Blog

So today I departed from my neoprimitivism to see just how quickly I could bang out a bowl. I produced the a similarly goofy looking bowl as I did last time (this one has a sort of scandinavian boat motif) but this time I did it in 5 hours. Word of caution....the circular chainsaw grinder attachment I use for the fast rough-out behaves similarly to a chainsaw in that its very agressive and can pull one into a cut. This is not to be used in a careless way and should only be used with safety gear (face protection, hand protection and thick clothing.)

Last Winter I finally got time to layup and fabricate the Mizzen Mast and remake a better sliding cap for the cabin.  

The mast was made from Home Depote bought 2X3 by 8 wood that was scarfed on a 10 to 1 ratio and laided up into four 28 ft lengths using West Marine adhesive. The they were Glued together using PL premium The mast was then tapered and then cut in to 8s then 16s . The would had Grain denisty of  12 rings  or more per inch. The layup had to be done out side because of the shear size but the scarfs were cut and glued at Make Haven 

To be an inventor you have to believe you can make a difference. If you sit and look at it alone it can feel that there is nothing left to invent, or that all the technology is too advanced for a layman to contribute a significant innovation. Recently MakeHaven hosted an event that proves the people of New Haven are not deterred and can find lot of ways to innovate.

The melting pot is a great tool for taking 3D printed prototypes and turning them into finished products like game pieces or jewelry in a relatively quick process. I ended up making a small series of geometric, asymmetrical earrings, and the whole project, from printing my prototypes to buffing my final designs, only took a couple of days.

Making the Mold

               Ok, I am in love with sinamay. felt, feathers, leather, biais binding, petersham ribbon and many other ingredients that make the wonderful world of millinery. While I am stumbling in finding wood blocks - I need them in order to mold the hats -  through the years I have learned to be more patient and I truly enjoy the power of thinking outside the square. Still looking for those expensive commodities has been somewhat turned around last night, by my Australian Master Milliner Instructor Miss Elaine from The Hat Academy, bringing much hope. She is so clever.

3D printing is an amazing technique for prototyping, and with surface finishings like Smooth On's XTC-3D, you can turn those prototypes into even better finished products.

I chose to print a small planter I designed in Fusion 360 just with one extrude and one chamfer command.

Sous Vide is a cooking method with which you immerse vacuum sealed food in a hot water bath and cook it slow and low. The hot water bath is controlled by a water heater/recirculator with a very tight range of temperature control (to one degree F). Since proteins in particular are more temperature sensitive than time sensitive, sous vide allows one to cook and hold food for long periods of time without degradation or loss of moisture. These temperature ranges for various states of doneness are often from about 120F - 160F.

It all started with an innocent Slack post from Paul Novaks (@novakps -- blame credit where credit is due): "This should be at 770 Chapel", linking to a video of hopscotch on a city sidwalk. A little bit of chatter with @BenBerkowitz and the ball started rolling.

And now we have a (mostly) short-term pair of hopscotch boards chalked on the sidewalk in front of the building.

Not too long ago I ate at a small family run Italian restaurant in Dallas. Their claim to fame is handmade pasta and they have one of those $15K bronze die pasta extruders that leaves proper tooth on the surface of the pasta in order to better hold sauce. We tried many of their wares and the the standout dish was not an extruded noodle but a fresh egg noodle made for ravioli. The dish is called Pasta in Brodo (pasta in broth). More specifically it was a porchetta ravioli served in a chicken broth with a full sprig of rosemary dunked into the broth.