Bench Making

The table was a free-cycle find we came across on a bike ride about two months ago. It could not be a nicer fit for the new deck... a long and deep, sturdy table with fitted pipe legs, and heavy wood planks. It looks great! Since the deck was built with making events in mind, we want to keep it both open and inviting, with space for gathering and doing projects, but without crowding ourselves. This is why Alex suggested we don't look for chairs to add to the table. It would be too many pieces of furniture to buy, and to deal with. Then Natalie thought of benches... two pieces of furniture that could seat many visitors, and be easily tucked out of the way when not needed. They could be versatile! The idea stuck, and Geoff, William, Alex, and Max got to work on a design, and making!

To compliment the style of the table, Geoff looked for steel pipes to make legs for the bench, and he was happy to find Brooklyn Pipe. Actually, he started at our local hardware store, but the limited selection is what made him do a wider search. Some of the pieces had to be painted, so we could make them look a little more uniform. Technically, it's a bit mismatched, but that kind of suits are aesthetic anyway! I won't get too detailed in describing all of this. They made measurements, came up with a configuration, and then called Natalie over to decide on a paint color, and she went with Nocturne Blue, by Behr; same as our picnic table (maybe?)

William painted the 2"x8", 8' boards. It's Nocturne Blue. But. Maybe not. Our Nocturne Blue looks nothing like it shows on the website. Nothing. And it doesn't even match the other picnic table we were looking at when we chose to paint the benches blue, too. What the heck? It's not a disaster, but I suspect we will be going over the benches, someday, with a more subdued blue.

Using pipes like this is something new for us, and we like it. We are thinking of using the extra parts to make shelves, maybe for the blacksmith shop.

Now we have two benches, and seating for ten, or more. They are very stable, and have a nice, deep seat. We will be able to use them at the table, or pull them away for sitting around the perimeter of the deck... versatile, like we said, and that's good for us. When we can get back to hosting making events, this new space and accomodations is going to be really nice, like an extension of our shop. We look forward to all the making, playing, and sharing we will be able to enjoy.

A Maker's Announcement

Geoff ordered some aluminum. Or did he bid on it? I'm not sure. He's got a system... a bargain finding, deal making system, and that's how we score big pieces of aluminum to weld a storage setup for our workshop. It's also how we, after years of searching and hoping, score a big piece of CNC machinery...

This almost feels like an adoption announcement. Allow me to formally introduce our newest member of the BOoM-Nerd Family, the bride of Frankenrouter, Elsa the CNC mill...



Frankenrouter was built to mill wood, and other softer materials. Elsa will mill metal. When Geoff joked that this 2 ton machine would be the bride to Frankenrouter, I immediately pictured wide-eyed Elsa Lanchester's iconic portrayal of the reluctant bride.

She came from the theater department of San Diego State University... ha! another nod to a dramatic lineage. And she came "as is." The first thing Geoff discovered was a stuck collet (stripped drawbar threads.) It took some doing to figure out how to resolve this, but Geoff saved Elsa by boring up into the collet. This was precision work, and risky. He couldn't see exactly what he was doing, because of the angle of the pieces, but the operation was a success.

"Let's just call it 'innovative' fixturing," Geoff explained on FB. Sounds good to me.

Ido was the first to meet Elsa, and other friends have been by. Packages arrive, and now I know they're for Elsa. It's like a newborn is delivered, and she has needs, steals all the attention, receives gifts. Geoff announced, I have to go to the lumber supply, late one evening, and he came back with a blanket for Elsa.

This morning he texted me... it's a link to another thrilled Maker, making his own proud adoption announcement. Geoff could not be more giddy, I think. It's like he and Adam Savage have been on the same baby honeymoon, with mills.

This? Oh, this is just a baby picture of Elsa. Geoff found it when he was searching the Internet for her history, lineage, early years. He keeps it in his wallet.

Congratulations, Adam! And happy Making!

BOoM Make: Past - Present - Future

"The Steampunk movement as a natural human defense mechanism against Future Shock...

Two events got me thinking about this: yesterday's release of the documentary "Vintage Tomorrows", about the Steampunk movement (a favorite of our family), and the recent death of the futurist Alvin Toffler.

Toffler defined future shock as the perception of "too much change in too short a period of time". The magnitude of the velocity of change can be reduced by increasing the period of time in the denominator ("delta t"). Steampunk effectively does this by reimagining the timeline of the vast technological changes of last several decades: if our current technology was mostly in place during the Victorian era, it suggests that development of that technology is taking place over a much longer period of time. This increased "delta t" results in a reduced velocity of change which, in turn, results in a lessening of "future shock".

Steampunks embrace technological change -- celebrate it, in fact -- but lessen its damaging effects by pretending the changes have occurred over a much longer period of time (at least relative to other cultural changes).

It will be interesting to see if Vintage Tomorrows touches on this idea."

~Geoff V2

Fullmetal Alchemist

Hello, BOoM is looking for anyone who has a recipe for any or all of the following alloys:

1. Britannia Metal
2. English Pewter
3. Field's Metal
4. Any other non-toxic fusible alloys.

And by "recipe" I mean a description of the process for making the alloy (temperatures, times, etc.) The proportions are readily available on the Interwebs, but detailed descriptions of the processes are surprisingly hard to find.

An alloying anecdote:

I was searching for recipes and kept coming across the term "Regulus of Antimony" in old mettallurgy books. Well I know what Antimony is, but had no idea what a Regulus of Antimony is. So I Googled it, of course, and found some fascinating history...

"Regulus of Antimony" is actually a term from alchemy that carried over into modern metallurgy. "Regulus" refers to the star Regulus in the constellation Leo. Under certain conditions, when molten, slightly impure, Antimony metal cools slowly, it forms a star shaped crystalline pattern on the surface of the metal.

A Regulus of Antimony

And guess who was the Fullmetal Alchemist of his age and was trying to use Regulus of Antimony to produce the philosopher's stone... Isaac Newton. That's right: Isaac Frickin' Newton, target of falling apples, inventor of the Calculus, and all-around genius.

Further refinements would create crystalline "rays" on the surface of the metallic antimony, hence it was called the star-regulus of antimony. Starkey then fused the star-regulus with silver or copper, which allowed him to amalgamate the antimony with quicksilver. Eventually, he produced a "sophic mercury" in which gold could be made to dissolve and "vegetate"—forming tree-like growths. Starkey, and Newton, believed this "vegetation" was evidence that sophic mercury was a key to producing the ultimate agent of transmutation—the philosophers' stone.

From "Newton's Alchemy," by Bill Newman

Make Way For Making

We did it. In spite of my doubts and insecurities, we we flung our doors wide open and invited people in. It was good. It was timely, and inspiring, and good. Here is some of what we enjoyed...

1. Priscilla's school has been invited to hold a booth at San Diego Maker Faire, which is a brand new experience for them. She asked for some suggestions for her 5th through middle school students... what could they do at the Faire, for the Maker Faire? We played with ideas that leaned toward technical, and ideas that leaned toward crafty. Our first test idea was the the copper dancer; a Homopolar motor. It's simple... sort of. Bending wire into just the right shape to make contact with magnets at the bottom of a AA battery takes some patience. It was fun to see the wire figure twirl, and we found the secret is in very carefully denting the positive end of the battery, so the dancer's foot can more easily balance. The downside: it's a short show. The battery drained in less than two minutes, and even when we considered using rechargeable batteries, we decided this was amusing, but wasteful. Not too bad for a one time experiment and example of a simple motor, but hardly ideal for repeating all day at a two day fair.

Priscilla offered that crafty might be a better direction, and after some consideration, I thought of the Thousand Origami Cranes. I think it offers a lot that will make their Maker Faire experience interesting, engaging and worthwhile, while being an easy introduction for their first visit. The students will learn the historic and cultural significances of folding the cranes, and making 1,000 of them will be an admirable challenge. They can choose someone to receive the gift, and further their community outreach by teaching Faire visitors how to do origami, while sharing their goal and intentions with everyone. From an academic perspective, we were thinking of many ways it would support school curriculum, including: history, math and geometry, language arts, and practical art.

The real point of all of this, for me, is that Maker Faire is not only impressive, it is supportive, inclusive, meant to inspire by being receptive to everyone, at all levels. So, wherever you are in a learning process, you are welcome to share, and encouraged to learn. The learning is what is celebrated, the sharing and engagement are what matter. No one should give up, or fail to start, because they are intimidated by bigger-fancier things, or feel inadequate to an experiment, an idea, a desire to learn. Do it. Make it. Play. Break it. Take it apart. Try again. Fail. Ask for help. Offer suggestions. Support. Encourage. Tinker. Dabble. Do it, again. Even if you feel like you don't know what you are doing, when you try, when you step forward, you are already inspiring someone else to play, too.

2. Geoff brought out motors, batteries, cables, and wheels, and Maria got a quick refresher in circuitry and rudimentary car making. She eagerly shared her interest with Emma M. and Amira.

3. Anna B brought out her handmade patchwork pillow, and made some updates for repurposing it. It's made up of memories, of treasured pieces, and she even added a new square, something from her travels to Iceland. We all watched YouTube videos about beautiful Sashiko stitching. Inspiring, for sure, and also requiring tremendous patience. I am all for trying new things, as well as knowing when to simply appreciate someone else's skills and dedication!

4. Bambi is working on her Halloween costume. Definitely a DIY project, from the design up! She's developing her own patterns for her original design, and sewing a lot of ruffles! We brought out other dress patterns, and special rulers, which we hope will be helpful. William worked on cutting his custom pattern for another pair of breeches. Priscilla decided she'd bring her sewing machine to our next gathering... jumping into new ventures can be much easier to imagine when you are surrounded by friends.

5. Maria is making a drawing tutorial. She acknowledged that drawing while documenting every step, including photographing the progress, is a lot of work. But she persisted. I should also add that, this is the very weekend that she demonstrated her new found skill: H@cking. She's into the interface, locally modifying code in her browser. Making changes. H@cking for good. We are so proud.

6. Speaking of persistence... I followed a tutorial for making granny squares, and I really loved this pattern that has fewer holes and gaps than many granny squares. But my persistence got a bit carried away, and I made it really huge, and then it got very wonky, and not a bit square. So, sadly, I had to frog the whole thing. I am a bit discouraged, but I strongly suspect that when this heat wave passes, I will be in a shop, choosing colors for a new crocheted blanket.

7. The big attraction of the day, literally, was the tentacle arm. It's coming closer and closer to completion, thanks to Geoff's effective and diligent persistence. He was glad for the assistance of William and Paul, and for the awe felt cheers and admiration from the rest of us, when he got the arm properly wired and dancing! It's a sight, and a sound! Pneumatic pistons firing and aluminum rings collapsing and rising at his command. We mean to top it with something thematic, and bring it to the Faire.

{One more thing... because it's just too sweet to leave unmentioned: The next morning, after a full day, and late night of working, playing, making, tinkering, eating, laughing, and sharing, Maria was up very early, and when we found her at the kitchen sink, she'd already cleaned the entire kitchen. My heart. Our girl. She's an inspiration.}

Make A Forge

Somewhere there is a list of all the things we hope to make, that we want to make, that we are compelled to make, and it includes build a forge. The list isn't exactly 'written down,' and we may not always agree on what's at the the top of the list, but the list does exist, and we do aspire to address every line of it, sooner or later. Alex was probably the first one to dream of a home forge, and I am sure Geoff agreed it would be good, William, too. No doubt Max has been on board since his freshmen year metals class. It's certainly something the children have dabbled with for many years. Well, some things on our make list happen right away, and some develop over time, organically. Last September we acquired an anvil, which is a good first step toward building a metal heating hearth. Then at a Viking Festival Alex was recruited as blacksmithing apprentice, and this only fueled the fire. Then, as though it were suddenly, Alex brought build a forge to the top of the list; he called his good friend James to come over, then he collected and gathered all the parts to make a soup can forge.

The Parts To Build It:

Propane torch
Steel soup can
Plaster of Paris
Sand
Steel pipe

The Parts To Use It:

Tongs
Anvil
Hammers
Scrap metal... copper coins, iron nails, clock springs
Goggles
Closed toed shoes
Boric acid
Bucket of water
Spark lighter

The iron nail was a fun one to heat up. Iron's melting point (2,800 degrees fahrenheit) is too high for this mini-forge, which was probably topping off at about 1,800 degrees fahrenheit. The soup can forge is sufficiently hot enough to soften the iron nails, so they can be hammered and shaped.

Copper has a much lower melting point, so we scrounged for some copper pennies, and put them in a steel pipe... the steel pipe turned out to be less effective than just sitting the pennies directly in the forge. Alex prepared some sand with the impression of a sea shell to pour the molten copper into. They were able to get the copper very hot, but it would cool as soon as the heat was removed, and it wasn't possible to pour the copper into the mold before it hardened. No surprise, since they knew the forge was almost 200 degrees cooler than necessary to really heat the copper up.

So... what next? Aluminum! Aluminum, with a melting point of only 1,221 degrees fahrenheit! A perfect match for the heat of the soup can forge.

The aluminum melted quickly...

and poured easily into the sand. Ideally this would not be "playground" sand, but a special sand combination called green sand: "...there are many recipes for the proportion of clay, but they all strike different balances between moldability, surface finish, and ability of the hot molten metal to degas."

We have a homemade aluminum sea shell blob. Which is really cool.

Things have come a long way from those first fire lessons, and it's wonderful to know that all of their experiences, at home, at Maker Faire, in the school metal shop... it builds, evolves, and inspires next steps, new paths, more confidence, bigger ideas.

Alex called this experiment "Good fun, but we need the big one."

The Parts on The Wish List:
Green sand
Leather aprons
Fire bricks
Refractory cement
A steel tube
A burner
Bellows, or forge blower


And the iron nail? They made it into a mini hook! I'd like about ten more of these, for hanging art on the porch, please!