Just a good picture of Eli (with Ezra and Anna in the background) holding a 300′ measuring tape. We needed to make a right angle, so I explained to them that a triangle with the sides 3, 4, 5 will be a 100% right triangle. So we measured 15′, 20′, and 25′ around three stakes, [...]
Archive for September, 2010
A big measuring tape and a right triangle
Posted in Engineering, Fun, Projects, Technique, tagged Equation, Kids, Math, Outdoors, Pythagorean Theorm on September 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A better way to hold metal inventory
Posted in Engineering, Projects, Technique, tagged Pipe Rack, Raw Materials, Shelving, Storage on September 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
For a couple years now, my growing collection of dimensional metalic material has been piled on the end of my workbench. Not good for finding it, keeping it clean, rust free, or straight. Plus, I cannot make full use of my workbench. Here is what 100′ of PVC pipe cut into 3′ lengths can do… [...]
Python: ‘tuple’ object is not callable
Posted in Engineering, Perspective, Technique, tagged bugs, callable, errors, hard to find bugs, programming, Python, Tuple on September 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This can be a bit of an obscure error, if you run into it… It looks like this: File “…/CCRM/Content.py”, line 202, in Page_Update (‘Nav1′ , Data.Nav1), TypeError: ‘tuple’ object is not callable In reality, it’s typically caused by accidentally forgetting a comma from the line before: Notice that line 9 is missing a comma [...]
A square peg in a round hole?
Posted in Interesting, Life, Projects, tagged Maple, Outdoors, Pegs, Table, Trees on September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Yep. We are building a rough wooden table out of the trees we cut down for a clearing on our land. Rather than use screws or nails or saws, we opted for the axe, drilling holes, and wooden pegs. Actually, almost all of the wood pictured was cut with a Friskars Chopping Axe. Eventually, I [...]
Rubber Band Gun #6 – four pieces explained
Posted in Engineering, Projects, tagged Pro/Engineer, Rubber Band Gun, Rubber Band Gun #6 on September 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I spent a bit of time this evening taking measurements and verifications, adding pin holes, and communicating with Dixon Tool and Die about pricing, etc… Here are the 4 key parts in the design: Trigger: Pivots on a 3/16″ dowel pin. As the trigger is pulled, the two protrusions from the front move downward into [...]
Rubber Band Gun #6 – springs, etc…
Posted in Engineering, Fun, Interesting, reSearch, tagged McMaster, MSC, Rubber Band Gun, Springs on September 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I visited Dixon Tool and Die, Inc. today to see about having some machining done. Bill Dixon Jr. was very helpful, and explained many of the points that will make the process go easier. Design for available parts and sizes Buy everything you can stock (pins, springs, aluminum channel, etc…) Minimize milling by doing the [...]
Rubber Band Gun #6 and Pro/Engineer Wildfire
Posted in Engineering, Interesting, reSearch, Software, Technique, tagged Pro/Engineer, ProE, Rubber Band, Rubber Band Gun, SolidWorks, Wildfire on September 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I recently purchased a copy of Pro/Engineer Wildfire 5.0, and have been comparing it to SolidWorks. They are both nice programs, and within about a day, I have achieved about the same level of usefulness in ProE as SolidWorks. (Note: all that means is that I am a beginner at this). Anyway, I wished to [...]
Watermelon…. no more!
Posted in Fun, Life, Nature, tagged M6 Scout, Nature, Shooting, Woods on September 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This is a Springfield M6 Scout, chambered in .22 over .410, single shot break barrel. There is a place in the stock to store about 20 shells. It’s 100% stainless steel. This gun was based on the design of the M6 which was issued to airmen in the US Air Force. More details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Armory_M6_Scout
An Easier Way to Blog (2)?
Posted in Perspective, Technique on September 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Now, I am trying out BlogDesk… Ok, inserting a link was easy… How about a graphic? That was pretty easy… Now, how about some source code? Ok, let’s see how that works out…
An easier way to blog?
Posted in Perspective, Technique on September 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I’m going to try out Microsoft Word -> WordPress One of my biggest complaints about blogging is the miserable web interface for creating posts. Formatting and images are just painful. I would blog a good deal more if it were truly easy. So the question of the day is: Is it easy with Microsoft Office [...]
