Bike hoist

Lifting my bike up on the overhead hook is getting more difficult. Possibly the junk on the floor, likely I’m developing arthritis in my left elbow. This was a good practice making my next block and tackle.

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Maple dice box

I came across a 2×6 scrap of what I’ve been told is maple. I sawed it up into a few dice boxes that I’m using my router to hollow. Each is going to be finished with linseed oil, but constructed in slightly different manners. This one is the first time I’ve used brass threaded inserts, which are surprisingly fragile.

I enjoy the look of the separation that exposed the grain.

And three magnets seem to keep it closed well enough. I might use more or use bigger magnets on the next ones.

Bass of Spades assembled!

Jesse worked hard on the Bass from morning to night, with some long interruptions to build fencing around the chicken run. We started off the morning by soldering the knobs and and the pickups.

It took filing a rough spot on the bridge and flux to get the ground wire soldered to the bridge. Then we used a chisel to carve a spot for the solder bump.

Before I knew it, Jesse had punded in the peg post collars and had put the neck on the body.

He was really excited to get his first string on a peg!

After dinner, Jesse had screwed most of the pickups on. He unfortunately broke a drill bit of in the body when sinking pilot holes for the low pickup. We had to drill some surrounding area out and use needle nose to back out the bit. And when we did, Jesse got right on to adjusting his bridge.

We finished off the evening listening to Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Primus.

Silvering the Bass of Spades

Jesse carefully masked the body of the bass and we primed and sprayed two coats of silver paint on it.

And I created a way to stop the body from spinning in the breeze

Upcycled cedar shutters

Nesting dice trays

I’ve been making nesting dice trays as one of my latest projects.

Table Saw Maintenance

These wheels will save my back. Made out of a 2×6 and 6in wheels with 6in iron rods as axles.

Making the wooden brackets was fun. They could be more secure, but I didn’t have time to snip up some nail plate and dig up small sheet metal screws.

The more frustrating part of this saw is that the bevel alignment is the weakest part. The BPS15 model has a really weak attachment between the bevel handle and the pinion gear. I drilled opposing holes through the back of the knob and screwed it in place.

Next the bevel adjustment bolts to make 0 and 45 angles correct are also kind of a joke. You loosen them and it actually just frees part if the saw bracing from the housing. I would really rather have seen a better mechanism, like an offset screw. Crappy.