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.

The New Hotness

  • Quilting Ruler Pencil Guides: Acrylic

    I cut some transparent acrylic pencil guides to go along with the 45° Triangle Ruler:

    Quilting Ruler Pencil Guides
    Quilting Ruler Pencil Guides

    The guides along the rear are the 3D printed versions from a decade ago.

    The three transparent guides taught us:

    • 4 mm is better than 3 mm
    • Entirely transparent guides vanish on the table

    So the engraved ring on the two in the front row carries a cheerful Sharpie color to make them stand out. I wanted to use fluorescent acrylic, but I don’t have any 4 mm sheets and stacking a pair of 3 mm sheets → 6 mm will be too thick for the pencil tip.

    What looks like dirt on the red guide comes from internal reflections or the lack thereof: it’s perfectly transparent in person, honest.