happy New Year
It's now 2012, and some people believe the world will end this year. Evidence is thin, but someone on TV said it, and there are some websites that support it. What more do you need? If someone on TV says it, it must be true. TV also tells me that Taco Bell is open very late at night in case I need a taco. Isn't TV great?

Resolutions
I don't normally make New Year resolutions, but I've decided on a few this time around.
* I resolve to strike while the iron is hot. Striking while it's cold just makes dents and hurts my hands.
* I resolve to remove the songs from my iPod that I haven't listened to in more than a year.
* I resolve to clean the basement workshop area a few weeks ago and keep it clean through today. (Done!)
* I resolve to continue avoiding using the word "so" as the first word in a sentence when that sentence is not a direct continuation of a previous thought.
* I resolve to answer the door when UPS, the neighbor kids, or opportunity knock.
* I resolve to nag my kids more. They're going to want someone to blame for their problems when they get older, and I am determined to be there for them when the time comes.
* I resolve to choose the winning PowerBall numbers for the March 23, 2012 drawing.
* I resolve to actually buy a PowerBall ticket, which, despite the overwhelming odds of losing, one is required to purchase if one expects to win.
* I resolve to finish the semi-secret electronics project I started in 2011. Let's just say it is off the ground floor.


A Few Links
Open letter to watch manufacturers: The greatest watch ever has been designed and built. It's over. Your industry has peaked and will soon be in decline. Sell your tiny tweezers on eBay, hang up your magnifying eyepieces, and take early retirement. Behold this masterpiece of timekeeping.

Look at these rayguns. Just look at them.

Robots! I might have posted this before, but it's been a while, so go back and take another look.

Plans for a Stirling engine. A fun little weekend project.

Low Tech Magazine, ironically hosted on a web page. But you have to do what you have to do.

Smithy is an Ann Arbor company that makes machine shop tools. If I could POSSIBLY think of something to make with this combination lathe/mill, I would take out a loan and buy one. This place is not far from my house, so I could avoid the $329 shipping charge. With savings like that, how can I afford NOT to buy one? And it's so pretty, you could just pull up a chair and stare at it for hours.

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