My Ukulele 3D Printer story is featured in the Make Pro Newsletter!

Hooray! Huzzah! My last entry about the Ukulele bridge I printed on my 3D printer was featured in the Make Pro Newsletter (http://makezine.com/2013/07/26/maker-pro-newsletter-22/).

The files are also available on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:122004).

The final version of the bridge in black looks like this:

My 3D printer… ROCKS!

A few days ago the bridge of my electric ukulele broke. It was torn from the fixing screw because of the bad quality of the bridge (that’s what you get for buying cheap).

I faced the decision to either send the ukulele in to get a total replacement or to try to get a replacement part. Knowing that the replacement will have the same quality issues, I went in a different direction. A few measurements later I started up my BCN3D printer and printed out a replacement for the bridge.

This is my homemade replacement part (in white, because I had white in the printer),

Now it is only a matter of drilling out the second screw…

…take off the original part (the cable under the bridge belongs to the pickup which fits in the bridge)…

…and install the new part.

Because the part has to withstand some serious tension from the cords, I made a beefier version with 3 fixation screws instead of 2. Here is a picture with the original part and the three design iterations I did.

I am pretty happy with the result. The last step will be to print the new part in black to make it fit more the original color scheme.

Life with a 3D printer

Having a 3D printer is awesome. But what do you actually print with it? Foremost a lot of calibration pieces trying to find the best parameters for the printer and used material.

When the machine is calibrated and running nicely it is time to repair stuff around the house. For example making a new rose for a watering can (the original one was got lost thanks to the cat).

Also, one can print out some hooks for bath towels.

Basically you can orint all kind of plastic parts. For example a carabiner hook…

…a key organizer…

… or even a mandible.

The making of a hobbyhorse

Last Christmas I made a hobbyhorse for my niece, but I did not take pictures in the process. Now I was hired to make another on. This time I made some photos which I want to show you here. This is more an inspirational post than a tutorial.

Lets start! For the head we need seven pieces.

• 2 side pieces
• 2 felt ear pieces
• 2 fabric ear pieces
• 1 fabric strip 10 cm wide and as long as the circumference as the side pieces.

Sew a felt ear pieces to a fabric ear piece.

Turn the ear inside-out.

Fold ear in half and sew on the bottom.

Repeat for the other ear.

For the head pin the side pieces to the fabric strip. Don’t forget to already put the ears in place.

Turn the head inside out.

For the harness prepare two strips of fabric 7.5cm wide and 140cm long.

Fold the fabric strips lengthwise 2 times (like in the banjolele strap tutorial) and sew them shut. Cut one 100cm piece and add hooks on the ends.

Gather more material. I use 2 buttons for eyes and two buttons for nostrils. Two large keyrings will become part of the harness. A dollar store walking stick becomes the “body” of the horse. Not shown are two bells which are attached to the harness.

After inserting the handle of the walking stick I filled the head with stuffing.

I folded the long neck of the head inwards and used thick embroidery thread to seal the neck by wrapping it tightly around (sorry, no picture here…).

For the harness I cut 3 strips of the strap and attached them to the keyrings. I did this step by step ensuring a tight fit on the horse head.

For the hair I cut wool threads of approx. 40cm length. I folded the threads and pulled the loop through the fabric on the neck. The ends of the thread are then pulled through the loop.

Finally the horse looks like this.You can cut the hair or add additional features.

That’s all!

My entry to the sketchbook project 2013 now online!

I am happy to announce that my entry to the Sketchbook Project 2013 is now available at the Digital Library of the Art House.

Click here to go to the Digital Library.

How to Make a Banjo Uke Strap

Tired of having to sit down to play your banjolele? Make yourself a strap!

Here is how:

Step1: Make a plan.

Step 2: Gather your material. I used:

• 2 fabric pieces 7cmx20cm
• 1 fabric piece 7cmx97cm
• 1 shoelace (about 70cm)
• 2 plastic buckles for 2cm wide straps
• 1 plastic strap slide

Step 3: Fold and iron the fabric pieces 2 times so you end up with 1.75cm wide straps.

Step 4: Now sew along the edges with a few millimeter allowance on all straps,

Step 5: Take on short strap and sew one part of one buckle to it by making a loop.

Step 6: on the other end sew a loop.

 

Step 7: Cut about 32 cm of the shoelace.

Step 8: Make a knot so you have a 7cm loop.

Step 9: Stuff the ends into the loop of the short strap and sew over,

Step 10: Repeat Steps 6-9 for the other short strap.

Step 11: Sew the slider to the long strap.

Step 12: Push the loose end of the strap through the slider after looping through one buckle part,

Step 13: On the other end sew on the last buckle part, You have now a finished strap

To fixate your strap to the banjolele, disconnect the buckles and slide the shoelace loop through one of the metal J-hooks on the head.

Pull the other end of the short strap through,

Do this also with the second short strap and connect the long strap the short ones. You did it.