Things that don't work

[Buzz McCool]

Well, at least things I've found that don't work very well for me:

Flat Roofs (always a leak)
Compact Fluorescent Light-bulbs (short life span in enclosed or recessed
ceiling fixtures)
Wired ear buds (cable breaks near connector)
Alkaline Batteries (leak and ruin battery holder)
Automobile Lead-Acid Batteries (many, many, failure modes)
Cassette Tapes (poor fidelity, tape jams, pinch roller rot)
Incandescent Automobile Tail Lamps (I always see rear brake lights out)
Dress shoe heels (they wear down so quickly)
Bicycle derailleurs (neigh impossible to adjust front an rear versions
together perfectly)

Obhack:
Using a electrical crimp spade lug as a bicycle derailleur cable end
ferrule. (I did break the fork end off and peeled away the plastic
sleeve so it looks fairly normal.)

[Steven M. O'Neill]

Buzz McCool <buzz_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Bicycle derailleurs (neigh impossible to adjust front an rear versions
>together perfectly)

I guess that's why you've switched to a horse.

obHack: Use a park bench as a baffle on the support of your bird
feeder to keep livestock from stealing a nibble.

--
Steven O'Neill ste...@panix.com
Brooklyn, NY http://www.panix.com/~steveo

[Buzz McCool]

On 12/5/19 9:46 AM, Steven M. O'Neill wrote:
> Buzz McCool <buzz_...@yahoo.com> wrote: >> Bicycle derailleurs (neigh impossible to adjust front an rear
versions together perfectly) > > I guess that's why you've switched to a
horse.

Can I blame auto-correct? After all the road to hello is paved with good
intentions.

ObHack: Tripling a rubber band around my MP3 player and looping the
wired earbud cord through it several times to provide some strain relief
in an attempt to increase the earbud's lifespan.

[Steven M. O'Neill]

Buzz McCool <buzz_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On 12/5/19 9:46 AM, Steven M. O'Neill wrote:
>> Buzz McCool <buzz_...@yahoo.com> wrote: >> Bicycle
>> derailleurs (neigh impossible to adjust front an rear
>versions together perfectly) > > I guess that's why you've
>switched to a horse. Can I blame auto-correct? After all the
>road to hello is paved with good intentions.

Aw, just a dumb joke, I didn't mean to make you feel bad.

>ObHack: Tripling a rubber band around my MP3 player and looping
>the wired earbud cord through it several times to provide some
>strain relief in an attempt to increase the earbud's lifespan.

No strain, some gain.

obHack: The clasp on our fold-up shopping cart broke so I dug into
the bin of bicycle lights and pulled out one with no battery
and an elastic band meant to attach to the bike post and used
that to keep the cart from flopping open in the storage area.

[Buzz McCool]

On 12/5/19 5:01 PM, Steven M. O'Neill wrote:
> Aw, just a dumb joke, I didn't mean to make you feel bad.

Nay, you did the right thing setting me straight in a humorous way Steve!


ObHack: I had some ergonomic problems with the new office cube desk
heights, so I got a piece of plywood just big enough for a wireless
keyboard and a mouse pad, painted it roughly the color of the cube desk
faux wood, and rest it (and the wireless keyboard & mouse) on my thighs
to type. When I'm not using it, the board sits on the cube desk and
doesn't out of place. I did need to take the arms off my desk chair to
give me maneuvering room.

[Eli the Bearded]

In alt.hackers, Buzz McCool <buzz_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> ObHack: I had some ergonomic problems with the new office cube desk
> heights, so I got a piece of plywood just big enough for a wireless
> keyboard and a mouse pad, painted it roughly the color of the cube desk
> faux wood, and rest it (and the wireless keyboard & mouse) on my thighs
> to type. When I'm not using it, the board sits on the cube desk and
> doesn't out of place. I did need to take the arms off my desk chair to
> give me maneuvering room.

My wife has been writing a book, and is now up to the illustration phase
(it's a non-fiction how-to). For that she has been spending hours with a
drawing program on her ipad working through the list of 570 images she
needs. Finding a good work surface for this has been an issue. Most
recently she got a "Neetto Height Adjustable Laptop Bed Table" which she
uses from the sofa. It works great, except that it is a bit narrow for
her tastes. I've looked at the table and the complicated bit is just the
legs it was built with, that are screwed in to the table top for easy
removal. So this weekend, I'll be making a new top and moving the legs
over.

That's a hack, but one planned, not one executed. So more.

I've been making myself small hand tools. Inspired by Patrick Sullivan's
how-to videos on youtube, eg:

Making Carbide Gouges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEddgMsSIME

I got some carbide rod from Centennial Carbide, some diamond tools for
my Dremel and have been working at it. Part way through the first one I
started to feel my set-up was not working well. I had the carbide rod
fixed and was moving the Dremel and it seemed the other way around would
be much better.

I visited a local Daiso (chain of Japanese "dollar" stores) and got a
small wood box. I drilled a hole in the center of the box and put a
notch around the hole, so that the Dremel can slip in and the neck
screwed down.

_______ <-- diamond blade
I
I
I <-- blade holder
I
HHH <-- collet
H
===== <-- neck screw
.--------=====--------.
| |
| | <-- box (not to scale)
| |
| |
| |

Then I can hold the box in a vise, turn on the Dremel and have a cutting
/ grinding surface spinning parallel to work table and with my Dremel
protected from the water I'm using to keep the blade cool. Like this,
I've just been dripping water down on the blade while using it. It
*does* spray out, but it also has worked to keep it from getting hot and
kept the Dremel dry.

Also in the spirit of making my own tools, I tried my hand at making a
drill-powered lathe, a la:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYil-sVXH2s

But I was not very successful. It sorta works, but it's ever so off, so
the wood wobbles and I don't get a smooth cut. I gave up on that and
bought a cheap microlathe, which I've been using to make the handles.
The first handle I cut with small art / lino block chisels I had, then
the second handle I was able to use my newly handled carbide chisel
instead. That worked great. I'll probably make a few more before I stop.

Longer term, I think I might want to make a spokeshave for fashioning
non-round handles easily. I can do it with a rasp and utility knife, but
I do have some carbide bar for making wider blades.

Elijah
------
does most of this work in a 8' x 8' shed