In converting a desk into a clockmaker’s bench, I wound up buying a router and router table to make the drawers. The router table has been taking up space on my workbench ever since.
I decided to make a rolling cabinet to mount the router table to, using scrap plywood and some drawers left over from a bathroom remodel.
The project is a good example of a thrown-together wood project, and a few lessons in “measure twice; cut once”.
In August I bought an old, 7-drawer student’s desk at a garage sale. Since then I’ve been converting it to a clockmaker’s bench. This note is a quick update; I plan to write a full, sort-of-how-to set of posts once I’ve completed it.
Continue reading Progress on My Clockmaker’s BenchI’m repairing a cuckoo clock that has a commonly-seen problem: one of the screws mounting the movement to the case has stripped its hole. Normally, I’d try filling the hole with a wood filler, but this time I tried something different: “Bushing” the hole with a plug of new wood.
Continue reading Repairing a Clock Case’s Stripped Wood Screw HoleThe family cuckoo clock I’m working on is being capricious about when it decides to play the music, so I’ve built a test stand that will let me see what’s going wrong.
After looking through the wide variety of weight-driven clock test stands on NAWCC.org. I decided to build a floor-standing U-frame.
Continue reading Building a Cuckoo Clock Test StandIn my previous post, I started working on the scale. In this post, I finish the woodworking, and painfully re-learn the woodworker’s adage: “Measure twice; cut once”.
I was so excited about the progress I’d made, and so eager to finish the drilling that I carefully measured, drilled the holes for one half of the Load Cell, then counterbored the hole for the first Load Cell nut… then discovered in my haste I’d counterbored the wrong side, and ruined the bottom plate of the scale.
Continue reading Dog Water Bowl Scale, Part 2: Measure Twice, Cut OnceNow that my Dog Bed Weight Scale is sending data, I’m going to have a go at a water bowl scale. The idea is that, like the bed, the bowl will periodically send its weight to a cloud. This data should tell me when Pippa drinks, when we refill her bowl, and (maybe) how much she drinks.
The work-in-progress sources on Github, contain the beginnings of the Arduino 101 Sketch, Bill of Materials (Parts List), mechanical design/construction details, and a day-by-day project diary.
Continue reading Dog Water Bowl Scale, Part 1: Initial Design WorkIn my previous post, I designed and printed a Centering Guide to line up the top and bottom pieces of the scale. In this post, I finish assembling the scale.
Now that I have the Load Sensor Holders that I designed and printed, I drilled mounting holes in the blocks that will hold the Load Sensors.
Continue reading Dog Weight Scale Part 13: Load Sensor Mounting and Final AssemblyIn my previous post, I 3D printed parts to hold down the Load Sensors. In this post, I fix the counterbored holes to keep the nuts from protruding below the bottom of the bottom piece of plywood.
In the woodworking post, I used a router to cut counterbore holes on the bottom side of the bottom piece of plywood. These holes hold the nuts that hold the circuit boards.
Continue reading Dog Weight Scale Part 11: Routing Counterbore HolesI want to learn how to use Load Sensors to continuously weigh stuff with an Arduino, so I thought it would be fun to continuously weigh our dog, Pippa, while she sleeps in her bed each night. The project is a little like Nate Seidle’s Beehive scale, but simpler.
The idea is to turn Pippa’s bed into a scale. Pippa’s in fine shape right now, but it’s always good to keep an eye on your dog’s weight, and a custom-made scale is a great way to do it.
Continue reading Dog Weight Scale, Part 1: Cutting the Circular BaseAfter completing my drill press table, I decided my next step would be to make a fence for it – so I can drill vertical holes in the sides of short boards.
First I cut a 3 1/2″ board of 3/4″ MDF, of a width to match the drill press table. This first piece will be the face of the fence.
Continue reading How to Make a Drill Press Fence
