Archive for the ‘Elsewhere’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

I Eat Carbon Rods!

Monday, July 14th, 2008

This little cutter makes quick work of sizing carbon fiber rods.Cutting carbon rods is a pain.

Compression cutters such as side cuts mash the ends of the rods, fanning out the fibers.

I’ve been using a little Dremel-driven abrasive cut-off wheel to do the job, but in the process it spews carbon dust, which is Very Bad For You.

The turtle-faced cutter pictured here nips right through carbon rods up to 1/8 inch in diameter, producing a clean cut with no squished ends. No dust, either, and it doesn’t take much pressure to lop through the carbon.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 3 Comments »

A Versatile Cutting Tool

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Razor Tools

When you need to cut deeper than 1 inch, single-edge razors won’t reach. Nor will a typical hobby knife blade.

You need a box cutter, one with a slender snap-off-blade that extends out to about 3 inches.

(A single-edge razor reaches only half an inch. A #11 hobby blade has a 1-inch cutting depth.)

I noticed that Butch, the Boomer guy, regularly uses a slim utility knife, AKA box cutter, for carving jobs.

So when I decided to carve out a battery bay in the nose of a foam Wild Wing, a box cutter was my tool of choice. It’s long enough to slice out the bottom of the pocket, no problem.

Posted in Elsewhere | 1 Comment »

Harold High Up

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Harold’s Aerial Photo

Last weekend, Harold Hasselbach drove to Nevada, seeking wide open spaces where he can fire his cannon.

He ended up in Carson Sink, about 60 miles east of Reno. According to Wikipedia, Carson Sink is a 300 square mile playa in the Lahontan Valley of northwestern Nevada. It’s the central portion of prehistoric Lake Lahontan, which existed in northwestern Nevada at the end of the last ice age, between 20,000 and 9,000 years ago.

As Harold says, “I finally found a place where there are no crowds.”

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 5 Comments »

The Real Deal

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Suzette’s Helicopter Ride

Thursday afternoon, Suzette went for a two-hour ride in a helicopter, courtesy of the San Jose Police Department.

She won the ride in an auction benefiting the San Jose Museum of Art, where she volunteers as a docent.

Taking off from the NASA area of Moffett Field, two SJPD officers hosted her on an aerial tour of San Jose, during which they flew over our house. Sadie and I didn’t realize that she was overhead, otherwise we would have run outdoors, barking with excitement.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 5 Comments »

Cheap Clamps

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Bowl of Clamps

The other day, Gary and I visited Mike’s workshop, a rented space near Mike’s house.

Unlike my garage, Mike’s workplace is neat and well-organized.

What impressed me most, though, were Mike’s homemade tools, particularly some clamps he fabricated by gluing clothespins together.

A builder never has too many clamps, you know.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 3 Comments »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »