Welcome.  I’ve got a couple of hobbies going on, and I want to share what I’ve learned in the hopes others can save time and effort in their own endeavors.

1971 Datsun 240Z Refurbish

I was fortunate to find a Z that had very little rust, only one minor fender dent and a healthy coating of dirt and grease protecting the engine and drive train.  So my experience is not as deep (nor painful) as many others who are starting with a ‘less good’ car.  My 3 best friends are all car lovers of different variants (one rebuilds cars from the 30s, 40s and 50s, one builds them from scratch and one restores 60s classics to “factory numbers’).  So my restoration went overboard.

I am making an effort to document what I’ve done, as well as including links to places where I found encouragement and answers

Some example content

DIY CNC Machine

Using ideas from the web, I built a 3-axis CNC machine.  It is entirely made from plywood, aluminum angle stock, skateboard bearings, 1/4-20 all thread.  It works amazingly well.  This section documents the build process.  I’ve used it for milling MDF, aluminum panels, engraving aluminum and plastic.  Very cool.

PCB Isolation Routing

This is a specific use of that DIY CNC Machine.  Using it to mechanically ‘etch’ a PCB to create a single or double-sided PCB.  This was (is) a considerable learning experience – it combines schematic capture (Eagle), Milling software (Linux CNC), the design of various jigs to enable double-sided milling and the all-important mounting of the part to be milled.  The results are excellent – I can make boards that support quad flat pack devices.

Comments welcome

I have enabled comments on all pages and I’d love to get your input and feedback.  BUT NOT THE DAMN SPAM (you know who you are you asshats).