planet snewpy
surface transmissions (2016):
Kubb For Twenty Bucks
2016-04-18 19:24:20 - If you haven't heard of the Viking game Kubb (pronounced "koob") before, I don't blame you -- it seems to be fairly obscure. But the game sells for as much as $50 online which is crazy since you can make it yourself out of about $20 worth of wood. I chose a 8-foot 4x4 cedar post ($18 at Lowes), but you could make it out of cheaper wood. Many people make the throwing sticks out of a closet rod. I made the "king" 14" tall, with some miter cuts on top to form a crown. Then I ripped the post down to 2-3/4" to make the 10 Kubbs each 6" tall. The game is a lot of fun, and a great way for kids to develop hand-eye coordination and throwing skills.
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Trophy Shelf
2016-04-17 16:06:58 - I had looked for an inexpensive shelf to show off a couple of trophies, but couldn't find any sturdy enough for a decent price, so I decided to build my own. For about $10 in oak from Lowes, and a couple of keyhole hangers, I was able to build this shelf. I like it. What do you think?
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Acu-Rite Weather Station
2016-07-12 16:03:54 - For my birthday, I had this weather station on my wishlist. It's one of those items I would probably never buy for myself, because it's definitely a want, not a need. But my wife got it for me and I installed it on the roof this weekend. The installation of the sensor is the hardest part, and I'm still not sure that it's in an ideal location. The manual suggests you put it at the top of a 30-foot pole in the middle of your yard, away from anything that might reflect heat. Yeah, right. I'll get right on that. Seriously, does anyone actually follow that recommendation?
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FlashForge Creator Pro 3D Printer
2016-12-23 06:38:27 - Santa was kind to me this year and brought me a new 3D printer, so I've been learning how to use it. If you spend any time researching these you quickly learn the importance of leveling the build platform. It took me several failed print jobs to fully appreciate this. If you don't have the distance between the extruder nozzle and the bed set to about the thickness of a piece of paper, you will wind up with a mess of stringy blobs of molten plastic. The temperature of the build platform is important too. But there are plenty of tutorial videos and forum posts out there to help the uninitiated, so I won't bother duplicating that information here. I'll just say you would do well to watch/read all of that stuff before your printer arrives.
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