Endor Observation Post

The story of a kids playhouse

Some years ago, after the pool was wrecked by the weight of a record snow year, we dismantled a part of the deck. Suffering from the common makers sickness that prevents you from throwing away good material, I stored all that wood away. Here's the pile after we got it back out and inventoried what we had to work with:

The only new wood was the 4 columns and the cross braces at the base. To ensure (completely overkill) stability I went for a design where all the columns are leaning inward.

For extra QA and on the spot design-validation, my dad was part of the build. By working with him him when I was a kid, I learned to build and to problem solve. I always loved building things with him.

Here is the playhouse partway during construction:

Since we finished the playhouse some days ago, the kids have played in it every day. Like a moths to a flame all the kids in the street were also sucked into the playhouse. It is one happy place.

Now let's renovate our old bathroom...

Adventure Time Sword

My son was invited to the birthday party of one of his friend.  His friend mentioned to him that he liked   the Adventure Time cartoon and would like to have the sword.  My son then told him that we could probably make it because we are always building stuff.

We looked it up on the web and since it's a simple shape I decided to give it a shot.  Using the hard wood from an old shelf we took down, I drew the rough dimensions on it

I then cut the rough shape using a skill saw and a jig saw

The guard was build with 2 pieces with grooves screwed and glued on both sides

This was the fun part where I sculpted all the notches and scratches followed by some sanding

It was then time for primer and painting.  The handle was done by hand using acrylic paint

This the final product after gold metallic paint and a clear acrylic coat.  The jewel was made with Super Sculpey and also painted using acrylic paint.

Action shot with my son

Infrared on the cheap

When you make mobile robots, infrared detectors are a must. Here's a nice specimen taken in the Internet wilderness:


The problem is the cost. Starting at $13.95 US plus tax, plus shipping from Mars and the retarded Canadian border fees... in the end, it's to much. Not only that! It takes two weeks to come here. Two week! Are they using camels? I'm living in Quebec city, it's not that small, we even have asphalt and electricity.

Deep breath

Anyway for about $2.50 you can make the 'same' thing at home with these components:

• Detector $1.95
• Light $0.32
• Resistor (220 ohms) ~$0.15
• Bit of PCB board ~$0.01

Long live DIY

Saving 40$

After having played with electronics for some time now, I start to see some nice benefits. So... Do you need a home-made-looking car charger to accessorize your 600$ smart phone? Well, today is your lucky day so fire up you soldering iron.

Ingredients:

• An old cellphone charger with a proprietary connector that won't fit into anything standard.
• A female USB connector (I took mine from a dead keyboard)
• A multimeter
• If you have a bad karma, you'll also need a 5v voltage regulator
• 15 minutes of pure fun

Phase 1: Rip open that cellphone charger connector's head and get to the two wires that will give you a 5v current (you can check that with your handy multimeter).

• If you're lucky: there will only be two wires giving exactly 5v.
• If you're not lucky: You have more than two wire and have to find the right two using your multimeter.
• If you're really not lucky: You have more than 5v and will have use that 5v current regulator.

Phase 2: Solder the two wires to the USB connector using this diagram...



...or this one.



Phase 3: Using hot glue and other methods you deem appropriate, hide your bad soldering job back into the connector's head.



Voila! 40$ saved. Now you can get McDo for your entire family and still have enough for a Starbucks tomorrow morning.