If you’re anything like me, completing the stitching in an embroidery project isn’t the hard part, it’s the finishing—or preparing it for hanging or display—that seems much more daunting. Finishing embroidery projects is one of those crafting topics that, if you were to ask a room filled with experienced stitchers how to do it, you’d […]
I felt a little guilty (at first) about buying and reading Harrison’s Krix’s excellent ebook, Painting and Weathering for Props and Replicas. Part of being a maker is discovery by making, and this guy decided to take all his years of success (or rather, failures) and teach us all how to properly mix paints and finishing […]
The resolution of RepRap-style fused-filament 3D printers is obviously improving, but even the best hobby-class fused filament printers still have noticeable “grain.” This video from Annelise Jeske of MakerBot TV addresses the heartbreak of ridges head-on.
By product designer Ed Swan, the Mark Makers table is currently on display at an ongoing London design show, where visitors are invited to participate in decorating it by abrading the layered paint with sandpaper. Cool idea. I just hope there’s a big stack of free dust masks next to it.
Titanium is really cool for a lot of reasons, but this Instructable by, ah, “Thursday” highlights one in particular: It is incredibly easy to anodize, and produces really striking colors when anodized. So, you know, if you’re interested in anodizing this is an way to start experimenting. Thursday has stripped the anodizing process down to it’s absolute minimum here: small titanium bits, white vinegar, a stack of 9V batteries, and a counterelectrode. Now I want to see somebody use all those differently-colored rings to make a chain-mail photomosaic.
I love PVC pipe: It’s weatherproof, cheap, commonly available, easy to work, and easy to join temporarily or permanently. Apart from a slightly icky environmental footprint, the only serious drawback of PVC pipe is that it’s ugly, owing largely to the fact that it’s usually available only in white, off-white, gray, or (sometimes) black. PVC can be painted, sure, but getting a good finish requires careful surface preparation, and even then the paint tends to flake or wear off with time, weather, and/or handling.
But, as you’ll know if you’ve ever tried to remove a purple primer stain, it is possible to indelibly colorize PVC pipe. I got curious about what was in purple primer, and a bit of digging revealed that it’s just clear primer plus purple dye. I reasoned, then, that I ought to be able to make my own “purple primer” in whatever color I wanted by adding solvent dye to clear primer. Long story short: It works, and it works great. You can read all about it here.
I stumbled across this powder coating make blog post a while ago and decided to build something similar. My first attempt worked well but I built an improved unit with a similar topology to commercial units. I’m in the process of building my third prototype now.
