Are you curious what your Maker Neighbor is up to? Well, they are, too! Let your freak flag fly by posting to this thread with some photos and a description of something you are working on this month at the 'Space (or wherever).
Small craft projects, large CNC router projects, quick & dirty tools made by tools, and so much more happen at Dallas Makerspace. Cool things done at DMS by cool people often go unseen by our peers, not to mention the curious public. Post up here to share the interesting things you are doing with Dallas Makerspace this month!
These posts help promote cohesiveness and community at Dallas Makerspace, inspire others to make a cool something. and help our PR show off what can be done here using social media or blog posts (with attribution to each maker of course).
NOTE: Consider the following on each post, to help make for richer experiences:
a QUALITY photo can help us with the vision
WHO you are, possibly for attribution outside of this venue, but also to help our fellow members get to know each other (or at least each other’s work)
WHAT you’ve made might not be immediately obvious, but even if it is, we a good story!
HOW you’ve made it (and perhaps HOW DMS helped) inspires others to follow along
WHY you made it (all about the inspiration, dontchaknow)
I bought half a rock collection off Facebook marketplace. Inside it I found a smashed army ring. I decided to try and restore it. It’s not done yet but I made some good progress.
I just joined the DMS today, but I’m a few months into a Skoolie conversion (which is when you convert a school bus into an RV). My wife and I (and our 9-kids) purchased a 1998 Blue Bird TC2000 (38’) back in April, and I’m currently in the process of “deleting” windows (which is a fancy way of saying putting something in-place of the window). To do that, I purchased 18-gauge cold rolled steel sheet and cut it to size before hauling it up to the DMS. Today, I was able to use the corner notcher and Baileigh Electromagnetic Brake Press to form my first window delete. It is essentially a metal pan (without a lid) that slides into the recess left behind by the window. I’ll paint them to match the exterior of the bus and secure them to the frame with self-tapping screws and seam sealer. Our goal is to take the Skoolie across the country one month out of the year beginning in 2022. You can see the full project on Instagram if you’re interested. Pictures below are of the delete I made today:
I had two gas leaks, so Atmos turned off my gas, and the warranty company sent a plumber who didn’t pull permits or schedule inspections, so my gas has been off for like a month. Here’s my “spa shower” I built while I finish dealing with this nonsense. It’s a propane tankless water heater, and it makes for a toasty shower!
Truth be told, I wanted an outdoor shower anyway, so this was my motivation to get it done. I finally had to hire a new plumber, and he was able to get a city inspector out this past week. The inspector is a master plumber, and he was impressed with the setup so that’s a win.
So, I have two kids in high school this year. Both needed mums so I made my first mum ever. It is complete with lights (although I need to get batteries.) I am really happy with it.
Not so much at DMS, but I’ve finally re-ran and tidied up my home network from its hackneyed “just good enough” status after more than 18 months of WFH and in preparation for higher speed internet service.
Installed keystones in a surface-mount box for the termination at the ONT. Two jacks because I ran a new Cat6a and left the incumbent Cat5e in place as a backup, or a utility jack should I decide to have a wired device in the garage.
Where it all comes together in the office closet. Clockwise from top:
Router
PoE switch for cameras
Ethernet switch for other devices
This is apt to get busier in the future as I add more cameras, ponder a NAS, and devise a more satisfactory power solution than passing cords through the wall to UPSs in the office.
Mercifully there’s a vent in the closet so the gear will get some airflow, however I’m considering an exhaust fan up high.
I will say that Cat6a is a bit harder to work with than the Cat5e I’ve previously dealt with in addition to being appreciably more expensive.
The technically astute will note Cat6a implies 10 gigabit transport. I’m taking my chances with Cat6 terminations since my runs are reasonably short (and I had them ‘in stock’ before this project started) - can always replace the critical terminations with Cat6a if necessary in the future.
One of my bowling teammates decided to give it up this season. He is also extremely into Halloween. So I decided that he needed some razzing, and made this for his front yard decorations.
After it dried, I dry brushed light gray acrylic paint to add highlights, and make it all pop. I am so happy with the result since it was my first try at something like this.
I installed red oak nail down flooring in most of our house 10-15 years ago. I did our daughters bedrooms first thinking they were small so would be easier but there was a hallway, 3 closets, and 6 doors, living and family rooms were much bigger but less overall time.
Went with a traditional oil based finish and wax, I should wax them more often, probably 3 years since I last did this, the finish is pretty durable but unfortunately does not survive cat barf. I had to scrape and refinish about 10 spots this time, card scrapers are an amazing tool, 5-10 quick passes and I was down to bare wood. Takes 2-3 hours per room to move the furniture, apply wax with steel wool, and buff the floor.
I just used Drylok Original Masonry Waterproofer that I picked up at the orange BBS. That is what is pictured in the third picture, where it is a flat gray.
NOTE: Consider the following on each post, to help make for richer experiences:
a good story!
