The DIY-ers corner
- Thread starter Jet Badger
- 342 comments
- 34,043 views
- 3,475
- Vilnius
Little something I'm working on - a temperature controlled soldering station controller. 
It's going to have an Arduino loaded ATMega and I think I've figured out pretty much everything. Now just waiting for the 16x2 LCD to arrive in the mail.
It's going to have an Arduino loaded ATMega and I think I've figured out pretty much everything. Now just waiting for the 16x2 LCD to arrive in the mail.
- 34,816
- NoDak
- Cy-Fi
After living in the house for two and a half years, it's finally time to get the garage organized. Which means shelves.
Rather large ones.
Problem is most large shelves are 8 feet wide but I only have 6 feet between two windows. Also, said shelves are 2 feet deep and I want them to be 3 feet to fit the storage containers I have.
Sounds like a custom job.
Eighty dollars, a load of lumber and 3 evenings after work and I went from this flimsy pile of garbage:
to this behemoth:
All I have left is pick up 2 sheets of OSB and it's ready to be loaded up. Also visible ate my 2x4, 2x2 and chain "speaker mounts" for the old Cerwins.
Next up: recycle center then insulating the garage attic space.
Rather large ones.
Problem is most large shelves are 8 feet wide but I only have 6 feet between two windows. Also, said shelves are 2 feet deep and I want them to be 3 feet to fit the storage containers I have.
Sounds like a custom job.
Eighty dollars, a load of lumber and 3 evenings after work and I went from this flimsy pile of garbage:
to this behemoth:
All I have left is pick up 2 sheets of OSB and it's ready to be loaded up. Also visible ate my 2x4, 2x2 and chain "speaker mounts" for the old Cerwins.
Next up: recycle center then insulating the garage attic space.
- 34,816
- NoDak
- Cy-Fi
- 7,511
- Lisbon,Portugal
- beerzgood
- 3,475
- Vilnius
Had parts for this thing cut and laminated a few weeks ago. Just a simple drawer, but in stores all are mostly just flimsy overpriced cardboard jobs. Turned out at maybe 70eur and an afternoon of drilling and screwing.
- 34,816
- NoDak
- Cy-Fi
Since nobody else dare to ask this question in a DIY thread, I'm going to.Shelf finished and already almost full.
View attachment 465089
@Beerz - I couldn't bring myself to spend the time on painting something that sits in the garage and will just get scratched to hell.
Once the rest of the straightening in the garage is done, this is the next project.
What car is that?
- 3,475
- Vilnius
- 34,816
- NoDak
- Cy-Fi
Ding, ding, ding!
- 9,046
- United Kingdom
- neema_t
So the latest idea soon to be half- or maybe even quarter-arsed then forgotten about after it stops being fun is a homemade projector.
Some context: I recently moved into a converted warehouse/snooker club which is shared by 10 people (but half of them might be leaving soon, due to be replaced by three more). We have two sofas and a really nice lounge, but our TV is a CRT from maybe 2003. It works, just, but everything we watch is cropped by maybe a fifth on the right hand side and the CRT whistle drives me up the wall.
Then I noticed there was a projector, so I asked around about it and the owner said I could hook my PS3 up to it so we could watch and play stuff, so I did, then she took it away three hours later...
So while looking for a replacement I thought hey, I have an iPad LCD that's not being used for anything else, why not build one?
Now I'm on the prowl for broken projectors or redundant OHPs I could use for parts like optics and light sources, but ultimately I'd like an LED because they're more efficient and easier to work with. Sadly it seems hot mirrors (that pass 90% of visible light but reflect IR and UV, I think) are hard to find so the LCD life may not be great, first surface mirrors (a shiny surface that isn't coated in glass like most mirrors) are equally rare or expensive so the case will have to be entirely linear, that's simpler but bulkier. I have an old Canon EF-S kit lens at my parents' house that may serve as a projection lens, I'll have to try it out. Apart from that I may order some fresnel page magnifiers and see if I can make a decently sharp image from some transparency film before I start spending serious money.
Oh and the LCD is embedded DisplayPort which means super easy interfacing... But only to a PC or laptop, no PS3 because you can't use an HDMI output with a DP display. To that end I'm looking for a 720p or 1080p 7" LVDS LCD that I could get an interface board for from eBay, problem is 16:9 isn't the most popular tablet resolution...
Some context: I recently moved into a converted warehouse/snooker club which is shared by 10 people (but half of them might be leaving soon, due to be replaced by three more). We have two sofas and a really nice lounge, but our TV is a CRT from maybe 2003. It works, just, but everything we watch is cropped by maybe a fifth on the right hand side and the CRT whistle drives me up the wall.
Then I noticed there was a projector, so I asked around about it and the owner said I could hook my PS3 up to it so we could watch and play stuff, so I did, then she took it away three hours later...
So while looking for a replacement I thought hey, I have an iPad LCD that's not being used for anything else, why not build one?
Now I'm on the prowl for broken projectors or redundant OHPs I could use for parts like optics and light sources, but ultimately I'd like an LED because they're more efficient and easier to work with. Sadly it seems hot mirrors (that pass 90% of visible light but reflect IR and UV, I think) are hard to find so the LCD life may not be great, first surface mirrors (a shiny surface that isn't coated in glass like most mirrors) are equally rare or expensive so the case will have to be entirely linear, that's simpler but bulkier. I have an old Canon EF-S kit lens at my parents' house that may serve as a projection lens, I'll have to try it out. Apart from that I may order some fresnel page magnifiers and see if I can make a decently sharp image from some transparency film before I start spending serious money.
Oh and the LCD is embedded DisplayPort which means super easy interfacing... But only to a PC or laptop, no PS3 because you can't use an HDMI output with a DP display. To that end I'm looking for a 720p or 1080p 7" LVDS LCD that I could get an interface board for from eBay, problem is 16:9 isn't the most popular tablet resolution...
- 3,475
- Vilnius
Did something I wanted to do for a long time - maded automatic headlights for the automobile thing (law requires either DRLs or low beams during daytime). No more drained battery after accidentally leaving those suckers on.
I used a regular 12V relay to switch on the ground to the headlight relay as that is how the switch normally operates and spliced the taillight wire into ignition through a diode to make it one-way, you don't want your light switch turning on the ignition now, do you?
I used a regular 12V relay to switch on the ground to the headlight relay as that is how the switch normally operates and spliced the taillight wire into ignition through a diode to make it one-way, you don't want your light switch turning on the ignition now, do you?
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AOS-
Premium
- 28,788
- 'Sauga, ON
I've been meaning to share this one:
$2 dish rack.
Bend the legs.
It's now repurposed to create storage space under the table.
Before, my WiiU sat on those cardboard boxes and heat was piling up down there. At least now there's more room for the heat to go about before it backs up into the console housing (which is unlikely at this point).
This would be the fourth under-the-desk mod I've done to this room. The first being towel hooks being used to hang up my headphones (which you can barely see off to the right).
$2 dish rack.
Bend the legs.
It's now repurposed to create storage space under the table.
Before, my WiiU sat on those cardboard boxes and heat was piling up down there. At least now there's more room for the heat to go about before it backs up into the console housing (which is unlikely at this point).
This would be the fourth under-the-desk mod I've done to this room. The first being towel hooks being used to hang up my headphones (which you can barely see off to the right).
- 5,429
- Vic, Australia
- gundalini
So after having our car for 7 years (2008 Mazda 6) I finally got sick of only being able to listen to music via CD's or radio, that and a button on the factory radio labelled Media had been taunting me all that time as it does nothing.
I thought about it and had two options, buy a new car or a new stereo with more playback capabilities, Ie an Aux jack at least.
The new car option was thought about and forgot as it's a bit over the top getting a new car just for the purpose of having a larger selection of ways to listen to music.
After investigating a new radio it was going to be a pain to get something to fit nice in with the surrounding dash as I didn't want to really cut the dash in any way.
So what to do?
Google to the rescue.
Turns out that media button that does nothing can be activated with one link in a spare socket in the rear of the factory radio. Off to the electronics store and bought a pack of these for $3.50, only needed 4 all up.
Next remove radio and install link.
Now to fit a 3.5mm cable to plug into a phone.
Cable I had lying around made up and plugged in.
Other end of the cable in the centre console after running it under the gear shifter etc.
Success, press the media button or scroll through the options on the steering wheel and Aux input comes up.
I've got an old Galaxy S2 running on a custom rom which is absolute bare bones and pretty much just a music player which I'll leave in the car now. In hindsight I should have also ran a chassis mount usb port or a power outlet for charging the phone so I can just leave it there and forget about it, probably do that in the not too distant future.
In the end it cost me $3.50 and didn't have to drill/cut anything in the car.
All up with just a little soldering to make the lead and remove and refit the radio it took just over and hour.
I thought about it and had two options, buy a new car or a new stereo with more playback capabilities, Ie an Aux jack at least.
The new car option was thought about and forgot as it's a bit over the top getting a new car just for the purpose of having a larger selection of ways to listen to music.
After investigating a new radio it was going to be a pain to get something to fit nice in with the surrounding dash as I didn't want to really cut the dash in any way.
So what to do?
Google to the rescue.
Turns out that media button that does nothing can be activated with one link in a spare socket in the rear of the factory radio. Off to the electronics store and bought a pack of these for $3.50, only needed 4 all up.
Next remove radio and install link.
Now to fit a 3.5mm cable to plug into a phone.
Cable I had lying around made up and plugged in.
Other end of the cable in the centre console after running it under the gear shifter etc.
Success, press the media button or scroll through the options on the steering wheel and Aux input comes up.
I've got an old Galaxy S2 running on a custom rom which is absolute bare bones and pretty much just a music player which I'll leave in the car now. In hindsight I should have also ran a chassis mount usb port or a power outlet for charging the phone so I can just leave it there and forget about it, probably do that in the not too distant future.
In the end it cost me $3.50 and didn't have to drill/cut anything in the car.
All up with just a little soldering to make the lead and remove and refit the radio it took just over and hour.
- 31,122
- Hilversum
- Dennisch
I haz a pile of wood.
Pile of wood cut to size and placed strategically to see if I didn't forget anything.
I have a bunch of miniwood. (there are more)
And glue.
And now I need to find a way to drill the holes straight for the miniwood, on the long side of all the wood. For the others I'll use a pillar drill.
I hate working with wood.
Pile of wood cut to size and placed strategically to see if I didn't forget anything.
I have a bunch of miniwood. (there are more)
And glue.
And now I need to find a way to drill the holes straight for the miniwood, on the long side of all the wood. For the others I'll use a pillar drill.
I hate working with wood.
- 31,122
- Hilversum
- Dennisch
The left and right side are now glued and drying with weights on top. For the long side I'm gonna pick up some long clamps this evening and glue those.
Still have to cut the top board, the plank for the keyboard and mouse and the small one for the pc to size. And then I need to dismember my old desk to salvage the pull out thingies for the mouse and keyboard plank. And sanding. And painting.
Almost.
- 31,122
- Hilversum
- Dennisch
Dude.
Totally make the keyboard try height adjustable! This feature is where it is at with computer tables.
I have it all measured out with my fixed chair. And it will be the gf who sits there the most. So no need for that.
Also. Paint.
I kept the wood quite rough and used a somewhat transparent paint. Now I have to wait for the boards to arrive.
- 31,122
- Hilversum
- Dennisch
I could still do that with a sort of pin system, but the sliders from my old desk don't give me the room for that.
Could be a possibility in the future though.
And in the meanwhile I am still waiting for the 3 boards that need to be cut to size.
When the times comes and my wallet is full again I'm going to invest in some woodworking hardware. This is ridiculous. Waiting almost a week for someone to cut through a piece of wood.
