Circuit Bent Kaossilator with Internal Controls

post from GetLoFi - Circuit Bending Synth DIY on 15 March 2010 10:11:46 PM. © GetLoFi - Circuit Bending Synth DIY

Previously on GetLoFi we covered adding of the LTC Precision module to control the clock speed of the Kaossilator, thus pitching the device up and down. The only snag with the mod was not having the potentiometer mounter internally. Now that problem has been solved with a daring modification to the device.There is plenty of [...]

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Home Sweet Home: Pterodactyl Dresser

post from Craftster.org Blog on 15 March 2010 10:11:00 PM. © Craftster.org Blog

isfive created this pterodactyl dresser for her son’s nursery. It’s a great solution for the common challenge of how to add color to a room when you can’t paint the walls for one reason or another. She used vivid paint colors and homemade stencils on the dresser, which will not only serve as storage, but room decor as well.

To see this project on Craftster click here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=340209.0

To see related projects on Craftster, check out the dresser tag here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?action=tags;sa=showtopics;tag=dresser

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book: design it, knit it

post from whip up on 15 March 2010 09:38:52 PM. © whip up

Design It, Knit It: Secrets from the Designer’s Studio by Debbie Bliss. Sixth&Spring Books; Spi edition (June 2, 2009).Reviewed by: Kate is a busy mother of four with many craft projects on the go, including, but not limited to, crochet, knitting, sewing, dyeing, paper making, spinning, felting and bookbinding. Kate has challenges in the areas [...]

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crochet alphabet

post from whip up on 15 March 2010 08:21:20 PM. © whip up

How to make your own crochet alphabet – thanks PhyllisSimilar Posts:plush alphabet | plush alphabet magnet | embroidered alphabet mini quilt | 6 beginner crochet beanie patterns | whipup: best of 2009: crochet | Share and Enjoy:

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How-To: Top Gear-Style Game Room Seating

post from Toolmonger: The Week In Tools on 15 March 2010 06:13:00 PM. © Toolmonger: The Week In Tools

We’re pretty big fans of the BBC’s awesome show Top Gear around the Toolmonger offices, so when I needed some quick and cheap seating for my game room I passed up the furniture store and headed straight to the junkyard. $75 and an afternoon with the welder netted me a quick facsimile of the chairs the Top Gear hosts sit in during their news segment each week — and left me plenty of cash for beer.

First off, a little advice about pulling seats: I generally look for leather seats because they’re much easier to clean up than fabric. (Unless the fabric seats are spotless, in which case, go for it, though often the guy at the counter will demand extra money for good-looking seats.) When it comes to leather seats, the dirtier they are the better. The dirt and grime tend to create a coating that protects the seat from the really nasty stuff. And like you can with a cow, you can scrub leather seats to your heart’s content to get ‘em clean.

The single seat in the photos here came from a late ’90s Diamante. When I pulled it you couldn’t really tell what color it was. Personally, I think it cleaned up nicely.

The next problem you’ll run into is the fact that the bottom of the passenger compartment in most cars isn’t flat. Therefore the seats connect to four points all in different planes in order to fit wherever on the floor they need to connect. Since we wanted to build simple little boxes to hold the seats up, we had to account for that.

The bases of our seats are built from cheap-o 16-gauge 1-inch square tube, mainly because I happened to have about 30′ of it lying around the shop. You can use whatever you have on hand.

To determine the proper height, I measured various couches and loveseats around the house. They ranged from 16″ to about 20″, so I selected 18″ for these. Sitting the seats on the ground, I measured from the ground to the seat top, then constructed the box below to whatever height was required to make up the difference.

You can approach building the bases however you wish, but I started by measuring the width and height of the seats, then building a simple stand to my measured height. Then with the help of a friend, I placed the seats on the boxes and tacked in locator points wherever the seat touched the box. If you plan on taking them apart again, you can drill and tap holes before bolting the seat on, but since I didn’t care, I just welded it on. The bench’s front mounts all fell in different places, but they lined up pretty well to an angled crossbar. So I just welded the crossbar in at an angle and hooked ‘em up. I also welded the two portions of the split seat together and shimmed the center back with a few pieces of 1″ x 1/8″ flat bar before final welding.

As you can see, the seat easily holds me and David Juandrew, my partner in crime who helped me build these this weekend. We bounced up and down on them pretty good, and they’re still in one piece.

Of course, the actual Top Gear seats are much fancier and include arm rests. But hey — your version of these seats is limited only by your time and wallet. Mine were short and thin, respectively, so I went the simple route. Do feel free to get creative finding just the right seat, though!

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King Toe: For Big, Um, Toes

post from Toolmonger: The Week In Tools on 15 March 2010 05:52:00 PM. © Toolmonger: The Week In Tools

Kidding aside, if you’re one of those folks that likes your toes to fly free in your boots, you probably hate most steel-toes — and not just because they’re heavy. Most steel toe boots reign in toe room because they need the extra room to cram in the steel box that gives ‘em their name. Red Wing feels your constriction, though: Their King Toe models offer 44% more toe room.

They also include non-metallic safety toes, which Red Wing claims will pass through metal detectors. They’re non-conductive, too, a real benefit if you’re an electrician or work around high-voltage rigs. Besides that, they come in a whole bunch of styles. The above mode is a 6″ boot with full grain waterproof leather uppers. I personally like 6″ boots, but if you like the big ‘uns (or oxford-like shoes), they’ve got ‘em — complete with the extra toe space.

Street pricing starts around $100 and ranges up to $200 or so based on the model you choose.

King Toe Models [Red Wing]
The Men’s 435 (Pictured) [Red Wing]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

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4AGE 20V vaccum location

post from Engine Modification And Maintenance (4G93T,2ZZGE,4AGE) on 15 March 2010 05:27:00 PM. © Engine Modification And Maintenance (4G93T,2ZZGE,4AGE)

1. Brake vacuum from side of throttle 1 behind butterfly (big hole)
2. Fuel return to tank (entry) [from regulator]
3. Fuel return to tank (exit) [to fuel tank]
4. Brake vacuum from side of throttle 4 behind butterfly (big hole)
5. Idle Speed Control Valve (ISCV entry)

The brake vacuum is taken from throttle 1 & 4 via a side port. They are summed by a T-joint before connected to the brake servo. Since throttle 4 is far from brake servo hence it is connected to another pipe then to the T-joint (not shown).

1. Brake vacuum
2. Fuel input
3. ISCV input
4. Pressurized output for air-cond idle up valve
5. Pressurized output for power steering idle up valve at steering rack & pinio
6. From point 11 (hidden behind point 3) pressurized
7. From point 10 vacuum of throttle 4 - going to Throttle Opener
8. To Charcoal Filter
9. Fuel return to tank (exit) [to fuel tank]
10 vacuum to point (suspect to point 7

In order to get very stabilized "balanced" vacuum, drill extra hole pointed by the circle below for optimum performance.

Individual throttle body vacuum matching / balancing via mechanical fine tuning through valve opening. The valve limits the amount of air that by-pass the butterfly.
There are two holes behind the butterfly.

Idle Speed Control Valve - output then finally into intake via the red circle below.
Notice the old 4 throttles (shown below) does not have the opening (shown above) and that the injectors output spray is significantly hindered when comparing 4 throttles from generation year 91 against year 93 June till 20vMAP edition. The year 93 unit is so much better.
But this does not mean the old 4 throttle does not have all 4 ISCV holes. They are hidden from current view, but shown by the 4 purple arrows.

1. Brake vacuum from side of throttle 1 behind butterfly (big hole)
2. Fuel return to tank (entry) [from regulator]
3. Fuel return to tank (exit) [to fuel tank]
4. Brake vacuum from side of throttle 4 behind butterfly (big hole)
5. Idle Speed Control Valve (ISCV entry)

Red color

1. ISCV
2. ISCV
3. ISCV
4. ISCV

Pictures below courtesy Mr. Wong Yee Yong (forum member www.zerotohundred.com)

ISCV holes from 1st generation ITB.

Source: 9000rpm

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How-To: Choose Home Air Filters

post from Toolmonger: The Week In Tools on 15 March 2010 05:23:00 PM. © Toolmonger: The Week In Tools

Spring has officially sprung here in Texas, and even if your hometown’s still under the Groundhog’s curse for a few more weeks, you’re probably considering replacing those nasty, wintrified heating and a/c filters in your home. Realizing that waking up every day with a stuffy nose may be due to my crap-clogged filters, I hit the big box on a mission. Unfortunately when I got there and saw 300 varieties of air filters ranging from “high performance electrostatic” ($$$$) to fiberglass ($), I realized I needed some guidance. Here’s what I learned.

To make sure you’re selecting the appropriate kind of air filter for your home, consider whether any pollutants (indoors, in your garage/shop, or outdoors) are affecting the air quality inside. Household chemicals, pesticides, mold or mildew, high humidity, improperly vented appliances, standing water or leaks, or (obviously) if anyone smokes inside the house are factors that can be identified and fixed first.

Second, assuming your home filters are designed more for providing healthy air in the living space (as opposed to protecting machines or equipment), take into account how you or your family responds to allergens such as dust mites, pollen, mold spores, smoke, pet dander, and smog. The better quality the filter, the smaller the particles it can capture, and without interrupting the air flow of your HVAC system too much, which is paramount for efficiency. Also, check the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) of the filter: they range from 1-16, and the 12-16 range are the highest quality at 90+% efficiency.

Home air filters are divided into six basic types:

1. Electrostatic air filters - As air passes through the filter, a static charge is created that attracts contaminants. Electrostatic filters are very efficient, provide an excellent balance of efficiency and performance, and are designed to replace panel- or frame-style filters you already use in your HVAC system. They often run at or above 90% efficiency or a MERV of 12-15 (compared to 10% for fiberglass), and come in permanent or disposable types. They can be pricey, running around $70, but they do the job well.

2. Pre-cut or bulk roll media air filter pads - Used mainly by HVAC professionals, media air filters have a very high capacity for capturing particles (up to 30 times more capacity than fiberglass) and the pads can be changed out regularly to fit in a single aluminum frame. The pads are made from dry-tack polyester and are disposable. Media air filter pads are not widely available but can be ordered from web sites such as RiteAir.

3. Pleated air filters - Popular because of their durability and affordability, pleated filters are widely available in a variety of (even oddball) sizes and are one of the HVAC industry standards. Some include electrostatic fibers or carbon or charcoal fibers for odor control. MERV ratings for pleated filters range widely from around 5 to 12; for allergy sufferers the 10-12 range would be best.

4. HEPA air filters - To qualify as HEPA (or high efficiency particulate arrestance), a filter must capture at least 99.97% of particulate matter 0.3 microns in diameter. HEPA filters are used in hospital and surgical rooms or other places where clean, particulate-free air is essential. They have the highest filter capacity of all, but require a lot of maintenance since dirty HEPA filters significantly reduce airflow and can cause HVAC system problems if not kept clean.

5. Activated carbon air filters - Activated carbon is charcoal treated to cause millions of pores to form, increasing surface area. Usually carbon filters are added to another type, such as media air filters, because of their ability to remove odors from smoke, chemicals, gases, and other odor-causing substances around the house. They are not recommended in combination with HEPA filters because HEPAs already reduce airflow.

6. Fiberglass panel air filters - Very inexpensive and (unfortunately) commonly used, “blue” fiberglass filters basically capture about as much dust as chicken wire and leave particles of crap blowing around your HVAC system, in your lungs, and in all your equipment too. It’s best to avoid these if at all possible.

The bottom line? If allergies are a major concern, air filters are probably just one step you need to take to improve air quality in your home, but for the highest quality, go with electrostatic filters, and get the permanent ones like the Boair 5-stage if you can afford it. If you just want a simple, decent quality disposable air filter, I’d go with the pleated filters from 3M’s Filtrete with electrostatic treatment. They range from $7-30 each depending on size and quality, and need to be replaced every 3 months or so.

Filtrete Filters Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Filtrete Filters Street Pricing [Google Products]
Guide To HVAC Filters [Furnace Filter Care]
EPA Guide to Air Cleaners In The Home
Article: Understanding Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV)

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http://toolmonger.com/2010/03/15/choosing-home-air-filters/

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Home Ec: Eco-Friendly Furniture Polish

Filed under: Living Rooms, Essential Skills, Know-How, Living SpacesPhoto: trekkyandy, FlickrDust is one of those home annoyances that always resurfaces, no matter what. With newer construction, homes are better sealed and less drafty than ever before, which means dust accumulates even faster. Most of our moms used Pledge and a feather duster to deal with dust, but it turns out the lemony fresh spray is not your best solution. Feather dusters just move dust around the surface. Pledge and other[...]

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Print May Be King, But The Future is Digital

People are consuming information much differently these days and it?s your responsibility to make sure your content is available for the most popular forms of consumption.

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be-king-but-the-future-is-digital.html

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