# DIY and Hobby projects, small to big. Pictures of course **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** arts-crafts, tools-electric-diy\ **Created:** [January 17, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910 "2022-01-17T00:50:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/564 "2024-11-30T13:37:39Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I was a third of the way through before I asked myself what the hell was wrong with me. Only a third of the way through, that’s two thirds earlier before I typically ask that question of myself 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/565 "2025-01-01T22:48:26Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.com/muETeZi.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/muETeZi.jpeg) This is two skeins of yarn. They’ve introduced all these yarns with great long stretches of color so you get fat stripes instead of weird stripey patterns. I love the colors but I see all the problems… like it’s not square. The colors are a bit washed out in this picture ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/566 "2025-01-01T23:31:00Z")
Those are the best toes I’ve ever seen! Also, LOVE the colors. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/567 "2025-01-02T00:06:01Z")
Very cool! Did you deliberately choose the dimensions so it’d come out as diagonal stripes, or was that happenstance? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/568 "2025-01-02T00:07:13Z")
Oh, and where did you get the yarn? It’s too late for Christmas, but I can be prepared for my mom’s birthday in the spring. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/569 "2025-01-02T00:09:57Z")
That is because of the stitch I used which is called C2C, or corner to corner. Which is worked in diagonal rows. The yarn is called Mandala yarn by Lion Brand, which means you can get it in any craft store. I got mine ar Walmart, and 2 skeins made an approximately one yard square afghan ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/570 "2025-01-02T00:16:19Z")
You can also search for color changing yarn. Some change color in a couple of stitches, and some blend ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/571 "2025-03-17T03:12:28Z")
I made a thing: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FFGpLO3fJF4/maxresdefault.jpg "LED Cube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFGpLO3fJF4) What does it do? That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t _do_ anything. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/572 "2025-03-17T03:33:43Z")
Very nice! ESP32-based? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/573 "2025-03-17T03:38:29Z")
Yep! And an MPU6050 accelerometer/gyro. Plus a lipo battery and charger. Still needs some fine-tuning. Doesn’t start up reliably when I apply power… the ESP32 needs a reset each time. I’m thinking it might not be happy with the ~4v from the battery vs. 5v from USB. Not sure yet. I still have a few ideas for more modes, but I liked how the water turned out. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/574 "2025-03-17T03:39:57Z")
Make sure your “strapping” pins are pulled the right way. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/575 "2025-03-17T03:45:27Z")
I’m using the supermini boards that in principle should handle that stuff… and in practice haven’t failed me on previous projects. But they’re also cheap boards known to have a few issues. So yeah, I’m thinking I might need to see what they did with the strapping pins and if they’re likely to fail at too low a voltage. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/576 "2025-03-17T17:58:00Z")
The work on my shop is nearing completion, I have a few minor tasks remaining before I am calling the build complete and the future of filling it with tools can begin 🙂 Here is a look at my grinding bench, the hangers for the grinding belts was this past weekend’s project, old table legs cut to length, welded to a mounting bracket and capped with 3D printed knobs. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/mPKJPSL.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/mPKJPSL) View of my grunge room. One of the remaining projects is the doors where the tarp is currently hanging. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ujZsyoB.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/ujZsyoB) Bonus, the bandsaw in this pic is a new toy/tool for the shop. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/577 "2025-03-17T18:03:10Z")
With some sort of touch controls on the surface, you could add a Rubik’s Cube mode. But yeah, the sloshing water is pretty neat. I imagine you have to be careful when disassembling/reassembling it to get all the panels on the right way. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/578 "2025-03-17T18:34:02Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > It doesn’t _do_ anything. Sure it does! It looks really cool & made my brain happy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/579 "2025-03-17T18:35:28Z")
Touch is probably not possible–each panel is an array of 8x8 LEDs, so no real way to have a sensor. But you can do a lot with an accelerometer and gyro. The panels themselves are daisy-chained and connect at the corners. So I was able to wire all 6 together such that I start at the bottom (-Z), wind around the sides (+X, +Y, -X, -Y), and then end up at the top (+Z). The bottom and sides are screwed in; the top is held by some magnets (to make it easier to remove for charging). It was a little tricky to get the orientations right the first time since each panel could be rotated in a weird way, plus from the perspective of the coordinate system, half the panels are mirrored compared to the others. A little trial and error here, but the water mode actually made that relatively easy. Rotate until the water ends up on the bottom, and mirror if it flows the wrong way when you tilt it. The frame is 3D printed; I designed it in a way that I can print it in one shot: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/kOc1AiI.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/kOc1AiI) > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Sure it does! It looks really cool & made my brain happy. Glad you like it! It is quite satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/580 "2025-03-17T18:39:16Z")
That’s nice. What type of work will you typically be doing? I am not familiar with grinding belts. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/581 "2025-03-17T18:40:12Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I made a thing: Mine isn’t quite that advanced, but WLED has some animated presets that work really well on it. [![](https://i.imgur.com/wkTPLzj.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/wkTPLzj.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/582 "2025-03-17T19:33:00Z")
Mostly for metal shaping, prep, etc. for welding and finish grinding, sharpening, etc. for forging projects. It’s a tool that can do a million things really well, much better than an angle grinder 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910/583 "2025-03-17T19:33:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Mine isn’t quite that advanced, but WLED has some animated presets that work really well on it. Cool. I sorta wish the panels I got had diffusers like that. Makes for a nice effect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-and-hobby-projects-small-to-big-pictures-of-course/957910.md?page=30)