Materials list: - 1 20 quart stainless steel mixing bowl ($13.66) - 1 small laminated wood salad bowl ($0.76) - 1 3.5" hole saw for cutting metal, with pilot bit - 1 small metal file - 3 6" lengths of 8/32" all-thread (basically screws that are all thread, no head) (also, why don't they call this 1/4"?) - 12 nuts to fit the 3/16" all thread - 5/16" drill bit - drill - metal primer - matte black spray paint for metal - matte white spray paint for metal I'd claim that I only listed the cost for the bowls because the rest is negligible, or because I get to keep all the rest for future bowls (or manufacture of other light mods to fit the AB800s), but I actually just can't find the receipt from the hardware store. For the consumables, the metal rods were about $2 total, the nuts came to about 50 cents, and the cans of primer and spray paint, which should at least cover three of these dishes, cost about $20 total. That means the total cost of everything that gets used up in construction is about $24, or $37 if we count the spray paint as getting all used up. The non-consumables - the hole saw and pilot bit, the file, and the drill are a different story. Without the drill (which I had), that stuff came to about $35. However, the pilot bit and metal file I'll use for other stuff, and it's not unreasonable to expect people to have a corded drill. The hole saw is fairly "specialty" though - it was about $20. Even counting all of it save the drill, though, we're only at $72, a far cry from $130. I wish I lived somewhere that had a restaurant supply shop selling 30qt stainless steel mixing bowls. The dimensions match the AlienBees beauty dishes almost exactly. This one is a couple inches short in the diameter. We'll see how the results turn out.

Macro Monday =================== I bought some more wood screws today for the 2nd raised garden bed I am building. I saw this brand called "Spax" at Home Depot that had all kinds of patent pending technology and were supposed to be super awesome. They were only a few dollars more than regular deck screws, so I thought I would try them out. Now if I was able to travel through time, like on the TV show Lost, I would be able to know that when I build the raised bed tomorrow night using these screws; that they are absolutely amazing and truly work as advertised. I was completely blown away by how easily and quickly they drove into the wood. And if I could see into the future, I would know that these screws work so well that I will be able to build the entire raised bed on only one single charge of my drill battery! Further into the future, I would probably also decide to never go back to "regular" wood screws and pledge my allegiance to SPAX!!