So I went and did something I promised myself I wouldn’t do again, I got a video camera. Yes, I could use my iPhone to take videos but using a very expensive phone to make videos in situations where it could be easily dropped into rivers, mud holes and trails while biking, or inside of laser engravers, etc. did not seem like a good idea to me so when a GoPro turned up for sale at a huge discount, I bought the thing.
I suspect this is going to be one of those situations where “well it seemed like a good idea at the time” comes to mind when I find it covered in dust on a shelf after not using it for months. That’s what happened to the last video camera I had.
Anyway, there is an excellent chance you will be inflicted with videos in the future, so allow me to apologize in advance. Videos like, well, this one below which is not only the first video I took with the thing but also illustrates my latest project.
That is made from a kit called a “Marble Run”, the Spaceport edition. And it is without a doubt the most ridiculously complicated thing I’ve ever put together. I didn’t keep track of how many hours I have invested in building that thing, but it was a lot. Handling hundreds of parts, many of them so small I needed to use a needle nose pliers to put them in place and chasing tiny, tiny parts across the floor when they went flying were par for the course. And whoever engineered this thing is absolutely, positively, a bloody genius. The engineering and creativity behind designing and making something like this almost entirely out of nothing but wood and a few pins and a couple of screws, is mind boggling.
It’s difficult to envision just how complicated this thing is from that video so here’s a more detailed photo.
I mean just look at that thing. Trying to put all that together was bad enough, but can you imagine trying to design something like that from scratch? There are close to 500 individual pieces, most come in sheets of laser cut plywood of varying thicknesses.
And there is another one of these that is just as complicated waiting for me that eventually will be joined up with this one, along with third kit that is a motor drive and lighting system to drive both of them.
I don’t recommend a lot of products here, but this is one I would definitely recommend if you’re into building kits or 3D puzzles. It’s from a company called Rokr that makes a variety of these marble run type kits/puzzles for adults that range in price from about $30 on up to well over $100 depending on size and complexity.
The instruction/assembly manual is very well written but some caution is necessary because some of the illustrations can be a bit confusing. It’s generally broken down into subassemblies that are then connected together or to the main mounting board which makes it easier. It comes with everything you need, including any tools that are necessary. It includes sandpaper for smoothing off edges, wax for lubricating the gears and friction points, screwdrivers, etc. I would strongly urge you to also have on hand a small needle nose pliers for working with small parts especially if you have big, fumbly fingers like mine. And keep a bottle of instant glue with accelerant handy as well. If you are careful you won’t need the glue, but me? I managed to break a couple of small parts. I’d also recommend some very good lights as well.
Even more impressive was the thing actually worked after I got it together. I needed to do a bit of adjusting and in some cases some trimming to get everything to work smoothly. But having something this complicated actually work when I was done with it should give you an idea of how well the instructions are written.
And while I’m talking about videos, how about a kitty? Sure, why not.
That’s Marvelous Mercy The Wonder Cat and yes, you have to use her entire name when you call her or she will ignore you. She is a real sweety. She is considered a “senior” cat although you couldn’t tell it from looking at her. She’s about as sleek and athletic as they come.
If I do start doing more videos, there is the question of storage space. While WordPress gives me a more than generous amount of storage space here, these videos take up a huge amount of space so I suspect that what I’ll end up doing is uploading them to my Youtube account and just linking to them from here.
Well if I ever get around to it. If I start to do video stuff it means I’m going to have to learn how to use editing software. Ick…
Let’s see, what else? Oh. I made a clock! Well, several of them, actually.
MrsGF likes that one up there so much that it’s now hanging over the fireplace in the living room. Here’s another one that I did the other week that MrsGF has hanging up in her office.
I’m really surprised people don’t make more of these. They’re easy to make and cheap? You can make them out of any scraps of wood you have laying around, and these battery operated clock modules are ridiculously cheap. I picked up a box of 15 of them, complete with an assortment of hands, for $27. That’s about $1.80 each.
And I’ve run out of things to talk about for the moment. Aren’t you glad?
Coming up in the future: I’m putting together a list of on-line resources for craftspersons who dabble with laser engravers/cutters. That’s one of the most frequent requests I get. So I’m putting together a list of websites for things like free images, .SVG and other files you can use for cutting or engraving, resources for finding materials at decent prices, etc. So keep an eye out for that sometime in the next few weeks.
grouchyfarmer 