NOW What?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:06 am

.....Okay, if you're a diehard you've either got your ticket or you're waiting for resolution....Time to start soldering that ELwire orrery? File some dome struts? Sew that spacesuit? Whatcha doin'?

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:40 am

Got my ticket confirmation...

Well... I got my “Catty Wagon” fabbed up and painted yesterday. This is for pulling behind the bicycle for ice runs... though it could certainly allow a person to sit down for a ride too. My motto is “If it can be built, it can be overbuilt”. Already got the metal frame for the canvas truck camper top done. Next step is to sew up the topper itself... that will be the biggest job. Then create the wooden frame to sit on top of the campertop for the “overtarp”. After that, I guess it’s just getting what supplies are left on the list and waiting.... Oh!! And I gotta make the cooler too. I’m figuring on making a plywood box to surround a normal blow-molded cooler (Coleman style) with about 4 inches to spare all the way around. In this space I’m gonna’ spray in expanding poly foam (similar to "Great Stuff"). Then a lid with 2" of foam board insulation under it to seal the whole thing off. A cooler within a cooler... seems to work in theory anyway... We shall see...

My biggest problem is trying to get honest work done in the shop while all of these "projects" are running around in my head. Speaking of work... lunch is over.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 7:31 pm

Thinking up designs for zoodiackal StickHobs. I'm thinking of doing Leo, Draco, Centaurus, Scorpio, Lupus, Capricorn, a Gryphon and maybe Taurus. Wood stained a dark midnight blue, a drybrush coat of iridescent paint or interference blue in the varnish, glow-in-the-dark stars describing the constellations and maybe do one edged in EL wire if the budget holds together.

No real plans, just have them around camp for my campmates and visitors to play with.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 7:52 pm

Ok... I'll bite....

Please tell me, what is a StickHob? Is this a local idiom that I don't understand? Or is it like the "Skyhook" that so many poor, naive high school shop students have been sent looking for? I am interested because you said "wood". Which infers "woodworking", which generally gets my attention.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:22 pm

StickHobs are toys I make. I started out calling them "hobby horses" but that gives the wrong impression. To most people, "hobby horse" means those plastic thingies on springs in a frame go bouncy-bouncy in one place — and that's not what I was making. And "stick horse" wasn't exactly an accurate name for them either because, as you've probably guessed, I didn't stop with horses: I have templates for horse, wolf, dragon, big cat, deer, gryphon, et alia.

Also, it's hard to shorten "hobby horse;" I tried, called them "hobbies" and that was misleading, too. Got a lot of disrespect because people thought I was just a hobbyist and not a professional. And you can't copyright the word "hobby horse" so I took part of one, part of another, stuck 'em together and le voilà! "StickHobs™".

I make them out of hardwood plywood, usually maple and birch, but I noticed that oak boards at my local supply are only a dollar more than the birch and don't weigh much more. At a 4'x8' size for the board, one dollar price difference only adds maybe a penny to the final product's cost and you have a beautiful piece of wood that's sturdy enough to take some serious play. To my mind, that's worth the investment, just scale it down slightly if I want to lighten it.

There are little to no metal fasteners. I stick 'em together with dowels and Gorilla Glue. No moving parts: as part of my sales pitch, when someone asks that, I say, "You're the moving part!" A pagan friend of mine asked if I was going to make a Hodening Horse with a clapping jaw but I'm reluctant: moving parts just means "one more thing to break" and I'd rather spend the engineering/design time doing a killer paint and finish decoration job.

RingO'Fire · Post by **RingO'Fire** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 7:14 pm

I'm making mental checklists of costumery items...imagining what character (or characters) I want to be out on the playa. Hmmm...if I'm gonna be King of Hippy Cheese...then I'll need to get...some cheese!and what props will I need?...hmmm...I think my BM personae should each have their own speil...yada yada. Thinkin' a lot about shelter and comfort and the best way to create my own little cool comfortable place to retreat to after revelating and mirth-making. Even though I'm a BM virgin, I lived in Las Vegas for three years and the Mojave in Aug/Sept is HOT! (as all you BM vets know). I, like the Mojave, am also extremely HOT (er, well, warm-natured, actually). Through superior planning, I intend to insure that I'm not sitting out on the playa at BM thinking, "...Oh God, it's so ficking HOT! THIS SUCKS!" My mantra is "Oooohhhmmmm....Shade, coolness, comfort, cold beer! (repeat) Shade, coolness, comfort, cold beer! mirth mirth mirth mirth...."

LaChatNoir wrote: Oh!! And I gotta make the cooler too. I’m figuring on making a plywood box to surround a normal blow-molded cooler (Coleman style) with about 4 inches to spare all the way around. In this space I’m gonna’ spray in expanding poly foam (similar to "Great Stuff"). Then a lid with 2" of foam board insulation under it to seal the whole thing off. A cooler within a cooler... seems to work in theory anyway... We shall see...

Brilliant! A few years ago, me n' a buddie went to one of those three-day camp out, drug & hippie-crazed, jam band extravaganzas in mid-June in Tennessee (like camping in a sauna). We kept our giant ice chest wrapped with extra blankets, extra foam pads, and extra sleeping bags to create a little super-insulated nugget of coldness inside its own little cocoon/mound thingie. Worked like a charm...we never had to restock on ice in three days - the ice we brought in with us, and the icy water it turned into, held out the whole time. I think I like your idea better. I might have to build my own coolerzilla.

After all...

“If it can be built, it can be overbuilt”.

Amen, brother.

_tears_ · Post by **_tears_** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 8:28 pm

I finally found my perfect tent now i am work more on what outfits i will greeting in and wearing under my Lamp Lighters outfits

---Tears---

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 7:44 am

I have a 100 qt. cooler that I fill with block ice. then cover the blokes with party ice. It serves me with cold water and keeps the food cool for nine days. That includes travelto and from BM That's with a 2 1/2 gal. jug of ice I gave to the exit gate too.

III · Post by **III** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:06 am

i'd recommend the coleman extreme coolers. they've kept ice for 3-4 days of 100+ temperatures, and they're reasonably cheap.

on the other hand, sometimes building your own is part of the fun.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:39 am

on the other hand, sometimes building your own is part of the fun.

Exactly...

I’ve got this thing about making use of stuff that’s just lying around. Especially with my BM gear, I’ll buy the stuff that makes sense to buy, but I like to try and see how little money I can put into other things. It's like a game. But at the same time, I put the right amount of time into it so it will be a nice finished product. For instance, my pull behind bicycle cart... I’ve got more in the two new 20" tires and tubes than I do the rest of it but I’m pleased with the outcome. It’s surprising to me sometimes what can be accomplished with a little ingenuity, some scrounging, and a few evenings in the shop.

"Oooohhhmmmm....Shade, coolness, comfort, cold beer! (repeat) Shade, coolness, comfort, cold beer! mirth mirth mirth mirth...."

I hear ya... I don't mind getting hot and dirty, but I like to have a cool spot to seek refuge in. And ooooh yes... the only thing hotter than mid-June in the South is mid-August. Ahhh... the Western Carolinas in Summer... breathe in and get a drink of water.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:45 am

Thick cardboard may actually work a little better than plywood for a home-made cooler due to the little air pockets inside. Plus, they're free and already in the right shape.

I'm planning on doing a test between my mondo cooler and a homemade computer box with foam innards. I'll post the results.

What am I doing? Building creature prototypes and had a brainstorming session with campmates last night.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:59 pm

For lining a cooler-box or sheathing an existing cooler, try sheet foam insulation. (NOT Styrofoam- high MOOP factor if exposed and damaged.) It can be had in many thicknesses and several colors, for a coupla bucks per BIG sheet. Cuts neatly by scoring and snapping.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:10 pm

For my particular cooler box, OSB is easy to find here in usable size pieces so they will be the shell. I can use rope handles this way too (as on the old military ammo boxes). But for the material to fill the cavity (see my first post for addl. Info) I’m using an expandable foam (similar to Great Stuff only better). Low MOOP factor. I’ve got an industrial applicator and can buy it in tubes equal to about 4 cans of the “home improvement” type. But card board would certainly be a very good and free alternative for a similar design.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:53 pm

I just put in a request for a plastic corrugated box w/ styrofoam inserts that a fountain came in. Not sure how big it is or if I'll get it, but if I do I'm thinking I'll turn it into something to transport chocolate in.

Mmmm, Imagine — gianduja, chocolate oranges, Vintage Hawaiian bittersweet and tuxedo strawberries on the Playa :9

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:24 pm

It’s Alive... ALIVE!!!!!

For those of you who may have read in another thread about the sewing machine and cabinet I’m restoring... thanks to my bro, IT WORKS!!! For those of you who don’t know, I’m working on a vintage Singer. Go here if you want the backstory (5th post, 2nd page... but the whole thing is worth a read):

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 0679#40679

Thought this would be a more appropriate thread to post my progress.

robotland!!!! ZenRascal!!!

It sews trifold 12oz. Canvas!!! And that’s with turning the thing by hand... it’s not even back in the treadle cabinet yet. And small industrial machine bobbins fit it after all.

Happy dance... Happy dance.... Oh my... I’m gettin’ giddy thinking about aaaaaaaall the possibilities.

And P.S...... I second the high potential MOOP value of white styrofoam.
Contain it accordingly and it should be fine. And oooooohhhh, chilled chocolate.... what a great idea.....

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 6:48 am

Mazeltov on the singin' Singer! What are you using for thread? I always cheap out and end up with a balled-up mess on the needle, or chop the thread with the leather-needle....

Threefold canvas.....Impressive......

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 8:44 am

This test was done by my brother while I was gone this weekend. I’ve got to meet up with him and get the machine back. Because of this I can’t confirm the thread he used at the moment, but he recommended Gutermann H.D. Poly Thread for sewing my canvas topper. I expect he used the same or something similar.

He also mentioned 8 oz. Aqualon thread at one time too, but it is about 10X the cost of the Gutermann (but you get what you pay for in most cases).

And I must correct myself... it sewed a “trifold seam”. Since I’m a little green when it comes to terms of the trade, I’m not sure if I’m remembering correctly how many actual layers of canvas that would be. I suspect it would not be the same as folding three times and putting in a stitch. Correct me if I’m wrong.