MSRaynsford

As mentioned I cleared down and removed the standing bench from the garage and I replaced it with benches and shelves that match the other side. It's made a vast improvement already, the space feels much more open and it can still house the same amount of stuff just in different locations. I took the opportunity to move more things to the shed and I have boxes of stuff that need sorting out but I'm getting there. In other news I have acquired so new toys to go in the garage. A modela MDX-15 mini milling machine and a Roland CX-12 Vinyl Cutter. They seem to be functional but I need to figure out drivers and software for them before I can get them working properly. Looks like I'll be branching into more non laser thingies in the future.

Because of the rush to get project 52 finished the garage ended up being a very large dumping ground. The overflow ran into the utility room and onto the kitchen benches. I was literally stepping round things to get in and out of the garage so things had to change. My improvised standing height bench was largely full of junk and never got used, the crates underneath it were all full but most of them never moved so I've set about the task of sorting it all out.  The grand plan is to remove the standing bench and replace it with a bench that matches the other side, this should make the place feel more open while I'm sat down. Matching shelves will provide additional storage. While I'm making improvements there were a dozen little things about the laser that need to be improved too. The metal base that it stands on feels quite flimsy, it rocks alarmingly during some cutting operations. I've built a new solid base to go under it, it has room for the chiller . The ...

It's that time of year again so we made pumpkins, Eli was actually the one to decide that the useless store bought tools should be stabbed into the side of the pumpkin so that's where they now live, the rest were made with my ever faithful scroll saw blade onna stick and scalpel. If you delve back far enough into the archives you'll see pumpkins were on of the first things I ever posted, long before I even bought a laser cutter.       

My third marble machine is now ready for release. The turning handle adjusts the low point of the circular track and the ball bearing continually rolls down to the low point. By keeping the low point (indicated by the arrow) just ahead of the ball bearing you can make the marble rotate around the track. You can even speed it up so much that you can make the marble fly right off the track. I didn't previously release the marble roller plans, it was functional but not really working, the gears were a bit crunchy and there was no where easy to hold it. So I took a second shot at it, then a third and finally a fourth shot at the design. Although revamps are easier than the original they're still pretty time consuming, each version gets closer and closer to something that works. (photo of all 4 below) The final design is a lot more solid because of it's low height. The turning handle became just a stub because it's important for this design to turn with consistent sp...

I made a teeny tiny arc for Eli for Halloween this year, I actually started last year but it became quickly apparent he wasn't going outside with all the scary monsters so it literally got shelved for the year. I finished it off for him this year and he wore it to a Halloween story walk on Friday.  

It's time to share the result from my square pumpkin experiment. As you can see I definitely managed to get some flat spots on the pumpkin but I failed to achieve overall squareness (The first time in my life I haven't been square). I think I got to the pumpkin too late and was too optimistic about how large it would grow. I built a box just big enough to hold it when the pumpkin was pretty much at full capacity. I also let the vine grow a second pumpkin because I only have 3 pumpkins appear in total (very small patch). So the plus points, the box worked really well. 5mm perspex was the right material and anything thinner might have cracked. The slot and peg design held together well and actually needed a bit of a whack with a hammer to get them out after 2 months. And the best point is that I still have an interesting shaped pumpkin to carve. I'll be doing it again next year but I think I'll make some inserts to go inside the box and just reduce the size slig...

As I mentioned in my last post I botched some lizard spirals. They didn't cut cleanly (despite looking like they had). I don't have time or the inclination to go back and cut the lizards apart by hand so I cut a whole new set. If anyone is interested I'm willing to pass this set of 3 on for £25 (normally £40 each), plus a bit for shipping depending on your country. Email me if you're interested, msraynsford+website@gmail.com