Month: July 2017

Another one!

• Bike seat is done. It came out pretty well, I think- though, to my eyes not perfect. That’s ok, as I’m just going to park my butt on this thing and pedal, so perfect was only ever going to be a temporary condition anyway. I ended up using some vinyl to cover it (instead of leather), as it was cheaper, readily available, and would bother me less if I screwed up. I figure if I’m wildly dissatisfied I can always rip everything off and start over. [edit: held up on the first ride!]
• My dad and I have been working on a IoT project for my garage doors- it’ll give me the ability to monitor their state remotely. I’ve got most of the hardware installed, and now it’s on to debugging.
• Three shoe projects in the works, now.
  • One: me finally getting around to finishing a resoling project on a pair of Jeans Shop shoes I’ve had for ages. I’ve decided to convert them to treaded soles while I’m at it too, for a bit more all-season traction. I need to grab another 8-10 1″ Spring Clamps (and remove the rubber from them) to finish this.
  • Two: My customization of a pair of sneakers is slowly moving forward. It’s looking more and more like I won’t be able to get a pair of the shoes I’ve coveted for so long, so it’s time to start looking at DIY options. Side note: did you know you can totally just buy big sheets of cork in specified thicknesses? Super useful.
  • Three: A pair of Tim’s-Not-Tom’s shoes for my wife are starting to come together, too. I’ve got materials for the uppers, lining, footbed, and midsole. Still looking at options for the outsole, though- I’ve not been overly pleased with what I’ve found for this previously. Tom’s combines the midsole and outsole in their shoes- it appears to be EVA foam with rubber strands baked in, and I’ve not found a source for that directly. Wouldn’t mind a bit more traction for these, too.
• Shoulder bag v4 is still on my brain. I’m trying to design it to retain the features and functionality I want, but with a less “tactical” look to the thing. Less black Cordura and webbing; more earth tones and subtlety. That means some of the fabric I had earmarked won’t work anymore, so back to sourcing that.
• Starting another long-term project for my bike. I’ll be a hand built part of the drivetrain, and I’ve already got the slab of brass I’ll need to build it. I’m going to need to actually get my vise mounted again to do this one, though. And some soft jaws for it. And my wits about me, as it were. And maybe upgrade some of my files.

Projects abound.

• Working on the newsletter [HSP #83] to go out soon, I hope. It’s been so busy for the last few weeks that having time to find content has been tough- hopefully I’ll be out of most of that soon.
• My favorite bicycle saddle is pretty hard to find in it’s original incarnation. I’m luck to have one on my road bike, but I’ve been itching for another for a mountain bike for a while now- and I’ve sort-of had it. My second saddle was in a sorry state- all the leather and padding for the front half had worn off, and it was pretty much unusable in that state. So I decided to take a swing a re-working it. Currently, the padding is (I think) pretty much done- now it’s time to source leather and figure out how to best mount that.
• There’s a pair of shoes I’ve had my eye on for a long time. They were super rare and wildly expensive- and I was unwilling to spend the sort of money required. Now, though, there’s a new version being released. More robust, less expensive, and lovely in every way. But: there’s a decent chance I won’t be able to get my hands on a pair- or that the price will still be too much to stomach. So: a new shoe project for me, then. Still working on some details (and how far down this rabbit hole I want to go), but progress none the less.
• Holy smokes, remember that keyboard project from a year ago I was working on? Yeah, that. Progress! I have firmware up and running on it- still lots to sort out, but it’s kind of working now. Still plenty to do, but it’s closer to being done than ever before. Everything is tiny and hard to solder, and the firmware (while easier than I feared) is still a byzantine and borderline occult process. Regardless: I’ll be able to say I built this keyboard by hand from scratch. So that’s something, I suppose.
• There’s been some (but, if I’m honest, not tons) of progress on the new shoulder bag project. I’m pretty sure I have the hardware I need- and even much/most of the fabric. But there’s some research to be done and an order to put in for the rest, and I just haven’t had a lot of time to devote to it recently.

Oh how time flies in the summer.

• Went on vacation- and I took much of that time off the internet as well. Got outside more, ate (too much) food, and played with happy kids in a pool.
• Updated the bio every-so-slightly here. A little less focus on the past, maybe a little more focus on the future.
• A new shoe project (slowly) making progress- I’ll share more as things come along, but right now I’m still in the “amassing supplies and logistics” phase of these things. Indeed, I haven’t entirely settled on the model of shoe I’ll be modifying for this, though a Vans Classic Slip-On is high on the list.
• The long-dormant new-shoulder-bag project is back! I’ve had some inspiration (finally!) about what I want to be different about this new bag (as compared to the existing & failing shoulder bag I currently use). I even have many/most of the materials in stock- I’ll need a couple small things, but that’s it.
• Just ordered most of the supplies to overhaul my best shock fork for my mountain bike. It’s long overdue, so it’ll be good to have it feeling plush and buttery soon. Of course I’ve never overhauled one of these before, so there’s that. And a bunch of the parts I need are on backorder, so I’m waiting as well. After, I’m looking at maybe a drivetrain modification. We’ll see.