A list of projects that myself, or family have Ade using our glowforge laser cutter. Lots of trial and error.
Category: DIY
Tool: Glowforge Laser Cutter
Glowforge was one of the most successful crowdfunding projects at the time, with raising $27.9m in 30 days!
This was my first crowdfunded purchase, and a pretty substantial one at that at around $2,500 … between this and the Prusa 3D printer, they have probably provided the most interesting and beneficial learning opportunities. While slightly simpler to use compared to a 3D printer, since all functions are only in 2D, there are multiple small nuances around the design, materials, multi-step operations, cutting depths, speeds and laser focus which have had a steep learning curve.
So far we have made a bunch of interesting, practical and useful projects, sold a few on Etsy and also made a few personalized meaningful gifts.
DIY Golf Yardage Books
I have collected well over 30 yardage books from all over the world. Most of them from bucket list courses like Pinehurst #2, Harbor Town or one of my favorite courses, The Ocean Course at Kiawah. But sometimes courses didnt offer or sell them, so I started down the rabbit hole of designing and printing my own.
Majority of them were for tournaments I played in on the Golfweek Amateur Tour. The design process included using Google Maps to get an aerial photo of the course, and then subsequently outlining each hole using Adobe Illustrator and vector shapes. Then measuring and taking the yardages from the course and annotating the map.
Book size: 3.75″ x 6.5”
DIY: Greens Mapping
As an avid amateur golfer, I always look at the professionals for ideas, tips or tricks on what they are doing to improve their game, or gain a competitive advantage. One of the differentiators between amateurs and pros is their green reading books. It is essentially a layout and guide to each unique element of green helping them to decide where to hit their ball on approach shots, and what to expect on any given putt. While these are still simply a guide, and the golfer still needs to putt the ball along a planned path, they do provide valuable insight which is not always evident or visible when looking at the green.
Because of this I spent some time trying to understand if it was possible to map greens for this purpose and develop my own green reading technology as a startup or, simply improve my own golf game through this innovation. Here is what I have found on this journey:
DIY: Building a Deck
Shortly after moving into our new house we decided to extend our back deck. Myself and Kate did this work to extend what was originally built with the house.
DIY: Lego Shelf
A fun DIY Lego Shelf from Walnut Wood. Some woodworking, finishing and using the laser to mark and brand it. I have made about 5 of them now for friends and family and they always seem to be a hit!
Step 1:
160 -> 180 -> 220 Grit Sanding
Scuff with steel wool (00)
Clean with microfiber
Danish Oil (Walnut)
Step 2:
Scuff with steel wool
Clean with microfiber
Danish Oil (Walnut)
Step 3:
Top Coat
Wax and 0000 steel wool
Step 4:
Laser Engrave Logo
Step5:
Glue Lego Insert
DIY: Small retaining wall
Myself and Kate decided to build a small retaining wall to install some trees to form a natural border in our back yard.
List: Woodworking Projects
A draft list of woodworking projects completed over the years. Some practical, others for fun.
DIY – IGUS Slider for Timelapse and Long Exposure Photography
This was a fun project using a Arduino, a sliding rail and belt to pull a sled with a DSLR on it for taking long exposure photography, video or long exposures. This was mounted on a Tripod for some additional stability and flexibility.
Here is the Code: Link
TODO: Photos/Footage
LCD Menu/Options
- Note: Move carriage to end of rail and press start, press when the carriage +- 2 inches before the end. Store this number as your Max Steps.
List: Print Projects
While I am not a designer, I have always loved the concept, process and experimentation aspects of print projects. I grew up with Dot Matrix printers and the allure of bringing digital to reality grasped my attention early in life. These are some of the projects I have created digitally and subsequently printed for personal, marketing or informational needs.