T’was Tool Making Day

I did not feel like working on knives today, so I have decided to make the measuring pin from brass. It took me rather longer than I expected because I had to work out several things on the fly and there were therefore several failed attempts and repairs. But I managed it in the end and the result looks kinda cool. And it works just as well as the wooden one, in addition to being ever so slightly more precise.

The bent brass pin on the right is screwed and glued into the lower half of the pin and goes through a hole in the upper half where it has slight (several tenths of a mm) clearance.

Here you can see the upper jaw, where a ground wood-screw holds the spring tightly in place. In combination with the bent brass pin, this holds both jaws fixed against each other so the tips do not misalign (too much) when used.

On the underside is no screw. Originally I thought that two bent brass pins in the back portion will do the trick. But it did not work at all, it turns out that make something like that precise enough by hand is impossible (for me at least). When you look closely at the pictures, you will see that there are plugged holes where that second pin was. If I were making another one, I would try to ditch the guiding pin altogether and fix both jaws to the spring with a screw. Whether it would work better or not I do not know, since I stopped tinkering as soon as I got a working product.

And the second tool that I have made today is a center scribe.

It is a piece of black locust wood onto which are fixed two small ball bearings. The axes are just press-fitted both into the wood and into the ball bearings. Black locust is strong enough to hold and if it splits, I will make the body from aluminium, this was just a proof of concept.

Here you can see the other side. The wood-screw goes all the way through and just the tip pokes out between the ball bearings. Should it turn out necessary, I will eventually replace the screw with a re-ground drill bit, but for testing, a screw was a readily accessible and easily applicable piece of hardened steel.

To scribe the center on a flat bar (in the future on an outlined blade) it is simply inserted between the ball bearings so it rests firmly on both of them and on the screw tip. When dragged through (for example downwards on the photo, assuming the tip of the tang is down), the screw tip inscribes a line that is very close to the center. Not perfectly, but I can also scribe a second line by dragging the piece of steel through the assembly in the other direction (putting the tang up in the photo and dragging that way). These two lines very close to each other are sufficient enough for me to grind the blades symmetrically, after all, it is better than what I have used so far.

Borb: Plush of the Month

The August pattern for the plush of the month was a borb, a combination of bird+orb. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on fabric, but wanted to use up some of my stash and found grey and orange, so I decided to go for a cockatiel, which meant I only needed to order a bit of yellow plush. Also, cockatiels are cute and we used to have them when I was a kid.

I terms of sewing, this was much easier than the dearest deer. The only downside is that I looked like I’d blown up a chinchilla.

Welcome Fluffy!

Full image of said plush. It is about 60 cm tall

The eyes are actually made from epoxy resin. When the resin was nicely sticky I put two old buttons into it so I could sew them on. By the way, fluffy is filled with what used to be three 40×40 cm Ikea cushions (Cheaper than buying filling, because everything marked as “craft supplies” gets at least a 200% price hike)

Backside of the cockatiel (grey) with the tail (yellow)

In these pics, Fluffy is sitting where Fluffy is supposed to be: on my couch so I can lay my head against her. But you are only allowed to guess once: She got borbnapped by a smart kid who knows exactly how to make eyes at her mum.

At least she found a friend…

Sunflower Residence – Earwig

Earwigs are not normally associated with flowers, but they can occasionally hide in the flower buds if they provide enough dark end enclosed space to hide in. This one did not manage to completely hide because this bud is healthy and still well enclosed with leaves. Some other flower buds were badly damaged by slugs – hollowed out in the middle – and those were positively filled with earwigs to the brim.

I do not know why many people fear earwigs, they are completely harmless and very shy animals. When disturbed, their only worry is to scamper off somewhere secluded and dark as soon as possible. They do not climb into ears to eat our brains, but they do eat mites and aphids, so they are an asset in the garden.

Look Who Was Hiding in my Fireclay Bricks

Today was a blade quenching day because according to the weather forecast, it might have been the only sunny day in a while. Luckily, I have managed to finish a batch of 8 blades to a sufficient state for hardening so I set out to do it first thing in the morning. And when I was taking fireclay bricks – not for fireplace, just to hold the quenching oil receptacle upright and steady – this fellow was hiding from yesterdays deluge in a crack. It got lucky I did not squish it flat when taking the bricks.

When I put it in the sun, it has spread its wings, soaked in some warmth, and buggered off pronto so I only managed to snap one picture with my phone. But it came out quite well, I think.

It is small tortoiseshell Aglais urticae. These beauties justify the existence of stinging nettles.

Another Fancy Bat

I’m pleased to present another fancy bat drawing by Joseph Zowghi. I love the way this artist makes bats look so gentle and appealing, as well as the meditative element the artist creates through repetition.

It’s based on Pteropus conspicillatus, the spectacled flying fox of Australia.

©Joseph Zowghi, all rights reserved

Sunflower Residence – Grasshopper

There is plenty of grasshoppers around, and technically they are a pest. However, unlike slugs, I have never noticed them do any noticeable damage on crops, local species seem to prefer grass over anything else.

This individual is the only one that I have seen sitting – just sitting, not munching – on one of the sunflower plants. And it stayed long enough in one place to get shots from different angles.

Sunflower Residence – Itty Bitty Spiders

I was not trying to photograph this one. I did not even see it – I was aiming for a grasshopper. But the camera autofocused on this tiny spider who seems to have caught an even tinier insect.

There was a beautiful, big facehugger, bright yellow like a bead. But it was raining and the next day I could not find it. I only found this tiny one, hiding behind one of the petals.

Sunflower Residence – Beeezzzzz

Nothing to say, really.

Sunflower Residence – Bush Cricket

I have planted several sunflowers this year. Slugs did a number on them, but they did manage to blossom at least somewhat. And there are some pretty critters showing along so there will be a series of pictures in the next few days.

Today this beautiful female great green bush cricket. I was afraid of these when I was a wee little kid.

Gotta Resin Some More: Pokémon Earrings and Pins

I did a bit of resin crafting, finally making use of the last batch of moulds I had ordered. These require quite a bit of secondary work, painting in the details, but I absolutely love them.

Head of Galar fire starter, next to a 1€ coin

I first cast the blanks. They have all the outlines I need for later. Usually I use one colour only, but the scorbunny has the orange red ear tips. After that I paint in the details, using either acrylic paint or UV resin. Small lines like the nose are painted in with a permanent CD marker. I had to try some out to find one that doesn’t dissolve in the final layer of resin (mostly UV, epoxy only if I’m making some anyway, no use mixing up 5 ml of epoxy) . The hooks are sterling silver, the bead is some semi precious stone.

I love Grookey. I don’t like its evolution that much, but Grookey is absolutely adorable. You can see in the top one where I didn’t wait for long enough for the acrylic paint to dry.

And Sobble. Sobble gets the coolest evolution, but as a baby they’re just a little Emo. I love Sobble.

I also got moulds for the original Kanto starters. If you compare Squirtle to Sobble, you can see how much more complex they got. Here it’s just eyes and mouth, done.

Bulbasaur is the least favourite Kanto starters and I don’t know why. They’re so cute! Here I went from semi precious stones to a glass bead I had lying around.

Original Game Boy silhouettes with Galar Starters as earrings

A bit of an anachronism: Original Game Boy design with Galar starters. Yes, making the tiny silhouettes is fiddly. I still have my Game Boy, btw.

And because not everybody has their ears pierced, I also made some pins. Bulbasaur is missing, because my friends nicked them.

My Dearest Deer (plush of the month)

I made another plush from NazFX Studios, just in time before the next project is looming around the corner (yay for holidays).

This one is a cute little fawn, with true Bambi vibes.

I changed my deer a bit from the original version. I used tan instead of white, left off the antlers, and moved the ears to a more natural position. Isn’t she cute? And I’m never going to make another one. Really. You’d have to pay me serious money, but this won’t become a “you remember it’s my birthday” pattern. It’s a good pattern, and it’s a lovely plush, but it’s also a hell lot of work. But I’m glad I finished her and she’s already been adopted by the other plushies.

Lost And Found Birdies

Today, I’m sharing 2 beautiful photos that were taken by Emily Davis, in La Jolla, during March of 2019. They were submitted by her mother, Anne, Cranky Cat Lady, in that same month and, upon receipt, I carefully filed them away in the wrong place! Then, I promptly forgot all about them until a few days ago, when I found them while I was looking for something else. So, here, at last, are two very pretty birds.

Blazing Shades of Fungus

Some delicate mushrooms in bright shades of yellow and orange, courtesy of Avalus,

Affinity

Art, Fun, & Nonsense.

Sexy beast

Once Again I Rule Freethoughtblogs

Sporadic blogging over the holiday period

Abuse in the Anglican church: An all-too-familiar pattern

Targeted Individuals II

Invasive but Cute

T’was Tool Making Day

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Borb: Plush of the Month

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Sunflower Residence – Earwig

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Look Who Was Hiding in my Fireclay Bricks

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Another Fancy Bat

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Sunflower Residence – Grasshopper

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Sunflower Residence – Itty Bitty Spiders

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Sunflower Residence – Beeezzzzz

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Sunflower Residence – Bush Cricket

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Gotta Resin Some More: Pokémon Earrings and Pins

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My Dearest Deer (plush of the month)

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Lost And Found Birdies

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Blazing Shades of Fungus

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