The Garage: A craft-y type thread for handypeople

I just got some solar panels! My ship already has a battery, but I might add another one, so I'm waiting to get inverters. Also, my paycheck comes next week. But so far the most important thing has been crossed off my to do list. I got the 200w kit from Renogy, which is apparently the most popular and cost-effective.

Also, a lot of friends are volunteering to help me fix up my boat . I didn't even offer free rides yet, the insurance is still processing.

Man, it was really satisfying scraping the paint off with Citristrip and a putty knife.

Pictures coming Tuesday when I actually have time to visit my boat and do a final sanding. If my solar system comes before then, I might try mounting the panels, at least. But I'm taking more pictures to send to the insurance company—hopefully the right ones, all they said was "please send more pictures of your hull" without saying whether they wanted angles or closeups or what.

Lesson on Things Not To Do: My solar system came in a very large box. I tried to haul it up the stairs to my place, and something rattled and too late I see the warning on its side saying "Fragile, Do Not Tilt." So I cautiously left it just inside the door. I hope it was just a couple of loosely packed screws and nothing got scratched or broken.

I read solar system and thought you meant one of those model solar system thingies. but no. hahaha

Hahaha. So, the solar system is just fine. The 100 watt panels are a little long and I will have to measure them out and figure out what I need to mount them. I might only have the space for one, which is perfectly fine since I overshot my energy needs. If I can mount two, that's cool, but one is workable.

I also used a slightly coarser sandpaper than before and it's making much quicker work of the paint.

Edit: Woohoo, my insurance finally went through! I can feel safe and secure out on the bay now!

edited 19th Jul '17 7:03:48 PM by Leradny

Remember, that's maximum nominal power. It's better to have a second panel as a backup than a brownout.

I was looking for some stainless steel rails to mount my solar panels on. Did a price check at the local marine supply store and found it'd cost even more than the kit—almost $500 for everything. So I went to the hardware store and found pretty much the exact same materials for $150.

Ah. Welcome to the Marina Mark-Up™; never take a chandler's first or second quote.

You've yet to prove your waterway credentials, but once you do, they'll quit with the tourist price. Unless they're idiots. <_<

Chat to those who dock around you: they'll know the places and sites to go better than I will. :/

edited 2nd Aug '17 10:58:13 AM by Euodiachloris

Progress on installing my solar panels is stalled a bit because I decided to cut through my hollow rails with a hacksaw instead of paying to have someone else cut it for me. It's quite an endurance thing. But I'll still have it done by the end of this week.

After a month of not buying any pens, I got two. One will only need a flush, maybe some tweaks to the nib. It's a Lady Sheaffer (my second!) in the "Sea Spray" pattern. Seems I only got it because another bidder had never heard of a "Waverly" nib, where the nib is turned up at the end. They thought it was damaged and retracted their bid.

Come to think of it, whoever had my first Lady Sheaffer must've thought that too, because I think they tried to straighten it.

I also got a Sheaffer with a Triumph nib, which I have never tried before. It's kind of a conical shape. It interests me, the different nib designs that Sheaffer (and Parker) experimented with.

Still love the gorgeous Depression-era plastics. I got an Eversharp Junior awhile back, which seems to have been their budget pen, and it's this wonderful emerald marble with purple flecks. Just stunning!

edited 8th Aug '17 8:57:05 AM by scionofgrace

I seem to have broken out the craft foam and hot glue again.

I decided to give my goffick goblet a lick of paint. I put a coat of gunmetal spray on it, then drybrushed the details with Citadel's Mithril silver and gave the pitted surfaces a wash of Citadel's Badab Black, then sealed everything with a consumer-grade gloss finish. Now it's drying.

A few weeks ago I made a very fancy dress for a party... which I ended up not going to because of a last minute time change. So I took a photoshoot at a very nice spot by a lake.

I'm wearing my Edwardian corset and petticoat underneath it, but it still looks very modern without the capelet. My sister said I looked like Padme Amidala, lol.

Awesome dress Lera!

so winter season is finally settling in here which means I am eyeing up my sewing machine. i have a few baby blankets to make and probably a good enough toddler to make them with...Last year when i was trying to sew Indy almost ate a pin, so I've had to wait a bit.

I got twenty bucks in store credit from my job, so I spent it all on black and white paint and other supplies so I can teach myself how to paint. I'm starting with Impressionism, lol.

So I seem to have acquired a large quantity of spandex◊. This should be fun.

I think I'm done with my fountain pen obsession. I've scored one of every color of Sheaffer Balance, which required shelling out $100 for a broken and discolored Blue in the smallest size. But it's mine and I fixed it and it writes!

And I filled out my Esterbrook J collection to use them at work, since they're cheap. They're now loaded with matching inks for color-coding my notes.

I am very thankful that Esterbrook, before any other pen maker, had the brilliant idea to make their nibs easy to remove/replace, and sold replacement nibs separately. Two pens came with bad nibs. I had no trouble finding replacements - 70-year-old nib units still in their tiny paperboard boxes - on eBay for a reasonable price.

After watching The Expanse, I noticed that Belter space helmets are old Soviet/Chinese high-altitude flight helmets, the GSh-4/TK-1. Now I wonder, do I want to make an Used Future spacesuit like this? It's a costly affair, as I'd need the helmet (which is $200, plus some modding), a flight suit (old Soviet ones are great as the outer shell is polyester, so they look spacey enough - another $120 or thereabouts) and motorcycle boots (which go for $80 to $120, more or less). With all that, I could add my custom-made STABO rig and the nuclear backpack with some mods to complete the outfit.

Should work. And, you've got a built-in explanation if something looks a little more or less bashed-in than something else. Or if you even use something completely wild: Belter. Use anything; occasionally stencil it with anything.

Their dress code is explicitly "Make Do And Mend".

Hrm hrm. I'm thinking of an 18th-century French court dress. I'm going to start off light and try Eliza Schuyler from hamilton, and then I'll have the underthings ready for a historically accurate yellow dress Belle. And maybe a Les Miserables costume at some point. 1830-style poof sleeves look fun!

If I don't feel up to it, I can always make a new Edwardian outfit with those many yards of purple chiffon I have lying about.

Ooooooh — lavender/ purple and grey/white accents! Classic!

I got this pattern for eighteenth century stays and I'm SO EXCITED about it. They recommend a mockup out of cardboard, not regular muslin, AND there's even a part of the instructions which details the historically accurate method of handsewing it. This will be fun!

I'm working on a Haruko cosplay after watching FLCL Progressive and getting sucked back into the N.O. Channel of fandomness. I might even take it to a convention next year!

It's not the hardest costume I've made solely on the clothing part or even the wig, but the props! I haven't found a single yellow Vespa at any of the shops I've looked up nearby, so I'll most likely have to do a paint job.

Building the Rickenbacker bass is an exciting new challenge which I'll try to do without breaking my wallet. Luckily, I've found plenty of vintage guitar sites which list the tiniest details and lots of nice photos, and various sites which sell the more iconic parts.

And Haruko's helmet is just expensive. The only place that sells the exact model is a vintage motorcycle helmet reproduction company in England, for about $400. I'll have to work lots of overtime to afford this costume, lmfao.

Edited by Leradny on Jul 1st 2018 at 12:25:33 PM

What is a Stay for?

Stays are basically the precursor to Victorian corsets. They shape the body and hold up garmets, etc.

I just did a quick budget list for Haruko's guitar. Trying to balance out the innate perfectionist in me with the fiscally responsible adult that knows I don't have $2000 to spend on a vintage guitar that I'll just mangle anyway... so I looked into making a prop Rickenbacker 4003.

The ballpark is $550. None of the parts themselves are that expensive, but it sure does add up.

I'm going to spend more on the bass than I am on the costume, lmfao.

For the helmet I'm just going to look up a cheaper half helmet and paint it. While I would LIKE to spend $1000 on accurate props... my wallet is not strong enough.