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

  • 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.

  • Kenmore Progressive Vacuum Cleaner vs. Dust Brush Adapters

    Kenmore Progressive Vacuum Cleaner vs. Dust Brush Adapters

    Contemporary vacuum cleaner dust brush heads have bristles in some combination of [long | short] with [flexy | stiff]. The long + flexy combination results in the bristles jamming the inlet and the short + stiff combo seems unsuited for complex surfaces. Shaking the Amazonian dice brought a different combination:

    Vacuum cleaner dust brush assortment - with adapters
    Vacuum cleaner dust brush assortment – with adapters

    That’s the new one on the bottom and, contrary to what you might think from the picture, it is not identical to the one just above it.

    In particular, the black plastic housing came from a different mold (the seam lines are now top-and-bottom) and required a new adapter for the Kenmore Progressive vacuum cleaner’s complicated wand / hose inlet, with a 3/4 inch PVC pipe reinforcement inside.

    Early reports indicate it works fine, so I’ll declare a temporary victory in the war on entropy.

    I’m still using the same OpenSCAD source code with minute tweaks to suit the as-measured tapers.

  • Funnel Web Spiders

    Funnel Web Spiders

    This critter took up residence in our kitchen window:

    Funnel web spider in window
    Funnel web spider in window

    She’s between the outer storm window and the inner sash, having secured her funnel web to both panes across the entire width of the window. We’d opened the storm window to clear an air conditioner vent and spiders know a good location when they see it.

    We know she’s female, because a (smaller) male appeared and conducted negotiations for the better part of an afternoon. After she accepted his offer of a small, somewhat battered, moth, the two hooked up for the rest of the day; we feared for his life, but he hung around until the next afternoon, then departed.

    She normally stays tucked inside the channel running along the edge of the window frame, with only the tips of those two front legs visible, and retreats at the slightest vibration, so we’ll leave her in peace until we must close the storm window.

  • Mary’s Zucchini Bread Recipe

    Mary’s Zucchini Bread Recipe

    After grating the nutmeg, continue with this:

    Mary's Zucchini Bread Recipe
    Mary’s Zucchini Bread Recipe

    To end up with this:

    Zucchini bread - minus QC sample
    Zucchini bread – minus QC sample

    Mary omits the cloves.

    Applesauce is completely optional. Should you prefer a softer & sweeter loaf, give it a try.

    Conversely, reduce the sugar by about half if you’ve accustomed yourself to a keto-oid diet; the raisins carry enough sweetness for us. You can use brown sugar if you like.

    She derived it from the Garden Way’s Zucchini Cookbook by Ralston & Jordan (© 1977):

    Zucchini Bread Recipe - Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook
    Zucchini Bread Recipe – Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook

    Obviously, cooking is not an exact science; a recipe is just where you start …

    Algorithmic pricing / money laundering is a thing:

    Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook - Amazon listing
    Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook – Amazon listing

    Ya can’t make this stuff up …

  • Keyboard Tray Raising

    Keyboard Tray Raising

    Long ago and far away, I moved the keyboards off our desk surfaces to a more convenient location on a tray under the middle drawer. Mary’s desk recently gained a somewhat thinner keyboard with a thumbwheel volume control, so she wanted the tray moved up:

    Keyboard Tray Relocation - in place
    Keyboard Tray Relocation – in place

    The supports on either side started out as 2×4 lumber with a slot cut (using the radial arm saw I no longer have) for the aluminum sheet:

    Keyboard Tray Relocation - support view
    Keyboard Tray Relocation – support view

    For the record, a pair of screws hold each support to the drawer:

    Keyboard Tray Relocation - support screw
    Keyboard Tray Relocation – support screw

    Not elegant. Works fine. Good enough!

    Tiny Bandsaw™ wasn’t designed for ripsawing lumber, but the same Proxxon 10/14 TPI blade I use for aluminum worked better than I expected to lop a 1-¼ inch strip from the wood slats:

    Keyboard Tray Relocation - bandsaw fixture
    Keyboard Tray Relocation – bandsaw fixture

    That’s a reenactment based on a true story. The wood scraps clamped on the bandsaw table leave enough clearance for the 2×4 slide to freely, yet not enough for the blade to wander off track.

    You can tell how long ago I built the original trays: nary a trace of 3D printing!