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![\"creating3d\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/creating3d.png\")
\nVia the always-informative\u00a0Maker Update<\/a>\u00a0comes news of a new\u00a03D printed game controller joystick mechanism<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Akaki Kuumeri<\/strong>. Akaki has built such devices in the past, but this one transfers all of the functions of the controller to the joystick and uses conventional PLA 3D printing to create extremely clever flexible joints in the translation mechanisms. This is a game-changing way of thinking about 3D printing and what it\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n
WIP, Always<\/strong> Trash Bashing Master Class<\/strong> How Transistors Are Like Flush Toilets<\/strong> Battery Self-Discharge<\/strong> Making a Table Saw Feather Board from Inline Skates<\/strong> Molding & Casting Skill Set<\/strong> Maker Slang<\/strong> Eat the frog<\/strong>\u00a0– As the saying goes: \u201cIf it\u2019s your job to eat a frog, it\u2019s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it\u2019s your job to eat two frogs, it\u2019s best to eat the biggest one first.\u201d The idea being to get the most unpleasant\/daunting tasks out of the way first thing. This quote is\u00a0often attributed to Mark Twain<\/a>, but it predates him.<\/p>\n Tinkeritis<\/strong>\u00a0– When you overwork, futz with, and try and improve something that still works poorly because you really don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing. Reader\u00a0txinkman<\/strong>\u00a0submitted this one and says he knows it in reference to motorcycles. The guy who originally owned the house I just sold had a classic case of tinkeritis. He thought he was a well-rounded handyman. He wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Knitting<\/strong>\u00a0– Coined by my old programming\/hypermedia partner,\u00a0Peter Sugarman<\/strong>, knitting is any repetitive, low-mental task that you can easily background or perform when you need a break from more taxing work. \u201cI\u2019ll do some knitting and fold these brochures while we talk on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThings have been somewhat chaotic recently as my fiance and I sold my home and are planning to make a cross-country move to California. As a result, I\u2019ve done very little making. Like a lot of DIYers, working on projects is therapy for me and I\u2019ve missed devoting an hour or so each day to what I love (building and painting miniatures). Two weeks ago, I finally started a small project on my bench and it instantly reminded me of the satisfaction and inspiration this near-daily activity brings. Going forward, I\u2019ve decided to try and always have a work-in-progress, however small, on the bench at all times. Just walking by it, picking it up, thinking about what my next move is, etc. makes a real difference in my mental health.<\/p>\n
\n![\"trashbashing\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/trashbashing.png\")
\nOn Boing Boing this week<\/a>, I did a piece on an amazing Howl\u2019s Moving Castle model made almost entirely from kitchen trash (plastic jars, coffee stirring sticks, broken toys).\u00a0This nearly 1-hour video<\/a>\u00a0is a master class in trash bash modeling, with lots of tips and techniques. A few of my favorites: Combing a 1:1 mix of\u00a0Green Stuff\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Milliput<\/a>\u00a0to create a more easily sculptable epoxy putty (a Games Workshop miniature sculptor once described working with Green Stuff to me as sculpting in stale chewing gum). Another great idea: Making bricks out of craft foam and then putting them in a can with rocks and tumbling them to create realistic brick weathering.<\/p>\n
\n![\"flushtoilets\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/flushtoilets.png\")
\nFor the none-electrical-engineering-minded, understanding electronic components and circuits can be challenging. One tried and true analogy of voltage and current that is often used is plumbing and water pressure. In\u00a0this piece<\/a>\u00a0by physics professor,\u00a0Giovanni Organtini<\/strong>, he extends the water analog to explain how a transistor is kind of like a flush toilet.<\/p>\n
\n![\"self-discharge\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/self-discharge.png\")
\nI love that\u00a0Collin Cunningham<\/strong>\u00a0has recently been putting out a more steady diet of these\u00a0Collin\u2019s Lab Notes<\/em>\u00a0videos. In\u00a0this one<\/a>, Collin looks at battery self-discharge, the rates at which different battery formulations lose their charge just sitting around. The short of it? Alkaline batteries are still the best to use for things like smoke detectors, emergency flash lights, and other mission critical applications.<\/p>\n
\n![\"inlineskates\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/inlineskates.png\")
\nColin Knecht<\/strong>\u00a0made a feather board<\/a>\u00a0(a device for holding workpieces against the saw fence) for his table saw using some old inline skates, a couple of\u00a0magnetic switches<\/a>, and some scrap wood.<\/p>\n
\n![\"castingset\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/castingset.jpg\")
\nMolding fail? I was almost certain I\u2019d screwed up my block mold. I think I used a very old bottle of catalyst and the silicone rubber was not hardening by the time I went to bed last night. (There\u2019s a tip in here: Put dates on bottles of supplies that can expired.) But this morning, I was thrilled to see the mold had, in fact, cured, just more sluggishly than normal. As far as I can tell, the mold is still viable. Next week, I\u2019ll show the results of the resin casts.
\n![\"castingset2\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/castingset2.jpg\")
\nTo see all of the Molding and Casting Skill Set series, see issues\u00a085<\/a>,\u00a086<\/a>,\u00a087<\/a>,\u00a088<\/a>,\u00a089<\/a>,\u00a090<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nLog jam<\/strong> – When you finish a project and there are a few bits left (spare bolts, circuit boards, etc\u2026) that need to be put back in their rightful place. They\u2019re not rubbish, but you haven\u2019t got time to sort them. So, you put them in a pile for later. Then another project happens, more bits on the sort pile, and before you know it, you\u2019ve got a \u201clog jam\u201d of (typically fiddly) things that need to flow downstream to their destinations but they\u2019re all snagged together in an ever-growing pile. Eventually, you either need to sit down and spend the day sorting, or admit defeat and just throw everything away. [H\/t Andrew Lewis<\/strong>]<\/p>\n
![\"miniatureapartment\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2021\/08\/miniatureapartment.jpg\")