Saturday, 28 January 2017
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Tidy
I live in a small flat, and in the kitchen there's not a lot of storage. As a result, the bins (general waste & recycling) have always just lived in the corner of the room. It's not a major issue, but bins aren't exactly nice to look at, made worse given that it's an open plan kitchen shared with the lounge area.
I found a couple of solid wood bedframes that were otherwise destined for the landfill, and took them apart, and used the timber to build this kitchen tidy unit. There's not really any new or ground-breaking techniques to document, so the rest of this is predominantly a photo post.
I'm pleased with the result, and I plan to do more reclaimed wood projects in the future - as all the timber was reclaimed, the only material cost ended up being the wood dye and varnish, which makes woodworking much more affordable.
Wednesday, 4 January 2017
Archer and "The Last Leg"-inspired 'Phrasing' button
The inspiration
In some ways my workplace is very much like this - anything that could be misconstrued as an innuendo, even remotely, will inevitably have people calling out "hey, phrasing!", "That's what she said..." etc, etc.
Combining that with this "Bullshit button" from The Last Leg:
.. and I had an idea.
To cap it all off, at work we were having a clear out of some cupboards, and I found this:
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| It plays a dog-barking noise when pressed. I'm told it was used for some kind of team building thing long before I joined the company. Weird. |
By this point it must be pretty obvious where this project is headed...
The teardown
First things first, see how much space in the button there is to work with, and what parts can be reused.
The single PCB contains a controller under a blob of epoxy, as was expected, so I'll need to replace that. However, the same PCB contains the actual button, so it'll need to stay in place. To allow that I just cut the traces connecting the button to the PCB, and scraped off some of the solder mask in order to provide connection points for my replacement controller.
The electronics
As this was intended to be a quick and easy project, I had to make do with what I could find in my electronics junk box. I couldn't use the same MP3 trick that I used in the Swear Jar project, as what I had available was too large for the buttons' case.
Whichever controller I used needed to have enough memory to store the audio data, which ruled out a lot of micros, so I ended up recycling an old arduino micro (ATMega328)
To make room for the arduino, the battery compartment had to be removed - I would instead use coin cell batteries. This would still work, but come at the cost of a reduced battery life.
The audio
To capture the original audio, I used the same technique I covered here to create a WAV file. After using Audacity to crop and edit down the relevant clip (Archer saying "Uh, Phrasing"), I used the EncodeAudio application from HiLoTech to turn it into a header file (sounddata.h in the code below)
The software
The code used on the arduino was based around the PCMAudio example, but I needed to modify it to incorporate some power saving - to account for the reduced capacity of the coin cell batteries. Code listed below:
The code used on the arduino was based around the PCMAudio example, but I needed to modify it to incorporate some power saving - to account for the reduced capacity of the coin cell batteries. Code listed below:
#include <stdint.h> #include <avr/interrupt.h> #include <avr/io.h> #include <avr/pgmspace.h> #include <avr/sleep.h> #define SAMPLE_RATE 8000 #include "sounddata.h" int ledPin = 13; int speakerPin = 11; volatile uint16_t sample; byte lastSample; void stopPlayback() { TIMSK1 &= ~_BV(OCIE1A); TCCR1B &= ~_BV(CS10); TCCR2B &= ~_BV(CS10); digitalWrite(speakerPin, LOW); } ISR(TIMER1_COMPA_vect) { if (sample >= sounddata_length) { if (sample == sounddata_length + lastSample) { stopPlayback(); } else { if(speakerPin==11){ OCR2A = sounddata_length + lastSample - sample; } else { OCR2B = sounddata_length + lastSample - sample; } } } else { if(speakerPin==11){ OCR2A = pgm_read_byte(&sounddata_data[sample]); } else { OCR2B = pgm_read_byte(&sounddata_data[sample]); } } ++sample; } void startPlayback() { pinMode(speakerPin, OUTPUT); ASSR &= ~(_BV(EXCLK) | _BV(AS2)); TCCR2A |= _BV(WGM21) | _BV(WGM20); TCCR2B &= ~_BV(WGM22); if(speakerPin==11){ TCCR2A = (TCCR2A | _BV(COM2A1)) & ~_BV(COM2A0); TCCR2A &= ~(_BV(COM2B1) | _BV(COM2B0)); TCCR2B = (TCCR2B & ~(_BV(CS12) | _BV(CS11))) | _BV(CS10); OCR2A = pgm_read_byte(&sounddata_data[0]); } else { TCCR2A = (TCCR2A | _BV(COM2B1)) & ~_BV(COM2B0); TCCR2A &= ~(_BV(COM2A1) | _BV(COM2A0)); TCCR2B = (TCCR2B & ~(_BV(CS12) | _BV(CS11))) | _BV(CS10); OCR2B = pgm_read_byte(&sounddata_data[0]); } cli(); TCCR1B = (TCCR1B & ~_BV(WGM13)) | _BV(WGM12); TCCR1A = TCCR1A & ~(_BV(WGM11) | _BV(WGM10)); TCCR1B = (TCCR1B & ~(_BV(CS12) | _BV(CS11))) | _BV(CS10); OCR1A = F_CPU / SAMPLE_RATE; TIMSK1 |= _BV(OCIE1A); lastSample = pgm_read_byte(&sounddata_data[sounddata_length-1]); sample = 0; sei(); } int wakePin = 2; void setup(){ pinMode(wakePin, INPUT); pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); attachInterrupt(0, wakeUpNow, LOW); startPlayback(); } void loop(){} void wakeUpNow(){ startPlayback(); sleepNow(); } void sleepNow() { set_sleep_mode(SLEEP_MODE_PWR_DOWN); sleep_enable(); attachInterrupt(0,wakeUpNow, LOW); sleep_mode(); sleep_disable(); detachInterrupt(0); }
The finish
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| Some finishing touches, and it's done! |
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Tool / Drill Bit Demagnetiser
The Build
The downside to the magnetic drill bit organiser that I created in the last post is that the drills themselves end up becoming magnetised.
This isn't really a problem for woodwork, but can get a bit annoying for drilling metal, so I started looking at building a demagnetiser.
Research online showed lots of examples (such as this) of powered demagnetisers, often using dismantled power transformers, mains power and over-heating risks, which was a bit off-putting.
However, there are passive (unpowered) demagnetisers available to purchase, so there must be another way.
It's well known that metal can be magnetised by rubbing it against a magnet. There is, of course, a lot of dry and boring scientific explanation about why it happens, but in layman's terms, the punchline is that metal stuff gets magnetised when the electrons in it get aligned. So to demagnetise it, just screw up their alignment. Simple, right?
Yeah, really, it is. If putting a bit of metal near one magnet pulls the electrons into line and magnetises it, sit the metal between two strong magnets, and the electrons can't agree which way to point, so they end up pointing in conflicting directions, and become demagnetised.
The magnets were provided courtesy of an old, broken hard drive. Unfortunately the shape of the drive magnets is a bit awkward to work with. To overcome this I took photos of the magnets, imported the photo into Inkscape and drew around them, exporting the resulting SVG into blender to turn into a 3D model for printing (a similar process that I used in this post)
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The HDD magnet, and the shape drawn around it in Inkscape, ready for extrusion into Blender.
A bit of hot glue was used to fix the magnets in place, and they were covered with Sugru to avoid tools just sticking straight to them.
To join the halves together, I would typically just glue them together, but this time I wanted to test a technique I've not tried before - plastic friction welding. It sounds fancy, but can be done with a Dremel and a bit of 3D printer filament - see the clip below for an example. I used orange filament against the black used for the printed body of the demagnetiser - it's not the most aesthetic choice, but it does help highlight the plastic weld technique a bit more easily.
The resulting join is plenty strong enough - as evidenced by several spontaneous shock tests, and totally not by accidental dropping.
The demagnetiser works simply by waving a magnetised tool through the gap in the gadget, as seen in the video at the top. It won't necessarily remove magnetism entirely, but as you can see, it significantly reduces it.
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Magnetic Drill Bit Organiser
I'm forever losing drill bits, particularly the smaller ones in my workshop. While it's very much a "first world problem", the delay it causes to a project's schedule can be a huge pain, so this project uses some magnets from old dismantled hard disk drives.
Be warned - these magnets are very strong - putting them near your bank cards or anything else that's sensitive to magnetic fields is probably a really bad idea.
The plan is to magnetise a steel bar with the old hard disk magnets, mount it to the wall near my drill press so that I can keep drill bits and other small metal objects nearby and secured, and hopefully not lose as many.
The build
I started with a pine slat reclaimed from an old bed frame.
I started with a pine slat reclaimed from an old bed frame.
I didn't have a specific size in mind for this project, but the steel I purchased came in 1 metre lengths, which seemed a bit much, so I halved it and decided to base it around a 500mm steel bar.
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The wood was cut to 55cm (allowing a 2.5cm margin) each side of the steel for mounting holes.
I measured out where the steel would sit, and drilled out a 3 grooves in the wood equally along where the steel would sit (so that the steel would cover the grooves).
The magnets were screwed into the wood so that they would sit in the drilled grooves, but the magnets themselves would sit in contact with the steel bar.
A slight groove is cut into the wood along the length of the steel bar, so that the bar will sit flush with the wood, and attach the bar to the wood with a bit of glue. The magnets will hold it in place while the glue sets.
In order to make the hard disk magnets fit within the boundaries of the steels measurements, some parts had to be cut down, which I did by using a grinder disk.
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In hindsight this might not have been the smartest move, as the magnets would get hot from the friction and heat affects the magnetism of metal, and so this might have altered the effectiveness of the magnets.
In reality though, there was not a noticeable difference in their strength before and after trimming them.
In reality though, there was not a noticeable difference in their strength before and after trimming them.
The magnets were screwed into the wood so that they would sit in the drilled grooves, but the magnets themselves would sit in contact with the steel bar.
A slight groove is cut into the wood along the length of the steel bar, so that the bar will sit flush with the wood, and attach the bar to the wood with a bit of glue. The magnets will hold it in place while the glue sets.
The bar will be magnetized by the underlying magnets, although wiping the bar with another magnet can strengthen the field, it will always be strongest nearest to the magnets themselves.
Finally a bit of wood stain, mount it to the wall, and done.
Monday, 24 October 2016
Oak Desk with Embedded TV/Monitor part 3 : Fitting the TV
This is a continuation of my build of an oak and glass desk with a 32" TV & computer built into it. The previous parts of the build can be found below.
Step 5: Fitting the TV
The TV that was volunteered for the project is a Samsung 32" LCD.
Removing the bezel revealed the actual dimensions of the panel and the frame which would need to be incorporated into the desk. To allow this whilst keeping the panel near to the glass I had to rout a border into the underside of the desktop - as mentioned in part 2.
Fortunately the frame of the TV included mounting holes. Less fortunately, they were in line with the thinner ledge that held the glass. It didn't seem wise to mount screw the TV to that thin ledge - it had enough weight to support with the glass alone, therefore I created small plywood mounts to go between the TVs mounting holes and the main body of the desktop.
In order to protect the user and the electronics from each other, I decided to keep the plastic back of the TV. This was simply held in place by several "mechanical retention blocks" (a fancy name for small offcuts of wood that wedged the back in place). This held the back securely, while also allowing access should it be required for maintenance/upgrades.
Step 6: Fitting the CHIP
Rather than have cables trailing to the TV from an input device, I decided to add a small single-board computer. The system I've opted for is the CHIP - a $9 dollar board. I backed their Kickstarter for a couple of CHIP systems and a VGA adapter board. The spare CHIP will surely find it's way to another project, but one of them and the VGA board are being used here.
After setting up the board and configuring it using a spare monitor, it was time to transfer it to the TV. I removed the back of the TV, and sat the CHIP there - there was sufficient space for the board, but I had to cut out a bit of plastic for the cables to run through (the VGA cable into the back of the TV, the power, which went to a phone charger in the desk's extension lead, and a USB extension lead which just runs out to the back of the TV so that I could connect peripherals if needed.)
Once the back was replaced on the TV, there's not really much to indicate it's anything more than a standard TV.
The next (and hopefully final step) will be to get some software on there.
Step 5: Fitting the TV
The TV that was volunteered for the project is a Samsung 32" LCD.
Fortunately the frame of the TV included mounting holes. Less fortunately, they were in line with the thinner ledge that held the glass. It didn't seem wise to mount screw the TV to that thin ledge - it had enough weight to support with the glass alone, therefore I created small plywood mounts to go between the TVs mounting holes and the main body of the desktop.In order to protect the user and the electronics from each other, I decided to keep the plastic back of the TV. This was simply held in place by several "mechanical retention blocks" (a fancy name for small offcuts of wood that wedged the back in place). This held the back securely, while also allowing access should it be required for maintenance/upgrades.
Step 6: Fitting the CHIP
Rather than have cables trailing to the TV from an input device, I decided to add a small single-board computer. The system I've opted for is the CHIP - a $9 dollar board. I backed their Kickstarter for a couple of CHIP systems and a VGA adapter board. The spare CHIP will surely find it's way to another project, but one of them and the VGA board are being used here.
After setting up the board and configuring it using a spare monitor, it was time to transfer it to the TV. I removed the back of the TV, and sat the CHIP there - there was sufficient space for the board, but I had to cut out a bit of plastic for the cables to run through (the VGA cable into the back of the TV, the power, which went to a phone charger in the desk's extension lead, and a USB extension lead which just runs out to the back of the TV so that I could connect peripherals if needed.)
Once the back was replaced on the TV, there's not really much to indicate it's anything more than a standard TV.
The next (and hopefully final step) will be to get some software on there.
Friday, 7 October 2016
Oak Desk with Embedded TV/Monitor part 2
This is a continuation of my build of an oak and glass desk with a 32" TV & computer built into it. The first part of the build is here.
Step 3: Routing the back to fit the TV
Even with the plastic bezel removed from around the front of the TV, there's still a metal frame supporting the screen, which can't be removed.
Just sitting the TV against the back of the desktop would leave a gap of 28mm between the glass and the screen, which is enough to look a bit weird.
I routed the back of the desk to allow the TV to be positioned closer to the glass. This meant removing another 10mm from the desktop thickness, leaving the 'ledge' that the glass sits of at 18mm.
Step 4: Creating the legs
It made sense to use the section that had been removed from the middle of the desktop for the legs. However, I didn't want to just use the flat board, as it would just look lazy and reminiscent of flat-pack furniture, even when cut into 4 for the legs.
I also needed to give consideration to the cabling for the screen, which led me to the idea of splitting the wood into 8 pieces, and pairing them together to create the four legs. This would allow for the cabling to be integrated, and give a more solid leg aesthetic which better suited the style I was aiming for.
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| The 8 leg parts, ready to pair up and join |
To allow for the cable to be run, before joining the last leg, I routed a groove in the joining sides. a hole was drilled through to the outer corner of the leg. This will be tidied up later to incorporate the hole in part of the design so it doesn't look too out of place.
Then the corners of the legs were shaped, and open mortises were cut to attach the desks skirt
With the legs done, I can move onto fitting the TV.
Friday, 23 September 2016
Oak Desk with Embedded TV/Monitor
I've been after a new desk for a while, but never really been able to find one that fits the right combination of size, style and budget.
So I decided to build one myself, taking inspiration from a few videogames, where desks with built-in screens are commonplace:
The plan
As much as I like the look of the tables in the games, I decided to go with a more traditional look.
I started with a block of oak kitchen counter top. The aim was to put the TV into the desk, then protect it with a glass worktop sunk into the wood.
Step 1: Routing the ledge for the glass
The counter-top is 38mm thick, and has substantial weight to it. The plan was to route 10mm deep into it so that the glass would sit flush with the rest of the wood.
The glass was centered on the table and marked up. I'd only be routing the ledge, I'd be cutting the middle part out entirely, to make room for the screen, so it didn't make sense to rout all that.
I also left the corners - once the middle was removed I'd use a forstner drill to do those, to ensure a nice round corner.
Step 2: Cutting out the middle
It would be a shame to waste the large chunk of wood from the middle, so I thought I'd use it to create the legs which meant I had to remove it intact.
I did this by using a circular saw to plunge-cut on each side, using the routed ledge as a guide, then using a jigsaw to finish the cuts on each side, allowing the middle to drop out (which of course had to be controlled, leaving it unsupported would likely have caused the wood to split when the majority of support was gone).
With the middle removed, I could finish the corners of the ledge using the forstner drill.
The next steps are to build the legs and mount the TV.
So I decided to build one myself, taking inspiration from a few videogames, where desks with built-in screens are commonplace:
|
|
The plan
As much as I like the look of the tables in the games, I decided to go with a more traditional look.
|
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| |||||
Step 1: Routing the ledge for the glass
The glass was centered on the table and marked up. I'd only be routing the ledge, I'd be cutting the middle part out entirely, to make room for the screen, so it didn't make sense to rout all that.
I also left the corners - once the middle was removed I'd use a forstner drill to do those, to ensure a nice round corner.
Step 2: Cutting out the middle
I did this by using a circular saw to plunge-cut on each side, using the routed ledge as a guide, then using a jigsaw to finish the cuts on each side, allowing the middle to drop out (which of course had to be controlled, leaving it unsupported would likely have caused the wood to split when the majority of support was gone).
With the middle removed, I could finish the corners of the ledge using the forstner drill.
The next steps are to build the legs and mount the TV.
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