Pentagon Pencil Cup in Walnut and Aluminum

Recently I was motivated to get out in the shop by a cup build-off put on by Izzy Swan's Tool Masters Association. There was a prize up for grabs and it was a fun excuse to get out in the shop. I had some rough walnut from craigslist and a desire to play with some interesting geometry, so I got to work on this walnut and aluminum pencil cup.

Overall I like how it turned out. If I were to build another one, I'd get some thicker aluminum, as the scraps I had on hand were pretty thin. Other than that, it was a fun project. Since the aluminum was embedded in the panels, I had to clean the dust off well before finally coating it with spray lacquer.
 

Little Izzy Goes To Atlanta - My Atlanta Woodworking Show Trip

Watch to see how I made a custom 3D-printed model of Izzy Swan, and gave it to him in person in Atlanta. I also recap the weekend with some footage of the woodworking show and all the fun that surrounded it. It was great experience and I hope to see more of you there next year.

LED Backlit Sign from a Harbor Freight Flashlight: Version 2

In this video I revisit an old project with new technology. I was asked to build another small backlit sign, so I went back to Harbor Freight with another free flashlight coupon. Using the parts of the flashlight and a variety of 3D-printed parts I turned it into a battery powered backlit sign.

Custom Designed 3D Printed Pens [2017 No Lathe Pen Challenge]

Get the 3D designs here: http://www.thingiverse.com/benbrandt22/designs
Get the pens here: http://amzn.to/2lndAQm

Bill Livolsi over at One Car Workshop challenged the maker community to get creative and try making a pen without a lathe. My original plan failed, so I decided to dive in and spend some time with my new (new to me) 3D printer and see what I could come up with. As you may know, I enjoy designing things in 3D in Fusion 360, so I came up with a couple interesting geometric pen designs, built to fit the ink from a cheap pen.

For more inspiring pen projects, check out the No Lathe Pen Challenge playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khokap7AP5o&list=PLHoCZ7LR6hNrJHIlhZxW876wEhs9ReQTt

For those of you who are interested in the printing details, these were printed in PLA with 100% infill and a high detail resolution. I didn't use automatic supports because they were generated inside the pen body which would have been too hard to remove. Instead the supports were manually placed around the outside and that was sufficient. The hexagon pen was placed flat-side down and only had supports added to the two ends.

How NOT to repair a headphone plug

My son has a pair of wired headphones he uses at school that were starting to fail mid-year, so he brought them home to me. It was a rush job to get them repaired for school the next day, and I made some mistakes along the way. Everything worked out in the end, so hopefully this can serve as a guide on what to look out for, and how you can recover.

Table Saw Dodecahedron : In-Depth Design and Making Process

After my previous video on the solid wood dodecahedron, I made this video to cover the design and making process in greater detail. In this video we cover the use of Fusion 360 to make a 3D model and use it to plan out the jig and fabrication process, talk through how it was made, and problems and solutions along the way.

Table Saw Dodecahedron

In this video, I took on the challenge of making a 12-sided shape (dodecahedron) on my table saw. Using Fusion 360 to make a 3D model and plan out the process, I took this all the way from concept to fnished part. This was a really interesting exercise in design and jig design, and made for a fun project.

Simple Stanchions for Wire Shelves

I was tasked with fixing an unusual storage problem. Large rolls of fabric had been stacked up on a wire shelf that was much too small and not designed for this type of item. The rolls were nearly falling off the shelf, held back by a random length of ribbon that had been tied around them. Despite the poor solution this was the best place to keep them, so I came up with a simple wooden stanchion that could "slot into" the wire shelf and hold back the rolls of fabric. This way we had a better, cheap solution that was easy and not permanent.

Box Jointed Cement & Walnut USB Hub | #USBHubChallenge inspired by Giaco Whatever

This USB Hub challenge was inspired by a project where Giaco Whatever made a USB hub cast in cement, and the video was met with a lot of criticism. A number of fellow YouTube makers, led by Michael Lawing, decided to get together and make our own Giaco-inspired USB hub projects as a show of support, and to show how much good can happen by sharing even a small idea with the community.

To see all the projects in the USB Hub Challenge, check out the USB Hub Challenge Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtOpzFLh4wxwkOPFP7-Euqf8ZpEhvOrsd

For me, this was a fun opportunity to get creative and experiment with some new materials and techniques. I got to plan out, sketch, and model my idea, experiment with the concept, and make it happen. The cement parts were cast in molds made from MDF and packaging tape, placed down on a sheet of glass I salvaged from an old scanner. I need more practice with my router, having blown out some chunks of my walnut, and my first time cutting mortises resulted in some blowouts as well. Thankfully the outside turned out good enough that I didn't have to start over. I learned a lot from this build, and I hope it inspires you to get out and try making something yourself.

Giaco Whatever's channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/giacowhatever

Michael Lawing's channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVBiW0_QzrsS3vZdCjAitQA

Variable Width Box Joints on the Programmable Box Joint Jig

Now that we've established that the programmable box joint jig can make fixed width box joints, it's time to demonstrate variable width joints, and really showcase what software can bring to the wood shop.

In this video we'll be making some simple plywood boxes, with a basic, somewhat decorative variable width box joint.

Raspberry Pi 3 Starter Kit: http://amzn.to/2bxqBl0
Limit Switches: http://amzn.to/2bxrJF6
My table saw: http://amzn.to/2bTGiU9