Peter Balch

Have you considered putting the warm sheet through a pasta maker to get a more consistent thickness?

Good question: I just measured it. From the "distant" (objective) lenses to the workpiece is 90mm (3.5"). From the bridge of my nose to the "distant" lenses is 80mm (3.2"). So that's a total of 170mm (6.7").I used 3.5 dioptre lenses. A bit of high school physics tells me that from the the bridge of my nose to the workpiece ought to be 193mm (7.6"). That's about 20mm more than I found in practice. I'm slightly short sighted so it's prboably about right.If I had used 3 dioptre lenses then the total distance would be 217mm (8.5"). That's all a lot closer than the 16 to 18 inches you want from your nose to your embroidery. It's hard to say what the magnification is. My jeweler's loupe doesn't "magnify" at all. What it does is allow me ...

Good question: I just measured it. From the "distant" (objective) lenses to the workpiece is 90mm (3.5"). From the bridge of my nose to the "distant" lenses is 80mm (3.2"). So that's a total of 170mm (6.7").I used 3.5 dioptre lenses. A bit of high school physics tells me that from the the bridge of my nose to the workpiece ought to be 193mm (7.6"). That's about 20mm more than I found in practice. I'm slightly short sighted so it's prboably about right.If I had used 3 dioptre lenses then the total distance would be 217mm (8.5"). That's all a lot closer than the 16 to 18 inches you want from your nose to your embroidery. It's hard to say what the magnification is. My jeweler's loupe doesn't "magnify" at all. What it does is allow me to hold the workpiece closer to my eye. The result is that It is in focus while it is 7 times closer. So I suppose you could say that the magnification is 7 times. By that measure, the "magnifying glasses" magnify by about 3.5 times.I hope that helpsPeter

Thanks.Yes, papier mache for the bottom of the shell and tinplate for the top. I tried a variety of materials but papier mache turned out to be the easiest to get the shape I wanted. I suspect that vacuum-formed polystyrene sheet would be better but the vacuum-cleaner powered former I made doesn't work well enough.I'm a huge fan of tinplate as a modelmaking material. It's strong and easy to cut and solder. Decades ago when my son was a toddler he lived on formula milk and I saved all the tinplate cans. So I've got a lifetime supply.

Never use WD-40 to "fix" a clock. The clock will begin to work well but when the solvent evaporates, the sticky residue will gum-up the works.Clockmaker discussion groups are full of complaints about how hard it is to repair damage from WD-40. The answer is to spray the clock again with WD-40 to dissolve the gunk then clean it all off with your favourite solvent. Then lubricate with proper clock oil.

Hipsters, steampunks and assorted young people who have romatic notions about the past. Old typewriters sell well.It's also good for (unobtainable) dot-matrix printer ribbons and the like if you're into retro computing.

Margarine is better for cleaning ingrained grease on hands. Rub in the margarine. Then rub in washing-up liquid. Then rinse under water.Margarine works well because it is full of emulsifiers and fats. Plus the fats help stop your skin drying out.

Margarine is better for cleaning ingrained grease on hands. Rub in the margarine. Then rub in washing-up liquid. Then rinse under water.Margarine works well because it is full of emulsifiers and fats. As a bonus, the fats help stop your skin drying out.

Margarine is better for cleaning ingrained grease on hands. Rub in the margarine. Then rub in washing-up liquid. Then rinse under water.Margarine works well because it is full of emulsifiers and fats. Plus the fats help stop your skin drying out.

WD-40 will restore a typewriter ribbon that has dried-out.

Google for "pyramid clock" then hit images (rather than shopping). I got around 20 hits. I've pasted in a few below. The prices vary enormously from $7 to $150. It's a huge compliment that that you've been inspired to make one.. Please do post the results. The dome, beads, etc are easy to find but I suspect that the difficulty might be finding a nice wooden box. It occurred to me that the black plastic base for a trophy could work well. Peter https://www.banggood.com/EMPO-Design-Concept-PVC-Pyramid-Decorative-Clock-p-912968.html https://www.evertek.com/viewpart.asp?auto=98338&cpc=RECOM http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ideal-Valentine-Gift-4-Time-Pyramid-Clock-A-Moving-Sculpture-Timepiece-/221746791818 https://www.myxlshop.co.uk/empo-pyramid-design-clock-empo.html?id=5016256...

Google for "pyramid clock" then hit images (rather than shopping). I got around 20 hits. I've pasted in a few below. The prices vary enormously from $7 to $150. It's a huge compliment that that you've been inspired to make one.. Please do post the results. The dome, beads, etc are easy to find but I suspect that the difficulty might be finding a nice wooden box. It occurred to me that the black plastic base for a trophy could work well. Peter https://www.banggood.com/EMPO-Design-Concept-PVC-Pyramid-Decorative-Clock-p-912968.html https://www.evertek.com/viewpart.asp?auto=98338&cpc=RECOM http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ideal-Valentine-Gift-4-Time-Pyramid-Clock-A-Moving-Sculpture-Timepiece-/221746791818 https://www.myxlshop.co.uk/empo-pyramid-design-clock-empo.html?id=50162560&gclid=CIP6zIHL4tQCFSa-7Qod32UNbg https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/252874985121?chn=ps&dispItem=1&adgroupid=45192390362&rlsatarget=pla-331477147172&abcId=1129006&adtype=pla&merchantid=113272112&poi=&googleloc=9046888&device=c&campaignid=861899495&crdt=0

For this particular project I wanted wheels that really drove the mouse logic. I reckoned I had to start with a ball mouse. I couldn't see a compact way to connect wheels to the camera of an optical mouse. I've never seen a BT mouse with a ball. My experience with BT mice has been disappointing. I had to keep re-pairing them and the batteries didn't last long. And I had to remember to turn it off every night. Perhaps I was just unlucky with the mice I tried. Apple ones may well work better but I suspect that the re-pairing is a Windows problem.Of course, there's an instructable for a Qi mouse:https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-wireless-charging-mouse/

Thanks. Yes it took forever.I hadn't realised that Apple mice could be used with Windows. It seems you need a special driver and possibly even a special Bluetooth dongle. Not ideal but worth knowing.

40 years? A mere trifle!As my lenses begin to crystalise and I can't change focus the flip-up action becomes essential.

I'll be happy to judge Tech.Thanks for the invitation

Is it a ball mouse or optical? If it's optical, you could have a look at my Steampunk Brain Mousehttp://www.peterbalch.co.uk/MousePunk.htmand there are some excellent Instructables already here.

The question with wireless mice is: should you choose one with Bluetooth or its own proprietry receiver dongle. I bought a Bluetooth mouse for a project like this and found that it needed pairing almost every time I used it. A proprietry receiver dongle never needs to be paired but you can only use it with the computer it's plugged into. My other disappointment was that all the radio mice I've tried really eat batteries - even when they're in standby mode.Maybe a rechargeable mouse with a Qi charger is the answer. Radio mice often turn up in car-boot sales and charity shops but make sure they haven't got separated from their dongle.Good luck with the project and please do publish what you make.

Thank you - my son's idea not mine.

The box was another £0.50 from a car-boot sale. I'm a big fan of car-boot sales.I'll try to post some more instructables for other things tomorrow.