Did some more work on the dust shoe design — think it’s about ready to cut a test and see how it fits. I think as is it will work, but I also think it needs some refinement as it’s probably bigger than it needs to be and the shape could use some adjustment. As much as you think you have something figured out, it’s a whole different thing when you’re holding the parts in your hand.
Drawn-out nighttime drones. Granular and FM are wonderful together.
Took another stab at fixing the old Electra reel recorder. Initially went down to make a list of parts I should order for it — machines this old almost always need a recap. Ended up playing around/taking it apart/greasing/oiling/deoxing and didn’t really get anywhere. Watched a video of a guy making a really sketchy demagnetizer that I want to try haha. Oh well.
We tried to go out to a few parks for a walk this afternoon and they were all PACKED. Full parking lots and people everywhere not distancing at all. Very sad that people are choosing to ignore everything that’s going on. We ended up at the wooded area close by our house and took a short walk despite there being some people there too. It was nice getting outside to enjoy the spring for a little while.
Floaty morning sounds from kria pushing 4 tracks on the digitone, running through granular and reverse delay pedals. I could probably use only this forever and not run out of possibilities. But I won’t, haha.
We didn’t go outside for a walk today, but we probably should have because I think we’re all a bit stir crazy. Looks like it’s supposed to be warm again tomorrow so at least we didn’t miss our chance this weekend.
Have been back into playing music again lately — it’s always been my best form of meditation so it’s extra important for me with all that’s going on. The sounds have been a bit hit or miss, but I keep playing and keep recording so I suppose that’s what’s most important. Just keep going.
What day is it
Where am i
Lots of time trapped inside, watching the sun write on the walls…
Evening loops with baritone guitar and cranes recorded onto the Webcor and then digitized. This reel to reel could definitely use a cleanup/grease/deox but it plays amazingly well for a 60+ year old machine that spent its last 5 or so years in a garage.
Total nerd alert.
Building towers is a very common theme for Emi and I when we play blocks. This afternoon we were stacking away again when I started see these sword forms so I worked out a few. Must be on my mind — she has been watching a cartoon about a “princess knight” and asked me to make her armor. UM OK… YEAH. COOL!
Haven’t been playing much music lately, even if I’ve been thinking about it a lot. There has been lots of other things going on and with the state of the world I just haven’t been in the headspace for it. Had a go tonight and thought it was pretty nice. Just some baritone guitar looped and sliced/rearranged with lots of reverb.
We had a pretty lazy Sunday puttering around the house. It was really warm this afternoon so we took the kites out to the soccer field next to our house. There was a thunderstorm coming and the wind was pretty incredible — so much so that our fish kite got blown into a tree. Right around then we started seeing lightning so we had to leave it. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it down tomorrow.
Had a nice dinner and got Emi to bed. Then spent the rest of the night dealing with a leaky tub. The joys of home ownership.
We already have sprouts!
Got the dust shoe (for those that might not know — a dust shoe is the name for a mount which attaches a vacuum and directs the suction towards the cutter to suck up the dust/debris) bracket done and mounted.
Now I just have to design the rest of it…
(sorry if this is boring haha)
We don’t go very far from home these days and I often feel like there’s nothing new to see. I’m glad to be proven wrong.
(The pug is our neighbor’s and her name is Peaches. She and Emily are best friends.)
Ash and Emi got the seeds started for this year’s garden today. I found them a warm shelf in the basement, and rigged up the lights and timer. I also finally managed to cut the bracket that will hold the cam clamp to the gantry for the dust shoe I’m designing. It needs a few tweaks, but once I get those ironed out it should work nicely.
Tried to take a night pic of my pedalboard lights and my phone defaulted to a live photo. Sorry. ;)
Played a bit more music today, before work and again tonight. Was glad I pushed to do it and tonight’s drones left me with a peaceful feeling. Goodnight.
Creativity is proving elusive lately. Work schedules are erratic and the world is out of whack. Keep wanting to make music but nothing feels right coming out. I’ll keep trying.
Quick photo edit of rainbows cast by our window prism. The sun still comes out every day. There is beauty still.
Emi and I played with legos (yeah, duplos…) off and on all day today. So many towers and robots! She loves building and tinkering so I’m very happy to nurture that in her. Legos were a huge part of growing up for me and I’m not sure I would be the same person without them.
Spending the rest of the night listening to lovely music on 9128 Live. It’s amazing to see the artistic actions/reactions that have been happening because of the pandemic. Still, life feels so weird right now. Hope everyone is safe.
Worked with Fusion tonight and was able model a quick shape as a test. Great! Then I hit a wall when I tried to setup the CAM operation. Apparently you have to drag yourself before you can crawl/stand/limp/walk/jog/run.
Have been doing a bit of work on the shapeoko, inching my way towards being able to machine aluminum. Added some polycarbonate blast shields after reading about a workholding incident that had a solid block sent flying across somone’s shop. Yeah, no. Also started work on designing a better dust shoe. I made one when I first got the machine, and while it works pretty well there have been a few tweaks I’ve wanted to make to the design. Pictured above is the first part — a mounting bracket to attach the hose clamp the back of the machine. I’ve also been wanting to figure out how to use Fusion360 for my CAD and CAM — figure something simple like this would be a good first thing to try. Fingers crossed.