KickStarter Launch!
I just launched our KickStarter campaign for A Moveable Feast. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/480257067/a-moveable-feast Check it out and help out if you can! Thanks!
The Beginning of a Kinetic Sculpture
For the past 4 years, I’ve been jealous of the kinetic sculptures at Burning Man. Duane Flatmo’s beautiful creations were the first to catch my eye. But soon I was noticing many other art bikes on the playa. I kept dreaming about building my own, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around how to get …read more
Solar, taking the short and long view
Now that I’ve realized it’s physically possible for me to actually install solar panels at my house, I now need to figure out the best combination of panels and inverter to meet my needs. Inverters are the devices that convert the DC from the solar cells to the AC of my house. There are many …read more
Planning out a Solar Water Heater
The place I moved to in San Marino has a swimming pool, a deck, a grill, outdoor couches, and a kegerator. Everything one would need to throw great summer parties. But, whenever we throw a party, few people jump in the pool. Why? Because it’s much too cold! The beautiful oak trees that shade our …read more
Die Hard in the desert
A few weeks ago, Syyn Labs, drove out to the desert to complete a project for Die Hard batteries. It was the culmination of a month’s preparation work. But, unfortunately, we couldn’t actually do most of the work until we got out to the location. The setting was a dry lake bed an hour East …read more
Keying the Mainshaft
My motor has an output shaft of 1 1/8″ with a 1/4″ keyway. How do I mate that to the mainshaft with an OD of .920″ and no keyway? Well, I machined a collar to slip over the mainshaft with an OD of 1 1/8″. Then, I milled out a deep keyway, to make sure …read more
Rings and Things
Read Parts 1 and 2, first. Step 4. Drill and tap holes in the flanges for mounting the speaker and Buna-N rubber sheet. The reasons will become clear in later steps, but I’ll just describe what holes I drilled. One flange will be welded to the tube itself, so it will have nothing but tapped …read more
Drill, baby, drill
Previously I had skipped over the second step in my “How to Make a Rubens Tube” series. I needed to get a chuck key for my drill press, but that’s all sorted out now. Step 2. Drill. I set up my tube on a homemade jig. Basically it is a wooden V that allows me …read more
New tube on the way
Years ago I bought a 6″OD, 20ft steel tube, with the intention of making Rubens tubes out of it. I hacked off 5 feet and put together a tube. However I wasn’t really satisfied with its performance. The tube never really resonated with the notes of the music, it only would pound with the bass. …read more