the bee is from October; the photos from the walk home were from something in the mission, no idea what. Looks like I was getting there right at moonrise and then left after dark. Not sure what I was doing there to be honest.
I’ve been working on some tables since roughly january. Originally, I was going to buy myself a mini mill like this one and put it on top. I talked to my dad, who knows a thing or two about metal work, and he said I should just make a simple table out of 1/4” plate (~6mm) for the top, and 2x2 box tube.
I knew a long time ago that the first thing I needed for my little home machine shop was a welder. It’s an essential tool; if the mill is creation by subtraction, the welder is creation by addition. They are both required for the kind of shop I’m putting together. Somewhere, I have a draft post listing all the stuff I’d need, and the order and why; but the most pressing reason is with a welder, I can put together durable shop furniture.
So, for xmas, I bought myself the welder, and I called up the local metal supply yard. Albany Steel, real nice guys, they even flame cut my plate with their shear down (it’s been down since november). But, I found out, plate steel is expensive; a single sheet, 4’x8’, is $250. So, I decided that instead of just building one table and having a giant piece of steel that I had no use for hanging around, I’d just build another table, to replace my desk. (Why build one when two is twice the fun?)
I’m talking about this a lot because I really like both of these objects I’ve produced. The smaller table is one of my favorite things I’ve ever built, and the bigger one, although not completed, is just really rad too. They’d both hold up roughly an armored car. They also weigh a fuckton; the smaller one is 200lbs, and the larger one is ~350.
Anyway, after these are done, I have to catch up on a bunch of non-heavy-construction projects (anyone that does real construction laughs; but for me, this is giant). I’m working on some parts of a technical book with some friends, and hopefully it’ll be out by this xmas. And then there’s another watch project I’m working on, a hopefully python-based smartwatch, sort of in the mold of those big Garmin watches, but with some interesting UI stuff I’ve got going, plus I’m doing all the work for that out in public too.
Can’t stop won’t stop forgot how to stop.
