I was telling my work colleagues about this contraption and one of them suggested that I should include a hammer that smashes the marbles. A bit extreme perhaps, but what about something that “smashes” the marbles through a gate instead of actually destroying them?
Continue readingIt’s got chutes and rails but I neglected to get a good photo of the rollercoaster section. There’s a spinny thing though. I love spinny things!
Continue readingI have always loved marble runs. When I was a kid I really wanted one of those build-your-own rollercoaster sets with the long flexible tracks that you could set up any way you wanted.
This contraption isn’t flexible (in fact it’s really really finicky and fiddly) but it did end up with a nice rollercoaster element at the top. And then some typical marble machine elements (flip-flop divider, spiral funnel, pachinko pins). And a couple of unique – as far as I know – bits that were suggested by some friends.
Continue readingI think it’s time to resurrect this blog, seeing as I am going to be exploring the idea of fixing and building stuff for money…
A couple of weeks ago I drove to Adelaide and played my drums on the street.
Okay, busking wasn’t the primary reason I drove to Adelaide. Every year I visit my friend for her birthday for a few days, and I usually fly over. I only took the drumkit because I drove, and I only drove because I was going for an extra two days this year and because another friend (my friend’s sister) came along for a road trip.
I love cymbals (you may have noticed that by now). I am constantly trawling eBay in search of used cymbals at cheap prices, especially damaged ones which can go for less than 10% of their original price.
Even undamaged ones can sometimes sell for a song (see what I did there).
My first few attempts at making cymbals taught me just how much work goes into making cymbals, and how difficult it is to do at home.
Modifying cymbals, however, is slightly easier.
You might remember how my modified Sabian B8 ride cymbal sounds… not so great.
I decided that function takes precedence over form and cut the corners off to make it round again.
Yep, that’s right. This is was going to be a little update, because since the last entry, I’ve spent more time playing the drums than I’ve spent building anything (well, there have been a few more experiments with cymbals, but I’ll save that for another post).
I’m taking lessons over at Stephens Drum Shed and I’ve learned heaps even though I still struggle to find as much time to practise as I would like. My goal is to take the drumkit out busking in public before 2014 is over, so I’m trying to get my playing skills to a point where I won’t be an embarrassment on the streets 🙂
So it turns out that a friend of mine is organising a homebuilt musical instrument roots and blues festival. It’s mostly cigar box guitars, but apparently a square drumkit qualifies. So tomorrow morning I’ll be driving 2.5 hours out to Bendigo to show off my drumkit and maybe have a jam or two. I’m a little nervous about my skills but thankfully I don’t have to play on stage in front of an audience! It will be the drumkit’s first official public showing.
So I made some videos of me setting up and packing up the drumkit.
moogyver strikes again 