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

  • Schwalbe Marathon Plus vs. W5W Bulb Fragment: Standoff

    Schwalbe Marathon Plus vs. W5W Bulb Fragment: Standoff

    A clicking sound from the rear of the bike suggested something was amiss as I rolled up the driveway after a recent ride. Spinning the rear tire produced this alarming sight:

    W5W fragment - on tire - side view
    W5W fragment – on tire – side view

    Pulling it out of the gash shows it’s the base of a W5W (or something similar) automotive bulb:

    W5W fragment - on tire - front
    W5W fragment – on tire – front

    Which seems perfectly designed to cripple a bike tire:

    W5W fragment - millimeter scale
    W5W fragment – millimeter scale

    The gash cuts all the way across the tire tread:

    W5W fragment - tire gash
    W5W fragment – tire gash

    The blue stuff is Schwalbe’s rubber / latex / plastic SmartGuard layer, all 5 mm of it hard at work separating the glass from the inner tube.

    I cleaned the wound, filled it with silicone rubber, topped it with some duct tape, and it’s still holding air after a 13 mile ride. I think the gash cut through the rubber tread and SmartGuard layer, but didn’t affect the cords in the tire carcass, so keeping further road debris out of the gash should let the tire wear out more-or-less normally.

    Putting duct tape on the tread will certainly help …

  • Robin Nest: Nestlings!

    Robin Nest: Nestlings!

    All four nestlings emerged on schedule:

    Garage Robin - four nestlings
    Garage Robin – four nestlings

    The oldest nestling was ready for feeding almost immediately, even with unopened eyes:

    Garage Robin - Nestling begging
    Garage Robin – Nestling begging

    As any infant will tell you, holding your head up is hard work:

    Garage Robin - Nestling dozing
    Garage Robin – Nestling dozing

    But doing only half the job won’t get you fed:

    Garage Robin - Nestling recovering
    Garage Robin – Nestling recovering

    They’re just starting to make little chirps, so this isn’t nearly as raucous as you might think:

    Garage Robin - Nestlings begging
    Garage Robin – Nestlings begging

    The adults seem to have no trouble bringing an endless stream of worms, insects, and unidentifiable organisms from the yard and garden.

    Go, birds, go!

  • Painting By Numbers, Redux

    Painting By Numbers, Redux

    Five years later, the digits I painted with Rust-Oleum Rusty Metal Primer have weathered pretty well, while the original ink has fallen off the retroreflective sticker:

    Mailbox numbers - original vs primer
    Mailbox numbers – original vs primer

    As before, I wiped off the crud with denatured alcohol and painted neatly inside the lines. The other digits on both sides still look as good as the day I painted them, with only a few bubbles and nicks.

    Memo to self: Next time, buy a big sheet of 3M retroreflective film, make a stencil by vinyl cutting, paint the entire number in one shot, and be done with it.

  • Soaker Hose Clamps

    Soaker Hose Clamps

    Having figured out the geometry for two- and three-channel soaker hoses, I cranked out more clamps:

    Soaker Hose Clamps - production
    Soaker Hose Clamps – production

    Actually, those are the remainder of two production runs devoted to reducing the amount of water sprinkling the garden paths. A 50 foot hose runs along both sides of one 14 foot bed, crosses the path, then continues along the adjacent bed. The hoses have (deliberate!) sprinkler holes along their porous rubber body and sometimes the layout puts a hole where it waters the path.

    The blue silicone rubber strips provide a bit of sealing to prevent the absurdly high pressure water from streaming through the orange PETG clamps. It’s OK if the clamp leaks, but less flow is better!

    I’m getting really good at making those aluminum backing plates and, in fact, I think it’s faster to run the blanks past the disk sander, then drill the holes, than to CNC-machine them. Could be wrong, but Quality Shop Time is not to be sniffed at.

  • No-Knead Bread

    No-Knead Bread

    Although it’s not particularly keto-friendly, I made a loaf of NY Times No-Knead Bread (fine-tuned versions):

    No-knead bread - loaf
    No-knead bread – loaf

    Wow, that tasted good and definitely added a bit more pep to my morning bike rides!

    The receipe produces a rather wet lump of dough in the mixing bowl:

    No-knead bread - mixed
    No-knead bread – mixed

    It looks much more promising after rising for 18 hours:

    No-knead bread - 18 hour rise
    No-knead bread – 18 hour rise

    The recipe calls for a large heavy pot, which produced a long-disused nickel-plated cast iron Wagner Ware No. 8 Drip-Drop Roaster from the attic:

    No-knead bread - Wagner No 8 Roaster
    No-knead bread – Wagner No 8 Roaster

    I scrubbed out the interior and used it as-found to good effect. After the cookin’ was done, a few hours of electrolytic stripping seemed in order:

    No-knead bread - electrolytic pot strip
    No-knead bread – electrolytic pot strip

    The lovely nickel plating on the outside of the pot didn’t need stripping, but the interior is once again a nice flat black surface and the next loaf should drop right out …

  • Robin Nest: Eggs!

    Robin Nest: Eggs!

    After pausing to recover from construction, Ms Robin laid four eggs in four days:

    • Garage Robin Nest - first egg - 2020-05-28
      Garage Robin Nest – first egg – 2020-05-28
    • Garage Robin Nest - 2 eggs - 2020-05-29
      Garage Robin Nest – 2 eggs – 2020-05-29
    • Garage Robin Nest - 3 eggs - 2020-05-30
      Garage Robin Nest – 3 eggs – 2020-05-30
    • Garage Robin Nest - 4 eggs - 2020-05-31
      Garage Robin Nest – 4 eggs – 2020-05-31

    She’s surprisingly tolerant of our comings and goings, as well as garage door openings and closings:

    Garage Robin Nest - robin brooding
    Garage Robin Nest – robin brooding

    We’re trying to stay out of her way as much as possible.

    The gallery pix come from my phone, held against the soffit over the nest, and aimed entirely by feel, while standing on the Greater Ladder. If I had access to the top of the soffit, I’d drill a webcam hole, but …

  • Tree Stump Removal

    Tree Stump Removal

    This makes writing 3D modeling code and turning threads look downright attractive:

    Tree stump - crater
    Tree stump – crater

    The previous owners apparently surrounded a cedar (?) tree with a ring of large, decorative rocks. The tree vanished long before we arrived, with the stump accreting random stones, bricks, and similar impedimenta ever since; my first task involved (re)moving a couple hundred pounds of rocky debris.

    After using the stump as a fulcrum for that steel bar to break the rotted roots and loosen the surrounding soil, it’s out and away:

    Tree stump - excavated
    Tree stump – excavated

    Back to the Basement Laboratory …