Moldable Plastic Solutions

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Chase

I recently stumbled across an Australian company advertising a moldable plastic product. The product came in pellet form. You dumped the pellets in hot water, let them soften, then combined by hand. You had a few minutes to work before the cooled too much and hardened. Searching around, there are many companies selling essentially the same thing. It is a polyester thermoplastic that melts at around 140F. I picked some InstaMorph up a week ago thinking it would be good to keep around. Here is the melting process.

In the jar

Place in warm water

After a few minutes

I quickly found a use! My house key had a rubber protector on it that made gripping easier and kept it from scratching things up. It completely fell apart recently. Lets morph a new one!

Pull it out and start playing

Shaping it around my key

Finished product with leftover material

I ended up putting way too much into the cup. That isn’t really a problem though because you just put it back in the jar and melt it again for the next project. Zero waste! Green and saves money. Thermoplastics are amazing!

Speaking of thermoplastics; the pricing works out to about $1.50 an ounce. 3D printer PLA can be had for about $1.00 an ounce. Printers usually make things sparse on the inside so they are typically very material efficient. 3D printing parts is cheaper, but $17 gets you a 12 ounce jar. That is a low cost of entry considering you just need a hot cup of water. That, and there is no such thing as waste, you just throw what isn’t used back in the jar and heat it next time.

Kind of a trivial first use, but it was easy and fun. This is so quick I could find myself reaching for this stuff a lot. I discovered after making the key that they sell color pellets on amazon as well. DIYers, People more artistically inclined, and those with kids should definitely try it out.

GoPro Handle

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Chase

Shakey cam seems to be the plague of small handheld home video. The units are light and often don’t have good ergonomics. If I want to do any hand held shooting I will need a decent handle. I looked around a bit and I think the DIY projects I found fall into three categories. 1. A simple handle. Basically something to hold onto. 2. Balanced handle. A little nicer, it is weighted so the unit isn’t so top heavy. 3. Steady cam handles. These are fairly elaborate, but should give really good stable video. I am going to try number 2, it will probably give the most bang for the complexity buck.

I think I found a really simple solution. The handle is PVC. This isn’t novel, there are a lot of PVC handles on the internet. Mine is a bit different though. Instead of using the pipe and putting a bolt through end caps I used couplings and plugs. It means the whole handle has a consistent diameter with flat tops. Normal end caps are always domed; not ideal for mounting. The other trick is to use threaded rod instead of a bolt. A lot of designs use a short bolt. It is never short enough. You end up having to do funny things with extra nuts and washers. A threaded rod held in with a nut is infinitely adjustable.

Enough talk lets pictures.

Cut all thread and nut

Perfect length

Epoxy holds nut in

I glued everything together except the top plug. I left it loose so I could add or remove metal BBs to the hollow handle. A bit of trial and error got me to a good balance. It is centered at about my middle finger when holding it normally. I shot some video with and without weight.

Not exactly an instant hollywood quality shot, but a few grams of BBs did really help calm down some of the shakes. With the BB weight added I mixed up another batch of epoxy and poured it in to hold them in place. It wouldn’t do to have them bouncing around while shooting with audio. The cap got some PVC glue and the handle is assembled. I wanted some kind of paint or grip for the handle. Plasti dip provided both.

The final product still kind of looks like spray painted PVC, but I like it. The total weight isn’t high and it feels solid in my hand. While not professional, it was well worth the <10 dollars and little time I spent on it.

Finished product

1st person shot

GoPro Clamps

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Chase

Ok fine, the GoPro gets its own category now. It doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

In keeping with my new motto of “If it moves, attach a GoPro” I am in the market for some kind of clamp mechanism. They sell a neat looking clamp with a gooseneck thing on it, but it is 40 bucks, and doesn’t appear to open very wide. I did some looking around, and a lot of people attach 1/4-20 screws to those plastic one handed clamps. That seems ok, but I bet there is a better solution.

In a previous post I mentioned that I had stuck magnets to the adhesive side of a flat adhesive mount. There was no picture before, so here is one now for reference.

Metal Spring Clamp

I took a large metal spring clamp and applied the magnet mount. The metal spring has a ton of clamping force and with the rubberized tips doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. The metal is thick enough that the magnets have a good hold. Slide the base mount around to get different angles, and move the clamp as needed. More adjustment than you can shake a stick at.

The price was very agreeable. The clamp was about 6 bucks at lowes. The magnetic base is useful in tons of places, but if you wanted to make one the adhesive mounts are a few bucks a piece and magnets can be had for a similar price. Very affordable over all.

Plastic Ratcheting Clamp

While picking up the metal spring clamp I looked around and saw other options. The one I liked the most was this ratcheting clamp. It feels beefy, and has wide surfaces for attaching mounts to. I used a curved adhesive mount and after letting it sit for a while the thing was really solid. Hats off to to 3m for that peel and stick stuff. It is really good!

Using it isn’t great. The clamp is really solid, but when you try to clamp with it nothing flexes. A good clamp has a little flexing involved when you use it. It makes sure there is still clamping force even if something shifts. This thing is just pure rigid. You don’t have any mechanical advantage, and the yellow pads don’t have any grip to them. Hard rubber or leather pads might improve this, but as is, this clamp sucks.

Because the mount is solidly fixed, adjustment is tough. The metal clamp setup allows easy adjustment, this does not. Even if I figured out how to get a 1/4-20 bolt in there somehow, it still wouldn’t be more adjustable and convenient than the metal spring clamp. Go with the metal spring clamp and DIY magnetic base. It is superior to the other homemade clamp setups I have seen.

San Francisco Fun With GoPro

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Chase

I took my GoPro with me on a business trip to San Francisco. The conferences don’t get started till 10am, and I was still on east coast time. That gave me a chance to experiment with time lapse. The first one I recorded was on the top floor of the Marriott I was staying at. The video turned out well, but the blue WiFi LED got in the shot from time to time. 1 image every 5 seconds.

I really liked the video and wanted to try more. The next morning I got up well before the sun, turned off the LEDs and had a sunrise shot.

Both shots suffered a bit from dirty window syndrome when the sun was full, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. I still have a lot to learn about cleaning up color settings and all that. Still, my little Hero 3 White did an admirable job taking photos in very dark conditions. I am going to have to take this on all my business trips and get cool travel shots. If this keeps up the GoPro might earn its own category here at Kilted Craft Works.

Goodbye To My Beard

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Chase

This qualifies as crafting… I made it myself!

I entered a beard off 6 months ago with a coworker. He shaved before Christmas making me the winner. After living with it for a while I decided to trim the sides. My cheeks and chin do not match in color or growth rate. It is kind of weird really, but I guess crazier things have happened. I am keeping the stache for a while longer at least. The chin has been with me for over a decade, and isn’t going anywhere.

Do you see that look of sadness in my eyes? A loss of a dear friend will do that. Also trying REALLY hard not to blink for the 30th time. Selfies are hard with an SLR. Rest in peace beard.

I’ve Gone Pro! (sort of)

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Chase

Do you hear it? That heavenly sound? It is amazing! It is the sound of awesome consumer technology and a wife that encourages me when I have neat ideas. It is….. A GoPro!

I have enjoyed blogging with only text and a camera. My old DSLR has served me well and will continue to. I think it still does a great job (above pic is with phone for laziness reasons), but sometimes pictures and words aren’t enough.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, what is a video worth? </cliche>

After researching a bit and getting an encouraging “let’s get one!” from my wonderful wife, I decided to pickup a Hero 3 White. It is one of their most basic models, but it has a decent suite of features, good capabilities, and is compatible with pretty much all of the add-ons. At 200 bucks, I am forgoing a nice pice of cast iron plane goodness for it, but unlike a woodworking tool, this is something we can both probably enjoy.

I am going to spend a little time learning basic video editing so I don’t end up with videos that have tons of dead time and look like a Blair Witch editor reject. Can you imagine how bad that footage must be? It might be a few weeks before any video shows up, but expect cool things in the future. Actually on second thought, the Blair Witch thing might not be so bad. Imagine a video of me staring into the camera crying “Why do I keep getting tear out in this maple?!” Horrifying!

Merry Florida Christmas

Image

It is a frost 70-something degrees outside and all is right with the world. May my festive Christmas tiki bring you warm tidings and good cheers.

Hand Soap Concentrate – Gift Ideas

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Chase

Another great gift ideas came from a previous post. Instead of doing a single batch of foaming hand soap at a time, you could make lots of the concentrate. It is barely any more work than doing one at a time, and you can give them away as gifts!

Instead of using measuring spoons I went with weight. The ratio of volume is 6 to 1 soap to oil, so I went with a similar ratio (messed up a little in the pour pictured below) to give me a bit over 12 ounces. I figured this would translate into about 12 fluid ounces and will fill three 4 ounce boston round bottles.

Castile Soap

Olive Oil

Once you have those two in mix the ingredients well with a whisk. It should come out looking something like this.

Now is a good time to add any essential oils for fragrance. I didn’t measure, but rather added by smell. Looking at the bottles it ended up in the half teaspoon range of essential oil used per 12 ounce soap batch. I made a festive peppermint, a sweet smelling lime, and a nice lemony version. They were all pretty well received with lemon going the fastest. A smart little label lets you know which is which and gives instructions on it’s use.

Cheap and easy to make, it is another wonderful gift idea for the holidays. You can purchase empty foaming hand soap bottles by the dozen for a few bucks a piece if you want to hand them out.

Vanilla Extract – Gift Ideas

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Chase

Vanilla extract is ubiquitous in baking and the good stuff is always pretty expensive. Before I started blogging I began a batch of vanilla extract back in August. The instructions said to let it sit for 4-6 months. I had enough to make two batches, so one is getting popped open now for christmas gifts and the other gets to wait another month or two for maximum vanillattude.

I got all my information from Vanilla Review. They have a good recipe and more details on vanilla beans than you shake a stick at! The quick version is to mix 1oz of beans per 8oz of vodka. Cut up the beans nice and small; splitting them is even better! Put it all in a jar, and wait 4-6 months. Shake occasionally.

While I spent maybe an hour total to start these, then bottle them, it doesn’t quite qualify as a “quick” gift idea. Still, get them started now, bottle over the summer, and they will last forever! A cute label helps the gift go a long ways. Giving your baker friends vanilla extract means more cookies for you! What a deliciously devious gift.

Pre-Shave Oil – Gift Ideas

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Chase

Christmas is right around the corner, and I have lots of co-workers and friends. I had planned earlier in the year to make pepper mills for everyone. They take at least 4 hours and 30+ dollars to make. So on second thought I will do something more attainable. This is the first in a small series of easy gift ideas for friends and family.

I shave my head and at times my face. This ends up being a lot of shaving. Over the years I have honed my process and tried a lot of products. One that I picked up recently was a pre-shave oil from a favorite company. The oil goes on before you apply shaving cream, always with a hot wet badger brush, and helps keep the blade lubricated while soothing the skin. It really enhances the shave and keeps my skin happy, buuuuuut it is expensive. Time to DIY!

I made the first batch a month or two ago and have been really happy with the results. Making it is easy! Mix a 2:1 ratio of castor oil and olive oil, then add essential oils as desired. I started by making 6 ounces of the oil base, and used about 20ml of sandalwood oil. The true sandalwood oil is really pricey, but still way cheaper than buying the finished product.

Measureing out oils by weight

Olive and castor oil, premix

Oils mixed together

Menthol crystals

Mix everything and pour

The second batch used another round of base, but instead of essential oils I used menthol crystals. It turns out menthol is a derivative of peppermint oil, and in its pure form comes in little crystals. You have to heat the oil to get them to mix. A minute in the microwave at medium power did the trick. I used 1 ounce of menthol for 9 ounces of shave oil. Everything got transferred into 1 ounce glass bottles with droppers. It only takes 4-5 drops to get a good coating on your face.

Recipe and Use:

Mix 2 parts castor oil with 1 part olive oil
Add essential oils till desired aroma level is reached
If using menthol crystals heat mixture lightly to aid crystal incorporation

Very simple to make and use!

Wash face with warm water
Place 4-5 drops of oil in your hand
Rub oil between hands and all over skin to be shaved
Apply shaving cream and shave as normal

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