Spotty rain, humid and hot. It was a little cooler yesterday with the off and on rain helping to keep temps down. Still plenty hot, and uncomfortable though.
Rain kept me from working outside, so I mostly did auction stuff. Also did the tiniest bit of cleanup in the house, and of course puppy time.
Today though, I’m taking the child to day camp at the rock gym, the puppy to the dog sitter for doggie day care, and I’m headed to my secondary to clear some stuff out.
I’ve also got a couple of auction things to pick up- bought a 3d resin printer, and some housewares. I’m hoping the printer didn’t have the resin stolen… and that it works. 1/3 retail, I was willing to take the chance. The level of fine detail you can get on small parts is incredible, and it’s self contained, so I’m hoping the kids will be fired up to learn to use it. Their favorite modeler on youtube, Luke Towan, uses his all the time. The guy I like who does cheap table top gaming stuff uses his with a subscription service to create mini-figs for painting and gaming. I’ve wanted one for a long time.
It would be nice to have the time to actually play with all the maker stuff I’ve got. Perhaps I’ll get to that point if I can get some of the other cr@p out of here.
I’ve got a filament printer, a laser sintering powder printer, the new resin printer, mini CNC lathes and mini CNC mills, full sized manual lathes and manual mills, and all the normal workshop stuff too. A CNC router and a thermal cutter would round out the list nicely, because I don’t think a waterjet cutter is going to fall into my lap. Oh, and a lasercutter/engraver would be nice too. The thing about tools is there is always one more thing you could use…so collecting tools becomes a hobby in itself. I’ve actually printed the test file for the filament printer 🙂
I’ve spent the last couple of decades stacking tools so that I would end up in a position to build or repair most things. And, like the medical preps, having the stuff without the skills can be dangerous, but also allows for the chance that someone with the skills but not the gear can use the stuff to good effect, if I can’t. Of course the goal is that I learn to use everything to at least a passable level. Until then, I’ll have more tool than I can use.
Think about the tools you need to maintain the stuff you have. Think about the tools you might need to make some of the things you haven’t thought of. Hand tools, “primitive” tools, simple tools, those will fill a need if things get really bad. But if things get just bad, so that replacements and the original things themselves might not be easily obtainable, having higher level tools might save the day, or provide some extra income, or just build goodwill where you need it.
Stack tools, and the skills to use them. Stack the inputs to the tools (raw materials) too. In fact, Stack ALL THE THINGS!!! 😛
nick