Fixed it:

Regular people said that in order for humanity to reach its potential, certain resources must be allocated and prioritised for society rather than for billionaires, like air. #FixedIt https://mastodon.social/@nixCraft/116780494584602899

Mom, calm down…

It’s only a splinter! I usually only show the rosy side of travelling and jumping on stuff. Well, seems I picked up a wee sliver of England at RDV XI. (ask me about the barefoot bail into thorns) Yes my tetanus immunization is up to date. THIS is why you should always travel with your personalized med kit… #DIY Tracy trained all day while I did my “wimpy lion with a thorn in its paw” imitation. Hopefully good to go tomorrow #famousLastWords (PSA: early symptoms of Tetanus include jaw spasms, drooling, excessive sweating and irritability? …oh i’ve had that for 45 years then :P

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Pool table pocket drops

Ever wonder how they shaped the bed of the pool table where the balls fall into the pockets? Neither did I.

…until I restored a pool table from 1938-or-so. The slate playing surface has very basic geometric cuts. The four corner pockets have a very wide, two-sided notch, and the side pockets  have a more narrow notch. Wooden inserts are shaped to fit into the notch, and when you cover the bed in felt, the balls roll from the slate, onto these wooden “pocket drop” shapes and fall into the pockets.

It turns out there’s a lot of discussion involved in how large are the radius of the hole — the big round part cut out of the wood that the ball falls into, as well as what the radius the balls rolls over as it falls off the cliff.

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What is a commutator brush?

So our washing machine quit this weekend (while I was away.)

“No user servicable parts inside.”

Not this user! Tools, snip, yank. A-HAH! The commutator brushes are worn out.

This is what my dad used to spend a lot of time on… changing commutator brushes on elevators; The thing in the picture with the “39B” on it, on the end of a braided wire with a spring to push it against the commutator… It’s a block of carbon (called a “brush”) and it should be about an inch long. :*) As the motor spins, it wears down. Eventually, the length of the cable limits it moving down against commutator, no electrical contact, no motor movement. The other brush, (motor has two brushes,) was still long enough to touch.

Physics/electrical geeks: Ask me about commutator brushes some time. :^D

Internet, click click click, order via drop-ship P1, parts for tomorrow. Washing machine back in business for wednesday.

Boo-YA!

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Imanishi

Brown Santa just brought me an Imanishi 8k ceramic waterstone from Lee Valley… “scary sharp”, coming up!

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