Author Archives: Jim

Remote Halloween Candy Delivery System

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Jim

Thanks to COVID, Halloween is weird this year.  A ‘touchless’ remote candy delivery system was in order.  Due to some misunderstandings about whether the system would be appreciated, it became a very 11th hour project.  I started around 1PM Halloween … Continue reading →

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Thank you heart

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Jim

(This is a quick overview.  Proper build details will follow soon.) I wanted to put something nice in the window to say “Thanks!” to all the health care and other essential service workers who are keeping people safe and helping … Continue reading →

Posted in LED window heart | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nomorobo First Ring Blocker

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Jim

We use Nomorobo for our VOIP home phone, and I’m very happy with the service.  (NMR: Your phone provider’s simultaneous ring service routes calls to both your phone and NMR.  If NMR decides it’s bad, they pick up, and you … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Bondo parts tray

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Jim

You always need some small container on the bench to hold the screws you just took out.  Mine are often plastic jar caps, but they’re light, slide around, and let screws escape (often to the floor). The first serious fix … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Butane torch repair

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Jim

I bought a cheap butane torch on Ebay to keep at the space (yeah, in violation of the “no pressurized gasses” rule, but stashed away in my box).  Worked fine, rarely used. When I wanted to bend some laser cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Red Nos Day

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Jim

I made this bad pun prototype at the space for Red Nose Day 5/23/19. The front was one coat of cheap black spray paint (two would have been better) on some 2mm clear acrylic, with the letters laser raster etched … Continue reading →

Posted in Laser Cutter, Workshop 88 Stuff | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Shiny thing Fail, or Jim: RTFM!

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Jim

I ran across running Neopixels with just 2 wires here.  Looked neat. Unfortunately, despite many much more pressing tasks, that was too shiny to pass up, so I decided to try it.  Won’t take too long, right?  Following a pic … Continue reading →

Posted in RGB LED stuff | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Baling wire stuff

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Jim

Redneck jokes aside, baling wire is a great way to hold broken stuff together when function is more important than form.  Sometimes the driver is cheap, but sometimes replacement parts aren’t available and you just need to get running again.  … Continue reading →

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Latest leaf vac repairs and bag plans!

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Jim

Here are the latest repairs of my dear old Craftsman leaf vacuum.  (Original notes here.)  But more importantly, here are also the details of what I learned reverse engineering the no-longer-available bag!  I tried to include enough info for someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Home Repair | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Replacing a driver in the Chi-town Yak

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Jim

One driver in one of the Chi-town Yaks had its magnet break off presumably after a fall at AACE 2018.  Blanche (Len Christiansen) asked if I could take a look if he provided the driver.  I said of course. First … Continue reading →

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