Post your DIY projects!

Discussion in 'Interests' started by The_Eboler, Dec 23, 2015.

  1. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    So I love making stuff out of metal and wood. Here are some of my latest projects:

    I made this batarang out of an old sawblade:
    I first wanted to polish it, but then I thought it would look better if I made it black, and polished just the edges.

    I attempted to make a shadow dagger out of an old sawblade; I think I kinda failed.
    You can see the progress in the pictures. I decided to give it a crimson web themed paintjob.

    Then there's this lamp I made; I tried to give it a steampunk theme. Left it outside for a few weeks to let it rust.
    The control panel can switch the three individual lamps. All the iron is welded with a MIG machine, all the copper has been soldered.

    I also made two speakers. I used Visaton FRS8 drivers in these. They have extremely good detail and are very clear, they just don't have any bass, so for the bass I'm using Wharfedale speakers.
    I made some rust powder with steel wool and put it on the speakers with paint. I just love the look of rust.


    So, that's it! Tell me what you think and share your own projects too!

    ~
    Eboler
     
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  2. Jacob

    Jacob John Serving Cena Cakes

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    Gimme
     
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  3. Roflcopter Rogers

    Roflcopter Rogers Least From The East Platinum VIP

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    I suck at building things compared to you. I just build little drift carts to go down hills.
     
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  4. Decap

    Decap Super Radman

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    Man about a year ago i built a bluetooth/usb media player for an older car that surprisingly worked really well. It was ugly and wasn't for looks, but the friend I helped work on it with likes it a lot better than the tape player that was in it. It was built out of an old media player and an unused bluetooth speaker (for the bluetooth). We then took them apart and wired it together. Then we took out his tape player, removed the gut tape player components and replaced it with our new media player. We ended up wiring something wrong and had to take it all out and redo it, but the second time it worked just fine.
     
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  5. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    DIY Xray

    [​IMG]

    DIY liquid nitrogen from salvaged cellphone tower equipment

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    DIY Night vision (REAL night vision. Not IR night vision. REAL night vision is not detectable as it amplifies already existing light. IR Night vision shoots IR light and is picked up by the camera. Essentially a flashlight)

    [​IMG]

    High voltage arcs to create ozone for water purification.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Fiber optic lasers for DIY IR photography and night vision

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    DIY electrolysis cell for the synthesis of potassium chlorate

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2015
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  6. Roflcopter Rogers

    Roflcopter Rogers Least From The East Platinum VIP

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    Jeff I love that frog
     
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  7. thepastamonster

    thepastamonster Member

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    I built nothing :(
     
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  8. Roflcopter Rogers

    Roflcopter Rogers Least From The East Platinum VIP

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    We are all posting on @Bayrock 's DIY project...
     
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  9. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    What kind of transformer did you use for this? I tried making someting like this with a microwave transformer, to create plasma just for fun.

    Nice projects btw! @jeffreythe00
     
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  10. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    The transformer I used was a 75KV 8mA rated transformer. The gap was 7 inches. The transformer came from the XRAY machine. I reused it for another project before I sold it.

    Please be careful with those microwave transformers as they carry enough current and voltage to kill you instantly. If you truely want to create some nice plasma arcs, use TWO microwave capacitors in series and you will achieve resonance which will allow you to pull massive arcs well over a few inches (depending on your ballast). Though it will cause your transformer to overheat very quickly so keep an eye on it if you wish to play with it more in the future.
     
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  11. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    Thanks for the feedback!
    I am well aware if the dangers of the current if those transformers. Making plasma arcs was fun, but not what I planned to do with the transformers. I wanted to make high current, low voltage transformers using jumpstart cables. After "transforming" the transformers I tried to melt some metal with it, but it was very slow, so I recently 'obtained' another microwave so I can put the two low voltage transformers in parralel for more current. The current should now be well over 100 amps, enough to make a good spot welder, fir future projects. I also salvaged the HV capacitors like you said. Good call. I'M hoping to finish the spot welder this holiday! I'll upload some pics when I get back home.
    Btw, when I made the arcs I used gaps between 2cm and over 10cm with very different results.
    When doing projects like this my goal is to spend little to no money, and so far I've succeeded. The spot welder is so far just made from scap materials, just like my knives. I love messing around with low-tech stuff like this. Happy holidays!

    ~Eboler
     
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  12. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    The reason it is slow is because of Ohms law. You need more voltage to push more current through an object.

    Microwave transformers are also terrible at being high current transformers. The more the core heats up the less efficient they are. My suggestion is if you want more current, use a bigger transformer and use smaller gauge wire to get a higher voltage. You can also string a few transformers in series. There are also some shunts in the transformer as well. You may want to remove those as well if you already haven't.

    Definitely interested in seeing your project! I know what its like to be on a low budget. Most of my projects are pretty low budget. Some of them are not even complete because they became expensive very quickly.
     
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  13. Bayrock

    Bayrock Founder & Developer Staff Member Founder

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    As if I ever had a DIY project; unless Devinity counts. I'd rather shell out a few bucks than the bravery it takes for a DIY project.

    I always find ways to mess those up..
     
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  14. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    ^Thats what he meant. Devinity is your DIY project. I would consider them "DIY projects" because forums do not just pop out of thin air nor do gmod servers. Someone has to take the time to set them up and manage them.
     
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  15. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    New knife:
    Made it from a spare wrench i had. This was my first project where I tried to forge, I think the knife turned out very ugly and I think I bent it too much. Still, it's a wrench knife! Nuff said.
     
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  16. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    I think your knife is OK. It can still be improved I think. First, you can get some finer grit sand paper to clean up the marks from the heavy grit stuff.

    Next you can create a jig to get a uniform bevel.

    Thirdly your knife seems a bit thick. Thicker knives can withstand more abuse but their edge retention suffers a bit.
     
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  17. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    True, and thanks for the feedback! This was a very cheap wrench and I have no idea what kind of steel it's made of. It's not finished yet since I still have to go through a hardening and sharpening process and file away the ugly marks. I'm planning on giving it a mirror finish with various polishing fluids after I finish it. I'm also thinking about re-heating it to make it flatter and get that ugly curve out of there. I do not have an anvil, so I'm using a piece of H-beam as an anvil, and it doesn't really work. Since anvils are expensive I have no intention of buying one. I also want to practice forging and try to make some cutlery with smaller wrenches, idk if they're safe to eat from tho. I also don't have a belt sander so making a nice bevel is very hard. I'm trying to get my dad to buy one, but so far I haven't succeeded.
     
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  18. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    Yeah, thats the thing about using "cheap tools" to forge into knives. They can vary widely in the types of materials used. I'm not sure about your experience with this type of thing but I worked in a machine shop for several years. One thing you learn is that different metal grades throw off different colored sparks. The sparks also burn longer or shorter. A very hard steel will throw off very hot, long burning sparks. When I used to angle grind parts, sometimes I would throw sparks 25'!

    A high gloss finish is very nice. I would love to see the finished product when you're done!

    Sucks to hear that you don't have an anvil but I suppose you gotta start somewhere. H beam really isn't great but its better than just having a flat piece of scrap metal clamped down to a table haha. Just keep saving your money and eventually you'll be able to afford an anvil. I've priced anvils recently and they run anywhere from $300-$1000 but just remember, they're a tool and last a lifetime. They also can be sold for about as much as you paid ;). So you can consider it an investment.

    Forging has a huge learning curve but once you learn how different metals react in the forge you can get a general idea on how to get the job done without screwing it up. I'm sure you already have done this but, watch a ton of videos and by the time you're ready to forge you should have a decent knowledge about how to do it properly therefore reducing your chances you ruin your knife. Better than going into it blind!

    Yeah, not having a belt sander is quite a pain. What are you using? It looks to either be bench grinder marks or angle grinder marks. I think if you don't give up on making knives, your dad might understand you have a passion for this sort of thing and he "may" reconsider buying you a belt sander. Buying a belt sander just to make a few knives is a bit silly. So keep up the hard work and show your dad that its something you enjoy.

    Oh! One more thing. If you're looking to get some cheap metal for making knives. Go to your local junk yard. I'm 100% serious. A lot of junk yards will sell you scrapped metal for a fraction of the cost it would cost. I am able to get very large aluminum or steel plates for just a few dollars. Just ask them where the steel pile is.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2016
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  19. The_Eboler

    The_Eboler Active Member

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    Thanks for the advice! Fortunately we have metalworking at school where they also teach forging, somewhere around summer i'll get a class there. as for the grinder, I used an angle grinder with this thing: (I dont know what they're called so I just posted a pic)[​IMG]
    We don't have a lot of junk yards around here, and the ones we do have don't sell anything, they just take in trash so they can recycle it. I will keep looking though.

    I think the H-beam doesn't really work because it's very light. My hammer doesn't even bounce on it. I found some second-hand anvils starting from €100,= . I'm using charcoal and a hair dryer for the fire which will get the metal to glow yellow. We have a very small area in which I can work on projects, so I don't know if a stationary belt grinder is even a possibility. For now i'll just stick to the angle grinder.
     
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  20. jeffreythe00

    jeffreythe00 Dreamer

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    I'm envious that you have a metalworking school! Good luck with that :)

    I'm not sure what those are called either but those disks are MUCH better than using a cutting/grinding disk. The issue is that they're not really good for profiling. I you can't get access to a belt sander then perhaps a benchtop grinder would work for you. You can use the sanding disk you showed with them giving you a much more stable platform to work on. Which in turn will allow you to do better beveling and have access to a jig. Alternatively you "could" clamp the angle grinder down but thats REALLY dangerous as it can potentially vibrate lose causing potential injury and catastrophic destruction to the tool. Not a smart idea but it can work. One thing you learn to do with a limited budget is to improvise. Not always the easiest thing to do but you can do it.

    You don't need to have the hammer bounce for you to do any kind of hand forging. The only thing a bounce does for you is save you some time and energy.

    Hair dryers work good. You can also use a shop-vac in reverse. They tend to blow a little more air than a hair dryer. Just don't melt the hose or I'm sure your dad won't be happy with you!
     
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