Your recent awesome "arts and crafts" projects? [Archive]

Brad

2007-02-09, 20:49

We've got some creative and talented folks here; am I right? Aside from things that just involve poking your keyboard and clicking your mouse, what are some unique projects you all have attempted?

I'll kick off with two of my own that I'm rather proud of.

First is my home-made Nerf dart cannon. I made this bad boy a couple months ago over the course of a weekend. At my office, many of us have little Nerf guns like the Nite Finder (http://www.amazon.com/Nerf-N-Strike-Nite-Finder-EX-3/dp/B00012TLHA) and the Maverick (http://www.toysrus.com/sm-nerf-n-strike-maverick--pi-2298569.html), but I wanted to outdo them all. So, I got some PVC, a bike pump, and a fast valve and I made my own custom pneumatic Nerf gun.

I keep it hanging behind my monitor and have a stash of darts in my top desk drawer.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/1.jpg

It can fire a single dart some 200 feet faster than you can blink (probably farther, but I've never tested outside the office). It can fire five darts in a shotgun-like spray over about the same distance. It can destroy darts from firing them with such pressure, ripping their heads from their crippled little foam bodies.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/2.jpg

My current project is to make chainmail. Yes, chainmail. It's more tedious and time consuming than anything, but the result will be a custom-fitted "hauberk" shirt of cold steel. Fuckin' STEEL. How more badass can you get?

Progress so far:

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/chainmail/3.jpg

So, pony up, everyone. What have you been creating in your off hours? Baked goods don't count.

Wrao

2007-02-09, 21:03

turtle

2007-02-09, 21:05

Chainmail, now that's a cool one. My coolest was a battery powered iPod charger a few years ago. Problem with mine was the regulator I used had to low of an output making it an iPod power device, but not be able to charge it.

Next up, solar powered charger. :)

zsummers

2007-02-09, 21:07

Holy farking shizzle, Batman! Chainmail! Just saying "chain-mail" makes you manly!

Wearing it... well, jeez! I don't even think you need chest-hair to be considered a manly man! Chain-mail is the garment-equivalent of a "l-o-v-e h-a-t-e" tattoo.

What would be hilarious(ly ironic), is if you had a nerf war in your office and you all wore chainmail. I would pay good money to see that.

This is hard to say after such a manly project, but my best recent project was converting a non-working fireplace to a semi-working one by filling it with candles. I found all sorts of old looking brass, glass, and ceramic candleholders of different heights, and then picked an eclectic range of candlesticks--those bright red ones, thick white and dark brown ones, thin white and light green ones. Overall, I think it looks really cool without seeming too put-together. It matches by not matching... you know? If I had a pic I'd put it up... maybe later tonight.

Brad

2007-02-09, 21:19

You should look into making your own darts for that beast, it'll add some more range and velocity if done correctly. Typically all you need is some foam, glue and a BB or ball bearing. It is also a lot cheaper in the long run.
Yeah, I've thought about that before, but in all fairness, I'd like to keep compatible darts with everyone else. I imagine drilling into the foam to accommodate the standard Nerf gun's stabilizer rod wouldn't be an easy task.

My coolest was a battery powered iPod charger a few years ago. Problem with mine was the regulator I used had to low of an output making it an iPod power device, but not be able to charge it.

Next up, solar powered charger. :)
Nice! How exactly did you interface with the iPod itself? Did you figure out the pins and go straight to the dock port? Or did you modify the existing power adapter somehow?

What would be hilarious(ly ironic), is if you had a nerf war in your office and you all wore chainmail. I would pay good money to see that.
You're on! :lol: Well, at the least I will be wearing the chainmail. Actually, I also want to build a better Nerf gun with a breech or some other better way of loading the ammo. Right now I'm simply dropping the darts down the barrel which is painfully inefficient. First thing's first, though...

...my best recent project was converting a non-working fireplace to a semi-working one by filling it with candles. I found all sorts of old looking brass, glass, and ceramic candleholders of different heights, and then picked an eclectic range of candlesticks--those bright red ones, thick white and dark brown ones, thin white and light green ones. Overall, I think it looks really cool without seeming too put-together. It matches by not matching... you know? If I had a pic I'd put it up... maybe later tonight.
Do share! Looking forward to pics.

Kickaha

2007-02-09, 21:26

One I'm still proud of, 18 years later... I had an old '76 Jeep Cherokee in high school that had no radio. Not even a frickin' AM deck. I ended up blowing $400 on a JVC boombox that had AM/FM/SW, a tape deck, subwoofer, a *CD player* (woo for 1989, man), and detachable speakers. The speaker went in the back seat, the main unit between the front seats, and we were ready to ROCK man!

Except it ate batteries like Sally Struthers goes through Snickers. D batteries. Big honkin' D batteries. *8* D batteries.

Well, I realized pretty quickly that 8 batteries in series * 1.5V = 12V. Awfully close to the 12V in the car.

$1.29 for a bridge rectifier at Radio Shack, some wooden doweling the same diameter as a D battery, the power cord from an old lamp, and a cigarette lighter adapter port later, and I had power from the Jeep for it. I ran it like that for a couple of years.

Hell, I still have the boombox *and* the power adapter. :)

RAWK!

\m/ >< \m/

turtle

2007-02-09, 22:30

Nice! How exactly did you interface with the iPod itself? Did you figure out the pins and go straight to the dock port? Or did you modify the existing power adapter somehow?

Actually I just got a switched AAA battery pack from RadioShack and same for the regulator. I connected it with a female USB port. This means you would just use your normal USB cable for your iPod to power it. I wouldn't mind doing it with a dock connector to lessen the cable length, but then I figured the cable length was actually good so you could just leave the battery pack stashed while working with your iPod.

Once I get back home I'll try to post a picture of it. abb did something similar at the same time I did mine (I think I got the idea from him) but he shoved his into an Altoids tin.

World Leader Pretend

2007-02-10, 00:13

I just made a sweet-ass lamp hanger from a scraps of metal I found around my garage. I mounted it up in my new attic and it looks cool. I'll post a pic...

Artap99

2007-02-10, 00:30

I cooked five chicken nuggets in my microwave as a snack.

AsLan^

2007-02-10, 01:11

A few months ago I learned how to make some origami. I'm not sure if it's awesome or not but I thought they turned out okay :)

http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1005-thumb.jpg (http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1005-full.jpg)http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1004-thumb.jpg (http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1004-full.jpg)http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1001-thumb.jpg (http://fredrickpennachi.info/page7/origamionroof/files/page10-1001-full.jpg)

Freewell

2007-02-10, 01:34

We've got some creative and talented folks here; am I right?
More than you know.
So, pony up, everyone. What have you been creating in your off hours? Baked goods don't count.
Babies.
:D

Brad

2007-02-10, 10:07

Babies.
:D
Disqualified!

I said no baked goods. Everyone knows that a pregnant woman just has "a bun in the oven". :p

A few months ago I learned how to make some origami. I'm not sure if it's awesome or not but I thought they turned out okay
Origami is definitely awesome. I too have been into origami since I picked up an instructional book when I was in middle school. Granted, I don't make much time to practice the craft, but on rare occasions (like week-long conference sessions at work) I get bored and pass the time by coming up with a new creature.

Nice use of the double-sided paper and outside settings. :)

Bryson

2007-02-10, 10:37

I have chainmail at home too. After a while it becomes quite hynotic making it - like knitting with steel and pliers. Gives you hands like He-Man, too. I cheat though - I make mine from M6 sprung washers. I got kind of bored, so I have about 2 square feet.

Today we made an improvised projector shutter out of string, cardboard, gaffer tape and black foil. It's great.

Jason

2007-02-10, 10:40

Moogs

2007-02-10, 10:48

I uh... I made.... yah, ya see it's this thing that...

... :\ well, think of it as a...

a...

Yah, pretty much I got nothin. How's a brotha supposed to compete with Brad's Nerf-Rail-Gun and Chainmail anyway? I think Brad just wanted to put us all to shame under the guise of a well-meaning thread. Way to go, Brad. Creative bastard.

Freewell

2007-02-10, 10:53

Disqualified!

I said no baked goods. Everyone knows that a pregnant woman just has "a bun in the oven". :p
...

Bah! Bad call on a technicality nonetheless!!

*Kicks dirt on Ump's shoes mumbling creative new name suggestions :devil: then stalks off towards the "dugout"!* ;) :D

Brad

2007-02-10, 10:58

I think Brad just wanted to put us all to shame under the guise of a well-meaning thread. Way to go, Brad. Creative bastard.
I've been found out! :lol:

Bryson

2007-02-10, 11:03

That's it. Chainmail photos when I get home. Mine looks mean because the washers are black...

Brad, do you rivet each link? Or are not quite that hardcore? I know I don't. By god, it's boring enough.

Brad

2007-02-10, 11:12

Brad, do you rivet each link? Or are not quite that hardcore? I know I don't. By god, it's boring enough.
Nah, my links are just butted together. I wanted to have mine actually finished by the end of the year. :lol:

AWR

2007-02-10, 11:31

That's pretty impressive, Brad. I'd like to give it a shot.

My life time achievement in arts and crafts was making rope bracelets when I was 10-12 at summer camp. Nice ones. But that was the peak. Aside: I made one for my camp sweetheart (god it was a big crush, especially from my side) and her younger sister, who didn't attend the camp (which was overnight, 2 weeks at a time). Her name was Laura Silverman; her little sister morphed into Sarah Silverman.

Great origami.

My creative energy has recently gone into making babies and entertaining kids. And cooking. The arts and crafts world is better off without me. :lol:

Freewell

2007-02-10, 12:08

...
My creative energy has recently gone into making babies and entertaining kids. And cooking. The arts and crafts world is better off without me. :lol:

That's alright AWR, some of us know where the real talent (and fun) is! ;)

:p

murbot

2007-02-10, 12:14

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/1.jpg

I will not be participating in this thread, as anything I could post would instantly be labelled a steaming pile of shit in comparison to this display of sheer awesomeness.

BTW, how much to make me one of those?

:D

Windswept

2007-02-10, 13:05

A small accessory for Brad's chain-mail clothing ensemble: :D

http://unclehornhead.blogspot.com/iPod-three.jpg

:)

Brad

2007-02-10, 20:55

That's it. Chainmail photos when I get home. Mine looks mean because the washers are black...
How much does yours weigh? I imagine mine might end up around 10 lbs (5 kg).

BTW, how much to make me one of those?
:lol:

A guy at work (actually, one of my Nerf arch rivals) asked me that a while back. I quoted him about US$100. The sprinkler valve is $15, the bike pump is $8, the schrader valve is $1, and the various PVC fittings and cement and spray paint add another few dollars. So, it comes out to about $30 for parts and $70 for labor, which is a pretty cheap rate compared to my day job. :) Add a few for dollars for an optional electric switch to replace/supplement the manual valve switch.

Moogs

2007-02-10, 21:25

We need video footage, Brad. Soon. :D

AsLan^

2007-02-10, 21:47

Origami is definitely awesome. I too have been into origami since I picked up an instructional book when I was in middle school. Granted, I don't make much time to practice the craft, but on rare occasions (like week-long conference sessions at work) I get bored and pass the time by coming up with a new creature.

Nice use of the double-sided paper and outside settings. :)

Thanks :)

Nice...I like Origami too. However, check this guy out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbR5XRxKe8c&eurl=

That guy has some serious talent with the origami! I tried making a harder one that required some subtle crimping to give shape and body to it but it didn't work out so well. It's a lot harder than it looks!

Bryson

2007-02-11, 18:03

Ok, you made me do this: Chain mail a-go-go!

Mine looks darker and meaner because it's made from sprung washers. Many would regard this as cheating. It's very, very heavy - this piece, which is 25cm x 18cm weighs 500g, so a full hauberk is going to be about 10kg. http://homepage.mac.com/bryson430/.Public/chainmail1.jpg

I love the way it flows like a material. I still can't quite get over just *how* flexible it is.
http://homepage.mac.com/bryson430/.Public/Chainmail2.jpg

One for windy:
http://homepage.mac.com/bryson430/.Public/chainmailpod.jpg Yep, thats an iPod in there.

That's not all I have - my brother in law has the rest right now for research purposes. I should get some more washers and make some more, I guess.

Windswept

2007-02-11, 18:43

...my brother in law has the rest right now for research purposes.
*Research* purposes, huh? :)

Uh-huh, yeah right. ;)

I think chainmail is extremely cool. :D

(I've always had a 'thing' for knights and all that. ;) )

Freewell

2007-02-11, 18:59

I think Windswept should make Smiley Chainmail! ;)

turtle

2007-02-13, 00:37

Here's my iPod Charger. In the pictures I have it connected to my cell phone though. :D 4 AAA batteries is all it needs. The battery pack I used even has an on-off switch.

http://kellyent.dyndns.org:8080/an/Batteryusb1.jpg
http://kellyent.dyndns.org:8080/an/Batteryusb2.jpg

Forgive the quality, I didn't feel like breaking out my real camera so these were taken with my camcorder.

Bryson

2007-02-22, 05:57

Dammit. Someone always has to go one better. (http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/22/microscopic-chain-mail-could-embed-sensors-electronics-into-clo/)

RowdyScot

2007-02-22, 06:06

I wish I had pictures, but a few of my buddies up in Ann Arbor and I decided to insulate the windows in their apartment. After putting the shrink wrap stuff over the windows, we noticed there was one spot where we'd fucked up, and a small area at the bottom of their large window had a jet of cold air. Cue the lightbulb above my head, as I quickly suggested a "fix" with some styrofoam coolers and PVC pipe. We managed to generate an airflow and get some damn cold air flowing straight into the styrofoam coolers, where we placed many "best served cold" beverages :) Awesome enough, the spot for the coolers happens to be directly between the couch and the dinner table. For the record, the air flowing into the coolers is 10˚ colder than the fridge. It allows for some very cold beer, and some very cold Dew you might say.

bassplayinMacFiend

2007-02-22, 07:22

*Research* purposes, huh? :)

Uh-huh, yeah right. ;)

I think chainmail is extremely cool. :D

(I've always had a 'thing' for knights and all that. ;) )

I used to have a friend who made chainmail brassieres & bikinis. While they looked cool I can imagine how it would feel to get pinched by such clothing.

As for me, the only thing I've made lately is music which is really difficult to show in picture form. :D

zsummers

2007-03-11, 01:07

Do share! Looking forward to pics.

Better late than never...

Click for a bigger pics:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9172/070217131431zc4.th.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=070217131431zc4.jpg)

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1342/070217131628wp0.th.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=070217131628wp0.jpg)

Notice the one candle has gone nuts and formed quite the wax pillar. :)

Windswept

2007-03-11, 11:23

I used to have a friend who made chainmail brassieres & bikinis. While they looked cool I can imagine how it would feel to get pinched by such clothing.

Like this? :)

(Probably NSFW. :p )

http://www.steelweaver.com/clothing/images/redtop.jpg

I doubt if chainmail would pinch. I think it probably feels... ''very' nice. :D ;)

(And, *no*, that's not a pic of 'me'. :p )

Brad

2007-05-13, 23:34

*bump!*

I doubt if chainmail would pinch. I think it probably feels... ''very' nice. :D ;)
Yes and no. If you have any body hair exposed, it will catch on the links. And pull. Painfully. Although, I imagine (or would hope http://forums.applenova.com/images/smilies/custom/gonk.gif) that most ladies in the bikinis don't have that particular problem.

Normally, though, chain mail does have a very nice feel, especially with smaller links. It's truly a unique texture; I can't think of any material that feels quite the same. As Bryson said, it's very flexible and just "flows".

But, damn, does it take a long time to make. Granted, I only work on it for a few hours each week nowadays, but I'm still only about halfway done.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/chainmail/4.jpg

Also, I forgot to add a month or two ago that I made another pneumatic Nerf gun. It's at the office now, of course ;), but I do have an old photo taken before I finished and painted it a nice blood red crimson color.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/5.jpg

It's tough to see in that pic, but the improved design has an electric trigger, manual sliding breech, and pseudo-silencer. Oh. Yeah. :devil:

Anybody else here working on new or ongoing projects? :D

drewprops

2007-05-14, 00:00

I am.... and it's something that a pneumatic gun-making, chainmail-wearing guy like you might enjoy.... hoping to start a thread about it by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'm holding out for video of you shooting nerf torpedoes at a chainmail bikini-wearing girl.

Seriously.
I want video of that.

Brad

2007-05-14, 00:07

If it's anything approaching the level of badass that last year's storm trooper armor reached, I'm sure I'll love it! :lol:

Oh! Also, I've already tried stabbing myself in the chain mail with an open pair of scissors. Since I'm not in hospital, I think the chain mail sufficiently did its job!

Souflay123

2007-05-14, 18:27

with that you can go a beowulf!

Brad

2007-05-14, 18:32

Ah, now that's a Nerf gun.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/6.jpg

Mac+

2007-05-14, 22:47

:eek: OMG - That's awesome. Seeing you hold it gives a better perspective of the size.

Shit, I just can't write that without it coming out perverse. :lol:

Brad

2007-05-14, 22:54

:eek: OMG - That's awesome. Seeing you hold it gives a better perspective of the size.
:cool:

Yeah, baby.

Shit, I just can't write that without it coming out perverse. :lol:
Wait. Were you talking about the gun? :confused:

zippy

2007-05-15, 00:15

I made some concrete countertops for my parent's patio. They kinda look like granite after I ground and polished them up. Very nice for a first timer, I must admit.

I'll get some pics this weekend.

billybobsky

2007-05-15, 00:35

i... haven't made anything new recently... not even a new chemical...

that's depressing...

Koodari

2007-05-15, 12:52

I haven't really done anything that would qualify as an arts and crafts project I'm afraid. The closest that comes to mind was a semi-open, friction fit camera pouch with bubble wrap and duct tape. Not cool otherwise, but I realized I need one, looked at the materials there were at hand, and completed it in about two minutes. It's been totally functional for two or three years now, and the camera has survived some pretty evil circumstances. Long projects with an insane amount of work can be great when they succeed (and sometimes even if they don't) but there's a different kind of kick to be had from a spontaneous hack that ends up working.

What I'd like to do at some point is to put together a LED lighting system, for instance inside a translucent plastic table. We'll see.

Chainmail and origami are cool. I knew a guy who made a chainmail, at least some kind, for himself.
Windswept's chainmail find is plain awesome ;)

Oh yeah, and from nerf guns I suddenly remembered I want to buy, make or mod a serious slingshot. Arm support, enough pull for a grown man, and ball bearings for ammo. There would be an infinity of possible ways to use this. Some of them would even be legal and not very hazardous. :)

709

2007-05-15, 13:30

CitizenTony

2007-05-16, 13:54

Not really arts and crafty so I'm not sure any of this counts, but I just moved into a new house last December and I've been busy making it mine.

I Started by painting one of the bedrooms that was previously painted butter yellow with a pink ribbon around the entire length of wall. Moved to the living room and stairs after that. I don't like white walls so I have the rest of the house to go, but that's a lot of walls and will take the rest of the year I think.

Mounted the TV to the wall and got rid of any trace of wires. The IR receiver still needs a place in the wall, but it gets interference from the Plasma display so I have to get one that doesn't first. Still need to run the rear speakers as well.

TV and living room 1 (http://www.go46.com/y/tv/tv1.jpg)
TV 2 (http://www.go46.com/y/tv/tv2.jpg)
TV 3 (http://www.go46.com/y/tv/tv3.jpg)

I ran two lines of Cat6 to every room and centralized everything into the office closet. I need to get a wall mounted box to clean it up but haven't yet. I plan to route the cable through this as well and get one line to every room. It's nice being able to monitor everything from the one location and not having to rely on wireless for big transfers.

Right now I'm on a lunch break, but I'm in the middle of flooring the upstairs attic. Trying to get it done before it gets too hot outside. I'm about a quarter of the way through.

After that I'm moving on to the garden. I cleaned it out last week but it's bare right now.

leachboy

2007-06-08, 18:40

I did this a while back. I also did a dogcow, but it's not close enough to me to post it here.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/leachboy/legomac.jpg

Brad

2007-06-08, 21:39

:lol: That's awesome!!

drewprops

2007-06-09, 00:16

Leachboy, what's that made from? Is it Legos or something more unusual?

My big "arts and crafts" project was building the rPhone that I posted a few weeks ago (http://www.piratepalooza.com/rphone/). It started as a series of sketches in my sketchbook and finally went into full production after a month or so of planning. I built it primarily using a matte baord that we called "museum board" during architecture school.... it comes in 2-ply and 4-ply and is quite tough when cut into small pieces....

So the rPhone is actually NOT built of brass and rosewood, it's built of paper and glue and bits of styrene.

I built the pull-out earpiece using one of those inexpensive "travel style" USB cable keepers with a built-in inertia reel. So when you pull on the cable it actually unspools.

The rotary dial ALSO uses an intertia reel... when you "dial" a number the rotary dial spins back into its original place.

Wrao

2007-06-09, 00:32

I'm assembling something this weekend(hopefully), just got all the parts.

leachboy

2007-06-09, 21:19

Leachboy, what's that made from? Is it Legos or something more unusual?

It's made of Legos. It's on a 48x48 light gray baseplate and it's made using the dark gray 1x1 plates. Here's the dogcow that I mentioned before.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/leachboy/Photo138.jpg

crazychester

2007-06-10, 01:22

In the tradition of my triumphant piece of theatrical stagecraft, the Kennel People, I'd submit my recreation of the crypt from my contemporary dance version of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Armontillado" as performed to the Alan Parsons song of the same name, and complete with 12 year old child being choreographically buried alive. However, I'd have to look for some pics or video.

Instead, I thought this might provide you with some inspiration, Brad. The Canberra Battle Group were the subject of one project I was working on when I got expelled from school for being naughty. We had to do a short video on hobbyists. Here's a pic and how they describe their particular obsession, and a grab bag of some footage I shot of their October 2005 "Big Battle".

The whole swiveling turret thing is very cool IMHO. While the mind boggles at the idea of you and drew combining skills and creating a scaled down pirate galleon with cannon firing some sort of simulated cannon balls (squash balls perhaps?), a swiveling cannon firing ball bearings atop the head (mounted on a tin foil hat!), would no doubt strike fear into your enemies while also giving you the added advantage of being able to shoot without turning around!

http://lh3.google.co.uk/image/margie.cc/RmuIx1A4xVI/AAAAAAAAAM8/wccYOams-HY/s800/cbs1.jpg
We build radio controlled scale model warships and merchant ships and emulate historical WWI and WWII naval battles between the Allied and Axis fleets - protecting convoys etc. The ships are armed with Co2 powered cannons that fire ball bearings and the ships are designed to sink if hit sufficiently. The ships have pumps to simulate damage control and the balsa wood 'armour' is to scale, dependent on the real ship's armour thickness. Any ship (except sailing ships) laid down or in commission between 1901 and 1946 inclusive is allowed. The electronics are treated to withstand dunkings and each ship has a float to mark the spot where it sinks - we just haul them up, patch the holes and send them out again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpoTGCvOsRo

The ball bearings don't hurt. Much.

Shit! I forgot. There's special bonus footage of a dog that spotted a kangaroo while we were filming and the roo's demonstration of its aquatic supremacy over the K9.

zsummers

2007-06-10, 10:52

I've got a bunch of projects on the back burner....just don't have the damn time to commit. :(

I have about 100 10MB Bernoulli disks that are fucking huge, and I'm dead set on making a table or something out of them, a half-dozen old school hospital wheelchairs (the ones that have 4 small wheels) that I need to weld together and make a couch out of, a small hospital bed (with a huge crank on the side!) I need to sandblast down to the bare metal and make a glass top for (table for said couch), a 1950s wheelchair I plan on pimping (can you tell I like old hospital furniture? I have an IV hanger for use as a coat rack :) ), a huge pile of old 1" tape reels I need to figure out something to do with....and tons more stuff too much or too weird to list.

*sigh*

I need to get some land and put up a frickin' pole barn for all my shit. :\

If this turns out well, you could become a furniture designer. I recently read a piece about some people who visited a furniture show for the first time, and it sounds like your plan would fit in very well with what those shows are like. The newbie visitors liked the themed pieces (though they didn't like the ones that were pretentious). Their beef was that many of the themed stuff wasn't comfortable. So if you make your hospital/living-room comfortable, you could have something quite brilliant.

p.s. Is it David Sedaris who has shares your fascination with old medical equipment?

Fahrenheit

2007-08-03, 02:14

Not to sound a bit limp or anything, but your parents must be pretty proud of you WLP, you have turned that attic into a really great space, using hard work, a lot of manual skills, really impressive.

And you survived a deadly spider attack. (3/8/2007)

turbulentfurball

2007-08-23, 10:52

*bump*

http://www.bryanbutterwick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bush.jpg

Fahrenheit

2007-08-23, 10:53

Thats 4 kinds of wrong.

turbulentfurball

2007-08-23, 10:54

Inspired by a t-shirt I saw someone wear at one of the Live Earth concerts on TV. :D

AWR

2007-08-23, 11:32

Thats 4 kinds of wrong.

:lol:

As for WLP's painting, finishing and polishing thesis, all I can say is: :eek:

Do you ever sleep?

Bryson

2007-11-13, 22:23

Spotted on Boing Boing today:

FSM Christmas Decorations (http://www.nifnaks.com/creations-shop/christmas/fsm-christmas-tree-topper/detailed-product-flyer.html)

Is that your missus, Brad? Or just someone she needs to sue...?

Brad

2007-11-13, 22:36

Heh. Not mine, no, but indeed a nice idol for the great one.

Brad

2008-02-24, 22:37

*bump*

New Nerf gun, now with Frickin' Laser Beams™.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/7.jpg
http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/nerf/8.jpg

And a followup...

Spotted on Boing Boing today:

FSM Christmas Decorations (http://www.nifnaks.com/creations-shop/christmas/fsm-christmas-tree-topper/detailed-product-flyer.html)

Is that your missus, Brad? Or just someone she needs to sue...?

Here's our holiday ficus from a few months ago. One of Spag (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=23065&highlight=spag)'s siblings was seated high atop, of course. :)

http://i32.tinypic.com/2ld92pv.jpg

Also, I recently got a shipment of a few square meters of polystyrene to start my next long-term project.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/protonpack/10.jpg

Any other creative buildery-craftery going on here lately?

artesc

2008-05-09, 00:26

atomicbartbeans

2008-05-09, 05:24

iPods actually come with all the hardware you need for a dock. A few months ago I made a very nice one using nothing but a hunk of wood from a scrap pile...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2105/2134976948_c5e2fccdd2.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2059/2134977668_642f4ffe2e.jpg

Brad

2008-05-21, 22:33

I made a bad-ass potato gun (alcohol powered of course) that can shoot about a hundred yards! I am also in the process of converting the box my ipod came in into a speaker/enclosure for it. don't have any pics right now but...maybe soon!
Pics plz?

I've been tempted to build an alcohol powered tater/Nerf gun once or twice before, but I'm not quite comfortable with lighting up one of those bad boys. Somehow stored compressed air doesn't seem as dangerous, even though I've read that it can be. Plus, any fleeting thoughts I might have to create a more powerful Nerf firearm are dashed away when I realize I wouldn't be able to brandish it at work... :p

AWR

2008-11-28, 05:40

That's some great work, Mac+. That shot captures so much information, while being quite minimalist to good effect. Great glasses, and reflection too. And teh star for A in Gary!! A glass of WHITE wine. And "Gary"! :lol:

Your mo is a real Issac from the Love Boat number. A nd for me it's hard to choose whether Issac's or Magnum's is the moustache of reference.

Mac+

2008-11-28, 06:19

Thanks AWR. :)

I can't claim sole responsibility for the "photo-shopping". That was a collaborative effort with our visual design guy.

Gary is a nickname I've had for a long time. I thought I shook it whilst I spent three years in China, but an old friend introduced it to my workmates upon my return, so I decided to embrace it once again. We shot this at work, btw, so the wine was really weak green tea too.

I wasn't really going for anything with my mo', but everybody kept telling me it was of a certain style. The reason I took this photo was because we had a competition in Sydney for all the guys who had been growing mo's this month, yet I would be in Melbourne. They said to just provide a photo, but I thought I should have some fun with it.

The irony was that I could identify every person in that slide, except for one character. The award I received was for the best mo' based on his genre of work. Mine isn't strictly like that, but the picture and my physical absence at the event helped sell the illusion. ;)

atomicbartbeans

2008-12-15, 18:54

Brad,

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/marshmallow_gun.png

:D

Brad

2009-09-27, 22:34

*BUMP*

Anyone else hacking together some projects lately? abb, how'd your bike trailer end up?

Here's my latest mini-project. I wanted to take an NES Zapper and make a laser pointer out of it. Unfortunately, I got a little scammed on Amazon and the seller sent me a cheap knock-off instead of a real Zapper. The price was cheap; so, I'm not too upset over it.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/zapper/1.jpg
http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/zapper/2.jpg

So, I had to go about painting it first after ripping the guts out.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/zapper/3.jpg

A few dabs of soldering (and almost an hour of sweating while undoing a near-catastrophic soldering goof on the tiny laser diode driver) later, and the new guts fit like a glove!

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/zapper/4.jpg

Putting the batteries in the grip gives the otherwise lightweight hunk of plastic a little more heft.

http://applenova.com/etc/brad/artsandcrafts/zapper/5.jpg

Frickin' laser beams!!!