thelowededwookie

[thelowededwookie]

This is a test post

I'm just testing an app called Editoy that I've had for a while but not really used. But because I want to get back to using Tumblr it might be a good tool.

[thelowededwookie]

Why is seeing the good so hard?

October is a new month. We’re now officially halfway through Spring and the weather has been pleasant, unless you’ve been in the South Island. Compared to last month this month is off to a ripper and that means my funk is over… or at least starting to wane. This month I turn 49. I don’t do birthdays because of my religious beliefs but every year counts because if I’m honest I’m somewhat…

[thelowededwookie]

Is it really difficult to help?

The other day I had to call the insurance company. Initially it was to call the Customer Services centre to cancel our premiums as we are moving to a different insurance company. The reason for the move will become evident soon. My second act was to contact the Claims team concerning a claim we’ve had going since December 2023. Mrs Wookie had a crash because a lady pulled out of an intersection…

[thelowededwookie]

An afternoon with the outlaws

Today was pretty full on. Started by helping Mrs Wookie clean windows at the rest home she has a contract for. As I’m height trained she gets me to do the Atrium because you have to get on the roof to do it. She hates heights. I don’t mind because since I’m on my own I just crank the tunes and go for it. I do hate one side of the atrium though because a moron designed that section. Never once…

[thelowededwookie]

First coat on side two done. I’d already done two coats on side one. I so want to use my @ozito_diy spray gun but do you think Bunnings New Plymouth have any Matt Black paints available? I really hope the rumours of a new large @bunningsnz in New Plymouth are true. Really need a bigger site here. And if they build it where the rumours say they are the. Even better because it’s literally right next door to where I work. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5EcjGDAw9V/?igshid=1b8n5ya20p4nj

[thelowededwookie]

My workbench is so tidy. Hold me I’m scared. Actually I’m finally getting around to finishing off a project. Just got to finish painting, routing, glueing, basically just got to get around to this project. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5EXnX9Dgfy/?igshid=1768xm6idghfa

[thelowededwookie]

Just a couple of the machines at the Mechanical Circus at @puke_ariki in New Plymouth. Surprisingly most were made out of wood and plywood. https://www.instagram.com/p/B474qZYgOSP/?igshid=1j49ploqn2fb5

[thelowededwookie]

This is why I love my scroll saw. It is such a versatile saw. BTW, loving the @olsonsawco spiral cut blades. Such an accurate blade. Pity they don't seem to come in pinned versions because getting them into the pinless brackets was a pain. https://www.instagram.com/p/B455vJ_AzKq/?igshid=cgnhs92qwj0e

[thelowededwookie]

Talk about a big project. These lawns took me three hours to mow. The @ozito_diy 1500w electric mower is great. It's too small a catcher though and the need for 28m of lead is not cool. That being said the opportunity to get dad’s @egopowerplus is just about here. 😁 If it wasn't for that opportunity I think is just get the new steel deck mower from Ozito and a couple of 5aH batteries. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4v-GnogInf/?igshid=18zypkm08mery

[thelowededwookie]

Reverse Engineering

You may have seen the movie "Paycheck" starring Ben Affleck. The main character's job was a reverse engineer. He took competitor's products apart and then made something newer and better. The movie took creative licence but it did show the world the process of reverse engineering.

Reverse Engineering's dictionary definition is:

Reverse Engineering is the process by which a human-made object is deconstructed to reveal its designs, architecture, or to extract knowledge from the object

To put this in layman's terms you pull something apart to see how it works. I have been doing this since I was very young. My biggest challenges were Transformers but that was due to not wanting to break the glue. The deconstruction was in my head.

Reverse Engineering seems like a complicated thing to do but it's easier than you think. Take Optimus Prime for example:

Optimus Prime is a robot that transforms into a truck. This version is the Generation 1 Optimus Prime not the movie version. While Optimus Prime might be the leader of the Autobots his transformation is simple. So to reverse engineer Optimus you first have to understand how he transforms. You follow the instructions and there you have it. Now let's break down the transformation from truck mode to robot mode.

Chassis folds down to become legs

Tips of chassis fold down to become feet

Fold bottom sides out a little to reveal arms

Fold backs out to become shoulders

Rotate roof 180º to reveal head

Insert hands into holes that form the headlights

Once you understand how the whole works you can then start to understand how the parts work. Take the chassis. There is a pin that runs the width of the chassis that joins the legs to the body. This pin allows the chassis to rotate to become the legs. The same for the feet, shoulders, and head.

The arms are on pins with tips that go into the shoulder pieces. This allows the arms to swing out but lock the arms into a horizontal position.

The fists slot into holes with no mechanisms holding them in.

Optimus, while he seems complex, has in fact pretty simple construction. Now how would we make him better?

First, the hands could be part of the arm unit with a little slider mechanism on the side of the arm. This would allow the fists to slide into the arm with the lights being part of some sort of plate system. This would mean that when the fist is inside the arm the lights show in truck mode. When in robot mode the fists are out and the lights would be like a finger protector for battle.

Second, the method of attaching the arm to the shoulder structure would be a ball joint. This would allow more movement in the arms rather than the side to side movement.

The rest is pretty good construction and doesn't actually need changing.

Reverse Engineering is a great skill to have as a woodworker. It allows you to understand how components fit together to become a whole. This is exactly how woodworking works as well. You take a bunch of parts that you've cut and, using various joints, put them together. Once you break down plans to their individual components it makes woodworking easier. As you progress in your hobby you'll find you'll start to be able to reverse engineer all sorts of things. From there you'll be able to become skilled enough to pull apart and put things back together in your head. Soon the invisible things start to get imaged in your head as well. This allows you to piece things together without having to pull things apart at all.

And that, people, is how to reverse engineer something. It's not as complex as you'd think but the potential to expand your knowledge is worth it. With this skill developed there is nothing you can't build.

[thelowededwookie]

Phase Two of my workshop realignment project got under way yesterday. This was a big job made a lot easier by the fact I mounted wheels to the benches. Predominantly I made these changes to allow better access to my wood stack. The offshoot is that I now have way more room to get the bike in and out. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4sTYN9AslS/?igshid=1b53786xclp8r

[thelowededwookie]

Love @carbatec because they have the odd tools. And by odd I don't mean numerically but the not-the-norm tools that you can't get at Bunnings and Mitre10 https://www.instagram.com/p/B4jI0ZJgNd3/?igshid=1n0420uwbzv6a

[thelowededwookie]

The fix didn't work. That wasn't necessarily the glue’s fault. It was a tricky location and the two parts never lined up properly in the first place. It did give me the idea though to build a new one instead. I'll take the lights and circuits out of this and put it into mine. Also will do a better job of the bin lifter. The bin kept falling out of this one because the holder kept leaning forward. I'm currently working on an article about reverse engineering as well. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4eFGxtgF4E/?igshid=1fu744mdz41a2

[thelowededwookie]

Motivation

It's pretty hard to get motivated with a hobby some days. I'm not going to lie to you, but this is often the case when it comes to hobbies where you make stuff. Much of this de-motivation comes from finishing projects. As odd as that sounds, there is a period after finishing a project where the next project isn't an option. When you are working on a project, you have a goal.

When that project has ended, you no longer have a goal to work toward. It's the in-between stage from the last project to the next that is the de-motivational part. It's this stage that can sap your wish to continue.

How do you get through this stage? I am finding that having a series of projects lined up the best way. Sure, there will be projects that crop up while current projects are progressing. But there is the need for thinking about the next project before the end of the first.

The key is to get from the first project to the next as soon as possible. Any lag will get that rotting feeling set in. There doesn't have to be a relation to woodworking though. I often find creating project plans motivational. As much as having the plans and getting ready to make something. I know that soon those plans will become a reality.

Other projects could be to create physical models of stuff in my head. I then create the plans from those models. And when I say models I mean the real thing. I know, I know, it's a completely reversed way of doing things but it's often how my brain works.

Real-life kind of sucks as well. Taking most of our time there's often precious little left for our hobbies. Making time is easier said than done.

No matter how you motivate yourself, the key is to do. As hard as it can be at times doing increases that motivation. Ask any woodworker about their half-finished projects. Every one of them will tell you they need to find the motivation to finish. Meanwhile, they've completed a few projects since. We all have our"Eleanors". Those projects that break us. These will de-motivate us but there's no feeling greater than completing them.

That all said and done though, putting the time into our hobbies rewards us. Woodworking is one of those hobbies where even the hoariest project rewards us. We completed it. We learned from it. We MADE it. It took me a while but I learned this. I'm happy with the time that I've invested in my hobby. I look forward to the time I can spend. As much as I'd like to spend more time I try to make use of the time I do get to spend.

All in all, you do what you can.

[thelowededwookie]

I kind of forgot about the plans to this. I had started drawing them in Fusion 360 then I rebranded after doing a backup and forgot to add it to my new account. Now I've added it and finished it and it looks pretty good. I just need to create a construction plan and make it. Little Wookie does love playing with the prototype though. 😁 #woodentoys #toyhelicopter #woodenhelicopter https://www.instagram.com/p/B4RIVSEAjOE/?igshid=n1ushby2psz2

[thelowededwookie]

For the love of Pete, if I'd have known it was this easy to make money off Etsy I’d have sold my failures years ago. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4LzC9BAVlx/?igshid=1u25q5fcrwm9l

[thelowededwookie]

Went to @puke_ariki with Little Wookie today. There was an original Gen 1 Optimus Prime on display. I've had in my mind an idea to reverse engineer this and make a wooden one for quite some time now. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4JRBKBAhT9/?igshid=q1bbycb9dl9