DIY Gravity Based Water Filtration System
Still no time to be making things as I would like, but I came across the Berkey water filter last night from a friend's posting of this youtube video:
I've been concerned about fluoride for some time. Last Christmas season I bought an inexpensive counter-top water filter which hooks up to the tap in our kitchen and is able to remove fluoride from the city water. We've actually been really happy with it and the water tastes fantastic.
Looking into the Berkey design, it seems that as long as you can get the containers for the water and the ceramic filters, you can easily construct one yourself. Why bother? Well, the lack of pressure requirement is a plus in case of failure of the city's water supply and you can filter rain water. The ceramic filters come in various grades and last a long time with some occasional maintenance. They do not remove fluoride without a secondary filter, however.
While I have not yet built one of these, I think it is well worth considering. I will likely build one in the future.
Here are some links for reference:
Instructions for a DIY Bucket Filter
Instructable - Cheap and Effective Water Purification System
(neither of the above use the secondary fluoride filter, but they would be attached to the threaded ends of the ceramic filters and hang within the lower chamber)
New Years Board Gaming
Happy New Year everyone! Survived another year. 
Not much happening on the making-stuff front. Still busy with school and teaching. However, I did manage to sneak in a bit of board gaming geekiness into my holiday. Played some Settlers of Catan, Alien Frontiers, and finally got to play Nexus Ops for the first time. My son is getting old enough now to understand gaming mechanics so it was something of an experiment. Seems to have paid off.
One of fun aspects of boardgaming is upgrading or customizing the components to your games so they look more attractive or thematic or to make them more durable. Nexus ops comes with a three dimensional central board piece that is quite flimsy so I set about making my own. I had some Sculpey polymer clay sitting around so I decided to use it. The project didn't take long at all. I just kneaded he clay and pressed it out to 3/4" thickness and used a template to cut the hexagonal shape. I baked it in the oven for 45 minutes and that was pretty much it. I glued the icon reminders on the sides and then cut a hexagon from a piece of black craft foam sheeting for the bottom to compensate for any unevenness in the shaping of the clay, and that's it. Just a big greyish block to battle over. I have one last day off before going back to the grind so we'll test it out today.
I know, it's a small project. But considering how limited my time has been, I feel it's a small victory. I'll take what I can get.
Until next time!
Whips #72 and #73
So, finally, last week I had some free time to catch up on my commissions and I just finished the knot work late last night. I'm actually pretty happy with both of these, especially in comparison with the previous failure. 6' bulls made as a matching pair but going to two different individuals, 14" fiberglass handles, BB+ball chain+nylon core, 8 plait Dacron inner belly, 8 plait nylon second belly and 12 plait nylon overlay, lead and nylon knob foundation. I went with the nylon overlay instead of the Dacron mostly because I didn't have enough material for two whips, but partially because I didn't think I'd be losing sensitivity especially in comparison to the work involved with the higher plait count. I modified the core construction to adapt better to the lighter handle and overall, I'd say these are probably have the best action of all the whips I've made to date. The solid black was a specific request so I differentiated them by using a different end cover on the knobs.
Whip #71
While I was in school April or May, I was commissioned to make a whip for a martial arts instructor in the US. I eventually had some time to proceed in late may so I thought it would be a good time to try working with my spool of Dacron that I picked up last year. I was asked for a 14" handle and an overall length of 6'. I went with a fiberglass handle for the first time and I really like as a handle core for bulls. Much easier to work with than steel. I used an inner core braid of Dacron, and second belly of nylon and an overlay braid of Dacron, something like 18 plait. The knob has a lead base and is overlayed in black and gold nylon. It's a fantastic looking whip. However, I consider it overall to be an inferior product.
I used too much weight in the core for the thong so the whip feels too heavy. And I didn't find the action to be good as I had hoped the Dacron would provide. In any case, I decided not to release this whip into the wild. It's also a shame since I had also begun work on a second whip to match this one for another practitioner under this instructor. It wasn't until June that I was able begin work on another pair as replacements, and I just finished those last night.
Wet Folded Leather Masks
About two months ago I went to a one day workshop about making leather masks. I figured it would be a nice intro for me into the world of leather crafting. The guy who taught it is actually well known in the film industry for his leather work. It turned out to be a very easy technique that pretty much anyone can do. All you need is some vegetable tanned leather and a bit of water. You cut out your shape, moisten (not soak) the leather then bend, fold, crease, or otherwise shape your leather as you like, mostly with your fingers but some tools can be used to help with the shaping if you like. Then, once you have your shapes, let the leather dry and then paint with acrylics. Easy. These were the masks I made in class. Not bad for first attempts.