Month: June 2014

Truck Canoe & Kayak Carrier

Faced with the challenge of carrying a a 16′ Old Town canoe, a kayak and all the gear and accessories and camping supplies in the 5 and a half foot bed of my F-150 SuperCrew I set out looking for options. First and foremost how to transport the canoe without being a hazard on the road to myself or anyone else. The prerequisites were as follows:

1) Should allow safe operation of the vehicle
2) No drilling or permanent modifications to the truck and should not interfere with or require the removal of the toneau cover I have installed
3) Must be easy to remove and install
4) Loading the canoe must not be difficult
5) Should hold at least one canoe – two would be better
6) Should look halfway decent
7) And the ever present engineering requirement of cost

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Project – Electric Spinning Wheel

I designed and built this electric spinning wheel for my wife earlier in the year.  The spinner was mocked up in OpenScad (See e-spinner.scad for the cad design and assembly).  This was built out of Maple, Aluminum tube, Nylon bushings and tube and some miscellaneous hardware. The e-spinner is powered by a Singer Style sewing machine motor hooked up to a foot pedal and lamp dimmer for speed control. The aluminum and nylon tube was cut on my Atlas 10″ lathe. The bobbin ends were cut on my Shapeoko CNC Router.

You can see the spinner in action here with my wife spinning imported wool she carded herself:

Bill of Materials (all wood is maple or other suitable hard wood):

  • 1″x3″x7″ (x2) wood for supports
  • 1 Nylon Bushing (1″ O.D. 3/4″ I.D. 3/4″ thick
  • 3/8″ x 8″ (x2) Dowel
  • 1″x1″x6″ wood for flyer arm
  • 1″x3″x9 3/8″ (x2) wood for frame
  • Nylon Tube (1/2″ I.D. 3/4″ O.D.) 6″
  • Aluminium Tube (1/2″ O.D. 1/16″ Thick Wall)
  • 1/4″ x 3″ x 3″ wood for bobbin ends
  • Wood Glue
  • 1 1/2″ Brass wood screws for assembly (x6)
  • Singer Style sewing machine motor
  • Silicone Hair Ties (for belts)

Ayer Makerspace Meeting

Met some great people last night at the Ayer Makerspace meeting.  Faisal Mohammed led the meeting along with the Ayer Board of Economic Development.  A common vision for the makespace was discussed along with some proposals for where it might be located and what the people who attended planned to get out of it.  There I met some other makers, tinkerers and inventors like Craig Farnsworth who runs Farns Wood which recycles, reclaims and repurposes wood and other antiques.  Scott Winroth of Winroth LLC a small basement operated 3D modeling and printing company was also there.  He’s was looking for space to bring his company to the next level and to network.

A representative from Duval Sign Company was also there discussing benefits that could be had for both the company and the makers alike.  They have a large format Laser (with a 52×100″ table!) , CNC router and offer painting and finishing services.    They discussed the importance of learning NC (numerical control) systems present in almost every industrial environment today.

Other makers were also represented with folks from the Steam Punk community, people who work with fiber, jewlery, glass and other arts.    There will be more to come on the Ayer makerspace planning and development.