Build a ZOOM box / prompter to look straight into the camera.

Don’t you hate it when you’re on a video conference and the other person is staring up, down, sideways… every direction other than straight at you?

This little box fixes all that.

I built it in a few hours, using nothing more than some cheap MDF, aluminium angle, some glass, cardboard, and a salvaged monitor stand.

Then I slotted in a little screen, and a USB camera. I plugged the screen into my computer as an external monitor, and the camera as a USB input.

Now I have a dedicated camera/screen for zoom calls, and it works with any other video conference software as well.

The other thing you can do with this setup is to put a script up on the screen, and read it while you record from the USB camera – you will be looking straight at your audience!

Mirror or Picture Stand for Renters

As a renter, I cannot drill holes in the wall to hold this heavy Mexican Mirror.

So I built a leaning “A-Frame” stand from square steel tube, and it’s almost invisible.

The trick in designing a stand like this is to make sure the “toes” that touch the floor are quite some distance from the wall – this forces the top to lean back into the wall and it won’t fall over.

To hold it together, I used random bolts that I had lying around, some off-the-shelf brackets and angles, and a couple of old feet from a previous IKEA project. Luckily, the landlord had left a pot of wall paint for touch ups and repairs – so I used that to match the wall colour exactly.

This turned out to be a quick one-day project, and I am really happy with the result.

My original concept design. I changed the height of the cross piece

Restoring Grandpas Little Oil Can

I always liked the look and feel of this little oil can.

My Dad inherited it from his Dad, and now I found it in a box of rusty old stuff.

My first thought was to bring it all back to polished bare metal, but that just didn’t look right, so I painted it with a blue hammered finish.

This was a simple project, but I took my time and enjoyed the process of brushing away the old paint, sanding, reshaping with a mallet, replacing the seal (which was probably originally made of leather) and finally painting it.

I love the way it turned out.

Except – it has to be the absolutely worst oil can I have ever used! It dribbles, spurts, and leaks no matter what I do. Maybe it’s designed for much thicker oil (I filled it with cutting fluid which might be too thin).

In any event – this is a great way to spend an afternoon in the workshop.

Side Tables with 240v and USB power outlets

My family visits with a bunch of digital devices – phones, iPad, and hand held game systems.

I built a set of side tables for the living room sofa – so they can sit down, plug in, and enjoy the visit !

I also added 240v for all the other power bricks and assorted 21st century necessities.

I only used hand tools (oh, plus a cheap router that I bought for the project) to make these.

I bought an 850W Router

I have always avoided using a router.

They just seem to be sharp and unpredictable. I imagine they’d run amok and slice me up.

Apparently not. I bought this cheap 850W plunge router and put it together without incident.

I had a specific project in mind – which required making a lot of grooves in a cupboard frame, to fit plywood panels – so I finally relented and decided that I needed a router after all – despite all the dangers, imaginary or real.

I had to do a bit of experimenting with setting up jigs and clamps to position the grooves in a predictable and consistent placement, but once that was sorted, this new tool just worked exactly as advertised.

I did break one router bit very early on – this was because I had the speed too low and then had to push sideways too hard on the bit, to make any progress. Once I turned up the speed, the new bit worked without incident.

7 Attempts to De-Rust

Restoring Vintage Sheep Shears

This weekend I learned some important lessons…

(1) If something is really deeply rusted, think twice about starting a restoration.

(2) If you decide to start, then start aggressively – use power tools – don’t dither about with rust converter.

(3) Once you’re back to bare metal, it’s rather enjoyable.

(4) If the rusty old thing belonged to your Dad, then it’s worth spending 3 weekend sessions on it.

I ended up using a wire brush, a scraper, rust converter, a wire wheel, a disk sander, an orbital sander, hand sanding, polisher wheel, buffing compound, and WD40.

I will probably never shear a sheep.

In fact I’m sure my father never sheared a sheep either.

There’s a possibility that he got them from his father… who coincidentally probably never sheared a sheep.

Ain’t the world an odd place?

Sheet metal Reaver

Office Battlebot #3

This weekend, I built version 3 of my Office Challenge.

And this time, I’m building a lighter weight sheet metal version, and powering it with an old toy car.

The challenge

My coworkers thought it would be fun to build and compete with some indoor battle-bots.

If you’ve seen the earlier videos in this series, you know that I previously built 2 unassailable test versions using cement and concrete.
One fell apart, and the other weighs almost a metric tonne and couldn’t move under its own weight.

Setting up my weekend workshop

I just moved apartments, and the new one doesn’t have anywhere to work.

So I found the ideal spot – the back half of my daughters’ garage – a place that I can use to finish my custom vintage motorcycle. And after that, start working on all the other projects that have backed up.

2019-01-03 15.39.58 First order of business is to install some shelving units, so that I can maximize the floor space and find stuff when I need it, rather than riffling through piles in a haphazard fashion.

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That wall was such a success, I did the same on the other side. 2019-01-05 17.28.08-BLUR Over the next few weeks, I put an old TV onto a wall mount, put some pegboard and a shelf over the workbenches, and fixed a couple of LED lighting panels.

Dismantling a Dishwasher

I have a grand plan … to create a small bench-top dishwasher from parts I salvaged from a machine found on the side of the road.

Today I found just such a machine, brought it back to the workshop, and took it apart.

Over the next few months, I’ll be creating a new enclosure and fitting the parts.

The motors both work – there’s a circulating pump and a drainage pump – which is a great start.

I also kept all the steel sheet from the sides and door, which I’ll find a use for on another project.

I’m thinking that I’ll create this little dishwasher in something of a Jules Verne, steam-punk design – along these lines…

Should be fun!