I’ve decided that the resolution I will try to keep this year is a little different than usual. Normally, I joke, “1920 x 1080” — my screen resolution on my desktop.
This year has a list to go with a tweet:
What are my project goals for this year? “
- Make cardboard bricks for fireplace burning from waste paper/boxes.
- Get a welder, materials to make a sturdy cargo scooter and ACTUALLY MAKE the scooter.
- Try to assemble this 3D printer I bought last year, print some battery boxes.
- Make a rain-resistant cycling cape.
Each one of these has a related challenge, typically financial in nature for the larger ones. The 3D printer is more patience-related. How patient can I be in trying to assemble this thing, and get it right? It’s been started for MONTHS, but every time I touch it, I put something on backward despite following the instructions.
The cardboard/paper bricks would benefit from a briquette press or similar hardware, either hand built or purchased. I just cannot find a prebuilt press for a reasonable price; I’m working on a bill of materials needed to build my own based on a guide I found on Leland Hite’s site, because we throw away so much that could be reused in some shape or form. Said press can also be used for things like sawdust, from what I see, and formed wood burns rather well from what I’m finding in research.
Welding’s the tricky one, as I’ve never welded metals. Plastics, sure, a little bit, but that’s chemical/heat welding, and a different process. But, I have guides I’ve picked up from Atomic Zombie for scooter and bike designs, and I’m sure that once I get the initial few welds in place and understand what I’m doing, I can start cranking out things that are useful. An electric cargo scooter would be great for getting to and from the store, and gets around the stigma that folks seem to associate with electric scooters from companies like Bird and Lime.
By eye, the outlay on the scooter project is going to be several hundred dollars. I’d need the welder, and even an cheapo one is $100-$200. Materials will likely set me back another hundred. I’ll need a few other tools, and last but not least, a 36 volt lithium chemistry based battery to attach to my existing hub motor is needed.
The riding cape will likely be a hundred dollars, whether pre-fab or bought on the internets, because of the amount of material needed, plus treating it for water resistance. It would probably be expedient to buy one, but I would like one, sooner rather than later, whether I make it or not.
Now to go plan each of these things out in more detail.