Earache
Well-known member
Some tables, doors and other crap ..
To quote someone earlier in this thread... now I feel very inadequate.
At the only office job I've ever had (mortgage processor) I got tired of having to walk back to my desk just to lift the phone receiver off the hook to answer the phone while using my wireless headset. I did my share of filing and it was inevitable that I'd be at the file cabinets when the phone would start going off. Having worked in car accessories for a decade prior to getting that job, I knew I had some stuff laying around that would let build something remotely-controlled... so I used a Radio Shack builder's box, an aftermarket power door lock actuator, a few pieces of add-on door lock rod, some brass clamps the kits came with (used for tying the lock rods to the factory manual lock rods) as pivot bushings, an old keyless entry module and a 12v "battery eliminator" power supply to make this. The plastic "velcro" strips secured the office phone base to the aluminum plate with the metal lift rod (and plastic manual lifter for when I was at the desk) between the phone receiver and base. I kept the remote in my pocket and I could answer the phone from anywhere in the entire office. I added an alarm LED so my co-workers would know I was on the phone if they walked up.
and a short video of it working (old and grainy, taken by a Motorola flip phone in 2007)
That looks like a fun project! Nice workVery much an amateur but I've enjoyed making a few knives. I made this one out of a rusty railroad spike ...
And this is a boning knife I made for a friend ...
I've made a few now so my skills are improving. I'm trying to teach myself to weld adequately and also improving on my leather work. Now the riding season is over for this year, I'll be back to knife making.
That’s incredible. How long did that take you?Cedar strip canoe I built a few years ago. Milled the strips from local lumber, hand caned seats. Fun project its for using, not furniture, no fancy strips or inlays, just utility. Have forms and strongback in the garage if someone wants them come get'em.
Thanks, it's a weird combo of movement inside the box and it was fun to make one instead of spending the better part of $100 for a good one. And yeah, I have a lot of good 12v hardware left but it's aged out so much at this point that you can't find a transmitter for one. Sad that working hardware has to be thrown out. I did a lot of custom stuff and it was a fun job until toward the end of that 10 years of doing it when my back helped me decide that line of work was done.That is ingenuity at its finest!
I used to be a 12v installer also. I also wound up with a large assortment of random components and hardware that still comes in handy.
I was a couple of months. I did most work on weekends between camping trips. My granddaughter helped so worked around her schedule as well. A retired guy could finish in a week if you worked 8hrs a day on it. The design is from a local school teacher, his book is linked here Gil Gilpatrick Strip Canoe.That’s incredible. How long did that take you?
Thanks, it's a weird combo of movement inside the box and it was fun to make one instead of spending the better part of $100 for a good one. And yeah, I have a lot of good 12v hardware left but it's aged out so much at this point that you can't find a transmitter for one. Sad that working hardware has to be thrown out. I did a lot of custom stuff and it was a fun job until toward the end of that 10 years of doing it when my back helped me decide that line of work was done.
I was a couple of months. I did most work on weekends between camping trips. My granddaughter helped so worked around her schedule as well. A retired guy could finish in a week if you worked 8hrs a day on it. The design is from a local school teacher, his book is linked here Gil Gilpatrick Strip Canoe.
I did some stuff I could never do today, like sit on my knees facing backwards in the rear seat on a 4 door car for an hour putting on an aftermarket rear window defroster... measuring and laying out the copper grid tracks, soldering them together in the right patter for proper resistance, running the heavy gauge wire forward and then laying under the dash to install the power/timer module. Ugh. I even laid on my back in the hatch area of the early '80s Camaros putting one on that rear glass...Yeah it was physically demanding, you had to practically be a contortionist and sometimes in disgusting conditions. Despite that, I really miss those days.
I never had the pleasure of doing a defroster install. I mostly did cell phone installs since I was the fng. My first real audio system install went great until the customer turned his lights on that night. The lights and the tunes all went out. Needless to say he was back first thing the next morning.I did some stuff I could never do today, like sit on my knees facing backwards in the rear seat on a 4 door car for an hour putting on an aftermarket rear window defroster... measuring and laying out the copper grid tracks, soldering them together in the right patter for proper resistance, running the heavy gauge wire forward and then laying under the dash to install the power/timer module. Ugh. I even laid on my back in the hatch area of the early '80s Camaros putting one on that rear glass...
I had to do everything except high end stereo. We did a little bit of audio but mostly special circumstances. I was the go-to guy for oddball power window and lock conversions along with adding power locks to cars that were never intended to have them, like an old Mercedes with the vacuum door lock system. It took 2 lock actuators with 12 gauge wiring and power through a relay to move the lock rod on the driver's door that made the other doors and trunk (vacuum) actuators work. Fortunately there was enough room in the door to put on horizontally and one vertically working together to make that stiff-ass vacuum valve move. I also did hundreds of cruise controls. The owner was cheap (wow, what a surprise huh?) and the kits he bought were a few years behind but we did a lot of GM vehicles so we could always make the parts work... until the Quad 4 engine came out. Our fastest guy (read: slammer who made the company more money while others had to clean up his shitty installs) went out to do the first one and took one look, said "it won't work" and left. They gave it to me because my dispatcher knew I'd figure out a way, and guess what? I married them all because of it. The first one took me 3 hours, but after a few more I could bend up the brackets at the shop and do one in 55 minutes. And, I was always the oldest guy among those I worked with but I had car and bike mechanical background so I wasn't cutting coolant hoses thinking they were vacuum...I never had the pleasure of doing a defroster install. I mostly did cell phone installs since I was the fng. My first real audio system install went great until the customer turned his lights on that night. The lights and the tunes all went out. Needless to say he was back first thing the next morning.
Very cool. I always loved the retrofitting of power components like locks and hatch releases. We never did many of those in the shop but I did them on my own vehicles. The creativity like you’ve described really made it fun.I had to do everything except high end stereo. We did a little bit of audio but mostly special circumstances. I was the go-to guy for oddball power window and lock conversions along with adding power locks to cars that were never intended to have them, like an old Mercedes with the vacuum door lock system. It took 2 lock actuators with 12 gauge wiring and power through a relay to move the lock rod on the driver's door that made the other doors and trunk (vacuum) actuators work. Fortunately there was enough room in the door to put on horizontally and one vertically working together to make that stiff-ass vacuum valve move. I also did hundreds of cruise controls. The owner was cheap (wow, what a surprise huh?) and the kits he bought were a few years behind but we did a lot of GM vehicles so we could always make the parts work... until the Quad 4 engine came out. Our fastest guy (read: slammer who made the company more money while others had to clean up his shitty installs) went out to do the first one and took one look, said "it won't work" and left. They gave it to me because my dispatcher knew I'd figure out a way, and guess what? I married them all because of it. The first one took me 3 hours, but after a few more I could bend up the brackets at the shop and do one in 55 minutes. And, I was always the oldest guy among those I worked with but I had car and bike mechanical background so I wasn't cutting coolant hoses thinking they were vacuum...