Too funny! I was with my mother this week trying to keep her from getting too depressed over my stepfather dying, so I had been reading your daily updates. I will call her tomorrow and let her know how it worked out. LOL

Okay I take it back you did what many mena wouldn't have been able to do at least not without a few cold showers and many beers.... Even after reading through it again it's a shame you lucky dog.... I would have paid to be a fly on that wall.

DM

I'm not so sure about lucky. I felt like I was intruding. I mean it was nice to see a cute gal and all, but they arent my wife and I DID swear to be faithful.

Kinda like showing me a piece of veal. Not interested...I mean SURE I'M HUNGRY! ( This is kind of funny too, because I personally dont care for cows very much and consider a barbecue to be a step in the right direction...)
It's just that my current mindset dictates that it has to be something on the menu...

I dont do drive throughs....

That being said, It doesnt mean I can t look at the pictures once in a while. A female friend of mine used to say: "I dont care where he gets his appetite, just as long as he comes home for dinner."

So now with the newfound peace in my shop, I went out yesterday to continue the stand. I fussed and then tried a mock setup and realized that this is WAY too tall! The trusses are just too long and Im not sure it will fit under the space of the stairs....So I think I'm going to have to cut them down.

The more I think about this, the more I realize I want to jump into a pro setup...I have the stuff...?

...And back to our regularly scheduled program.

dosent sound like Veal man more like scissor fighting trout. Nice fish story man

Well, if I know my life, things will calm down and be VERY normal for a while. Painfully so...
Then, as soon as I get used to it, something else will happen...Could be anything...thats what makes it interesting...

So I ran over some quick calculations for the stand and I think I'm easily over by a foot if not more. I figure the average stair incline is something like 33 degrees (?) so if I had to stowe this thing in its current height, the feet would be stick out of the bottom of the stairs. Not good for small feet. So Im thinking of smalling it down and making a traditional dobsonian mount on wheels. My pro model will go behind the couch so I think the rails might lend themselves more to that design. Im still a little up in the air about this one. If I had made the gate a little more "bolt downable" I wouldnt hesitate the use it and then store it vertically. I would just hate to store it, only to have the gate fall out of the bottom during the night.
Ideally, what I would like to be able to do is watch a move, then just tuck it under the stairs...

Lucky guy. I'm sure they'd be a fun bunch to meet. I've heard wild stories about Claudia Christian at Sci-Fi conventions. Carter, as Marcus, had one of my favorite lines of all times: "I used to think it was a terrible thing that life was so unfair. Then I thought, 'what if life *were* fair, and all of the terrible things that happen to us came because we really deserved them?' Now I take great comfort in the general unfairness and hostility of the universe."
I did meet Peter Woodward, who played Galen, the techno-mage on Crusade, the B5 spinoff. He was a nice guy.

Nice Story SJ..I really need the chuckle today.
Talk about a real curve ball...who woulda thunk it.

Hmmmmm.... I miss a week on the forums and everyone turns into a Muppett...

I usually pack my lunch. But it's a treat sometimes to eat out or have a box lunch.

What? Why are you grinning like that? Stop it!!!

Meeting Jason Carter was pretty interesting. My wife has a little bit of a thing for him. He was in the elavator talking to us for ten minutes or so and she couldnt put her finger on who he was. He was wearing a crew cut and a bowler that day. She finally gets off the elevator and goes "OMG! That was Jason Carter!"
Total Fangirl.

I did get to cross swords with Peter Woodward during one of his presentations. He's a great speaker.


Anyway, back to business...
I checked on my calculations and yes, I was over the line. Too bad because I like the railroad transfer rod thing, but it wasnt "picking up steam".

My new stand is going to blend some organics with a slightly scaled up base. Im going to use the rail design but double the width to give it a more "trunk-like" feel to it. Im going to save the organic influence for the side pieces. If I get this correct, it will remind you ( vaguely) of an art deco/techno treetrunk stand with dobsonian features...

The problem Im having right now is the wood. I would really like to make the sides out of one piece of wood, but Im really looking for the illusion of whispiness. That pretty much leaves out the "piece it together" method. Guess Im going to have to start thinking outside the box again...

Plain, cylindrical wood core, but with vines hot-glued in a weaving pattern up from the base to the speaker placement? Organic, yet stable? Perhaps even cover the central core with real bark?

or ... two vine covered dryads holding up the speakers ... one a brunette and another a hot redhead with a heart-shaped ... or maybe not. HAHAH

Damn!

I think the mental image of that redhead is going to haunt me for a bit. No, not what you expected at all, not to mention the rest of us. I say again. DAMN!

Note: Don't get too cock with expecting your life to be boringly normal, either. To quote Roger Zelazny: "THe Universe is not only more bizzare than we imagine, it is more bizzare than we can imagine."

Well, it looks like your workshop has been robbed of an afterschool security guard, unless your downstairs tennant and her ... friend want the job.

Well, I guess this is a satisfying end to the mystery. All in all though I think I got more of a laugh from the toothpaste story, though.

Now, on to the project!

Well, Fall is in the air!
You know how I can tell? I start to want to work in the shop. Last night I spent a bit out there trying to come up with a design for the stand that made sense. Spent about 45 minutes covering the side of a box with scribbles and scrawls....
I have come to a painful conclusion: I may have to use...Plywood! ( gasp!)

I know, but its the only way I can truly gaurantee the rigidity of the trusses...still...plywood

/mourn Zelazny

He would appreciate us DIY PJ guys. Creatures of Light and Darkness walking in shadows.

Wow. I haven't thought of those books in years. It's probably been 25 years since I read them.

SJ: plywood ain't so bad, and I know you'll find a way to pretty it up.

When I was in college I spent about a month on swing shift pulling hot, wet single sheets off the belt for a plywood company. Wafer thin, boiling temp sheets of 4x8 laminate. They came off about 1 every second and I detested every minute of it.
My hatred for plywood is deep. I dont care if I have to build something with it as long as I dont have to see it...

That's understandable. Just don't close your eyes while cutting it.

I have the same loathing for cows. When I was a kid, I worked a dairy, running the milking machines and shoveling s**t all day, literally ankle deep in the stuff. I learned to drive running the honey wagon (euphemism) back and forth over the hay fields.

I take great joy in slamming down a burger as an adult. Suck on that, Clarabelle!

SJ: You're sure you need plywood for rigidity? I'd have thought that you'd be able to use some more of that beautiful hardwood craftsmanship.

Though, personally, I think that plywood is a large step up from MDF, which I ended up using because it's cheap(er), and easy to work with. At least with plywood there's something that's recognisable as WOOD there. (Though I can understand the deep and abiding hatred for something associated with an unpleasant job.)

Hey! Here's an idea. You can make the trusses from hardwood with an intersecting inlay of a contrasting wood. Say make the pieces from red oak with white oak inlays. This would be in keeping with the overall style of the projector, and it avoids the use of plywood.

Problem is that I dont have much oak left and the prices are a bit steep now. I got a nice drawing on paper last night, but the holders make it look like a mutant duck...

So every time I looked at it, I would just quack up...
I know, foul joke...

sigh...

I have to say, I love plywood for the right applications. I built my bar, 2 coffee tables, couch, barstools, a bar table, a bunch of shelving units, and a step-ladder type thing leading to my loft all out of 3/4" paint-grade maple plywood. I have also used it to make a dolly for rolling my motorcycles in and out of my shop, and for a rig that fits under my sportbike's under-slung exhaust & oilpan to let me lift it with a bike lift meant for cruisers or ATV's.

It has amazing strength to weight ratio, finishes just like maple, is pretty easy to work (the core is poplar, I think), the sawdust smells good, it's really cheap, and plywood is very environmentally efficient/responsible as a nice bonus.

The past is gone, SJ. It's OK. You had a bad job at a plywood factory. You probably have had some bad experiences with girls or woodworking tools (although both at the same time could be promising) but you got past it and persevered. You can do the same with plywood, I promise.

The stuff I'm talking about is sold at my local Home Depot for less than $50 CDN per 4x8 sheet (I think it's around $46), which makes it 30-50% cheaper than the other hardwood plywoods or laminates. Even if you decide not to hide the edges, this stuff is made of 5 plys with a thin veneer on each side, so the edges look much better than the regular construction 3/4" plywoods that have 6 plys (so you end up with 2 adjacent plys in the same orientation).

Or you can get trick marine plywood that have really fine plys that I personally think can look great with properly finished edges.

Either way, there are lots of choices. You can see I'm a plywood enthusiast, just trying to ease your suffering and encourage you to let go of that past and open your mind a bit. I know you can do it!


Good luck,

SNiff! Somebody hug me...

That's FOWL you dingbat!!!

Please change my avatar designation to "Resident Proofreader".

Edit: I'm using plywood.

and make sure to misspell it... maybe "Resident Poopeater" (just kidding durachko)

Wow!!! Hey, I didn't deserve THAT!!!

Or did I?

Oooo! XP's layin down the smack talk!
Youre not gonna let him talk to you like that are you?

DC?

It ever occur to you that I used the right word?

In point of fact, SJ did use the correct word, it just wasn't (yet another) pun that way. Had he meant the other pun, it could have started another pun war. He probably didn't really want that. That's not to say that he's chicken, but with all the turkeys around here, someone's goose is likely to get cooked. Uh oh, now I've done it. I'd better duck!

Heh. I guess it goes to show how cool this place is that xp can get away with talking to a moderator that way without sanction... Or can he? Hmmm...

Well anyway, I suppose if the oak is too expensive, you can find a way to either hide the plywood or make it look good enough that you don't need to hide it.

Of course another option for a nice rigid structure is fibreglass. Make a mock-up from paper and wire, then coat it in fibreglass. Instant rigid structure. It then is up to you to make it in a style that fits with the theme of the projector.

While I don't have anything against plywood, I'd have never thought of putting those two words together.

I'm sure there is a diagnosis somewhere out there for it....

Supra! Stop it with the bird puns! You're robin all the fun out of it! Its a cardinal sin to feather your nest and migrate out of here. Sigh...
I guess all we can do if flip you the bird as you take wing....



PS. Dont encourage me! I have been saving a set of game bird puns for years and Im not afraid to whip out the "woodcock" references!

I think he really likes me. Just look closely.

Fess up. Did you REALLY mean to say foul or did you lay an egg? I think you really should be eating crow about now. Well, the early bird gets the worm so I've gotta go do some work.

(I try to use timberdoodle instead of woodcock. Woodcock is just too harsh.)

OOOOOOO.....Now there is a double entendre!!

i like me new signature.. "Durachko is king." i didn't even notice it until now!

I was waiting for you to change my avatar to XioPoopEater or a big turd



have you seen that south park episode where everybody puts food in their butt and craps out their mouth? i'll have to find a pic of that..

Weeelllllll . . . I did actually START to modify your avatar but was too lazy! . . . . . . . . . Uh-oh!!! Sorry SJ. Get ready to purge your plog!!!

Now that one... I can pass on.



So SJ.. do anything do that stand last night?

Forget it!!! Don't bother him. He had me FedEx him the last of my lime Jello mix yesterday. <woo, woo>

PS: The mice LOVE dat shit!!!

Considering you started with a 50 lb bag and I only got 12 pounds, you either have friggin huge mice, or you started the college girl experiment early.....So videos soon right?

Did a little with the stand last night. I hate the duck look, so I'm considering "floating" it on top of a very old symbol I created about 12 years ago. My daughter had some other interesting ideas including one that pays homage to our heritage...

Yes, I did mean to use the actual word I used...Only the subtle need to read into the pun...

Timberdoodle? Hmmm.... Mine is called "sam"...


( Named by my first GF. Stands for "Steadfast And Manly"....although Magnificent was often interjected...

oh boy meglamania,, hehehehehheheh

I don't think I want to hear this.

*plugging ears and loudly singing, "Manamana - Do dooo do do do..."

Close your eyes too....!

So my daughter has firmly latched onto the idea that the stand needs to be in the form of a harp. She thinks it would be "so cooooll!" so she has volunteered to help me. For any of you with kids, you know this will turn into a project three times longer than it needs to be...but she's into it, so I really cant complain. Designs to come soon, hopefully...

BTW, the shop has returned to its previous peaceful and serene state...The delivery of the rent this month was a non-stop snicker-athon, however.....

Ain't that the truth brother!!
But the ride is much more fun.

It's neat that you're getting your daughter involved in the project, SJ.

My Grandfather died a long, long time ago, and I think my fondest memories of him are from when I used to help him with his projects. I was little enough at the time that "helping" meant that he would give me a block of wood, some nails and a hammer so I could watch him work while I practiced hammering nails.

I'm sorry to hear about your Granddad. Mine did too. But he wouldnt want us to be sad...

My fondest memory of him ( oddly enough, mentioned in a recent mod post...) was when we went fishing. We used to get caught up in the bushes by the shore and we would try to get the lure out. I was really frustrated and I couldnt get it to release so I started giving it a good yank like it was a fish. Grandpa goes " OH! Look at that! You caught a Tree Bass! Wow! Look at em fight!"

The rest of the day was giggles and laughter when we caught them...

glad it wasn't a brown trout

Hmmmm . . . anyone else detecting a "theme" to x's recent posts here?

Edit: Maybe it's time to "flush" him?

maybe i'm not getting enough fiber in my chat . or i'm just a $%!& head

Well...Following syscrushes love for plywood, I begrudgingly began to consider the idea that MAYBE I could make plywood part of my life...

It was a heart wrenching decision. Normally I detest any type of processed wood, especially plywood. But I looked into the environmental and renewability aspects and Im starting to come around a little. The maple and birch plys have come along a bit and seem like I could make some fun stuff with it. But them I found something even more fun. I can get it precut in the sizes I want....Hmmmmm....Sweet!
( My dislike of Plywood ran so deep, I never even asked...)

One of the things that made it hard to consider was getting it home...A 2x6 foot piece could work nicely in my car...

Another product I found was called "PlyBoo". Seriously. Its a very renewable wood source with bamboo core instead of wood and veneer covering. Light and VERY strong. Rubberwood has also become quite popular. I have three mission tables made of it and it is nearly indestructable.

I guess in an age of decreasing resources, I must consider making the move to more easily renewable sources of material.

The shape I want to make is perfect for the ply, so Im thinking I might just try it...

Syscrush...If this turns out bad, Im gonna come find you...