The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Category: Home Ec

Things around the home & hearth

  • Eyeglass Case Padding

    Eyeglass Case Padding

    Zenni ships their glasses in a snap-close case with a fuzzy insert on the bottom, but after you unpack the cleaning cloth and suchlike, the glasses rattle against the hard plastic top.

    Make trial fit prototype from thin cardboard and trace it onto a sheet of craft foam:

    Eyeglass case foam padding - outline
    Eyeglass case foam padding – outline

    The pen, much favored by quiltists, has a white ceramic lead that washes out of dark fabrics. You can find a corresponding dark-lead pen, but I can use an ordinary pencil.

    Use different colors for different glasses:

    Eyeglass case foam padding - installed
    Eyeglass case foam padding – installed

    Then walk ninja-style again.

    Protip: slip an address label atop the foam so a nice person can reunite you with your glasses, should they slip out of your pocket in the unlikely event you sit down anywhere other than in your house.

  • Eyeglass Nose Pad Adjustment

    Eyeglass Nose Pad Adjustment

    A new set of glasses arrived from Zenni with one of the nose pads totally misaligned:

    Zenni glasses nosepad - as received
    Zenni glasses nosepad – as received

    Definitely a QC escape.

    Start by removing the tiny screw and the nose pad:

    Zenni glasses nosepad - socket
    Zenni glasses nosepad – socket

    Apply a metal bending pliers (with the concave jaw around bottom of the socket), twist until it lines up properly, then reinstall the pad:

    Zenni glasses nosepad - aligned
    Zenni glasses nosepad – aligned

    No big deal if you happen to have the pliers. Bonus: apply Parafilm to prevent scratching the lenses, OK?

    For what it’s worth, the latest set of four spectacles with high-index (not polycarbonate) progressive lenses in metal frames cost a bit over $200 delivered. The last time around, two specs cost a bit more than half that.

    I’m satisfied with Zenni and EyeBuyDirect (although Luxottica borged EBD and they now push spendy “brand name” frames), but you must be ready / willing / able to apply final tweakage to whatever arrives.

    On the other paw, I’ve been repairing Mary’s collection of full-frontal retail glasses for quite a while, because she’s frustrated with making multiple trips to have The Nice Man repeatedly apply final tweakage.

  • Cleaning Up After The Spider

    Cleaning Up After The Spider

    We found an industrious spider below one of the living room windows, tucked behind the furniture:

    Spider above debris field
    Spider above debris field

    Considering the number of husks and the defunct fly, the spider has been eating like a king for quite a while.

    It’s now in the flower garden by the patio, which may not be quite as good a location but definitely increases net happiness.

  • Brita Water Filter Innards

    Brita Water Filter Innards

    Having replaced our disintegrating Brita pitcher a few years ago, I finally got around to opening a used filter to see what’s inside. Start by cutting off the flexible rim (intended as a seal against the pitcher) to reveal the joint, then pry the lid off:

    Brita pitcher filter - opening
    Brita pitcher filter – opening

    Stand it upright before getting the lid off, because the filter contains a zillion charcoal granules and two zillion ion-exchange resin beads:

    Brita pitcher filter - granules
    Brita pitcher filter – granules

    The inside of the lid has mesh screens to keep the innards in place while distributing the raw water:

    Brita pitcher filter - lid
    Brita pitcher filter – lid

    Similarly, mesh on the bottom drains let the filtered water out:

    Brita pitcher filter - emptied
    Brita pitcher filter – emptied

    No surprises, but now we all know what’s in there.

  • Beckman DM73: Package Armor

    Beckman DM73: Package Armor

    For reasons not relevant here, I sent the Beckman DM73 to a good home in Europe. Having some experience with the brutality applied to innocent packages by various package-delivery organizations, I filled a Priority Mail Flat Rate Small Box with a solid block of corrugated cardboard:

    DM73 - cardboard armor
    DM73 – cardboard armor

    One inner layer has a cutout for the manual:

    DM73 - Operator Manual package
    DM73 – Operator Manual package

    The meter and its leads tuck into form-fitting cutouts:

    Beckman DM73 - cardboard packing
    Beckman DM73 – cardboard packing

    I bandsawed the cutouts from a block with enough layers for some space on the top and bottom:

    DM73 - bandsawing cardboard package
    DM73 – bandsawing cardboard package

    After mulling that layout overnight, I made a similar block with the saw cuts on diagonally opposite corners, so pressure on the center of the edges won’t collapse the unsupported sides. A slightly larger meter cutout allowed a wrap of closed-cell foam sheet that likely doesn’t make any difference at all.

    With everything in place, the box had just enough space for a pair of plastic sheets to better distribute any top & bottom impacts.

    I won’t know how the armor performed for a few weeks, but it’s definitely the best packaging idea I’ve had so far.

    Update: After nearly two weeks, the package arrived undamaged and the meter was in fine shape. Whew!

  • Which Sign Is Not Like The Other Signs?

    Which Sign Is Not Like The Other Signs?

    Spotted on a recent trip past the Capital Region Welcome Center, one of the banners seemed quite unlike the others:

    NY Promotion Banners - Capital Region I-87 Welcome
    NY Promotion Banners – Capital Region I-87 Welcome

    Maybe if we were dog people, it’d be less offputting.

    Puts me in mind of being So Poughkeepsie.

  • Pixel 3a Screen Protector FTW!

    Pixel 3a Screen Protector FTW!

    Despite carrying a glass-fronted gadget in my pocket for most of the past two decades, this is the first time I’ve done this:

    Pixel 3a screen protector - as broken
    Pixel 3a screen protector – as broken

    Turns out you can’t trust a rolling seat on a slightly unlevel surface, as shifting your weight can let the thing roll out from under you with no warning. If you’re taking a picture at the same time, the phone reaches the impact point before your hand: even a nice case with bumpers all around won’t be quite enough protection.

    I was tempted to leave it un-fixed as a constant reminder to not do that again, but the broken glass was rough to the touch and interfered with Android’s swipe-upward gestures.

    Fortunately, the tempered-glass screen protector absorbed the energy without damage to the actual screen:

    Pixel 3a screen protector - sidelit
    Pixel 3a screen protector – sidelit

    A thin plastic layer holds the protector’s fragments together; I hadn’t known it was a two-layer structure.

    Being that type of guy, I had a spare protector in a desk drawer and managed to apply it without trapping any bubbles or fuzz underneath.