Bits and Bobs

It's been a while since I've posted a project, and that actually has a fairly simple explanation: I haven't been working on any big projects for the last few months.

While working on my Pocket Planetarium project this summer, I hit some frustrating roadblocks -- something Robert Pirsig might describe as a "gumption trap". Rather than struggle through the obstacles, I decided to step away (for an indeterminate amount of time) and return to the project once I was excited to work on it again.

This is an important thing, I think, and I'm glad I did it. Hobbies are supposed to be fun! If they're becoming more frustrating than fun, sometimes the best thing to do is step away and pursue instead the things that bring you joy.

I have a pair of "hiking sandals" that I'm quite fond of. I love hiking, and I love being barefoot - no surprises there.

However, the one thing that really rubs me the wrong way about these sandals is that when the straps get wet, they really start to chafe the back of my ankles if I do any amount of walking. As "outdoorsy" sandals, I would love to be able to wear them in and out of the water without tearing up my skin.

So, I thought up an easy-to make design to protect my tender Achilles: a loop of some cushioning material around the ankle strap. In order to make the loops removeable, I thought I would attach them using strips of Velcro. Additionally, I wanted my "cushioning material" to be durable, soft (obviously) and waterproof. The material that kept springing to mind to best meet these requirements is the kind of foamy stuff that they make wetsuits and beer coozies out of.

Before starting, I thought the hardest aspect of this project would be sewing. I have close to zero sewing experience, but this seemed like the best way to attach the Velcro to my material, so I wanted to try it.

In actuality, the hardest thing turned out to be finding a store that sells beer coozies! Seriously, where do you go? My first thought would be Walmart, but there aren't any close to where I live. I went to craft stores, hardware stores, drug stores, and grocery stores, before finding a 3-pack of coozies at my local Party City.

After getting my materials, the build was really quick. I deconstructed a couple coozies by tearing out the stitching, cut out som rectangles, and sewed on a couple pairs of Velcro strips. Though my hand sewing is very sloppy, the stitches seemed to hold up fine, and the whole project was done in a couple hours.

Although they turned out surprisingly good, I'm considering this pair of loops as my "testing" pair, to use and learn for a future V2 pair.

After wearing them around on vacation for a while, I have some observations to apply to the next iteration. Firstly, they really want to shift to one side or other when I walk around. Not a big deal, I might just make them wider. Also, they are rapidly fraying around the fabric edges, so I will definitely want to do some sort of seam there to protect against wear-and-tear.

All in all, though, the ankle savers do a fantastic job at what they were designed to do, and I'm just chuffed to bits!

There isn't actually a ton to say about this project, other than the fact that it really shows off 3D printing as a "rapid prototyping" tool. I made the first model, printed it, made some tweaks, did it again, and arrived at a third and final iteration, all within an hour or two.

After modelling and printing a simple hinge, I flipped one of the flanges around and tweaked the attachment flange to conform to the curved webcam surface. Before the third and final print, I tweaked the attachment curves again, changed the hinge tolerances, and added a small lip to enable easy lifting of the cover.

Et Voila! I think it turned out rather nicely. After attaching it with a bit of VHB, it is 100% functional, easy to open and close, with enough friction to easily keep the flap open. I like the oversized aesthetic of the hinge itself - I think it's actually quite eye-catching!

Simplest project yet! This one was borne of two things: a need, and a means. My need here was for more plant space. Quite a few of our plants like lots of light, and despite the windows in our apartment, we don't have many horizontal surfaces near those windows to serve as plant perches.

Enter, the means: a way to make some more plant spaces with whatever materials I had laying around. I have a bunch of 1/4" rope, which was at one point going to become a cat entertainment device (I never got around to it): this was the basis for my idea of a "hanging shelf".

As far as a shelf surface, wood is an obvious choice. The only wood I had at hand was a bunch of 1/2" x 4" pieces that came from a dismantled bedframe that appeared outside of our apartment a couple months ago. As it turned out, these pieces fit quite nicely in the gap between our window and window blinds!

So, this project was done almost before it began. I cut the wood pieces down to length, drilled some holes for the rope to pass through, and put a couple hooks into the window frame to hang from. After that, it was just a matter of leveling the boards with precisely-placed knots, and filling the shelf with happy little plants.

From a functional and aesthetic standpoint, I'm quite happy with this one.

Alrighty, let me pitch a scenario for you book-readers out there:

You're on a beach somewhere, drink in one hand, great book in the other. It's an amazing, idyllic situation. BUT! As you get into the book, you notice there's a slight breeze, and your lone thumb isn't enough to keep the page from flapping over, constantly and annoyingly. Do you admit defeat and put down your drink to bring your second hand to bear on the problem?

I've always felt there is a better solution: a device to rest comfortably in your hand and keep the pages open, leaving your margarita hand free.

It's a rather dumb idea, which explains why it's taken me so long to actually spend an hour to model and print it out. That being said, it works well enough and I may continue to develop it in the future. Good for one-handed use of stiff-spined books, thick books (which are rather annoying to hold if you're near the beginning or the end), and windy days.

To improve the design, I want to work on the ergonomics. Although the prototype is perfectly functional, the hand-feel is a bit off. Some work must be done to make it the ultimate comfort solution. All in all, I would judge this as a good proof-of-concept.